105,441 research outputs found
Nucleosynthesis and mixing on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. III. Predicted and observed s-process abundances
We present the results of s-process nucleosynthesis calculations for AGB
stars of different metallicities and initial masses. The computations were
based on previously published stellar evolutionary models that account for the
III dredge up phenomenon occurring late on the AGB. Neutron production is
driven by the 13C(alpha,n)16O reaction during the interpulse periods in a tiny
layer in radiative equilibrium at the top of the He- and C-rich shell. The
s-enriched material is subsequently mixed with the envelope by the III dredge
up, and the envelope composition is computed after each thermal pulse. We
follow the changes in the photospheric abundance of the Ba-peak elements (heavy
s, or `hs') and that of the Zr-peak ones (light s, or `ls'), whose logarithmic
ratio [hs/ls] has often been adopted as an indicator of the s-process
efficiency. The theoretical predictions are compared with published abundances
of s elements for Galactic AGB giants of classes MS, S, SC, post-AGB
supergiants, and for various classes of binary stars. The observations in
general confirm the complex dependence of n captures on metallicity. They
suggest that a moderate spread exists in the abundance of 13C that is burnt in
different stars. Although additional observations are needed, a good
understanding has been achieved of s-process operation in AGB. The detailed
abundance distribution including the light elements (CNO) of a few s-enriched
stars at different metallicity are examined.Comment: Accepted for ApJ, 59 pages, 19 figures, 5 table
The Stellar Parameters and Evolutionary State of the Primary in the d'-Symbiotic System StH\alpha190
We report on a high-resolution, spectroscopic stellar parameter and abundance
analysis of a d' symbiotic star: the yellow component of StH\alpha190. This
star has recently been discovered, and confirmed here, to be a rapidly rotating
(vsini=100 km/s) subgiant, or giant, that exhibits radial-velocity variations
of probably at least 40 km/s, indicating the presence of a companion (a white
dwarf star). It is found that the cool stellar component has Teff=5300K and log
g=3.0. The iron and calcium abundances are close to solar, however, barium is
overabundant, relative to Fe and Ca, by about +0.5 dex. The barium enhancement
reflects mass-transfer of s-process enriched material when the current white
dwarf was an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. The past and future evolution
of this binary system depends critically on its current orbital period, which
is not yet known. Concerted and frequent radial-velocity measurements are
needed to provide crucial physical constraints to this d' symbiotic system.Comment: 9 pages, 1 table, 3 figures. In press to Astrophysical Journal
Letter
Cosmological Implications Of Ultralight Axionlike Fields
Cosmological observations are used to test for imprints of an ultralight axionlike field (ULA), with a range of potentials V(ϕ)∝[1−cos(ϕ/f)]ⁿ set by the axion-field value ϕ and decay constant f. Scalar field dynamics dictate that the field is initially frozen and then begins to oscillate around its minimum when the Hubble parameter drops below some critical value. For n=1, once dynamical, the axion energy density dilutes as matter; for n=2 it dilutes as radiation and for n=3 it dilutes faster than radiation. Both the homogeneous evolution of the ULA and the dynamics of its linear perturbations are included, using an effective fluid approximation generalized from the usual n=1 case. ULA models are parametrized by the redshift z(c) when the field becomes dynamical, the fractional energy density f(z(c))≡Ωₐ(z(c))/Ωₜₒₜ(z(c)) in the axion field at zc, and the effective sound speed c²ₛ. Using Planck, BAO and JLA data, constraints on fzc are obtained. ULAs are degenerate with dark energy for all three potentials if 1+z(c)≲10. When 3×10⁴≳1+z(c)≳10, f(z(c)) is constrained to be ≲0.004 for n=1 and f(z(c))≲0.02 for the other two potentials. The constraints then relax with increasing zc. These results have implications for ULAs as a resolution to cosmological tensions, such as discrepant measurements of the Hubble constant, or the EDGES measurement of the global 21 cm signal
Polarized Magnetic Wire Induced by Tunneling Through a Magnetic Impurity
Using the zero mode method we compute the conductance of a wire consisting of
a magnetic impurity coupled to two Luttinger liquid leads characterized by the
Luttinger exponent . We find for resonance conditions, in which
the Fermi energy of the leads is close to a single particle energy of the
impurity, the conductance as a function of temperature is , whereas for off-resonance conditions the conductance is
. By applying a gate voltage and/or
a magnetic field, one of the spin components can be in resonance while the
other is off-resonance causing a strong asymmetry between the spin-up and
spin-down conductances.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to PR
Different regimes of Forster energy transfer between an epitaxial quantum well and a proximal monolayer of semiconductor nanocrystals
We calculate the rate of non-radiative, Forster-type energy transfer (ET)
from an excited epitaxial quantum well (QW) to a proximal monolayer of
semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs). Different electron-hole
configurations in the QW are considered as a function of temperature and
excited electron-hole density. A comparison of the theoretically determined ET
rate and QW radiative recombination rate shows that, depending on the specific
conditions, the ET rate is comparable to or even greater than the radiative
recombination rate. Such efficient Forster ET is promising for the
implementation of ET-pumped, nanocrystal QD-based light emitting devices.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Electron-electron interaction corrections to the thermal conductivity in disordered conductors
We evaluate the electron-electron interaction corrections to the electronic
thermal conductivity in a disordered conductor in the diffusive regime. We use
a diagrammatic many-body method analogous to that of Altshuler and Aronov for
the electrical conductivity. We derive results in one, two and three dimensions
for both the singlet and triplet channels, and in all cases find that the
Wiedemann-Franz law is violated.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures Typos corrected in formulas (15) and (A.4) and
Table 1; discussion of previous work in introduction extended; reference
clarifying different definitions of parameter F adde
Nondemolition measurements of a single quantum spin using Josephson oscillations
We consider a Josephson junction containing a single localized spin 1/2
between conventional singlet superconducting electrodes. We study the spin
dynamics and measurements when a dc-magnetic field acts on
the spin and the junction is embedded into a dissipative circuit. We show that
when tunneling or a voltage are turned on at time the Josephson current
starts to oscillate with an amplitude depending on the initial () value of
the spin -component, . At low temperatures, when effects of
quasiparticles may be neglected, this procedure realizes a
quantum-non-demolition (QND) measurement of .Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; average value of spin z operator changed to
eigenvalue S_
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