Properties of thick discs formed in clumpy galaxies

We examine a possible formation scenario of galactic thick discs with numerical simulations. Thick discs have previously been argued to form in clumpy disc phase in the high-redshift Universe, which host giant clumps of <10^9 M_sun in their highly gas-rich discs. We performed SPH simulations using isolated galaxy models for the purpose of verifying whether dynamical and chemical properties of the thick discs formed in such clumpy galaxies are compatible with observations. The results of our simulations seem nearly consistent with observations in dynamical properties such as radial and vertical density profiles, significant rotation velocity lag with height and distributions of orbital eccentricities. In addition, the thick discs in our simulations indicate nearly exponential dependence of azimuthal and vertical velocity dispersions with radius, nearly isothermal kinematics in vertical direction and negligible metallicity gradients in radial and vertical directions. However, our simulations cannot reproduce altitudinal dependence of eccentricities, metallicity relations with eccentricities or rotation velocities, which shows striking discrepancy from recent observations of the Galactic thick disc. From this result, we infer that the clumpy disc scenario for thick-disc formation would not be suitable at least for the Milky Way. Our study, however, cannot reject this scenario for external galaxies if not all galaxies form their thick discs by the same process. In addition, we found that a large fraction of thick-disc stars forms in giant clumps.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Direct Mapping of Massive Compact Objects in Extragalactic Dark Halos

A significant fraction of non-baryonic or baryonic dark matter in galactic halos may consist of MASsive Compact Objects (MASCOs) with mass M=10^{1-4}M_{sun}. Possible candidates for such compact objects include primordial black holes or remnants of primordial (Population III) stars. We propose a method for directly detecting MASCOs in extragalactic halos, using the VLBI techniques with extremely high resolution. If a galactic halo comprising a large number of MASCOs produces multiple images of a background radio-loud QSO by gravitational lensing, then a high-resolution radio map of each macro-lensed image should reveal microlensing effects by MASCOs. To assess their observational feasibility, we simulate microlensing of the radio-loud, four-image lensed QSO, B1422+231, assuming angular resolution of ~0.01 mas. MASCOs are represented by point masses. For comparison, we also simulate microlensing of B1422+231 by singular isothermal spheres. We find that the surface brightness of the macro-lensed images shows distinct spatial patterns on the scale of the Einstein radius of the perturbers. In the case of point-mass perturbers, many tiny dark spots also appear in the macro-lensed images associated with a decrease in the surface brightness toward the fringe of the original QSO image, whereas no such spots are available in the SIS models. Based on the size, position and magnified or demagnified patterns of images, we shall be able to determine the mass and density profile of a MASCO as well as its spatial distribution and abundance in a galactic halo.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Non-dispersive optics using storage of light

We demonstrate the non-dispersive deflection of an optical beam in a Stern-Gerlach magnetic field. An optical pulse is initially stored as a spin-wave coherence in thermal rubidium vapour. An inhomogeneous magnetic field imprints a phase gradient onto the spin wave, which upon reacceleration of the optical pulse leads to an angular deflection of the retrieved beam. We show that the obtained beam deflection is non-dispersive, i.e. its magnitude is independent of the incident optical frequency. Compared to a Stern-Gerlach experiment carried out with propagating light under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency, the estimated suppression of the chromatic aberration reaches 10 orders of magnitude.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Electronic structure of Ca1−x_{1-x}Srx_xVO3_3: a tale of two energy-scales

We investigate the electronic structure of Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$VO$_3$ using photoemission spectroscopy. Core level spectra establish an electronic phase separation at the surface, leading to distinctly different surface electronic structure compared to the bulk. Analysis of the photoemission spectra of this system allowed us to separate the surface and bulk contributions. These results help us to understand properties related to two vastly differing energy-scales, namely the low energy-scale of thermal excitations (~$k_{B}T$) and the high-energy scale related to Coulomb and other electronic interactions.Comment: 4 pages and 3 figures. Europhysics Letters (appearing

Microwave and millimeter wave spectroscopy in the slightly hole-doped ladders of Sr14_{14}Cu24_{24}O41_{41}

We have measured the temperature- and frequency dependence of the microwave and millimeter wave conductivity $\sigma_1(T,\omega)$ along both the ladder (c-axis) and the leg (a-axis) directions in Sr$_{14}$Cu$_{24}$O$_{41}$. Below a temperature $T^*$($\sim$170 K), we observed a stronger frequency dependence in $\sigma_1^c(T,\omega)$ than that in $\sigma_1^a(T,\omega)$, forming a small resonance peak developed between 30 GHz and 100 GHz. We also observed nonlinear dc conduction along the c-axis at rather low electric fields below $T^*$. These results suggest some collective excitation contributes to the c-axis charge dynamics of the slightly hole-doped ladders of Sr$_{14}$Cu$_{24}$O$_{41}$ below $T^*$.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure, to be published in Europhysics Letter

Perturbation theory for localized solutions of sine-Gordon equation: decay of a breather and pinning by microresistor

We develop a perturbation theory that describes bound states of solitons localized in a confined area. External forces and influence of inhomogeneities are taken into account as perturbations to exact solutions of the sine-Gordon equation. We have investigated two special cases of fluxon trapped by a microresistor and decay of a breather under dissipation. Also, we have carried out numerical simulations with dissipative sine-Gordon equation and made comparison with the McLaughlin-Scott theory. Significant distinction between the McLaughlin-Scott calculation for a breather decay and our numerical result indicates that the history dependence of the breather evolution can not be neglected even for small damping parameter