5,416 research outputs found
The discovery of a low mass, pre-main-sequence stellar association around gamma Velorum
We report the serendipitous discovery of a population of low mass, pre-main
sequence stars (PMS) in the direction of the Wolf-Rayet/O-star binary system
gamma^{2} Vel and the Vela OB2 association. We argue that gamma^{2} Vel and the
low mass stars are truly associated, are approximately coeval and that both are
at distances between 360-490 pc, disagreeing at the 2 sigma level with the
recent Hipparcos parallax of gamma^{2} Vel, but consistent with older distance
estimates. Our results clearly have implications for the physical parameters of
the gamma^{2} Vel system, but also offer an exciting opportunity to investigate
the influence of high mass stars on the mass function and circumstellar disc
lifetimes of their lower mass PMS siblings.Comment: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Letters - in pres
Dimers on two-dimensional lattices
We consider close-packed dimers, or perfect matchings, on two-dimensional
regular lattices. We review known results and derive new expressions for the
free energy, entropy, and the molecular freedom of dimers for a number of
lattices including the simple-quartic (4^4), honeycomb (6^3), triangular (3^6),
kagome (3.6.3.6), 3-12 (3.12^2) and its dual [3.12^2], and 4-8 (4.8^2) and its
dual Union Jack [4.8^2] Archimedean tilings. The occurrence and nature of phase
transitions are also analyzed and discussed.Comment: Typos corrections in Eqs. (28), (32) and (43
Dusty Cometary Globules in W5
We report the discovery of four dusty cometary tails around low mass stars in
two young clusters belonging to the W5 star forming region. Fits to the
observed emission profiles from 24 micron observations with the Spitzer Space
Telescope give tail lifetimes < 30 Myr, but more likely < 5 Myr. This result
suggests that the cometary phase is a short lived phenomenon, occurring after
photoevaporation by a nearby O star has removed gas from the outer disk of a
young low mass star (see also Balog et al. 2006; Balog et al. 2008).Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication to ApJ Letter
Multi-channel conduction in redox-based resistive switch modelled using quantum point contact theory
A simple analytic model for the electron transport through filamentary-type structures in Si-rich silica (SiOx)-based resistive switches is proposed. The model is based on a mesoscopic description and is able to account for the linear and nonlinear components of conductance that arise from both fully and partially formed conductive channels spanning the dielectric film. Channels are represented by arrays of identical scatterers whose number and quantum transmission properties determine the current magnitude in the low and high resistance states. We show that the proposed model not only reproduces the experimental current-voltage (I-V) characteristics but also the normalized differential conductance (dln(I)/dln(V)-V) curves of devices under test
The TAOS Project: Upper Bounds on the Population of Small KBOs and Tests of Models of Formation and Evolution of the Outer Solar System
We have analyzed the first 3.75 years of data from TAOS, the Taiwanese
American Occultation Survey. TAOS monitors bright stars to search for
occultations by Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). This dataset comprises 5e5
star-hours of multi-telescope photometric data taken at 4 or 5 Hz. No events
consistent with KBO occultations were found in this dataset. We compute the
number of events expected for the Kuiper Belt formation and evolution models of
Pan & Sari (2005), Kenyon & Bromley (2004), Benavidez & Campo Bagatin (2009),
and Fraser (2009). A comparison with the upper limits we derive from our data
constrains the parameter space of these models. This is the first detailed
comparison of models of the KBO size distribution with data from an occultation
survey. Our results suggest that the KBO population is comprised of objects
with low internal strength and that planetary migration played a role in the
shaping of the size distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, Aj submitte
Gravitational Stirring in Planetary Debris Disks
We describe gravitational stirring models of planetary debris disks using a
new multi-annulus planetesimal evolution code. The current code includes
gravitational stirring and dynamical friction; future studies will include
coagulation, fragmentation, Poynting-Robertson drag, and other physical
processes. We use the results of our calculations to investigate the physical
conditions required for small bodies in a planetesimal disk to reach the
shattering velocity and begin a collisional cascade. Our results demonstrate
that disks composed primarily of bodies with a single size will not undergo a
collisional cascade which produces small dust grains at 30-150 AU on timescales
of 1 Gyr or smaller. Disks with a size distribution of bodies reach conditions
necessary for a collisional cascade in 10 Myr to 1 Gyr if the disk is at least
as massive as a minimum mass solar nebula and if the disk contains objects with
radii of 500 km or larger. The estimated 500 Myr survival time for these disks
is close to the median age of roughly 400 Myr derived for nearby stars with
dusty disks.Comment: 23 pages of text + 16 Figures; to appear in the Astronomical Journal,
January 200
- …