5,653 research outputs found
Diffusion and Transport Coefficients in Synthetic Opals
Opals are structures composed of the closed packing of spheres in the size
range of nano-to-micro meter. They are sintered to create small necks at the
points of contact. We have solved the diffusion problem in such structures. The
relation between the diffusion coefficient and the termal and electrical
conductivity makes possible to estimate the transport coefficients of opal
structures. We estimate this changes as function of the neck size and the
mean-free path of the carriers. The theory presented is also applicable to the
diffusion problem in other periodic structures.Comment: Submitted to PR
Band Crossing and Novel Low-Energy Behaviour in a Mean Field Theory of a Three-Band Model on a Cu--O lattice
We study correlation effects in a three-band extended Hubbard model of Cu --
O planes within the 1/N mean field approach, in the infinite U limit. We
investigate the emerging phase diagram and discuss the low energy scales
associated with each region. With increasing direct overlap between oxygen
orbitals, , the solution displays a band crossing which, for an
extended range of parameters, lies close to the Fermi level. In turn this leads
to the nearly nested character of the Fermi surface and the resulting linear
temperature dependence of the quasi-particle relaxation rate for sufficiently
large T. We also discuss the effect of band crossing on the optical
conductivity and comment on the possible experimental relevance of our
findings.Comment: 12 pages, Latex-Revtex, 6 PostScript figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
The role of science in physical natural hazard assessment : report to the UK Government by the Natural Hazard Working Group
Following the tragic Asian tsunami on 26 December 2004, the Prime Minister asked
the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, to convene a group of
experts (the Natural Hazard Working Group) to advise on the mechanisms that could
and should be established for the detection and early warning of global physical
natural hazards.
2. The Group was asked to examine physical hazards which have high global or regional
impact and for which an appropriate early warning system could be put in place. It
was also asked to consider the global natural hazard frameworks currently in place
and under development and their effectiveness in using scientific evidence; to
consider whether there is an existing appropriate international body to pull together
the international science community to advise governments on the systems that need
to be put in place, and to advise on research needed to fill current gaps in knowledge.
The Group was asked to make recommendations on whether a new body was
needed, or whether other arrangements would be more effective
Discovery of a New Nearby Star
We report the discovery of a nearby star with a very large proper motion of
5.06 +/- 0.03 arcsec/yr. The star is called SO025300.5+165258 and referred to
herein as HPMS (high proper motion star). The discovery came as a result of a
search of the SkyMorph database, a sensitive and persistent survey that is well
suited for finding stars with high proper motions. There are currently only 7
known stars with proper motions > 5 arcsec/yr. We have determined a preliminary
value for the parallax of 0.43 +/- 0.13 arcsec. If this value holds our new
star ranks behind only the Alpha Centauri system (including Proxima Centauri)
and Barnard's star in the list of our nearest stellar neighbors. The spectrum
and measured tangential velocity indicate that HPMS is a main-sequence star
with spectral type M6.5. However, if our distance measurement is correct, the
HPMS is underluminous by 1.2 +/- 0.7 mag.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to ApJ Letter
A Close Look at Star Formation around Active Galactic Nuclei
We analyse star formation in the nuclei of 9 Seyfert galaxies at spatial
resolutions down to 0.085arcsec, corresponding to length scales of less than
10pc in some objects. Our data were taken mostly with the near infrared
adaptive optics integral field spectrograph SINFONI. The stellar light profiles
typically have size scales of a few tens of parsecs. In two cases there is
unambiguous kinematic evidence for stellar disks on these scales. In the
nuclear regions there appear to have been recent - but no longer active -
starbursts in the last 10-300Myr. The stellar luminosity is less than a few
percent of the AGN in the central 10pc, whereas on kiloparsec scales the
luminosities are comparable. The surface stellar luminosity density follows a
similar trend in all the objects, increasing steadily at smaller radii up to
10^{13}L_sun/kpc^2 in the central few parsecs, where the mass surface density
exceeds 10^4M_sun/pc^2. The intense starbursts were probably Eddington limited
and hence inevitably short-lived, implying that the starbursts occur in
multiple short bursts. The data hint at a delay of 50--100Myr between the onset
of star formation and subsequent fuelling of the black hole. We discuss whether
this may be a consequence of the role that stellar ejecta could play in
fuelling the black hole. While a significant mass is ejected by OB winds and
supernovae, their high velocity means that very little of it can be accreted.
On the other hand winds from AGB stars ultimately dominate the total mass loss,
and they can also be accreted very efficiently because of their slow speeds.Comment: 51 pages, including 27 figures; accepted by ApJ (paper reorganised,
but results & conclusions the same
New Measurements of the Motion of the Zodiacal Dust
Using the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM), we have measured at high spectral
resolution and high signal-to-noise the profile of the scattered solar Mg I
5184 absorption line in the zodiacal light. The observations were carried out
toward 49 directions that sampled the ecliptic equator from solar elongations
of 48\dg (evening sky) to 334\dg (morning sky) plus observations near +47\dg
and +90\dg ecliptic latitude. The spectra show a clear prograde kinematic
signature that is inconsistent with dust confined to the ecliptic plane and in
circular orbits influenced only by the sun's gravity. In particular, the
broadened widths of the profiles, together with large amplitude variations in
the centroid velocity with elongation angle, indicate that a significant
population of dust is on eccentric orbits. In addition, the wide, flat-bottomed
line profile toward the ecliptic pole indicates a broad distribution of orbital
inclinations extending up to about 30\dg - 40\dg with respect to the ecliptic
plane. The absence of pronounced asymmetries in the shape of the profiles
limits the retrograde population to less than 10% of the prograde population
and also places constraints on the scattering phase function of the particles.
These results do not show the radial outflow or evening--morning velocity
amplitude asymmetry reported in some earlier investigations. The reduction of
the spectra included the discovery and removal of extremely faint, unidentified
terrestrial emission lines that contaminate and distort the underlying Mg I
profile. This atmospheric emission is too weak to have been seen in earlier,
lower signal-to-noise observations, but it probably affected the line centroid
measurements of previous investigations.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, to appear in ApJ v612; figures appear
low-res only on scree
Low thermal conductivity of the layered oxide (Na,Ca)Co_2O_4: Another example of a phonon glass and an electron crystal
The thermal conductivity of polycrystalline samples of (Na,Ca)Co_2O_4 is
found to be unusually low, 20 mW/cmK at 280 K. On the assumption of the
Wiedemann-Franz law, the lattice thermal conductivity is estimated to be 18
mW/cmK at 280 K, and it does not change appreciably with the substitution of Ca
for Na. A quantitative analysis has revealed that the phonon mean free path is
comparable with the lattice parameters, where the point-defect scattering plays
an important role. Electronically the same samples show a metallic conduction
down to 4.2 K, which strongly suggests that NaCo_2O_4 exhibits a glass-like
poor thermal conduction together with a metal-like good electrical conduction.
The present study further suggests that a strongly correlated system with
layered structure can act as a material of a phonon glass and an electron
crystal.Comment: 5 pages 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Recommended from our members
Terrestrial Alteration Mineral Assemblages in the NWA 10416 Olivine Phyric Shergottite
We report on the alteration history of the olivine-phyric, highly depleted (HD) shergottite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 10416, paying particular attention to the origin of the aqueous alteration seen affecting the meteorite’s olivine megacrysts. The rock’s interior displays 1 mm, zoned, altered olivine megacrysts set in a groundmass of clinopyroxene, unzoned olivine, and interstitial plagioclase and maskelynite. Synchrotron micro X-ray diffraction (µ-XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that plagioclase and maskelynite have been partially replaced by kaolinite. The relict olivine megacryst cores display a unique concentric colouration for Martian meteorites, having central amber-coloured zones surrounded by a brown mantle zone, with the rims remaining clear and unaltered. This colouration is a result of fluid alteration and partial replacement, with hydration. TEM analysis revealed the ∼200 nm scale banded and largely amorphous nature of the alteration, but with some (∼ 20%) relict crystalline olivine patches. Although the coloured olivine zones show cation and anion site vacancies compared to stoichiometric olivine, a relict igneous compositional trend is preserved in the megacrysts, from Mg-rich altered cores (Mg# = 76) to unaltered stoichiometric rims (Fo53). Synchrotron Fe-K X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that the coloured zones of the megacryst have different Fe oxidation values. High ferric contents are present in the brown mantle zones (Fe3+/ΣFe ≤ 0.92) and the amber zones (Fe3+/ΣFe ≤ 0.30), whereas the clear rims are ferrous. This suggests alteration occurred in an oxidising environment and that the sharp contrast in colour of the megacryst (brown to clear) is a record of a relict fluid reaction front.
In order to test the terrestrial or extraterrestrial origin of the alteration, olivine material from a shock-melt vein was analysed by TEM. The analysis revealed 0.952 nm curved d-spacing’s from clay alteration undisturbed by any shock effects, strongly suggesting a terrestrial origin. The d-spacing values most likely represent a collapsed saponite or vermiculite, showing that in some places olivine has been replaced by crystalline clay.
Oxygen isotope analysis of bulk (Δ17O = 0.309 ± 0.009 (2σ) ‰) and amber-coloured megacryst material (= 0.271 ± 0.002 (2σ) ‰), are also consistent with terrestrial alteration. We propose a model in which, during the meteorite’s time in Northwest Africa, low-temperature, likely acidic, groundwater exploited fractures. The fluid altered the olivine megacrysts in a way that was controlled by the pre-existing, igneous compositional zonation, with Mg-rich olivine being more susceptible to alteration in this fluid environment. The plagioclase and maskelynite were also altered to a high degree. After the alteration event it is likely that NWA 10416 had a significant residence time in Northwest Africa, accounting for terrestrial calcite and the dehydration of some clay phases
Why history? Why now? Multiple accounts of the emergence of academic development
More than 40 years after its beginnings, academic development stands uncertainly on the threshold of becoming a profession or discipline in its own right. While it remains marginal to the dominant stories of the university, it has become central to the institution's contemporary business. This Research Note describes an enquiry that uses a multiple histories approach to explore the emergence of academic development in three national sites. Our intention is to provoke a more critical engagement with academic development's current forms and future possibilities
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