1,645 research outputs found
Electric field effects on magnetotransport properties of multiferroic Py/YMnO3/Pt heterostructures
We report on the exchange bias between antiferromagnetic and ferroelectric
hexagonal YMnO3 epitaxial thin films sandwiched between a metallic electrode
(Pt) and a soft ferromagnetic layer (Py). Anisotropic magnetoresistance
measurements are performed to monitor the presence of an exchange bias field.
When the heteroestructure is biased by an electric field, it turns out that the
exchange bias field is suppressed. We discuss the dependence of the observed
effect on the amplitude and polarity of the electric field. Particular
attention is devoted to the role of current leakage across the ferroelectric
layer.Comment: Accepted for publication in Philosophical Magazine Letters (Special
issue on multiferroics
Maude: specification and programming in rewriting logic
Maude is a high-level language and a high-performance system supporting executable specification and declarative programming in rewriting logic. Since rewriting logic contains equational logic, Maude also supports equational specification and programming in its sublanguage of functional modules and theories. The underlying equational logic chosen for Maude is membership equational logic, that has sorts, subsorts, operator overloading, and partiality definable by membership and equality conditions. Rewriting logic is reflective, in the sense of being able to express its own metalevel at the object level. Reflection is systematically exploited in Maude endowing the language with powerful metaprogramming capabilities, including both user-definable module operations and declarative strategies to guide the deduction process. This paper explains and illustrates with examples the main concepts of Maude's language design, including its underlying logic, functional, system and object-oriented modules, as well as parameterized modules, theories, and views. We also explain how Maude supports reflection, metaprogramming and internal strategies. The paper outlines the principles underlying the Maude system implementation, including its semicompilation techniques. We conclude with some remarks about applications, work on a formal environment for Maude, and a mobile language extension of Maude
Identification of the optical and near-infrared counterpart of GRS 1758-258
Context. Understood to be a microquasar in the Galactic center region, GRS
1758-258 has not yet been unambiguously identified to have an
optical/near-infrared counterpart, mainly because of the high absorption and
the historic lack of suitable astrometric stars, which led to the use of
secondary astrometric solutions. Although it is considered with 1E 1740.7-2942
as the prototypical microquasar in the Galactic center region, the Galactic
origin of both sources has not yet been confirmed. Aims. We attempt to improve
previous astrometry to identify a candidate counterpart to GRS 1758-258. We
present observations with the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC), in which we
try to detect any powerful emission lines that would infer an extragalactic
origin of this source. Methods. We use modern star catalogues to reanalyze
archival images of the GRS 1758-258 field in the optical and near-infrared
wavelengths, and compute a new astrometric solution. We also reanalyzed
archival radio data of GRS 1758-258 to determine a new and more accurate radio
position. Results. Our improved astrometric solution for the GRS 1758-258 field
represents a significant advancement on previous works and allows us to
identify a single optical/near-infrared source, which we propose as the
counterpart of GRS 1758-258. The GTC spectrum of this source is however of low
signal-to-noise ratio and does not rule out a Galactic origin. Hence, new
spectral observations are required to confirm or discard a Galactic nature.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Simultaneous measurement of two non-commuting quantum variables: Solution of a dynamical model
The possibility of performing simultaneous measurements in quantum mechanics
is investigated in the context of the Curie-Weiss model for a projective
measurement. Concretely, we consider a spin- system simultaneously
interacting with two magnets, which act as measuring apparatuses of two
different spin components. We work out the dynamics of this process and
determine the final state of the measuring apparatuses, from which we can find
the probabilities of the four possible outcomes of the measurements. The
measurement is found to be non-ideal, as (i) the joint statistics do not
coincide with the one obtained by separately measuring each spin component, and
(ii) the density matrix of the spin does not collapse in either of the measured
observables. However, we give an operational interpretation of the process as a
generalised quantum measurement, and show that it is fully informative: The
expected value of the measured spin components can be found with arbitrary
precision for sufficiently many runs of the experiment.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures; close to published versio
The population of SNe/SNRs in the starburst galaxy Arp 220. A self-consistent analysis of 20 years of VLBI monitoring
The nearby ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) Arp 220 is an excellent
laboratory for studies of extreme astrophysical environments. For 20 years,
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) has been used to monitor a population
of compact sources thought to be supernovae (SNe), supernova remnants (SNRs)
and possibly active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Using new and archival VLBI data
spanning 20 years, we obtain 23 high-resolution radio images of Arp 220 at
wavelengths from 18 cm to 2 cm. From model-fitting to the images we obtain
estimates of flux densities and sizes of all detected sources. We detect radio
continuum emission from 97 compact sources and present flux densities and sizes
for all analysed observation epochs. We find evidence for a LD-relation within
Arp 220, with larger sources being less luminous. We find a compact source LF
with , similar to SNRs in normal
galaxies. Based on simulations we argue that there are many relatively large
and weak sources below our detection threshold. The observations can be
explained by a mixed population of SNe and SNRs, where the former expand in a
dense circumstellar medium (CSM) and the latter interact with the surrounding
interstellar medium (ISM). Nine sources are likely luminous, type IIn SNe. This
number of luminous SNe correspond to few percent of the total number of SNe in
Arp 220 which is consistent with a total SN-rate of 4 yr as inferred
from the total radio emission given a normal stellar initial mass function
(IMF). Based on the fitted luminosity function, we argue that emission from all
compact sources, also below our detection threshold, make up at most 20\% of
the total radio emission at GHz frequencies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Finite-difference approximation of wave equation: a study case of the SIMA velocity model
Synthetic seismograms enable to model the theoretical seismic response of the Earth interior due to different structural features and changes in the physical properties of crust and mantle. This approximation provides a best understanding of the real seismic data recorded in field experiments. In this paper, we are showing the development and application of a new scheme based on a multi-order explicit finite-difference algorithm for acoustic waves in a 2D heterogeneous media. The results of the modeling are compared with the seismic data acquired within the SIMA project providing new insight about the internal structure of the subsurface allowing improving the velocity model obtained in previous works.Peer Reviewe
Sources of Relativistic Jets in the Galaxy
Black holes of stellar mass and neutron stars in binary systems are first
detected as hard X-ray sources using high-energy space telescopes. Relativistic
jets in some of these compact sources are found by means of multiwavelength
observations with ground-based telescopes. The X-ray emission probes the inner
accretion disk and immediate surroundings of the compact object, whereas the
synchrotron emission from the jets is observed in the radio and infrared bands,
and in the future could be detected at even shorter wavelengths. Black-hole
X-ray binaries with relativistic jets mimic, on a much smaller scale, many of
the phenomena seen in quasars and are thus called microquasars. Because of
their proximity, their study opens the way for a better understanding of the
relativistic jets seen elsewhere in the Universe. From the observation of
two-sided moving jets it is inferred that the ejecta in microquasars move with
relativistic speeds similar to those believed to be present in quasars. The
simultaneous multiwavelength approach to microquasars reveals in short
timescales the close connection between instabilities in the accretion disk
seen in the X-rays, and the ejection of relativistic clouds of plasma observed
as synchrotron emission at longer wavelengths. Besides contributing to a deeper
comprehension of accretion disks and jets, microquasars may serve in the future
to determine the distances of jet sources using constraints from special
relativity, and the spin of black holes using general relativity.Comment: 39 pages, Tex, 8 figures, to appear in vol. 37 (1999) of Annual
Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysic
Evidence for a chemically differentiated outflow in Mrk 231
Aims: Our goal is to study the chemical composition of the outflows of active
galactic nuclei and starburst galaxies.
Methods: We obtained high-resolution interferometric observations of HCN and
HCO and of the ultraluminous infrared
galaxy Mrk~231 with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We also use
previously published observations of HCN and HCO and
, and HNC in the same source.
Results: In the line wings of the HCN, HCO, and HNC emission, we find
that these three molecular species exhibit features at distinct velocities
which differ between the species. The features are not consistent with emission
lines of other molecular species. Through radiative transfer modelling of the
HCN and HCO outflow emission we find an average abundance ratio
. Assuming a clumpy outflow,
modelling of the HCN and HCO emission produces strongly inconsistent
outflow masses.
Conclusions: Both the anti-correlated outflow features of HCN and HCO and
the different outflow masses calculated from the radiative transfer models of
the HCN and HCO emission suggest that the outflow is chemically
differentiated. The separation between HCN and HCO could be an indicator of
shock fronts present in the outflow, since the HCN/HCO ratio is expected to
be elevated in shocked regions. Our result shows that studies of the chemistry
in large-scale galactic outflows can be used to better understand the physical
properties of these outflows and their effects on the interstellar medium (ISM)
in the galaxy.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Chandra Observations of the Gamma-ray Binary LSI+61303: Extended X-ray Structure?
We present a 50 ks observation of the gamma-ray binary LSI+61303 carried out
with the ACIS-I array aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is the highest
resolution X-ray observation of the source conducted so far. Possible evidence
of an extended structure at a distance between 5 and 12 arcsec towards the
North of LSI+61303 have been found at a significance level of 3.2 sigma. The
asymmetry of the extended emission excludes an interpretation in the context of
a dust-scattered halo, suggesting an intrinsic nature. On the other hand, while
the obtained source flux, of F_{0.3-10 keV}=7.1^{+1.8}_{-1.4} x 10^{-12}
ergs/cm^2/s, and hydrogen column density, N_{H}=0.70+/-0.06 x 10^{22} cm^{-2},
are compatible with previous results, the photon index Gamma=1.25+/-0.09 is the
hardest ever found. In light of these new results, we briefly discuss the
physics behind the X-ray emission, the location of the emitter, and the
possible origin of the extended emission ~0.1 pc away from LSI+61303.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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