Indication of Anisotropy in Electromagnetic Propagation over Cosmological Distances

We report a systematic rotation of the plane of polarization of electromagnetic radiation propagating over cosmological distances. The effect is extracted independently from Faraday rotation, and found to be correlated with the angular positions and distances to the sources. Monte Carlo analysis yields probabilistic P-values of order 10^(-3) for this to occur as a fluctuation. A fit yields a birefringence scale of order 10^(25) meters. Dependence on redshift z rules out a local effect. Barring hidden systematic bias in the data, the correlation indicates a new cosmological effect.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, ReVTeX. For more information, see http://www.cc.rochester.edu/college/rtc/Borge/aniso.htm

Imaginary Chemical Potential Approach for the Pseudo-Critical Line in the QCD Phase Diagram with Clover-Improved Wilson Fermions

The QCD phase diagram is studied in the lattice QCD simulation with the imaginary chemical potential approach. We employ a clover-improved Wilson fermion action of two-flavors and a renormalization-group improved gauge action, and perform the simulation at an intermediate quark mass on a $8^3\times 4$ lattice. The QCD phase diagram in the imaginary chemical potential $\mu_I$ region is investigated by performing the simulation for more than 150 points on the $(\beta,\mu_I)$ plane. We find that the Roberge-Weiss phase transition at $\mu_I/T=\pi/3$ is first order and its endpoint is second order, which are identified by the phase of the Polyakov loop. We determine the pseudo-critical line from the susceptibility of the Polyakov loop modulus. We find a clear deviation from a linear dependence of the pseudo-critical line on $\mu_I^2$.Comment: 10 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables. Revtex4. References are added and, discussions are sharpene

Chiral corrections to the SU(2)×SU(2)SU(2)\times SU(2) Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation

The next to leading order chiral corrections to the $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner (GMOR) relation are obtained using the pseudoscalar correlator to five-loop order in perturbative QCD, together with new finite energy sum rules (FESR) incorporating polynomial, Legendre type, integration kernels. The purpose of these kernels is to suppress hadronic contributions in the region where they are least known. This reduces considerably the systematic uncertainties arising from the lack of direct experimental information on the hadronic resonance spectral function. Three different methods are used to compute the FESR contour integral in the complex energy (squared) s-plane, i.e. Fixed Order Perturbation Theory, Contour Improved Perturbation Theory, and a fixed renormalization scale scheme. We obtain for the corrections to the GMOR relation, $\delta_\pi$, the value $\delta_\pi = (6.2, \pm 1.6)$. This result is substantially more accurate than previous determinations based on QCD sum rules; it is also more reliable as it is basically free of systematic uncertainties. It implies a light quark condensate $\simeq \equiv |_{2\,\mathrm{GeV}} = (- 267 \pm 5 MeV)^3$. As a byproduct, the chiral perturbation theory (unphysical) low energy constant $H^r_2$ is predicted to be $H^r_2 (\nu_\chi = M_\rho) = - (5.1 \pm 1.8)\times 10^{-3}$, or $H^r_2 (\nu_\chi = M_\eta) = - (5.7 \pm 2.0)\times 10^{-3}$.Comment: A comment about the value of the strong coupling has been added at the end of Section 4. No change in results or conslusion

Electrical characterization of amorphous LiAlO2 thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition

LiAlO2 thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have a potential application as an electrolyte in three-dimensional (3D) all-solid-state microbatteries. In this study, Li-ion conductivity of such films is investigated by both in-plane and cross-plane methods. LiAlO2 thin films with a Li composition of [Li]/([Li] + [Al]) = 0.46 and an amorphous structure were grown by ALD with thicknesses of 90, 160 and 235 nm on different substrates. The electrical characterization was conducted by impedance spectroscopy using inert electrodes over a temperature range of 25-200 degrees C in an inert atmosphere. In-plane conductivities were obtained from films on insulating sapphire substrates, whereas cross-plane conductivities were measured from films on conducting titanium substrates. For the first time, comparison of the in-plane and cross-plane conductivities in these ALD LiAlO2 films has been achieved. More comparable results are obtained using a cross-plane method, whereas in-plane conductivity measurements demonstrate a considerable thickness-dependence with thinner film thickness. The room-temperature conductivity of the LiAlO2 films has been determined to be in the order of 10(-10) S cm(-1) with an activation energy of ca. 0.8 eV.Peer reviewe

The clearing of discs around late type T Tauri stars: constraints from the infrared two colour plane

We have undertaken SED modeling of discs around low mass T Tauri stars in order to delineate regions of the infrared two colour plane (K - [8] versus K - [24]) that correspond to discs in different evolutionary stages. This provides a ready tool for classifying the nature of star-disc systems based on infrared photometry. In particular we demonstrate the distinct loci followed by discs that undergo `uniform draining' (reduction in surface density by a spatially uniform factor) from those that clear from the inside out. We draw attention to the absence of objects on this `draining locus' in those star forming regions where the 24um sensitivity would permit their detection, as compared with the ~20 objects in these regions with colours suggestive of inner holes. We thus conclude that discs predominantly clear from the inside out. We also apply our classification of the infrared two colour plane to stars of spectral type M3-M5 in the IC 348 cluster and show that some of its members (dubbed `weak excess' sources by Muzerolle et al 2010) that had previously been assumed to be in a state of clearing are instead likely to be optically thick discs in which the dust is well settled towards the mid-plane. Nevertheless, there are many discs in a state of partial clearing in IC 348, with their abundance (relative to the total population of disc bearing stars) being around four times higher than for comparable stars in Taurus. However, the number of partially cleared discs relative to the total number of late type stars is similarly low in both regions (10 and 20 % respectively). We therefore conclude that IC 348 represents a more evolved version of the Taurus population (with more of its discs being highly settled or partially cleared) but that the timescale for clearing is similarly short (a few times 10^5 years) in both cases.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted, MNRA

Electron Pre-Acceleration at Nonrelativistic High-Mach-Number Perpendicular Shocks

We perform particle-in-cell simulations of perpendicular nonrelativistic collisionless shocks to study electron heating and pre-acceleration for parameters that permit extrapolation to the conditions at young supernova remnants. Our high-resolution large-scale numerical experiments sample a representative portion of the shock surface and demonstrate that the efficiency of electron injection is strongly modulated with the phase of the shock reformation. For plasmas with low and moderate temperature (plasma beta $\beta_{\rm p}=5\cdot 10^{-4}$ and $\beta_{\rm p}=0.5$), we explore the nonlinear shock structure and electron pre-acceleration for various orientations of the large-scale magnetic field with respect to the simulation plane while keeping it at $90^\circ$ to the shock normal. Ion reflection off the shock leads to the formation of magnetic filaments in the shock ramp, resulting from Weibel-type instabilities, and electrostatic Buneman modes in the shock foot. In all cases under study, the latter provides first-stage electron energization through the shock-surfing acceleration (SSA) mechanism. The subsequent energization strongly depends on the field orientation and proceeds through adiabatic or second-order Fermi acceleration processes for configurations with the out-of-plane and in-plane field components, respectively. For strictly out-of-plane field the fraction of supra-thermal electrons is much higher than for other configurations, because only in this case the Buneman modes are fully captured by the 2D simulation grid. Shocks in plasma with moderate $\beta_{\rm p}$ provide more efficient pre-acceleration. The relevance of our results to the physics of fully three-dimensional systems is discussed

Statistical Properties of Galactic Starlight Polarization

We present a statistical analysis of Galactic interstellar polarization from the largest compilation available of starlight data. The data comprises ~ 9300 stars of which we have selected ~ 5500 for our analysis. We find a nearly linear growth of mean polarization degree with extinction. The amplitude of this correlation shows that interstellar grains are not fully aligned with the Galactic magnetic field, which can be interpreted as the effect of a large random component of the field. In agreement with earlier studies of more limited scope, we estimate the ratio of the uniform to the random plane-of-the-sky components of the magnetic field to be B_u/B_r = 0.8. Moreover, a clear correlation exists between polarization degree and polarization angle what provides evidence that the magnetic field geometry follows Galactic structures on large-scales. The angular power spectrum C_l of the starlight polarization degree for Galactic plane data (|b| < 10 deg) is consistent with a power-law, C_l ~ l^{-1.5} (where l ~ 180 deg/\theta is the multipole order), for all angular scales \theta > 10 arcmin. An investigation of sparse and inhomogeneous sampling of the data shows that the starlight data analyzed traces an underlying polarized continuum that has the same power spectrum slope, C_l ~ l^{-1.5}. Our findings suggest that starlight data can be safely used for the modeling of Galactic polarized continuum emission at other wavelengths.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures. Minor corrections and some clarifications included. Matches version accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journa

Rings and Radial Waves in the Disk of the Milky Way

We show that in the anticenter region, between Galactic longitudes of $110^\circ<l<229^\circ$, there is an oscillating asymmetry in the main sequence star counts on either side of the Galactic plane using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This asymmetry oscillates from more stars in the north at distances of about 2 kpc from the Sun to more stars in the south at 4-6 kpc from the Sun to more stars in the north at distances of 8-10 kpc from the Sun. We also see evidence that there are more stars in the south at distances of 12-16 kpc from the Sun. The three more distant asymmetries form roughly concentric rings around the Galactic center, opening in the direction of the Milky Way's spiral arms. The northern ring, 9 kpc from the Sun, is easily identified with the previously discovered Monoceros Ring. Parts of the southern ring at 14 kpc from the Sun (which we call the TriAnd Ring) have previously been identified as related to the Monoceros Ring and others have been called the Triangulum Andromeda Overdensity. The two nearer oscillations are approximated by a toy model in which the disk plane is offset by of the order 100 pc up and then down at different radii. We also show that the disk is not azimuthally symmetric around the Galactic anticenter and that there could be a correspondence between our observed oscillations and the spiral structure of the Galaxy. Our observations suggest that the TriAnd and Monoceros Rings (which extend to at least 25 kpc from the Galactic center) are primarily the result of disk oscillations.Comment: 19figures, 2tables, ApJ accepte

A Census of Large-Scale (≥\ge 10 pc), Velocity-Coherent, Dense Filaments in the Northern Galactic Plane: Automated Identification Using Minimum Spanning Tree

Large-scale gaseous filaments with length up to the order of 100 pc are on the upper end of the filamentary hierarchy of the Galactic interstellar medium. Their association with respect to the Galactic structure and their role in Galactic star formation are of great interest from both observational and theoretical point of view. Previous "by-eye" searches, combined together, have started to uncover the Galactic distribution of large filaments, yet inherent bias and small sample size limit conclusive statistical results to be drawn. Here, we present (1) a new, automated method to identify large-scale velocity-coherent dense filaments, and (2) the first statistics and the Galactic distribution of these filaments. We use a customized minimum spanning tree algorithm to identify filaments by connecting voxels in the position-position-velocity space, using the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey spectroscopic catalog. In the range of $7.^{\circ}5 \le l \le 194^{\circ}$, we have identified 54 large-scale filaments and derived mass ($\sim 10^3 - 10^5 \, M_\odot$), length (10-276 pc), linear mass density (54-8625 $M_\odot \, \rm{pc}^{-1}$), aspect ratio, linearity, velocity gradient, temperature, fragmentation, Galactic location and orientation angle. The filaments concentrate along major spiral arms. They are widely distributed across the Galactic disk, with 50% located within $\pm$20 pc from the Galactic mid-plane and 27% run in the center of spiral arms (aka "bones"). An order of 1% of the molecular ISM is confined in large filaments. Massive star formation is more favorable in large filaments compared to elsewhere. This is the first comprehensive catalog of large filaments useful for a quantitative comparison with spiral structures and numerical simulations.Comment: Accepted to ApJS. 20 pages (in aastex6 compact format), 6 figures, 1 table. See http://www.eso.org/~kwang/MSTpaper for (1) a preprint with full resolution Fig 6, (2) filaments catalog (Table 1) in ASCII format, and (3) a DS9 region file for the coordinates of the filament