24,292 research outputs found
Probability distribution of the order parameter
The probability distribution of the order parameter is exploited in order to
obtain the criticality of magnetic systems. Monte Carlo simulations have been
employed by using single spin flip Metropolis algorithm aided by finite-size
scaling and histogram reweighting techniques. A method is proposed to obtain
this probability distribution even when the transition temperature of the model
is unknown. A test is performed on the two-dimensional spin-1/2 and spin-1
Ising model and the results show that the present procedure can be quite
efficient and accurate to describe the criticality of the system.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Braz. J. Phys. 34, June 200
The Arches cluster revisited: I. Data presentation and stellar census
Context. Located within the central region of the Galaxy, the Arches cluster appears to be one of the youngest, densest and most massive stellar aggregates within the Milky Way. As such it has the potential to be a uniquely instructive laboratory for the study of star formation in extreme environments and the physics of very massive stars.
Aims. To realise this possibility, the fundamental physical properties of both cluster and constituent stars need to be robustly determined; tasks we attempt here.
Methods. In order to accomplish these goals we provide and analyse new multi-epoch near-IR spectroscopic data obtained with the VLT/SINFONI and photometry from the HST/WFC3. We are able to stack multiple epochs of spectroscopy for individual stars in order to obtain the deepest view of the cluster members ever obtained.
Results. We present spectral classifications for 88 cluster members, all of which are WNLh or O stars: a factor of three increase over previous studies. We find no further examples of Wolf-Rayet stars within the cluster; importantly no H-free examples were identified. The smooth and continuous progression in spectral morphologies from O super-/hypergiants through to the WNLh cohort implies a direct evolutionary connection. We identify candidate giant and main sequence O stars spectroscopically for the first time. No products of binary evolution may be unambiguously identified despite the presence of massive binaries within the Arches.
Conclusions. Notwithstanding difficulties imposed by the highly uncertain (differential) reddening to the Arches, we infer a main sequence/luminosity class V turn-off mass of ∼ 30 − 38M⊙ via the distribution of spectral types. Analysis of the eclipsing binary F2 suggests current masses of ∼ 80M⊙ and ∼ 60M⊙ for the WNLh and O hypergiant cohorts, respectively; we conclude that all classified stars have masses > 20M⊙. An age of ∼ 2.0 − 3.3Myr is suggested by the turn-off between ∼O4-5 V; constraints imposed by the supergiant population and the lack of H-free WRs are consistent with this estimate. While the absence of highly evolved WC stars strongly argues against the prior occurrence of SNe within the Arches, the derived age does accommodate such events for exceptionally massive stars. Further progress will require quantitative analysis of multiple individual cluster members in addition to further spectroscopic observations to better constrain the binary and main sequence populations; nevertheless it is abundantly clear that the Arches offers an unprecedented insight into the formation, evolution and death of the most massive stars Nature allows to form
The influence of the Al stabilizer layer thickness on the normal zone propagation velocity in high current superconductors
The stability of high-current superconductors is challenging in the design of
superconducting magnets. When the stability requirements are fulfilled, the
protection against a quench must still be considered. A main factor in the
design of quench protection systems is the resistance growth rate in the magnet
following a quench. The usual method for determining the resistance growth in
impregnated coils is to calculate the longitudinal velocity with which the
normal zone propagates in the conductor along the coil windings.
Here, we present a 2D numerical model for predicting the normal zone
propagation velocity in Al stabilized Rutherford NbTi cables with large cross
section. By solving two coupled differential equations under adiabatic
conditions, the model takes into account the thermal diffusion and the current
redistribution process following a quench. Both the temperature and magnetic
field dependencies of the superconductor and the metal cladding materials
properties are included. Unlike common normal zone propagation analyses, we
study the influence of the thickness of the cladding on the propagation
velocity for varying operating current and magnetic field.
To assist in the comprehension of the numerical results, we also introduce an
analytical formula for the longitudinal normal zone propagation. The analysis
distinguishes between low-current and high-current regimes of normal zone
propagation, depending on the ratio between the characteristic times of thermal
and magnetic diffusion. We show that above a certain thickness, the cladding
acts as a heat sink with a limited contribution to the acceleration of the
propagation velocity with respect to the cladding geometry. Both numerical and
analytical results show good agreement with experimental data.Comment: To be published in Physics Procedia (ICEC 25 conference special
issue
Probability distribution of the order parameter in the directed percolation universality class
The probability distributions of the order parameter for two models in the
directed percolation universality class were evaluated. Monte Carlo simulations
have been performed for the one-dimensional generalized contact process and the
Domany-Kinzel cellular automaton. In both cases, the density of active sites
was chosen as the order parameter. The criticality of those models was obtained
by solely using the corresponding probability distribution function. It has
been shown that the present method, which has been successfully employed in
treating equilibrium systems, is indeed also useful in the study of
nonequilibrium phase transitions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Detecting stars, galaxies, and asteroids with Gaia
(Abridged) Gaia aims to make a 3-dimensional map of 1,000 million stars in
our Milky Way to unravel its kinematical, dynamical, and chemical structure and
evolution. Gaia's on-board detection software discriminates stars from spurious
objects like cosmic rays and Solar protons. For this, parametrised
point-spread-function-shape criteria are used. This study aims to provide an
optimum set of parameters for these filters. We developed an emulation of the
on-board detection software, which has 20 free, so-called rejection parameters
which govern the boundaries between stars on the one hand and sharp or extended
events on the other hand. We evaluate the detection and rejection performance
of the algorithm using catalogues of simulated single stars, double stars,
cosmic rays, Solar protons, unresolved galaxies, and asteroids. We optimised
the rejection parameters, improving - with respect to the functional baseline -
the detection performance of single and double stars, while, at the same time,
improving the rejection performance of cosmic rays and of Solar protons. We
find that the minimum separation to resolve a close, equal-brightness double
star is 0.23 arcsec in the along-scan and 0.70 arcsec in the across-scan
direction, independent of the brightness of the primary. We find that, whereas
the optimised rejection parameters have no significant impact on the
detectability of de Vaucouleurs profiles, they do significantly improve the
detection of exponential-disk profiles. We also find that the optimised
rejection parameters provide detection gains for asteroids fainter than 20 mag
and for fast-moving near-Earth objects fainter than 18 mag, albeit this gain
comes at the expense of a modest detection-probability loss for bright,
fast-moving near-Earth objects. The major side effect of the optimised
parameters is that spurious ghosts in the wings of bright stars essentially
pass unfiltered.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Rossby waves in rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates
We predict and describe a new collective mode in rotating Bose-Einstein
condensates, which is very similar to the Rossby waves in geophysics. In the
regime of fast rotation, the Coriolis force dominates the dynamics and acts as
a restoring force for acoustic-drift waves along the condensate. We derive a
nonlinear equation that includes the effects of both the zero-point pressure
and the anharmonicity of the trap. It is shown that such waves have negative
phase speed, propagating in the opposite sense of the rotation. We discuss
different equilibrium configurations and compare with those resulting from the
Thomas-Fermi approximation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures (submitted to PRL
Integrable variant of the one-dimensional Hubbard model
A new integrable model which is a variant of the one-dimensional Hubbard
model is proposed. The integrability of the model is verified by presenting the
associated quantum R-matrix which satisfies the Yang-Baxter equation. We argue
that the new model possesses the SO(4) algebra symmetry, which contains a
representation of the -pairing SU(2) algebra and a spin SU(2) algebra.
Additionally, the algebraic Bethe ansatz is studied by means of the quantum
inverse scattering method. The spectrum of the Hamiltonian, eigenvectors, as
well as the Bethe ansatz equations, are discussed
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