Seed Magnetic Fields Generated by Primordial Supernova Explosions

The origin of the magnetic field in galaxies is an open question in astrophysics. Several mechanisms have been proposed related, in general, with the generation of small seed fields amplified by a dynamo mechanism. In general, these mechanisms have difficulty in satisfying both the requirements of a sufficiently high strength for the magnetic field and the necessary large coherent scales. We show that the formation of dense and turbulent shells of matter, in the multiple explosion scenario of Miranda and Opher (1996, 1997) for the formation of the large-scale structures of the Universe, can naturally act as a seed for the generation of a magnetic field. During the collapse and explosion of Population III objects, a temperature gradient not parallel to a density gradient can naturally be established, producing a seed magnetic field through the Biermann battery mechanism. We show that seed magnetic fields $\sim 10^{-12}-10^{-14}G$ can be produced in this multiple explosion scenario on scales of the order of clusters of galaxies (with coherence length $L\sim 1.8Mpc$) and up to $\sim 4.5\times 10^{-10}G$ on scales of galaxies ($L\sim 100 kpc$).Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 5 pages (MN plain TeX macros v1.6 file). Also available at http://www.iagusp.usp.br/~oswaldo (click "OPTIONS" and then "ARTICLES"

Rare top quark decays in extended models

Flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) decays t to H + c, t to Z + c, and H to t + bar{c} are discussed in the context of Alternative Left-Right symmetric Models (ALRM) with extra isosinglet heavy fermions where FCNC decays may take place at tree-level and are only suppressed by the mixing between ordinary top and charm quarks, which is poorly constraint by current experimental values. The non-manifest case is also briefly discussed.Comment: Contributed talk given at the 10th Mexican Workhop on Particles and Fields, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, 7-12 Nov 200

Collapse of Primordial Clouds

We present here studies of collapse of purely baryonic Population III objects with masses ranging from $10M_\odot$ to $10^6M_\odot$. A spherical Lagrangian hydrodynamic code has been written to study the formation and evolution of the primordial clouds, from the beginning of the recombination era ($z_{rec} \sim 1500$) until the redshift when the collapse occurs. All the relevant processes are included in the calculations, as well as, the expansion of the Universe. As initial condition we take different values for the Hubble constant and for the baryonic density parameter (considering however a purely baryonic Universe), as well as different density perturbation spectra, in order to see their influence on the behavior of the Population III objects evolution. We find, for example, that the first mass that collapses is $8.5\times10^4M_\odot$ for $h=1$, $\Omega=0.1$ and $\delta_i={\delta\rho / \rho}=(M / M_o)^{-1/3}(1+z_{rec})^{-1}$ with the mass scale $M_o=10^{15}M_\odot$. For $M_o=4\times10^{17}M_\odot$ we obtain $4.4\times10^{4}M_\odot$ for the first mass that collapses. The cooling-heating and photon drag processes have a key role in the collapse of the clouds and in their thermal history. Our results show, for example, that when we disregard the Compton cooling-heating, the collapse of the objects with masses $>8.5\times10^4M_\odot$ occurs earlier. On the other hand, disregarding the photon drag process, the collapse occurs at a higher redshift.Comment: 10 pages, MN plain TeX macros v1.6 file, 9 PS figures. Also available at http://www.iagusp.usp.br/~oswaldo (click "OPTIONS" and then "ARTICLES"). MNRAS in pres

Collapse of Primordial Clouds II. The Role of Dark Matter

In this article we extend the study performed in our previous article on the collapse of primordial objects. We here analyze the behavior of the physical parameters for clouds ranging from $10^7M_\odot$ to $10^{15}M_\odot$. We studied the dynamical evolution of these clouds in two ways: purely baryonic clouds and clouds with non-baryonic dark matter included. We start the calculations at the beginning of the recombination era, following the evolution of the structure until the collapse (that we defined as the time when the density contrast of the baryonic matter is greater than $10^4$). We analyze the behavior of the several physical parameters of the clouds (as, e.g., the density contrast and the velocities of the baryonic matter and the dark matter) as a function of time and radial position in the cloud. In this study all physical processes that are relevant to the dynamical evolution of the primordial clouds, as for example photon-drag (due to the cosmic background radiation), hydrogen molecular production, besides the expansion of the Universe, are included in the calculations. In particular we find that the clouds, with dark matter, collapse at higher redshift when we compare the results with the purely baryonic models. As a general result we find that the distribution of the non-baryonic dark matter is more concentrated than the baryonic one. It is important to stress that we do not take into account the putative virialization of the non-baryonic dark matter, we just follow the time and spatial evolution of the cloud solving its hydrodynamical equations. We studied also the role of the cooling-heating processes in the purely baryonic clouds.Comment: 8 pages, MN plain TeX macros v1.6 file, 13 PS figures. Also available at http://www.iagusp.usp.br/~oswaldo (click "OPTIONS" and then "ARTICLES"). MNRAS in pres

Pd/Cu Site Interchange and Non-Fermi-Liquid Behavior in UCu_4Pd

X-ray-absorption fine-structure measurements of the local structure in UCu_4Pd are described which indicate a probable lattice-disorder origin for non-Fermi-liquid behavior in this material. Short Pd-Cu distances are observed, consistent with 24 +/- 3% of the Pd atoms occupying nominally Cu sites. A "Kondo disorder" model, based on the effect on the local Kondo temperature T_K of this interchange and some additional bond-length disorder, agrees quantitatively with previous experimental susceptibility data, and therefore also with specific heat and magnetic resonance experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 PostScript figures, to be published in PR