Losses for microwave transmission in metamaterials for producing left-handed materials: The strip wires

This paper shows that the effective dielectric permitivity for the metamaterials used so far to obtain left-handed materials, with strip wires 0.003cm thick, is dominated by the imaginary part at 10.6- 11.5 GHz frequencies, where the band pass filter is, and therefore there is not propagation and the wave is inhomogeneous inside the medium. This is shown from finite-differences time-domain calculations using the real permitivity values for the Cu wires. For thicker wires the losses are reduced and the negative part of the permitivity dominates. As the thickness of the wires is critical for the realization of a good transparent left- handed material we propose that the strip wires should have thickness of 0.07-0.1cm and the split ring resonators 0.015-0.03c

A skyrmion-based spin-torque nano-oscillator

A model for a spin-torque nano-oscillator based on the self-sustained oscillation of a magnetic skyrmion is presented. The system involves a circular nanopillar geometry comprising an ultrathin film free magnetic layer with a strong Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya interaction and a polariser layer with a vortex-like spin configuration. It is shown that spin-transfer torques due to current flow perpendicular to the film plane leads to skyrmion gyration that arises from a competition between geometric confinement due to boundary edges and the vortex-like polarisation of the spin torques. A phenomenology for such oscillations is developed and quantitative analysis using micromagnetics simulations is presented. It is also shown that weak disorder due to random anisotropy variations does not influence the main characteristics of the steady-state gyration.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Evolving wormhole geometries within nonlinear electrodynamics

In this work, we explore the possibility of evolving (2+1) and (3+1)-dimensional wormhole spacetimes, conformally related to the respective static geometries, within the context of nonlinear electrodynamics. For the (3+1)-dimensional spacetime, it is found that the Einstein field equation imposes a contracting wormhole solution and the obedience of the weak energy condition. Nevertheless, in the presence of an electric field, the latter presents a singularity at the throat, however, for a pure magnetic field the solution is regular. For the (2+1)-dimensional case, it is also found that the physical fields are singular at the throat. Thus, taking into account the principle of finiteness, which states that a satisfactory theory should avoid physical quantities becoming infinite, one may rule out evolving (3+1)-dimensional wormhole solutions, in the presence of an electric field, and the (2+1)-dimensional case coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure; to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity. V2: minor corrections, including a referenc

Lambda-inflation and CMB anisotropy

We explore a broad class of three-parameter inflationary models, called the $\Lambda$-inflation, and its observational predictions: high abundance of cosmic gravitational waves consistent with the Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum of primordial cosmological perturbations, the non-power-law wing-like spectrum of matter density perturbations, high efficiency of these models to meet current observational tests, and others. We show that a parity contribution of the gravitational waves and adiabatic density perturbations into the large-scale temperature anisotropy, T/S $\sim 1$, is a common feature of $\Lambda$-inflation; the maximum values of T/S (basically not larger than 10) are reached in models where (i) the local spectrum shape of density perturbations is flat or slightly red ($n_S{}_\sim^< 1$), and (ii) the residual potential energy of the inflaton is near the GUT scale ($V_0^{{1/4}} \sim 10^{16} GeV$). The conditions to find large T/S in the paradigm of cosmic inflation and the relationship of T/S to the ratio of the power spectra, $r$, and to the inflationary $\gamma$ and Hubble parameters, are discussed. We argue that a simple estimate, T/S$\simeq 3r\simeq 12\gamma \simeq (\frac{H}{6\times 10^{13}{\rm GeV}})^2$, is true for most known inflationary solutions and allows to relate straightforwardly the important parameters of observational and physical cosmology.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figures include

Vlasov scaling for the Glauber dynamics in continuum

We consider Vlasov-type scaling for the Glauber dynamics in continuum with a positive integrable potential, and construct rescaled and limiting evolutions of correlation functions. Convergence to the limiting evolution for the positive density system in infinite volume is shown. Chaos preservation property of this evolution gives a possibility to derive a non-linear Vlasov-type equation for the particle density of the limiting system.Comment: 32 page

Supernova 1996cr: SN 1987A's Wild Cousin?

We report on new VLT optical spectroscopic and multi-wavelength archival observations of SN1996cr, a previously identified ULX known as Circinus Galaxy X-2. Our optical spectrum confirms SN1996cr as a bona fide type IIn SN, while archival imaging isolates its explosion date to between 1995-02-28 and 1996-03-16. SN1996cr is one of the closest SNe (~3.8 Mpc) in the last several decades and in terms of flux ranks among the brightest radio and X-ray SNe ever detected. The wealth of optical, X-ray, and radio observations that exist for this source provide relatively detailed constraints on its post-explosion expansion and progenitor history, including an preliminary angular size constaint from VLBI. The archival X-ray and radio data imply that the progenitor of SN1996cr evacuated a large cavity just prior to exploding: the blast wave likely expanded for ~1-2 yrs before eventually striking the dense circumstellar material which surrounds SN1996cr. The X-ray and radio emission, which trace the progenitor mass-loss rate, have respectively risen by a factor of ~2 and remained roughly constant over the past 7 yr. This behavior is reminiscent of the late rise of SN1987A, but 1000 times more luminous and much more rapid to onset. Complex Oxygen line emission in the optical spectrum further hints at a possible concentric shell or ring-like structure. The discovery of SN1996cr suggests that a substantial fraction of the closest SNe observed in the last several decades have occurred in wind-blown bubbles. An Interplanetary Network position allows us to reject a tentative GRB association with BATSE 4B960202. [Abridged]Comment: 25 pages with tables, 12 figures (color), accepted to ApJ, comments welcome; v2 - updated to reflect the subsequent rejection of our tentative GRB association based on a revised error region from the Interplanetary Network (thanks to Kevin Hurley) and include a few additional references; v3 - corrected some errors in Tables 7 and