6,293 research outputs found
UV Surface Environment of Earth-like Planets Orbiting FGKM Stars Through Geological Evolution
The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the
atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets
and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the
surface UV radiation environment for Earth-sized planets orbiting FGKM stars at
the 1AU equivalent distance for Earth through its geological evolution. We
explore four different types of atmospheres corresponding to an early Earth
atmosphere at 3.9 Gyr ago and three atmospheres covering the rise of oxygen to
present day levels at 2.0 Gyr ago, 0.8 Gyr ago and modern Earth (Following
Kaltenegger et al. 2007). In addition to calculating the UV flux on the surface
of the planet, we model the biologically effective irradiance, using DNA damage
as a proxy for biological damage. We find that a pre-biotic Earth (3.9 Gyr ago)
orbiting an F0V star receives 6 times the biologically effective radiation as
around the early Sun and 3520 times the modern Earth-Sun levels. A pre-biotic
Earth orbiting GJ 581 (M3.5V) receives 300 times less biologically effective
radiation, about 2 times modern Earth-Sun levels. The UV fluxes calculated here
provide a grid of model UV environments during the evolution of an Earth-like
planet orbiting a range of stars. These models can be used as inputs into
photo-biological experiments and for pre-biotic chemistry and early life
evolution experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Optical absorption of divalent metal tungstates: Correlation between the band-gap energy and the cation ionic radius
We have carried out optical-absorption and reflectance measurements at room
temperature in single crystals of AWO4 tungstates (A = Ba, Ca, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sr,
and Zn). From the experimental results their band-gap energy has been
determined to be 5.26 eV (BaWO4), 5.08 eV (SrWO4), 4.94 eV (CaWO4), 4.15 eV
(CdWO4), 3.9-4.4 eV (ZnWO4), 3.8-4.2 eV (PbWO4), and 2.3 eV (CuWO4). The
results are discussed in terms of the electronic structure of the studied
tungstates. It has been found that those compounds where only the s electron
states of the A2+ cation hybridize with the O 2p and W 5d states (e.g BaWO4)
have larger band-gap energies than those where also p, d, and f states of the
A2+ cation contribute to the top of the valence band and the bottom of the
conduction band (e.g. PbWO4). The results are of importance in view of the
large discrepancies existent in prevoiusly published data.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Investigation of acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in p-gallium selenide by means of transport measurements under pressure
The effect of pressure on acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in
p-GaSe is investigated through Hall effect and resistivity measurements under
quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 4 GPa. The pressure dependence of the hole
concentration is interpreted through a carrier statistics equation with a
single (nitrogen) or double (tin) acceptor whose ionization energies decrease
under pressure due to the dielectric constant increase. The pressure effect on
the hole mobility is also accounted for by considering the pressure
dependencies of both the phonon frequencies and the hole-phonon coupling
constants involved in the scattering rates.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 4 ps figures. to appear in High Pressure Research 69
(1997
High-pressure study of substrate material ScAlMgO4
We report on the structural properties of ScAlMgO4 studied under
quasi-hydrostatic pressure using synchrotron high-pressure x-ray diffraction up
to 40 GPa. We also report on single-crystal studies of ScAlMgO4 performed at
300 K and 100 K. We found that the low-pressure phase remains stable up to 24
GPa. At 28 GPa, we detected a reversible phase transformation. The
high-pressure phase is assigned to a monoclinic distortion of the low-pressure
phase. No additional phase transition is observed up to 40 GPa. In addition,
the equation of state, compressibility tensor, and thermal expansion
coefficients of ScAlMgO4 are determined. The bulk modulus of ScAlMgO4 is found
to be 143(8) GPa, with a strong compressibility anisotropy. For the trigonal
low-pressure phase, the compressibility along the c-axis is twice than
perpendicular one. A perfect lattice match with ZnO is retained under pressure
in the pressure range of stability of wurtzite ZnO.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, 24 reference
High resolution imaging of NGC 2346 with GSAOI/GeMS: disentangling the planetary nebula molecular structure to understand its origin and evolution
We present high spatial resolution ( 60--90 milliarcseconds) images
of the molecular hydrogen emission in the Planetary Nebula (PN) NGC 2346. The
data were acquired during the System Verification of the Gemini Multi-Conjugate
Adaptive Optics System + Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager. At the distance
of NGC 2346, 700 pc, the physical resolution corresponds to 56 AU,
which is slightly higher than that an [N II] image of NGC 2346 obtained with
HST/WFPC2. With this unprecedented resolution we were able to study in detail
the structure of the H gas within the nebula for the first time. We found
it to be composed of knots and filaments, which at lower resolution had
appeared to be a uniform torus of material. We explain how the formation of the
clumps and filaments in this PN is consistent with a mechanism in which a
central hot bubble of nebular gas surrounding the central star has been
depressurized, and the thermal pressure of the photoionized region drives the
fragmentation of the swept-up shell.Comment: accepted in ApJ (17 pages, 7 figures, 1 Table
A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution of Wolf-Rayet Bubbles
We have observed H-alpha and [OIII] emission from eight of the most well
defined Wolf-Rayet ring nebulae in the Galaxy. We find that in many cases the
outermost edge of the [OIII] emission leads the H-alpha emission. We suggest
that these offsets, when present, are due to the shock from the Wolf-Rayet
bubble expanding into the circumstellar envelope. Thus, the details of the WR
bubble morphology at H-alpha and [OIII] can then be used to better understand
the physical condition and evolutionary stage of the nebulae around Wolf-Rayet
stars, as well as place constraints on the nature of the stellar progenitor and
its mass loss history.Comment: 11 pages, LaTex, 8 figures, accepted for publication in AJ, November
200
Hall-effect and resistivity measurements in CdTe and ZnTe at high pressure: Electronic structure of impurities in the zincblende phase and the semi-metallic or metallic character of the high-pressure phases
We carried out high-pressure resistivity and Hall-effect measurements in
single crystals of CdTe and ZnTe up to 12 GPa. Slight changes of transport
parameters in the zincblende phase of CdTe are consitent with the shallow
character of donor impurities. Drastic changes in all the transport parameters
of CdTe were found around 4 GPa, i.e. close to the onset of the cinnabar to
rock-salt transition. In particular, the carrier concentration increases by
more than five orders of magnitude. Additionally, an abrupt decrease of the
resistivity was detected around 10 GPa. These results are discussed in
comparison with optical, thermoelectric, and x-ray diffraction experiments. The
metallic character of the Cmcm phase of CdTe is confirmed and a semi-metallic
character is determined for the rock-salt phase. In zincblende ZnTe, the
increase of the hole concentration by more than two orders of magnitude is
proposed to be due to a deep-to-shallow transformation of the acceptor levels.
Between 9 and 11 GPa, transport parameters are consistent with the
semiconducting character of cinnabar ZnTe. A two orders of magnitude decrease
of the resistivity and a carrier-type inversion occurs at 11 GPa, in agreement
with the onset of the transition to the Cmcm phase of ZnTe. A metallic
character for this phase is deduced.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
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