1,194 research outputs found
Where Are the Baryons? II: Feedback Effects
Numerical simulations of the intergalactic medium have shown that at the
present epoch a significant fraction (40-50%) of the baryonic component should
be found in the (T~10^6K) Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) - with several
recent observational lines of evidence indicating the validity of the
prediction. We here recompute the evolution of the WHIM with the following
major improvements: (1) galactic superwind feedback processes from galaxy/star
formation are explicitly included; (2) major metal species (O V to O IX) are
computed explicitly in a non-equilibrium way; (3) mass and spatial dynamic
ranges are larger by a factor of 8 and 2, respectively, than in our previous
simulations. Here are the major findings: (1) galactic superwinds have dramatic
effects, increasing the WHIM mass fraction by about 20%, primarily through
heating up warm gas near galaxies with density 10^{1.5}-10^4 times the mean
density. (2) the fraction of baryons in WHIM is increased modestly from the
earlier work but is ~40-50%. (3) the gas density of the WHIM is broadly peaked
at a density 10-20 times the mean density, ranging from underdense regions to
regions that are overdense by 10^3-10^4. (4) the median metallicity of the WHIM
is 0.18 Zsun for oxygen with 50% and 90% intervals being (0.040,0.38) and
(0.0017,0.83).Comment: 44 pages, 17 figures, high res version at
http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~cen/baryonII.ps.g
Indexing, Unchained
Improved toughness is one of the central goals in the development of wear-resistant coatings. Previous studies of toughness in transition metal nitride alloys have addressed the effects of chemical composition in these compounds. Herein, we use density functional theory to study the effects of various metal sublattice configurations, ranging from fully ordered to fully disordered, on the mechanical properties of VM2N and TiM2N (M2 = W, Mo) ternary alloys. Results show that all alloys display high incompressibility, indicating strong M-N bonds. Disordered atomic arrangements yield lower values of bulk moduli and C11 elastic constants, as well as higher values of C44 elastic constants, compared to ordered structures. We attribute the low C44 values of ordered structures to the formation of fully-bonding states perpendicular to the applied stress. We find that the ductility of these compounds is primarily an effect of the increased valence electron concentration induced upon alloying
Disk Galaxy Formation in a LambdaCDM Universe
We describe hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation in a Lambda cold
dark matter (CDM) cosmology performed using a subresolution model for star
formation and feedback in a multiphase interstellar medium (ISM). In
particular, we demonstrate the formation of a well-resolved disk galaxy. The
surface brightness profile of the galaxy is exponential, with a B-band central
surface brightness of 21.0 mag arcsec^-2 and a scale-length of R_d = 2.0 h^-1
kpc. We find no evidence for a significant bulge component. The simulated
galaxy falls within the I-band Tully-Fisher relation, with an absolute
magnitude of I = -21.2 and a peak stellar rotation velocity of V_rot=121.3 km
s^-1. While the total specific angular momentum of the stars in the galaxy
agrees with observations, the angular momentum in the inner regions appears to
be low by a factor of ~2. The star formation rate of the galaxy peaks at ~7
M_sun yr^-1 between redshifts z=2-4, with the mean stellar age decreasing from
\~10 Gyrs in the outer regions of the disk to ~7.5 Gyrs in the center,
indicating that the disk did not simply form inside-out. The stars exhibit a
metallicity gradient from 0.7 Z_sun at the edge of the disk to 1.3 Z_sun in the
center. Using a suite of idealized galaxy formation simulations with different
models for the ISM, we show that the effective pressure support provided by
star formation and feedback in our multiphase model is instrumental in allowing
the formation of large, stable disk galaxies. If ISM gas is instead modeled
with an isothermal equation of state, or if star formation is suppressed
entirely, growing gaseous disks quickly violate the Toomre stability criterion
and undergo catastrophic fragmentation.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, LaTex (emulateapj.cls), submitted to ApJ, high
resolution images available at
http://www-cfa.harvard.edu/~brobertson/papers/galaxy
Bonding mechanism in the nitrides Ti2AlN and TiN: an experimental and theoretical investigation
The electronic structure of nanolaminate Ti2AlN and TiN thin films has been
investigated by bulk-sensitive soft x-ray emission spectroscopy. The measured
Ti L, N K, Al L1 and Al L2,3 emission spectra are compared with calculated
spectra using ab initio density-functional theory including dipole transition
matrix elements. Three different types of bond regions are identified; a
relatively weak Ti 3d - Al 3p bonding between -1 and -2 eV below the Fermi
level, and Ti 3d - N 2p and Ti 3d - N 2s bonding which are deeper in energy
observed at -4.8 eV and -15 eV below the Fermi level, respectively. A strongly
modified spectral shape of 3s states of Al L2,3 emission from Ti2AlN in
comparison to pure Al metal is found, which reflects the Ti 3d - Al 3p
hybridization observed in the Al L1 emission. The differences between the
electronic and crystal structures of Ti2AlN and TiN are discussed in relation
to the intercalated Al layers of the former compound and the change of the
materials properties in comparison to the isostructural carbides.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures;
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.19512
On spherical twisted conjugacy classes
Let G be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of good
odd characteristic, and let theta be an automorphism of G arising from an
involution of its Dynkin diagram. We show that the spherical theta-twisted
conjugacy classes are precisely those intersecting only Bruhat cells
corresponding to twisted involutions in the Weyl group. We show how the
analogue of this statement fails in the triality case. We generalize to good
odd characteristic J-H. Lu's dimension formula for spherical twisted conjugacy
classes.Comment: proof of Lemma 6.4 polished. The journal version is available at
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k573l88256753640
The halo model and numerical simulations
Recently there has been a lot of attention focussed on a virialized
halo-based approach to understanding the properties of the matter and galaxy
power spectrum. A key ingredient in this model is the number and distribution
of galaxies within dark matter halos as a function of mass. This quantity has
been predicted from semi-analytic modeling and from fits to observational data.
Here we present predictions for the occupation number and spatial distribution
of sub-halos based on a high-resolution hydrodynamical simulation including
cooling, star-formation and feedback.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, matches version accepted by ApJ
Adaptive hard and tough mechanical response in single-crystal B1 VNx ceramics via control of anion vacancies
High hardness and toughness are generally considered mutually exclusive
properties for single-crystal ceramics. Combining experiments and ab initio
molecular dynamics (AIMD) atomistic simulations at room temperature, we
demonstrate that both the hardness and toughness of single-crystal
NaCl-structure VNx/MgO(001) thin films are simultaneously enhanced through the
incorporation of anion vacancies. Nanoindentation results show that VN0.8, here
considered as representative understoichiometric VNx system, is ~20% harder, as
well as more resistant to fracture than stoichiometric VN samples. AIMD
modeling of VN and VN0.8 supercells subjected to [001] and [110] elongation
reveal that the tensile strengths of the two materials are similar.
Nevertheless, while the stoichiometric VN phase systematically cleaves in a
brittle manner at tensile yield points, the understoichiometric compound
activates transformation-toughening mechanisms that dissipate accumulated
stresses. AIMD simulations also show that VN0.8 exhibits an initially greater
resistance to both {110} and {111} shear deformation than VN.
However, for progressively increasing shear strains, the VN0.8 mechanical
behavior gradually evolves from harder to more ductile than VN. The transition
is mediated by anion vacancies, which facilitate {110} and {111}
lattice slip by reducing activation shear stresses by as much as 35%.
Electronic-structure analyses show that the two-regime hard/tough mechanical
response of VN0.8 primarily stems from its intrinsic ability to transfer d
electrons between 2nd-neighbor and 4th-neighbor (i.e., across vacancy sites)
V-V metallic states. Our work offers a route for electronic-structure design of
hard materials in which a plastic mechanical response is triggered with
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