4,378 research outputs found
Bose-Einstein Condensation and Spin Mixtures of Optically Trapped Metastable Helium
We report the realization of a BEC of metastable helium-4 atoms (4He*) in an
all optical potential. Up to 10^5 spin polarized 4He* atoms are condensed in an
optical dipole trap formed from a single, focused, vertically propagating far
off-resonance laser beam. The vertical trap geometry is chosen to best match
the resolution characteristics of a delay-line anode micro-channel plate
detector capable of registering single He* atoms. We also confirm the
instability of certain spin state combinations of 4He* to two-body inelastic
processes, which necessarily affects the scope of future experiments using
optically trapped spin mixtures. In order to better quantify this constraint,
we measure spin state resolved two-body inelastic loss rate coefficients in the
optical trap
The stratigraphy of the Sterkfontein hominid deposit and its relationship to the underground cave system
A programme of orientated core drilling was carried out during 1989 to elucidate stratigraphic relationships within the Sterkfontein Formation and to obtain a representative suite of samples for palaeomagnetic analysis. The cores have revealed that the hominid-bearing cave deposits occur as a continuous succession comprising 6 Members and extending to a maximum depth of about 30 m below present surface. Of these Member I (comprising a sterile, residual fill) and Member 3 are the most extensive. This sequence has been displaced vertically downwards within a zone of decalcification coinciding with the central part of the deposit. This zone has been the focus of recent deep excavations at the site. The results of the drilling, in conjunction with recent surveys of the underground cave system, confirm that a dolomite floor existed at an average depth of about 20 m at the time offirst cave filling. Subsequent cavern development down to depths in excess of 50 m caused the local collapse of some lower units of the Sterkfontein Formation and, as new openings developed to the surface, permitted the ingress of younger fills below the base of the hominid-bearing succession
The nature and genesis of solution cavities (Makondos) in Transvaal Cave breccias
Main articleThe discovery of a large part of the cranium of a
hominid, evidently closely related to Homo habilis
(Hughes and Tobias 1977) in a solution cavity
within the calcified Member 5 of the Sterkfontein
Formation (Partridge 1978) has again drawn attention
to the frequent occurrence of these features
in the hominid-bearing breccias of the Transvaal.
The authors first studied these features at
Makapansgat (fig. 1) some fifteen years ago and
have since then become aware of their very widespread
occurrence in soluble rocks in many parts
of the world. All subsequent information has
served to confirm the origin of these features, but,
since these were never published, it is worthwhile
to place these findings on record.
Solution cavities, or Makondos, in the Transvaal
cave breccias are soil-filled pits shaped like an
inverted cone. Their walls and intervening areas of
the calcified cave deposit are usually rough, and
the coalescing of adjacent cavities below the surface
is common. They seldom exceed 2 m in diameter
and 6 m in depth and occur at intervals of 2 to
3 m in the calcified cave deposit.Non
Bright soliton trains of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We variationally determine the dynamics of bright soliton trains composed of
harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interatomic
interactions. In particular, we obtain the interaction potential between two
solitons. We also discuss the formation of soliton trains due to the quantum
mechanical phase fluctuations of a one-dimensional condensate.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Deformation of a Trapped Fermi Gas with Unequal Spin Populations
The real-space densities of a polarized strongly-interacting two-component
Fermi gas of Li atoms reveal two low temperature regimes, both with a
fully-paired core. At the lowest temperatures, the unpolarized core deforms
with increasing polarization. Sharp boundaries between the core and the excess
unpaired atoms are consistent with a phase separation driven by a first-order
phase transition. In contrast, at higher temperatures the core does not deform
but remains unpolarized up to a critical polarization. The boundaries are not
sharp in this case, indicating a partially-polarized shell between the core and
the unpaired atoms. The temperature dependence is consistent with a tricritical
point in the phase diagram.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Planck Observations of M33
We have performed a comprehensive investigation of the global integrated flux
density of M33 from radio to ultraviolet wavelengths, finding that the data
between 100 GHz and 3 THz are accurately described by a single modified
blackbody curve with a dust temperature of = 21.670.30 K
and an effective dust emissivity index of = 1.350.10,
with no indication of an excess of emission at millimeter/sub-millimeter
wavelengths. However, sub-dividing M33 into three radial annuli, we found that
the global emission curve is highly degenerate with the constituent curves
representing the sub-regions of M33. We also found gradients in
and across the disk of M33, with both
quantities decreasing with increasing radius. Comparing the M33 dust emissivity
with that of other Local Group members, we find that M33 resembles the
Magellanic Clouds rather than the larger galaxies, i.e., the Milky Way and M31.
In the Local Group sample, we find a clear correlation between global dust
emissivity and metallicity, with dust emissivity increasing with metallicity. A
major aspect of this analysis is the investigation into the impact of
fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) on the integrated flux
density spectrum of M33. We found that failing to account for these CMB
fluctuations would result in a significant over-estimate of
by 5 K and an under-estimate of by 0.4.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Microstructural evolution of silicate immiscible liquids in ferrobasalts
Abstract: An experimental study of the microstructural evolution of an immiscible basaltic emulsion shows that the Fe-rich liquid forms homogeneously nucleated droplets dispersed in a continuous Si-rich liquid, together with droplets heterogeneously nucleated on plagioclase, magnetite, and pyroxene. Heterogeneous nucleation is likely promoted by localised compositional heterogeneities around growing crystals. The wetting angle of Fe-rich droplets on both plagioclase and magnetite increases with decreasing temperature. Droplet coarsening occurs by a combination of diffusion-controlled growth and Ostwald ripening, with an insignificant contribution from coalescence. Characteristic microstructures resulting from the interaction of immiscible Fe-rich liquid with crystal grains during crystal growth can potentially be used as an indicator of liquid unmixing in fully crystallised natural samples. In magma bodies < ~ 10 m in size, gravitationally driven segregation of immiscible Fe-rich droplets is unlikely to be significant
Violation of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality with matter waves
The Cauchy-Schwarz (CS) inequality -- one of the most widely used and
important inequalities in mathematics -- can be formulated as an upper bound to
the strength of correlations between classically fluctuating quantities.
Quantum mechanical correlations can, however, exceed classical bounds.Here we
realize four-wave mixing of atomic matter waves using colliding Bose-Einstein
condensates, and demonstrate the violation of a multimode CS inequality for
atom number correlations in opposite zones of the collision halo. The
correlated atoms have large spatial separations and therefore open new
opportunities for extending fundamental quantum-nonlocality tests to ensembles
of massive particles.Comment: Final published version (with minor changes). 5 pages, 3 figures,
plus Supplementary Materia
Metastability in Spin-Polarized Fermi Gases
We study the role of particle transport and evaporation on the phase
separation of an ultracold, spin-polarized atomic Fermi gas. We show that the
previously observed deformation of the superfluid paired core is a result of
evaporative depolarization of the superfluid due to a combination of enhanced
evaporation at the center of the trap and the inhibition of spin transport at
the normal-superfluid phase boundary. These factors contribute to a
nonequilibrium jump in the chemical potentials at the phase boundary. Once
formed, the deformed state is highly metastable, persisting for times of up to
2 s.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Faint Radio Sources and Star Formation History
Faint extragalactic radio sources provide important information about the
global history of star formation. Sensitive radio observations of the Hubble
Deep Field and other fields have found that sub-mJy radio sources are
predominantly associated with star formation activity rather than AGN. Radio
observations of star forming galaxies have the advantage of being independent
of extinction by dust. We use the FIR-radio correlation to compare the radio
and FIR backgrounds, and make several conclusions about the star forming
galaxies producing the FIR background. We then use the redshift distribution of
faint radio sources to determine the evolution of the radio luminosity
function, and thus estimate the star formation density as a function of
redshift.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, latex using texas.sty, to appear in the CD-ROM
Proceedings of the 19th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics and
Cosmology, held in Paris, France, Dec. 14-18, 1998. Eds.: J. Paul, T.
Montmerle, and E. Aubourg (CEA Saclay). No changes to paper, just updated
publication info in this commen
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