A Two-Dimensional Hydrostatically Equilibrium Atmosphere of a Neutron Star with Given Differential Rotation

An analytic solution has been found in the Roche approximation for the axially symmetric structure of a hydrostatically equilibrium atmosphere of a neutron star produced by collapse. A hydrodynamic (quasione-dimensional) model for the collapse of a rotating iron core in a massive star gives rise to a heterogeneous rotating protoneutron star with an extended atmosphere composed of matter from the outer part of the iron core with differential rotation (Imshennik and Nadyozhin, 1992). The equation of state of a completely degenerate iron gas with an arbitrary degree of relativity is taken for the atmospheric matter. We construct a family of toroidal model atmospheres with total masses $M \approx 0.1 \div 0.2 M_{\odot}$ and total angular momenta $J \approx (1 \div 5.5) \cdot 10^{49} erg \cdot s$, which are acceptable for the outer part of the collapsed iron core, in accordance with the hydrodynamic model, as a function of constant parameters $\omega_{0} and r_{0}$ of the specified differential rotation law $\Omega = \omega_{0}\exp{\Big[-\frac{(r\sin{\Theta})^{2}}{r_{0}^{2}}\Big]}$ in spherical coordinates. The assumed rotation law is also qualitatively consistent with the hydrodynamic model for the collapse of an iron core.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Feasibility of study magnetic proximity effects in bilayer "superconductor/ferromagnet" using waveguide-enhanced Polarized Neutron Reflectometry

A resonant enhancement of the neutron standing waves is proposed to use in order to increase the magnetic neutron scattering from a "superconductor/ferromagnet"(S/F) bilayer. The model calculations show that usage of this effect allows to increase the magnetic scattering intensity by factor of hundreds. Aspects related to the growth procedure (order of deposition, roughness of the layers etc) as well as experimental conditions (resolution, polarization of the neutron beam, background etc) are also discussed. Collected experimental data for the S/F heterostructure Cu(32nm)/V(40nm)/Fe(1nm)/MgO confirmed the presence of a resonant 60-fold amplification of the magnetic scattering.Comment: The manuscript of the article submitted to Crysstalography Reports. 23 pages, 5 figure

GRBs and the thermalization process of electron-positron plasmas

We discuss the temporal evolution of the pair plasma created in Gamma-Ray Burst sources. A particular attention is paid to the relaxation of the plasma into thermal equilibrium. We also discuss the connection between the dynamics of expansion and the spatial geometry of the plasma. The role of the baryonic loading parameter is emphasized.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, in the Proceedings of the "Gamma Ray Bursts 2007" meeting, November 5-9, 2007, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US

On the feasibility to study inverse proximity effect in a single S/F bilayer by Polarized Neutron Reflectometry

Here we report on a feasibility study aiming to explore the potential of Polarized Neutron Reflectometry (PNR) for detecting the inverse proximity effect in a single superconducting/ferromagnetic bilayer. Experiments, conducted on the V(40nm)/Fe(1nm) S/F bilayer, have shown that experimental spin asymmetry measured at T = 0.5TC is shifted towards higher Q values compared to the curve measured at T = 1.5TC. Such a shift can be described by the appearance in superconducting vanadium of magnetic sub-layer with thickness of 7 nm and magnetization of +0.8 kG.Comment: Changes in the 2nd version: small mistypes are corrected. Manuscript submitted to JETP let. 4 pages, 2 figure

A hydrodynamic model for asymmetric explosions of rapidly rotating collapsing supernovae with a toroidal atmosphere

We numerically solved the two-dimensional axisymmetric hydrodynamic problem of the explosion of a low-mass neutron star in a circular orbit. In the initial conditions, we assumed a nonuniform density distribution in the space surrounding the collapsed iron core in the form of a stationary toroidal atmosphere that was previously predicted analytically and computed numerically. The configuration of the exploded neutron star itself was modeled by a torus with a circular cross section whose central line almost coincided with its circular orbit. Using an equation of state for the stellar matter and the toroidal atmosphere in which the nuclear statistical equilibrium conditions were satisfied, we performed a series of numerical calculations that showed the propagation of a strong divergent shock wave with a total energy of 0.2x10^51 erg at initial explosion energy release of 1.0x10^51 erg. In our calculations, we rigorously took into account the gravitational interaction, including the attraction from a higher-mass (1.9M_solar) neutron star located at the coordinate origin, in accordance with the rotational explosion mechanism for collapsing supernovae.W e compared in detail our results with previous similar results of asymmetric supernova explosion simulations and concluded that we found a lower limit for the total explosion energy.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Pair plasma relaxation time scales

By numerically solving the relativistic Boltzmann equations, we compute the time scale for relaxation to thermal equilibrium for an optically thick electron-positron plasma with baryon loading. We focus on the time scales of electromagnetic interactions. The collisional integrals are obtained directly from the corresponding QED matrix elements. Thermalization time scales are computed for a wide range of values of both the total energy density (over 10 orders of magnitude) and of the baryonic loading parameter (over 6 orders of magnitude). This also allows us to study such interesting limiting cases as the almost purely electron-positron plasma or electron-proton plasma as well as intermediate cases. These results appear to be important both for laboratory experiments aimed at generating optically thick pair plasmas as well as for astrophysical models in which electron-positron pair plasmas play a relevant role.Comment: Phys. Rev. E, in pres

Magnetic and Superconducting Phase Diagram of Nb/Gd/Nb trilayers

We report on a study of the structural, magnetic and superconducting properties of Nb(25nm)/Gd($d_f$)/Nb(25nm) hybrid structures of a superconductor/ ferromagnet (S/F) type. The structural characterization of the samples, including careful determination of the layer thickness, was performed using neutron and X-ray scattering with the aid of depth sensitive mass-spectrometry. The magnetization of the samples was determined by SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry and the presence of magnetic ordering for all samples down to the thinnest Gd(0.8nm) layer was shown. The analysis of the neutron spin asymmetry allowed us to prove the absence of magnetically dead layers in junctions with Gd interlayer thickness larger than one monolayer. The measured dependence of the superconducting transition temperature $T_c(d_f)$ has a damped oscillatory behavior with well defined positions of the minimum at $d_f$=3nm and the following maximum at $d_f$=4nm; the behavior, which is in qualitative agreement with the prior work (J.S. Jiang et al, PRB 54, 6119). The analysis of the $T_c(d_f)$ dependence based on Usadel equations showed that the observed minimum at $d_f$=3nm can be described by the so called "$0$" to "$\pi$" phase transition of highly transparent S/F interfaces with the superconducting correlation length $\xi_f \approx 4$nm in Gd. This penetration length is several times higher than for strong ferromagnets like Fe, Co or Ni, simplifying thus preparation of S/F structures with $d_f \sim \xi_f$ which are of topical interest in superconducting spintronics