6,620 research outputs found
New attempts to understand nanodiamond stardust
We report on a concerted effort aimed at understanding the origin and history
of the pre-solar nanodiamonds in meteorites including the astrophysical sources
of the observed isotopic abundance signatures. This includes measurement of
light elements by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), analysis of
additional heavy trace elements by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and
dynamic calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis with updated nuclear
properties. Results obtained indicate: a) there is no evidence for the former
presence of now extinct 26Al and 44Ti in our diamond samples other than what
can be attributed to silicon carbide and other "impurities"; this does not
offer support for a supernova (SN) origin but neither does it negate it; b)
analysis by AMS of platinum in "bulk diamond" yields an overabundance of r-only
198Pt that at face value seems more consistent with the neutron burst than with
the separation model for the origin of heavy trace elements in the diamonds,
although this conclusion is not firm given analytical uncertainties; c) if the
Xe-H pattern was established by an unadulterated r-process, it must have been a
strong variant of the main r-process, which possibly could also account for the
new observations in platinum.Comment: Workshop on Astronomy with Radioactvities VII; Publications of the
Astronomical Society of Australia, accepte
Dynamics of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in an Anharmonic Trap
We present a theoretical model to describe the dynamics of Bose-Einstein
condensates in anharmonic trapping potentials. To first approximation the
center-of-mass motion is separated from the internal condensate dynamics and
the problem is reduced to the well known scaling solutions for the Thomas-Fermi
radii. We discuss the validity of this approach and analyze the model for an
anharmonic waveguide geometry which was recently realized in an experiment
\cite{Ott2002c}
3D AMR hydrosimulations of a compact source scenario for the Galactic Centre cloud G2
The nature of the gaseous and dusty cloud G2 in the Galactic Centre is still
under debate. We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical adaptive mesh
refinement (AMR) simulations of G2, modeled as an outflow from a "compact
source" moving on the observed orbit. The construction of mock
position-velocity (PV) diagrams enables a direct comparison with observations
and allow us to conclude that the observational properties of the gaseous
component of G2 could be matched by a massive () and slow ()
outflow, as observed for T Tauri stars. In order for this to be true, only the
material at larger () distances from the source must be
actually emitting, otherwise G2 would appear too compact compared to the
observed PV diagrams. On the other hand, the presence of a central dusty source
might be able to explain the compactness of G2's dust component. In the present
scenario, 5-10 years after pericentre the compact source should decouple from
the previously ejected material, due to the hydrodynamic interaction of the
latter with the surrounding hot and dense atmosphere. In this case, a new
outflow should form, ahead of the previous one, which would be the smoking gun
evidence for an outflow scenario.Comment: resubmitted to MNRAS after referee report, 16 pages, 11 figure
The Nature of Nearby Counterparts to Intermediate Redshift Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies I. Optical/H I Properties and Dynamical Masses
We present single-dish H I spectra obtained with the Green Bank Telescope,
along with optical photometric properties from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, of
20 nearby (D < 70 Mpc) Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs). These ~L*, blue,
high surface brightness, starbursting galaxies were selected with the same
criteria used to define LCBGs at higher redshifts. We find these galaxies are
gas-rich, with M(HI) ranging from 5*10^8 to 8*10^9 M_sun, and M(HI)/L_B ranging
from 0.2 to 2 M_sun/L_sun, consistent with a variety of morphological types of
galaxies. We find the dynamical masses (measured within R_25) span a wide
range, from 3*10^9 to 1*10^11 M_sun. However, at least half have dynamical
mass-to-light ratios smaller than nearby galaxies of all Hubble types, as found
for LCBGs at intermediate redshifts. By comparing line widths and effective
radii with local galaxy populations, we find that LCBGs are consistent with the
dynamical mass properties of Magellanic (low luminosity) spirals, and the more
massive irregulars and dwarf ellipticals, such as NGC 205.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Ap
Spatial patterns of desynchronization bursts in networks
We adapt a previous model and analysis method (the {\it master stability
function}), extensively used for studying the stability of the synchronous
state of networks of identical chaotic oscillators, to the case of oscillators
that are similar but not exactly identical. We find that bubbling induced
desynchronization bursts occur for some parameter values. These bursts have
spatial patterns, which can be predicted from the network connectivity matrix
and the unstable periodic orbits embedded in the attractor. We test the
analysis of bursts by comparison with numerical experiments. In the case that
no bursting occurs, we discuss the deviations from the exactly synchronous
state caused by the mismatch between oscillators
The Post-Pericenter Evolution of the Galactic Center Source G2
In early 2014 the fast-moving near-infrared source G2 reached its closest
approach to the supermassive black hole Sgr A* in the Galactic Center. We
report on the evolution of the ionized gaseous component and the dusty
component of G2 immediately after this event, revealed by new observations
obtained in 2015 and 2016 with the SINFONI integral field spectrograph and the
NACO imager at the ESO VLT. The spatially resolved dynamics of the Br
line emission can be accounted for by the ballistic motion and tidal shearing
of a test-particle cloud that has followed a highly eccentric Keplerian orbit
around the black hole for the last 12 years. The non-detection of a drag force
or any strong hydrodynamic interaction with the hot gas in the inner accretion
zone limits the ambient density to less than a few 10 cm at the
distance of closest approach (1500 ), assuming G2 is a spherical cloud
moving through a stationary and homogeneous atmosphere. The dust continuum
emission is unresolved in L'-band, but stays consistent with the location of
the Br emission. The total luminosity of the Br and L' emission
has remained constant to within the measurement uncertainty. The nature and
origin of G2 are likely related to that of the precursor source G1, since their
orbital evolution is similar, though not identical. Both object are also likely
related to a trailing tail structure, which is continuously connected to G2
over a large range in position and radial velocity.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Juxtaposition of Spin Freezing and Long Range Order in a Series of Geometrically Frustrated Antiferromagnetic Gadolinium Garnets
Specific heat measurements in zero magnetic field are presented on a
homologous series of geometrically frustrated, antiferromagnetic, Heisenberg
garnet systems. Measurements of Gd3Ga5O12, grown with isotopically pure Gd,
agree well with previous results on samples with naturally abundant Gd, showing
no ordering features. In contrast, samples of Gd3Te2Li3O12 and Gd3Al5O12 are
found to exhibit clear ordering transitions at 243 mK and 175 mK respectively.
The effects of low level disorder are studied through dilution of Gd3+ with
non-magnetic Y3+ in Gd3Te2Li3O12. A thorough structural characterization, using
X-ray diffraction, is performed on all of the samples studied. We discuss
possible explanations for such diverse behavior in very similar systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Various Improvements to Operate the 1.5GeV HDSM at MAMI
During the last three years at the 1.5GeV Harmonic Double Sided Microtron HDSM, [1] of MAMI a lot of improvements concerning the longitudinal operation of the accelerator were tested and installed. To monitor the rf power dissipated in the accelerating sections, their cooling water flow and its temperature rise are now continuously logged. Phase calibration measurements of the linacs and the phase intensity monitors p i monitors revealed nonlinearities of the high precision step motor driven waveguide phase shifters. They were recalibrated to deliver precise absolute values. Thereby it is now possible to measure not only the first turn s phase very exactly, but also to determine the linac s rf amplitude within an error of less than 5 using the well known longitudinal dispersion of the bending system. These results are compared to the thermal load measurements. For parity violation experiments the beam energy has to be stabilised to some 10 amp; 8722;6. A dedicated system measuring the time of flight through a bending magnet is now used in routine operation and controls the output energy via the linac phase
Point defects, ferromagnetism and transport in calcium hexaboride
The formation energy and local magnetic moment of a series of point defects
in CaB are computed using a supercell approach within the generalized
gradient approximation to density functional theory. Based on these results,
speculations are made as to the influence of these defects on electrical
transport. It is found that the substitution of Ca by La does not lead to the
formation of a local moment, while a neutral B vacancy carries a moment of
2.4 Bohr magnetons, mostly distributed over the six nearest-neighbour B atoms.
A plausible mechanism for the ferromagnetic ordering of these moments is
suggested. Since the same broken B-B bonds appear on the preferred (100)
cleavage planes of the CaB structure, it is argued that internal surfaces
in polycrystals as well as external surfaces in general will make a large
contribution to the observed magnetization.Comment: Calculated defect formation energies had to be corrected, due to the
use of a wrong reference energy for the perfect crystal in the original pape
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