331 research outputs found
Anomalous NMR Spin-Lattice Relaxation in SrB_{6} and Ca_{1-x}La_{x}B_{6}
We report the results of {11}B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements
of SrB_{6} and Ca_{0.995}La_{0.05}B_{6} below room temperature. Although the
electrical resistivities of these two materials differ substantially, their
{11}B-NMR responses exhibit some strikingly common features. Both materials
exhibit ferromagnetic order, but their {11}B-NMR spectra reveal very small
hyperfine fields at the Boron sites. The spin lattice relaxation T_{1}^{-1}
varies considerably with external field but changes with temperature only below
a few K. We discuss these unusual results by considering various different
scenarios for the electronic structure of these materials.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B Rapid communication, 4
pages, 3 figures. This manuscript replaces an earlier version and includes
some minor changes in the text and in Fig.
Multibeam Maser Survey of methanol and excited OH in the Magellanic clouds: new detections and maser abundance estimates
‘The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.’ Copyright Blackwell Publishing DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12888.xPeer reviewe
Superselection Sectors and General Covariance.I
This paper is devoted to the analysis of charged superselection sectors in
the framework of the locally covariant quantum field theories. We shall analize
sharply localizable charges, and use net-cohomology of J.E. Roberts as a main
tool. We show that to any 4-dimensional globally hyperbolic spacetime it is
attached a unique, up to equivalence, symmetric tensor \Crm^*-category with
conjugates (in case of finite statistics); to any embedding between different
spacetimes, the corresponding categories can be embedded, contravariantly, in
such a way that all the charged quantum numbers of sectors are preserved. This
entails that to any spacetime is associated a unique gauge group, up to
isomorphisms, and that to any embedding between two spacetimes there
corresponds a group morphism between the related gauge groups. This form of
covariance between sectors also brings to light the issue whether local and
global sectors are the same. We conjecture this holds that at least on simply
connected spacetimes. It is argued that the possible failure might be related
to the presence of topological charges. Our analysis seems to describe theories
which have a well defined short-distance asymptotic behaviour.Comment: 66 page
Deforestation: Correlations, Possible Causes and Some Implications
Changes in national forest areas during 1990-2000 are contrasted with other variables to illustrate correlations and provoke discussion about possible causes. Twenty-five statistically-significant correlations (including rural population, life expectancy, GDP, literacy, commerce, agriculture, poverty and inflation) are illustrated and a statistical model suggests that good governance, alternative employment opportunities, and payments for environmental services may be effective in combating deforestation. The data suggest that a global forest convention may need to be supported by substantial and carefully-targeted development assistance to foster good governance
Shear-banding in a lyotropic lamellar phase, Part 1: Time-averaged velocity profiles
Using velocity profile measurements based on dynamic light scattering and
coupled to structural and rheological measurements in a Couette cell, we
present evidences for a shear-banding scenario in the shear flow of the onion
texture of a lyotropic lamellar phase. Time-averaged measurements clearly show
the presence of structural shear-banding in the vicinity of a shear-induced
transition, associated to the nucleation and growth of a highly sheared band in
the flow. Our experiments also reveal the presence of slip at the walls of the
Couette cell. Using a simple mechanical approach, we demonstrate that our data
confirms the classical assumption of the shear-banding picture, in which the
interface between bands lies at a given stress . We also outline
the presence of large temporal fluctuations of the flow field, which are the
subject of the second part of this paper [Salmon {\it et al.}, submitted to
Phys. Rev. E]
Asteroseismology of Eclipsing Binary Stars in the Kepler Era
Eclipsing binary stars have long served as benchmark systems to measure
fundamental stellar properties. In the past few decades, asteroseismology - the
study of stellar pulsations - has emerged as a new powerful tool to study the
structure and evolution of stars across the HR diagram. Pulsating stars in
eclipsing binary systems are particularly valuable since fundamental properties
(such as radii and masses) can determined using two independent techniques.
Furthermore, independently measured properties from binary orbits can be used
to improve asteroseismic modeling for pulsating stars in which mode
identifications are not straightforward. This contribution provides a review of
asteroseismic detections in eclipsing binary stars, with a focus on space-based
missions such as CoRoT and Kepler, and empirical tests of asteroseismic scaling
relations for stochastic ("solar-like") oscillations.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables; Proceedings of the AAS topical
conference "Giants of Eclipse" (AASTCS-3), July 28 - August 2 2013, Monterey,
C
Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector
The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg
array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background
shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA
DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while
demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry
out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that
customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have
several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment,
including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities,
and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA
Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and
shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper
will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be
performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure
The 6-GHz methanol multibeam maser catalogue - I. Galactic Centre region, longitudes 345? to 6?
We have conducted a Galactic plane survey of methanol masers at 6668 MHz using a sevenbeam receiver on the Parkes telescope. Here we present results from the first part, which
provides sensitive unbiased coverage of a large region around the Galactic Centre. Details are
given for 183 methanol maser sites in the longitude range 345◦ through the Galactic Centre to
6◦. Within 6◦ of the Galactic Centre, we found 88 maser sites, of which more than half (48)
are new discoveries. The masers are confined to a narrow Galactic latitude range, indicative
of many sources at the Galactic Centre distance and beyond, and confined to a thin disc
population; there is no high-latitude population that might be ascribed to the Galactic bulge.
Within 2◦ of the Galactic Centre the maser velocities all lie between −60 and +77 km s−1,
a range much smaller than the 540 km s−1 range observed in CO. Elsewhere, the maser with
highest positive velocity (+107 km s−1) occurs, surprisingly, near longitude 355◦ and is probably attributable to the Galactic bar. The maser with the most negative velocity (−127 km s−1)
is near longitude 346◦, within the longitude–velocity locus of the near side of the ‘3-kpc arm’.
It has the most extreme velocity of a clear population of masers associated with the near and
far sides of the 3-kpc arm. Closer to the Galactic Centre the maser space density is generally
low, except within 0.25 kpc of the Galactic Centre itself, the ‘Galactic Centre zone’, where
it is 50 times higher, which is hinted at by the longitude distribution, and confirmed by the
unusual velocities.AA and DW-McS acknowledge support from a Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) studentship. LQ acknowledges
support from the EU Framework 6 Marie Curie Early Stage Training programme under contract MEST-CT-2005-19669 ‘ESTRELA’
AEROgui: A graphical user interface for the optical properties of aerosols
Atmospheric aerosols have an uncertain effect on climate and serious impacts on human health. The uncertainty in the aerosols' role on climate has several sources. First, aerosols have great spatial and temporal variability. The spatial variability arises from the fact that aerosols emitted in a certain place can travel thousands of kilometers, swept by the winds to modify the destination region's climate. The spatial variability also means that aerosols are inhomogeneously distributed in the vertical direction, which can lead to a differential effect on the energy balance depending on the aerosols' altitude. On the other hand, aerosols experience physical and chemical transformations in the time they spend in the atmosphere, commonly known as aging, which modifies its optical properties. These factors make necessary the use of two approaches for the study of the aerosol impact on climate: global aerosol models and satellite- and ground-based measurements. The disagreement between the estimates of the two approaches is the main cause of the climate uncertainty. One way to reduce climate uncertainty is to create new tools to simulate more realistic aerosol scenarios. We present a graphical user interface to obtain aerosol optical properties: extinction, scattering, and absorption coefficients; single-scattering albedo; asymmetry parameter; and aerosol optical depth. The tool can be used to obtain the optical properties of the external and internal mixture of several aerosol components. Interface outputs have successfully been compared to a black carbon plume and to aging mineral dust
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