2,265 research outputs found
Diffraction-limited Subaru imaging of M82: sharp mid-infrared view of the starburst core
We present new imaging at 12.81 and 11.7 microns of the central ~40"x30"
(~0.7x0.5 kpc) of the starburst galaxy M82. The observations were carried out
with the COMICS mid-infrared (mid-IR) imager on the 8.2m Subaru telescope, and
are diffraction-limited at an angular resolution of <0".4. The images show
extensive diffuse structures, including a 7"-long linear chimney-like feature
and another resembling the edges of a ruptured bubble. This is the clearest
view to date of the base of the kpc-scale dusty wind known in this galaxy.
These structures do not extrapolate to a single central point, implying
multiple ejection sites for the dust. In general, the distribution of dust
probed in the mid-IR anticorrelates with the locations of massive star clusters
that appear in the near-infrared. The 10-21 micron mid-IR emission,
spatially-integrated over the field of view, may be represented by hot dust
with temperature of ~160 K. Most discrete sources are found to have extended
morphologies. Several radio HII regions are identified for the first time in
the mid-IR. The only potential radio supernova remnant to have a mid-IR
counterpart is a source which has previously also been suggested to be a weak
active galactic nucleus. This source has an X-ray counterpart in Chandra data
which appears prominently above 3 keV and is best described as a hot (~2.6 keV)
absorbed thermal plasma with a 6.7 keV Fe K emission line, in addition to a
weaker and cooler thermal component. The mid-IR detection is consistent with
the presence of strong [NeII]12.81um line emission. The broad-band source
properties are complex, but the X-ray spectra do not support the active
galactic nucleus hypothesis. We discuss possible interpretations regarding the
nature of this source.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ Subaru special issue. High
resolution version available temporarily at
http://www.astro.isas.jaxa.jp/~pgandhi/pgandhi_m82.pd
Velocity Statistics in the Two-Dimensional Granular Turbulence
We studied the macroscopic statistical properties on the freely evolving
quasi-elastic hard disk (granular) system by performing a large-scale (up to a
few million particles) event-driven molecular dynamics systematically and found
that remarkably analogous to an enstrophy cascade process in the decaying
two-dimensional fluid turbulence. There are four typical stages in the freely
evolving inelastic hard disk system, which are homogeneous, shearing (vortex),
clustering and final state. In the shearing stage, the self-organized
macroscopic coherent vortices become dominant. In the clustering stage, the
energy spectra are close to the expectation of Kraichnan-Batchelor theory and
the squared two-particle separation strictly obeys Richardson law.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR
Anomalous thermal conductivity of NaV2O5 as compared to conventional spin-Peierls system CuGeO3
A huge increase of thermal conductivity k is observed at the phase transition
in stoichiometric NaV2O5. This anomaly decreases and gradually disappears with
deviation from stoichiometry in Na(1-x}V2O5 (x = 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04).
This behavior is compared with that of pure and Zn-doped CuGeO3 where only
modest kinks in the k(T) curves are observed at the spin-Peierls transition.
The change of k at critical temperature Tc could be partially attributed to the
opening of an energy gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum excluding the
scattering of thermal phonons on spin fluctuations. However, the reason for
such a strong anomaly in the k(T) may lie not only in the different energy
scales of CuGeO3 and NaV2O5, but also in the different character of the phase
transition in NaV2O5 which can have largely a structural origin, e.g. connected
with the charge ordering.Comment: PostScript 4 pages, 4 PostScript pictures. Submitted to Physical
Review Letter
Optical Conductivity of the Trellis-Lattice t-J Model: Charge Fluctuations in NaV_2O_5
Optical conductivity of the trellis lattice t-J model at quarter filling is
calculated by an exact-diagonalization technique on small clusters, whereby the
valence state of V ions of NaV_2O_5 is considered. We show that the
experimental features at \sim 1 eV, including peak positions, presence of
shoulders, and anisotropic spectral weight, can be reproduced in reasonable
range of parameter values, only by assuming that the system is in the charge
disproportionated ground state. Possible reconciliation with experimental data
suggesting the presence of uniform ladders at T>T_c is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 gif figures. Minor revisions have been made. Hardcopies of
figures (or the entire manuscript) can be obtained by e-mail request to
[email protected]
High frequency dielectric and magnetic anomaly at the phase transition in NaV2O5
We found anomalies in the temperature dependence of the dielectric and the
magnetic susceptibiliy of NaV_2O_5 in the microwave and far infrared frequency
ranges. The anomalies occur at the phase transition temperature T_c, at which
the spin gap opens. The real parts of the dielectric constants epsilon_a and
epsilon_c decrease below T_c. The decrease of epsilon_a (except for the narrow
region close to T_c) is proportional to the intensity of the x-ray reflection
appearing at T_c. The dielectric constant anomaly can be explained by the
zigzag charge ordering in the ab-plane appearing below T_c. The anomaly of the
microwave magnetic losses is probably related to the coupling between the spin
and charge degrees of freedom in vanadium ladders.Comment: 3 PS-figures, LATEX-text, new experimental data added, typos
correcte
Phase transitions in spin-orbital coupled model for pyroxene titanium oxides
We study the competing phases and the phase transition phenomena in an
effective spin-orbital coupled model derived for pyroxene titanium oxides
ATiSi2O6 (A=Na, Li). Using the mean-field-type analysis and the numerical
quantum transfer matrix method, we show that the model exhibits two different
ordered states, the spin-dimer and orbital-ferro state and the spin-ferro and
orbital-antiferro state. The transition between two phases is driven by the
relative strength of the Hund's-rule coupling to the onsite Coulomb repulsion
and/or by the external magnetic field. The ground-state phase diagram is
determined. There is a keen competition between orbital and spin degrees of
freedom in the multicritical regime, which causes large fluctuations and
significantly affects finite-temperature properties in the paramagnetic phase.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, proceedings submitted to SPQS200
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
Investigation of thermal and magnetic properties of defects in a spin-gap compound NaV2O5
The specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and ESR signals of a Na-deficient
vanadate Na_xV_2O_5 (x=1.00 - 0.90) were studied in the temperature range 0.07
- 10 K, well below the transition point to a spin-gap state. The contribution
of defects provided by sodium vacancies to the specific heat was observed. It
has a low temperature part which does not tend to zero till at least 0.3 K and
a high temperature power-like tail appears above 2 K. Such dependence may
correspond to the existence of local modes and correlations between defects in
V-O layers. The magnetic measurements and ESR data reveal S=1/2 degrees of
freedom for the defects, with their effective number increasing in temperature
and under magnetic field. The latter results in the nonsaturating magnetization
at low temperature. No long-range magnetic ordering in the system of defects
was found. A model for the defects based on electron jumps near vacancies is
proposed to explain the observed effects. The concept of a frustrated
two-dimensional correlated magnet induced by the defects is considered to be
responsible for the absence of magnetic ordering.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
Reanalysis of Copernicus Measurements on Interstellar Carbon Monoxide
We used archival data acquired with the Copernicus satellite to reexamine CO
column densities because self-consistent oscillator strengths are now
available. Our focus is on lines of sight containing modest amounts of
molecular species. Our resulting column densities are small enough that
self-shielding from photodissociation is not occurring in the clouds probed by
the observations. While our sample shows that the column densities of CO and H2
are related, no correspondence with the CH column density is evident. The case
for the CH+ column density is less clear. Recent chemical models for these
sight lines suggest that CH is mainly a by-product of CH+ synthesis in low
density gas. The models are most successful in reproducing the amounts of CO in
the densest sight lines. Thus, much of the CO absorption must arise from denser
clumps along the line of sight to account for the trend with H2.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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