Discovery of new embedded Herbig-Haro objects in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud

We report here the discovery of a 30"-chain of embedded Herbig-Haro (HH) objects in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. These HH objects were first detected during a deep K_S-band observation (completeness magnitude for point source~19) made with NTT/SOFI. We confirm their nature with follow-up observations made with H_2 v=1-0 S(1) narrow-band filter. We argue that they belong to two different jets emanating from two Class I protostars: the main component of the recently resolved subarcsecond radio binary YLW15 (also called IRS43), and IRS54. We propose also to identify the [S II] knot HH224NW1 (Gomez et al 1998) as emanating from a counterjet of YLW15. The alignment between these HH objects and the thermal jet candidate found in YLW15 by Girart et al. (2000) implies that this jet is not precessing at least on timescale ~(2-4)x1E4 yr

Role of Quantum Confinement in Luminescence Efficiency of Group IV Nanostructures

Experimental results obtained previously for the photoluminescence efficiency (PL$_{eff}$) of Ge quantum dots (QDs) are theoretically studied. A $\log$-$\log$ plot of PL$_{eff}$ versus QD diameter ($D$) resulted in an identical slope for each Ge QD sample only when $E_{G}\sim (D^2+D)^{-1}$. We identified that above $D\approx$ 6.2 nm: $E_{G}\sim D^{-1}$ due to a changing effective mass (EM), while below $D\approx$ 4.6 nm: $E_{G}\sim D^{-2}$ due to electron/ hole confinement. We propose that as the QD size is initially reduced, the EM is reduced, which increases the Bohr radius and interface scattering until eventually pure quantum confinement effects dominate at small $D$

A U-band survey of brown dwarfs in the Taurus Molecular Cloud with the XMM-Newton Optical/UV Monitor

We aim to characterize the U-band variability of young brown dwarfs in the Taurus Molecular Cloud and discuss its origin. We used the XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, where a sample of 11 young bona fide brown dwarfs (spectral type later than M6) were observed simultaneously in X-rays with XMM-Newton and in the U-band with the XMM-Newton Optical/UV Monitor (OM). We obtained upper limits to the U-band emission of 10 brown dwarfs (U>19.6-20.6 mag), whereas 2MASSJ04141188+2811535 was detected in the U-band. Remarkably, the magnitude of this brown dwarf increased regularly from U~19.5 mag at the beginning of the observation, peaked 6h later at U~18.4 mag, and then decreased to U~18.65 mag in the next 2h. The first OM U-band measurement is consistent with the quiescent level observed about one year later thanks to ground follow-up observations. This brown dwarf was not detected in X-rays by XMM-Newton during the OM observation. We discuss the possible sources of U-band variability for this young brown dwarf, namely a magnetic flare, non-steady accretion onto the substellar surface, and rotational modulation of a hot spot. We conclude that this event is related to accretion from a circumsubstellar disk, where the mass accretion rate was about a factor of 3 higher than during the quiescent level.Comment: 6 pages and 4 Figures. Accepted by A&A, to appear in a special section/issue dedicated to the XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (XEST

Low-energy excitations of a linearly Jahn-Teller coupled orbital quintet

The low-energy spectra of the single-mode h x (G+H) linear Jahn-Teller model is studied by means of exact diagonalization. Both eigenenergies and photoemission spectral intensities are computed. These spectra are useful to understand the vibronic dynamics of icosahedral clusters with partly filled orbital quintet molecular shells, for example C60 positive ions.Comment: 14 pages revte

Why future nitrogen research needs the social sciences

Nitrogen management is on the cusp of becoming a major global policy issue — the international community is gradually acknowledging that the feasibility of an array of environmental, health and food security goals hinges on how humanity manages nitrogen as a resource and a pollutant over the coming decades. As a result, the nitrogen research agenda should expand to consider more policy-relevant questions, such as the power dynamics of the broader food system and the many influences on farmer decision-making. Doing so demands much closer collaboration between the natural and social sciences, from problem formulation to research execution, which requires overcoming a range of ideological, institutional and knowledge barriers

Exact particle and kinetic energy densities for one-dimensional confined gases of non-interacting fermions

We propose a new method for the evaluation of the particle density and kinetic pressure profiles in inhomogeneous one-dimensional systems of non-interacting fermions, and apply it to harmonically confined systems of up to N=1000 fermions. The method invokes a Green's function operator in coordinate space, which is handled by techniques originally developed for the calculation of the density of single-particle states from Green's functions in the energy domain. In contrast to the Thomas-Fermi (local density) approximation, the exact profiles under harmonic confinement show negative local pressure in the tails and a prominent shell structure which may become accessible to observation in magnetically trapped gases of fermionic alkali atoms.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Uso de modelos de redes neuronales artificiales para representar el proceso de concentración por destilación molecular de omega-3 proveniente de aceite de calamar

The concentration of omega-3 compounds obtained for the esterification of squid oil by molecular distillation was carried out in two stages. This operation can process these thermolabile and high molecular weight components at very low temperatures. Given the mathematical complexity of the theoretical model, artificial neural networks (ANN) have provided an alternative to a classical computing analysis. The objective of this study was to create a predictive model using artificial neural network techniques to represent the concentration process of omega-3 compounds obtained from squid oil using molecular distillation. Another objective of this study was to analyze the performance of two different alternatives of ANN modeling; one of them is a model that represents all variables in the process and the other is a global model that simulates only the input and output variables of the process. The alternative of the ANN global model showed the best fit to the experimental data.La concentración de compuestos omega-3, obtenidos de la esterificación de aceite de calamar, por destilación molecular fue llevada a cabo en dos etapas. Esta operación permite procesar componentes termolábiles y de alto peso molecular a muy bajas temperaturas. Dada la alta complejidad de los modelos teóricos, las redes neuronales artificiales (RNA) conforman una alternativa al análisis computacional clásico. El objetivo de este estudio fue crear un modelo predictivo usando modelos de redes neuronales artificiales para representar el proceso de concentración de compuestos omega-3 obtenidos del aceite de calamar por destilación molecular. Otro objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el desenvolvimiento de dos alternativas de modelos RNA; uno de ellos es un modelo que representa todas las variables en el proceso y otro es un modelo global que simula solo las variables de entrada y de salida del proceso. La alternativa de un modelo RNA global mostró el mejor ajuste de los datos experimentales

Intermediate-statistics spin waves

In this paper, we show that spin waves, the elementary excitation of the Heisenberg magnetic system, obey a kind of intermediate statistics with a finite maximum occupation number n. We construct an operator realization for the intermediate statistics obeyed by magnons, the quantized spin waves, and then construct a corresponding intermediate-statistics realization for the angular momentum algebra in terms of the creation and annihilation operators of the magnons. In other words, instead of the Holstein-Primakoff representation, a bosonic representation subject to a constraint on the occupation number, we present an intermediate-statistics representation with no constraints. In this realization, the maximum occupation number is naturally embodied in the commutation relation of creation and annihilation operators, while the Holstein-Primakoff representation is a bosonic operator relation with an additional putting-in-by-hand restriction on the occupation number. We deduce the intermediate-statistics distribution function for magnons. On the basis of these results, we calculate the dispersion relations for ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin waves. The relations between the intermediate statistics that magnons obey and the other two important kinds of intermediate statistics, Haldane-Wu statistics and the fractional statistics of anyons, are discussed. We also compare the spectrum of the intermediate-statistics spin wave with the exact solution of the one-dimensional s = 1/2 Heisenberg model, which is obtained by the Bethe ansatz method. For ferromagnets, we take the contributions from the interaction between magnons (the quartic contribution), the next-to-nearest neighbor interaction, and the dipolar interaction into account for comparison with the experiment.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figure

Observation of enhanced X-ray emission from the CTTS AA Tau during a transit of an accretion funnel

AA Tau was observed for about 5h per XMM orbit (2 days) over 8 successive orbits, which covers two optical eclipse periods (8.2 days). The XMM optical/UV monitor simultaneously provided UV photometry with a ~15 min sampling rate. Some V-band photometry was also obtained from the ground during this period in order to determine the dates of the eclipses. Two X-ray and UV measurements were secured close to the center of the eclipse. The UV flux is the highest just before the eclipse starts and the lowest towards the end of it. We model the UV flux variations with a weekly modulation (inner disk eclipse), plus a daily modulation, which suggests a non-steady accretion. No eclipses are detected in X-rays. For one measurement, the X-ray count rate was nearly 50 times stronger than the minimum observed level, and the plasma temperature reached 60 MK, i.e., a factor of 2-3 higher than in the other observations. This X-ray event, observed close to the center of the optical eclipse, is interpreted as an X-ray flare. We identify the variable column density with the low-density accretion funnel flows blanketing the magnetosphere. The lack of X-ray eclipses indicates that X-ray emitting regions are located at high latitudes. Furthermore, the occurrence of a strong X-ray flare near the center of the optical eclipse suggests that the magnetically active areas are closely associated with the base of the high-density accretion funnel flow. We speculate that the impact of this free falling accretion flow onto the strong magnetic field of the stellar corona may boost the X-ray emission (abridged).Comment: 17 pages and 9 Figures. Accepted by A&