20,868 research outputs found
Coherent Dark States of Rubidium 87 in a Buffer Gas using Pulsed Laser Light
The coherent dark resonance between the hyperfine levels F=1, m=0 and F=2,
m=0 of the rubidium ground state has been observed experimentally with the
light of a pulsed mode-locked diode laser operating at the D1 transition
frequency. The resonance occurs whenever the pulse repetition frequency matches
an integer fraction of the rubidium 87 ground state hyperfine splitting of 6.8
GHz. Spectra have been taken by varying the pulse repetition frequency. Using
cells with argon as a buffer gas a linewidth as narrow as 149 Hz was obtained.
The rubidium ground state decoherence cross section 1.1*10^(-18) cm^2 for
collisions with xenon atoms has been measured for the first time with this
method using a pure isotope rubidium vapor cell and xenon as a buffer gas.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, 1 misprint correcte
Search for GRB afterglows in the ROSAT all-sky survey
We report on the status of our search for X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray
bursts (GRBs) using the ROSAT all-sky survey data. The number of potential
X-ray afterglow candidates with respect to the expected number of beamed GRBs
allows to constrain the relative beaming angles of GRB emission and afterglow
emission at about 1-5 hrs after the GRB.Comment: 3 pages A&A style, 1 color ps-figure; To appear in A&A Suppl. Series,
Proc. of Rome 1998 GRB workshop, also available from
http://www.aip.de/~jcg/publis.htm
Pre-encounter observations of 951 Gaspra
Photometry and colorimetry of 951 Gaspra were obtained on nine nights during the 1990 opposition. A composite lightcurve constructed using data from eight of those nights yielded a synodic rotational period of 7.04346 +/- 0.00006 hours, a mean absolute V magnitude of 11.8026 +/- 0.0025, and a slope parameter of 0.285 +/- 0.005. The apparent discrepancy can be easily resolved by realizing that their determination is based primarily on data obtained after opposition. Different phase functions pre- and post-opposition are a natural consequence of a changing aspect during an opposition. If the sub-Earth latitude on Gaspra is at a less equatorial aspect after opposition than it was before opposition, then we would expect to see a shallower phase function (corresponding to a larger numerical value of the slope parameter). Adding weight to this hypothesis is the last observation of the opposition, made in May after Gaspra had passed post opposition quadrature, which is displaced toward brighter absolute magnitudes relative to the rest of our data, indicating an even more poleward sub-Earth latitude than earlier in the opposition. Because the orbits of Earth and Gaspra are nearly coplanar, a substantial change in sub-Earth latitude during the opposition would not have been possible unless the obliquity of the asteroid's rotational axis is not small
Negative-weight percolation
We describe a percolation problem on lattices (graphs, networks), with edge
weights drawn from disorder distributions that allow for weights (or distances)
of either sign, i.e. including negative weights. We are interested whether
there are spanning paths or loops of total negative weight. This kind of
percolation problem is fundamentally different from conventional percolation
problems, e.g. it does not exhibit transitivity, hence no simple definition of
clusters, and several spanning paths/loops might coexist in the percolation
regime at the same time. Furthermore, to study this percolation problem
numerically, one has to perform a non-trivial transformation of the original
graph and apply sophisticated matching algorithms.
Using this approach, we study the corresponding percolation transitions on
large square, hexagonal and cubic lattices for two types of disorder
distributions and determine the critical exponents. The results show that
negative-weight percolation is in a different universality class compared to
conventional bond/site percolation. On the other hand, negative-weight
percolation seems to be related to the ferromagnet/spin-glass transition of
random-bond Ising systems, at least in two dimensions.Comment: v1: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2: 10 pages, 7 figures, added results, text
and reference
Spin Domains Generate Hierarchical Ground State Structure in J=+/-1 Spin Glasses
Unbiased samples of ground states were generated for the short-range Ising
spin glass with Jij=+/-1, in three dimensions. Clustering the ground states
revealed their hierarchical structure, which is explained by correlated spin
domains, serving as cores for macroscopic zero energy "excitations".Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Phase transitions in diluted negative-weight percolation models
We investigate the geometric properties of loops on two-dimensional lattice
graphs, where edge weights are drawn from a distribution that allows for
positive and negative weights. We are interested in the appearance of spanning
loops of total negative weight. The resulting percolation problem is
fundamentally different from conventional percolation, as we have seen in a
previous study of this model for the undiluted case.
Here, we investigate how the percolation transition is affected by additional
dilution. We consider two types of dilution: either a certain fraction of edges
exhibit zero weight, or a fraction of edges is even absent. We study these
systems numerically using exact combinatorial optimization techniques based on
suitable transformations of the graphs and applying matching algorithms. We
perform a finite-size scaling analysis to obtain the phase diagram and
determine the critical properties of the phase boundary.
We find that the first type of dilution does not change the universality
class compared to the undiluted case whereas the second type of dilution leads
to a change of the universality class.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Search for X-ray Afterglows from Gamma-Ray Bursts in the RASS
We report on a search for X-ray afterglows from gamma-ray bursts using the
ROSAT all-sky survey (RASS) data. If the emission in the soft X-ray band is
significantly less beamed than in the gamma-ray band, we expect to detect many
afterglows in the RASS. Our search procedure generated 23 afterglow candidates,
where about 4 detections are predicted. Follow-up spectroscopy of several
counterpart candidates strongly suggests a flare star origin of the RASS events
in many, if not all, cases. Given the small number of events we conclude that
the data are consistent with comparable beaming angles in the X-ray and
gamma-ray bands. Models predicting a large amount of energy emerging as a
nearly isotropic X-ray component, and a so far undetected class of ``dirty
fireballs'' and re-bursts are constrained.Comment: 5 pages, LATEX with aipproc.sty, incl. 1 ps-Fig., Proc. of the 5th
Huntsville Gamma Ray Burst Symposium, Oct. 1999, ed. R.M. Kippen, AIP; also
available at http://www.aip.de/~jcg/publis.htm
Evidence for a Galactic gamma ray halo
We present quantitative statistical evidence for a -ray emission halo
surrounding the Galaxy. Maps of the emission are derived. EGRET data were
analyzed in a wavelet-based non-parametric hypothesis testing framework, using
a model of expected diffuse (Galactic + isotropic) emission as a null
hypothesis. The results show a statistically significant large scale halo
surrounding the center of the Milky Way as seen from Earth. The halo flux at
high latitudes is somewhat smaller than the isotropic gamma-ray flux at the
same energy, though of the same order (O(10^(-7)--10^(-6)) ph/cm^2/s/sr above 1
GeV).Comment: Final version accepted for publication in New Astronomy. Some
additional results/discussion included, along with entirely revised figures.
19 pages, 15 figures, AASTeX. Better quality figs (PS and JPEG) are available
at http://tigre.ucr.edu/halo/paper.htm
A BeppoSAX observation of the super-soft source CAL87
We report on a BeppoSAX Concentrator Spectrometer observation of the
super-soft source (SSS) CAL87. The X-ray emission in SSS is believed to arise
from nuclear burning of accreted material on the surface of a white dwarf (WD).
An absorbed blackbody spectral model gives a chi^2_v of 1.18 and a temperature
of 42 +/- ^13 _11 eV. However, the derived luminosity and radius are greater
than the Eddington limit and radius of a WD. Including an O viii edge at 0.871
keV gives a significantly better fit (at > 95% confidence) and results in more
realistic values of the source luminosity and radius. We also fit WD atmosphere
models to the CAL87 spectrum. These also give reasonable bolometric
luminosities and radii in the ranges 2.7-4.8 10^{36} erg/s and 8-20 10^7 cm,
respectively. These results support the view that the X-ray emission from CAL87
results from nuclear burning in the atmosphere of a WD.Comment: 4 pages. Accepted for publication in A&A (Letters
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