2,554 research outputs found
Extreme 18O-enrichment in majorite constrains a crustal origin of transition zone diamonds
The fate of subducted oceanic lithosphere and its role in the planet-scale geochemical cycle is a key problem in solid Earth studies. Asthenospheric and transition zone minerals included in diamond have been interpreted as representing subducted oceanic crust based on inclusion REE patterns and strong 13C depletion of their host diamond (δ13C as low as -23 ‰). This view/explanation, however, has been challenged by alternative interpretations that variable carbon isotopic compositions either result from high temperature fractionation involving carbides, or reflect primordial, unhomogenised mantle reservoirs. Here, we present the first oxygen isotope analyses of inclusions in such ultradeep diamonds – majoritic garnets in diamond from Jagersfontein (South Africa). The oxygen isotope compositions provide unambiguous evidence for derivation of the inclusions from subducted crustal materials. The δ18OVSMOW values of the majorites range from +8.6 ‰ to +10.0 ‰, well outside that of ambient mantle (+5.5 ±0.4 ‰) and indicate that the protoliths were very heavily weathered at relatively low temperatures. When this information is combined with the broadly eclogitic composition of the majoritic garnets, a derivation from subducted sea-floor basalts is implied. Based on the association between the heavy oxygen and light carbon, the light carbon isotope composition cannot relate to deep mantle processes and is also ultimately derived from the crust
The transition zone as a host for recycled volatiles: Evidence from nitrogen and carbon isotopes in ultra-deep diamonds from Monastery and Jagersfontein (South Africa)
Sublithospheric (ultra-deep) diamonds provide a unique window into the deepest parts of Earth's mantle, which otherwise remain inaccessible. Here, we report the first combined C- and N-isotopic data for diamonds from the Monastery and Jagersfontein kimberlites that sample the deep asthenosphere and transition zone beneath the Kaapvaal Craton, in the mid Cretaceous, to investigate the nature of mantle fluids at these depths and the constraints they provide on the deep volatile cycle.
Both diamond suites exhibit very light δ13C values (down to − 26‰) and heavy δ15N (up to + 10.3‰), with nitrogen abundances generally below 70 at. ppm but varying up to very high concentrations (2520 at. ppm) in rare cases. Combined, these signatures are consistent with derivation from subducted crustal materials. Both suites exhibit variable nitrogen aggregation states from 25 to 100% B defects. Internal growth structures, revealed in cathodoluminescence (CL) images, vary from faintly layered, through distinct cores to concentric growth patterns with intermittent evidence for dissolution and regular octahedral growth layers in places.
Modelling the internal co-variations in δ13C-δ15N-N revealed that diamonds grew from diverse C-H-O-N fluids involving both oxidised and reduced carbon species. The diversity of the modelled diamond-forming fluids highlights the complexity of the volatile sources and the likely heterogeneity of the deep asthenosphere and transition zone. We propose that the Monastery and Jagersfontein diamonds form in subducted slabs, where carbon is converted into either oxidised or reduced species during fluid-aided dissolution of subducted carbon before being re-precipitated as diamond. The common occurrence of recycled C and N isotopic signatures in super-deep diamonds world-wide indicates that a significant amount of carbon and nitrogen is recycled back to the deep asthenosphere and transition zone via subducting slabs, and that the transition zone may be dominated by recycled C and N
Measurement of the space-time interval between two events using the retarded and advanced times of each event with respect to a time-like world-line
Several recent studies have been devoted to investigating the limitations
that ordinary quantum mechanics and/or quantum gravity might impose on the
measurability of space-time observables. These analyses are often confined to
the simplified context of two-dimensional flat space-time and rely on a simple
procedure for the measurement of space-like distances based on the exchange of
light signals. We present a generalization of this measurement procedure
applicable to all three types of space-time intervals between two events in
space-times of any number of dimensions. We also present some preliminary
observations on an alternative measurement procedure that can be applied taking
into account the gravitational field of the measuring apparatus, and briefly
discuss quantum limitations of measurability in this context.Comment: 17 page
Carbon and nitrogen systematics in nitrogen-rich ultradeep diamonds from San Luiz, Brazil
Three diamonds from Sao Luiz, Brazil carrying nano- and micro-inclusions of molecular δ-N2 that exsolved at the base of the transition zone were studied for their C and N isotopic composition and the concentration of N utilizing SIMS. The diamonds are individually uniform in their C isotopic composition and most spot analyses yield δ13C values of −3.2 ± 0.1‰ (ON-SLZ-390) and − 4.7 ± 0.1‰ (ON-SLZ-391 and 392). Only a few analyses deviate from these tight ranges and all fall within the main mantle range of −5 ± 3‰. Most of the N isotope analyses also have typical mantle δ15N values (−6.6 ± 0.4‰, −3.6 ± 0.5‰ and − 4.1 ± 0.6‰ for ON-SLZ-390, 391 and 392, respectively) and are associated with high N concentrations of 800–1250 atomic ppm. However, some N isotopic ratios, associated with low N concentrations (<400 ppm) and narrow zones with bright luminescence are distinctly above the average, reaching positive δ15N values. These sharp fluctuations cannot be attributed to fractionation. They may reflect arrival of new small pulses of melt or fluid that evolved under different conditions. Alternatively, they may result from fractionation between different growth directions, so that distinct δ15N values and N concentrations may form during diamond growth from a single melt/fluid. Other more continuous variations, in the core of ON-SLZ-390 or the rim of ON-SLZ-392 may be the result of Rayleigh fractionation or mixing
Vacuum energy: quantum hydrodynamics vs quantum gravity
We compare quantum hydrodynamics and quantum gravity. They share many common
features. In particular, both have quadratic divergences, and both lead to the
problem of the vacuum energy, which in the quantum gravity transforms to the
cosmological constant problem. We show that in quantum liquids the vacuum
energy density is not determined by the quantum zero-point energy of the phonon
modes. The energy density of the vacuum is much smaller and is determined by
the classical macroscopic parameters of the liquid including the radius of the
liquid droplet. In the same manner the cosmological constant is not determined
by the zero-point energy of quantum fields. It is much smaller and is
determined by the classical macroscopic parameters of the Universe dynamics:
the Hubble radius, the Newton constant and the energy density of matter. The
same may hold for the Higgs mass problem: the quadratically divergent quantum
correction to the Higgs potential mass term is also cancelled by the
microscopic (trans-Planckian) degrees of freedom due to thermodynamic stability
of the whole quantum vacuum.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, added section on the problem of Higgs mass,
version accepted for the special issue of JETP Letter
Rotating magnetic solution in three dimensional Einstein gravity
We obtain the magnetic counterpart of the BTZ solution, i.e., the rotating
spacetime of a point source generating a magnetic field in three dimensional
Einstein gravity with a negative cosmological constant. The static
(non-rotating) magnetic solution was found by Clement, by Hirschmann and Welch
and by Cataldo and Salgado. This paper is an extension of their work in order
to include (i) angular momentum, (ii) the definition of conserved quantities
(this is possible since spacetime is asymptotically anti-de Sitter), (iii)
upper bounds for the conserved quantities themselves, and (iv) a new
interpretation for the magnetic field source. We show that both the static and
rotating magnetic solutions have negative mass and that there is an upper bound
for the intensity of the magnetic field source and for the value of the angular
momentum. The magnetic field source can be interpreted not as a vortex but as
being composed by a system of two symmetric and superposed electric charges,
one of the electric charges is at rest and the other is spinning. The rotating
magnetic solution reduces to the rotating uncharged BTZ solution when the
magnetic field source vanishes.Comment: Latex (uses JHEP3.cls), 12 pages. Published versio
Multiplicity Fluctuations in the Pion-Fireball Gas
The pion number fluctuations are considered in the system of pions and large
mass fireballs decaying finally into pions. A formulation which gives an
extension of the model of independent sources is suggested. The grand canonical
and micro-canonical ensemble formulations of the pion-fireball gas are
considered as particular examples.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Finite Temperature Gauge Theory on Anisotropic Lattices
The finite temperature transition of QCD can be seen as a change in the
structure of the hadrons and as a symmetry breaking transition -- a change in
the structure of the vacuum. These phenomena are observed differently and carry
complementary information. We aim at a correlated analysis involving hadronic
correlators and the vacuum structure including field and density correlations,
both non-trivial questions.Comment: 3 pages, Talk presented at LATTICE96(finite temperature
The local content of all pure two-qubit states
The (non-)local content in the sense of Elitzur, Popescu, and Rohrlich (EPR2)
[Phys. Lett. A 162, 25 (1992)] is a natural measure for the (non-)locality of
quantum states. Its computation is in general difficult, even in low
dimensions, and is one of the few open questions about pure two-qubit states.
We present a complete solution to this long-lasting problem.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
The orbit rigidity matrix of a symmetric framework
A number of recent papers have studied when symmetry causes frameworks on a
graph to become infinitesimally flexible, or stressed, and when it has no
impact. A number of other recent papers have studied special classes of
frameworks on generically rigid graphs which are finite mechanisms. Here we
introduce a new tool, the orbit matrix, which connects these two areas and
provides a matrix representation for fully symmetric infinitesimal flexes, and
fully symmetric stresses of symmetric frameworks. The orbit matrix is a true
analog of the standard rigidity matrix for general frameworks, and its analysis
gives important insights into questions about the flexibility and rigidity of
classes of symmetric frameworks, in all dimensions.
With this narrower focus on fully symmetric infinitesimal motions, comes the
power to predict symmetry-preserving finite mechanisms - giving a simplified
analysis which covers a wide range of the known mechanisms, and generalizes the
classes of known mechanisms. This initial exploration of the properties of the
orbit matrix also opens up a number of new questions and possible extensions of
the previous results, including transfer of symmetry based results from
Euclidean space to spherical, hyperbolic, and some other metrics with shared
symmetry groups and underlying projective geometry.Comment: 41 pages, 12 figure
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