437 research outputs found
Abundance, distribution, and habitat of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) off California, 1990â2003
Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are regularly seen off the U.S. West Coast, where they forage on jellyfish (Scyphomedusae) during summer and fall. Aerial line-transect surveys were conducted in neritic waters (<92 m depth) off central and northern California during 1990â2003, providing the first foraging population estimates for Pacific leatherback turtles. Males and females of about 1.1 to 2.1 m length were observed. Estimated abundance was linked to the Northern Oscillation Index and ranged from 12 (coefficient of variation [CV] =0.75) in 1995 to 379 (CV= 0.23) in 1990, averaging 178 (CV= 0.15). Greatest densities were found off central California, where oceanographic retention areas or upwelling shadows created favorable habitat for leatherback turtle prey. Results from independent telemetry studies have linked leatherback turtles off the U.S. West Coast to one of the two largest remaining Pacific breeding populations, at Jamursba Medi, Indonesia. Nearshore waters off California thus represent an important foraging region for the critically endangered Pacific leatherback turtle
Star-to-star Na and O abundance variations along the red giant branch in NGC 2808
We report for the first time Na and O abundances from high-resolution, high
S/N echelle spectra of 20 red giants in NGC 2808, taken as part of the Science
Verification program of the FLAMES multi-object spectrograph at the ESO VLT. In
these stars, spanning about 3 mag from the red giant branch (RGB) tip, large
variations are detected in the abundances of oxygen and sodium, anticorrelated
with each other; this is a well known evidence of proton-capture reactions at
high temperatures in the ON and NeNa cycles. One star appears super O-poor; if
the extension of the Na-O anticorrelation is confirmed, NGC 2808 might reach O
depletion levels as large as those of M 13. This result confirms our previous
findings based on lower resolution spectra (Carretta et al. 2003) of a large
star-to-star scatter in proton capture elements at all positions along the RGB
in NGC 2808, with no significant evolutionary contribution. Finally, the
average metallicity for NGC 2808 is [Fe/H]= -1.14 +/- 0.01 dex (rms=0.06) from
19 stars.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
The onset of magnetism peaked around x=1/4 in optimally electron-doped LnFe(1-x)Ru(x)AsO(1-y)F(y) (Ln = La, Nd or Sm) superconductors
The appearance of static magnetism, nanoscopically coexisting with
superconductivity, is shown to be a general feature of optimally electron-doped
LnFe(1-x)Ru(x)AsO(1-y)F(y) superconductor (Ln - lanthanide ion) upon isovalent
substitution of Fe by Ru. The magnetic ordering temperature T_N and the
magnitude of the internal field display a dome-like dependence on x, peaked
around x=1/4, with higher T_N values for those materials characterized by a
larger z cell coordinate of As. Remarkably, the latter are also those with the
highest superconducting transition temperature (T_c) for x=0. The reduction of
T_c(x) is found to be significant in the x region of the phase diagram where
the static magnetism develops. Upon increasing the Ru content superconductivity
eventually disappears, but only at x=0.6.Comment: accepted for publication in PR
Correlated trends of coexisting magnetism and superconductivity in optimally electron-doped oxy-pnictides
We report on the recovery of the short-range static magnetic order and on the
concomitant degradation of the superconducting state in optimally F-doped
SmFe_(1-x)Ru_(x)AsO_0.85F_0.15 for 0.1< x<0.6. The two reduced order parameters
coexist within nanometer-size domains in the FeAs layers and finally disappear
around a common critical threshold x_c=0.6. Superconductivity and magnetism are
shown to be closely related to two distinct well-defined local electronic
environments of the FeAs layers. The two transition temperatures, controlled by
the isoelectronic and diamagnetic Ru substitution, scale with the volume
fraction of the corresponding environments. This fact indicates that
superconductivity is assisted by magnetic fluctuations, which are frozen
whenever a short-range static order appears, and totally vanish above the
magnetic dilution threshold x_c.Comment: Approved for publication in Phys. Rev. Letter
Dilution effects in HoYSnO: from the Spin Ice to the single-ion magnet
A study of the modifications of the magnetic properties of
HoYSnO upon varying the concentration of diamagnetic
Y ions is presented. Magnetization and specific heat measurements show
that the Spin Ice ground-state is only weakly affected by doping for , even if non-negligible changes in the crystal field at Ho occur.
In this low doping range SR relaxation measurements evidence a
modification in the low-temperature dynamics with respect to the one observed
in the pure Spin Ice. For , or at high temperature, the dynamics
involve fluctuations among Ho crystal field levels which give rise to a
characteristic peak in Sn nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate. In this
doping limit also the changes in Ho magnetic moment suggest a variation
of the crystal field parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, proceedings of HFM2008 Conferenc
Competing effects of Mn and Y doping on the low-energy excitations and phase diagram of LaYFeMnAsOF iron-based superconductors
Muon Spin Rotation (SR) and F Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
measurements were performed to investigate the effect of Mn for Fe
substitutions in LaYFeMnAsOF
superconductors. While for a very low critical concentration of Mn (%) is needed to quench superconductivity, as increases the negative
chemical pressure introduced by Y for La substitution stabilizes
superconductivity and for % it is suppressed at Mn contents an order of
magnitude larger. A magnetic phase arises once superconductivity is suppressed
both for =0 and for %. Low-energy spin fluctuations give rise to a
peak in F NMR with an onset well above the superconducting
transition temperature and whose magnitude increases with . Also the static
magnetic correlations probed by F NMR linewidth measurements show a
marked increase with Mn content. The disruption of superconductivity and the
onset of the magnetic ground-state are discussed in the light of the proximity
of LaFeAsOF to a quantum critical point.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
Discovery of Carbon/Oxygen depleted Blue Straggler Stars in 47 Tucanae: the chemical signature of a mass-transfer formation process
We use high-resolution spectra obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope to
measure surface abundance patterns of 43 Blue Stragglers stars (BSS) in 47 Tuc.
We discovered that a sub-population of BSS shows a significant depletion of
Carbon and Oxygen with respect to the dominant population. This evidence would
suggest the presence of CNO burning products on the BSS surface coming from a
deeply peeled parent star, as expected in the case of mass-transfer process.
This is the first detection of a chemical signature clearly pointing to a
specific BSS formation process in a globular cluster.Comment: Published on 2006, August 10, in ApJ 647, L5
Nanoscopic coexistence of magnetic and superconducting states within the FeAs layers of CeFeAsO1-xFx
We report on the coexistence of magnetic and superconducting states in
CeFeAsO1-xFx for x=0.06(2), characterized by transition temperatures T_m=30 K
and T_c=18 K, respectively. Zero and transverse field muon-spin relaxation
measurements show that below 10 K the two phases coexist within a nanoscopic
scale over a large volume fraction. This result clarifies the nature of the
magnetic-to-superconducting transition in the CeFeAsO1-xFx phase diagram, by
ruling out the presence of a quantum critical point which was suggested by
earlier studies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs, accepted for publication as PRB Rapid com
Spin dynamics of heterometallic Cr7M wheels (M = Mn, Zn, Ni) probed by inelastic neutron scattering
Inelastic neutron scattering has been applied to the study of the spin
dynamics of Cr-based antiferromagnetic octanuclear rings where a finite total
spin of the ground state is obtained by substituting one Cr(III) ion (s = 3/2)
with Zn (s = 0), Mn (s = 5/2) or Ni (s = 1) di-cations. Energy and intensity
measurements for several intra-multiplet and inter-multiplet magnetic
excitations allow us to determine the spin wavefunctions of the investigated
clusters. Effects due to the mixing of different spin multiplets have been
considered. Such effects proved to be important to correctly reproduce the
energy and intensity of magnetic excitations in the neutron spectra. On the
contrary to what is observed for the parent homonuclear Cr8 ring, the symmetry
of the first excited spin states is such that anticrossing conditions with the
ground state can be realized in the presence of an external magnetic field.
Heterometallic Cr7M wheels are therefore good candidates for macroscopic
observations of quantum effects.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B, corrected typos and
added references, one sentence change
Mesoscopic phase separation in NaCoO ()
NMR, EPR and magnetization measurements in NaCoO for are presented. While the EPR signal arises from Co magnetic
moments ordering at K, Co NMR signal originates from
cobalt nuclei in metallic regions with no long range magnetic order and
characterized by a generalized susceptibility typical of strongly correlated
metallic systems. This phase separation in metallic and magnetic insulating
regions is argued to occur below ( K). Above an
anomalous decrease in the intensity of the EPR signal is observed and
associated with the delocalization of the electrons which for were
localized on Co orbitals. It is pointed out that the in-plane
antiferromagnetic coupling cannot be the driving force for the phase
separation.Comment: 14 figure
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