205 research outputs found
Magneto-electric excitations in multiferroic TbMnO3 by Raman scattering
Low energy excitations in the multiferroic material TbMnO3 have been
investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Our observations reveal the existence of
two peaks at 30 cm-1 and 60 cm-1. They are observed in the cycloidal phase
below the Curie temperature but not in the sinusoidal phase, suggesting their
magnetoelectric origin. While the peak energies coincide with the frequencies
of electromagnons measured previously by transmission spectroscopy, they show
surprisingly different selection rules, with the 30 cm-1 excitation enhanced by
the electric field of light along the spontaneous polarization. The origins of
the modes are discussed under Raman and infrared selection rules
considerations
The Fermi edge singularity of spin polarized electrons
We study the absorption spectrum of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in
a magnetic field. We find that that at low temperatures, when the 2DEG is spin
polarized, the absorption spectra, which correspond to the creation of spin up
or spin down electron, differ in magnitude, linewidth and filling factor
dependence. We show that these differences can be explained as resulting from
creation of a Mahan exciton in one case, and of a power law Fermi edge
singularity in the other.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, published in Phys. Rev. Let
Extended mid-infrared emission from VV 114: probing the birth of a ULIRG
We present our 5-16 micron spectro-imaging observations of VV114, an infrared
luminous early-stage merger, taken with the ISOCAM camera on-board ISO. We find
that only 40% of the mid-infrared (MIR) flux is associated with a compact
nuclear region, while the rest of the emission originates from a rather diffuse
component extended over several kpc. This is in stark contrast with the very
compact MIR starbursts usually seen in luminous infrared galaxies. A secondary
peak of MIR emission is associated with an extra-nuclear star forming region
which displays the largest Halpha equivalent width in the whole system.
Comparing our data with the distribution of the molecular gas and cold dust, as
well as with radio observations, it becomes evident that the conversion of
molecular gas into stars can be triggered over large areas at the very first
stages of an interaction. The presence of a very strong continuum at 5 microns
in one of the sources indicates that an enshrouded active galactic nucleus may
contribute to 40% of its MIR flux. We finally note that the relative variations
in the UV to radio spectral properties between the merging galaxies provide
evidence that the extinction-corrected star formation rate of similar objects
at high z, such as those detected in optical deep surveys, can not be
accurately derived from their rest-frame UV properties.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Mid-infrared observations of the ultraluminous galaxies IRAS14348-1447, IRAS19254-7245, and IRAS23128-5919
We present a study of the three ultraluminous infrared galaxies
IRAS14348-1447, IRAS19254-7245, and IRAS23128-5919, based on mid-infrared (MIR)
spectro-imaging (5-18microns) observations performed with ISOCAM. We find that
the MIR emission from each system, which consists of a pair of interacting late
type galaxies, is principally confined to the nuclear regions with diameters of
1-2kpc and can account for more than 95% of their IRAS 12micron flux. In each
interacting system, the galaxy hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN)
dominates the total spectrum and shows stronger dust continuum (12-16microns)
relative to the Unidentified Infrared Band (UIB) emission (6-9microns),
suggestive of its enhanced radiation field. The MIR dominant galaxy also
exhibits elevated 15micron/Halpha and 15micron/K ratios which trace the high
extinction due to the large quantities of molecular gas and dust present in its
central regions. Using only diagnostics based on our mid-infrared spectra, we
can establish that the Seyfert galaxy IRAS19254-7245 exhibits MIR spectral
features of an AGN while the MIR spectrum of the Seyfert (or LINER) member of
IRAS23128-5919 is characteristic of dust emission principally heated by star
forming regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 13 pages, 9
figure
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