Accretion Flows in Magnetic White Dwarf Systems

We received Type A and B funding under the NASA Astrophysics Data Program for the analysis and interpretation of hard x-ray data obtained by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and other NASA sponsored missions for Intermediate Polars (IPS) and Polars. For some targets, optical data was available. We reduced and analyzed the X-ray spectra and the X-ray and optical (obtained at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory) timing data using detailed shock models (which we constructed) to place constraints on the properties of the accreting white dwarfs, the high energy emission mechanisms of white dwarfs, and the large-scale accretion flows of Polars and IPS. IPS and Polars are white dwarf mass-transfer binaries, members of the larger class of cata,clysmic variables. They differ from the bulk of the cataclysmic variables in that they contain strongly magnetic white dwarfs; the white dwarfs in Polars have B, = 7 to 230 MG and those in IPS have B, less than 10 MG. The IPS and Polars are both examples of funneled accretion flows in strong magnetic field systems. The IPS are similar to x-ray pulsars in that accretion disks form in the systems which are disrupted by the strong stellar magnetic fields of the white dwarfs near the stellar surface from where the plasma is funneled to the surface of the white dwarf. The localized hot spots formed at the footpoints of the funnels coupled with the rotation of the white dwarf leads to coherent pulsed x-ray emission. The Polars offer an example of a different accretion topology; the magnetic field of the white dwarf controls the accretion flow from near the inner Lagrangian point of the system directly to the stellar surface. Accretion disks do not form. The strong magnetic coupling generally leads to synchronous orbital/rotational motion in the Polars. The physical system in this sense resembles the Io/Jupiter system. In both IPS and Polars, pulsed emission from the infrared to x-rays is produced as the funneled flows merge onto the white dwarfs through the formation of strong radiating shock waves. A comparative study of the IPS and Polars can elucidate the primary effects of the magnetic fields on the dynamics and thermodynamics in accreting white dwarf systems

Supergiant Barocaloric Effects in Acetoxy Silicone Rubber over a Wide Temperature Range: Great Potential for Solid-state Cooling

Solid-state cooling based on caloric effects is considered a viable alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Regarding barocaloric materials, recent results show that elastomers are promising candidates for cooling applications around room-temperature. In the present paper, we report supergiant barocaloric effects observed in acetoxy silicone rubber - a very popular, low-cost and environmentally friendly elastomer. Huge values of adiabatic temperature change and reversible isothermal entropy change were obtained upon moderate applied pressures and relatively low strains. These huge barocaloric changes are associated both to the polymer chains rearrangements induced by confined compression and to the first-order structural transition. The results are comparable to the best barocaloric materials reported so far, opening encouraging prospects for the application of elastomers in near future solid-state cooling devices.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Magnetic and magnetotransport properties of the orthorhombic perovskites (Lu, Ca)MnO3

Here we extend the research of the (R,Ca)MnO3 perovskites to the smallest-R end member (Lu,Ca)MnO3. Magnetic and magnetotransport properties of the (Lu1−xCax)MnO3 system are systematically investigated in regard to carrier doping. It is found that hole doping into the antiferromagnetic x=0.0 phase, LuMnO3, causes a spin-glass-like magnetic competition in the wide doping range of 0.1≤x≤0.6, whereas electron doping into the antiferromagnetic x=1.0 phase, CaMnO3, induces a large magnetoresistance effect for 0.8≤x≤0.95.Peer reviewe

The large N limit of M2-branes on Lens spaces

We study the matrix model for N M2-branes wrapping a Lens space L(p,1) = S^3/Z_p. This arises from localization of the partition function of the ABJM theory, and has some novel features compared with the case of a three-sphere, including a sum over flat connections and a potential that depends non-trivially on p. We study the matrix model both numerically and analytically in the large N limit, finding that a certain family of p flat connections give an equal dominant contribution. At large N we find the same eigenvalue distribution for all p, and show that the free energy is simply 1/p times the free energy on a three-sphere, in agreement with gravity dual expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figure

Nonequilibrium Kondo Effect in a Quantum Dot Coupled to Ferromagnetic Leads

We study the Kondo effect in the electron transport through a quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads, using a real-time diagrammatic technique which provides a systematic description of the nonequilibrium dynamics of a system with strong local electron correlations. We evaluate the theory in an extension of the `resonant tunneling approximation', introduced earlier, by introducing the self-energy of the off-diagonal component of the reduced propagator in spin space. In this way we develop a charge and spin conserving approximation that accounts not only for Kondo correlations but also for the spin splitting and spin accumulation out of equilibrium. We show that the Kondo resonances, split by the applied bias voltage, may be spin polarized. A left-right asymmetry in the coupling strength and/or spin polarization of the electrodes significantly affects both the spin accumulation and the weight of the split Kondo resonances out of equilibrium. The effects are observable in the nonlinear differential conductance. We also discuss the influence of decoherence on the Kondo resonance in the frame of the real-time formulation.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure

Vertically coupled double quantum dots in magnetic fields

Ground-state and excited-state properties of vertically coupled double quantum dots are studied by exact diagonalization. Magic-number total angular momenta that minimize the total energy are found to reflect a crossover between electron configurations dominated by intra-layer correlation and ones dominated by inter-layer correlation. The position of the crossover is governed by the strength of the inter-layer electron tunneling and magnetic field. The magic numbers should have an observable effect on the far infra-red optical absorption spectrum, since Kohn's theorem does not hold when the confinement potential is different for two dots. This is indeed confirmed here from a numerical calculation that includes Landau level mixing. Our results take full account of the effect of spin degrees of freedom. A key feature is that the total spin, $S$, of the system and the magic-number angular momentum are intimately linked because of strong electron correlation. Thus $S$ jumps hand in hand with the total angular momentum as the magnetic field is varied. One important consequence of this is that the spin blockade (an inhibition of single-electron tunneling) should occur in some magnetic field regions because of a spin selection rule. Owing to the flexibility arising from the presence of both intra-layer and inter-layer correlations, the spin blockade is easier to realize in double dots than in single dots.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. B1

Charged particle-like branes in ABJM

We study the effect of adding lower dimensional brane charges to the 't Hooft monopole, di-baryon and baryon vertex configurations in $AdS_4 \times \mathbb{P}^3$. We show that these configurations capture the background fluxes in a way that depends on the induced charges, and therefore, require additional fundamental strings in order to cancel the worldvolume tadpoles. The study of the dynamics reveals that the charges must lie inside some interval in order to find well defined configurations, a situation familiar from the baryon vertex in $AdS_5 \times S^5$ with charges. For the baryon vertex and the di-baryon the number of fundamental strings must also lie inside an allowed interval. Our configurations are sensitive to the flat $B$-field recently suggested in the literature. We make some comments on its possible role. We also discuss how these configurations are modified in the presence of a non-zero Romans mass.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, discussion of charges improved, published versio

Asymmetric I-V characteristics and magnetoresistance in magnetic point contacts

We present a theoretical study of the transport properties of magnetic point contacts under bias. Our calculations are based on the Keldish's non-equilibrium Green's function formalism combined with a self-consistent empirical tight-binding Hamiltonian, which describes both strong ferromagnetism and charging effects. We demonstrate that large magnetoresistance solely due to electronic effects can be found when a sharp domain wall forms inside a magnetic atomic-scale point contact. Moreover we show that the symmetry of the $I$-$V$ characteristic depends on the position of the domain wall in the constriction. In particular diode-like curves can arise when the domain wall is placed off-center within the point contact, although the whole structure does not present any structural asymmetry.Comment: 7 figures, submitted to PR