3,396 research outputs found
Wetting on Nanorough Surfaces
We present in this Letter a free-energy approach to the dynamics of a fluid
near a nanostructured surface. The model accounts both for the static phase
equilibrium in the vicinity of the surface (wetting angles, Cassie-Wenzel
transition) and the dynamical properties like liquid slippage at the boundary.
This method bridges the gap between phenomenological phase-field approaches and
more macroscopic lattice-Boltzmann models
On Quasar Masses and Quasar Host Galaxies
The mass of massive black holes in quasar cores can be deduced using the
typical velocities of Hb-emitting clouds in the Broad Line Region (BLR) and the
size of this region. However, this estimate depends on various assumptions and
is susceptible to large systematic errors. The Hb-deduced black hole mass in a
sample of 14 bright quasars is found here to correlate with the quasar host
galaxy luminosity, as determined with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This
correlation is similar to the black hole mass vs. bulge luminosity correlation
found by Magorrian et al. in a sample of 32 nearby normal galaxies. The
similarity of the two correlations is remarkable since the two samples involve
apparently different types of objects and since the black hole mass estimates
in quasars and in nearby galaxies are based on very different methods.
This similarity provides a ``calibration'' of the Hb-deduced black hole mass
estimate, suggesting it is accurate to +-0.5 on log scale. The similarity of
the two correlations also suggests that quasars reside in otherwise normal
galaxies, and that the luminosity of quasar hosts can be estimated to +-0.5 mag
based on the quasar continuum luminosity and the Hb line width. Future imaging
observations of additional broad-line active galaxies with the HST are required
in order to explore the extent, slope, and scatter of the black hole mass vs.
host bulge luminosity correlation in active galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, 7 pages, aas2pp4.st
Blow-Up of Test Fields Near Cauchy Horizons
The behaviour of test fields near a compact Cauchy horizon is investigated.
It is shown that solutions of nonlinear wave equations on Taub spacetime with
generic initial data cannot be continued smoothly to both extensions of the
spacetime through the Cauchy horizon. This is proved using an energy method.
Similar results are obtained for the spacetimes of Moncrief containing a
compact Cauchy horizon and for more general matter models.Comment: 10 pages, Plain TeX, MPA-AR-92-
Exponential decay for the damped wave equation in unbounded domains
We study the decay of the semigroup generated by the damped wave equation in
an unbounded domain. We first prove under the natural geometric control
condition the exponential decay of the semigroup. Then we prove under a weaker
condition the logarithmic decay of the solutions (assuming that the initial
data are smoother). As corollaries, we obtain several extensions of previous
results of stabilisation and control
Derivation of the Zakharov equations
This paper continues the study of the validity of the Zakharov model
describing Langmuir turbulence. We give an existence theorem for a class of
singular quasilinear equations. This theorem is valid for well-prepared initial
data. We apply this result to the Euler-Maxwell equations describing
laser-plasma interactions, to obtain, in a high-frequency limit, an asymptotic
estimate that describes solutions of the Euler-Maxwell equations in terms of
WKB approximate solutions which leading terms are solutions of the Zakharov
equations. Because of transparency properties of the Euler-Maxwell equations,
this study is led in a supercritical (highly nonlinear) regime. In such a
regime, resonances between plasma waves, electromagnetric waves and acoustic
waves could create instabilities in small time. The key of this work is the
control of these resonances. The proof involves the techniques of geometric
optics of Joly, M\'etivier and Rauch, recent results of Lannes on norms of
pseudodifferential operators, and a semiclassical, paradifferential calculus
Predicted FeII Emission-Line Strengths from Active Galactic Nuclei
We present theoretical FeII emission line strengths for physical conditions
typical of Active Galactic Nuclei with Broad-Line Regions. The FeII line
strengths were computed with a precise treatment of radiative transfer using
extensive and accurate atomic data from the Iron Project. Excitation mechanisms
for the FeII emission included continuum fluorescence, collisional excitation,
self-fluorescence amoung the FeII transitions, and fluorescent excitation by
Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta. A large FeII atomic model consisting of 827 fine
structure levels (including states to E ~ 15 eV) was used to predict fluxes for
approximately 23,000 FeII transitions, covering most of the UV, optical, and IR
wavelengths of astrophysical interest. Spectral synthesis for wavelengths from
1600 Angstroms to 1.2 microns is presented. Applications of present theoretical
templates to the analysis of observations are described. In particular, we
discuss recent observations of near-IR FeII lines in the 8500 Angstrom -- 1
micron region which are predicted by the Lyman-alpha fluorescence mechanism. We
also compare our UV spectral synthesis with an empirical iron template for the
prototypical, narrow-line Seyfert galaxy I Zw 1. The theoretical FeII template
presented in this work should also applicable to a variety of objects with FeII
spectra formed under similar excitation conditions, such as supernovae and
symbiotic stars.Comment: 33 pages, 15 postscript figure
Effective temperatures of a heated Brownian particle
We investigate various possible definitions of an effective temperature for a
particularly simple nonequilibrium stationary system, namely a heated Brownian
particle suspended in a fluid. The effective temperature based on the
fluctuation dissipation ratio depends on the time scale under consideration, so
that a simple Langevin description of the heated particle is impossible. The
short and long time limits of this effective temperature are shown to be
consistent with the temperatures estimated from the kinetic energy and Einstein
relation, respectively. The fluctuation theorem provides still another
definition of the temperature, which is shown to coincide with the short time
value of the fluctuation dissipation ratio
Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering probes the electron-phonon coupling in the spin-liquid kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3
Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the N K edge reveals clearly resolved
harmonics of the anion plane vibrations in the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3
spin-liquid insulator. Tuning the incoming light energy at the K edge of two
distinct N sites permits to excite different sets of phonon modes. Cyanide CN
stretching mode is selected at the edge of the ordered N sites which are more
strongly connected to the BEDT-TTF molecules, while positionally disordered N
sites show multi-mode excitation. Combining measurements with calculations on
an anion plane cluster permits to estimate the sitedependent electron-phonon
coupling of the modes related to nitrogen excitation
Temperature-mediated transition from Dyakonov-Tamm surface waves to surface-plasmon-polariton waves
The effect of changing the temperature on the propagation of electromagnetic surface waves (ESWs), guided by the planar interface of a homogeneous isotropic temperature-sensitive material (namely, InSb) and a temperature-insensitive structurally chiral material (SCM) was numerically investigated in the terahertz frequency regime. As the temperature rises, InSb transforms from a dissipative dielectric material to a \blue{dissipative} plasmonic material. Correspondingly, the ESWs transmute from Dyakonov--Tamm surface waves into surface--plasmon--polariton waves. The effects of the temperature change are clearly observed in the phase speeds, propagation distances, angular existence domains, multiplicity, and spatial profiles of energy flow of the ESWs. Remarkably large propagation distances can be achieved; in such instances the energy of an ESW is confined almost entirely within the SCM. For certain propagation directions, simultaneous excitation of two ESWs with (i) the same phase speeds but different propagation distances or (ii) the same propagation distances but different phase speeds are also indicated by our results
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