NGC 3312: A victim of ram pressure sweeping

Researchers are undertaking a volume limited survey of the Hydra I cluster in neutral hydrogen using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA). The main purpose is to study the effects of a dense environment on the gaseous component of the galaxies. Observational evidence has been accumulating recently that ram pressure sweeping does occur in the centers of clusters, but it is possible that tidal interactions play a role as well. Results of high resolution HI imaging of NGC 3312, the large peculiar spiral near the cluster center are presented. Hydra I (= A1060) is the nearest rich cluster beyond Virgo and, as such, presents a unique opportunity to do a complete survey of a cluster. It is similar to the Virgo cluster in many of its general physical characteristics, such as size, x ray luminosity, velocity dispersion, and galaxy content (high spiral fraction). However, Hydra I appears to be more regular and relaxed. This is evident in the x ray distribution in its central region, which is radially symmetric and centered on the dominant galaxy, NGC 3311, a cD-like elliptical. The observed x ray luminosity implies a central gas density of 4.5 x 10 to the 3rd power cm(-3). Gallagher (1978) argued from optical images of NGC 3312 that this galaxy might be an ideal candidate to directly study effects of the ram pressure process; it might currently be undergoing stripping of its interstellar medium. The researchers' data are consistent with this suggestion, but other origins of the peculiar appearance cannot yet be ruled out

Microscopic magnetic modeling for the SS=1/2 alternating chain compounds Na3_3Cu2_2SbO6_6 and Na2_2Cu2_2TeO6_6

The spin-1/2 alternating Heisenberg chain system Na$_3$Cu$_2$SbO$_6$ features two relevant exchange couplings: $J_{1a}$ within the structural Cu$_2$O$_6$ dimers and $J_{1b}$ between the dimers. Motivated by the controversially discussed nature of $J_{1a}$, we perform extensive density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations, including DFT+$U$ and hybrid functionals. Fits to the experimental magnetic susceptibility using high-temperature series expansions and quantum Monte Carlo simulations yield the optimal parameters $J_{1a}$ = $-$217 K and $J_{1b}$ = 174 K with the alternation ratio $\alpha = J_{1a}/J_{1b} \simeq$ $-$1.25. For the closely related system Na$_2$Cu$_2$TeO$_6$, DFT yields substantially enhanced $J_{1b}$, but weaker $J_{1a}$. The comparative analysis renders the buckling of the chains as the key parameter altering the magnetic coupling regime. Numerical simulation of the dispersion relations of the alternating chain model clarify why both antiferromagnetic and ferrromagnetic $J_{1a}$ can reproduce the experimental magnetic susceptibility data.Comment: published version: 11 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables + Supplemental materia

The sawtooth chain: From Heisenberg spins to Hubbard electrons

We report on recent studies of the spin-half Heisenberg and the Hubbard model on the sawtooth chain. For both models we construct a class of exact eigenstates which are localized due to the frustrating geometry of the lattice for a certain relation of the exchange (hopping) integrals. Although these eigenstates differ in details for the two models because of the different statistics, they share some characteristic features. The localized eigenstates are highly degenerate and become ground states in high magnetic fields (Heisenberg model) or at certain electron fillings (Hubbard model), respectively. They may dominate the low-temperature thermodynamics and lead to an extra low-temperature maximum in the specific heat. The ground-state degeneracy can be calculated exactly by a mapping of the manifold of localized ground states onto a classical hard-dimer problem, and explicit expressions for thermodynamic quantities can be derived which are valid at low temperatures near the saturation field for the Heisenberg model or around a certain value of the chemical potential for the Hubbard model, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure, the paper is based on an invited talk on the XXXI International Workshop on Condensed Matter Theories, Bangkok, Dec 2007; notation of x-axis in Fig.6 corrected, references update

Exceptional Points in a Microwave Billiard with Time-Reversal Invariance Violation

We report on the experimental study of an exceptional point (EP) in a dissipative microwave billiard with induced time-reversal invariance (T) violation. The associated two-state Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian and non-symmetric. It is determined experimentally on a narrow grid in a parameter plane around the EP. At the EP the size of T violation is given by the relative phase of the eigenvector components. The eigenvectors are adiabatically transported around the EP, whereupon they gather geometric phases and in addition geometric amplitudes different from unity

First Experimental Evidence for Chaos-Assisted Tunneling in a Microwave Annular Billiard

We report on first experimental signatures for chaos-assisted tunneling in a two-dimensional annular billiard. Measurements of microwave spectra from a superconducting cavity with high frequency resolution are combined with electromagnetic field distributions experimentally determined from a normal conducting twin cavity with high spatial resolution to resolve eigenmodes with properly identified quantum numbers. Distributions of so-called quasi-doublet splittings serve as basic observables for the tunneling between whispering gallery type modes localized to congruent, but distinct tori which are coupled weakly to irregular eigenstates associated with the chaotic region in phase space.Comment: 5 pages RevTex, 5 low-resolution figures (high-resolution figures: http://linac.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/heiko/chaospub.html, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Self-Consistent Response of a Galactic Disk to an Elliptical Perturbation Halo Potential

We calculate the self-consistent response of an axisymmetric galactic disk perturbed by an elliptical halo potential of harmonic number m = 2, and obtain the net disk ellipticity. Such a potential is commonly expected to arise due to a galactic tidal encounter and also during the galaxy formation process. The self-gravitational potential corresponding to the self-consistent, non-axisymmetric density response of the disk is obtained by inversion of Poisson equation for a thin disk. This response potential is shown to oppose the perturbation potential, because physically the disk self-gravity resists the imposed potential. This results in a reduction in the net ellipticity of the perturbation halo potential in the disk plane. The reduction factor denoting this decrease is independent of the strength of the perturbation potential, and has a typical minimum value of 0.75 - 0.9 for a wide range of galaxy parameters. The reduction is negligible at all radii for higher harmonics (m > or = 3) of the halo potential. (abridged).Comment: 26 pages (LaTex- aastex style), 3 .eps figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 542, Oct. 20, 200

Performance of the ATLAS Precision Muon Chambers under LHC Operating Conditions

For the muon spectrometer of the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider (LHC), large drift chambers consisting of 6 to 8 layers of pressurized drift tubes are used for precision tracking covering an active area of 5000 m2 in the toroidal field of superconducting air core magnets. The chambers have to provide a spatial resolution of 41 microns with Ar:CO2 (93:7) gas mixture at an absolute pressure of 3 bar and gas gain of 2?104. The environment in which the chambers will be operated is characterized by high neutron and background with counting rates of up to 100 per square cm and second. The resolution and efficiency of a chamber from the serial production for ATLAS has been investigated in a 100 GeV muon beam at photon irradiation rates as expected during LHC operation. A silicon strip detector telescope was used as external reference in the beam. The spatial resolution of a chamber is degraded by 4 ?m at the highest background rate. The detection efficiency of the drift tubes is unchanged under irradiation. A tracking efficiency of 98% at the highest rates has been demonstrated

Universal properties of highly frustrated quantum magnets in strong magnetic fields

The purpose of the present paper is two-fold. On the one hand, we review some recent studies on the low-temperature strong-field thermodynamic properties of frustrated quantum spin antiferromagnets which admit the so-called localized-magnon eigenstates. One the other hand, we provide some complementary new results. We focus on the linear independence of the localized-magnon states, the estimation of their degeneracy with the help of auxiliary classical lattice-gas models and the analysis of the contribution of these states to thermodynamics.Comment: Paper based on the invited talk given by J. Richter at the International Conference "Statistical Physics 2006. Condensed Matter: Theory and Applications" dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Ilya Lifshitz (Kharkiv, 11-15 September, 2006

Rabi Oscillations at Exceptional Points in Microwave Billiards

We experimentally investigated the decay behavior with time t of resonances near and at exceptional points, where two complex eigenvalues and also the associated eigenfunctions coalesce. The measurements were performed with a dissipative microwave billiard, whose shape depends on two parameters. The t^2-dependence predicted at the exceptional point on the basis of a two-state matrix model could be verified. Outside the exceptional point the predicted Rabi oscillations, also called quantum echoes in this context, were detected. To our knowledge this is the first time that quantum echoes related to exceptional points were observed experimentally.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Phase shift experiments identifying Kramers doublets in a chaotic superconducting microwave billiard of threefold symmetry

The spectral properties of a two-dimensional microwave billiard showing threefold symmetry have been studied with a new experimental technique. This method is based on the behavior of the eigenmodes under variation of a phase shift between two input channels, which strongly depends on the symmetries of the eigenfunctions. Thereby a complete set of 108 Kramers doublets has been identified by a simple and purely experimental method. This set clearly shows Gaussian unitary ensemble statistics, although the system is time-reversal invariant.Comment: RevTex 4, 5 figure