20,275 research outputs found
Fate of the Peak Effect in a Type-II Superconductor: Multicriticality in the Bragg-Glass Transition
We have used small-angle-neutron-scattering (SANS) and ac magnetic
susceptibility to investigate the global magnetic field H vs temperature T
phase diagram of a single crystal Nb in which a first-order transition of
Bragg-glass melting (disordering), a peak effect, and surface superconductivity
are all observable. It was found that the disappearance of the peak effect is
directly related to a multicritical behavior in the Bragg-glass transition.
Four characteristic phase boundary lines have been identified on the H-T plane:
a first-order line at high fields, a mean-field-like continuous transition line
at low fields, and two continuous transition line associated with the onset of
surface and bulk superconductivity. All four lines are found to meet at a
multicritical point.Comment: 4 figure
Preparation and characterization of electrodes for the NASA Redox storage system
Electrodes for the Redox energy storage system based on iron and chromium chloride reactants is discussed. The physical properties of several lots of felt were determined. Procedures were developed for evaluating electrode performance in lab scale cells. Experimental procedures for evaluating electrodes by cyclic voltammetry are described which minimize the IR losses due to the high internal resistance in the felt (distributed resistance). Methods to prepare electrodes which reduced the coevolution of hydrogen at the chromium electrode and eleminate the drop in voltage on discharge occasionally seen with previous electrodes were discussed. Single cells of 0.3329 ft area with improved membranes and electrodes are operating at over 80% voltage efficiency and coulombic efficiencies of over 98% at current densities of 16 to 20 amp % ft
Halo Geometry and Dark Matter Annihilation Signal
We study the impact of the halo shape and geometry on the expected weakly
interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter annihilation signal from the
galactic center. As the halo profile in the innermost region is still poorly
constrained, we consider different density behaviors like flat cores, cusps and
spikes, as well as geometrical distortions. We show that asphericity has a
strong impact on the annihilation signal when the halo profile near the
galactic center is flat, but becomes gradually less significant for cuspy
profiles, and negligible in the presence of a central spike. However, the
astrophysical factor is strongly dependent on the WIMP mass and annihilation
cross-section in the latter case.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, PR
A momentum-conserving, consistent, Volume-of-Fluid method for incompressible flow on staggered grids
The computation of flows with large density contrasts is notoriously
difficult. To alleviate the difficulty we consider a consistent mass and
momentum-conserving discretization of the Navier-Stokes equation.
Incompressible flow with capillary forces is modelled and the discretization is
performed on a staggered grid of Marker and Cell type. The Volume-of-Fluid
method is used to track the interface and a Height-Function method is used to
compute surface tension. The advection of the volume fraction is performed
using either the Lagrangian-Explicit / CIAM (Calcul d'Interface Affine par
Morceaux) method or the Weymouth and Yue (WY) Eulerian-Implicit method. The WY
method conserves fluid mass to machine accuracy provided incompressiblity is
satisfied which leads to a method that is both momentum and mass-conserving. To
improve the stability of these methods momentum fluxes are advected in a manner
"consistent" with the volume-fraction fluxes, that is a discontinuity of the
momentum is advected at the same speed as a discontinuity of the density. To
find the density on the staggered cells on which the velocity is centered, an
auxiliary reconstruction of the density is performed. The method is tested for
a droplet without surface tension in uniform flow, for a droplet suddenly
accelerated in a carrying gas at rest at very large density ratio without
viscosity or surface tension, for the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, for a
falling raindrop and for an atomizing flow in air-water conditions
Bound on the Dark Matter Density in the Solar System from Planetary Motions
High precision planet orbital data extracted from direct observation,
spacecraft explorations and laser ranging techniques enable to put a strong
constraint on the maximal dark matter density of a spherical halo centered
around the Sun. The maximal density at Earth's location is of the order
and shows only a mild dependence on the slope of the halo
profile, taken between 0 and -2. This bound is somewhat better than that
obtained from the perihelion precession limits.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
Orbital symmetry fingerprints for magnetic adatoms in graphene
In this paper, we describe the formation of local resonances in graphene in
the presence of magnetic adatoms containing localized orbitals of arbitrary
symmetry, corresponding to any given angular momentum state. We show that
quantum interference effects which are naturally inbuilt in the honeycomb
lattice in combination with the specific orbital symmetry of the localized
state lead to the formation of fingerprints in differential conductance curves.
In the presence of Jahn-Teller distortion effects, which lift the orbital
degeneracy of the adatoms, the orbital symmetries can lead to distinctive
signatures in the local density of states. We show that those effects allow
scanning tunneling probes to characterize adatoms and defects in graphene.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Added discussion about the multi-orbital case
and the validity of the single orbital picture. Published versio
Large N, chiral approach to M at finite temperature
We study the temperature dependence of the eta and eta[prime] meson masses within the framework of U(3)L×U(3)R chiral perturbation theory, up to next-to-leading order in a simultaneous expansion in momenta, quark masses and number of colors. We find that both masses decrease at low temperatures, but only very slightly. We analyze higher order corrections and argue that large Nc suggests a discontinuous drop of Meta[prime] at the critical temperature of deconfinement Tc, consistent with a first order transition to a phase with approximate U(1)A symmetry
Circularly polarized resonant soft x-ray diffraction study of helical magnetism in hexaferrite
Magnetic spiral structures can exhibit ferroelectric moments as recently
demonstrated in various multiferroic materials. In such cases the helicity of
the magnetic spiral is directly correlated with the direction of the
ferroelectric moment and measurement of the helicity of magnetic structures is
of current interest. Soft x-ray resonant diffraction is particularly
advantageous because it combines element selectivity with a large magnetic
cross-section. We calculate the polarization dependence of the resonant
magnetic x-ray cross-section (electric dipole transition) for the basal plane
magnetic spiral in hexaferrite Ba0.8Sr1.2Zn2Fe12O22 and deduce its domain
population using circular polarized incident radiation. We demonstrate there is
a direct correlation between the diffracted radiation and the helicity of the
magnetic spiral.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
MeV Right-handed Neutrinos and Dark Matter
We consider the possibility of having a MeV right-handed neutrino as a dark
matter constituent. The initial reason for this study was the 511 keV spectral
line observed by the satellite experiment INTEGRAL: could it be due to an
interaction between dark matter and baryons? Independently of this, we find a
number of constraints on the assumed right-handed interactions. They arise in
particular from the measurements by solar neutrino experiments. We come to the
conclusion that such particles interactions are possible, and could reproduce
the peculiar angular distribution, but not the rate of the INTEGRAL signal.
However, we stress that solar neutrino experiments are susceptible to provide
further constraints in the future.Comment: 7 pages, figure 1 changed, added reference
- …