7,115 research outputs found
Innovative research in the design and operation of large telescopes for space: Aspects of giant telescopes in space
The capability and understanding of how to finish the reflector surfaces needed for large space telescopes is discussed. The technology for making very light glass substrates for mirrors is described. Other areas of development are in wide field imaging design for very fast primaries, in data analysis and retrieval methods for astronomical images, and in methods for making large area closely packed mosaics of solid state array detectors
Power Spectra in a Zero-Range Process on a Ring: Total Occupation Number in a Segment
We study the dynamics of density fluctuations in the steady state of a
non-equilibrium system, the Zero-Range Process on a ring lattice. Measuring the
time series of the total number of particles in a \emph{segment} of the
lattice, we find remarkable structures in the associated power spectra, namely,
two distinct components of damped-oscillations. The essential origin of both
components is shown in a simple pedagogical model. Using a more sophisticated
theory, with an effective drift-diffusion equation governing the stochastic
evolution of the local particle density, we provide reasonably good fits to the
simulation results. The effects of altering various parameters are explored in
detail. Avenues for improving this theory and deeper understanding of the role
of particle interactions are indicated.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figure
Pressure-induced Spin-Peierls to Incommensurate Charge-Density-Wave Transition in the Ground State of TiOCl
The ground state of the spin-Peierls system TiOCl was probed using
synchrotron x-ray diffraction on a single-crystal sample at T = 6 K. We tracked
the evolution of the structural superlattice peaks associated with the
dimerized ground state as a function of pressure. The dimerization along the b
axis is rapidly suppressed in the vicinity of a first-order structural phase
transition at Pc = 13.1(1) GPa. The high-pressure phase is characterized by an
incommensurate charge density wave perpendicular to the original spin chain
direction. These results show that the electronic ground state undergoes a
fundamental change in symmetry, indicating a significant change in the
principal interactions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Kinetic energies of fragment ions produced by dissociative photoionization of NO
The kinetic energies of ions produced by dissociative photoionization of NO have been measured at the discrete resonance lines of He (584A) and Ne (736A), and with undispersed synchrotron radiation. O sup + ions were identified with energies from 0 to approximately 0.5 eV and two groups of N sup + ions one with energy of 0.36 eV and another with energies between 0.9 and 1.5 eV, apparently produced by predissociation of the C sup 3 P 1 and B'1 sigma states respectively
Anderson localization in carbon nanotubes: defect density and temperature effects
The role of irradiation induced defects and temperature in the conducting
properties of single-walled (10,10) carbon nanotubes has been analyzed by means
of a first-principles approach. We find that di-vacancies modify strongly the
energy dependence of the differential conductance, reducing also the number of
contributing channels from two (ideal) to one. A small number of di-vacancies
(5-9) brings up strong Anderson localization effects and a seemly universal
curve for the resistance as a function of the number of defects. It is also
shown that low temperatures, around 15-65 K, are enough to smooth out the
fluctuations of the conductance without destroying the exponential dependence
of the resistivity as a function of the tube length.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Leptonic universality breaking in Upsilon decays as a probe of new physics
In this work we examine the possible existence of new physics beyond the
standard model which could modify the branching fractions of the leptonic
(mainly tauonic) decays of bottomonium vector resonances below the
threshold. The decay width is factorized as the product of two pieces: a) the
probability of an intermediate pseudoscalar color-singlet state
(coupling to the dominant Fock state of the Upsilon via a magnetic dipole
transition) and a soft (undetected) photon; b) the annihilation width of the
pair into two leptons, mediated by a non-standard CP-odd Higgs boson
of mass about 10 GeV, introducing a quadratic dependence on the lepton mass in
the partial width. The process would be unwittingly ascribed to the
leptonic channel thereby (slightly) breaking lepton universality. A possible
mixing of the pseudoscalar Higgs and bottomonium resonances is also considered.
Finally, several experimental signatures to check out the validity of the
conjecture are discussed.Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages, 2 EPS figure
Jamming during the discharge of granular matter from a silo
In this work we present an experimental study of the jamming that stops the
free flow of grains from a silo discharging by gravity. When the outlet size is
not much bigger than the beads, granular material jams the outlet of the
container due to the formation of an arch. Statistical data from the number of
grains fallen between consecutive jams are presented. The information that they
provide can help to understand the jamming phenomenon. As the ratio between the
size of the orifice and the size of the beads is increased, the probability
that an arch blocks the outlet decreases. We show here that there is a power
law divergence of the mean avalanche size for a finite critical radius. Beyond
this critical radius no jamming can occur and the flow is never stopped. The
dependence of the arch formation on the shape and the material of the grains
has been explored. It has been found that the material properties of the grains
do not affect the arch formation probability. On the contrary, the shape of the
grains deeply influences it. A simple model to interpret the results is also
discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
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