52,519 research outputs found
Electron spin relaxation in n-type InAs quantum wires
We investigate the electron spin relaxation of -type InAs quantum wires by
numerically solving the fully microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equations with the
relevant scattering explicitly included. We find that the quantum-wire size and
the growth direction influence the spin relaxation time by modulating the
spin-orbit coupling. Due to inter-subband scattering in connection with the
spin-orbit interaction, spin-relaxation in quantum wires can show different
characteristics from those in bulk or quantum wells and can be effectively
manipulated by various means.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Hall effect in laser ablated Co_2(Mn,Fe)Si thin films
Pulsed laser deposition was employed to grow thin films of the Heusler
compounds Co_2MnSi and Co_2FeSi. Epitaxial growth was realized both directly on
MgO (100) and on a Cr or Fe buffer layer. Structural analysis by x-ray and
electron diffraction shows for both materials the ordered L2_1 structure. Bulk
magnetization was determined with a SQUID magnetometer. The values agree with
the Slater-Pauling rule for half-metallic Heusler compounds. On the films grown
directly on the substrate measurements of the Hall effect have been performed.
The normal Hall effect is nearly temperature independent and points towards a
compensated Fermi surface. The anomalous contribution is found to be dominated
by skew scattering. A remarkable sign change of both normal and anomalous Hall
coefficients is observed on changing the valence electron count from 29 (Mn) to
30 (Fe).Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures submitted to J Phys
The Chandra X-ray view of the power sources in Cepheus A
The central part of the massive star-forming region Cepheus A contains
several radio sources which indicate multiple outflow phenomena, yet the
driving sources of the individual outflows have not been identified. We present
a high-resolution Chandra observation of this region that shows the presence of
bright X-ray sources, consistent with active pre-main sequence stars, while the
strong absorption hampers the detection of less luminous objects. A new source
has been discovered located on the line connecting H_2 emission regions at the
eastern and western parts of Cepheus A. This source could be the driving source
of HH 168. We present a scenario relating the observed X-ray and radio
emission.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The evolution of the X-ray emission of HH 2 - Investigating heating and cooling processes
Young stellar objects often drive powerful bipolar outflows which evolve on
time scales of a few years. An increasing number of these outflows has been
detected in X-rays implying the existence of million degree plasma almost
co-spatial with the lower temperature gas observed in the optical and near-IR.
The details of the heating and cooling processes of the X-ray emitting part of
these so-called Herbig-Haro objects are still ambiguous, e.g., whether the
cooling is dominated by expansion, radiation or thermal conduction.
We present a second epoch Chandra observation of the first X-ray detected
Herbig-Haro object (HH 2) and derive the proper-motion of the X-ray emitting
plasma and its cooling history. We argue that the most likely explanation for
the constancy of the X-ray luminosity, the alignment with the optical emission
and the proper-motion is that the cooling is dominated by radiative losses
leading to cooling times exceeding a decade. We explain that a strong shock
caused by fast material ramming into slower gas in front of it about ten years
ago can explain the X-ray emission while being compatible with the available
multi-wavelength data of HH 2.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figures; accepted for publication by Astronomy and
Astrophysic
The evolution of the jet from Herbig Ae star HD 163296 from 1999 to 2011
Young A and B stars, the so-called Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBe), are surrounded
by an active accretion disk and drive outflows. We study the jet HH 409, which
is launched from the HAeBe star HD 163296, using new and archival observations
from Chandra and HST/STIS. In X-rays we can show that the central source is not
significantly extended. The approaching jet, but not the counter-jet, is
detected in Ly alpha. In addition, there is red-shifted Ly alpha emission
extended in the same direction as the jet, that is also absent in the
counter-jet. We can rule out an accretion or disk-wind origin for this feature.
In the optical we find the knots B and B2 in the counter-jet. Knot B has been
observed previously, so we can derive its proper motion of 0.37+-0.01
arcsec/yr. Its electron density is 3000/cm^3, thus the cooling time scale is a
few months only, so the knot needs to be reheated continuously. The shock speed
derived from models of H alpha and forbidden emission lines (FELs) decreased
from 50 km/s in 1999 to 30 km/s in 2011 because the shock front loses energy as
it travels along the jet. Knot B2 is observed at a similar position in 2011 as
knot B was in 1999, but shows a lower ionization fraction and higher mass loss
rate, proving variations in the jet launching conditions.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted by A&
Finite-size and pressure effects in YBa_2Cu_4O_8 probed by magnetic field penetration depth measurements
We explore the combined pressure and finite-size effects on the in-plane
penetration depth \lambda_{ab} in YBa_2Cu_4O_8. Even though this cuprate is
stoichiometric the finite-size scaling analysis of \lambda_{ab}^{-2}(T)
uncovers the granular nature and reveals domains with nanoscale size L_{c}
along the c-axis. L_{c} ranges from 33.2 Angstrom to 28.9 Angstrom at pressures
from 0.5 to 11.5 kbar. These observations raise serious doubts on the existence
of a phase coherent macroscopic superconducting state in cuprate
superconductors.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Structural, magnetic, and transport properties of CoFeSi Heusler films
We report the deposition of thin CoFeSi films by RF magnetron sputtering.
Epitaxial (100)-oriented and L2 ordered growth is observed for films grown
on MgO(100) substrates. (110)-oriented films on AlO(110) show several
epitaxial domains in the film plane. Investigation of the magnetic properties
reveals a saturation magnetization of 5.0 at low temperatures. The
temperature dependence of the resistivity exhibits a crossover
from a T^3.5 law at T<50K to a T^1.65 behaviour at elevated temperatures.
shows a small anisotropic magnetoresistive effect. A weak
dependence of the normal Hall effect on the external magnetic field indicates
the compensation of electron and hole like contributions at the Fermi surface.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures to be published in J. Phys. D: Appl. Phy
Direct Detection of Giant Close-In Planets Around the Source Stars of Caustic-Crossing Microlensing Events
We propose a direct method to detect close-in giant planets orbiting stars in
the Galactic bulge. This method uses caustic-crossing binary microlensing
events discovered by survey teams monitoring the bulge to measure light from a
planet orbiting the source star. When the planet crosses the caustic, it is
more magnified than the source star; its light is magnified by two orders of
magnitude for Jupiter size planets. If the planet is a giant close to the star,
it may be bright enough to make a significant deviation in the light curve of
the star. Detection of this deviation requires intensive monitoring of the
microlensing light curve using a 10-meter class telescope for a few hours after
the caustic. This is the only method yet proposed to directly detect close-in
planets around stars outside the solar neighborhood.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to ApJ Letter
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