2,380 research outputs found
Correlated random fields in dielectric and spin glasses
Both orientational glasses and dipolar glasses possess an intrinsic random
field, coming from the volume difference between impurity and host ions. We
show this suppresses the glass transition, causing instead a crossover to the
low phase. Moreover the random field is correlated with the inter-impurity
interactions, and has a broad distribution. This leads to a peculiar variant of
the Imry-Ma mechanism, with 'domains' of impurities oriented by a few frozen
pairs. These domains are small: predictions of domain size are given for
specific systems, and their possible experimental verification is outlined. In
magnetic glasses in zero field the glass transition survives, because the
random fields are disallowed by time-reversal symmetry; applying a magnetic
field then generates random fields, and suppresses the spin glass transition.Comment: minor modifications, final versio
What are the interactions in quantum glasses?
The form of the low-temperature interactions between defects in neutral
glasses is reconsidered. We analyse the case where the defects can be modelled
either as simple 2-level tunneling systems, or tunneling rotational impurities.
The coupling to strain fields is determined up to 2nd order in the displacement
field. It is shown that the linear coupling generates not only the usual
Ising-like interaction between the rotational tunneling defect modes,
which cause them to freeze around a temperature , but also a random field
term. At lower temperatures the inversion symmetric tunneling modes are still
active - however the coupling of these to the frozen rotational modes, now via
the 2nd-order coupling to phonons, generates another random field term acting
on the inversion symmetric modes (as well as shorter-range interactions
between them). Detailed expressions for all these couplings are given.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures. Minor modifications, published versio
A Search for Distant Galactic Cepheids Toward l=60
We present results of a survey of a 6-square-degree region near l=60, b=0 to
search for distant Milky Way Cepheids. Few MW Cepheids are known at distances
>~ R_0, limiting large-scale MW disk models derived from Cepheid kinematics;
this work was designed to find a sample of distant Cepheids for use in such
models. The survey was conducted in the V and I bands over 8 epochs, to a
limiting I~=18, with a total of ~ 5 million photometric observations of ~ 1
million stars. We present a catalog of 578 high-amplitude variables discovered
in this field. Cepheid candidates were selected from this catalog on the basis
of variability and color change, and observed again the following season. We
confirm 10 of these candidates as Cepheids with periods from 4 to 8 days, most
at distances > 3 kpc. Many of the Cepheids are heavily reddened by intervening
dust, some with implied extinction A_V > 10 mag. With a future addition of
infrared photometry and radial velocities, these stars alone can provide a
constraint on R_0 to 8%, and in conjunction with other known Cepheids should
provide good estimates of the global disk potential ellipticity.Comment: 18 pages, 4 tables, 13 figures (LaTeX / AASTeX
CTQ 839: Candidate for the Smallest Projected Separation Binary Quasar
We report the discovery of the new double quasar CTQ 839. This B = 18.3,
radio quiet quasar pair is separated by 2.1" in BRIH filters with magnitude
differences of delta m_B = 2.5, delta m_R = delta m_I = 1.9, and delta m_H =
2.3. Spectral observations reveal both components to be z = 2.24 quasars, with
relative redshifts that agree at the 100 km/s level, but exhibit pronounced
differences in the equivalent widths of related emission features, as well as
an enhancement of blue continuum flux in the brighter component longward of the
Ly alpha emission feature. In general, similar redshift double quasars can be
the result of a physical binary pair, or a single quasar multiply imaged by
gravitational lensing. Empirical PSF subtraction of R and H band images of CTQ
839 reveal no indication of a lensing galaxy, and place a detection limit of R
= 22.5 and H = 17.4 for a third component in the system. For an Einstein-de
Sitter cosmology and SIS model, the R band detection limit constrains the
characteristics of any lensing galaxy to z_lens >= 1 with a corresponding
luminosity of L >~ 5 L_*, while an analysis based on the redshift probability
distribution for the lensing galaxy argues against the existence of a z_lens >~
1 lens at the 2 sigma level. A similar analysis for a Lambda dominated
cosmology, however, does not significantly constrain the existence of any
lensing galaxy. The broadband flux differences, spectral dissimilarities, and
failure to detect a lensing galaxy make the lensing hypothesis for CTQ 839
unlikely. The similar redshifts of the two components would then argue for a
physical quasar binary. At a projected separation of 8.3/h kpc (Omega_matter =
1), CTQ 839 would be the smallest projected separation binary quasar currently
known.Comment: Latex, 23 pages including 5 ps figures; accepted for publication in
A
A microlensing measurement of dark matter fractions in three lensing galaxies
Direct measurements of dark matter distributions in galaxies are currently
only possible through the use of gravitational lensing observations.
Combinations of lens modelling and stellar velocity dispersion measurements
provide the best constraints on dark matter distributions in individual
galaxies, however they can be quite complex. In this paper, we use observations
and simulations of gravitational microlensing to measure the smooth (dark)
matter mass fraction at the position of lensed images in three lens galaxies:
MG 0414+0534, SDSS J0924+0219 and Q2237+0305. The first two systems consist of
early-type lens galaxies, and both display a flux ratio anomaly in their close
image pair. Anomalies such as these suggest a high smooth matter percentage is
likely, and indeed we prefer ~50 per cent smooth matter in MG 0414+0534, and
~80 per cent in SDSS J0924+0219 at the projected locations of the lensed
images. Q2237+0305 differs somewhat in that its lensed images lie in the
central kiloparsec of the barred spiral lens galaxy, where we expect stars to
dominate the mass distribution. In this system, we find a smooth matter
percentage that is consistent with zero.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
A microwave plasma cleaning apparatus
In a microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source, reactive plasmas of oxygen and its mixtures of argon have been used for evaluating plasma cleaning technologies. Small aluminum samples (0.95 x 1.9 cm) were coated with thin films (less than or equal to 20 micrometers in thickness) of Shell Vitrea oil and cleaned with reactive plasmas. The discharge parameters, such as gas pressure, magnetic field, substrate biasing, and microwave power, were varied to change cleaning conditions. A mass spectroscopy (or residual gas analyzer) was used to monitor the status of plasma cleaning. Mass loss of the samples after plasma cleaning was measured to estimate cleaning rates. Measured cleaning rates of low-pressure (0.5-m torr) argon/oxygen plasmas were as high as 2.7 micrometers/min. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine cleanliness of the sample surfaces. In this paper, significant results of the plasma cleaning are reported and discussed
PMN J1838-3427: A new gravitationally lensed quasar
We report the discovery of a new double-image quasar that was found during a
search for gravitational lenses in the southern sky. Radio source PMN
J1838-3427 is composed of two flat-spectrum components with separation 1", flux
density ratio 14:1 and matching spectral indices, in VLA and VLBA images.
Ground-based BRI images show the optical counterpart (total I=18.6) is also
double with the same separation and position angle as the radio components. An
HST/WFPC2 image reveals the lens galaxy. The optical flux ratio (27:1) is
higher than the radio value probably due to differential extinction of the
components by the lens galaxy. An optical spectrum of the bright component
contains quasar emission lines at z=2.78 and several absorption features,
including prominent Ly-alpha absorption. The lens galaxy redshift could not be
measured but is estimated to be z=0.36 +/- 0.08. The image configuration is
consistent with the simplest plausible models for the lens potential. The flat
radio spectrum and observed variability of PMN J1838-3427 suggest the time
delay between flux variations of the components is measurable, and could thus
provide an independent measurement of H_0.Comment: 23 pages, incl. 6 figures, to appear in A.J.; replaced with accepted
version; minor changes to text, improved figure
On the Mixing of the Scalar Mesons , and
Based on a mass matrix describing the mixing of the scalar states
, and , the hadronic decays of the three
states are investigated. Taking into account the two possible assumptions
concerning the mass level order of the bare states
, and in the
scalar sector, and , we obtain the
glueball-quarkonia content of the three states by solving the unlinear
equations. Some predictions about the decays of the three states in two cases
are presented, which can provide a stringent consistency check of the two
assumptions.Comment: revtex 10 pages, 1 eps figur
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