3,328 research outputs found
Revisiting the theoretical DBV (V777 Her) instability strip: the MLT theory of convection
We reexamine the theoretical instability domain of pulsating DB white dwarfs
(DBV or V777 Her variables). We performed an extensive -mode nonadiabatic
pulsation analysis of DB evolutionary models considering a wide range of
stellar masses, for which the complete evolutionary stages of their progenitors
from the ZAMS, through the thermally pulsing AGB and born-again phases, the
domain of the PG1159 stars, the hot phase of DO white dwarfs, and then the DB
white dwarf stage have been considered. We explicitly account for the evolution
of the chemical abundance distribution due to time-dependent chemical diffusion
processes. We examine the impact of the different prescriptions of the MLT
theory of convection and the effects of small amounts of H in the almost
He-pure atmospheres of DB stars on the precise location of the theoretical blue
edge of the DBV instability strip.Comment: Proceedings, 16th European White Dwarf Workshop, Barcelona, 200
Identification of 13 DB + dM and 2 DC + dM binaries from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We present the identification of 13 DB + dM binaries and 2 DC + dM binaries
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Before the SDSS only 2 DB + dM
binaries and 1 DC + dM binary were known. At least three, possibly 8, of the
new DB + dM binaries seem to have white dwarf temperatures well above 30000 K
which would place them in the so called DB-gap. Finding these DB white dwarfs
in binaries may suggest that they have formed through a different evolutionary
channel than the ones in which DA white dwarfs transform into DB white dwarfs
due to convection in the upper layers.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Order reduction approaches for the algebraic Riccati equation and the LQR problem
We explore order reduction techniques for solving the algebraic Riccati
equation (ARE), and investigating the numerical solution of the
linear-quadratic regulator problem (LQR). A classical approach is to build a
surrogate low dimensional model of the dynamical system, for instance by means
of balanced truncation, and then solve the corresponding ARE. Alternatively,
iterative methods can be used to directly solve the ARE and use its approximate
solution to estimate quantities associated with the LQR. We propose a class of
Petrov-Galerkin strategies that simultaneously reduce the dynamical system
while approximately solving the ARE by projection. This methodology
significantly generalizes a recently developed Galerkin method by using a pair
of projection spaces, as it is often done in model order reduction of dynamical
systems. Numerical experiments illustrate the advantages of the new class of
methods over classical approaches when dealing with large matrices
Scenario planning for the Edinburgh city region
This paper examines the application of scenario planning techniques to the detailed and daunting challenge of city re-positioning when policy makers are faced with a heavy history and a complex future context. It reviews a process of scenario planning undertaken in the Edinburgh city region, exploring the scenario process and its contribution to strategies and policies for city repositioning. Strongly rooted in the recent literature on urban and regional economic development, the text outlines how key individuals and organisations involved in the process participated in far-reaching analyses of the possible future worlds in which the Edinburgh city region might find itself
Hot DAVs : a probable new class of pulsating white dwarf stars
We have discovered a pulsating DA white dwarf at the lower end of the temperature range 45 000–30 000 K where a few helium atmosphere white dwarfs are known. There are now three such pulsators known, suggesting that a new class of theoretically predicted pulsating white dwarf stars exists. We name them the hot DAV stars. From high-speed photometric observations with the ULTRACAM photometer on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope, we show that the hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf star WD1017−138 pulsates in at least one mode with a frequency of 1.62 mHz (a period of 624 s). The amplitude of that mode was near 1 mmag at a 10σ confidence level on one night of observation and an 8.4σ confidence level on a second night. The combined data have a confidence level of 11.8σ. This supports the two other detections of hot DAV stars previously reported. From three Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph spectra we confirm also that WD1017−138 is a hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf with no trace of helium or metals with Teff = 32 600 K, log g = 7.8 (cgs) and M = 0.55 M⊙. The existence of pulsations in these DA white dwarfs at the cool edge of the 45 000–30 000 K temperature range supports the thin hydrogen layer model for the deficit of helium atmosphere white dwarfs in this range. DA white dwarfs with thick hydrogen layers do not have the superadiabatic, chemically inhomogeneous (μ-gradient) zone that drives pulsation in this temperature range. The potential for higher amplitude hot DAV stars exists; their discovery would open the possibility of a direct test of the explanation for the deficit of helium atmosphere white dwarfs at these temperatures by asteroseismic probing of the atmospheric layers of the hot DAV stars. A search for pulsation in a further 22 candidates with ULTRACAM on the European Southern Observatory New Technology Telescope gave null results for pulsation at precisions in the range 0.5–3 mmag, suggesting that the pulsation amplitudes in such stars are relatively low, hence near the detection limit with the ground-based telescopes used in the surve
First-principles calculation of the thermal properties of silver
The thermal properties of silver are calculated within the quasi-harmonic
approximation, by using phonon dispersions from density-functional perturbation
theory, and the pseudopotential plane-wave method. The resulting free energy
provides predictions for the temperature dependence of various quantities such
as the equilibrium lattice parameter, the bulk modulus, and the heat capacity.
Our results for the thermal properties are in good agreement with available
experimental data in a wide range of temperatures. As a by-product, we
calculate phonon frequency and Grueneisen parameter dispersion curves which are
also in good agreement with experiment.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B April 30, 1998). Other
related publications can be found at
http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
Thermal Equation of State of Tantalum
We have investigated the thermal equation of state of tantalum from first
principles using the Linearized Augmented Plane Wave (LAPW) and pseudopotential
methods for pressures up to 300 GPa and temperatures up to 10000 K. The
equation of state at zero temperature was computed using LAPW. For finite
temperatures, mixed basis pseudopotential computations were performed for 54
atom supercells. The vibrational contributions were obtained by computing the
partition function using the particle in a cell model, and the the finite
temperature electronic free energy was obtained from the LAPW band structures.
We discuss the behavior of thermal equation of state parameters such as the
Gr\"uneisen parameter , , the thermal expansivity , the
Anderson-Gr\"uneisen parameter as functions of pressure and
temperature. The calculated Hugoniot shows excellent agreement with shock-wave
experiments. An electronic topological transition was found at approximately
200 GPa
Model for nucleation in GaAs homoepitaxy derived from first principles
The initial steps of MBE growth of GaAs on beta 2-reconstructed GaAs(001) are
investigated by performing total energy and electronic structure calculations
using density functional theory and a repeated slab model of the surface. We
study the interaction and clustering of adsorbed Ga atoms and the adsorption of
As_2 molecules onto Ga atom clusters adsorbed on the surface. The stable nuclei
consist of bound pairs of Ga adatoms, which originate either from dimerization
or from an indirect interaction mediated through the substrate reconstruction.
As_2 adsorption is found to be strongly exothermic on sites with a square array
of four Ga dangling bonds. Comparing two scenarios where the first As_2 gets
incorporated in the incomplete surface layer, or alternatively in a new added
layer, we find the first scenario to be preferable. In summary, the
calculations suggest that nucleation of a new atomic layer is most likely on
top of those surface regions where a partial filling of trenches in the surface
has occurred before.Comment: 8 pages, 14 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (December 15, 1998).
Other related publications can be found at
http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
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