12,745 research outputs found
NGC 3312: A victim of ram pressure sweeping
Researchers are undertaking a volume limited survey of the Hydra I cluster in neutral hydrogen using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA). The main purpose is to study the effects of a dense environment on the gaseous component of the galaxies. Observational evidence has been accumulating recently that ram pressure sweeping does occur in the centers of clusters, but it is possible that tidal interactions play a role as well. Results of high resolution HI imaging of NGC 3312, the large peculiar spiral near the cluster center are presented. Hydra I (= A1060) is the nearest rich cluster beyond Virgo and, as such, presents a unique opportunity to do a complete survey of a cluster. It is similar to the Virgo cluster in many of its general physical characteristics, such as size, x ray luminosity, velocity dispersion, and galaxy content (high spiral fraction). However, Hydra I appears to be more regular and relaxed. This is evident in the x ray distribution in its central region, which is radially symmetric and centered on the dominant galaxy, NGC 3311, a cD-like elliptical. The observed x ray luminosity implies a central gas density of 4.5 x 10 to the 3rd power cm(-3). Gallagher (1978) argued from optical images of NGC 3312 that this galaxy might be an ideal candidate to directly study effects of the ram pressure process; it might currently be undergoing stripping of its interstellar medium. The researchers' data are consistent with this suggestion, but other origins of the peculiar appearance cannot yet be ruled out
Microscopic magnetic modeling for the =1/2 alternating chain compounds NaCuSbO and NaCuTeO
The spin-1/2 alternating Heisenberg chain system NaCuSbO features
two relevant exchange couplings: within the structural CuO
dimers and between the dimers. Motivated by the controversially
discussed nature of , we perform extensive density-functional-theory
(DFT) calculations, including DFT+ and hybrid functionals. Fits to the
experimental magnetic susceptibility using high-temperature series expansions
and quantum Monte Carlo simulations yield the optimal parameters =
217 K and = 174 K with the alternation ratio 1.25. For the closely related system
NaCuTeO, DFT yields substantially enhanced , but weaker
. The comparative analysis renders the buckling of the chains as the
key parameter altering the magnetic coupling regime. Numerical simulation of
the dispersion relations of the alternating chain model clarify why both
antiferromagnetic and ferrromagnetic can reproduce the experimental
magnetic susceptibility data.Comment: published version: 11 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables + Supplemental
materia
The sawtooth chain: From Heisenberg spins to Hubbard electrons
We report on recent studies of the spin-half Heisenberg and the Hubbard model
on the sawtooth chain. For both models we construct a class of exact
eigenstates which are localized due to the frustrating geometry of the lattice
for a certain relation of the exchange (hopping) integrals. Although these
eigenstates differ in details for the two models because of the different
statistics, they share some characteristic features. The localized eigenstates
are highly degenerate and become ground states in high magnetic fields
(Heisenberg model) or at certain electron fillings (Hubbard model),
respectively. They may dominate the low-temperature thermodynamics and lead to
an extra low-temperature maximum in the specific heat. The ground-state
degeneracy can be calculated exactly by a mapping of the manifold of localized
ground states onto a classical hard-dimer problem, and explicit expressions for
thermodynamic quantities can be derived which are valid at low temperatures
near the saturation field for the Heisenberg model or around a certain value of
the chemical potential for the Hubbard model, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure, the paper is based on an invited talk on the XXXI
International Workshop on Condensed Matter Theories, Bangkok, Dec 2007;
notation of x-axis in Fig.6 corrected, references update
Exceptional Points in a Microwave Billiard with Time-Reversal Invariance Violation
We report on the experimental study of an exceptional point (EP) in a
dissipative microwave billiard with induced time-reversal invariance (T)
violation. The associated two-state Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian and
non-symmetric. It is determined experimentally on a narrow grid in a parameter
plane around the EP. At the EP the size of T violation is given by the relative
phase of the eigenvector components. The eigenvectors are adiabatically
transported around the EP, whereupon they gather geometric phases and in
addition geometric amplitudes different from unity
First Experimental Evidence for Chaos-Assisted Tunneling in a Microwave Annular Billiard
We report on first experimental signatures for chaos-assisted tunneling in a
two-dimensional annular billiard. Measurements of microwave spectra from a
superconducting cavity with high frequency resolution are combined with
electromagnetic field distributions experimentally determined from a normal
conducting twin cavity with high spatial resolution to resolve eigenmodes with
properly identified quantum numbers. Distributions of so-called quasi-doublet
splittings serve as basic observables for the tunneling between whispering
gallery type modes localized to congruent, but distinct tori which are coupled
weakly to irregular eigenstates associated with the chaotic region in phase
space.Comment: 5 pages RevTex, 5 low-resolution figures (high-resolution figures:
http://linac.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/heiko/chaospub.html, to be published
in Phys. Rev. Let
Self-Consistent Response of a Galactic Disk to an Elliptical Perturbation Halo Potential
We calculate the self-consistent response of an axisymmetric galactic disk
perturbed by an elliptical halo potential of harmonic number m = 2, and obtain
the net disk ellipticity. Such a potential is commonly expected to arise due to
a galactic tidal encounter and also during the galaxy formation process. The
self-gravitational potential corresponding to the self-consistent,
non-axisymmetric density response of the disk is obtained by inversion of
Poisson equation for a thin disk. This response potential is shown to oppose
the perturbation potential, because physically the disk self-gravity resists
the imposed potential. This results in a reduction in the net ellipticity of
the perturbation halo potential in the disk plane. The reduction factor
denoting this decrease is independent of the strength of the perturbation
potential, and has a typical minimum value of 0.75 - 0.9 for a wide range of
galaxy parameters. The reduction is negligible at all radii for higher
harmonics (m > or = 3) of the halo potential. (abridged).Comment: 26 pages (LaTex- aastex style), 3 .eps figures. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 542, Oct. 20, 200
Performance of the ATLAS Precision Muon Chambers under LHC Operating Conditions
For the muon spectrometer of the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider
(LHC), large drift chambers consisting of 6 to 8 layers of pressurized drift
tubes are used for precision tracking covering an active area of 5000 m2 in the
toroidal field of superconducting air core magnets. The chambers have to
provide a spatial resolution of 41 microns with Ar:CO2 (93:7) gas mixture at an
absolute pressure of 3 bar and gas gain of 2?104. The environment in which the
chambers will be operated is characterized by high neutron and background with
counting rates of up to 100 per square cm and second. The resolution and
efficiency of a chamber from the serial production for ATLAS has been
investigated in a 100 GeV muon beam at photon irradiation rates as expected
during LHC operation. A silicon strip detector telescope was used as external
reference in the beam. The spatial resolution of a chamber is degraded by 4 ?m
at the highest background rate. The detection efficiency of the drift tubes is
unchanged under irradiation. A tracking efficiency of 98% at the highest rates
has been demonstrated
Universal properties of highly frustrated quantum magnets in strong magnetic fields
The purpose of the present paper is two-fold. On the one hand, we review some
recent studies on the low-temperature strong-field thermodynamic properties of
frustrated quantum spin antiferromagnets which admit the so-called
localized-magnon eigenstates. One the other hand, we provide some complementary
new results. We focus on the linear independence of the localized-magnon
states, the estimation of their degeneracy with the help of auxiliary classical
lattice-gas models and the analysis of the contribution of these states to
thermodynamics.Comment: Paper based on the invited talk given by J. Richter at the
International Conference "Statistical Physics 2006. Condensed Matter: Theory
and Applications" dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Ilya Lifshitz
(Kharkiv, 11-15 September, 2006
Rabi Oscillations at Exceptional Points in Microwave Billiards
We experimentally investigated the decay behavior with time t of resonances
near and at exceptional points, where two complex eigenvalues and also the
associated eigenfunctions coalesce. The measurements were performed with a
dissipative microwave billiard, whose shape depends on two parameters. The
t^2-dependence predicted at the exceptional point on the basis of a two-state
matrix model could be verified. Outside the exceptional point the predicted
Rabi oscillations, also called quantum echoes in this context, were detected.
To our knowledge this is the first time that quantum echoes related to
exceptional points were observed experimentally.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Phase shift experiments identifying Kramers doublets in a chaotic superconducting microwave billiard of threefold symmetry
The spectral properties of a two-dimensional microwave billiard showing
threefold symmetry have been studied with a new experimental technique. This
method is based on the behavior of the eigenmodes under variation of a phase
shift between two input channels, which strongly depends on the symmetries of
the eigenfunctions. Thereby a complete set of 108 Kramers doublets has been
identified by a simple and purely experimental method. This set clearly shows
Gaussian unitary ensemble statistics, although the system is time-reversal
invariant.Comment: RevTex 4, 5 figure
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