2,247 research outputs found
Wigner-Poisson statistics of topological transitions in a Josephson junction
The phase-dependent bound states (Andreev levels) of a Josephson junction can
cross at the Fermi level, if the superconducting ground state switches between
even and odd fermion parity. The level crossing is topologically protected, in
the absence of time-reversal and spin-rotation symmetry, irrespective of
whether the superconductor itself is topologically trivial or not. We develop a
statistical theory of these topological transitions in an N-mode quantum-dot
Josephson junction, by associating the Andreev level crossings with the real
eigenvalues of a random non-Hermitian matrix. The number of topological
transitions in a 2pi phase interval scales as sqrt(N) and their spacing
distribution is a hybrid of the Wigner and Poisson distributions of
random-matrix theory.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures; v2 to appear in PRL, with appendix in the
supplementary materia
Normalizing the Temperature Function of Clusters of Galaxies
We re-examine the constraints which can be robustly obtained from the
observed temperature function of X-ray cluster of galaxies. The cluster mass
function has been thoroughly studied in simulations and analytically, but a
direct simulation of the temperature function is presented here for the first
time. Adaptive hydrodynamic simulations using the cosmological Moving Mesh
Hydro code of Pen (1997a) are used to calibrate the temperature function for
different popular cosmologies. Applying the new normalizations to the
present-day cluster abundances, we find for a hyperbolic universe, and for a spatially flat universe with a cosmological constant.
The simulations followed the gravitational shock heating of the gas and dark
matter, and used a crude model for potential energy injection by supernova
heating. The error bars are dominated by uncertainties in the heating/cooling
models. We present fitting formulae for the mass-temperature conversions and
cluster abundances based on these simulations.Comment: 20 pages incl 5 figures, final version for ApJ, corrected open
universe \gamma relation, results unchange
The Beta Problem: A Study of Abell 262
We present an investigation of the dynamical state of the cluster A262.
Existing optical line of sight velocities for select cluster galaxies have been
augmented by new data obtained with the Automated Multi-Object Spectrograph at
Lick Observatory. We find evidence for a virialized early-type population
distinct from a late-type population infalling from the Pisces-Perseus
supercluster ridge. We also report on a tertiary population of low luminosity
galaxies whose velocity dispersion distinguishes them from both the early and
late-type galaxies. We supplement our investigation with an analysis of
archival X-ray data. A temperature is determined using ASCA GIS data and a gas
profile is derived from ROSAT HRI data. The increased statistics of our sample
results in a picture of A262 with significant differences from earlier work. A
previously proposed solution to the "beta-problem" in A262 in which the gas
temperature is significantly higher than the galaxy temperature is shown to
result from using too low a velocity dispersion for the early-type galaxies.
Our data present a consistent picture of A262 in which there is no
"beta-problem", and the gas and galaxy temperature are roughly comparable.
There is no longer any requirement for extensive galaxy-gas feedback to
drastically overheat the gas with respect to the galaxies. We also demonstrate
that entropy-floor models can explain the recent discovery that the beta values
determined by cluster gas and the cluster core radii are correlated.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, AAS LaTeX v5.0, Encapsulated Postscript
figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
A Large Mass of H2 in the Brightest Cluster Galaxy in Zwicky 3146
We present the Spitzer/IRS mid-infrared spectrum of the infrared-luminous
(L_{IR}=4e11 L_sun) brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the X-ray-luminous
cluster Z3146 (z=0.29). The spectrum shows strong aromatic emission features,
indicating that the dominant source of the infrared luminosity is star
formation. The most striking feature of the spectrum, however, is the
exceptionally strong molecular hydrogen (H2) emission lines, which seem to be
shock-excited. The line luminosities and inferred warm H2 gas mass (~1e10
M_sun) are 6 times larger than those of NGC 6240, the most H2-luminous galaxy
at z <~ 0.1. Together with the large amount of cold H2 detected previously
(~1e11 M_sun), this indicates that the Z3146 BCG contains disproportionately
large amounts of both warm and cold H2 gas for its infrared luminosity, which
may be related to the intracluster gas cooling process in the cluster core.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in ApJ
Probing ultracold Fermi gases with light-induced gauge potentials
We theoretically investigate the response of a two component Fermi gas to
vector potentials which couple separately to the two spin components. Such
vector potentials may be implemented in ultracold atomic gases using optically
dressed states. Our study indicates that light-induced gauge potentials may be
used to probe the properies of the interacting ultracold Fermi gas, providing.
amongst other things, ways to measure the superfluid density and the strength
of pairing.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Group-cluster merging and the formation of starburst galaxies
A significant fraction of clusters of galaxies are observed to have
substructure, which implies that merging between clusters and subclusters is a
rather common physical process of cluster formation.
It still remains unclear how cluster merging affects the evolution of cluster
member galaxies.
We report the results of numerical simulations, which show the dynamical
evolution of a gas-rich late-type spiral in a merger between a small group of
galaxies and a cluster. The simulations demonstrate that time-dependent tidal
gravitational field of the merging excites non-axisymmetric structure of the
galaxy, subsequently drives efficient transfer of gas to the central region,
and finally triggers a secondary starburst.
This result provides not only a new mechanism of starbursts but also a close
physical relationship between the emergence of starburst galaxies and the
formation of substructure in clusters. We accordingly interpret post-starburst
galaxies located near substructure of the Coma cluster as one observational
example indicating the global tidal effects of group-cluster merging.
Our numerical results furthermore suggest a causal link between the observed
excess of blue galaxies in distant clusters and cluster virialization process
through hierarchical merging of subclusters.Comment: 5 pages 3 color figures, ApJL in pres
Determination of the influence of specific building regulations in smart buildings
The automation of domestic services began to be implemented in buildings since the late nineteenth century, and today we are used to terms like âintelligent buildingsâ, âdigital homeâ or âdomotic buildingsâ. These concepts tell us about constructions which integrate
new technologies in order to improve comfort, optimize energy consumption or enhance the security of users. In conjunction, building regulations have been updated to suit the needs of society and to regulate these new facilities in such structures. However, we are not always
sure about how far, from the quantitative or qualitative point of view, legislation should
regulate certain aspects of the building activity. Consequently, content analysis is adopted in
this research to determine the influence of building regulations in the implementation of
new technologies in the construction process. This study includes the analysis of different
European regulations, the collection and documentation of such guidelines that have been
established and a study of the impact that all of these have had in the way we start thinking an architectural project. The achievements of the research could be explained in terms of the regulatory requirements that must be taken into account in order to achieve a successful implementation of a home automation system, and the key finding has been the confirmation of how the design of smart buildings may be promoted through specific regulatory requirements while other factors, such as the global economic situation, do not seem to affect directly the rate of penetration of home automation in construction
Reexamination of the galaxy formation-regulated gas evolution model in groups and clusters
As an alternative explanation of the entropy excess and the steepening of the
X-ray luminosity-temperature relation in groups and clusters, the galaxy
formation-regulated gas evolution (GG) model proposed recently by Bryan makes
an attempt to incorporate the formation of galaxies into the evolution of gas
without additional heating by nongravitational processes. This seems to provide
a unified scheme for our understanding of the structures and evolution of both
galaxies and gas in groups and clusters. In this paper, we present an extensive
comparison of the X-ray properties of groups and clusters predicted by the GG
model and those revealed by current X-ray observations, using various large
data sources in the literature and also taking the observational selection
effects into account. These include an independent check of the fundamental
working hypothesis of the GG model, i.e., galaxy formation was less efficient
in rich clusters than in groups, a new test of the radial gas distributions
revealed by both the gas mass fraction and the X-ray surface brightness
profiles, and an reexamination of the X-ray luminosity-temperature and
entropy-temperature relations. In particular, it shows that the overall X-ray
surface brightness profiles predicted by the GG model are very similar in
shape, insensitive to the X-ray temperature, and the shallower X-ray surface
brightness profiles seen at low-temperature systems may arise from the current
observational selection effect. This can be used as the simplest approach to
distinguishing between the GG model and the preheating scenario. The latter
yields an intrinsically shallower gas distribution in groups than in rich
clusters.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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