28,480 research outputs found
Discovery of Extremely Large-Amplitude Quasi-Periodic Photometric Variability in WC9-Type Wolf-Rayet Binary, WR 104
We discovered that the Wolf-Rayet (WR)+OB star binary, WR 104, renowned for
its associated "dusty pinwheel nebula" recently spatially resolved with
infrared interferometry, exhibits strong quasi-periodic optical variations with
a full amplitude of 2.7 mag. Such a large-amplitude, continuous variation has
been unprecedented in a WR star. The optical quasi-period (~241 d) is in almost
perfect agreement with the interferometric period (243.5+/-3 d). The remarkable
agreement of the dominant period in optical variability with the orbital period
supports that the strongly varying dust obscuration is physically related to
the binary motion, rather than sporadic dust-forming episodes. Considering the
low orbital inclination (11+/-7 deg) and the nearly circular orbit inferred
from the interferometric observations, the strongly variable line-of-sight
extinction suggests that the highly structured extinction can be being formed
via an ejection of dust in the direction of the binary rotation axis. Another
viable explanation is that the three-dimensional structure of the shock front,
itself is the obscuring body. Depending on the geometry, the dusty shock front
near the conjunction phase of the binary can completely obscure the inner
WR-star wind and the OB star, which can explain the amplitude of optical fading
and the past observation of remarkable spectral variation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PASJ (Letters), using an alternative
style fil
Deep Transient Optical Fading in the WC9 Star WR 106
We discovered that the WR9-type star WR 106 (HDE 313643) underwent a deep
episodic fading in 2000. The depth of the fading (dV ~ 2.9 mag) surpassed those
of all known similar "eclipse-like" fadings in WR stars. This fading episode
was likely to be produced by a line-of-sight episodic dust formation rather
than a periodic enhancement of dust production in the WR-star wind during the
passage of the companion star though an elliptical orbit. The overall 2000
episode was composed of at least two distinct fadings. These individual fadings
seem to more support that the initial dust formation triggered a second dust
formation, or that the two independent dust formations occurred by the same
triggering mechanism rather than a stepwise dust formation. We also discuss on
phenomenological similarity of the present fading with the double fading of R
CrB observed in 1999-2000.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Astron. Astrophys. (Letters
High efficiency dark-to-bright exciton conversion in carbon nanotubes
We report that dark excitons can have a large contribution to the emission
intensity in carbon nanotubes due to an efficient exciton conversion from a
dark state to a bright state. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements are
used to investigate decay dynamics and diffusion properties of excitons, and we
obtain intrinsic lifetimes and diffusion lengths of bright excitons as well as
diffusion coefficients for both bright and dark excitons. We find that the
dark-to-bright transition rates can be considerably high, and that more than
half of the dark excitons can be transformed into the bright excitons. The
state transition rates have a large chirality dependence with a family pattern,
and the conversion efficiency is found to be significantly enhanced by adsorbed
air molecules on the surface of the nanotubes. Our findings show the nontrivial
significance of the dark excitons on the emission kinetics in low dimensional
materials, and demonstrate the potential for engineering the dark-to-bright
conversion process by using surface interactions.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Effect of Ga irradiation on magnetic and magnetotransport properties in (Ga,Mn)As epilayers
We report on the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of ferromagnetic
semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As modified by Ga ion irradiation using focused ion
beam. A marked reduction in the conductivity and the Curie temperature is
induced after the irradiation. Furthermore, an enhanced negative
magnetoresistance (MR) and a change in the magnetization reversal process are
also demonstrated at 4 K. Raman scattering spectra indicate a decrease in the
concentration of hole carriers after the irradiation, and a possible origin of
the change in the magnetic properties is discussed
Ion Irradiation Control of Ferromagnetism in (Ga,Mn)As
We report on a promising approach to the artificial modification of
ferromagnetic properties in (Ga,Mn)As using a Ga focused ion beam (FIB)
technique. The ferromagnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As such as magnetic
anisotropy and Curie temperature can be controlled using Ga ion
irradiation, originating from a change in hole concentration and the
corresponding systematic variation in exchange interaction between Mn spins.
This change in hole concentration is also verified using micro-Raman
spectroscopy. We envisage that this approach offers a means of modifying the
ferromagnetic properties of magnetic semiconductors on the micro- or nano-meter
scale.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (Part 2 Letters
Vacuum Structure of the Ichimatsu-Decomposed Lattice Models
We proposed an `Ichimatsu'-decomposed lattice gauge theory with fermionic
symmetries. The vacuum structures of the gauge sector with two coupling
constants () are investigated for 3-dimensional Z and
4-dimensional SU(2) cases using mean-field approximation and numerical
simulation. We found two phases on the () phase diagram for
3-dim. Z case, while the diagram is a single phase for the latter.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, Lattice2002(higgssusy
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