14,384 research outputs found
Nuclear Matter on a Lattice
We investigate nuclear matter on a cubic lattice. An exact thermal formalism
is applied to nucleons with a Hamiltonian that accommodates on-site and
next-neighbor parts of the central, spin- and isospin-exchange interactions. We
describe the nuclear matter Monte Carlo methods which contain elements from
shell model Monte Carlo methods and from numerical simulations of the Hubbard
model. We show that energy and basic saturation properties of nuclear matter
can be reproduced. Evidence of a first-order phase transition from an
uncorrelated Fermi gas to a clustered system is observed by computing
mechanical and thermodynamical quantities such as compressibility, heat
capacity, entropy and grand potential. We compare symmetry energy and first
sound velocities with literature and find reasonable agreement.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures (some in color), to be submitted to Phys. Rev.
The Zeeman effect in the G band
We investigate the possibility of measuring magnetic field strength in G-band
bright points through the analysis of Zeeman polarization in molecular CH
lines. To this end we solve the equations of polarized radiative transfer in
the G band through a standard plane-parallel model of the solar atmosphere with
an imposed magnetic field, and through a more realistic snapshot from a
simulation of solar magneto-convection. This region of the spectrum is crowded
with many atomic and molecular lines. Nevertheless, we find several instances
of isolated groups of CH lines that are predicted to produce a measurable
Stokes V signal in the presence of magnetic fields. In part this is possible
because the effective Land\'{e} factors of lines in the stronger main branch of
the CH A--X transition tend to zero rather quickly for
increasing total angular momentum , resulting in a Stokes spectrum of
the G band that is less crowded than the corresponding Stokes spectrum. We
indicate that, by contrast, the effective Land\'{e} factors of the and
satellite sub-branches of this transition tend to for increasing .
However, these lines are in general considerably weaker, and do not contribute
significantly to the polarization signal. In one wavelength location near 430.4
nm the overlap of several magnetically sensitive and non-sensitive CH lines is
predicted to result in a single-lobed Stokes profile, raising the
possibility of high spatial-resolution narrow-band polarimetric imaging. In the
magneto-convection snapshot we find circular polarization signals of the order
of 1% prompting us to conclude that measuring magnetic field strength in
small-scale elements through the Zeeman effect in CH lines is a realistic
prospect.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures. To be published in the Astrophysical Journa
Hot subdwarf stars in close-up view. I. Rotational properties of subdwarf B stars in close binary systems and nature of their unseen companions
Original article can be found at: http://www.aanda.org/ Copyright The European Southern Observatory (ESO)The origin of hot subdwarf B stars (sdBs) is still unclear. About half of the known sdBs are in close binary systems for which common envelope ejection is the most likely formation channel. Little is known about this dynamic phase of binary evolution. Since most of the known sdB systems are single-lined spectroscopic binaries, it is difficult to derive masses and unravel the companions' nature, which is the aim of this paper. Due to the tidal influence of the companion in close binary systems, the rotation of the primary becomes synchronised to its orbital motion. In this case it is possible to constrain the mass of the companion, if the primary mass, its projected rotational velocity as well as its surface gravity are known. For the first time we measured the projected rotational velocities of a large sdB binary sample from high resolution spectra. We analysed a sample of 51 sdB stars in close binaries, 40 of which have known orbital parameters comprising half of all such systems known today. Synchronisation in sdB binaries is discussed both from the theoretical and the observational point of view. The masses and the nature of the unseen companions could be constrained in 31 cases. We found orbital synchronisation most likely to be established in binaries with orbital periods shorter than . Only in five cases it was impossible to decide whether the sdB's companion is a white dwarf or an M dwarf. The companions to seven sdBs could be clearly identified as late M stars. One binary may have a brown dwarf companion. The unseen companions of nine sdBs are white dwarfs with typical masses. The mass of one white dwarf companion is very low. In eight cases (including the well known system KPD1930+2752) the companion mass exceeds , four of which even exceed the Chandrasekhar limit indicating that they may be neutron stars. Even stellar mass black holes are possible for the most massive companions. The distribution of the inclinations of the systems with low mass companions appears to be consistent with expectations, whereas a lack of high inclinations becomes obvious for the massive systems. We show that the formation of such systems can be explained with common envelope evolution and present an appropriate formation channel including two phases of unstable mass transfer and one supernova explosion. The sample also contains a candidate post-RGB star, which rotates fast despite its long orbital period. The post-RGB stars are expected to spin-up caused by their ongoing contraction. The age of the sdB is another important factor. If the EHB star is too young, the synchronisation process might not be finished yet. Estimating the ages of the target stars from their positions on the EHB band, we found PGâ2345+318, which is known not to be synchronised, to lie near the zero-age extreme horizontal branch as are the massive candidates PGâ1232-136, PGâ1432+159 and PGâ1101+249. These star may possibly be too young to have reached synchronisation. The derived large fraction of putative massive sdB binary systems in low inclination orbits is inconsistent with theoretical predictions. Even if we dismiss three candidates because they may be too young and assume that the other sdB primaries are of low mass, PGâ1743+477 and, in particular, HEâ0532-4503 remain as candidates whose companions may have masses close to or above the Chandrasekhar limit. X-ray observations and accurate photometry are suggested to clarify their nature. As high inclination systems must also exist, an appropriate survey has already been launched to find such binaries.Peer reviewe
In search of virus carriers of the 1988 and 2002 phocine distemper virus outbreaks in European harbour seals
European harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) populations decreased substantially during the phocine distemper virus (PDV) outbreaks of 1988 and 2002. Different hypotheses have stated that various seals and terrestrial carnivore species might be the source of infection. To further analyse these hypotheses, grey (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed (Phoca hispida) seals, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and minks (Mustela lutreola) were sampled from the North Sea and East Greenland coasts between 1988 and 2004 and investigated by RT-PCR using a panmorbillivirus primer pair. However, all samples were negative for morbillivirus nucleic acid
WHAM Observations of H-alpha Emission from High Velocity Clouds in the M, A, and C Complexes
The first observations of the recently completed Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper
(WHAM) facility include a study of emission lines from high velocity clouds in
the M, A, and C complexes, with most of the observations on the M I cloud. We
present results including clear detections of H-alpha emission from all three
complexes with intensities ranging from 0.06 R to 0.20 R. In every observed
direction where there is significant high velocity H I gas seen in the 21 cm
line we have found associated ionized hydrogen emitting the H-alpha line. The
velocities of the H-alpha and 21 cm emission are well correlated in every case
except one, but the intensities are not correlated. There is some evidence that
the ionized gas producing the H-alpha emission envelopes the 21 cm emitting
neutral gas but the H-alpha "halo", if present, is not large. If the H-alpha
emission arises from the photoionization of the H I clouds, then the implied
Lyman continuum flux F_{LC} at the location of the clouds ranges from 1.3 to
4.2 x 10^5 photons cm^{-2} s^{-1}. If, on the other hand, the ionization is due
to a shock arising from the collision of the high-velocity gas with an ambient
medium in the halo, then the density of the pre-shocked gas can be constrained.
We have also detected the [S II] 6716 angstrom line from the M I cloud and have
evidence that the [S II] to H-alpha ratio varies with location on the cloud.Comment: 32 pages, 18 figures, to appear in ApJ (Sept. 10, 1998
Dynamics of Magnetic Flux Elements in the Solar Photosphere
The interaction of magnetic fields and convection is investigated in the
context of the coronal heating problem. We study the motions of photospheric
magnetic elements using filtergrams obtained at the Swedish Vacuum Solar
Telescope at La Palma. We use potential-field modeling to extrapolate the
magnetic and velocity fields to larger height. We find that the velocity in the
chromosphere can be locally enhanced at the separatrix surfaces between
neighboring flux tubes. The predicted velocities are several km/s,
significantly larger than those of the photospheric flux tubes, which may have
important implications for coronal heating. sComment: submitted to ApJ, 21 pages, 10 figure
Non-Equilibrium Quantum Dissipation
Dissipative processes in non-equilibrium many-body systems are fundamentally
different than their equilibrium counterparts. Such processes are of great
importance for the understanding of relaxation in single molecule devices. As a
detailed case study, we investigate here a generic spin-fermion model, where a
two-level system couples to two metallic leads with different chemical
potentials. We present results for the spin relaxation rate in the nonadiabatic
limit for an arbitrary coupling to the leads, using both analytical and exact
numerical methods. The non-equilibrium dynamics is reflected by an exponential
relaxation at long times and via complex phase shifts, leading in some cases to
an "anti-orthogonality" effect. In the limit of strong system-lead coupling at
zero temperature we demonstrate the onset of a Marcus-like Gaussian decay with
{\it voltage difference} activation. This is analogous to the equilibrium
spin-boson model, where at strong coupling and high temperatures the spin
excitation rate manifests temperature activated Gaussian behavior. We find that
there is no simple linear relationship between the role of the temperature in
the bosonic system and a voltage drop in a non-equilibrium electronic case. The
two models also differ by the orthogonality-catastrophe factor existing in a
fermionic system, which modifies the resulting lineshapes. Implications for
current characteristics are discussed. We demonstrate the violation of
pair-wise Coulomb gas behavior for strong coupling to the leads. The results
presented in this paper form the basis of an exact, non-perturbative
description of steady-state quantum dissipative systems
Exploring the properties of the phases of QCD matter - research opportunities and priorities for the next decade
This document provides a summary of the discussions during the recent joint
QCD Town Meeting at Temple University of the status of and future plans for the
research program of the relativistic heavy-ion community. A list of compelling
questions is formulated, and a number of recommendations outlining the greatest
research opportunities and detailing the research priorities of the heavy-ion
community, voted on and unanimously approved at the Town Meeting, are
presented. They are supported by a broad discussion of the underlying physics
and its relation to other subfields. Areas of overlapping interests with the
"QCD and Hadron Structure" ("cold QCD") subcommunity, in particular the
recommendation for the future construction of an Electron-Ion Collider, are
emphasized. The agenda of activities of the "hot QCD" subcommunity at the Town
Meeting is attached.Comment: 34 pages of text, 254 references,16 figure
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