12,417 research outputs found
Intrinsic dissipation in high-frequency micromechanical resonators
We report measurements of intrinsic dissipation in micron-sized suspended resonators machined from single crystals of galium arsenide and silicon. In these experiments on high-frequency micromechanical resonators, designed to understand intrinsic mechanisms of dissipation, we explore dependence of dissipation on temperature, magnetic field, frequency, and size. In contrast to most of the previous measurements of acoustic attenuation in crystalline and amorphous structures in this frequency range, ours is a resonant measurement; dissipation is measured at the natural frequencies of structural resonance, or modes of the structure associated with flexural and torsional motion. In all our samples we find a weakly temperature dependent dissipation at low temperatures. We compare and contrast our data to various probable mechanisms, including thermoelasticity, clamping, anharmonic mode-coupling, surface anisotropy and defect motion, both in bulk and on surface. The observed parametric dependencies indicate that the internal defect motion is the dominant mechanism of intrinsic dissipation in our samples
The phase-dependent Infrared brightness of the extrasolar planet upsilon Andromedae b
The star upsilon Andromeda is orbited by three known planets, the innermost
of which has an orbital period of 4.617 days and a mass at least 0.69 that of
Jupiter. This planet is close enough to its host star that the radiation it
absorbs overwhelms its internal heat losses. Here we present the 24 micron
light curve of this system, obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. It shows
a clear variation in phase with the orbital motion of the innermost planet.
This is the first demonstration that such planets possess distinct hot
substellar (day) and cold antistellar (night) faces.Comment: "Director's cut" of paper to appear in Science, 27 October, 200
Delays in Leniency Application: Is There Really a Race to the Enforcer's Door?
This paper studies cartels’ strategic behavior in delaying leniency applications, a take-up decision that has been ignored in the previous literature. Using European Commission decisions issued over a 16-year span, we show, contrary to common beliefs and the existing literature, that conspirators
often apply for leniency long after a cartel collapses. We estimate hazard and probit models to study the determinants of leniency-application delays. Statistical tests find that delays are symmetrically affected by antitrust policies and macroeconomic fluctuations. Our results shed light on the design of
enforcement programs against cartels and other forms of conspiracy
The new HiVIS spectropolarimeter and spectropolarimetric calibration of the AEOS telescope
We designed, built, and calibrated a new spectropolarimeter for the HiVIS
spectrograph (R 12000-49000) on the AEOS telescope. We also did a polarization
calibration of the telescope and instrument. We will introduce the design and
use of the spectropolarimeter as well as a new data reduction package we have
developed, then discuss the polarization calibration of the spectropolarimeter
and the AEOS telescope. We used observations of unpolarized standard stars at
many pointings to measure the telescope induced polarization and compare it
with a Zemax model. The telescope induces polarization of 1-6% with a strong
variation with wavelength and pointing, consistent with the altitude and
azimuth variation expected. We then used scattered sunlight as a linearly
polarized source to measure the telescopes spectropolarimetric response to
linearly polarized light. We then made an all-sky map of the telescope's
polarization response to calibrate future spectropolarimetry.Comment: PASP 118, June 200
First Detection of a Strong Magnetic Field on a Bursty Brown Dwarf: Puzzle Solved
We report the first direct detection of a strong, 5 kG magnetic field on the
surface of an active brown dwarf. LSR J1835+3259 is an M8.5 dwarf exhibiting
transient radio and optical emission bursts modulated by fast rotation. We have
detected the surface magnetic field as circularly polarized signatures in the
819 nm sodium lines when an active emission region faced the Earth. Modeling
Stokes profiles of these lines reveals the effective temperature of 2800 K and
log gravity acceleration of 4.5. These parameters place LSR J1835+3259 on
evolutionary tracks as a young brown dwarf with the mass of 554 M and age of 224 Myr. Its magnetic field is at least 5.1 kG and covers
at least 11% of the visible hemisphere. The active region topology recovered
using line profile inversions comprises hot plasma loops with a vertical
stratification of optical and radio emission sources. These loops rotate with
the dwarf in and out of view causing periodic emission bursts. The magnetic
field is detected at the base of the loops. This is the first time that we can
quantitatively associate brown dwarf non-thermal bursts with a strong, 5 kG
surface magnetic field and solve the puzzle of their driving mechanism. This is
also the coolest known dwarf with such a strong surface magnetic field. The
young age of LSR J1835+3259 implies that it may still maintain a disk, which
may facilitate bursts via magnetospheric accretion, like in higher-mass T
Tau-type stars. Our results pave a path toward magnetic studies of brown dwarfs
and hot Jupiters.Comment: ApJ, in pres
Enhanced transmission versus localization of a light pulse by a subwavelength metal slit: Can the pulse have both characteristics?
The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light
waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et
al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820
(2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light be enhanced and simultaneously
localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question,
the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond)
wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by
using the conventional approach based on the Neerhoff and Mur solution of
Maxwell's equations. The results show that a light can be enhanced by orders of
magnitude and simultaneously localized in the near-field diffraction zone at
the nm- and fs-scales. Possible applications in nanophotonics are discussed.Comment: 5 figure
Elemental Relationships in Rock Varnish as Seen with Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Elemental Line Profiling
The heterogeneous nature of rock varnish requires a thorough understanding of elemental and mineralogic compositions before chemical variability of rock varnish may be confidently related to varnish age or to past geochemical environments. Elemental relationships in rock varnish were examined using scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with an elemental line profiling routine using semi-quantitative, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. Results of our analyses suggest: 1) variations in cation concentrations used in varnish cation-ratio dating relate more specifically to variations in detritus concentration within the varnish than to element mobility as defined by weathering indices; 2) Mn:Fe ratios may be a poor indicator of paleoclimatic fluctuations; and 3) the Mn-oxide phase existing in varnish is most likely a Ba-enriched phase rather than birnessite. An examination of data collected from elemental line profiling offers great potential for gaining insights into geochemical processes affecting the deposition and diagenesis of rock varnish and for testing hypotheses relating to its chemical variability
Spitzer 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron full-orbit lightcurves of WASP-18
We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained
with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5
micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the amplitude, shape and phase of
the thermal phase effect for WASP-18b. We find that our results for the thermal
phase effect are limited to an accuracy of about 0.01% by systematic noise
sources of unknown origin. At this level of accuracy we find that the thermal
phase effect has a peak-to-peak amplitude approximately equal to the secondary
eclipse depth, has a sinusoidal shape and that the maximum brightness occurs at
the same phase as mid-occultation to within about 5 degrees at 3.6 micron and
to within about 10 degrees at 4.5 micron. The shape and amplitude of the
thermal phase curve imply very low levels of heat redistribution within the
atmosphere of the planet. We also perform a separate analysis to determine the
system geometry by fitting a lightcurve model to the data covering the
occultation and the transit. The secondary eclipse depths we measure at 3.6
micron and 4.5 micron are in good agreement with previous measurements and
imply a very low albedo for WASP-18b. The parameters of the system (masses,
radii, etc.) derived from our analysis are in also good agreement with those
from previous studies, but with improved precision. We use new high-resolution
imaging and published limits on the rate of change of the mean radial velocity
to check for the presence of any faint companion stars that may affect our
results. We find that there is unlikely to be any significant contribution to
the flux at Spitzer wavelengths from a stellar companion to WASP-18. We find
that there is no evidence for variations in the times of eclipse from a linear
ephemeris greater than about 100 seconds over 3 years.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Accpeted for publication in MNRA
Towards a systematic design of isotropic bulk magnetic metamaterials using the cubic point groups of symmetry
In this paper a systematic approach to the design of bulk isotropic magnetic
metamaterials is presented. The role of the symmetries of both the constitutive
element and the lattice are analyzed. For this purpose it is assumed that the
metamaterial is composed by cubic SRR resonators, arranged in a cubic lattice.
The minimum symmetries needed to ensure an isotropic behavior are analyzed, and
some particular configurations are proposed. Besides, an equivalent circuit
model is proposed for the considered cubic SRR resonators. Experiments are
carried out in order to validate the proposed theory. We hope that this
analysis will pave the way to the design of bulk metamaterials with strong
isotropic magnetic response, including negative permeability and left-handed
metamaterials.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review B, 23 page
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