2,052 research outputs found
Neutrinos and Energetics of the Earth
We estimate terrestrial antineutrino and neutrino fluxes according to
different models of Earth composition. We find large variations, corresponding
to uncertainties on the estimated , and abundances in the mantle.
Information on the mantle composition can be derived from antineutrino flux
measurements after subtracting the crust contribution. This requires a good
description of the crust composition in the region of the detector site.
Measurements of terrestrial antineutrinos will provide a direct insight on the
main sources of Earth's heat flow.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX file. To appear on Phys. Lett. B. Addendum contains
comparison with KamLAND result
CaCu_3Ti_4O_12/CaTiO_3 Composite Dielectrics: A Ba/Pb-free Ceramics with High Dielectric Constants
We have measured dielectric properties of CaCuTiO
( = 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.9 and 3), and have found that
CaCuTiO (a composite of CaCuTiO and
CaTiO) exhibits a high dielectric constant of 1800 with a low dissipation
factor of 0.02 below 100 kHz from 220 to 300 K. These are comparable to (or
even better than) those of the Pb/Ba-based ceramics, which could be attributed
to a barrier layer of CaTiO on the surface of the CaCuTiO
grains. The composite dielectric ceramics reported here are environmentally
benign as they do not contain Ba/Pb.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Appl. Phys. Lett. (scheduled on July 25, 2005
Observation of correlated spin-orbit order in a strongly anisotropic quantum wire system
Quantum wires with spin-orbit coupling provide a unique opportunity to
simultaneously control the coupling strength and the screened Coulomb
interactions where new exotic phases of matter can be explored. Here we report
on the observation of an exotic spin-orbit density wave in Pb-atomic wires on
Si(557) surfaces by mapping out the evolution of the modulated spin-texture at
various conditions with spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.
The results are independently quantified by surface transport measurements. The
spin polarization, coherence length, spin dephasing rate, and the associated
quasiparticle gap decrease simultaneously as the screened Coulomb interaction
decreases with increasing excess coverage, providing a new mechanism for
generating and manipulating a spin-orbit entanglement effect via electronic
interaction. Despite clear evidence of spontaneous spin-rotation symmetry
breaking and modulation of spin-momentum structure as a function of excess
coverage, the average spin-polarization over the Brillouin zone vanishes,
indicating that time-reversal symmetry is intact as theoretically predicted
Photometric Calibration of the Supernova Legacy Survey Fields
We present the photometric calibration of the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS)
fields. The SNLS aims at measuring the distances to SNe Ia at (0.3<z<1) using
MegaCam, the 1 deg^2 imager on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). The
uncertainty affecting the photometric calibration of the survey dominates the
systematic uncertainty of the key measurement of the survey, namely the dark
energy equation of state. The photometric calibration of the SNLS requires
obtaining a uniform response across the imager, calibrating the science field
stars in each survey band (SDSS-like ugriz bands) with respect to standards
with known flux in the same bands, and binding the calibration to the UBVRI
Landolt standards used to calibrate the nearby SNe from the literature
necessary to produce cosmological constraints. The spatial non-uniformities of
the imager photometric response are mapped using dithered observations of dense
stellar fields. Photometric zero-points against Landolt standards are obtained.
The linearity of the instrument is studied. We show that the imager filters and
photometric response are not uniform and publish correction maps. We present
models of the effective passbands of the instrument as a function of the
position on the focal plane. We define a natural magnitude system for MegaCam.
We show that the systematics affecting the magnitude-to-flux relations can be
reduced if we use the spectrophotometric standard star BD +17 4708 instead of
Vega as a fundamental flux standard. We publish ugriz catalogs of tertiary
standards for all the SNLS fields.Comment: 46 pages, 23 figures. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics. Online
material available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr
(130.79.128.5) or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/ or
alternatively from: http://supernovae.in2p3.fr/snls3/regnault09_cds.tar.g
CCD BV survey of 42 open clusters
We present results of a photometric survey whose aim was to derive structural
and astrophysical parameters for 42 open clusters. While our sample is
definitively not representative of the total open cluster sample in the Galaxy,
it does cover a wide range of cluster parameters and is uniform enough to allow
for simple statistical considerations. BV wide-field CCD photometry was
obtained for open clusters for which photometric, structural, and dynamical
evolution parameters were determined. The limiting and core radii were
determined by analyzing radial density profiles. The ages, reddenings, and
distances were obtained from the solar metallicity isochrone fitting. The mass
function was used to study the dynamical state of the systems, mass segregation
effect and to estimate the total mass and number of cluster members. This study
reports on the first determination of basic parameters for 11 out of 42
observed open clusters. The angular sizes for the majority of the observed
clusters appear to be several times larger than the catalogue data indicate.
The core and limiting cluster radii are correlated and the latter parameter is
3.2 times larger on average. The limiting radius increases with the cluster's
mass, and both the limiting and core radii decrease in the course of dynamical
evolution. For dynamically not advanced clusters, the mass function slope is
similar to the universal IMF slope. For more evolved systems, the effect of
evaporation of low-mass members is clearly visible. The initial mass
segregation is present in all the observed young clusters, whereas the
dynamical mass segregation appears in clusters older than about log(age)=8.
Low-mass stars are deficient in the cores of clusters older than log(age)=8.5
and not younger than one relaxation time.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Photoluminescence pressure coefficients of InAs/GaAs quantum dots
We have investigated the band-gap pressure coefficients of self-assembled
InAs/GaAs quantum dots by calculating 17 systems with different quantum dot
shape, size, and alloying profile using atomistic empirical pseudopotential
method within the ``strained linear combination of bulk bands'' approach. Our
results confirm the experimentally observed significant reductions of the band
gap pressure coefficients from the bulk values. We show that the nonlinear
pressure coefficients of the bulk InAs and GaAs are responsible for these
reductions. We also find a rough universal pressure coefficient versus band gap
relationship which agrees quantitatively with the experimental results. We find
linear relationships between the percentage of electron wavefunction on the
GaAs and the quantum dot band gaps and pressure coefficients. These linear
relationships can be used to get the information of the electron wavefunctions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 tables, 4 figure
Magnetic properties of HO2 thin films
We report on the magnetic and transport studies of hafnium oxide thin films
grown by pulsed-laser deposition on sapphire substrates under different oxygen
pressures, ranging from 10-7 to 10-1 mbar. Some physical properties of these
thin films appear to depend on the oxygen pressure during growth: the film
grown at low oxygen pressure (P ~= 10-7 mbar) has a metallic aspect and is
conducting, with a positive Hall signal, while those grown under higher oxygen
pressures (7 x 10-5 <= P <= 0.4 mbar) are insulating. However, no intrinsic
ferromagnetic signal could be attributed to the HfO2 films, irrespective of the
oxygen pressure during the deposition.Comment: 1
Discriminating among Earth composition models using geo-antineutrinos
It has been estimated that the entire Earth generates heat corresponding to
about 40 TW (equivalent to 10,000 nuclear power plants) which is considered to
originate mainly from the radioactive decay of elements like U, Th and K,
deposited in the crust and mantle of the Earth. Radioactivity of these elements
produce not only heat but also antineutrinos (called geo-antineutrinos) which
can be observed by terrestrial detectors. We investigate the possibility of
discriminating among Earth composition models predicting different total
radiogenic heat generation, by observing such geo-antineutrinos at Kamioka and
Gran Sasso, assuming KamLAND and Borexino (type) detectors, respectively, at
these places. By simulating the future geo-antineutrino data as well as reactor
antineutrino background contributions, we try to establish to which extent we
can discriminate among Earth composition models for given exposures (in units
of kt yr) at these two sites on our planet. We use also information on
neutrino mixing parameters coming from solar neutrino data as well as KamLAND
reactor antineutrino data, in order to estimate the number of geo-antineutrino
induced events.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, final version to appear in JHE
A photometric study of the young open cluster NGC 1220
We present UBV CCD observations obtained in the field of the northern open
cluster NGC 1220, for which little information is available. We provide also BV
CCD photometry of a field 5 northward of NGC 1220 to take into
account field star contamination. We argue that NGC 1220 is a young compact
open cluster, for which we estimate a core radius in the range
arcmin. We identify 26 likely candidate members with spectral type earlier than
, down to =15.00 mag on the basis of the position in the two-colour
Diagram and in the Colour Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs). By analyzing the
distribution of these stars in the colour-colour and CMDs, we find that NGC
1220 has a reddening E mag, is placed pc
distant from the Sun, and has an age of about 60 Myrs. The cluster turns out to
be located about 120 pc above the Galactic plane, relatively high with respect
to its age.Comment: 7 pages, 8 eps figures, accepted for publication in A&
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