11,138 research outputs found
Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Extrasolar Giant Planets
We build on recent new evolutionary models of Jupiter and Saturn and here
extend our calculations to investigate the evolution of extrasolar giant
planets of mass 0.15 to 3.0 M_J. Our inhomogeneous thermal history models show
that the possible phase separation of helium from liquid metallic hydrogen in
the deep interiors of these planets can lead to luminosities ~2 times greater
than have been predicted by homogeneous models. For our chosen phase diagram
this phase separation will begin to affect the planets' evolution at ~700 Myr
for a 0.15 M_J object and ~10 Gyr for a 3.0 M_J object. We show how phase
separation affects the luminosity, effective temperature, radii, and
atmospheric helium mass fraction as a function of age for planets of various
masses, with and without heavy element cores, and with and without the effect
of modest stellar irradiation. This phase separation process will likely not
affect giant planets within a few AU of their parent star, as these planets
will cool to their equilibrium temperatures, determined by stellar heating,
before the onset of phase separation. We discuss the detectability of these
objects and the likelihood that the energy provided by helium phase separation
can change the timescales for formation and settling of ammonia clouds by
several Gyr. We discuss how correctly incorporating stellar irradiation into
giant planet atmosphere and albedo modeling may lead to a consistent
evolutionary history for Jupiter and Saturn.Comment: 22 pages, including 14 figures. Accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Cumulant expansion of the periodic Anderson model in infinite dimension
The diagrammatic cumulant expansion for the periodic Anderson model with
infinite Coulomb repulsion () is considered here for an hypercubic
lattice of infinite dimension (). The same type of simplifications
obtained by Metzner for the cumulant expansion of the Hubbard model in the
limit of , are shown to be also valid for the periodic Anderson
model.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures.ps. To be published in J. Phys. A: Mathematical
and General (1997
Sequence composition and environment effects on residue fluctuations in protein structures
The spectrum and scale of fluctuations in protein structures affect the range
of cell phenomena, including stability of protein structures or their
fragments, allosteric transitions and energy transfer. The study presents a
statistical-thermodynamic analysis of relationship between the sequence
composition and the distribution of residue fluctuations in protein-protein
complexes. A one-node-per residue elastic network model accounting for the
nonhomogeneous protein mass distribution and the inter-atomic interactions
through the renormalized inter-residue potential is developed. Two factors, a
protein mass distribution and a residue environment, were found to determine
the scale of residue fluctuations. Surface residues undergo larger fluctuations
than core residues, showing agreement with experimental observations. Ranking
residues over the normalized scale of fluctuations yields a distinct
classification of amino acids into three groups. The structural instability in
proteins possibly relates to the high content of the highly fluctuating
residues and a deficiency of the weakly fluctuating residues in irregular
secondary structure elements (loops), chameleon sequences and disordered
proteins. Strong correlation between residue fluctuations and the sequence
composition of protein loops supports this hypothesis. Comparing fluctuations
of binding site residues (interface residues) with other surface residues shows
that, on average, the interface is more rigid than the rest of the protein
surface and Gly, Ala, Ser, Cys, Leu and Trp have a propensity to form more
stable docking patches on the interface. The findings have broad implications
for understanding mechanisms of protein association and stability of protein
structures.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Compressibility of the Two-Dimensional infinite-U Hubbard Model
We study the interactions between the coherent quasiparticles and the
incoherent Mott-Hubbard excitations and their effects on the low energy
properties in the Hubbard model. Within the framework of a
systematic large-N expansion, these effects first occur in the next to leading
order in 1/N. We calculate the scattering phase shift and the free energy, and
determine the quasiparticle weight Z, mass renormalization, and the
compressibility. It is found that the compressibility is strongly renormalized
and diverges at a critical doping . We discuss the nature
of this zero-temperature phase transition and its connection to phase
separation and superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Many-body approach to the nonlinear interaction of charged particles with an interacting free electron gas
We report various many-body theoretical approaches to the nonlinear decay
rate and energy loss of charged particles moving in an interacting free
electron gas. These include perturbative formulations of the scattering matrix,
the self-energy, and the induced electron density. Explicit expressions for
these quantities are obtained, with inclusion of exchange and correlation
effects.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Journal of Physics
Temperature Fluctuations driven by Magnetorotational Instability in Protoplanetary Disks
The magnetorotational instability (MRI) drives magnetized turbulence in
sufficiently ionized regions of protoplanetary disks, leading to mass
accretion. The dissipation of the potential energy associated with this
accretion determines the thermal structure of accreting regions. Until
recently, the heating from the turbulence has only been treated in an
azimuthally averaged sense, neglecting local fluctuations. However, magnetized
turbulence dissipates its energy intermittently in current sheet structures. We
study this intermittent energy dissipation using high resolution numerical
models including a treatment of radiative thermal diffusion in an optically
thick regime. Our models predict that these turbulent current sheets drive
order unity temperature variations even where the MRI is damped strongly by
Ohmic resistivity. This implies that the current sheet structures where energy
dissipation occurs must be well resolved to correctly capture the flow
structure in numerical models. Higher resolutions are required to resolve
energy dissipation than to resolve the magnetic field strength or accretion
stresses. The temperature variations are large enough to have major
consequences for mineral formation in disks, including melting chondrules,
remelting calcium-aluminum rich inclusions, and annealing silicates; and may
drive hysteresis: current sheets in MRI active regions could be significantly
more conductive than the remainder of the disk.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, ApJ In Press, updated to match proof
Breadboard stellar tracker system test report, volume 1
The performance of a star tracker equipped with a focal plane detector was evaluated. The CID board is an array of 256 x 256 pixels which are 20 x 20 micrometers in dimension. The tracker used for test was a breadboard tracker system developed by BASD. Unique acquisition and tracking algorithms are employed to enhance performance. A pattern recognition process is used to test for proper image spread function and to avoid false acquisition on noise. A very linear, high gain, interpixel transfer function is derived for interpolating star position. The lens used in the tracker has an EFL of 100 mm. The tracker has an FOV of 2.93 degrees resulting in a pixel angular subtense of 41.253 arc sec in each axis. The test procedure used for the program presented a star to the tracker in a circular pattern of positions; the pattern was formed by projecting a simulated star through a rotatable deviation wedge. Further tests determined readout noise, Noise Equivalent Displacement during track, and spatial noise during acquisition by taking related data and reducing it
Exact Solution of a Electron System Combining Two Different t-J Models
A new strongly correlated electron model is presented. This is formed by two
types of sites: one where double occupancy is forbidden, as in the t-J model,
and the other where double occupancy is allowed but vacancy is not allowed, as
an inverse t-J model. The Hamiltonian shows nearest and next-to-nearest
neighbour interactions and it is solved by means of a modified algebraic nested
Bethe Ansatz. The number of sites where vacancy is not allowed, may be treated
as a new parameter if the model is looked at as a t-J model with impurities.
The ground and excited states are described in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: Some corrections and references added. To be published in J. Phys.
Screened Interaction and Self-Energy in an Infinitesimally Polarized Electron Gas via the Kukkonen-Overhauser Method
The screened electron-electron interaction and the
electron self-energy in an infinitesimally polarized electron gas are derived
by extending the approach of Kukkonen and Overhauser. Various quantities in the
expression for are identified in terms of the relevant
response functions of the electron gas. The self-energy is obtained from
by making use of the GW method which in this case
represents a consistent approximation. Contact with previous calculations is
made.Comment: 7 page
Atmospheric, Evolutionary, and Spectral Models of the Brown Dwarf Gliese 229 B
Theoretical spectra and evolutionary models that span the giant planet--brown
dwarf continuum have been computed based on the recent discovery of the brown
dwarf, Gliese 229 B. A flux enhancement in the 4--5 micron window is a
universal feature from Jovian planets to brown dwarfs. We confirm the existence
of methane and water in Gl 229 B's spectrum and find its mass to be 30 to 55
Jovian masses. Although these calculations focus on Gliese 229 B, they are also
meant to guide future searches for extra-solar giant planets and brown dwarfs.Comment: 8 pages, plain TeX, plus four postscript figures, gzipped and
uuencoded, accepted for Scienc
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