22,340 research outputs found
Adsorption of Self-Assembled Rigid Rods on Two-Dimensional Lattices
Monte Carlo (MC) simulations have been carried out to study the adsorption on
square and triangular lattices of particles with two bonding sites that, by
decreasing temperature or increasing density, polymerize reversibly into chains
with a discrete number of allowed directions and, at the same time, undergo a
continuous isotropic-nematic (IN) transition. The process has been monitored by
following the behavior of the adsorption isotherms for different values of
lateral interaction energy/temperature. The numerical data were compared with
mean-field analytical predictions and exact functions for noninteracting and 1D
systems. The obtained results revealed the existence of three adsorption
regimes in temperature. (1) At high temperatures, above the critical one
characterizing the IN transition at full coverage Tc(\theta=1), the particles
are distributed at random on the surface and the adlayer behaves as a
noninteracting 2D system. (2) At very low temperatures, the asymmetric monomers
adsorb forming chains over almost the entire range of coverage, and the
adsorption process behaves as a 1D problem. (3) In the intermediate regime, the
system exhibits a mixed regime and the filling of the lattice proceeds
according to two different processes. In the first stage, the monomers adsorb
isotropically on the lattice until the IN transition occurs in the system and,
from this point, particles adsorb forming chains so that the adlayer behaves as
a 1D fluid. The two adsorption processes are present in the adsorption
isotherms, and a marked singularity can be observed that separates both
regimes. Thus, the adsorption isotherms appear as sensitive quantities with
respect to the IN phase transition, allowing us (i) to reproduce the phase
diagram of the system for square lattices and (ii) to obtain an accurate
determination of the phase diagram for triangular lattices.Comment: Langmuir, 201
Did GW170817 harbor a pulsar?
If the progenitor of GW170817 harbored a pulsar, then a Poynting flux
dominated bow-shock cavity would have been expected to form around the
traveling binary. The characteristic size of this evacuated region depends
strongly on the spin-down evolution of the pulsar companion, which in turn
depends on the merging timescale of the system. If this evacuated region is
able to grow to a sufficiently large scale, then the deceleration of the jet,
and thus the onset of the afterglow, would be noticeably delayed. The first
detection of afterglow emission, which was uncovered 9.2 days after the
-ray burst trigger, can thus be used to constrain the size of a
pre-existing pulsar-wind cavity. We use this information, together with a model
of the jet to place limits on the presence of a pulsar in GW170817 and discuss
the derived constraints in the context of the observed double neutron star
binary population. We find that the majority of Galactic systems that are close
enough to merge within a Hubble time would have carved a discernibly large
pulsar-wind cavity, inconsistent with the onset timescale of the X-ray
afterglow of GW170817. Conversely, the recently detected system J1913+1102,
which host a low-luminosity pulsar, provides a congruous Milky Way analog of
GW170817's progenitor model. This study highlights the potential of the
proposed observational test for gaining insight into the origin of double
neutron star binaries, in particular if the properties of Galactic systems are
representative of the overall merging population.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 6 pages, 5 figure
High-precision laser spectroscopy of the CO A - X (2,0), (3,0) and (4,0) bands
High-precision two-photon Doppler-free frequency measurements have been
performed on the CO A - X fourth-positive system (2,0),
(3,0), and (4,0) bands. Absolute frequencies of forty-three transitions, for
rotational quantum numbers up to , have been determined at an accuracy
of cm, using advanced techniques of two-color 2+1'
resonance-enhanced multi-photon ionization, Sagnac interferometry,
frequency-chirp analysis on the laser pulses, and correction for AC-Stark
shifts. The accurate transition frequencies of the CO A - X
system are of relevance for comparison with astronomical data in the search for
possible drifts of fundamental constants in the early universe. The present
accuracies in laboratory wavelengths of may be considered exact for the purpose of such comparisons.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, The Journal of Chemical Physics (2015) accepte
Sidebranching induced by external noise in solutal dendritic growth
We have studied sidebranching induced by fluctuations in dendritic growth.
The amplitude of sidebranching induced by internal (equilibrium) concentration
fluctuations in the case of solidification with solutal diffusion is computed.
This amplitude turns out to be significantly smaller than values reported in
previous experiments.The effects of other possible sources of fluctuations (of
an external origin)are examined by introducing non-conserved noise in a
phase-field model. This reproduces the characteristics of sidebranching found
in experiments. Results also show that sidebranching induced by external noise
is qualitatively similar to that of internal noise, and it is only
distinguished by its amplitude.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Lithium abundances in nearby FGK dwarf and subgiant stars: internal destruction, Galactic chemical evolution, and exoplanets
We derive atmospheric parameters and lithium abundances for 671 stars and
include our measurements in a literature compilation of 1381 dwarf and subgiant
stars. First, a "lithium desert" in the effective temperature (Teff) versus
lithium abundance (A_Li) plane is observed such that no stars with Teff~6075 K
and A_Li~1.8 are found. We speculate that most of the stars on the low A_Li
side of the desert have experienced a short-lived period of severe surface
lithium destruction as main-sequence or subgiant stars. Next, we search for
differences in the lithium content of thin-disk and thick-disk stars, but we
find that internal processes have erased from the stellar photospheres their
possibly different histories of lithium enrichment. Nevertheless, we note that
the maximum lithium abundance of thick-disk stars is nearly constant from
[Fe/H]=-1.0 to -0.1, at a value that is similar to that measured in very
metal-poor halo stars (A_Li~2.2). Finally, differences in the lithium abundance
distribution of known planet-host stars relative to otherwise ordinary stars
appear when restricting the samples to narrow ranges of Teff or mass, but they
are fully explained by age and metallicity biases. We confirm the lack of a
connection between low lithium abundance and planets. However, we find that no
low A_Li planet-hosts are found in the desert Teff window. Provided that subtle
sample biases are not responsible for this observation, this suggests that the
presence of gas giant planets inhibit the mechanism responsible for the lithium
desert.Comment: ApJ, in press. Complete Tables 1 and 3 are available upon reques
Critical behavior of self-assembled rigid rods on triangular and honeycomb lattices
Using Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling analysis, the critical
behavior of self-assembled rigid rods on triangular and honeycomb lattices at
intermediate density has been studied. The system is composed of monomers with
two attractive (sticky) poles that, by decreasing temperature or increasing
density, polymerize reversibly into chains with three allowed directions and,
at the same time, undergo a continuous isotropic-nematic (IN) transition. The
determination of the critical exponents, along with the behavior of Binder
cumulants, indicate that the IN transition belongs to the q=1 Potts
universality class.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
- …