1,817 research outputs found
Optical constants of silicon carbide for astrophysical applications. II. Extending optical functions from IR to UV using single-crystal absorption spectra
Laboratory measurements of unpolarized and polarized absorption spectra of
various samples and crystal stuctures of silicon carbide (SiC) are presented
from 1200--35,000 cm ( 8--0.28 m) and used to improve
the accuracy of optical functions ( and ) from the infrared (IR) to the
ultraviolet (UV). Comparison with previous 6--20 m
thin-film spectra constrains the thickness of the films and verifies that
recent IR reflectivity data provide correct values for in the IR region. We
extract and needed for radiative transfer models using a new
``difference method'', which utilizes transmission spectra measured from two
SiC single-crystals with different thicknesses. This method is ideal for
near-IR to visible regions where absorbance and reflectance are low and can be
applied to any material. Comparing our results with previous UV measurements of
SiC, we distinguish between chemical and structural effects at high frequency.
We find that for all spectral regions, 3C (-SiC) and the polarization of 6H (a type of -SiC) have almost identical
optical functions that can be substituted for each other in modeling
astronomical environments. Optical functions for of 6H SiC
have peaks shifted to lower frequency, permitting identification of this
structure below m. The onset of strong UV absorption for pure
SiC occurs near 0.2 m, but the presence of impurities redshifts the rise
to 0.33 m. Optical functions are similarly impacted. Such large
differences in spectral characteristics due to structural and chemical effects
should be observable and provide a means to distinguish chemical variation of
SiC dust in space.Comment: 46 pages inc. 8 figures and 2 full tables. Also 6 electronic-only
data files. Accepted by Ap
The SiC problem: astronomical and meteoritic evidence
Pre-solar grains of silicon carbide found in meteorites and interpreted as
having had an origin around carbon stars from their isotopic composition, have
all been found to be of the beta-SiC polytype. Yet to date fits to the 11.3
microns SiC emission band of carbon stars had been obtained only for alpha-SiC
grains. We present thin film infrared (IR) absorption spectra measured in a
diamond anvil cell for both the alpha- and beta- polymorphs of synthetic SiC
and compare the results with previously published spectra taken using the KBr
matrix method. We find that our thin film spectra have positions nearly
identical to those obtained previously from finely ground samples in KBr.
Hence, we show that this discrepancy has arisen from inappropriate `KBr
corrections' having been made to laboratory spectra of SiC particles dispersed
in KBr matrices. We re-fit a sample of carbon star mid-IR spectra, using
laboratory data with no KBr correction applied, and show that beta-SiC grains
fit the observations, while alpha-SiC grains do not. The discrepancy between
meteoritic and astronomical identifications of the SiC-type is therefore
removed. This work shows that the diamond anvil cell thin film method can be
used to produce mineral spectra applicable to cosmic environments without
further manipulation.Comment: to be published in Astrophysical Journal Letter 4 pages, 3 figure
Optical properties of silicon carbide for astrophysical applications I. New laboratory infrared reflectance spectra and optical constants
Silicon Carbide (SiC) optical constants are fundamental inputs for radiative
transfer models of astrophysical dust environments. However, previously
published values contain errors and do not adequately represent the bulk
physical properties of the cubic (beta) SiC polytype usually found around
carbon stars. We provide new, uncompromised optical constants for beta- and
alpha-SiC derived from single-crystal reflectance spectra and investigate
quantitatively whether there is any difference between alpha- and beta-SiC that
can be seen in infrared spectra and optical functions.
Previous optical constants for SiC do not reflect the true bulk properties,
and they are only valid for a narrow grain size range. The new optical
constants presented here will allow narrow constraints to be placed on the
grain size and shape distribution that dominate in astrophysical environments.
In addition, our calculated absorption coefficients are much higher than
laboratory measurements, which has an impact on the use of previous data to
constrain abundances of these dust grains.Comment: 12 pages; 10 figures; laboratory optical constants available from
CDS. Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem in Nonequilibrium Steady States
In equilibrium, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) expresses the
response of an observable to a small perturbation by a correlation function of
this variable with another one that is conjugate to the perturbation with
respect to \emph{energy}. For a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS), the
corresponding FDT is shown to involve in the correlation function a variable
that is conjugate with respect to \emph{entropy}. By splitting up entropy
production into one of the system and one of the medium, it is shown that for
systems with a genuine equilibrium state the FDT of the NESS differs from its
equilibrium form by an additive term involving \emph{total} entropy production.
A related variant of the FDT not requiring explicit knowledge of the stationary
state is particularly useful for coupled Langevin systems. The \emph{a priori}
surprising freedom apparently involved in different forms of the FDT in a NESS
is clarified.Comment: 6 pages; EPL, in pres
The SAGE-Spec Spitzer Legacy program: The life-cycle of dust and gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Point source classification I.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1009.5929We present the classification of 197 point sources observed with the Infrared Spectrograph in the SAGE-Spec Legacy program on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We introduce a decision-tree method of object classification based on infrared spectral features, continuum and spectral energy distribution shape, bolometric luminosity, cluster membership, and variability information, which is used to classify the SAGE-Spec sample of point sources. The decision tree has a broad application to mid-infrared spectroscopic surveys, where supporting photometry and variability information are available. We use these classifications to make deductions about the stellar populations of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the success of photometric classification methods. We find 90 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, 29 young stellar objects, 23 post-AGB objects, 19 red supergiants, eight stellar photospheres, seven background galaxies, seven planetary nebulae, two HII regions and 12 other objects, seven of which remain unclassified.R. Sz. acknowledges support from grant N203 511838 (MNiSW). This paper utilizes public domain data obtained by the MACHO Project, jointly funded by the US Department of Energy through the University of California,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48, by the National Science Foundation through the Center for Particle Astrophysics of the University
of California under cooperative agreement AST8809616, and by the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatory, part of the Australian National University. This
publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and
Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation. This publication makes
use of data products from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment OGLE-III online catalog of variable stars. This research has made use of the VizieR catalog access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France. This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics
Data System Bibliographic Services
Half Cycle Pulse Train Induced State Redistribution of Rydberg Atoms
Population transfer between low lying Rydberg states independent of the
initial state is realized using a train of half-cycle pulses with pulse
durations much less than the classical orbit period. We demonstrate
experimentally the transfer of population from initial states around n=50 down
to n<40 as well as up to the continuum. The measured population transfer
matches well to a model of the process for 1D atoms.Comment: V2: discussion extended, version accepted for publication in Physical
Review
Inverse condensation of adsorbed molecules with two conformations
Conventional gas-liquid phase transitions feature a coexistence line that has
a monotonic and positive slope in line with our intuition that cooling always
leads to condensation. Here we study the inverse phenomenon, condensation of
adsorbed organic molecules into dense domains upon heating. Our considerations
are motivated by recent experiments [Aeschlimann et al., Angew. Chem. (2021)],
which demonstrate the partial dissolution of an ordered molecular monolayer and
the mobilization of molecules upon cooling. We introduce a simple lattice model
in which each site can have three states corresponding to unoccupied and two
discernible molecular conformations. We investigate this model through Monte
Carlo simulations, mean-field theory, and exact results based on the analytical
solution of the Ising model in two dimensions. Our results should be broadly
applicable to molecules with distinct conformations that have sufficiently
different entropies or heat capacities
Mobility and Diffusion of a Tagged Particle in a Driven Colloidal Suspension
We study numerically the influence of density and strain rate on the
diffusion and mobility of a single tagged particle in a sheared colloidal
suspension. We determine independently the time-dependent velocity
autocorrelation functions and, through a novel method, the response functions
with respect to a small force. While both the diffusion coefficient and the
mobility depend on the strain rate the latter exhibits a rather weak
dependency. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that the initial decay of response
and correlation functions coincide, allowing for an interpretation in terms of
an 'effective temperature'. Such a phenomenological effective temperature
recovers the Einstein relation in nonequilibrium. We show that our data is well
described by two expansions to lowest order in the strain rate.Comment: submitted to EP
On Silicon Carbide Grains as the Carrier of the 21 Micron Emission Feature in Post-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars
The mysterious 21mu emission feature seen in 12 proto-planetary nebulae
(PPNe) remains unidentified since its first detection in 1989. Over a dozen of
candidate materials have been proposed within the past decade, but none of them
has received general acceptance. Very recently, silicon carbide (SiC) grains
with impurities were suggested to be the carrier of this enigmatic feature,
based on recent laboratory data that doped SiC grains exhibit a resonance at
\~21mu. This proposal gains strength from the fact that SiC is a common dust
species in carbon-rich circumstellar envelopes. However, SiC dust has a strong
vibrational band at ~11.3mu. We show in this Letter that in order to be
consistent with the observed flux ratios of the 11.3mu feature to the 21mu
feature, the band strength of the 21mu resonance has to be very strong, too
strong to be consistent with current laboratory measurements. But this does not
yet readily rule out the SiC hypothesis since recent experimental results have
demonstrated that the 21mu resonance of doped SiC becomes stronger as the C
impurity increases. Further laboratory measurements of SiC dust with high
fractions of C impurity are urgently needed to test the hypothesis of SiC as
the carrier of the 21mu feature.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
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