5,179 research outputs found
Fixed-N Superconductivity: The Crossover from the Bulk to the Few-Electron Limit
We present a truly canonical theory of superconductivity in ultrasmall
metallic grains by variationally optimizing fixed-N projected BCS
wave-functions, which yields the first full description of the entire crossover
from the bulk BCS regime (mean level spacing bulk gap )
to the ``fluctuation-dominated'' few-electron regime (). A
wave-function analysis shows in detail how the BCS limit is recovered for , and how for pairing correlations become
delocalized in energy space. An earlier grand-canonical prediction for an
observable parity effect in the spectral gaps is found to survive the fixed-N
projection.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX, V2: minor charges to mach final printed
versio
The LAEX and NASA portals for CoRoT public data
* Aims. We describe here the main functionalities of the LAEX (Laboratorio de
Astrofisica Estelar y Exoplanetas/Laboratory for Stellar Astrophysics and
Exoplanets) and NASA portals for CoRoT Public Data. The CoRoT archive at LAEX
was opened to the community in January 2009 and is managed in the framework of
the Spanish Virtual Observatory. NStED (NASA Star and Exoplanet Database)
serves as the CoRoT portal for the US astronomical community. NStED is a
general purpose stellar and exoplanet archive with the aim of providing support
for NASA planet finding and characterisation goals, and the planning and
support of NASA and other space missions. CoRoT data at LAEX and NStED can be
accessed at http://sdc.laeff.inta.es/corotfa/ and
http://nsted.ipac.caltech.edu,respectively.
* Methods. Based on considerable experience with astronomical archives, the
aforementioned archives are designed with the aim of delivering science-quality
data in a simple and efficient way.
* Results. LAEX and NStED not only provide access to CoRoT Public Data but
furthermore serve a variety of observed and calculated astrophysical data. In
particular, NStED provides scientifically validated information on stellar and
planetary data related to the search for and characterization of extrasolar
planets, and LAEX makes any information from Virtual Observatory services
available to the astronomical community.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Photometry Results for the Globular Clusters M10 and M12: Extinction Maps, Color-Magnitude Diagrams, and Variable Star Candidates
We report on photometry results of the equatorial globular clusters (GCs) M10
and M12. These two clusters are part of our sample of GCs which we are probing
for the existence of photometrically varying eclipsing binary stars. During the
search for binaries in M10 and M12, we discovered the signature of differential
reddening across the fields of the clusters. The effect is stronger for M10
than for M12. Using our previously described dereddening technique, we create
differential extinction maps for the clusters which dramatically improve the
appearance of the color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Comparison of our maps with
the dust emissivity maps of Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis (SFD) shows good
agreement in terms of spatial extinction features. Several methods of adding an
E_{V-I} zero point to our differential maps are presented of which isochrone
fitting proved to be the most successful. Our E_{V-I} values fall within the
range of widely varying literature values. More specifically, our reddening
zero point estimate for M12 agrees well with the SFD estimate, whereas the one
for M10 falls below the SFD value. Our search for variable stars in the
clusters produced a total of five variables: three in M10 and two in M12. The
M10 variables include a binary system of the W Ursa Majoris (W UMa) type, a
background RR Lyrae star, and an SX Phoenicis pulsator, none of which is
physically associated with M10. M12's variables are two W UMa binaries, one of
which is most likely a member of the cluster. We present the phased photometry
lightcurves for the variable stars, estimate their distances, and show their
locations in the fields and the CMDs of the GCs.Comment: 22 pages, 21 figures, to be published in AJ October 2002. For a
higher-resolution version of this paper, please visit
http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~kaspar/M10_M12_photometry.ps.gz (gzipped
postscript) or http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~kaspar/M10_M12_photometry.pdf
(pdf file
Paramagnetic Breakdown of Superconductivity in Ultrasmall Metallic Grains
We study the magnetic-field-induced breakdown of superconductivity in
nm-scale metal grains having a mean electron level spacing (bulk gap). Using a generalized variational BCS approach that
yields good qualitative agreement with measured spectra, we argue that Pauli
paramagnetism dominates orbital diamagnetism, as in the case of thin films in a
parallel magnetic field. However, the first-order transition observed for the
latter can be made continuous by finite size effects. The mean-field procedure
of describing the system by a single pairing parameter breaks down for
.Comment: 4 pages of revtex, 3 postscript figures, uses psfrag.sty, epsfig.sty.
Slightly revised and improved version, matching published versio
Distribution of level curvatures for the Anderson model at the localization-delocalization transition
We compute the distribution function of single-level curvatures, , for
a tight binding model with site disorder, on a cubic lattice. In metals
is very close to the predictions of the random-matrix theory (RMT). In
insulators has a logarithmically-normal form. At the Anderson
localization-delocalization transition fits very well the proposed novel
distribution with , which
approaches the RMT result for large and is non-analytical at small . We
ascribe such a non-analiticity to the spatial multifractality of the critical
wave functions.Comment: 4 ReVTeX pages and 4(.epsi)figures included in one uuencoded packag
Superconductivity in Ultrasmall Metallic Grains
We develop a theory of superconductivity in ultrasmall (nm-scale) metallic
grains having a discrete electronic eigenspectrum with a mean level spacing of
order of the bulk gap. The theory is based on calculating the eigenspectrum
using a generalized BCS variational approach, whose applicability has been
extensively demonstrated in studies of pairing correlations in nuclear physics.
We discuss how conventional mean field theory breaks down with decreasing
sample size, how the so-called blocking effect weakens pairing correlations in
states with non-zero total spin, and how this affects the discrete
eigenspectrum's behavior in a magnetic field, which favors non-zero total spin.
In ultrasmall grains, spin magnetism dominates orbital magnetism, just as in
thin films in a parallel field; but whereas in the latter the magnetic-field
induced transition to a normal state is known to be first-order, we show that
in ultrasmall grains it is softened by finite size effects. Our calculations
qualitatively reproduce the magnetic-field dependent tunneling spectra for
individual aluminum grains measured recently by Ralph, Black and Tinkham. We
argue that previously-discussed parity effects for the odd-even ground state
energy difference are presently not observable for experimental reasons, and
propose an analogous parity effect for the pair-breaking energy that should be
observable provided that the grain size can be controlled sufficiently well.
Finally, experimental evidence is pointed out that the dominant role played by
time-reversed pairs of states, well-established in bulk and in dirty
superconductors, persists also in ultrasmall grains.Comment: 21 pages RevTeX, 12 EPS figures included, uses epsf.st
The NASA-UC-UH Eta-Earth Program: IV. A Low-mass Planet Orbiting an M Dwarf 3.6 PC from Earth
We report the discovery of a low-mass planet orbiting Gl 15 A based on radial
velocities from the Eta-Earth Survey using HIRES at Keck Observatory. Gl 15 Ab
is a planet with minimum mass Msini = 5.35 0.75 M, orbital
period P = 11.4433 0.0016 days, and an orbit that is consistent with
circular. We characterize the host star using a variety of techniques.
Photometric observations at Fairborn Observatory show no evidence for
rotational modulation of spots at the orbital period to a limit of ~0.1 mmag,
thus supporting the existence of the planet. We detect a second RV signal with
a period of 44 days that we attribute to rotational modulation of stellar
surface features, as confirmed by optical photometry and the Ca II H & K
activity indicator. Using infrared spectroscopy from Palomar-TripleSpec, we
measure an M2 V spectral type and a sub-solar metallicity ([M/H] = -0.22,
[Fe/H] = -0.32). We measure a stellar radius of 0.3863 0.0021 R
based on interferometry from CHARA.Comment: ApJ accepted, 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 table
Follow-Up Observations of PTFO 8-8695: A 3 MYr Old T-Tauri Star Hosting a Jupiter-mass Planetary Candidate
We present Spitzer 4.5\micron\ light curve observations, Keck NIRSPEC radial
velocity observations, and LCOGT optical light curve observations of
PTFO~8-8695, which may host a Jupiter-sized planet in a very short orbital
period (0.45 days). Previous work by \citet{vaneyken12} and \citet{barnes13}
predicts that the stellar rotation axis and the planetary orbital plane should
precess with a period of days. As a consequence, the observed
transits should change shape and depth, disappear, and reappear with the
precession. Our observations indicate the long-term presence of the transit
events ( years), and that the transits indeed do change depth, disappear
and reappear. The Spitzer observations and the NIRSPEC radial velocity
observations (with contemporaneous LCOGT optical light curve data) are
consistent with the predicted transit times and depths for the $M_\star = 0.34\
M_\odot$ precession model and demonstrate the disappearance of the transits. An
LCOGT optical light curve shows that the transits do reappear approximately 1
year later. The observed transits occur at the times predicted by a
straight-forward propagation of the transit ephemeris. The precession model
correctly predicts the depth and time of the Spitzer transit and the lack of a
transit at the time of the NIRSPEC radial velocity observations. However, the
precession model predicts the return of the transits approximately 1 month
later than observed by LCOGT. Overall, the data are suggestive that the
planetary interpretation of the observed transit events may indeed be correct,
but the precession model and data are currently insufficient to confirm firmly
the planetary status of PTFO~8-8695b.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
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