4,353 research outputs found
A microscopic model for solidification
We present a novel picture of a non isothermal solidification process
starting from a molecular level, where the microscopic origin of the basic
mechanisms and of the instabilities characterizing the approach to equilibrium
is rendered more apparent than in existing approaches based on coarse grained
free energy functionals \`a la Landau.
The system is composed by a lattice of Potts spins, which change their state
according to the stochastic dynamics proposed some time ago by Creutz. Such a
method is extended to include the presence of latent heat and thermal
conduction.
Not only the model agrees with previous continuum treatments, but it allows
to introduce in a consistent fashion the microscopic stochastic fluctuations.
These play an important role in nucleating the growing solid phase in the melt.
The approach is also very satisfactory from the quantitative point of view
since the relevant growth regimes are fully characterized in terms of scaling
exponents.Comment: 7 pages Latex +3 figures.p
Common envelope ejection in massive binary stars - Implications for the progenitors of GW150914 and GW151226
The recently detected gravitational wave signals (GW150914 and GW151226) of
the merger event of a pair of relatively massive stellar-mass black holes (BHs)
calls for an investigation of the formation of such progenitor systems in
general. We analyse the common envelope (CE) stage of the "traditional"
formation channel in binaries where the first-formed compact object undergoes
an in-spiral inside the envelope of its evolved companion star and ejects the
envelope in that process. We calculate envelope binding energies of donor stars
with initial masses between 4 and 115 Msun for metallicities of Z=Zsun/2 and
Z=Zsun/50, and derive minimum masses of in-spiralling objects needed to eject
these envelopes. We find that CE evolution, besides from producing WD-WD and
NS-NS binaries, may, in principle, also produce massive BH-BH systems with
individual BH component masses up to ~50-60 Msun, in particular for donor stars
evolved to giants. However, the physics of envelope ejection of massive stars
remains uncertain. We discuss the applicability of the energy-budget formalism,
the location of the bifurcation point, the recombination energy and the
accretion energy during in-spiral as possible energy sources, and also comment
on the effect of inflated helium cores. Massive stars in a wide range of
metallicities and with initial masses up to at least 115 Msun may possibly shed
their envelopes and survive CE evolution, depending on their initial orbital
parameters, similarly to the situation for intermediate mass and low-mass stars
with degenerate cores. We conclude that based on stellar structure
calculations, and in the view of the usual simple energy budget analysis,
events like GW150914 and GW151226 could possibly be produced from the CE
channel. Calculations of post-CE orbital separations, however, and thus the
estimated LIGO detection rates, remain highly uncertain. [Abridged]Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, A&A accepte
Dynamical density functional theory for the dewetting of evaporating thin films of nanoparticle suspensions exhibiting pattern formation
Recent experiments have shown that the striking structure formation in
dewetting films of evaporating colloidal nanoparticle suspensions occurs in an
ultrathin `postcursor' layer that is left behind by a mesoscopic dewetting
front. Various phase change and transport processes occur in the postcursor
layer, that may lead to nanoparticle deposits in the form of labyrinthine,
network or strongly branched `finger' structures. We develop a versatile
dynamical density functional theory to model this system which captures all
these structures and may be employed to investigate the influence of
evaporation/condensation, nanoparticle transport and solute transport in a
differentiated way. We highlight, in particular, the influence of the subtle
interplay of decomposition in the layer and contact line motion on the observed
particle-induced transverse instability of the dewetting front.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Real-time observation of interfering crystal electrons in high-harmonic generation
Accelerating and colliding particles has been a key strategy to explore the
texture of matter. Strong lightwaves can control and recollide electronic
wavepackets, generating high-harmonic (HH) radiation which encodes the
structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules and lays the foundations of
attosecond science. The recent discovery of HH generation in bulk solids
combines the idea of ultrafast acceleration with complex condensed matter
systems and sparks hope for compact solid-state attosecond sources and
electronics at optical frequencies. Yet the underlying quantum motion has not
been observable in real time. Here, we study HH generation in a bulk solid
directly in the time-domain, revealing a new quality of strong-field
excitations in the crystal. Unlike established atomic sources, our solid emits
HH radiation as a sequence of subcycle bursts which coincide temporally with
the field crests of one polarity of the driving terahertz waveform. We show
that these features hallmark a novel non-perturbative quantum interference
involving electrons from multiple valence bands. The results identify key
mechanisms for future solid-state attosecond sources and next-generation
lightwave electronics. The new quantum interference justifies the hope for
all-optical bandstructure reconstruction and lays the foundation for possible
quantum logic operations at optical clock rates
Expansion velocity of a one-dimensional, two-component Fermi gas during the sudden expansion in the ballistic regime
We show that in the sudden expansion of a spin-balanced two-component Fermi
gas into an empty optical lattice induced by releasing particles from a trap,
over a wide parameter regime, the radius of the particle cloud grows
linearly in time. This allow us to define the expansion velocity from
. The goal of this work is to clarify the dependence of the
expansion velocity on the initial conditions which we establish from
time-dependent density matrix renormalization group simulations, both for a box
trap and a harmonic trap. As a prominent result, the presence of a
Mott-insulating region leaves clear fingerprints in the expansion velocity. Our
predictions can be verified in experiments with ultra-cold atoms.Comment: 8 pages 10 figures, version as published with minor stylistic change
Angular anisotropy in the resonant Auger decay of 2p-photoexcited Mg
We have measured strongly negative β values of the 3s-participator lines at the magnesium 2p→4s and 2p1/2→3d excitations. Observed β values of the spectator lines following 2p→4s excitation are not reproduced by the strict spectator model. Our multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations show that the resonant Auger spectra are influenced by unusually pronounced configuration interaction in the excited state. This influence is strongly enhanced by a change of sign in the Auger amplitude of the leading term near the transition energy, a dynamic effect similar to a Cooper minimum in photoionization
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