1,867 research outputs found
Inverted Oscillator
The inverted harmonic oscillator problem is investigated quantum
mechanically. The exact wave function for the confined inverted oscillator is
obtained and it is shown that the associated energy eigenvalues are discrete
and it is given as a linear function of the quantum number .Comment: 4 page
Characterisation of HTSC ceramics from their resistive transition
The resistivity vs. temperature relation in bulk ceramic HTSC under
self-field conditions as well as in weak external magnetic fields is modelled
by local Lorentz force induced fluxon motion with temperature dependent
pinning. A pinning force density and two viscous drag coefficients in
intergrain and intragrain regions, respectively, can be used as characteristic
parameters describing the temperature, current, and external field dependences
of the sample resistance.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX2e, 6 figures (epsfig), to be published in Supercond.
Sci. and Techno
First Results from Pan-STARRS1: Faint, High Proper Motion White Dwarfs in the Medium-Deep Fields
The Pan-STARRS1 survey has obtained multi-epoch imaging in five bands
(Pan-STARRS1 gps, rps, ips, zps, and yps) on twelve "Medium Deep Fields", each
of which spans a 3.3 degree circle. For the period between Apr 2009 and Apr
2011 these fields were observed 50-200 times. Using a reduced proper motion
diagram, we have extracted a list of 47 white dwarf (WD) candidates whose
Pan-STARRS1 astrometry indicates a non-zero proper motion at the 6-sigma level,
with a typical 1-sigma proper motion uncertainty of 10 mas/yr. We also used
astrometry from SDSS (when available) and USNO-B to assess our proper motion
fits. None of the WD candidates exhibits evidence of statistically significant
parallaxes, with a typical 1-sigma uncertainty of 8 mas. Twelve of these
candidates are known WDs, including the high proper motion (1.7"/yr) WD LHS
291. We confirm three more objects as WDs through optical spectroscopy. Based
on the Pan-STARRS1 colors, ten of the stars are likely to be cool WDs with 4170
K Teff 5000 K and cooling ages <9 Gyr. We classify these objects as likely
thick disk WDs based on their kinematics. Our current sample represents only a
small fraction of the Pan-STARRS1 data. With continued coverage from the Medium
Deep Field Survey and the 3pi survey, Pan-STARRS1 should find many more high
proper motion WDs that are part of the old thick disk and halo.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
Topology and shape optimization of induced-charge electro-osmotic micropumps
For a dielectric solid surrounded by an electrolyte and positioned inside an
externally biased parallel-plate capacitor, we study numerically how the
resulting induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow depends on the topology
and shape of the dielectric solid. In particular, we extend existing
conventional electrokinetic models with an artificial design field to describe
the transition from the liquid electrolyte to the solid dielectric. Using this
design field, we have succeeded in applying the method of topology optimization
to find system geometries with non-trivial topologies that maximize the net
induced electro-osmotic flow rate through the electrolytic capacitor in the
direction parallel to the capacitor plates. Once found, the performance of the
topology optimized geometries has been validated by transferring them to
conventional electrokinetic models not relying on the artificial design field.
Our results show the importance of the topology and shape of the dielectric
solid in ICEO systems and point to new designs of ICEO micropumps with
significantly improved performance.Comment: 18 pages, latex IOP-style, 7 eps figure
Congenital Lymphoedema, Bronchiectasis And Seizure: Case Report
A l0-year-old girl with facial anomalies, mental retardation, peripheral lymphoedema, convulsions, cerebral cortical dysgenetic changes, bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis is presented. She had features of both yellow nail syndrome and Hennekam syndrome. We think that our case might be a new congenital lymphoedema syndrome or an
intermediate form between these syndromes. East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (3) 2008: pp. 145-14
The Discovery of a Companion to the Lowest Mass White Dwarf
We report the detection of a radial velocity companion to SDSS
J091709.55+463821.8, the lowest mass white dwarf currently known with
M~0.17Msun. The radial velocity of the white dwarf shows variations with a
semi-amplitude of 148.8 km/s and a period of 7.5936 hours, which implies a
companion mass of M > 0.28Msun. The lack of evidence of a companion in the
optical photometry forces any main-sequence companion to be smaller than
0.1Msun, hence a low mass main sequence star companion is ruled out for this
system. The companion is most likely another white dwarf, and we present
tentative evidence for an evolutionary scenario which could have produced it.
However, a neutron star companion cannot be ruled out and follow-up radio
observations are required to search for a pulsar companion.Comment: ApJ, in press. See the Press Release at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2007/pr200708.htm
Identification by using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry of lactic acid bacteria isolated from non-commercial yogurts in southern Anatolia, Turkey
Yogurt is a dairy product obtained by bacterial fermentation of milk. Commercial yogurts are produced using standard starters while, in the production of non-commercial yogurt, the microbiota is quite different since yogurts are used as starter for years. To determine the final characteristics of the fermented product it is necessary to know the biochemical properties of the starter cultures, such as acidity, aroma and flavor. This can only be achieved by identifying and characterizing the bacteria in starter cultures. In our study, 208 non-commercial yogurt samples were collected from 9 different locations in Anatolia, southern Turkey. Their pH and lactic acid bacteria profiles were analyzed. Isolated bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser sesorption-ionization time-of-flight, mass spectrometry), which is a fast and reliable method for identification of bacterial isolates compared to classical laboratory methods. In this study, 41% of the isolates were identified by using this method, which is 99.9% and 34.0% confidence. The isolates contained two genera (Enterococcus and Lactobacillus) and four species. Afterwards, the four lactic acid bacteria were characterized physiologically and biochemically and we found that they differed from lactic acid bacteria used in commercial yogurt production. [Int Microbiol 20(1): 25-30 (2017)]Keywords: yogurt starters · lactic acid bacteria (LAB) · southern Anatolia (Turkey
Conductance through atomic contacts created by scanning tunneling microscopy
We investigate conductance through contacts created by pressing a hard tip, as used in scanning tunneling microscopy, against substrates. Two different substrates are considered, one a normal metal (Cu) and another a semi-metal (graphite). Our study involves the molecular dynamics simulations for the atomic structure during the growth of the contact, and selfconsistent field electronic structure calculations of deformed bodies. We develop a theory predicting the conductance variations as the tip approaches the surface. We offer an explanation for a quasiperiodic variation of conductance of the contact on the graphite surface, a behavior which is dramatically different from contacts on normal metals. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
General relativistic pulsations of ultra-massive ZZ Ceti stars
Ultra-massive white dwarf stars are currently being discovered at a
considerable rate, thanks to surveys such as the {\it Gaia} space mission.
These dense and compact stellar remnants likely play a major role in type Ia
supernova explosions. It is possible to probe the interiors of ultra-massive
white dwarfs through asteroseismology. In the case of the most massive white
dwarfs, General Relativity could affect their structure and pulsations
substantially. In this work, we present results of relativistic pulsation
calculations employing relativistic ultra-massive ONe-core white dwarf models
with hydrogen-rich atmospheres and masses ranging from to with the aim of assessing the impact of General Relativity on the
adiabatic gravity ()-mode period spectrum of very-high mass ZZ Ceti stars.
Employing the relativistic Cowling approximation for the pulsation analysis, we
find that the critical buoyancy (Brunt-V\"ais\"al\"a) and acoustic (Lamb)
frequencies are larger for the relativistic case, compared to the Newtonian
case, due to the relativistic white dwarf models having smaller radii and
higher gravities for a fixed stellar mass. In addition, the -mode periods
are shorter in the relativistic case than in the Newtonian computations, with
relative differences of up to \% for the highest-mass models () and for effective temperatures typical of the ZZ Ceti instability
strip. Hence, the effects of General Relativity on the structure, evolution,
and pulsations of white dwarfs with masses larger than
cannot be ignored in the asteroseismological analysis of ultra-massive ZZ Ceti
stars.Comment: 15 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
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