Library of high-resolution UES echelle spectra of F, G, K and M field dwarf stars

We present a library of Utrecht echelle spectrograph (UES) observations of a sample of F, G, K and M field dwarf stars covering the spectral range from 4800 AA to 10600 AA with a resolution of 55000. These spectra include some of the spectral lines most widely used as optical and near-infrared indicators of chromospheric activity such as H_beta, Mg I b triplet, Na I D_1, D_2, He I D_3, H_alpha, and Ca II IRT lines, as well as a large number of photospheric lines which can also be affected by chromospheric activity. The spectra have been compiled with the aim of providing a set of standards observed at high-resolution to be used in the application of the spectral subtraction technique to obtain the active-chromosphere contribution to these lines in chromospherically active single and binary stars. This library can also be used for spectral classification purposes. A digital version with all the spectra is available via ftp and the World Wide Web (WWW) in both ASCII and FITS formats.Comment: Latex file with 5 figures using l-aa.sty and psfig.sty. Full postscript (text and figures) available at http://www.ucm.es/OTROS/Astrof/fgkmsl/UESfgkmsl.html Accepted for publication in: Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement

Determining the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the first 2+ state in 36Ar

Masters of ScienceA series of reorientation-effect Coulomb-excitation experiments were carried out at iThemba LABS from April to May 2016. Enriched ion beams of Ar, Ar and S were bombarded at safe energies, well below the Coulomb barrier, onto a heavyPt target with thickness 1mg/cm2. The three experiments were performed to determine the spectroscopic or static quadrupole moment , of the first excitation 2 in these nuclei in order to shed light on the zip-zap of nuclear shapes found at the end of the sd shell. This thesis will be dealing with the particular case of Ar, accelerated at a safe bombarding energy of 134.2 MeV. For this purpose, a particle-gamma coincidence experiment has been carried out using the AFRODITE array composed of 8 high-purity germanium clover detectors to detect the de-exciting gamma energies, coupled to a double-sided CD-type S3 silicon detector at backward angles composed of 32 sectors and 24 rings to detect the scattering particles. A new optimised sorting code has been developed which included fast computing processing, non-Doppler (194Pt) and Doppler correction (36Ar), add-back, and energysharing, particle and time tagging conditions. The peaks of interests in the spectra were analysed using the Coulombexcitation code GOSIA. Using the normalization method, a more precise determination of 2 0.093 eb has been accomplished

Force measurements with optical tweezers inside living cells

The force exerted by optical tweezers can be measured by tracking the momentum changes of the trapping beam, a method which is more general and powerful than traditional calibration techniques as it is based on first principles, but which has not been brought to its full potential yet, probably due to practical difficulties when combined with high-NA optical traps, such as the necessity to capture a large fraction of the scattered light. We show that it is possible to measure forces on arbitrary biological objects inside cells without an in situ calibration, using this approach. The instrument can be calibrated by measuring three scaling parameters that are exclusively determined by the design of the system, thus obtaining a conversion factor from volts to piconewtons that is theoretically independent of the physical properties of the sample and its environment. We prove that this factor keeps valid inside cells as it shows good agreement with other calibration methods developed in recent years for viscoelastic media. Finally, we apply the method to measuring the stall forces of kinesin and dynein in living A549 cells.Publisher PD

Ultra-Broadband Directional Couplers Using Microstrip with Dielectric Overlay in Millimeter-Wave Band

Nowadays, millimeter-wave systems are being a key factor to develop wide band applications. In this paper, a directional coupler in millimeter-wave band using dielectric overlay is presented. This leads us to technology aspects, in directional coupler design, are key points to achieve the proper response of the circuit. The coupler proposed in this paper covers the 15-45 GHz band and its response has 15-dB coupling-level, 1-dB coupling-ripple and a reflection coefficient better than 10 dB

Thermal profiles within the channel of planar gunn diodes using micro-particle sensors

The paper describes the use of a novel microparticle sensor (~3 μm diameter) and infra-red (IR) microscopy to measure the temperature profile within the active channel (typically 3 μm length and 120 μm width) of planar Gunn diodes. The method has enabled detailed temperature measurements showing an asymmetrical temperature profile along the active width of these devices. The asymmetrical temperature profile suggests a similar behaviour in the channel current density, which may contribute to the lower than expected RF output power

Perron-Frobenius operators and the Klein-Gordon equation

We study the non-uniqueness sets for solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation in 1 space dimension, for solutions whose Fourier transform is a finite complex measure absolutely continuous with respect to arc length. We show that generally, in the non-unique case for lattice-crosses, the space of solutions that vanish there is infinite-dimensional.Comment: 27 page

Weak non-linearities of amorphous polymer under creep

The creep behavior of an amorphous poly(etherimide) (PEI) polymer is investigated in the vicinity of its glass transition in a weakly non linear regime where the acceleration of the creep response is driven by local configurational rearrangements. From the time shifts of the creep compliance curves under increasing applied stresses in the range 1-15~\si{\mega\pascal}, we determine a macroscopic acceleration factor. At the start of creep, the stress is homogeneous and the macroscopic acceleration can be assimilated to that of the local rearrangements which is shown to vary as $f=e^{-(\sigma/Y)^n}$ with $n=2 \pm 0.2$, where $\sigma$ is the local stress and $Y$ is a decreasing function of compliance. This experimental result is in agreement with the recent theory of Long \textit{et al.} (\textit{Phys. Rev. Mat.} (2018) \textbf{2}, 105601 ) which predicts $n=2$. From a mean field approximation, we interpret the variation of $Y$ with compliance as the result of the development of stress heterogneities during creep

Impact ionisation electroluminescence in planar GaAs-based heterostructure Gunn diodes:Spatial distribution and impact of doping nonuniformities

When biased in the negative differential resistance regime, electroluminescence (EL) is emitted from planar GaAs heterostructure Gunn diodes. This EL is due to the recombination of electrons in the device channel with holes that are generated by impact ionisation when the Gunn domains reach the anode edge. The EL forms non-uniform patterns whose intensity shows short-range intensity variations in the direction parallel to the contacts and decreases along the device channel towards the cathode. This paper employs Monte Carlo models, in conjunction with the experimental data, to analyse these non-uniform EL patterns and to study the carrier dynamics responsible for them. It is found that the short-range lateral (i.e., parallel to the device contacts) EL patterns are probably due to non-uniformities in the doping of the anode contact, illustrating the usefulness of EL analysis on the detection of such inhomogeneities. The overall decreasing EL intensity towards the anode is also discussed in terms of the interaction of holes with the time-dependent electric field due to the transit of the Gunn domains. Due to their lower relative mobility and the low electric field outside of the Gunn domain, freshly generated holes remain close to the anode until the arrival of a new domain accelerates them towards the cathode. When the average over the transit of several Gunn domains is considered, this results in a higher hole density, and hence a higher EL intensity, next to the anode