22,695 research outputs found
Neutron spin polarization in strong magnetic fields
The effects of strong magnetic fields on the inner crust of neutron stars are
investigated after taking into account the anomalous magnetic moments of
nucleons. Energy spectra and wave functions for protons and neutrons in a
uniform magnetic field are provided. The particle spin polarizations and the
yields of protons and neutrons are calculated in a free Fermi gas model.
Obvious spin polarization occurs when G for protons and
G for neutrons, respectively. It is shown that the neutron spin
polarization depends solely on the magnetic field strength.Comment: Replaced by the revised version; 10 pages, including 3 eps figure
Quasi-classical determination of the in-plane magnetic field phase diagram of superconducting Sr_2RuO_4
We have carried out a determination of the magnetic-field-temperature (H-T)
phase diagram for realistic models of the high field superconducting state of
tetragonal Sr_2RuO_4 with fields oriented in the basal plane. This is done by a
variational solution of the Eilenberger equations.This has been carried for
spin-triplet gap functions with a {\bf d}-vector along the c-axis (the chiral
p-wave state) and with a {\bf d}-vector that can rotate easily in the basal
plane. We find that, using gap functions that arise from a combination of
nearest and next nearest neighbor interactions, the upper critical field can be
approximately isotropic as the field is rotated in the basal plane. For the
chiral {\bf d}-vector, we find that this theory generically predicts an
additional phase transition in the vortex state. For a narrow range of
parameters, the chiral {\bf d}-vector gives rise to a tetracritical point in
the H-T phase diagram. When this tetracritical point exists, the resulting
phase diagram closely resembles the experimentally measured phase diagram for
which two transitions are only observed in the high field regime. For the
freely rotating in-plane {\bf d}-vector, we also find that additional phase
transition exists in the vortex phase. However, this phase transition
disappears as the in-plane {\bf d}-vector becomes weakly pinned along certain
directions in the basal plane.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
The influence of baryons on the mass distribution of dark matter halos
Using a set of high-resolution N-body/SPH cosmological simulations with
identical initial conditions but run with different numerical setups, we
investigate the influence of baryonic matter on the mass distribution of dark
halos when radiative cooling is NOT included. We compare the concentration
parameters of about 400 massive halos with virial mass from \Msun to
\Msun. We find that the concentration parameters for the
total mass and dark matter distributions in non radiative simulations are on
average larger by ~3% and 10% than those in a pure dark matter simulation. Our
results indicate that the total mass density profile is little affected by a
hot gas component in the simulations. After carefully excluding the effects of
resolutions and spurious two-body heating between dark matter and gas
particles, we conclude that the increase of the dark matter concentration
parameters is due to interactions between baryons and dark matter. We
demonstrate this with the aid of idealized simulations of two-body mergers. The
results of individual halos simulated with different mass resolutions show that
the gas profiles of densities, temperature and entropy are subjects of mass
resolution of SPH particles. In particular, we find that in the inner parts of
halos, as the SPH resolution increases the gas density becomes higher but both
the entropy and temperature decrease.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, ApJ in press (v652n1); updated to match
with the being published versio
Emergence of intrinsic superconductivity below 1.178 K in the topologically non-trivial semimetal state of CaSn3
Topological materials which are also superconducting are of great current
interest, since they may exhibit a non-trivial topologically-mediated
superconducting phase. Although there have been many reports of pressure-tuned
or chemical-doping-induced superconductivity in a variety of topological
materials, there have been few examples of intrinsic, ambient pressure
superconductivity in a topological system having a stoichiometric composition.
Here, we report that the pure intermetallic CaSn3 not only exhibits topological
fermion properties but also has a superconducting phase at 1.178 K under
ambient pressure. The topological fermion properties, including the nearly zero
quasi-particle mass and the non-trivial Berry phase accumulated in cyclotron
motions, were revealed from the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) quantum oscillation
studies of this material. Although CaSn3 was previously reported to be
superconducting at 4.2K, our studies show that the superconductivity at 4.2K is
extrinsic and caused by Sn on the degraded surface, whereas its intrinsic bulk
superconducting transition occurs at 1.178 K. These findings make CaSn3 a
promising candidate for exploring new exotic states arising from the interplay
between non-trivial band topology and superconductivity, e.g. topological
superconductivityComment: 20 pages,4 figure
Liquid-like behavior of supercritical fluids
The high frequency dynamics of fluid oxygen have been investigated by
Inelastic X-ray Scattering. In spite of the markedly supercritical conditions
(, ), the sound velocity exceeds the hydrodynamic
value of about 20%, a feature which is the fingerprint of liquid-like dynamics.
The comparison of the present results with literature data obtained in several
fluids allow us to identify the extrapolation of the liquid vapor-coexistence
line in the (, ) plane as the relevant edge between liquid- and
gas-like dynamics. More interestingly, this extrapolation is very close to the
non metal-metal transition in hot dense fluids, at pressure and temperature
values as obtained by shock wave experiments. This result points to the
existence of a connection between structural modifications and transport
properties in dense fluids.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
Evaluation of short-term geomorphic changes in differently impacted gravel-bed rivers using improved dems of difference
The evaluation of the morphological dynamics of rivers is increasingly focusing, in recent years, on the achievement of quantitative estimates of change in order to identify geomorphic trends and forecast targeted restoration actions. Thanks to the development of more effective and reliable survey technologies, more accurate Digital Elevation Models (DEM) can be produced and, through their consequent differencing (DoD), extremely useful geomorphic analyses can be carried out. In this situation, a major role is played by uncertainty, especially in the final volumetric rates of erosion and deposition processes, that may lead to misinterpretation of spatial and temporal changes. This paper aims at achieving precise geomorphic estimates derived from subsequent hybrid (LiDAR and bathymetric points) surface representations. The study areas consist of gravel-bed reaches of two differently impacted fluvial environments, Piave and Tagliamento rivers, that were affected by two severe flood events (Piave, R.I. of 7 and 10 years and Tagliamento, R.I. of 15 and 12 years) in the inter-surveys period. The basic Hybrid Digital Elevation Models (HDTM) were processed accounting for spatially variable uncertainty and considering, beside slope and point density input variables, a novel component measuring the quality of the bathymetric derived points. In fact, since the major changes occur within river channels, the integration of this variable evaluating the precision of the bathymetric channel elevations in the HDTMs, has allowed, through the creation of targeted FIS (Fuzzy Inference System) rules, to obtain reliable geomorphic estimates of change. Volumes and erosion and deposition patterns were then analyzed and compared to outline the different dynamics among the sub-reaches and the two river systems
Sound velocity and absorption measurements under high pressure using picosecond ultrasonics in diamond anvil cell. Application to the stability study of AlPdMn
We report an innovative high pressure method combining the diamond anvil cell
device with the technique of picosecond ultrasonics. Such an approach allows to
accurately measure sound velocity and attenuation of solids and liquids under
pressure of tens of GPa, overcoming all the drawbacks of traditional
techniques. The power of this new experimental technique is demonstrated in
studies of lattice dynamics, stability domain and relaxation process in a
metallic sample, a perfect single-grain AlPdMn quasicrystal, and rare gas, neon
and argon. Application to the study of defect-induced lattice stability in
AlPdMn up to 30 GPa is proposed. The present work has potential for application
in areas ranging from fundamental problems in physics of solid and liquid
state, which in turn could be beneficial for various other scientific fields as
Earth and planetary science or material research
Families of superhard crystalline carbon allotropes induced via cold-compressed graphite and nanotubes
We report a general scheme to systematically construct two classes of
structural families of superhard sp3 carbon allotropes of cold compressed
graphite through the topological analysis of odd 5+7 or even 4+8 membered
carbon rings stemmed from the stacking of zigzag and armchair chains. Our
results show that the previously proposed M, bct-C4, W and Z allotropes belong
to our currently proposed families and that depending on the topological
arrangement of the native carbon rings numerous other members are found that
can help us understand the structural phase transformation of cold-compressed
graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In particular, we predict the existence
of two simple allotropes, R- and P-carbon, which match well the experimental
X-ray diffraction patterns of cold-compressed graphite and CNTs, respectively,
display a transparent wide-gap insulator ground state and possess a large
Vickers hardness comparable to diamond.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
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