Signatures of the Milky Way's Dark Disk in Current and Future Experiments

In hierarchical structure formation models of disk galaxies, a dark matter disk forms as massive satellites are preferentially dragged into the disk-plane where they dissolve. Here, we quantify the importance of this dark disk for direct and indirect dark matter detection. The low velocity of the dark disk with respect to the Earth enhances detection rates in direct detection experiments at low recoil energy. For WIMP masses M_{WIMP} >~ 50 GeV, the detection rate increases by up to a factor of 3 in the 5 - 20 keV recoil energy range. Comparing this with rates at higher energy is sensitive to M_{WIMP}, providing stronger mass constraints particularly for M_{WIMP}>~100 GeV. The annual modulation signal is significantly boosted by the dark disk and the modulation phase is shifted by ~3 weeks relative to the dark halo. The variation of the observed phase with recoil energy determines M_{WIMP}, once the dark disk properties are fixed by future astronomical surveys. The low velocity of the particles in the dark disk with respect to the solar system significantly enhances the capture rate of WIMPs in the Sun, leading to an increased flux of neutrinos from the Sun which could be detected in current and future neutrino telescopes. The dark disk contribution to the muon flux from neutrino back conversion at the Earth is increased by a factor of ~5 compared to the SHM, for rho_d/rho_h=0.5.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, To appear in the proceedings of Identification of Dark Matter 2008 (IDM2008), Stockholm, 18-22 August 2008; corrected one referenc

Many-body dispersion effects in the binding of adsorbates on metal surfaces

A correct description of electronic exchange and correlation effects for molecules in contact with extended (metal) surfaces is a challenging task for first-principles modeling. In this work we demonstrate the importance of collective van der Waals dispersion effects beyond the pairwise approximation for organic--inorganic systems on the example of atoms, molecules, and nanostructures adsorbed on metals. We use the recently developed many-body dispersion (MBD) approach in the context of density-functional theory [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 236402 (2012); J. Chem. Phys. 140, 18A508 (2014)] and assess its ability to correctly describe the binding of adsorbates on metal surfaces. We briefly review the MBD method and highlight its similarities to quantum-chemical approaches to electron correlation in a quasiparticle picture. In particular, we study the binding properties of xenon, 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic acid (PTCDA), and a graphene sheet adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface. Accounting for MBD effects we are able to describe changes in the anisotropic polarizability tensor, improve the description of adsorbate vibrations, and correctly capture the adsorbate--surface interaction screening. Comparison to other methods and experiment reveals that inclusion of MBD effects improves adsorption energies and geometries, by reducing the overbinding typically found in pairwise additive dispersion-correction approaches

Emission Line Flickering from the Secondary Star in Cataclysmic Variables? A study of V3885 Sagitarii

Spectrophotometric observations of H-alpha and He I 6678 emission lines of the nova-like Cataclysmic Variable V3885 Sgr are presented and analyzed. The binary orbital period was determined as P = 0.20716071(22) days. Doppler Tomography was performed with both H-alpha and He I lines. Disc radial emissivity profiles were also computed. The tomography mapping of flickering sources was performed using the H-alpha line, from which we concluded that the flickering is not uniformly distributed on the disc. The observed tomogram of the flickering was compared with simulations, suggesting that the most intense flickering source in the H-alpha is not located in the accretion disc. It is proposed that the main line flickering source may be associated with the illuminated secondary star.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted to be published on AJ. to donwload high resolution figures: http://www.astro.iag.usp.br/~fabiola/V3885_hires.pd

Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Core Gas Density in REXCESS Clusters

We investigate the relationship between brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and their host clusters using a sample of nearby galaxy clusters from the Representative XMM Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS). The sample was imaged with the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR) in R band to investigate the mass of the old stellar population. Using a metric radius of 12h^-1 kpc, we found that the BCG luminosity depends weakly on overall cluster mass as L_BCG \propto M_cl^0.18+-0.07, consistent with previous work. We found that 90% of the BCGs are located within 0.035 r_500 of the peak of the X-ray emission, including all of the cool core (CC) clusters. We also found an unexpected correlation between the BCG metric luminosity and the core gas density for non-cool core (non-CC) clusters, following a power law of n_e \propto L_BCG^2.7+-0.4 (where n_e is measured at 0.008 r_500). The correlation is not easily explained by star formation (which is weak in non-CC clusters) or overall cluster mass (which is not correlated with core gas density). The trend persists even when the BCG is not located near the peak of the X-ray emission, so proximity is not necessary. We suggest that, for non-CC clusters, this correlation implies that the same process that sets the central entropy of the cluster gas also determines the central stellar density of the BCG, and that this underlying physical process is likely to be mergers.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted Astrophysical Journa

Xe films on a decagonal Al-Ni-Co quasicrystal surface

The grand canonical Monte Carlo method is employed to study the adsorption of Xe on a quasicrystalline Al-Ni-Co surface. The calculation uses a semiempirical gas-surface interaction, based on conventional combining rules and the usual Lennard-Jones Xe-Xe interaction. The resulting adsorption isotherms and calculated structures are consistent with the results of LEED experimental data. In this paper we focus on five features not discussed earlier (Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 136104 (2005)): the range of the average density of the adsorbate, the order of the transition, the orientational degeneracy of the ground state, the isosteric heat of adsorption of the system, and the effect of the vertical cell dimension.Comment: 6 pages, 5 pic

States of Mind Model and Cognitive Change in Treated Social Phobics

The applicability of Schwartz and Garamoni’s (1986, 1989) States of Mind (SOM) model for assessing the influence of cognitive-behavioral therapy on cognitive functioning was evaluated with social phobics. The SOM model states that a positive dialogue (i.e., a 2:1 ratio of positive to negative thoughts) is optimal for effective coping. Social phobics receiving either a cognitive-behavioral or educational-supportive group treatment were compared for SOM change, as were subjects meeting criteria for improvement or nonimprovement. Also the study compared the predictability of the SOM ratio with a ratio based on percent of negative thoughts. Subjects in both treatments evidenced negative monologue (i.e., a preponderance of negative thoughts) at pretreatment. A significant Treatment × Time interaction showed that, although the groups did not differ at posttreatment, those in the cognitive treatment reached positive dialogue at a 6-month follow-up while the other group did not. Improvers also attained positive dialogue at follow-up while nonimprovers did not. The SOM and the negative thought ratios performed similarly in predicting most outcome measures, suggesting that neutral thoughts (the only distinction between the two) serve little function for persons with problems of social phobia

Scaling of the Hysteresis Loop in Two-dimensional Solidification

The first order phase transitions between a two-dimensional (2d) gas and the 2d solid of the first monolayer have been studied for the noble gases Ar, Kr and Xe on a NaCl(100) surface in quasi-equilibrium with the three-dimensional gas phase. Using linear temperature ramps, we show that the widths of the hysteresis loops of these transitions as a function of the heating rate, r, scales with a power law r^alpha with alpha between 0.4 and 0.5 depending on the system. The hysteresis loops for different heating rates are similar. The island area of the condensed layer was found to grow initially with a t^4 time dependence. These results are in agreement with theory, which predicts alpha = 0.5 and hysteresis loop similarity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Revte

A Circumbinary Planet in Orbit Around the Short-Period White-Dwarf Eclipsing Binary RR Cae

By using six new determined mid-eclipse times together with those collected from the literature, we found that the Observed-Calculated (O-C) curve of RR Cae shows a cyclic change with a period of 11.9 years and an amplitude of 14.3s, while it undergoes an upward parabolic variation (revealing a long-term period increase at a rate of dP/dt =+4.18(+-0.20)x10^(-12). The cyclic change was analyzed for the light-travel time effect that arises from the gravitational influence of a third companion. The mass of the third body was determined to be M_3*sin i' = 4.2(+-0.4) M_{Jup} suggesting that it is a circumbinary giant planet when its orbital inclination is larger than 17.6 degree. The orbital separation of the circumbinary planet from the central eclipsing binary is about 5.3(+-0.6)AU. The period increase is opposite to the changes caused by angular momentum loss via magnetic braking or/and gravitational radiation, nor can it be explained by the mass transfer between both components because of its detached configuration. These indicate that the observed upward parabolic change is only a part of a long-period (longer than 26.3 years) cyclic variation, which may reveal the presence of another giant circumbinary planet in a wide orbit.Comment: It will be published in the MNRA

Phonons and specific heat of linear dense phases of atoms physisorbed in the grooves of carbon nanotube bundles

The vibrational properties (phonons) of a one-dimensional periodic phase of atoms physisorbed in the external groove of the carbon nanotube bundle are studied. Analytical expressions for the phonon dispersion relations are derived. The derived expressions are applied to Xe, Kr and Ar adsorbates. The specific heat pertaining to dense phases of these adsorbates is calculated.Comment: 4 PS figure