27,042 research outputs found
The critical current of YBa2Cu3O7-d Low Angle Grain Boundaries
Transport critical current measurements have been performed on 5 degree
[001]-tilt thin film YBa2Cu3O7-delta single grain boundaries with magnetic
field rotated in the plane of the film, phi. The variation of the critical
current has been determined as a function of the angle between the magnetic
field and the grain boundary plane. In applied fields above 1 T the critical
current, j_c, is found to be strongly suppressed only when the magnetic field
is within an angle phi_k of the grain boundary. Outside this angular range the
behavior of the artificial grain boundary is dominated by the critical current
of the grains. We show that the phi dependence of j_c in the suppressed region
is well described by a flux cutting model.Comment: To be published in PRL, new version with minor changes following
referees report
The massive multiple system HD 64315
The O6 Vn star HD 64315 is believed to belong to the star-forming region
known as NGC 2467, but previous distance estimates do not support this
association. We explore the multiple nature of this star with the aim of
determining its distance, and understanding its connection to NGC 2467. A total
of 52 high-resolution spectra have been gathered over a decade. We use their
analysis, in combination with the photometric data from All Sky Automated
Survey and Hipparcos catalogues, to conclude that HD 64315 is composed of at
least two spectroscopic binaries, one of which is an eclipsing binary. HD 64315
contains two binary systems, one of which is an eclipsing binary. The two
binaries are separated by 0.09 arcsec (or 500 AU) if the most likely distance
to the system, around 5 kpc, is considered. The presence of fainter companions
is not excluded by current observations. The non-eclipsing binary (HD 64315
AaAb) has a period of 2.70962901+/-0.00000021 d. Its components are hotter than
those of the eclipsing binary, and dominate the appearance of the system. The
eclipsing binary (HD 64315 BaBb) has a shorter period of 1.0189569+/-0.0000008
d. We derive masses of 14.6+-2.3 M for both components of the BaBb
system. They are almost identical; both stars are overfilling their respective
Roche lobes, and share a common envelope in an overcontact configuration. The
non-eclipsing binary is a detached system composed of two stars with spectral
types around O6 V with minimum masses of 10.8 M and 10.2 M, and
likely masses aprox. 30 M. HD 64315 provides a cautionary tale about
high-mass star isolation and multiplicity. Its total mass is likely above 90
M,but it seems to have formed without an accompanying cluster. It
contains one the most massive overcontact binaries known, a likely merger
progenitor in a very wide multiple system.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 8 Table
Classical Novae as a Probe of the Cataclysmic Variable Population
Classical Novae (CNe) are the brightest manifestation of mass transfer onto a
white dwarf in a cataclysmic variable (CV). As such, they are probes of the
mass transfer rate, Mdot, and WD mass, Mwd, in these interacting binaries. Our
calculations of the dependence of the CN ignition mass, Mign, on Mdot and Mwd
yields the recurrence times of these explosions. We show that the observed CNe
orbital period distribution is consistent with the interrupted magnetic braking
evolutionary scenario, where at orbital periods Porb > 3 hr mass transfer is
driven by angular momentum loss via a wind from the companion star and at Porb
< 3 hr by gravitational radiation. About 50% of CNe occur in binaries accreting
at Mdot ~= 10^{-9} Msun/yr with Porb = 3-4 hr, with the remaining 50% split
evenly between Porb longer (higher Mdot) and shorter (lower Mdot) than this.
This resolution of the relative contribution to the CN rate from different CVs
tells us that 3(9)x10^5 CVs with WD mass 1.0(0.6)Msun are needed to produce one
CN per year. Using the K-band specific CN rate measured in external galaxies,
we find a CV birthrate of 2(4)x10^{-4}/yr per 10^{10}Lsun,K, very similar to
the luminosity specific Type Ia supernova rate in elliptical galaxies.
Likewise, we predict that there should be 60-180 CVs for every 10^6Lsun,K in an
old stellar population, similar to the number of X-ray identified CVs in the
globular cluster 47 Tuc, showing no overabundance relative to the field. Using
a two-component steady state model of CV evolution we show that the fraction of
CVs which are magnetic (22%) implies a birthrate of 8% relative to non-magnetic
CVs, similar to the fraction of strongly magnetic field WDs. (abridged)Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
In vivo cranial bone strain and bite force in the agamid lizard Uromastyx geyri
In vivo bone strain data are the most direct evidence of deformation and strain regimes in the vertebrate cranium during feeding and can provide important insights into skull morphology. Strain data have been collected during feeding across a wide range of mammals; in contrast, in vivo cranial bone strain data have been collected from few sauropsid taxa. Here we present bone strain data recorded from the jugal of the herbivorous agamid lizard Uromastyx geyri along with simultaneously recorded bite force. Principal and shear strain magnitudes in Uromastyx geyri were lower than cranial bone strains recorded in Alligator mississippiensis, but higher than those reported from herbivorous mammals. Our results suggest that variations in principal strain orientations in the facial skeleton are largely due to differences in feeding behavior and bite location, whereas food type has little impact on strain orientations. Furthermore, mean principal strain orientations differ between male and female Uromastyx during feeding, potentially because of sexual dimorphism in skull morphology
Cooling Tests of the NectarCAM camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The NectarCAM is a camera proposed for the medium-sized telescopes in the
framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next-generation
observatory for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The cameras are designed
to operate in an open environment and their mechanics must provide protection
for all their components under the conditions defined for the CTA observatory.
In order to operate in a stable environment and ensure the best physics
performance, each NectarCAM will be enclosed in a slightly overpressurized,
nearly air-tight, camera body, to prevent dust and water from entering. The
total power dissipation will be ~7.7 kW for a 1855-pixel camera. The largest
fraction is dissipated by the readout electronics in the modules. We present
the design and implementation of the cooling system together with the test
bench results obtained on the NectarCAM thermal demonstrator.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
Solving the SUSY CP problem with flavor breaking F-terms
Supersymmetric flavor models for the radiative generation of fermion masses
offer an alternative way to solve the SUSY-CP problem. We assume that the
supersymmetric theory is flavor and CP conserving. CP violating phases are
associated to the vacuum expectation values of flavor violating susy-breaking
fields. As a consequence, phases appear at tree level only in the soft
supersymmetry breaking matrices. Using a U(2) flavor model as an example we
show that it is possible to generate radiatively the first and second
generation of quark masses and mixings as well as the CKM CP phase. The
one-loop supersymmetric contributions to EDMs are automatically zero since all
the relevant parameters in the lagrangian are flavor conserving and as a
consequence real. The size of the flavor and CP mixing in the susy breaking
sector is mostly determined by the fermion mass ratios and CKM elements. We
calculate the contributions to epsilon, epsilon^{prime} and to the CP
asymmetries in the B decays to psi Ks, phi Ks, eta^{\prime} Ks and Xs gamma. We
analyze a case study with maximal predictivity in the fermion sector. For this
worst case scenario the measurements of Delta mK, Delta mB and epsilon
constrain the model requiring extremely heavy squark spectra.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex
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