612 research outputs found
Microscopic View on Short-Range Wetting at the Free Surface of the Binary Metallic Liquid Gallium-Bismuth: An X-ray Reflectivity and Square Gradient Theory Study
We present an x-ray reflectivity study of wetting at the free surface of the
binary liquid metal gallium-bismuth (Ga-Bi) in the region where the bulk phase
separates into Bi-rich and Ga-rich liquid phases. The measurements reveal the
evolution of the microscopic structure of wetting films of the Bi-rich,
low-surface-tension phase along different paths in the bulk phase diagram. A
balance between the surface potential preferring the Bi-rich phase and the
gravitational potential which favors the Ga-rich phase at the surface pins the
interface of the two demixed liquid metallic phases close to the free surface.
This enables us to resolve it on an Angstrom level and to apply a mean-field,
square gradient model extended by thermally activated capillary waves as
dominant thermal fluctuations. The sole free parameter of the gradient model,
i.e. the so-called influence parameter, , is determined from our
measurements. Relying on a calculation of the liquid/liquid interfacial tension
that makes it possible to distinguish between intrinsic and capillary wave
contributions to the interfacial structure we estimate that fluctuations affect
the observed short-range, complete wetting phenomena only marginally. A
critical wetting transition that should be sensitive to thermal fluctuations
seems to be absent in this binary metallic alloy.Comment: RevTex4, twocolumn, 15 pages, 10 figure
Density Dependent Hadron Field Theory
A fully covariant approach to a density dependent hadron field theory is
presented. The relation between in--medium NN interactions and
field--theoretical meson--nucleon vertices is discussed. The medium dependence
of nuclear interactions is described by a functional dependence of the
meson--nucleon vertices on the baryon field operators. As a consequence, the
Euler--Lagrange equations lead to baryon rearrangement self--energies which are
not obtained when only a parametric dependence of the vertices on the density
is assumed. It is shown that the approach is energy--momentum conserving and
thermodynamically consistent. Solutions of the field equations are studied in
the mean--field approximation. Descriptions of the medium dependence in terms
of the baryon scalar and vector density are investigated. Applications to
infinite nuclear matter and finite nuclei are discussed. Density dependent
coupling constants obtained from Dirac--Brueckner calculations with the Bonn
NN-potentials are used. Results from Hartree calculations for energy spectra,
binding energies and charge density distributions of , and
are presented. Comparisons to data strongly support the importance
of rearrangement in a relativistic density dependent field theory. Most
striking is the simultanuous improvement of charge radii, charge densities and
binding energies. The results indicate the appearance of a new "Coester line"
in the nuclear matter equation of state.Comment: 48 LateX pages, 12 Figures, figures and full paper are available as
postscript files by anonymous ftp at ftp://theorie.physik.uni-giessen.de/dd
Density dependent hadron field theory for neutron stars with antikaon condensates
We investigate and condensation in -equilibrated
hyperonic matter within a density dependent hadron field theoretical model. In
this model, baryon-baryon and (anti)kaon-baryon interactions are mediated by
the exchange of mesons. Density dependent meson-baryon coupling constants are
obtained from microscopic Dirac Brueckner calculations using Groningen and Bonn
A nucleon-nucleon potential. It is found that the threshold of antikaon
condensation is not only sensitive to the equation of state but also to
antikaon optical potential depth. Only for large values of antikaon optical
potential depth, condensation sets in even in the presence of negatively
charged hyperons. The threshold of condensation is always reached
after condensation. Antikaon condensation makes the equation of state
softer thus resulting in smaller maximum mass stars compared with the case
without any condensate.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; final version to appear in Physical Review
Origin of Life
The evolution of life has been a big enigma despite rapid advancements in the
fields of biochemistry, astrobiology, and astrophysics in recent years. The
answer to this puzzle has been as mind-boggling as the riddle relating to
evolution of Universe itself. Despite the fact that panspermia has gained
considerable support as a viable explanation for origin of life on the Earth
and elsewhere in the Universe, the issue remains far from a tangible solution.
This paper examines the various prevailing hypotheses regarding origin of life
like abiogenesis, RNA World, Iron-sulphur World, and panspermia; and concludes
that delivery of life-bearing organic molecules by the comets in the early
epoch of the Earth alone possibly was not responsible for kick-starting the
process of evolution of life on our planet.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures,invited review article, minor additio
Atmospheric Neutrino Oscillations and New Physics
We study the robustness of the determination of the neutrino masses and
mixing from the analysis of atmospheric and K2K data under the presence of
different forms of phenomenologically allowed new physics in the nu_mu--nu_tau
sector. We focus on vector and tensor-like new physics interactions which allow
us to treat, in a model independent way, effects due to the violation of the
equivalence principle, violations of the Lorentz invariance both CPT conserving
and CPT violating, non-universal couplings to a torsion field and non-standard
neutrino interactions with matter. We perform a global analysis of the full
atmospheric data from SKI together with long baseline K2K data in the presence
of nu_mu -> nu_tau transitions driven by neutrino masses and mixing together
with sub-dominant effects due to these forms of new physics. We show that
within the present degree of experimental precision, the extracted values of
masses and mixing are robust under those effects and we derive the upper bounds
on the possible strength of these new interactions in the nu_mu--nu_tau sector.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX file using RevTEX4, 5 figures and 4 tables include
Quantum Fluctuation Relations for the Lindblad Master Equation
An open quantum system interacting with its environment can be modeled under
suitable assumptions as a Markov process, described by a Lindblad master
equation. In this work, we derive a general set of fluctuation relations for
systems governed by a Lindblad equation. These identities provide quantum
versions of Jarzynski-Hatano-Sasa and Crooks relations. In the linear response
regime, these fluctuation relations yield a fluctuation-dissipation theorem
(FDT) valid for a stationary state arbitrarily far from equilibrium. For a
closed system, this FDT reduces to the celebrated Callen-Welton-Kubo formula
Endogenous Abscisic Acid as a Key Switch for Natural Variation in Flooding-Induced Shoot Elongation
Stellar evolution and modelling stars
In this chapter I give an overall description of the structure and evolution
of stars of different masses, and review the main ingredients included in
state-of-the-art calculations aiming at reproducing observational features. I
give particular emphasis to processes where large uncertainties still exist as
they have strong impact on stellar properties derived from large compilations
of tracks and isochrones, and are therefore of fundamental importance in many
fields of astrophysics.Comment: Lecture presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in
Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars
and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta,
Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201
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