15,004 research outputs found
Spectroscopic and photometric studies of white dwarfs in the Hyades
The Hyades cluster is known to harbour ten so-called classical white dwarf
members. Numerous studies through the years have predicted that more than twice
this amount of degenerate stars should be associated with the cluster. Using
the PPMXL catalog of proper motions and positions, a recent study proposed 17
new white dwarf candidates. We review the membership of these candidates by
using published spectroscopic and photometric observations, as well as by
simulating the contamination from field white dwarfs. In addition to the ten
classical Hyades white dwarfs, we find six white dwarfs that may be of Hyades
origin and three more objects that have an uncertain membership status due to
their unknown or imprecise atmospheric parameters. Among those, two to three
are expected as field stars contamination. Accurate radial velocity
measurements will confirm or reject the candidates. One consequence is that the
longstanding problem that no white dwarf older than ~340 Myr appears to be
associated with the cluster remains unsolved.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomy and
Astrophysics journa
Energetics of Quantum Antidot States in Quantum Hall Regime
We report experiments on the energy structure of antidot-bound states. By
measuring resonant tunneling line widths as function of temperature, we
determine the coupling to the remote global gate voltage and find that the
effects of interelectron interaction dominate. Within a simple model, we also
determine the energy spacing of the antidot bound states, self consistent edge
electric field, and edge excitation drift velocity.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 5 Postscript figure
Study of the local field distribution on a single-molecule magnet-by a single paramagnetic crystal; a DPPH crystal on the surface of an Mn12-acetate crystal
The local magnetic field distribution on the subsurface of a single-molecule
magnet crystal, SMM, above blocking temperature (T >> Tb) detected for a very
short time interval (~ 10-10 s), has been investigated. Electron Paramagnetic
Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy using a local paramagnetic probe was employed as a
simple alternative detection method. An SMM crystal of
[Mn12O12(CH3COO)16(H2O)4].2CH3COOH.4H2O (Mn12-acetate) and a crystal of 2,2-
diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as the paramagnetic probe were chosen for this
study. The EPR spectra of DPPH deposited on Mn12-acetate show additional
broadening and shifting in the magnetic field in comparison to the spectra of
the DPPH in the absence of the SMM crystal. The additional broadening of the
DPPH linewidth was considered in terms of the two dominant electron spin
interactions (dipolar and exchange) and the local magnetic field distribution
on the crystal surface. The temperature dependence of the linewidth of the
Gaussian distribution of local fields at the SMM surface was extrapolated for
the low temperature interval (70-5 K)
Measuring topology in a laser-coupled honeycomb lattice: From Chern insulators to topological semi-metals
Ultracold fermions trapped in a honeycomb optical lattice constitute a
versatile setup to experimentally realize the Haldane model [Phys. Rev. Lett.
61, 2015 (1988)]. In this system, a non-uniform synthetic magnetic flux can be
engineered through laser-induced methods, explicitly breaking time-reversal
symmetry. This potentially opens a bulk gap in the energy spectrum, which is
associated with a non-trivial topological order, i.e., a non-zero Chern number.
In this work, we consider the possibility of producing and identifying such a
robust Chern insulator in the laser-coupled honeycomb lattice. We explore a
large parameter space spanned by experimentally controllable parameters and
obtain a variety of phase diagrams, clearly identifying the accessible
topologically non-trivial regimes. We discuss the signatures of Chern
insulators in cold-atom systems, considering available detection methods. We
also highlight the existence of topological semi-metals in this system, which
are gapless phases characterized by non-zero winding numbers, not present in
Haldane's original model.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, 4 Appendice
Intrinsic pinning on structural domains in underdoped single crystals of Ba(FeCo)As
Critical current density was studied in single crystals of
Ba(FeCo)As for the values of spanning the entire doping
phase diagram. A noticeable enhancement was found for slightly underdoped
crystals with the peak at . Using a combination of polarized-light
imaging, x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements we associate this behavior
with the intrinsic pinning on structural domains in the orthorhombic phase.
Domain walls extend throughout the sample thickness in the direction of
vortices and act as extended pinning centers. With the increasing domain
structure becomes more intertwined and fine due to a decrease of the
orthorhombic distortion. This results in the energy landscape with maze-like
spatial modulations favorable for pinning. This finding shows that iron-based
pnictide superconductors, characterized by high values of the transition
temperature, high upper critical fields, and low anisotropy may intrinsically
have relatively high critical current densities.Comment: estimation of Jc correcte
In Defense of the Epistemic Imperative
Sample (2015) argues that scientists ought not to believe that their theories are true because they cannot fulfill the epistemic obligation to take the diachronic perspective on their theories. I reply that Sample’s argument imposes an inordinately heavy epistemic obligation on scientists, and that it spells doom not only for scientific theories but also for observational beliefs and philosophical ideas that Samples endorses. I also delineate what I take to be a reasonable epistemic obligation for scientists. In sum, philosophers ought to impose on scientists only an epistemic standard that they are willing to impose on themselves
Application of discrete-basis-set methods to the Dirac equation
Variational solutions to the Dirac equation in a discrete L2 basis set are investigated. Numerical calculations indicate that for a Coulomb potential, the basis set can be chosen in such a way that the variational eigenvalues satisfy a generalized Hylleraas-Undheim theorem. A number of relativistic sum rules are calculated to demonstrate that the variational solutions form a discrete representation of the complete Dirac spectrum including both positive-and negative-energy states. The results suggest that widely used methods for constructing L2 representations of the nonrelativistic electron Green\u27s function can be extended to the Dirac equation. As an example, the relativistic basis sets are used to calculate electric dipole oscillator strength sums from the ground state, and dipole polarizabilities. © 1981 The American Physical Society
Relativistic two-photon decay rates of 2s12 hydrogenic ions
Rates are calculated for the decay of metastable 2s12 ions to the ground state by the simultaneous emission of two photons. The calculation includes all relativistic and retardation effects, and all combinations of photon multipoles which make significant contributions up to Z=100. Summations over intermediate states are performed by constructing a finite-basis-set representation of the Dirac Green\u27s function. The estimated accuracy of the results is 10 ppm for all Z up to 100. The decay rates are about 20 (Z)2% larger than an earlier calculation by Johnson owing to the inclusion of higher-order retardation effects. The general question of gauge invariance in two-photon transitions is discussed. © 1981 The American Physical Society
Relativistic sum rules and integral properties of the Dirac equation
Relativistic generalizations are derived for the well-known nonrelativistic electric-dipole oscillator-strength sum rules. The relativistic sum rules include both positive- and negative-energy states. The derivations are valid for a Dirac electron in an arbitrary local potential. We also present a number of simple integral properties related to the relativistic virial theorem which are useful in the calculation of matrix elements. © 1982 The American Physical Society
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