The Compact Central Object in the Supernova Remnant G266.2-1.2

We observed the compact central object CXOU J085201.4--461753 in the supernova remnant G266.2--1.2 (RX J0852.0--4622) with the Chandra ACIS detector in timing mode. The spectrum of this object can be described by a blackbody model with the temperature kT=404 eV and radius of the emitting region R=0.28 km, at a distance of 1 kpc. Power-law and thermal plasma models do not fit the source spectrum. The spectrum shows a marginally significant feature at 1.68 keV. Search for periodicity yields two candidate periods, about 301 ms and 33 ms, both significant at a 2.1 sigma level; the corresponding pulsed fractions are 13% and 9%, respectively. We find no evidence for long-term variability of the source flux, nor do we find extended emission around the central object. We suggest that CXOU J085201.4--461753 is similar to CXOU J232327.9+584842, the central source of the supernova remnant Cas A. It could be either a neutron star with a low or regular magnetic field, slowly accreting from a fossil disk, or, more likely, an isolated neutron star with a superstrong magnetic field. In either case, a conservative upper limit on surface temperature of a 10 km radius neutron star is about 90 eV, which suggests accelerated cooling for a reasonable age of a few thousand years.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 13 pages, 1 figur

Nanometer Structured Epitaxial Films and Foliated Layers Based on Bismuth and Antimony Chalcogenides with Topological Surface States

The thermoelectric and galvanomagnetic properties of nanometer structured epitaxial films and foliated layers based on bismuth and antimony chalcogenides were investigated, and an increase in the figure of merit Z up to 3.85 × 10-3 K-1 was observed in the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 films over the temperature range of 180–200 K. It is shown that an increase in the Seebeck coefficient and the change in the slope on temperature, associated with changes in the effective scattering parameter of charge carriers and strong anisotropy of scattering in the films, lead to enhance power factor due to the growth of the effective mass of the density of states. These features are consistent with the results of research of oscillation effects in strong magnetic fields at low temperatures and research of Raman scattering at normal and high pressures in the foliated layers of solid solutions (Bi, Sb)2(Te, Se)3, in which the topological Dirac surface states were observed. The unique properties of topological surface states in the investigated films and layers make topological insulators promising material for innovation nanostructured thermoelectrics

Thermal Conductivity for p–(Bi, Sb)₂Te₃ Films of Topological Insulators

In this study, we investigated the temperature dependencies of the total, crystal lattice, and electronic thermal conductivities in films of topological insulators p–Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and p–Bi2Te3 formed by discrete and thermal evaporation methods. The largest decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity because of the scattering of long-wavelength phonons on the grain interfaces was observed in the films of the solid-solution p–Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 deposited by discrete evaporation on the amorphous substrates of polyimide without thermal treatment. It was shown that in the p–Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 films with low thermal conductivity, the energy dependence of the relaxation time is enhanced, which is specific to the topological insulators. The electronic thermal conductivity was determined by taking into account the effective scattering parameter in the relaxation time approximation versus energy in the Lorentz number calculations. A correlation was established between the thermal conductivity and the peculiarities of the morphology of the interlayer surface (0001) in the studied films. Additionally, the total κ and the lattice κL thermal conductivities decrease, while the number of grains and the roughness of the surface (0001) increase in unannealed films compared to annealed ones. It was demonstrated that increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT in the p–Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 films formed by discrete evaporation on a polyimide substrate is determined by an increase in the effective scattering parameter in topological insulators due to enhancement in the energy dependence of the relaxation time

Some approaches to numerical modelling of a phenomenon observed during steam generator tube rupture in the reactor with liquid metal coolant

The presented paper contains a description of approaches to simulate processes, observed during leakage in the steam generator of the reactor with liquid metal coolant. These approaches have been implemented in thermal hydraulic code HYDRA-IBRAE/LM. To calculate motion of gas bubbles in liquid metal flow and heat transfer of gas bubbles with metal, different relations are used in HYDRA-IBRAE/LM code. The code contains models of chemical interaction between water and sodium for modelling of tube rupture in sodium cooled fast reactors, Modelling of the experiments has been made using HYDRA-IBRAE/LM code. The results of the modelling with determined main factors are presented in the article

Some approaches to numerical modelling of a phenomenon observed during steam generator tube rupture in the reactor with liquid metal coolant

The presented paper contains a description of approaches to simulate processes, observed during leakage in the steam generator of the reactor with liquid metal coolant. These approaches have been implemented in thermal hydraulic code HYDRA-IBRAE/LM. To calculate motion of gas bubbles in liquid metal flow and heat transfer of gas bubbles with metal, different relations are used in HYDRA-IBRAE/LM code. The code contains models of chemical interaction between water and sodium for modelling of tube rupture in sodium cooled fast reactors, Modelling of the experiments has been made using HYDRA-IBRAE/LM code. The results of the modelling with determined main factors are presented in the article

The fractional composition calculation of two-component mixtures using direct and scattered X-rays: a new methodology testing

Continuous monitoring and control of hydrocarbon flow is not a new task. Today, there are many engineering solutions in flow measurement that are used in commercial applications. However, the search for other solutions continues and is associated with the emergence of new technical challenges of the oil and gas industry. There is also a constant request for optimization of already working flow-metering solutions. In the present work we propose a methodology to calculate the composition of a mixture using gamma densitometry methods with direct and scattered radiation tracking. Experiments were carried out on reference samples and ways of practical implementation of the proposed methodology are shown