8,984 research outputs found
Vortex Fractionalization in a Josephson Ladder
We show numerically that, in a Josephson ladder with periodic boundary
conditions and subject to a suitable transverse magnetic field, a vortex
excitation can spontaneously break up into two or more fractional excitations.
If the ladder has N plaquettes, and N is divisible by an integer q, then in an
applied transverse field of 1/q flux quanta per plaquette the ground state is a
regular pattern of one fluxon every q plaquettes. When one additional fluxon is
added to the ladder, it breaks up into q fractional fluxons, each carrying 1/q
units of vorticity. The fractional fluxons are basically walls between
different domains of the ground state of the underlying 1/q lattice. The
fractional fluxons are all depinned at the same applied current and move as a
unit. For certain applied fields and ladder lengths, we show that there are
isolated fractional fluxons. It is shown that the fractional fluxons would
produce a time-averaged voltage related in a characteristic way to the ac
voltage frequency.Comment: 13 Figures. 10 page
Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers: Disk Mass Predictions
Determining the final result of black hole-neutron star mergers, and in
particular the amount of matter remaining outside the black hole at late times
and its properties, has been one of the main motivations behind the numerical
simulation of these systems. Black hole-neutron star binaries are amongst the
most likely progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts --- as long as massive
(probably a few percents of a solar mass), hot accretion disks are formed
around the black hole. Whether this actually happens strongly depends on the
physical characteristics of the system, and in particular on the mass ratio,
the spin of the black hole, and the radius of the neutron star. We present here
a simple two-parameter model, fitted to existing numerical results, for the
determination of the mass remaining outside the black hole a few milliseconds
after a black hole-neutron star merger (i.e. the combined mass of the accretion
disk, the tidal tail, and the potential ejecta). This model predicts the
remnant mass within a few percents of the mass of the neutron star, at least
for remnant masses up to 20% of the neutron star mass. Results across the range
of parameters deemed to be the most likely astrophysically are presented here.
We find that, for 10 solar mass black holes, massive disks are only possible
for large neutron stars (R>12km), or quasi-extremal black hole spins (a/M>0.9).
We also use our model to discuss how the equation of state of the neutron star
affects the final remnant, and the strong influence that this can have on the
rate of short gamma-ray bursts produced by black hole-neutron star mergers.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Evaporation of a Kerr black hole by emission of scalar and higher spin particles
We study the evolution of an evaporating rotating black hole, described by
the Kerr metric, which is emitting either solely massless scalar particles or a
mixture of massless scalar and nonzero spin particles. Allowing the hole to
radiate scalar particles increases the mass loss rate and decreases the angular
momentum loss rate relative to a black hole which is radiating nonzero spin
particles. The presence of scalar radiation can cause the evaporating hole to
asymptotically approach a state which is described by a nonzero value of . This is contrary to the conventional view of black hole
evaporation, wherein all black holes spin down more rapidly than they lose
mass. A hole emitting solely scalar radiation will approach a final asymptotic
state described by . A black hole that is emitting scalar
particles and a canonical set of nonzero spin particles (3 species of
neutrinos, a single photon species, and a single graviton species) will
asymptotically approach a nonzero value of only if there are at least 32
massless scalar fields. We also calculate the lifetime of a primordial black
hole that formed with a value of the rotation parameter , the minimum
initial mass of a primordial black hole that is seen today with a rotation
parameter , and the entropy of a black hole that is emitting scalar or
higher spin particles.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, RevTeX format; added clearer descriptions for
variables, added journal referenc
Coupled dynamics of atoms and radiation pressure driven interferometers
We consider the motion of the end mirror of a cavity in whose standing wave
mode pattern atoms are trapped. The atoms and the light field strongly couple
to each other because the atoms form a distributed Bragg mirror with a
reflectivity that can be fairly high. We analyze how the dipole potential in
which the atoms move is modified due to this backaction of the atoms. We show
that the position of the atoms can become bistable. These results are of a more
general nature and can be applied to any situation where atoms are trapped in
an optical lattice inside a cavity and where the backaction of the atoms on the
light field cannot be neglected. We analyze the dynamics of the coupled system
in the adiabatic limit where the light field adjusts to the position of the
atoms and the light field instantaneously and where the atoms move much faster
than the mirror. We calculate the side band spectrum of the light transmitted
through the cavity and show that these spectra can be used to detect the
coupled motion of the atoms and the mirror.Comment: 11 pages; 13 figures; two added references and other minor
correction
Phase separation of binary condensates in harmonic and lattice potentials
We propose a modified Gaussian ansatz to study binary condensates, trapped in
harmonic and optical lattice potentials, both in miscible and immiscible
domains. The ansatz is an apt one as it leads to the smooth transition from
miscible to immiscible domains without any {\em a priori} assumptions. In
optical lattice potentials, we analyze the squeezing of the density profiles
due to the increase in the depth of the optical lattice potential. For this we
develop a model with three potential wells, and define the relationship between
the lattice depth and profile of the condensate.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, additional references adde
Novel structural features of the ripple phase of phospholipids
We have calculated the electron density maps of the ripple phase of
dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and palmitoyl-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine
(POPC) multibilayers at different temperatures and fixed relative humidity. Our
analysis establishes, for the first time, the existence of an average tilt of
the hydrocarbon chains of the lipid molecules along the direction of the ripple
wave vector, which we believe is responsible for the occurrence of asymmetric
ripples in these systems
The effect of polydispersity on the ordering transition of adsorbed self-assembled rigid rods
Extensive Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to investigate the nature
of the ordering transition of a model of adsorbed self-assembled rigid rods on
the bonds of a square lattice [Tavares et. al., Phys. Rev E 79, 021505 (2009)].
The polydisperse rods undergo a continuous ordering transition that is found to
be in the two-dimensional Ising universality class, as in models where the rods
are monodisperse. This finding is in sharp contrast with the recent claim that
equilibrium polydispersity changes the nature of the phase transition in this
class of models [L`opez et. al., Phys. Rev E 80, 040105(R)(2009)].Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Using Josephson junctions to determine the pairing state of superconductors without crystal inversion symmetry
Theoretical studies of a planar tunnel junction between two superconductors
with antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling are presented. The half-space Green's
function for such a superconductor is determined. This is then used to derive
expressions for the dissipative current and the Josephson current of the
junction. Numerical results are presented in the case of the Rashba spin-orbit
coupling, relevant to the much studied compound CePtSi. Current-voltage
diagrams, differential conductance and the critical Josephson current are
presented for different crystallographic orientations and different weights of
singlet and triplet components of the pairing state. The main conclusion is
that Josephson junctions with different crystallographic orientations may
provide a direct connection between unconventional pairing in superconductors
of this kind and the absence of inversion symmetry in the crystal.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Renormalized waves and thermalization of the Klein-Gordon equation: What sound does a nonlinear string make?
We study the thermalization of the classical Klein-Gordon equation under a
u^4 interaction. We numerically show that even in the presence of strong
nonlinearities, the local thermodynamic equilibrium state exhibits a weakly
nonlinear behavior in a renormalized wave basis. The renormalized basis is
defined locally in time by a linear transformation and the requirement of
vanishing wave-wave correlations. We show that the renormalized waves oscillate
around one frequency, and that the frequency dispersion relation undergoes a
nonlinear shift proportional to the mean square field. In addition, the
renormalized waves exhibit a Planck like spectrum. Namely, there is
equipartition of energy in the low frequency modes described by a Boltzmann
distribution, followed by a linear exponential decay in the high frequency
modes.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Solid-fluid transition in a granular shear flow
The rheology of a granular shear flow is studied in a quasi-2d rotating
cylinder. Measurements are carried out near the midpoint along the length of
the surface flowing layer where the flow is steady and non-accelerating.
Streakline photography and image analysis are used to obtain particle
velocities and positions. Different particle sizes and rotational speeds are
considered. We find a sharp transition in the apparent viscosity ()
variation with rms velocity (). In the fluid-like region above the depth
corresponding to the transition point (higher rms velocities) there is a rapid
increase in viscosity with decreasing rms velocity. Below the transition depth
we find for all the different cases studied and the
material approaches an amorphous solid-like state deep in the layer. The
velocity distribution is Maxwellian above the transition point and a Poisson
velocity distribution is obtained deep in the layer. The observed transition
appears to be analogous to a glass transition.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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