9,905 research outputs found
Limitations on the extent of off-center displacements in TbMnO3 from EXAFS measurements
We present EXAFS data at the Mn K and Tb L3 edges that provide upper limits
on the possible displacements of any atoms in TbMnO3. The displacements must be
less than 0.005-0.01A for all atoms which eliminates the possibility of
moderate distortions (0.02A) with a small c-axis component, but for which the
displacements in the ab plane average to zero. Assuming the polarization arises
from a displacement of the O2 atoms along the c-axis, the measured polarization
then leads to an O2 displacement that is at least 6X10^{-4}A, well below our
experimental limit. Thus a combination of the EXAFS and the measured electrical
polarization indicate that the atomic displacements likely lie in the range
6X10^{-4} - 5X10^{-3}A.Comment: submitted to PRB; 11 pages (preprint form) 7 figure
Swift observations of the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi: II. 1D hydrodynamical models of wind driven shocks
Following the early Swift X-ray observations of the latest outburst of the
recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi in February 2006 (Paper I), we present new 1D
hydrodynamical models of the system which take into account all three phases of
the remnant evolution. The models suggest a novel way of modelling the system
by treating the outburst as a sudden increase then decrease in wind mass-loss
rate and velocity. The differences between this wind model and previous
Primakoff-type simulations are described. A more complex structure, even in 1D,
is revealed through the presence of both forward and reverse shocks, with a
separating contact discontinuity. The effects of radiative cooling are
investigated and key outburst parameters such as mass-loss rate, ejecta
velocity and mass are varied. The shock velocities as a function of time are
compared to the ones derived in Paper I. We show how the manner in which the
matter is ejected controls the evolution of the shock and that for a
well-cooled remnant, the shock deceleration rate depends on the amount of
energy that is radiated away.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Radio Frequency Models of Novae in eruption. I. The Free-Free Process in Bipolar Morphologies
Observations of novae at radio frequencies provide us with a measure of the
total ejected mass, density profile and kinetic energy of a nova eruption. The
radio emission is typically well characterized by the free-free emission
process. Most models to date have assumed spherical symmetry for the eruption,
although it has been known for as long as there have been radio observations of
these systems, that spherical eruptions are to simplistic a geometry. In this
paper, we build bipolar models of the nova eruption, assuming the free-free
process, and show the effects of varying different parameters on the radio
light curves. The parameters considered include the ratio of the minor- to
major-axis, the inclination angle and shell thickness (further parameters are
provided in the appendix). We also show the uncertainty introduced when fitting
spherical model synthetic light curves to bipolar model synthetic light curves.
We find that the optically thick phase rises with the same power law () for both the spherical and bipolar models. In the bipolar case
there is a "plateau" phase -- depending on the thickness of the shell as well
as the ratio of the minor- to major-axis -- before the final decline, that
follows the same power law () as in the spherical case.
Finally, fitting spherical models to the bipolar model synthetic light curves
requires, in the worst case scenario, doubling the ejected mass, more than
halving the electron temperature and reducing the shell thickness by nearly a
factor of 10. This implies that in some systems we have been over predicting
the ejected masses and under predicting the electron temperature of the ejecta.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, accompanying
movie to figure 3 available at
http://www.ast.uct.ac.za/~valerio/papers/radioI
Hydrodynamic mean field solutions of 1D exclusion processes with spatially varying hopping rates
We analyze the open boundary partially asymmetric exclusion process with
smoothly varying internal hopping rates in the infinite-size, mean field limit.
The mean field equations for particle densities are written in terms of Ricatti
equations with the steady-state current as a parameter. These equations are
solved both analytically and numerically. Upon imposing the boundary conditions
set by the injection and extraction rates, the currents are found
self-consistently. We find a number of cases where analytic solutions can be
found exactly or approximated. Results for from asymptotic analyses for
slowly varying hopping rates agree extremely well with those from extensive
Monte Carlo simulations, suggesting that mean field currents asymptotically
approach the exact currents in the hydrodynamic limit, as the hopping rates
vary slowly over the lattice. If the forward hopping rate is greater than or
less than the backward hopping rate throughout the entire chain, the three
standard steady-state phases are preserved. Our analysis reveals the
sensitivity of the current to the relative phase between the forward and
backward hopping rate functions.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Echo-Mapping of Swift J1753.5-0127
We present two epochs of coordinated X-ray-optical timing observations of the
black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127 during its 2005 outburst. The first
epoch in July occurred at outburst peak. Two consecutive nights of observations
using the McDonald Observatory Argos camera with the Rossi X-ray Timing
Explorer show a consistent correlation with an immediate response and an
extended tail lasting ~5s. The properties of the variability and the
correlation are consistent with thermal reprocessing in an accretion disk. The
shortness of the lag suggests a short orbital period consistent with that
recently claimed. The second epoch in August used the VLT FORS2 HIT mode again
in conjunction with RXTE. Again a repeatable correlation is seen between two
independent subsets of the data. In this case, though, the cross-correlation
function has an unusual structure comprising a dip followed by a double-peak.
We suggest that this may be equivalent to the dip plus single peak structure
seen by Kanbach et al. (2001) in XTE J1118+480 and attributed there to
synchrotron emission; a similar structure was seen during later activity of
Swift J1753.5-0127 by Durant et al. (2008).Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Societ
Accumulation and fate of nano- and micro-plastics and associated contaminants in organisms
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Following a decade of research on the environmental impacts of microplastics, a knowledge gap remains on the processes by which micro and nanoplastics pass across biological barriers, enter cells and are subject to biological mechanisms. Here we summarize available literature on the accumulation of microplastics and their associated contaminants in a variety of organisms including humans. Most data on the accumulation of microplastics in both field and lab studies are for marine invertebrates. Microplastics accumulation data for insects, birds, marine mammals and sea turtles are scarce due to methodological issues. There is no conclusive evidence for the mode of accumulation of microplastics in either mammals or humans. The mechanism of chemical partitioning, role of contaminants associated with plastics, and mode of action of both nano- and micro-plastics and associated chemicals in a range of organisms and associated compartments/tissues also requires further research.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Queensland Department of Healt
Balmer Line Variations in the Radio-Loud AGN PG 1512+370
We present spectroscopic observations of the quasar PG~1512+370, covering the
Hbeta line spectral range and collected at moderate resolution (2-7 A FWHM)
from 1988 to 1996. The observations show that the blue wing of the Hbeta broad
profile component has changed significantly in flux and shape between 1988 and
1990 and between 1995 and 1996. A displaced blue peak on the Hbeta profile,
visible in 1988, but not in the 1990-1995 spectra, is revealed again in one of
the spectra obtained in 1996. The blue peak (in both the 1988 and 1996 spectra)
is centered at Delta v_r ~ -3000 +/- 500 km/s from the rest frame defined by
the narrow component of Hbeta, and the OIII lambda4959,5007 lines.
We discuss several conflicting interpretations of the data. We find that the
variability of the Hbeta blue wing is consistent with Balmer line emission from
regions whose motion is predominantly radial, if variations of the blue wing
are a response to continuum changes. Alternatively, we note that observed Hbeta
line profile variations are consistent with a variable line component as in a
``binary black hole'' scenario. More frequent observations of Hbeta are needed
to distinguish among these hypotheses.Comment: 19 pages, 1 embedded figure (eps), to appear in ApJ 49
Calculating energy derivatives for quantum chemistry on a quantum computer
Modeling chemical reactions and complicated molecular systems has been
proposed as the `killer application' of a future quantum computer. Accurate
calculations of derivatives of molecular eigenenergies are essential towards
this end, allowing for geometry optimization, transition state searches,
predictions of the response to an applied electric or magnetic field, and
molecular dynamics simulations. In this work, we survey methods to calculate
energy derivatives, and present two new methods: one based on quantum phase
estimation, the other on a low-order response approximation. We calculate
asymptotic error bounds and approximate computational scalings for the methods
presented. Implementing these methods, we perform the world's first geometry
optimization on an experimental quantum processor, estimating the equilibrium
bond length of the dihydrogen molecule to within 0.014 Angstrom of the full
configuration interaction value. Within the same experiment, we estimate the
polarizability of the H2 molecule, finding agreement at the equilibrium bond
length to within 0.06 a.u. (2% relative error).Comment: 19 pages, 1 page supplemental, 7 figures. v2 - tidied up and added
example to appendice
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