Hydrogen Stark broadened Brackett lines

Stark broadened lines of the hydrogen Brackett series are computed for the conditions of stellar atmospheres and circumstellar envelopes. The computation is performed within the Model Microfield Method, which includes the ion dynamic effects and makes the bridge between the impact limit at low density and the static limit at high density and in the line wings. The computation gives the area normalized line shape, from the line core up to the static line wings.Comment: 13 pages - 7 figures, to be published in International Journal of Spectroscopy (IJS

Reproducing properties of MW dSphs as descendants of DM-free TDGs

The Milky Way (MW) dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites are known to be the most dark-matter (DM) dominated galaxies with estimates of dark to baryonic matter reaching even above one hundred. It comes from the assumption that dwarfs are dynamically supported by their observed velocity dispersions. However their spatial distributions around the MW is not at random and this could challenge their origin, previously assumed to be residues of primordial galaxies accreted by the MW potential. Here we show that alternatively, dSphs could be the residue of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs), which would have interacted with the Galactic hot gaseous halo and disk. TDGs are gas-rich and have been formed in a tidal tail produced during an ancient merger event at the M31 location, and expelled towards the MW. Our simulations show that low-mass TDGs are fragile to an interaction with the MW disk and halo hot gas. During the interaction, their stellar content is progressively driven out of equilibrium and strongly expands, leading to low surface brightness feature and mimicking high dynamical M/L ratios. Our modeling can reproduce the properties, including the kinematics, of classical MW dwarfs within the mass range of the Magellanic Clouds to Draco. An ancient gas-rich merger at the M31 location could then challenge the currently assumed high content of dark matter in dwarf galaxies. We propose a simple observational test with the coming GAIA mission, to follow their expected stellar expansion, which should not be observed within the current theoretical framework.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, accepted by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS

The vast thin plane of M31 co-rotating dwarfs: an additional fossil signature of the M31 merger and of its considerable impact in the whole Local Group

The recent discovery by Ibata et al. (2013) of a vast thin disk of satellites (VTDS) around M31 offers a new challenge for the understanding of the Local Group properties. This comes in addition to the unexpected proximity of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) to the Milky Way (MW), and to another vast polar structure (VPOS), which is almost perpendicular to our Galaxy disk. We find that the VTDS plane is coinciding with several stellar, tidally-induced streams in the outskirts of M31, and, that its velocity distribution is consistent with that of the Giant Stream (GS). This is suggestive of a common physical mechanism, likely linked to merger tidal interactions, knowing that a similar argument may apply to the VPOS at the MW location. Furthermore, the VTDS is pointing towards the MW, being almost perpendicular to the MW disk, as the VPOS is. We compare these properties to the modelling of M31 as an ancient, gas-rich major merger, which has been successfully used to predict the M31 substructures and the GS origin. We find that without fine tuning, the induced tidal tails are lying in the VTDS plane, providing a single and common origin for many stellar streams and for the vast stellar structures surrounding both the MW and M31. The model also reproduces quite accurately positions and velocities of the VTDS dSphs. Our conjecture leads to a novel interpretation of the Local Group past history, as a gigantic tidal tail due to the M31 ancient merger is expected to send material towards the MW, including the MCs. Such a link between M31 and the MW is expected to be quite exceptional, though it may be in qualitative agreement with the reported rareness of MW-MCs systems in nearby galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 8 pages, 3 figure

The Formation of Large Galactic Disks: Revival or Survival?

Using the deepest and the most complete set of observations of distant galaxies, we investigate how extended disks could have formed. Observations include spatially-resolved kinematics, detailed morphologies and photometry from UV to mid-IR. Six billion years ago, half of the present-day spiral progenitors had anomalous kinematics and morphologies, as well as relatively high gas fractions. We argue that gas-rich major mergers, i.e., fusions between gas-rich disk galaxies of similar mass, can be the likeliest driver for such strong peculiarities. This suggests a new channel of disk formation, e.g. many disks could be reformed after gas-rich mergers. This is found to be in perfect agreement with predictions from the state-of-the-art LCDM semi-empirical models: due to our sensitivity in detecting mergers at all phases, from pairs to relaxed post-mergers, we find a more accurate merger rate. The scenario can be finally confronted to properties of nearby galaxies, including M31 and galaxies showing ultra-faint, gigantic structures in their haloes.Comment: Proceedings of the annual meeting of the French Astronomical Society, 2011, 6 pages, 1 Figur

Proper motions and velocity asymmetries in the RW Aur jet

We present adaptive optics spectro-imaging observations of the RW Aur jet in optical forbidden lines, at an angular resolution of 0.4 arcsec. Comparison with HST data taken 2 years later shows that proper motions in the blueshifted and redshifted lobes are in the same ratio as their radial velocities, a direct proof that the velocity asymmetry in this jet is real and not an emissivity effect. The inferred jet inclination to the line of sight is i = 46 +/- 3 degrees. The inner knot spacing appears best explained by time variability with at least two modes: one irregular and asymmetric (possibly random) on timescales of <3-10 yr, and another more regular with ~ 20 yr period. We also report indirect evidence for correlated velocity and excitation gradients in the redshifted lobe, possibly related to the blue/red velocity and brightness asymmetry in this system.Comment: 4 pags, 3 figure

Effect of catalyst pretreatment on chirality-selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

We show that catalyst pre-treatment conditions can have a profound effect on the chiral distribution in single-walled carbon nanotubes chemical vapor deposition. Using a SiO2-supported Cobalt model catalyst and pre-treatment in NH3, we obtain a comparably narrowed chiral distribution with a downshifted tube diameter range, independent of the hydrocarbon source. Our findings demonstrate that the state of the catalyst at the point of nanotube nucleation is of fundamental importance for chiral control, thus identifying the pre-treatment atmosphere as a key parameter for control of diameter and chirality distributions.B.C.B acknowledges a Research Fellowship at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. J.R. thanks the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for support.This is the original submitted version, prior to peer-review. The final version's available from ACS at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp4085348

Magnetic Fluctuations and Correlations in MnSi - Evidence for a Skyrmion Spin Liquid Phase

We present a comprehensive analysis of high resolution neutron scattering data involving Neutron Spin Echo spectroscopy and Spherical Polarimetry which confirm the first order nature of the helical transition and reveal the existence of a new spin liquid skyrmion phase. Similar to the blue phases of liquid crystals this phase appears in a very narrow temperature range between the low temperature helical and the high temperature paramagnetic phases.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure

Interplay between static and dynamic polar correlations in relaxor Pb(Mg_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_{3}

We have characterized the dynamics of the polar nanoregions in Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)O$_{3}$ (PMN) through high-resolution neutron backscattering and spin-echo measurements of the diffuse scattering cross section. We find that the diffuse scattering intensity consists of \emph{both} static and dynamic components. The static component first appears at the Curie temperature $\Theta \sim 400$ K, while the dynamic component freezes completely at the temperature T$_{f} \sim 200$ K; together, these components account for all of the observed spectral weight contributing to the diffuse scattering cross section. The integrated intensity of the dynamic component peaks near the temperature at which the frequency-dependent dielectric constant reaches a maximum (T$_{max}$) when measured at 1 GHz, i. e. on a timescale of $\sim 1$ ns. Our neutron scattering results can thus be directly related to dielectric and infra-red measurements of the polar nanoregions. Finally, the global temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering can be understood in terms of just two temperature scales, which is consistent with random field models.Comment: (8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B