20,094 research outputs found
Proca equations derived from first principles
Gersten has shown how Maxwell equations can be derived from first principles,
similar to those which have been used to obtain the Dirac relativistic electron
equation. We show how Proca equations can be also deduced from first
principles, similar to those which have been used to find Dirac and Maxwell
equations. Contrary to Maxwell equations, it is necessary to introduce a
potential in order to transform a second order differential equation, as the
Klein-Gordon equation, into a first order differential equation, like Proca
equations.Comment: 6 page
Metallicity of high stellar mass galaxies with signs of merger events
We focus on an analysis of galaxies of high stellar mass and low metallicity.
We cross-correlated the Millenium Galaxy Catalogue (MGC) and the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy catalogue to provide a sample of MGC objects with high
resolution imaging and both spectroscopic and photometric information available
in the SDSS database. For each galaxy in our sample, we conducted a systematic
morphological analysis by visual inspection of MGC images using their
luminosity contours. The galaxies are classified as either disturbed or
undisturbed objects. We divide the sample into three metallicity regions,
within wich we compare the properties of disturbed and undisturbed objects. We
find that the fraction of galaxies that are strongly disturbed, indicative of
being merger remnants, is higher when lower metallicity objects are considered.
The three bins analysed consist of approximatively 15%, 20%, and 50% disturbed
galaxies (for high, medium, and low metallicity, respectively). Moreover, the
ratio of the disturbed to undisturbed relative distributions of the population
age indicator, Dn(4000), in the low metallicity bin, indicates that the
disturbed objects have substantially younger stellar populations than their
undisturbed counterparts. In addition, we find that an analysis of colour
distributions provides similar results, showing that low metallicity galaxies
with a disturbed morphology are bluer than those that are undisturbed. The
bluer colours and younger populations of the low metallicity, morphologically
disturbed objects suggest that they have experienced a recent merger with an
associated enhanced star formation rate. [abridged]Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in pres
Inert states of spin-S systems
We present a simple but efficient geometrical method for determining the
inert states of spin-S systems. It can be used if the system is described by a
spin vector of a spin-S particle and its energy is invariant in spin rotations
and phase changes. Our method is applicable to an arbitrary S and it is based
on the representation of a pure spin state of a spin-S particle in terms of 2S
points on the surface of a sphere. We use this method to find candidates for
some of the ground states of spinor Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, minor changes, references added, typos correcte
Effects of Hyperbolic Rotation in Minkowski Space on the Modeling of Plasma Accelerators in a Lorentz Boosted Frame
Laser driven plasma accelerators promise much shorter particle accelerators
but their development requires detailed simulations that challenge or exceed
current capabilities. We report the first direct simulations of stages up to 1
TeV from simulations using a Lorentz boosted calculation frame resulting in a
million times speedup, thanks to a frame boost as high as gamma=1300. Effects
of the hyperbolic rotation in Minkowski space resulting from the frame boost on
the laser propagation in the plasma is shown to be key in the mitigation of a
numerical instability that was limiting previous attempts
Entropy-driven formation of the gyroid cubic phase
We show, by computer simulation, that tapered or pear-shaped particles, interacting through purely repulsive interactions, can freely self-assemble to form the three-dimensionally periodic, gyroid cubic phase. The Ia3d gyroid cubic phase is formed by these particles both on compression of an isotropic configuration and on expansion of a smectic A bilayer arrangement. For the latter case, it is possible identify the steps by which the topological transformation from non-intersecting planes to fully interpenetrating, periodic networks takes place</p
Modeling laser wakefield accelerators in a Lorentz boosted frame
Modeling of laser-plasma wakefield accelerators in an optimal frame of
reference \cite{VayPRL07} is shown to produce orders of magnitude speed-up of
calculations from first principles. Obtaining these speedups requires
mitigation of a high-frequency instability that otherwise limits effectiveness
in addition to solutions for handling data input and output in a
relativistically boosted frame of reference. The observed high-frequency
instability is mitigated using methods including an electromagnetic solver with
tunable coefficients, its extension to accomodate Perfectly Matched Layers and
Friedman's damping algorithms, as well as an efficient large bandwidth digital
filter. It is shown that choosing the frame of the wake as the frame of
reference allows for higher levels of filtering and damping than is possible in
other frames for the same accuracy. Detailed testing also revealed
serendipitously the existence of a singular time step at which the instability
level is minimized, independently of numerical dispersion, thus indicating that
the observed instability may not be due primarily to Numerical Cerenkov as has
been conjectured. The techniques developed for Cerenkov mitigation prove
nonetheless to be very efficient at controlling the instability. Using these
techniques, agreement at the percentage level is demonstrated between
simulations using different frames of reference, with speedups reaching two
orders of magnitude for a 0.1 GeV class stages. The method then allows direct
and efficient full-scale modeling of deeply depleted laser-plasma stages of 10
GeV-1 TeV for the first time, verifying the scaling of plasma accelerators to
very high energies. Over 4, 5 and 6 orders of magnitude speedup is achieved for
the modeling of 10 GeV, 100 GeV and 1 TeV class stages, respectively
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
X-ray microanalysis in STEM of short-term physico-chemical reactions at bioactive glass particles / biological fluids interface. Determination of O/Si atomic ratios
Short-term physico-chemical reactions at the interface between bioactive
glass particles and biological fluids are studied and we focus our attention on
the measurements of O/Si atomic ratio. The studied bioactive glass is in the
SiO2-Na2O-CaO-P2O5-K2O-Al2O3-MgO system. The elemental analysis is performed at
the submicrometer scale by STEM associated with EDXS and EELS. We previously
developed an EDXS quantification method based on the ratio method and taking
into account local absorption corrections. In this way, we use EELS data to
determine, by an iterative process, the local mass thickness which is an
essential parameter to correct absorption in EDXS spectra. After different
delays of immersion of bioactive glass particles in a simulated biological
solution, results show the formation of different surface layers at the
bioactive glass periphery. Before one day of immersion, we observe the presence
of an already shown (Si,O,Al) rich layer at the periphery. In this paper, we
demonstrate that a thin electron dense (Si,O) layer is formed on top of the
(Si,O,Al) layer. In this (Si,O) layer, depleted in aluminium, we point out an
increase of oxygen weight concentration which can be interpreted by the
presence of Si(OH)4 groups, that permit the formation of a (Ca,P) layer.
Aluminium plays a role in the glass solubility and may inhibit apatite
nucleation. After the beginning of the (Ca,P) layer formation, the size of the
electron dense (Si,O) layer decreases and tends to disappear. After two days of
immersion, the (Ca,P) layer grows in thickness and leads to apatite
precipitatio
- …