19,971 research outputs found
Electron Delocalization in Gate-Tunable Gapless Silicene
The application of a perpendicular electric field can drive silicene into a
gapless state, characterized by two nearly fully spin-polarized Dirac cones
owing to both relatively large spin-orbital interactions and inversion symmetry
breaking. Here we argue that since inter-valley scattering from non-magnetic
impurities is highly suppressed by time reversal symmetry, the physics should
be effectively single-Dirac-cone like. Through numerical calculations, we
demonstrate that there is no significant backscattering from a single impurity
that is non-magnetic and unit-cell uniform, indicating a stable delocalized
state. This conjecture is then further confirmed from a scaling of conductance
for disordered systems using the same type of impurities.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, published versio
Four dual AGN candidates observed with the VLBA
According to hierarchical structure formation models, merging galaxies are
expected to be seen in different stages of their coalescence. However,
currently there are no straightforward observational methods neither to select
nor to confirm a large number of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) candidates.
Most attempts involve the better understanding of double-peaked narrow emission
line sources, to distinguish the objects where the emission lines originate
from narrow-line kinematics or jet-driven outflows from those which might
harbour dual AGN. We observed four such candidate sources with the Very Long
Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.5 GHz with 10 milli-arcsecond angular
resolution where spectral profiles of AGN optical emission suggested the
existence of dual AGN. In SDSS J210449.13-000919.1 and SDSS J23044.82-093345.3,
the radio structures are aligned with the optical emission features, thus the
double-peaked emission lines might be the results of jet-driven outflows. In
the third detected source SDSS J115523.74+150756.9, the radio structure is less
extended and oriented nearly perpendicular to the position angle derived from
optical spectroscopy. The fourth source remained undetected with the VLBA but
it has been imaged with the Very Large Array at arcsec resolution a few months
before our observations, suggesting the existence of extended radio structure.
In none of the four sources did we detect two radio-emitting cores, a
convincing signature of duality.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
The radio structure of 3C 316, a galaxy with double-peaked narrow optical emission lines
The galaxy 3C\,316 is the brightest in the radio band among the
optically-selected candidates exhibiting double-peaked narrow optical emission
lines. Observations with the Very Large Array (VLA), Multi-Element Remotely
Linked Interferometer Network (e-MERLIN), and the European VLBI Network (EVN)
at 5\,GHz have been used to study the radio structure of the source in order to
determine the nature of the nuclear components and to determine the presence of
radio cores. The e-MERLIN image of 3C 316 reveals a collimated coherent
east-west emission structure with a total extent of about 3 kpc. The EVN image
shows seven discrete compact knots on an S-shaped line. However, none of these
knots could be unambiguously identified as an AGN core. The observations
suggest that the majority of the radio structure belongs to a powerful radio
AGN, whose physical size and radio spectrum classify it as a compact
steep-spectrum source. Given the complex radio structure with radio blobs and
knots, the possibility of a kpc-separation dual AGN cannot be excluded if the
secondary is either a naked core or radio quiet.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in the MNRA
Extreme Superluminal Motion in the Curved Jet of PKS 1502+106
In this paper we present a multifrequency and multiepoch study of \object{PKS
1502+106} at radio frequencies. The analysis is based on an EVN (European VLBI
Network) dataset at 5 GHz and archive VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) datasets
at 2.3, 8.3, 24.4 and 43.1 GHz over a period of 8 years. The source is
characterized by a multi--component one--sided jet at all epochs. The
high--resolution images at 5, 8.3, 24.4 and 43.1 GHz show a curved jet
morphology in the source. The radio core brightness temperature approaches the
equipartition limit. Superluminal motions of , ,
and are measured in four distinct components of
the jet. Our analysis supports the idea that the relativistic jet in
\object{PKS 1502+106} is characterised by extreme beaming and that its radio
properties are similar to those of --ray loud sources.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted by A&
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