Sulphur abundances in metal-poor stars

We investigate the debated "sulphur discrepancy" found among metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo with [Fe/H] < -2. This discrepancy stems in part from the use of two different sets of sulphur lines, the very weak triplet at 8694-95 A and the stronger triplet lines at 9212 - 9237 A. For three representative cases of metal-poor dwarf, turnoff and subgiant stars, we argue that the abundances from the 8694-95 lines have been overestimated which has led to a continually rising trend of [S/Fe] as metallicity decreases. Given that the near-IR region is subject to CCD fringing, these weak lines become excessively difficult to measure accurately in the metallicity regime of [Fe/H] < -2. Based on homogeneously determined spectroscopic stellar parameters, we also present updated [S/Fe] ratios from the 9212-9237 lines which suggest a plateau-like behaviour similar to that seen for other alpha elements.Comment: accepted by A&A, 4 pages, 3 tables, 1 figure; v2: Table2 updated with metallicities from other work

The Case of H2_2C3_3O Isomers, Revisited: Solving the Mystery of the Missing Propadienone

To date, two isomers of H$_2$C$_3$O have been detected, namely, propynal (HCCCHO) and cylclopropenone (c-H$_2$C$_3$O). A third, propadienone (CH$_2$CCO), has thus far eluded observers despite the fact that it is the lowest in energy of the three. This previously noted result is in contradiction of the minimum energy principle, which posits that the abundances of isomers in interstellar environments can be predicted based on their relative stabilities - and suggests, rather, the importance of kinetic over thermodynamic effects in explaining the role of such species. Here, we report results of \textit{ab initio} quantum chemical calculations of the reaction between H and (a) HC$_3$O, (b) H$_2$C$_3$O (both propynal and propadienone), and (c) CH$_2$CHCO. We have found that, among all possible reactions between atomic hydrogen and either propadienone or propynal, only the destruction of propadienone is barrierless and exothermic. That this destruction pathway is indeed behind the non-detection of CH$_2$CCO is further suggested by our finding that the product of this process, the radical CH$_2$CHCO, can subsequently react barrierlessly with H to form propenal (CH$_2$CHCHO) which has, in fact, been detected in regions where the other two H$_2$C$_3$O isomers are observed. Thus, these results not only shed light on a previously unresolved astrochemical mystery, but also further highlight the importance of kinetics in understanding the abundances of interstellar molecules.Comment: ApJ, accepted: 14 pages, 2 figure

Core compressor exit stage study, 2

A total of two three-stage compressors were designed and tested to determine the effects of aspect ratio on compressor performance. The first compressor was designed with an aspect ratio of 0.81; the other, with an aspect ratio of 1.22. Both compressors had a hub-tip ratio of 0.915, representative of the rear stages of a core compressor, and both were designed to achieve a 15.0% surge margin at design pressure ratios of 1.357 and 1.324, respectively, at a mean wheel speed of 167 m/sec. At design speed the 0.81 aspect ratio compressor achieved a pressure ratio of 1.346 at a corrected flow of 4.28 kg/sec and an adiabatic efficiency of 86.1%. The 1.22 aspect ratio design achieved a pressure ratio of 1.314 at 4.35 kg/sec flow and 87.0% adiabatic efficiency. Surge margin to peak efficiency was 24.0% with the lower aspect ratio blading, compared with 12.4% with the higher aspect ratio blading

Solvable Examples of Drift and Diffusion of Ions in Non-uniform Electric Fields

The drift and diffusion of a cloud of ions in a fluid are distorted by an inhomogeneous electric field. If the electric field carries the center of the distribution in a straight line and the field configuration is suitably symmetric, the distortion can be calculated analytically. We examine the specific examples of fields with cylindrical and spherical symmetry in detail assuming the ion distributions to be of a generally Gaussian form. The effects of differing diffusion coefficients in the transverse and longitudinal directions are included

A Group Theoretical Identification of Integrable Equations in the Li\'enard Type Equation x¨+f(x)x˙+g(x)=0\ddot{x}+f(x)\dot{x}+g(x) = 0 : Part II: Equations having Maximal Lie Point Symmetries

In this second of the set of two papers on Lie symmetry analysis of a class of Li\'enard type equation of the form $\ddot {x} + f(x)\dot {x} + g(x)= 0$, where over dot denotes differentiation with respect to time and $f(x)$ and $g(x)$ are smooth functions of their variables, we isolate the equations which possess maximal Lie point symmetries. It is well known that any second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation which admits eight parameter Lie point symmetries is linearizable to free particle equation through point transformation. As a consequence all the identified equations turn out to be linearizable. We also show that one can get maximal Lie point symmetries for the above Li\'enard equation only when $f_{xx} =0$ (subscript denotes differentiation). In addition, we discuss the linearising transformations and solutions for all the nonlinear equations identified in this paper.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Mathematical Physic

New Abundances for Old Stars - Atomic Diffusion at Work in NGC 6397

A homogeneous spectroscopic analysis of unevolved and evolved stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 with FLAMES-UVES reveals systematic trends of stellar surface abundances that are likely caused by atomic diffusion. This finding helps to understand, among other issues, why the lithium abundances of old halo stars are significantly lower than the abundance found to be produced shortly after the Big Bang.Comment: 8 pages, 7 colour figures, 1 table; can also be downloaded via http://www.eso.org/messenger

Bichiral structure of feroelectric domain wall driven by flexoelectricity

The influence of flexoelectric coupling on the internal structure of neutral domain walls in tetragonal phase of perovskite ferroelectrics is studied. The effect is shown to lower the symmetry of 180-degree walls which are oblique with respect to the cubic crystallographic axes, while {100} and {110} walls stay "untouched". Being of the Ising type in the absence of the flexoelectric interaction, the oblique domain walls acquire a new polarization component with a structure qualitatively different from the classical Bloch-wall structure. In contrast to the Bloch-type walls, where the polarization vector draws a helix on passing from one domain to the other, in the flexoeffect-affected wall, the polarization rotates in opposite directions on the two sides of the wall and passes through zero in its center. Since the resulting polarization profile is invariant upon inversion with respect to the wall center it does not brake the wall symmetry in contrast to the classical Bloch-type walls. The flexoelectric coupling lower the domain wall energy and gives rise to its additional anisotropy that is comparable to that conditioned by the elastic anisotropy. The atomic orderof- magnitude estimates shows that the new polarization component P2 may be comparable with spontaneous polarization Ps, thus suggesting that, in general, the flexoelectric coupling should be mandatory included in domain wall simulations in ferroelectrics. Calculations performed for barium titanate yields the maximal value of the P2, which is much smaller than that of the spontaneous polarization. This smallness is attributed to an anomalously small value of a component of the "strain-polarization" elecrostictive tensor in this material

Mean first passage times for bond formation for a Brownian particle in linear shear flow above a wall

Motivated by cell adhesion in hydrodynamic flow, here we study bond formation between a spherical Brownian particle in linear shear flow carrying receptors for ligands covering the boundary wall. We derive the appropriate Langevin equation which includes multiplicative noise due to position-dependent mobility functions resulting from the Stokes equation. We present a numerical scheme which allows to simulate it with high accuracy for all model parameters, including shear rate and three parameters describing receptor geometry (distance, size and height of the receptor patches). In the case of homogeneous coating, the mean first passage time problem can be solved exactly. In the case of position-resolved receptor-ligand binding, we identify different scaling regimes and discuss their biological relevance.Comment: final version after minor revision

A non-LTE study of neutral and singly-ionized calcium in late-type stars

Non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for neutral and singly-ionized calcium is considered through a range of spectral types when the Ca abundance varies from the solar value down to [Ca/H] = -5. Departures from LTE significantly affect the profiles of Ca I lines over the whole range of stellar parameters considered. However, at [Ca/H] >= -2, NLTE abundance correction of individual lines may be small in absolute value due to the different influence of NLTE effects on line wings and the line core. At lower Ca abundances, NLTE leads to systematically depleted total absorption in the line and positive abundance corrections, exceeding +0.5 dex for Ca I 4226 at [Ca/H] = -4.9. In contrast, NLTE effects strengthen the Ca II lines and lead to negative abundance corrections. NLTE corrections are small, <= 0.02 dex, for the Ca II resonance lines. For the IR lines of multiplet 3d - 4p, they grow in absolute value with decreasing Ca abundance exceeding 0.4 dex in metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] <= -3. Ca abundances are determined for the Sun, Procyon, and seven metal-poor stars, using high S/N and high-resolution spectra at visual and near-IR wavelengths. Lines of Ca I and Ca II give consistent abundances for all objects (except Procyon) when collisions with hydrogen atoms are taken into account. The derived absolute solar Ca abundance (from Ca I and Ca II lines) is \eps{Ca,\odot} = 6.38+-0.01. For Procyon, the mean Ca abundance from Ca I lines is markedly subsolar, [Ca/H] = -0.14+-0.03. The W(Ca I 4226)/W(Ca II 8498) equivalent width ratio is predicted to be sensitive to surface gravity for extremely metal-poor stars, while this is not the case for the ratio involving the Ca II resonance line(s)

On the long-range gravity in warped backgrounds

In this paper the Randall-Sundrum model with brane-localized curvature terms is considered. Within some range of parameters a compact extra dimension in this model can be astronomically large. In this case the model predicts small deviation from Newton's law at astronomical scales, caused by the massive modes. The existence of this deviation can result in a slight affection on the planetary motion trajectories.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, typos corrected, reference adde