29,075 research outputs found
Investigation of thin n-in-p planar pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade
In view of the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC),
planned to start around 2023-2025, the ATLAS experiment will undergo a
replacement of the Inner Detector. A higher luminosity will imply higher
irradiation levels and hence will demand more ra- diation hardness especially
in the inner layers of the pixel system. The n-in-p silicon technology is a
promising candidate to instrument this region, also thanks to its
cost-effectiveness because it only requires a single sided processing in
contrast to the n-in-n pixel technology presently employed in the LHC
experiments. In addition, thin sensors were found to ensure radiation hardness
at high fluences. An overview is given of recent results obtained with not
irradiated and irradiated n-in-p planar pixel modules. The focus will be on
n-in-p planar pixel sensors with an active thickness of 100 and 150 um recently
produced at ADVACAM. To maximize the active area of the sensors, slim and
active edges are implemented. The performance of these modules is investigated
at beam tests and the results on edge efficiency will be shown
Sub-au imaging of water vapour clouds around four Asymptotic Giant Branch stars
We present MERLIN maps of the 22-GHz H2O masers around four low-mass
late-type stars (IK Tau U Ori, RT Vir and U Her), made with an angular
resolution of ~ 15 milliarcsec and a velocity resolution of 0.1 km s-1. The H2O
masers are found in thick expanding shells with inner radii ~ 6 to 16 au and
outer radii four times larger. The expansion velocity increases radially
through the H2O maser regions, with logarithmic velocity gradients of 0.5--0.9.
IK Tau and RT Vir have well-filled H2O maser shells with a spatial offset
between the near and far sides of the shell, which suggests that the masers are
distributed in oblate spheroids inclined to the line of sight. U Ori and U Her
have elongated poorly-filled shells with indications that the masers at the
inner edge have been compressed by shocks; these stars also show OH maser
flares. MERLIN resolves individual maser clouds, which have diameters of 2 -- 4
au and filling factors of only ~ 0.01 with respect to the whole H2O maser
shells. The CSE velocity structure gives additional evidence the maser clouds
are density bounded. Masing clouds can be identified over a similar timescale
to their sound crossing time (~2 yr) but not longer. The sizes and observed
lifetimes of these clouds are an order of magnitude smaller than those around
red supergiants, similar to the ratio of low-mass:high-mass stellar masses and
sizes. This suggests that cloud size is determined by stellar properties, not
local physical phenomena in the wind.Comment: 21 pages, including 14 figures and 8 tables. Accepted for publication
in MNRA
Radiative heat transfer between two dielectric nanogratings in the scattering approach
We present a theoretical study of radiative heat transfer between dielectric
nanogratings in the scattering approach. As a comparision with these exact
results, we also evaluate the domain of validity of Derjaguin's Proximity
Approximation (PA). We consider a system of two corrugated silica plates with
various grating geometries, separation distances, and lateral displacement of
the plates with respect to one another. Numerical computations show that while
the PA is a good approximation for aligned gratings, it cannot be used when the
gratings are laterally displaced. We illustrate this by a thermal modulator
device for nanosystems based on such a displacement
Cotunneling drag effect in Coulomb-coupled quantum dots
In Coulomb drag, a current flowing in one conductor can induce a voltage
across an adjacent conductor via the Coulomb interaction. The mechanisms
yielding drag effects are not always understood, even though drag effects are
sufficiently general to be seen in many low-dimensional systems. In this
Letter, we observe Coulomb drag in a Coulomb-coupled double quantum dot
(CC-DQD) and, through both experimental and theoretical arguments, identify
cotunneling as essential to obtaining a correct qualitative understanding of
the drag behavior.Comment: Main text: 5 pages, 5 figures; SM: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
CVD of CrO2 Thin Films: Influence of the Deposition Parameters on their Structural and Magnetic Properties
This work reports on the synthesis of CrO2 thin films by atmospheric pressure
CVD using chromium trioxide (CrO3) and oxygen. Highly oriented (100) CrO2 films
containing highly oriented (0001) Cr2O3 were grown onto Al2O3(0001) substrates.
Films display a sharp magnetic transition at 375 K and a saturation
magnetization of 1.92 Bohr magnetons per f.u., close to the bulk value of 2
Bohr magnetons per f.u. for the CrO2.
Keywords: Chromium dioxide (CrO2), Atmospheric pressure CVD, Spintronics.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Total Opacity of Local Group Galaxies and Large Scale Structure behind the Galactic Bulge
Recently, we have developed and calibrated the Synthetic Field Method to
derive total extinction through disk galaxies. The method is based on the
number counts and colors of distant background field galaxies that can be seen
through the foreground object. Here, we investigate how large (10-m) and very
large (20 to 30-m), diffraction-limited, optical and infrared telescopes in
space would improve the detection of background galaxies behind Local Group
objects, including the Galactic bulge. We find that, besides and perhaps more
important than telescope size, a well-behaved, well-characterized PSF would
facilitate in general the detection of faint objects in crowded fields, and
greatly benefit several other important research areas, like the search for
extrasolar planets, the study of quasar hosts and, most relevant for this
meeting, the surveying of nearby large scale structure in the Zone of
Avoidance, in particular behind the Galactic bulge.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, uses asp2004.sty. To appear in ``Nearby
Large-Scale Structures and the Zone of Avoidance,'' eds. A.P. Fairall, P.
Woudt, ASP Conf. Series, in press, San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the
Pacifi
Broadband X-ray spectrum of the newly discovered broad line radio galaxy IGR J21247+5058
In this paper we present radio and high energy observations of the INTEGRAL
source IGR J21247+5058, a broad line emitting galaxy obscured by the Galactic
plane. Archival VLA radio data indicate that IGR J21247+5058 can be classified
as an FRII Broad Line Radio Galaxy. The spectrum between 610 MHz and 15 GHz is
typical of synchrotron self-absorbed radiation with a peak at 8 GHz and a low
energy turnover; the core fraction is 0.1 suggestive of a moderate Doppler
boosting of the base of the jet. The high energy broad-band spectrum was
obtained by combining XMM-Newton and Swift/XRT observation with INTEGRAL/IBIS
data. The 0.4-100 keV spectrum is well described by a power law, with slope
=1.5, characterised by complex absorption due to two layers of material
partially covering the source and a high energy cut-off around 70-80 keV.
Features such as a narrow iron line and a Compton reflection component, if
present, are weak, suggesting that reprocessing of the power law photons in the
accretion disk plays a negligible role in the source.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, accepted for pubblication on MNRA
The Brown-dwarf Atmosphere Monitoring (BAM) Project II: Multi-epoch monitoring of extremely cool brown dwarfs
With the discovery of Y dwarfs by the WISE mission, the population of field
brown dwarfs now extends to objects with temperatures comparable to those of
Solar System planets. To investigate the atmospheres of these newly identified
brown dwarfs, we have conducted a pilot study monitoring an initial sample of
three late T-dwarfs (T6.5, T8 and T8.5) and one Y-dwarf (Y0) for infrared
photometric variability at multiple epochs. With J-band imaging, each target
was observed for a period of 1.0h to 4.5h per epoch, which covers a significant
fraction of the expected rotational period. These measurements represent the
first photometric monitoring for these targets. For three of the four targets
(2M1047, Ross 458C and WISE0458), multi-epoch monitoring was performed, with
the time span between epochs ranging from a few hours to ~2 years. During the
first epoch, the T8.5 target WISE0458 exhibited variations with a remarkable
min-to-max amplitude of 13%, while the second epoch light curve taken ~2 years
later did not note any variability to a 3% upper limit. With an effective
temperature of ~600 K, WISE0458 is the coldest variable brown dwarf published
to-date, and combined with its high and variable amplitude makes it a
fascinating target for detailed follow-up. The three remaining targets showed
no significant variations, with a photometric precision between 0.8% and 20.0%,
depending on the target brightness. Combining the new results with previous
multi-epoch observations of brown dwarfs with spectral types of T5 or later,
the currently identified variables have locations on the colour-colour diagram
better matched by theoretical models incorporating cloud opacities rather than
cloud-free atmospheres. This preliminary result requires further study to
determine if there is a definitive link between variability among late-T dwarfs
and their location on the colour-colour diagram.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
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