3,419 research outputs found
High-Symmetry Polarization Domains in Low-Symmetry Ferroelectrics
We present experimental evidence for hexagonal domain faceting in the
ferroelectric polymer PVDF-TrFE films having the lower orthorhombic
crystallographic symmetry. This effect can arise from purely electrostatic
depolarizing forces. We show that in contrast to magnetic bubble shape domains
where such type of deformation instability has a predominantly elliptical
character, the emergence of more symmetrical circular harmonics is favored in
ferroelectrics with high dielectric constant
Strange filamentary structures ("fireballs") around a merger galaxy in the Coma cluster of galaxies
We found an unusual complex of narrow blue filaments, bright blue knots, and
H-alpha emitting filaments and clouds, which morphologically resembled a
complex of ``fireballs,'' extending up to 80 kpc south from an E+A galaxy RB199
in the Coma cluster. The galaxy has a highly disturbed morphology indicative of
a galaxy--galaxy merger remnant. The narrow blue filaments extend in straight
shapes toward the south from the galaxy, and several bright blue knots are
located at the southern ends of the filaments. The Rc band absolute magnitudes,
half light radii and estimated masses of the bright knots are -12 - -13 mag,
200 - 300 pc and 10^6-7 Msolar, respectively. Long, narrow H-alpha emitting
filaments are connected at the south edge of the knots. The average color of
the fireballs is B - Rc = 0.5, which is bluer than RB199 (B - R = 0.99),
suggesting that most of the stars in the fireballs were formed within several
times 10^8 yr. The narrow blue filaments exhibit almost no H-alpha emission.
Strong H-alpha and UV emission appear in the bright knots. These
characteristics indicate that star formation recently ceased in the blue
filaments and now continues in the bright knots. The gas stripped by some
mechanism from the disk of RB199 may be traveling in the intergalactic space,
forming stars left along its trajectory. The most plausible fireball formation
mechanism is ram pressure stripping by high-speed collision between the galaxy
and the hot intra-cluster medium. The fireballs may be a snapshot of diffuse
intra-cluster population formation, or halo star population formation in a
cluster galaxy.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Ap
Mosaic CCD method: A new technique for observing dynamics of cometary magnetospheres
On April 29, 1990, the plasma tail of Comet Austin was observed with a CCD camera on the 105-cm Schmidt telescope at the Kiso Observatory of the University of Tokyo. The area of the CCD used in this observation is only about 1 sq cm. When this CCD is used on the 105-cm Schmidt telescope at the Kiso Observatory, the area corresponds to a narrow square view of 12 ft x 12 ft. By comparison with the photograph of Comet Austin taken by Numazawa (personal communication) on the same night, we see that only a small part of the plasma tail can be photographed at one time with the CCD. However, by shifting the view on the CCD after each exposure, we succeeded in imaging the entire length of the cometary magnetosphere of 1.6 x 10(exp 6) km. This new technique is called 'the mosaic CCD method'. In order to study the dynamics of cometary plasma tails, seven frames of the comet from the head to the tail region were twice imaged with the mosaic CCD method and two sets of images were obtained. Six microstructures, including arcade structures, were identified in both the images. Sketches of the plasma tail including microstructures are included
Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae abundance in river water
The file attached is the Accepted/final draft post-refereeing version of the article
Optical Conductivity and Electronic Structure of CeRu4Sb12 under High Pressure
Optical conductivity [s(w)] of Ce-filled skutterudite CeRu4Sb12 has been
measured at high pressure to 8 GPa and at low temperature, to probe the
pressure evolution of its electronic structures. At ambient pressure, a
mid-infrared peak at 0.1 eV was formed in s(w) at low temperature, and the
spectral weight below 0.1 eV was strongly suppressed, due to a hybridization of
the f electron and conduction electron states. With increasing external
pressure, the mid-infrared peak shifts to higher energy, and the spectral
weight below the peak was further depleted. The obtained spectral data are
analyzed in comparison with band calculation result and other reported physical
properties. It is shown that the electronic structure of CeRu4Sb12 becomes
similar to that of a narrow-gap semiconductor under external pressure.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
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