Comptonization and the Spectra of Accretion-Powered X-Ray Pulsars

Accretion-powered X-ray pulsars are among the most luminous X-ray sources in the Galaxy. However, despite decades of theoretical and observational work since their discovery, no satisfactory model for the formation of the observed X-ray spectra has emerged. In this paper, we report on a self-consistent calculation of the spectrum emerging from a pulsar accretion column that includes an explicit treatment of the bulk and thermal Comptonization occurring in the radiation-dominated shocks that form in the accretion flows. Using a rigorous eigenfunction expansion method, we obtain a closed-form expression for the Green's function describing the upscattering of monochromatic radiation injected into the column. The Green's function is convolved with bremsstrahlung, cyclotron, and blackbody source terms to calculate the emergent photon spectrum. We show that energization of photons in the shock naturally produces an X-ray spectrum with a relatively flat continuum and a high-energy exponential cutoff. Finally, we demonstrate that our model yields good agreement with the spectra of the bright pulsar Her X-1 and the low luminosity pulsar X Per.Comment: 6 Pages, 2 Figures, To appear in "The Multicoloured Landscape of Compact Objects and their Explosive Progenitors" (Cefalu, Sicily, June 2006). Eds. L. Burderi et al. (New York: AIP

Iron Abundance Diagnostics in High-Redshift QSOs

The abundance of alpha-process elements such as magnesium and carbon relative to iron measured from the broad emission lines of QSOs can serve as a diagnostic of the star formation and chemical enrichment histories of their host galaxies. We investigate the relationship between Fe/Mg and Fe/C abundance ratios and the resulting Fe II / Mg II 2800A and Fe II / 1900A-blend flux ratios, both of which have been measured in QSOs out to redshifts of approximately six. Using a galactic chemical evolution model based on a starburst in a giant elliptical galaxy, we find that these flux ratios are good tracers of the chemical enrichment of the nuclei. However, the values of these ratios measured in objects at redshifts of approximately six suggest that iron enrichment has occurred more rapidly in these objects than predicted by the assumed elliptical starburst model, under currently favored cosmologies.Comment: 2 pages, to appear in proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 222, The Interplay Among Black Holes, Stars and ISM in Galacti Nucle

Calculating the Fierz Transformation for Higher Orders

We consider the higher-order Fierz transformation, which corresponds to expanding a product of $\bar\psi\Gamma\psi$ terms into a sum of products of Dirac densities and currents. It is shown that the Fierz transformation can be obtained by solving a large system of linear equations with fractional complex coefficients, which is practical at least up to fourth power.Comment: 6 pages, 3 table

Application of Inelastic Electron Tunneling to the Study of Adhesion

The problem of devising meaningful and reliable methods for nondestructive evaluation of adhesively bonded joints has been the subject of considerable effort for many years. It remains an important and unsolved problem. The use of conventional NOT methods involving ultrasonics is not entirely satisfactory because the thickness of a bond line is small compared with typical acoustic wavelengths and, perhaps more importantly, because the strength and service life of an adhesive bond is dependent on its chemical as well as mechanical properties. That is, an adhesive bond that is mechanically perfect may fail because of chemical degradation initiated at the adhesive/adhered interface

Band Gap and Edge Engineering via Ferroic Distortion and Anisotropic Strain: The Case of SrTiO3_{3}

The effects of ferroic distortion and biaxial strain on the band gap and band edges of SrTiO$_{3}$ (STO) are calculated using density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory. Anisotropic strains are shown to reduce the gap by breaking degeneracies at the band edges. Ferroic distortions are shown to widen the gap by allowing new band edge orbital mixings. Compressive biaxial strains raise band edge energies, while tensile strains lower them. To reduce the STO gap, one must lower the symmetry from cubic while suppressing ferroic distortions. Our calculations indicate that for engineered orientation of the growth direction along [111], the STO gap can be controllably and considerably reduced at room temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Dynamics of Vacillating Voters

We introduce the vacillating voter model in which each voter consults two neighbors to decide its state, and changes opinion if it disagrees with either neighbor. This irresolution leads to a global bias toward zero magnetization. In spatial dimension d>1, anti-coarsening arises in which the linear dimension L of minority domains grows as t^{1/(d+1)}. One consequence is that the time to reach consensus scales exponentially with the number of voters.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, 2-column revtex4 forma

1/d1/d Expansion for kk-Core Percolation

The physics of $k$-core percolation pertains to those systems whose constituents require a minimum number of $k$ connections to each other in order to participate in any clustering phenomenon. Examples of such a phenomenon range from orientational ordering in solid ortho-para ${\rm H}_2$ mixtures to the onset of rigidity in bar-joint networks to dynamical arrest in glass-forming liquids. Unlike ordinary ($k=1$) and biconnected ($k=2$) percolation, the mean field $k\ge3$-core percolation transition is both continuous and discontinuous, i.e. there is a jump in the order parameter accompanied with a diverging length scale. To determine whether or not this hybrid transition survives in finite dimensions, we present a $1/d$ expansion for $k$-core percolation on the $d$-dimensional hypercubic lattice. We show that to order $1/d^3$ the singularity in the order parameter and in the susceptibility occur at the same value of the occupation probability. This result suggests that the unusual hybrid nature of the mean field $k$-core transition survives in high dimensions.Comment: 47 pages, 26 figures, revtex

d0 Ferromagnetic Interface Between Non-magnetic Perovskites

We use computational and experimental methods to study d0 ferromagnetism at a charge- imbalanced interface between two perovskites. In SrTiO3/KTaO3 superlattice calculations, the charge imbalance introduces holes in the SrTiO3 layer, inducing a d0 ferromagnetic half-metallic 2D electron gas at the interface oxygen 2p orbitals. The charge imbalance overrides doping by vacancies at realistic concentrations. Varying the constituent materials shows ferromagnetism to be a gen- eral property of hole-type d0 perovskite interfaces. Atomically sharp epitaxial d0 SrTiO3/KTaO3, SrTiO3 /KNbO3 and SrTiO3 /NaNbO3 interfaces are found to exhibit ferromagnetic hysteresis at room temperature. We suggest the behavior is due to high density of states and exchange coupling at the oxygen t1g band in comparison with the more studied d band t2g symmetry electron gas.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Precise mass-dependent QED contributions to leptonic g-2 at order alpha^2 and alpha^3

Improved values for the two- and three-loop mass-dependent QED contributions to the anomalous magnetic moments of the electron, muon, and tau lepton are presented. The Standard Model prediction for the electron (g-2) is compared with its most precise recent measurement, providing a value of the fine-structure constant in agreement with a recently published determination. For the tau lepton, differences with previously published results are found and discussed. An updated value of the fine-structure constant is presented in "Note added after publication."Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. v2: New determination of alpha presented (based on the recent electron g-2 measurement). v3: New formulae added in Sec.IIB. v4: Updated value of alpha presente