4,219 research outputs found
Simulations of Electron Acceleration at Collisionless Shocks: The Effects of Surface Fluctuations
Energetic electrons are a common feature of interplanetary shocks and
planetary bow shocks, and they are invoked as a key component of models of
nonthermal radio emission, such as solar radio bursts. A simulation study is
carried out of electron acceleration for high Mach number, quasi-perpendicular
shocks, typical of the shocks in the solar wind. Two dimensional
self-consistent hybrid shock simulations provide the electric and magnetic
fields in which test particle electrons are followed. A range of different
shock types, shock normal angles, and injection energies are studied. When the
Mach number is low, or the simulation configuration suppresses fluctuations
along the magnetic field direction, the results agree with theory assuming
magnetic moment conserving reflection (or Fast Fermi acceleration), with
electron energy gains of a factor only 2 - 3. For high Mach number, with a
realistic simulation configuration, the shock front has a dynamic rippled
character. The corresponding electron energization is radically different:
Energy spectra display: (1) considerably higher maximum energies than Fast
Fermi acceleration; (2) a plateau, or shallow sloped region, at intermediate
energies 2 - 5 times the injection energy; (3) power law fall off with
increasing energy, for both upstream and downstream particles, with a slope
decreasing as the shock normal angle approaches perpendicular; (4) sustained
flux levels over a broader region of shock normal angle than for adiabatic
reflection. All these features are in good qualitative agreement with
observations, and show that dynamic structure in the shock surface at ion
scales produces effective scattering and can be responsible for making high
Mach number shocks effective sites for electron acceleration.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figure
A Mini-survey of X-ray Point Sources in Starburst and Non-Starburst Galaxies
We present a comparison of X-ray point source luminosity functions of 3
starburst galaxies (the Antennae, M82, and NGC 253) and 4 non-starburst spiral
galaxies (NGC 3184, NGC 1291, M83, and IC 5332). We find that the luminosity
functions of the starbursts are flatter than those of the spiral galaxies; the
starbursts have relatively more sources at high luminosities. This trend
extends to early-type galaxies which have steeper luminosity functions than
spirals. We show that the luminosity function slope is correlated with 60
micron luminosity, a measure of star formation. We suggest that the difference
in luminosity functions is related to the age of the X-ray binary populations
and present a simple model which highlights how the shape of the luminosity
distribution is affected by the age of the underlying X-ray binary population.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. accepted for publication in Ap
Surface recombination measurements on III–V candidate materials for nanostructure light-emitting diodes
Surface recombination is an important characteristic of an optoelectronic material. Although surface recombination is a limiting factor for very small devices it has not been studied intensively. We have investigated surface recombination velocity on the exposed surfaces of the AlGaN, InGaAs, and InGaAlP material systems by using absolute photoluminescence quantum efficiency measurements. Two of these three material systems have low enough surface recombination velocity to be usable in nanoscale photonic crystal light-emitting diodes
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Phase-Field Simulation and Design of a Ferroelectric Nano-Generator
We study the behavior of ferroelectric material (BaTiO3) for the design of a nano-generator to convert mechanical
into electrical energy. The investigations consider an electro-mechanical phase-field model with polarization as
state variable. This widely accepted model has its origins in the work of and is fully developed by Landis and
coworkers. We use a finite element model to simulate tetragonal regions of ferroelectric material sputtered on
substrate. Different geometries as well as various mechanical and electrical boundary conditions are considered.
The model parameters are normalized to achieve better computational conditions within the stiffness matrix.
The major objective of this contribution is the fundamental understanding of domain switching caused by a
cyclic electrical field. The corresponding hysteresis loops of the overall polarization cannot be achieved by using
a two-dimensional model because the domain topologies evolve in three dimensions. The three-dimensional
nature of the domain structure evolution is even true for flat regions or thin films. We show some examples of
three-dimensional domain topologies, which are able to break energetically unfavorable symmetries. Finally, the
computational model of a tetragonal nano-generator with dimensions 10 x 60 x 10 nm is presented. The specific
ratio of height to width and the mounting on substrate is essential for its performance and principle of energy
harvesting. We discuss the challenges and scopes of such a system.Aerospace Engineerin
Heavy Quark Expansion and Preasymptotic Corrections to Decay Widths in the 't Hooft Model
We address nonperturbative power corrections to inclusive decay widths of
heavy flavor hadrons in the context of the 't Hooft model (two-dimensional QCD
at N_c->oo), with the emphasis on the spectator-dependent effects sensitive to
the flavor of the spectator. The summation of exclusive widths is performed
analytically using the `t Hooft equation. We show that the 1/m_Q expansion of
both the Weak Annihilation and Pauli Interference widths coincides with the OPE
predictions, to the computed orders. Violation of local duality in the
inclusive widths is quantified, and the new example is identified where the OPE
prediction and the actual effect are completely saturated by a single final
state. The qualitative aspects of quark hadronization emerging from the
analysis in the 't Hooft model are discussed. Certain aspects of summation of
spectator-independent hadronic weak decay widths are given in more detail,
which were not spelled out previously. We also give some useful details of the
1/m_Q expansion in the 't~Hooft model.Comment: 54 pages, 8 figures in the text. Version to be published in Phys.
Rev. D. A number of typos are corrected and relevant references added.
Clarifications in Conclusions, Appendices 2.1 and 3 are adde
The Multi-Colored Hot Interstellar Medium of "The Antennae" Galaxies (NGC 4038/39)
We report the results of the analysis of the extended soft emission
discovered in the Chandra ACIS pointing at the merging system NGC 4038/39 (the
Antennae). We present a `multi-color' X-ray image that suggests both extensive
absorption by the dust in this system, peaking in the contact region, as well
as variations in the temperature of different emitting regions of the hot
interstellar medium (ISM). Spectral fits to multi-component thermal emission
models confirm this picture and give a first evaluation of the parameters of
the hot plasma. We compare the diffuse X-ray emission with radio continuum
(6cm), HI, CO, and H images to take a first look at the multi-phase ISM
of the Antennae galaxies. We find that the hot (X-ray) and cold (CO) gas have
comparable thermal pressures in the two nuclear regions. We also conclude that
the displacement between the peak of the diffuse X-ray emission in the north of
the galaxy system, towards the inner regions of the northern spiral arm (as
defined by H, radio continuum and HI), could result from ram pressure
of infalling HI clouds.Comment: Accepted by Ap
The X-ray Position and Optical Counterpart of the Accretion-Powered Millisecond Pulsar XTE J1814-338
We report the precise optical and X-ray localization of the 3.2 ms
accretion-powered X-ray pulsar XTE J1814-338 with data from the Chandra X-Ray
Observatory as well as optical observations conducted during the 2003 June
discovery outburst. Optical imaging of the field during the outburst of this
soft X-ray transient reveals an R = 18 star at the X-ray position. This star is
absent (R > 20) from an archival 1989 image of the field and brightened during
the 2003 outburst, and we therefore identify it as the optical counterpart of
XTE J1814-338. The best source position derived from optical astrometry is R.A.
= 18h13m39.s04, Dec.= -33d46m22.3s (J2000). The featureless X-ray spectrum of
the pulsar in outburst is best fit by an absorbed power-law (with photon index
= 1.41 +- 0.06) plus blackbody (with kT = 0.95 +- 0.13 keV) model, where the
blackbody component contributes approximately 10% of the source flux. The
optical broad-band spectrum shows evidence for an excess of infrared emission
with respect to an X-ray heated accretion disk model, suggesting a significant
contribution from the secondary or from a synchrotron-emitting region. A
follow-up observation performed when XTE J1814-338 was in quiescence reveals no
counterpart to a limiting magnitude of R = 23.3. This suggests that the
secondary is an M3 V or later-type star, and therefore very unlikely to be
responsible for the soft excess, making synchroton emission a more reasonable
candidate.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 6 pages; 3 figure
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