36,020 research outputs found
Multiplicity of massive O stars and evolutionary implications
Nearby companions alter the evolution of massive stars in binary systems.
Using a sample of Galactic massive stars in nearby young clusters, we
simultaneously measure all intrinsic binary characteristics relevant to
quantify the frequency and nature of binary interactions. We find a large
intrinsic binary fraction, a strong preference for short orbital periods and a
flat distribution for the mass-ratios. Our results do not support the presence
of a significant peak of equal-mass `twin' binaries. As a result of the
measured distributions, we find that over seventy per cent of all massive stars
exchange mass with a companion. Such a rate greatly exceeds previous estimates
and implies that the majority of massive stars have their evolution strongly
affected by interaction with a nearby companion.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Conference proceedings to appear in "370 years of
astronomy in Utrecht
Binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars
The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in
binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, X-ray binaries
and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars
affected by binary interaction were lacking. We simultaneously measured all
relevant binary characteristics in a sample of Galactic massive O stars and
quantified the frequency and nature of binary interactions. Over seventy per
cent of all massive stars will exchange mass with a companion, leading to a
binary merger in one third of the cases. These numbers greatly exceed previous
estimates and imply that binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive
stars, with implications for populations of massive stars and their supernovae.Comment: 9 page, 2 figures. This is the authors' version. Final version and
supplementary materials available at http://www.sciencemag.or
Direction of light propagation to order G^2 in static, spherically symmetric spacetimes: a new derivation
A procedure avoiding any integration of the null geodesic equations is used
to derive the direction of light propagation in a three-parameter family of
static, spherically symmetric spacetimes within the post-post-Minkowskian
approximation. Quasi-Cartesian isotropic coordinates adapted to the symmetries
of spacetime are systematically used. It is found that the expression of the
angle formed by two light rays as measured by a static observer staying at a
given point is remarkably simple in these coordinates. The attention is mainly
focused on the null geodesic paths that we call the "quasi-Minkowskian light
rays". The vector-like functions characterizing the direction of propagation of
such light rays at their points of emission and reception are firstly obtained
in the generic case where these points are both located at a finite distance
from the centre of symmetry. The direction of propagation of the
quasi-Minkowskian light rays emitted at infinity is then straightforwardly
deduced. An intrinsic definition of the gravitational deflection angle relative
to a static observer located at a finite distance is proposed for these rays.
The expression inferred from this definition extends the formula currently used
in VLBI astrometry up to the second order in the gravitational constant G.Comment: 19 pages; revised introduction; added references for introduction;
corrected typos; published in Class. Quantum Gra
Multi-interaction mean-field renormalization group
We present an extension of the previously proposed mean-field renormalization
method to model Hamiltonians which are characterized by more than just one type
of interaction. The method rests on scaling assumptions about the magnetization
of different sublattices of the given lattice and it generates as many flow
equations as coupling constants without arbitrary truncations on the
renormalized Hamiltonian. We obtain good results for the test case of Ising
systems with an additional second-neighbor coupling in two and three
dimensions. An application of the method is also done to a morphological model
of interacting surfaces introduced recenlty by Likos, Mecke and Wagner [J.
Chem. Phys. {\bf{102}}, 9350 (1995)].
PACS: 64.60.Ak, 64.60.Fr, 05.70.JkComment: Tex file and three macros appended at the end. Five figures available
upon request to: [email protected], Fax: [+]39-40-224-60
Zero-mode analysis of quantum statistical physics
We present a unified formulation for quantum statistical physics based on the
representation of the density matrix as a functional integral. We identify the
stochastic variable of the effective statistical theory that we derive as a
boundary configuration and a zero mode relevant to the discussion of infrared
physics. We illustrate our formulation by computing the partition function of
an interacting one-dimensional quantum mechanical system at finite temperature
from the path-integral representation for the density matrix. The method of
calculation provides an alternative to the usual sum over periodic
trajectories: it sums over paths with coincident endpoints, and includes
non-vanishing boundary terms. An appropriately modified expansion into
Matsubara modes provides a natural separation of the zero-mode physics. This
feature may be useful in the treatment of infrared divergences that plague the
perturbative approach in thermal field theory.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Quadratic Effective Action for QED in D=2,3 Dimensions
We calculate the effective action for Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) in D=2,3
dimensions at the quadratic approximation in the gauge fields. We analyse the
analytic structure of the corresponding nonlocal boson propagators
nonperturbatively in k/m. In two dimensions for any nonzero fermion mass, we
end up with one massless pole for the gauge boson . We also calculate in D=2
the effective potential between two static charges separated by a distance L
and find it to be a linearly increasing function of L in agreement with the
bosonized theory (massive Sine-Gordon model). In three dimensions we find
nonperturbatively in k/m one massive pole in the effective bosonic action
leading to screening. Fitting the numerical results we derive a simple
expression for the functional dependence of the boson mass upon the
dimensionless parameter e^{2}/m .Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
The contamination of the surface of Vesta by impacts and the delivery of the dark material
The Dawn spacecraft observed the presence of dark material, which in turn
proved to be associated with OH and H-rich material, on the surface of Vesta.
The source of this dark material has been identified with the low albedo
asteroids, but it is still a matter of debate whether the delivery of the dark
material is associated with a few large impact events, to micrometeorites or to
the continuous, secular flux of impactors on Vesta. The continuous flux
scenario predicts that a significant fraction of the exogenous material
accreted by Vesta should be due to non-dark impactors likely analogous to
ordinary chondrites, which instead represent only a minor contaminant in the
HED meteorites. We explored the continuous flux scenario and its implications
for the composition of the vestan regolith, taking advantage of the data from
the Dawn mission and the HED meteorites. We used our model to show that the
stochastic events scenario and the micrometeoritic flux scenario are natural
consequences of the continuous flux scenario. We then used the model to
estimate the amounts of dark and hydroxylate materials delivered on Vesta since
the LHB and we showed how our results match well with the values estimated by
the Dawn mission. We used our model to assess the amount of Fe and siderophile
elements that the continuous flux of impactors would mix in the vestan
regolith: concerning the siderophile elements, we focused our attention on the
role of Ni. The results are in agreement with the data available on the Fe and
Ni content of the HED meteorites and can be used as a reference frame in future
studies of the data from the Dawn mission and of the HED meteorites. Our model
cannot yet provide an answer to the fate of the missing non-carbonaceous
contaminants, but we discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication on the
journal ICARUS, "Dark and Bright Materials on Vesta" special issu
A Coherent Study of Emission Lines from Broad-Band Photometry: Specific Star-Formation Rates and [OIII]/H{\beta} Ratio at 3 < z < 6
We measure the H{\alpha} and [OIII] emission line properties as well as
specific star-formation rates (sSFR) of spectroscopically confirmed 3<z<6
galaxies in COSMOS from their observed colors vs. redshift evolution. Our model
describes consistently the ensemble of galaxies including intrinsic properties
(age, metallicity, star-formation history), dust-attenuation, and optical
emission lines. We forward-model the measured H{\alpha} equivalent-widths (EW)
to obtain the sSFR out to z~6 without stellar mass fitting. We find a strongly
increasing rest-frame H{\alpha} EW that is flattening off above z~2.5 with
average EWs of 300-600A at z~6. The sSFR is increasing proportional to
(1+z)^2.4 at z<2.2 and (1+z)^1.5 at higher redshifts, indicative of a fast mass
build-up in high-z galaxies within e-folding times of 100-200Myr at z~6. The
redshift evolution at z>3 cannot be fully explained in a picture of cold
accretion driven growth. We find a progressively increasing
[OIII]{\lambda}5007/H{\beta} ratio out to z~6, consistent with the ratios in
local galaxies selected by increasing H{\alpha} EW (i.e., sSFR). This
demonstrates the potential of using "local high-z analogs" to investigate the
spectroscopic properties and relations of galaxies in the re-ionization epoch.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 3 table
Unstable and stable regimes of polariton condensation
Modulational instabilities play a key role in a wide range of nonlinear
optical phenomena, leading e.g. to the formation of spatial and temporal
solitons, rogue waves and chaotic dynamics. Here we experimentally demonstrate
the existence of a modulational instability in condensates of cavity
polaritons, arising from the strong coupling of cavity photons with quantum
well excitons. For this purpose we investigate the spatiotemporal coherence
properties of polariton condensates in GaAs-based microcavities under
continuous-wave pumping. The chaotic behavior of the instability results in a
strongly reduced spatial and temporal coherence and a significantly
inhomogeneous density. Additionally we show how the instability can be tamed by
introducing a periodic potential so that condensation occurs into negative mass
states, leading to largely improved coherence and homogeneity. These results
pave the way to the exploration of long-range order in dissipative quantum
fluids of light within a controlled platform.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
An Imaging and Spectroscopic Study of the z=3.38639 Damped Lyman Alpha System in Q0201+1120: Clues to Star Formation Rate at High Redshift
We present the results of a series of imaging and spectroscopic observations
aimed at identifying and studying the galaxy responsible for the z = 3.38639
damped lya system in the z = 3.61 QSO Q0201+1120. We find that the DLA is part
of a concentration of matter which includes at least four galaxies (probably
many more) over linear comoving dimensions, greater than 5h^-1Mpc. The absorber
may be a 0.7 L* galaxy at an impact parameter of 15 h^-1 kpc, but follow-up
spectroscopy is still required for positive identification. The gas is
turbulent, with many absorption components distributed over approximately 270
km/s and a large spin temperature, T_s greater than 4000K. The metallicity is
relatively high for this redshift, Z(DLA) approximately 1/20 Z(solar). From
consideration of the relative ratios of elements which have different
nucleosynthetic timescales, it would appear that the last major episode of star
formation in this DLA occurred at z greater than 4.3, more than approximately
500 Myr prior to the time when we observe it.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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