A model for cyclotron resonance scattering features

(abbreviated version of the abstract) We study the physics of cyclotron line formation in the high-energy spectra of accreting X-ray pulsars using Monte Carlo methods, assuming that the line-forming region is a low-density electron plasma in a sub-critical magnetic field. We investigate the dependence of the shape of the fundamental line on angle, geometry, optical depth and temperature. We also discuss variations of the line ratios for non-uniform magnetic fields. These numerical predictions for the line profiles are linked to results from observational data analysis using an XSPEC model based on the Monte Carlo simulations. We apply this model to observational data from RXTE and INTEGRAL. The predicted strong emission wings of the fundamental cyclotron feature are not found in observational data, hinting at a bottom illuminated slab geometry for line formation.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, Astron. Astrophys. (in press

Solvability of nondensely defined partial functional integrodifferential equations using the integrated resolvent operators

In this work, we study the existence and regularity of solutions for a class of nondensely defined partial functional integrodifferential equations. We suppose that the undelayed part admits an integrated resolvent operator in the sense given by Oka [J. Integral Equations Appl. 7(1995), 193–232.]. We give some sufficient conditions ensuring the existence, uniqueness and regularity of solutions. The continuous dependence on the initial data of solutions is also proved. Some examples are provided to illustrate our abstract theory

Digital Repository as Instrument for Knowledge Management

Abstract. In the modern technologically advanced world, implicit knowledge, but also certain manifestations of tacit knowledge, is accumulated primarily in digital form, increasing the dependence of Knowledge Management (KM) on tools and specifically on digital content management platforms and repositories. The latter, powered by subject classification system such as a thesaurus or an ontology, can form a complete Knowledge Organization System (KOS). The purpose of this paper is to describe and (re)define the role of these systems as an integral part of KM, and present an example of such a KOS, including its major role in knowledge preservation

Nonlocal Treatment of the Buoyancy-Shear-Driven Boundary Layer

Abstract A successful description of a convective boundary layer requires that the model employed takes into account the nonlocal nature of turbulent convection. In this paper new third-order moments (TOMs) are presented and tested. Numerical solutions are obtained using mean flow components and second-order moments as input. The problem of the turbulent damping of the TOMs is considered. The terms in the dynamic equations responsible for the unphysical growth of the TOMs are parameterized, taking into account their dependence on the integral length scale vertical profile. The calculated profiles are presented and tested against large-eddy simulation data and aircraft measurements. In both cases the results compare favorably

Dissociation of Hemoglobin into Subunits II. HUMAN OXYHEMOGLOBIN: GEL FILTRATION STUDIES

Abstract The dissociation of normal human oxyhemoglobin has been studied by gel filtration under conditions of neutral pH and moderate ionic strength, with the use of both integral boundaries, formed between solution and solvent, and finite difference boundaries, formed between solution and solution. The experimental data obtained have been treated by nonlinear least squares procedures to estimate the relevant parameters with their associated standard errors. For this purpose, theoretical equations have been derived for two models, firstly a simple dimer-tetramer reversible equilibrium, and secondly a monomer-dimer-trimer-tetramer reversible equilibrium. In both models the dependence on concentration of the elution volume of the individual species has been taken into account

Topological quenching of the tunnel splitting for a particle in a double-well potential on a planar loop

The motion of a particle along a one-dimensional closed curve in a plane is considered. The only restriction on the shape of the loop is that it must be invariant under a twofold rotation about an axis perpendicular to the plane of motion. Along the curve a symmetric double-well potential is present leading to a twofold degeneracy of the classical ground state. In quantum mechanics, this degeneracy is lifted: the energies of the ground state and the first excited state are separated from each other by a slight difference ¿E, the tunnel splitting. Although a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the loop does not influence the classical motion of the charged particle, the quantum-mechanical separation of levels turns out to be a function of its strength B. The dependence of ¿E on the field B is oscillatory: for specific discrete values Bn the splitting drops to zero, indicating a twofold degeneracy of the ground state. This result is obtained within the path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics; in particular, the semiclassical instanton method is used. The origin of the quenched splitting is intuitively obvious: it is due to the fact that the configuration space of the system is not simply connected, thus allowing for destructive interference of quantum-mechanical amplitudes. From an abstract point of view this phenomenon can be traced back to the existence of a topological term in the Lagrangian and a nonsimply connected configuration space. In principle, it should be possible to observe the splitting in appropriately fabricated mesoscopic rings consisting of normally conducting metal

The four-component DFT method for the calculation of the EPR g-tensor using a restricted magnetically balanced basis and London atomic orbitals

ABSTRACT Four-component relativistic treatments of the electron paramagnetic resonance g-tensor have so far been based on a common gauge origin and a restricted kinetically balanced basis. The results of such calculations are prone to exhibit a dependence on the choice of the gauge origin for the vector potential associated with uniform magnetic field and a related dependence on the basis set quality. In this work, this gauge problem is addressed by a distributed-origin scheme based on the London atomic orbitals, also called gauge-including atomic orbitals (GIAOs), which have proven to be a practical approach for calculations of other magnetic properties. Furthermore, in the four-component relativistic domain, it has previously been shown that a restricted magnetically balanced (RMB) basis for the small component of the four-component wavefunctions is necessary for achieving robust convergence with regard to the basis set size. We present the implementation of a four-component density functional theory (DFT) method for calculating the g-tensor, incorporating both the GIAOs and RMB basis and based on the Dirac–Coulomb Hamiltonian. The approach utilizes the state-of-the-art noncollinear Kramers-unrestricted DFT methodology to achieve rotationally invariant results and inclusion of spin-polarization effects in the calculation. We also show that the gauge dependence of the results obtained is connected to the nonvanishing integral of the current density in a finite basis, explain why the results of cluster calculations exhibit surprisingly low gauge dependence, and demonstrate that the gauge problem disappears for systems with certain point-group symmetries