Systematic Study of High-pT Direct Photon Production with the PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

When studying the initial state and evolution of the matter created in relativistic heavy ion collisions, high-pT direct photons are a powerful probe. They are created in initial hard processes and in parton fragmentation, and possibly in interactions of partons with the hot and dense medium. We present systematic measurements of high-pT direct photon production in \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV p+p and Au+Au collisions. The nuclear modification factor of direct photons is shown for 5 < pT < 18 GeV/c, and at very high transverse momenta it seems to be below unity in the most central Au+Au collisions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Invited parallel talk at The 19th International Conference On Ultra relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2006), Shanghai China, Nov. 14-20, 200

Nematic superconductivity stabilized by density wave fluctuations: Possible application to twisted bilayer graphene

Nematic superconductors possess unconventional superconducting order parameters that spontaneously break rotational symmetry of the underlying crystal. In this work we propose a mechanism for nematic superconductivity stabilized by strong density wave fluctuations in two dimensions. While the weak-coupling theory finds the fully gapped chiral state to be energetically stable, we show that strong density wave fluctuations result in an additional contribution to the free energy of a superconductor with multicomponent order parameters, which generally favors nematic superconductivity. Our theory shades light on the recent observation of rotational symmetry breaking in the superconducting state of twisted bilayer graphene

Study on Voltage Controller of Self-Excited Induction Generator Using Controlled Shunt Capacitor, SVC Magnetic Energy Recovery Switch

Reactive compensation is required to maintain terminal voltage of induction generator under varying load and speed operation. A new variable shunt capacitor, which is called SVC magnetic energy recovery switch (SVC MERS), is proposed. The operation principle, characteristics of injected current, operating range of reactive compensation of SVC MERS in star and delta configuration were investigated. Application for induction generator voltage controller, which is required leading reactive compensator, is suitable for SVC MERS. Small scale experiments were conducted to verify the proposed system performance to control induction generator voltage in variable load and speed conditions. The advantage of this device is simple control with low switching frequency. Moreover in delta configuration, the SVC MERS current is low means downsizing of heatsink can be achieved. Keywords : Voltage controller, induction generator, reactive compensation, SVC MER

Magic of high order van Hove singularity

We introduce a new type of van Hove singularity in two dimensions, where a saddle point in momentum space is changed from second-order to high-order. Correspondingly, the density of states near such ``high-order van Hove singularity'' is significantly enhanced from logarithmic to power-law divergence, which promises stronger electron correlation effects. High-order van Hove singularity can be generally achieved by tuning the band structure with a single parameter in moir\'e superlattices, such as twisted bilayer graphene by tuning twist angle or applying pressure, and trilayer graphene by applying vertical electric field.Comment: 8 pages and 4 figures, figs. 1, 2 and 3 updated and Supplemental Material adde

Rotational modulation of X-ray emission in Orion Nebula young stars

We investigate the spatial distribution of X-ray emitting plasma in a sample of young Orion Nebula Cluster stars by modulation of their X-ray light-curves due to stellar rotation. The study, part of the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP), is made possible by the exceptional length of the observation: 10 days of ACIS integration during a time span of 13 days, yielding a total of 1616 detected sources in the 17x17 arcmin field of view. We here focus on a subsample of 233 X-ray-bright stars with known rotational periods. We search for X-ray modulation using the Lomb Normalized Periodogram method. X-ray modulation related to the rotation period is detected in at least 23 stars with periods between 2 and 12 days and relative amplitudes ranging from 20% to 70%. In 16 cases, the X-ray modulation period is similar to the stellar rotation period while in seven cases it is about half that value, possibly due to the presence of X-ray emitting structures at opposite stellar longitudes. These results constitute the largest sample of low mass stars in which X-ray rotational modulation has been observed. The detection of rotational modulation indicates that the X-ray emitting regions are distributed inhomogeneneously in longitude and do not extend to distances significantly larger than the stellar radius. Modulation is observed in stars with saturated activity levels (L_X/L_bol ~ 10^(-3)) showing that saturation is not due to the filling of the stellar surface with X-ray emitting regions.Comment: 41 pages, 15 figures, ApJS in press. Figure 15 (34 panels) is an on-line only figure and is not included. A pdf file which includes figure 15 as well as full resolution versions of figure 10 and 11 is available at: http://www.astropa.unipa.it/~ettoref/COUP_RotMod.pd

Tetramerisation of a frustrated spin-1/2 chain

We investigate a model of a frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain coupled to adiabatic phonons with a general form of magnetoelastic coupling. For large enough frustration and lattice coupling a new tetramerised phase with three different bond lengths is found. We argue that the zig-zag spin-1/2 chain LiV$_2$O$_5$ might be a good candidate to observe such a phase