15,066 research outputs found
Effects of motion on jet exhaust noise from aircraft
The various problems involved in the evaluation of the jet noise field prevailing between an observer on the ground and an aircraft in flight in a typical takeoff or landing approach pattern were studied. Areas examined include: (1) literature survey and preliminary investigation, (2) propagation effects, (3) source alteration effects, and (4) investigation of verification techniques. Sixteen problem areas were identified and studied. Six follow-up programs were recommended for further work. The results and the proposed follow-on programs provide a practical general technique for predicting flyover jet noise for conventional jet nozzles
Exploring transmission Kikuchi diffraction using a Timepix detector
Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is a well-established scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based technique [1]. It allows the non-destructive mapping of the crystal structure, texture, crystal phase and strain with a spatial resolution of tens of nanometers. Conventionally this is performed by placing an electron sensitive screen, typically consisting of a phosphor screen combined with a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, in front of a specimen, usually tilted 70° to the normal of the exciting electron beam. Recently, a number of authors have shown that a significant increase in spatial resolution is achievable when Kikuchi diffraction patterns are acquired in transmission geometry; that is when diffraction patterns are generated by electrons transmitted through an electron-transparent, usually thinned, specimen. The resolution of this technique, called transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD), has been demonstrated to be better than 10 nm [2,3]. We have recently demonstrated the advantages of a direct electron detector, Timepix [4,5], for the acquisition of standard EBSD patterns [5]. In this article we will discuss the advantages of Timepix to perform TKD and for acquiring spot diffraction patterns and more generally for acquiring scanning transmission electron microscopy micrographs in the SEM. Particularly relevant for TKD, is its very compact size, which allows much more flexibility in the positioning of the detector in the SEM chamber. We will furthermore show recent results using Timepix as a virtual forward scatter detector, and will illustrate the information derivable on producing images through processing of data acquired from different areas of the detector. We will show results from samples ranging from gold nanoparticles to nitride semiconductor nanorods
Spin-Current Relaxation Time in Spin-Polarized Heisenberg Paramagnets
We study the spatial Fourier transform of the spin correlation function
G_q(t) in paramagnetic quantum crystals by direct simulation of a 1d lattice of
atoms interacting via a nearest-neighbor Heisenberg exchange Hamiltonian. Since
it is not practical to diagonalize the s=1/2 exchange Hamiltonian for a lattice
which is of sufficient size to study long-wavelength (hydrodynamic)
fluctuations, we instead study the s -> infinity limit and treat each spin as a
vector with a classical equation of motion. The simulations give a detailed
picture of the correlation function G_q(t) and its time derivatives. At high
polarization, there seems to be a hierarchy of frequency scales: the local
exchange frequency, a wavelength-independent relaxation rate 1/tau that
vanishes at large polarization P ->1, and a wavelength-dependent spin-wave
frequency proportional to q^2. This suggests a form for the correlation
function which modifies the spin diffusion coefficients obtained in a moments
calculation by Cowan and Mullin, who used a standard Gaussian ansatz for the
second derivative of the correlation function.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
The Ubiquity of the Rapid Neutron-Capture Process
To better characterize the abundance patterns produced by the r-process, we
have derived new abundances or upper limits for the heavy elements zinc (Zn),
yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), europium (Eu), and lead (Pb). Our sample of 161
metal-poor stars includes new measurements from 88 high resolution and high
signal-to-noise spectra obtained with the Tull Spectrograph on the 2.7m Smith
Telescope at McDonald Observatory, and other abundances are adopted from the
literature. We use models of the s-process in AGB stars to characterize the
high Pb/Eu ratios produced in the s-process at low metallicity, and our new
observations then allow us to identify a sample of stars with no detectable
s-process material. In these stars, we find no significant increase in the
Pb/Eu ratios with increasing metallicity. This suggests that s-process material
was not widely dispersed until the overall Galactic metallicity grew
considerably, perhaps even as high as [Fe/H]=-1.4. We identify a dispersion of
at least 0.5 dex in [La/Eu] in metal-poor stars with [Eu/Fe]<+0.6 attributable
to the r-process, suggesting that there is no unique "pure" r-process elemental
ratio among pairs of rare earth elements. We confirm earlier detections of an
anti-correlation between Y/Eu and Eu/Fe bookended by stars strongly enriched in
the r-process (e.g., CS 22892-052) and those with deficiencies of the heavy
elements (e.g., HD 122563). We can reproduce the range of Y/Eu ratios using
simulations of high-entropy neutrino winds of core-collapse supernovae that
include charged-particle and neutron-capture components of r-process
nucleosynthesis. The heavy element abundance patterns in most metal-poor stars
do not resemble that of CS 22892-052, but the presence of heavy elements such
as Ba in nearly all metal-poor stars without s-process enrichment suggests that
the r-process is a common phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 25 pages, 13
figure
Supernovae versus Neutron Star Mergers as the Major r-Process Sources
I show that recent observations of r-process abundances in metal-poor stars
are difficult to explain if neutron star mergers (NSMs) are the major r-process
sources. In contrast, such observations and meteoritic data on Hf182 and I129
in the early solar system support a self-consistent picture of r-process
enrichment by supernovae (SNe). While further theoretical studies of r-process
production and enrichment are needed for both SNe and NSMs, I emphasize two
possible direct observational tests of the SN r-process model: gamma rays from
decay of r-process nuclei in SN remnants and surface contamination of the
companion by SN r-process ejecta in binaries.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in ApJ
Interaction effects and quantum phase transitions in topological insulators
We study strong correlation effects in topological insulators via the Lanczos
algorithm, which we utilize to calculate the exact many-particle ground-state
wave function and its topological properties. We analyze the simple,
noninteracting Haldane model on a honeycomb lattice with known topological
properties and demonstrate that these properties are already evident in small
clusters. Next, we consider interacting fermions by introducing repulsive
nearest-neighbor interactions. A first-order quantum phase transition was
discovered at finite interaction strength between the topological band
insulator and a topologically trivial Mott insulating phase by use of the
fidelity metric and the charge-density-wave structure factor. We construct the
phase diagram at as a function of the interaction strength and the
complex phase for the next-nearest-neighbor hoppings. Finally, we consider the
Haldane model with interacting hard-core bosons, where no evidence for a
topological phase is observed. An important general conclusion of our work is
that despite the intrinsic nonlocality of topological phases their key
topological properties manifest themselves already in small systems and
therefore can be studied numerically via exact diagonalization and observed
experimentally, e.g., with trapped ions and cold atoms in optical lattices.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures. Published versio
Multiplet ligand-field theory using Wannier orbitals
We demonstrate how ab initio cluster calculations including the full Coulomb
vertex can be done in the basis of the localized, generalized Wannier orbitals
which describe the low-energy density functional (LDA) band structure of the
infinite crystal, e.g. the transition metal 3d and oxygen 2p orbitals. The
spatial extend of our 3d Wannier orbitals (orthonormalized Nth order muffin-tin
orbitals) is close to that found for atomic Hartree-Fock orbitals. We define
Ligand orbitals as those linear combinations of the O 2p Wannier orbitals which
couple to the 3d orbitals for the chosen cluster. The use of ligand orbitals
allows for a minimal Hilbert space in multiplet ligand-field theory
calculations, thus reducing the computational costs substantially. The result
is a fast and simple ab initio theory, which can provide useful information
about local properties of correlated insulators. We compare results for NiO,
MnO and SrTiO3 with x-ray absorption, inelastic x-ray scattering, and
photoemission experiments. The multiplet ligand field theory parameters found
by our ab initio method agree within ~10% to known experimental values
A theoretical study of the C- 4So_3/2 and 2Do_{3/2,5/2} bound states and C ground configuration: fine and hyperfine structures, isotope shifts and transition probabilities
This work is an ab initio study of the 2p3 4So_3/2, and 2Do_{3/2,5/2} states
of C- and 2p2 3P_{0,1,2}, 1D_2, and 1S_0 states of neutral carbon. We use the
multi-configuration Hartree-Fock approach, focusing on the accuracy of the wave
function itself. We obtain all C- detachment thresholds, including correlation
effects to about 0.5%. Isotope shifts and hyperfine structures are calculated.
The achieved accuracy of the latter is of the order of 0.1 MHz.
Intra-configuration transition probabilities are also estimated.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, 12 table
- …