Analysis of a thioether lubricant by infrared Fourier microemission spectrophotometry

An infrared Fourier microemission spectrophotometer is used to obtain spectra (wavenumber range, 630 to 1230 0.1 cm) from microgram quantities of thioether lubricant samples deposited on aluminum foil. Infrared bands in the spectra are reproducible and could be identified as originating from aromatic species (1,3-disubstituted benzenes). Spectra from all samples (neat and formulated, used and unused) are very similar. Additives (an acid and a phosphinate) present in low concentration (0.10 percent) in the formulated fluid are not detected. This instrument appears to be a viable tool in helping to identify lubricant components separated by liquid chromatography

Laser-boosted lightcraft technology demonstrator

The detailed description and performance analysis of a 1.4 meter diameter Lightcraft Technology Demonstator (LTD) is presented. The launch system employs a 100 MW-class ground-based laser to transmit power directly to an advanced combined-cycle engine that propels the 120 kg LTD to orbit - with a mass ratio of two. The single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) LTD machine then becomes an autonomous sensor satellite that can deliver precise, high quality information typical of today's large orbital platforms. The dominant motivation behind this study is to provide an example of how laser propulsion and its low launch costs can induce a comparable order-of-magnitude reduction in sensor satellite packaging costs. The issue is simply one of production technology for future, survivable SSTO aerospace vehicles that intimately share both laser propulsion engine and satellite functional hardware

Boundary Integral Equations for the Laplace-Beltrami Operator

We present a boundary integral method, and an accompanying boundary element discretization, for solving boundary-value problems for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on the surface of the unit sphere $\S$ in $\mathbb{R}^3$. We consider a closed curve ${\cal C}$ on ${\cal S}$ which divides ${\cal S}$ into two parts ${\cal S}_1$ and ${\cal S}_2$. In particular, ${\cal C} = \partial {\cal S}_1$ is the boundary curve of ${\cal S}_1$. We are interested in solving a boundary value problem for the Laplace-Beltrami operator in $\S_2$, with boundary data prescribed on \C

The monodromy conjecture for a space monomial curve with a plane semigroup

This article investigates the monodromy conjecture for a space monomial curve that appears as the special fiber of an equisingular family of curves with a plane branch as generic fiber. Roughly speaking, the monodromy conjecture states that every pole of the motivic, or related, Igusa zeta function induces an eigenvalue of monodromy. As the poles of the motivic zeta function associated with such a space monomial curve have been determined in earlier work, it remains to study the eigenvalues of monodromy. After reducing the problem to the curve seen as a Cartier divisor on a generic embedding surface, we construct an embedded Q-resolution of this pair and use an A’Campo formula in terms of this resolution to compute the zeta function of monodromy. Combining all results, we prove the monodromy conjecture for this class of monomial curves

Chemical Abundance Study of One Red Giant Star in NGC 5694 : A Globular Cluster with Dwarf Spheroidals' Chemical Signature?

We report the abundance analysis of one red giant branch star in the metal-poor outer halo globular cluster NGC 5694. We obtain [Fe/H] = -1.93, based on the ionized lines, and our metallicity measurement is in good agreement with previous estimates. We find that [Ca+Ti/2Fe] and [Cu/Fe] of NGC 5694 are about 0.3 -- 0.4 dex lower than other globular clusters with similar metallicities, but similar to some LMC clusters and stars in some dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Differences persist, however, in the abundances of neutron capture elements. The unique chemical abundance pattern and the large Galactocentric distance (30 kpc) and radial velocity (-138.6 +/- 1.0 km/sec) indicate that NGC 5694 had an extragalactic origin.Comment: ApJL accepte

IF impedance and mixer gain of NbN hot electron bolometers

The intermediate frequency (IF) characteristics, the frequency dependent IF impedance, and the mixer conversion gain of a small area hot electron bolometer (HEB) have been measured and modeled. The device used is a twin slot antenna coupled NbN HEB mixer with a bridge area of 1×0.15 µm^2, and a critical temperature of 8.3 K. In the experiment the local oscillator frequency was 1.300 THz, and the (IF) 0.05–10 GHz. We find that the measured data can be described in a self-consistent manner with a thin film model presented by Nebosis et al. [Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, Charlottesville, VA, 1996 (unpublished), pp. 601–613], that is based on the two temperature electron-phonon heat balance equations of Perrin-Vanneste [J. Phys. (Paris) 48, 1311 (1987)]. From these results the thermal time constant, governing the gain bandwidth of HEB mixers, is observed to be a function of the electron-phonon scattering time, phonon escape time, and the electron temperature. From the developed theory the maximum predicted gain bandwidth for a NbN HEB is found to be 5.5–6 GHz. In contrast, the gain bandwidth of the device under discussion was measured to be ~2.3 GHz which, consistent with the outlined theory, is attributed to a somewhat low critical temperature and nonoptimal film thickness (6 nm)

On the Correlation between the Magnetic Activity Levels, the Metallicities and the Radii of Low-Mass Stars

The recent burst in the number of radii measurements of very low-mass stars from eclipsing binaries and interferometry of single stars has opened more questions about what can be causing the discrepancy between the observed radii and the ones predicted by the models. The two main explanations being proposed are a correlation between the radius of the stars and their activity levels or their metallicities. This paper presents a study of such correlations using all the data published to date. The study also investigates correlations between the radii deviation from the models and the masses of the stars. There is no clear correlation between activity level and radii for the single stars in the sample. Those single stars are slow rotators with typical velocities v_rot sini < 3.0 km s^-1. A clear correlation however exists in the case of the faster rotating members of binaries. This result is based on the of X-ray emission levels of the stars. There also appears to be an increase in the deviation of the radii of single stars from the models as a function of metallicity, as previously indicated by Berger et al. (2006). The stars in binaries do not seem to follow the same trend. Finally, the Baraffe et al. (1998) models reproduce well the radius observations below 0.30-0.35Msun, where the stars become fully convective, although this result is preliminary since almost all the sample stars in that mass range are slow rotators and metallicities have not been measured for most of them. The results in this paper indicate that stellar activity and metallicity play an important role on the determination of the radius of very low-mass stars, at least above 0.35Msun.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication on Ap

Exchange Bias Induced by the Fe3O4 Verwey transition

We present a study of the exchange bias in different configurations of V2O3 thin films with ferromagnetic layers. The exchange bias is accompanied by a large vertical shift in the magnetization. These effects are only observed when V2O3 is grown on top of Ni80Fe20 permalloy. The magnitude of the vertical shift is as large as 60% of the total magnetization which has never been reported in any system. X-Ray diffraction studies show that the growth conditions promote the formation of a ferrimagnetic Fe3O4 interlayer. The change in the easy magnetization axis of Fe3O4 across the Verwey transition at 120 K is correlated with the appearance of exchange bias and vertical shift in magnetization. Both phenomena disappear above 120 K, indicating for the first time a direct relationship between the magnetic signature of the Verwey transition and exchange bias.Comment: Accepted for publication Physical Review

Positioning systems in Minkowski space-time: Bifurcation problem and observational data

In the framework of relativistic positioning systems in Minkowski space-time, the determination of the inertial coordinates of a user involves the {\em bifurcation problem} (which is the indeterminate location of a pair of different events receiving the same emission coordinates). To solve it, in addition to the user emission coordinates and the emitter positions in inertial coordinates, it may happen that the user needs to know {\em independently} the orientation of its emission coordinates. Assuming that the user may observe the relative positions of the four emitters on its celestial sphere, an observational rule to determine this orientation is presented. The bifurcation problem is thus solved by applying this observational rule, and consequently, {\em all} of the parameters in the general expression of the coordinate transformation from emission coordinates to inertial ones may be computed from the data received by the user of the relativistic positioning system.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. The version published in PRD contains a misprint in the caption of Figure 3, which is here amende