3,354 research outputs found
Influence of ion implantation on the magnetic and transport properties of manganite films
We have used oxygen ions irradiation to generate controlled structural
disorder in thin manganite films. Conductive atomic force microscopy CAFM),
transport and magnetic measurements were performed to analyze the influence of
the implantation process in the physical properties of the films. CAFM images
show regions with different conductivity values, probably due to the random
distribution of point defect or inhomogeneous changes of the local Mn3+/4+
ratio to reduce lattice strains of the irradiated areas. The transport and
magnetic properties of these systems are interpreted in this context.
Metal-insulator transition can be described in the frame of a percolative
model. Disorder increases the distance between conducting regions, lowering the
observed TMI. Point defect disorder increases localization of the carriers due
to increased disorder and locally enhanced strain field. Remarkably, even with
the inhomogeneous nature of the samples, no sign of low field magnetoresistance
was found. Point defect disorder decreases the system magnetization but doesn t
seem to change the magnetic transition temperature. As a consequence, an
important decoupling between the magnetic and the metal-insulator transition is
found for ion irradiated films as opposed to the classical double exchange
model scenario.Comment: 27 pages, 11 Figure
Universal fluctuations in the support of the random walk
A random walk starts from the origin of a d-dimensional lattice. The
occupation number n(x,t) equals unity if after t steps site x has been visited
by the walk, and zero otherwise. We study translationally invariant sums M(t)
of observables defined locally on the field of occupation numbers. Examples are
the number S(t) of visited sites; the area E(t) of the (appropriately defined)
surface of the set of visited sites; and, in dimension d=3, the Euler index of
this surface. In d > 3, the averages (t) all increase linearly with t as
t-->infinity. We show that in d=3, to leading order in an asymptotic expansion
in t, the deviations from average Delta M(t)= M(t)-(t) are, up to a
normalization, all identical to a single "universal" random variable. This
result resembles an earlier one in dimension d=2; we show that this
universality breaks down for d>3.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures include
On the Solution of the Number-Projected Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov Equations
The numerical solution of the recently formulated number-projected
Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations is studied in an exactly soluble
cranked-deformed shell model Hamiltonian. It is found that the solution of
these number-projected equations involve similar numerical effort as that of
bare HFB. We consider that this is a significant progress in the mean-field
studies of the quantum many-body systems. The results of the projected
calculations are shown to be in almost complete agreement with the exact
solutions of the model Hamiltonian. The phase transition obtained in the HFB
theory as a function of the rotational frequency is shown to be smeared out
with the projection.Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, 3 figures. To be published in a special edition of
Physics of Atomic Nuclei (former Sov. J. Nucl. Phys.) dedicated to the 90th
birthday of A.B. Migda
The transitional gap transient AT 2018hso: new insights into the luminous red nova phenomenon
Context. The absolute magnitudes of luminous red novae (LRNe) are intermediate between those of novae and supernovae (SNe), and show a relatively homogeneous spectro-photometric evolution. Although they were thought to derive from core instabilities in single stars, there is growing support for the idea that they are triggered by binary interaction that possibly ends with the merging of the two stars.
Aims. AT 2018hso is a new transient showing transitional properties between those of LRNe and the class of intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs) similar to SN 2008S. Through the detailed analysis of the observed parameters, our study supports that it actually belongs to the LRN class and was likely produced by the coalescence of two massive stars.
Methods. We obtained ten months of optical and near-infrared photometric monitoring, and 11 epochs of low-resolution optical spectroscopy of AT 2018hso. We compared its observed properties with those of other ILRTs and LRNe. We also inspected the archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images obtained about 15 years ago to constrain the progenitor properties.
Results. The light curves of AT 2018hso show a first sharp peak (reddening-corrected M-r = -13.93 mag), followed by a broader and shallower second peak that resembles a plateau in the optical bands. The spectra dramatically change with time. Early-time spectra show prominent Balmer emission lines and a weak [Ca II] doublet, which is usually observed in ILRTs. However, the strong decrease in the continuum temperature, the appearance of narrow metal absorption lines, the great change in the H alpha strength and profile, and the emergence of molecular bands support an LRN classification. The possible detection of a M-I similar to -8 mag source at the position of AT 2018hso in HST archive images is consistent with expectations for a pre-merger massive binary, similar to the precursor of the 2015 LRN in M101.
Conclusions. We provide reasonable arguments to support an LRN classification for AT 2018hso. This study reveals growing heterogeneity in the observables of LRNe than has been thought previously, which is a challenge for distinguishing between LRNe and ILRTs. This suggests that the entire evolution of gap transients needs to be monitored to avoid misclassifications
AT 2017be - a new member of the class of Intermediate-Luminosity Red Transients
We report the results of our spectrophotometric monitoring campaign for
AT~2017be in NGC~2537. Its lightcurve reveals a fast rise to an optical
maximum, followed by a plateau lasting about 30 days, and finally a fast
decline. Its absolute peak magnitude ( 12 ) is
fainter than that of core-collapse supernovae, and is consistent with those of
supernova impostors and other Intermediate-Luminosity Optical Transients. The
quasi-bolometric lightcurve peaks at 2 10 erg s,
and the late-time photometry allows us to constrain an ejected Ni mass
of 8 10\msun. The spectra of AT~2017be show minor
evolution over the observational period, a relatively blue continuum showing at
early phases, which becomes redder with time. A prominent H emission
line always dominates over other Balmer lines. Weak Fe {\sc ii} features,
Ca~{\sc ii} HK and the Ca {\sc ii} NIR triplet are also visible, while
P-Cygni absorption troughs are found in a high resolution spectrum. In
addition, the [Ca~{\sc ii}] 7291,7324 doublet is visible in all
spectra. This feature is typical of Intermediate-Luminosity Red Transients
(ILRTs), similar to SN~2008S. The relatively shallow archival Spitzer data are
not particularly constraining. On the other hand, a non-detection in deeper
near-infrared HST images disfavours a massive Luminous Blue Variable eruption
as the origin for AT~2017be. As has been suggested for other ILRTs, we propose
that AT~2017be is a candidate for a weak electron-capture supernova explosion
of a super-asymptotic giant branch star, still embedded in a thick dusty
envelope.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, accepted by MNRA
High-spin states with seniority v=4,4,6 in 119-126Sn
The 119-126Sn nuclei have been produced as fission fragments in two reactions
induced by heavy ions: 12C+238U at 90 MeV bombarding energy, 18O+208Pb at 85
MeV. Their level schemes have been built from gamma rays detected using the
Euroball array. High-spin states located above the long-lived isomeric states
of the even- and odd-A 120-126Sn nuclei have been identified. Moreover isomeric
states lying around 4.5 MeV have been established in 120,122,124,126Sn from the
delayed coincidences between the fission fragment detector SAPhIR and the
Euroball array. The states located above 3-MeV excitation energy are ascribed
to several broken pairs of neutrons occupying the nu h11/2 orbit. The maximum
value of angular momentum available in such a high-j shell, i.e. for
mid-occupation and the breaking of the three neutron pairs, has been
identified. This process is observed for the first time in spherical nuclei.Comment: 20 pages, 22 figures, 12 tables, accepted for publication in Physical
Review
Observation of the lowest energy gamma-ray in any superdeformed nucleus : 196Bi
New results on the superdeformed Bi nucleus a re reported. We have
observed with the EUROBALL IV -ray spectrometer array a superdeformed
trans ition of 124 keV which is the lowest observed energy -ray in any
superdeformed nucleus. We have de velopped microscopic cranked
Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations using the SLy4 effective force and a
realistic surface p airing which strongly support the
([651]1/2[752]5/2) assignment of this su
perdeformed band
Bronchial responses to substance P after antigen challenge in the guinea-pig: in vivo and in vitro studies
The effect of antigen challenge on the airway responses to substance P and on the epithelial neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity was investigated in aerosol sensitized guinea-pigs. In vivo, bronchial responses to aerosolized substance P were similar to the responses observed in antigen-challenged guinea-pigs and in the control groups. In contrast, when the guinea-pigs were pretreated with the NEP inhibitor, phosphoramidon, a significant increase in the airway responses to substance P was observed after antigen challenge in vivo. However, in vitro, the contractile responses of the tracheal smooth muscle to substance P were similar between groups of guinea-pigs, in respect to the presence or absence of the epithelium and/or phosphoramidon. Histological studies showed an accumulation of eosinophils in the tracheal submucosa after antigen challenge and intact epithelial cells. These results show that in vivo bronchial hyperresponsiveness to substance P after antigen challenge in the guinea-pig is not associated with increased responses of the smooth muscle to exogenous SP in vitro. In addition, the results with phosphoramidon suggest that loss of NEP activity cannot account for the in vivo bronchial hyperresponsiveness to substance P presently observed
The scaling limit of the incipient infinite cluster in high-dimensional percolation. II. Integrated super-Brownian excursion
For independent nearest-neighbour bond percolation on Z^d with d >> 6, we
prove that the incipient infinite cluster's two-point function and three-point
function converge to those of integrated super-Brownian excursion (ISE) in the
scaling limit. The proof is based on an extension of the new expansion for
percolation derived in a previous paper, and involves treating the magnetic
field as a complex variable. A special case of our result for the two-point
function implies that the probability that the cluster of the origin consists
of n sites, at the critical point, is given by a multiple of n^{-3/2}, plus an
error term of order n^{-3/2-\epsilon} with \epsilon >0. This is a strong
statement that the critical exponent delta is given by delta =2.Comment: 56 pages, 3 Postscript figures, in AMS-LaTeX, with graphicx, epic,
and xr package
Bare vs effective pairing forces. A microscopic finite-range interaction for HFB calculations in coordinate space
We propose a microscopic effective interaction to treat pairing correlations
in the channel. It is introduced by recasting the gap equation
written in terms of the bare force into a fully equivalent pairing problem.
Within this approach, the proposed interaction reproduces the pairing
properties provided by the realistic force very accurately. Written in
the canonical basis of the actual Bogolyubov transformation, the force takes
the form of an off-shell in-medium two-body matrix in the superfluid phase
multiplied by a BCS occupation number . This interaction is finite
ranged, non local, total-momentum dependent and density dependent. The factor
emerging from the recast of the gap equation provides a natural
cut-off and makes zero-range approximations of the effective vertex meaningful.
Performing such an approximation, the roles of the range and of the density
dependence of the interaction can be disentangled. The isoscalar and isovector
density-dependences derived ab-initio provide the pairing force with a strong
predictive power when extrapolated toward the drip-lines. Although finite
ranged and non local, the proposed interaction makes HFB calculations of finite
nuclei in coordinate space tractable. Through the two-basis method, its
computational cost is of the same order as for a zero-range force.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures. Published versio
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