553 research outputs found
A new deep SCUBA survey of gravitationally lensing clusters
We have conducted a new deep SCUBA survey, which has targetted 12 lensing
galaxy clusters and one blank field. In this survey we have detected several
sub-mJy sources after correcting for the gravitational lensing by the
intervening clusters. We here present the preliminary results and point out two
highlights.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, "Multiwavelength Cosmology" Mykonos, June 2003,
conference proceeding
Gauge Coupling Variation in Brane Models
We consider the space-time variation of gauge couplings in brane-world models
induced by the coupling to a bulk scalar field. A variation is generated by the
running of the gauge couplings with energy and a conformal anomaly while going
from the Jordan to the Einstein frame. We indicate that the one-loop
corrections cancel implying that one obtains a variation of the fine structure
constant by either directly coupling the gauge fields to the bulk scalar field
or having bulk scalar field dependent Yukawa couplings. Taking into account the
cosmological dynamics of the bulk scalar field, we constrain the strength of
the gauge coupling dependence on the bulk scalar field and relate it to
modifications of gravity at low energy.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Neutron Stars in a Varying Speed of Light Theory
We study neutron stars in a varying speed of light (VSL) theory of gravity in
which the local speed of light depends upon the value of a scalar field .
We find that the masses and radii of the stars are strongly dependent on the
strength of the coupling between and the matter field and that for
certain choices of coupling parameters, the maximum neutron star mass can be
arbitrarily small. We also discuss the phenomenon of cosmological evolution of
VSL stars (analogous to the gravitational evolution in scalar-tensor theories)
and we derive a relation showing how the fractional change in the energy of a
star is related to the change in the cosmological value of the scalar field.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Added solutions with a more realistic equation
of state. To be published in PR
Primordial nucleosynthesis with a varying fine structure constant: An improved estimate
We compute primordial light-element abundances for cases with fine structure
constant alpha different from the present value, including many sources of
alpha dependence neglected in previous calculations. Specifically, we consider
contributions arising from Coulomb barrier penetration, photon coupling to
nuclear currents, and the electromagnetic components of nuclear masses. We find
the primordial abundances to depend more weakly on alpha than previously
estimated, by up to a factor of 2 in the case of ^7Li. We discuss the
constraints on variations in alpha from the individual abundance measurements
and the uncertainties affecting these constraints. While the present best
measurements of primordial D/H, ^4He/H, and ^7Li/H may be reconciled pairwise
by adjusting alpha and the universal baryon density, no value of alpha allows
all three to be accommodated simultaneously without consideration of systematic
error. The combination of measured abundances with observations of acoustic
peaks in the cosmic microwave background favors no change in alpha within the
uncertainties.Comment: Phys. Rev. D accepted version; minor changes in response to refere
Current-induced highly dissipative domains in high Tc thin films
We have investigated the resistive response of high Tc thin films submitted
to a high density of current. For this purpose, current pulses were applied
into bridges made of Nd(1.15)Ba(1.85)Cu3O7 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. By recording the
time dependent voltage, we observe that at a certain critical current j*, a
highly dissipative domain develops somewhere along the bridge. The successive
formation of these domains produces stepped I-V characteristics. We present
evidences that these domains are not regions with a temperature above Tc, as
for hot spots. In fact this phenomenon appears to be analog to the nucleation
of phase-slip centers observed in conventional superconductors near Tc, but
here in contrast they appear in a wide temperature range. Under some
conditions, these domains will propagate and destroy the superconductivity
within the whole sample. We have measured the temperature dependence of j* and
found a similar behavior in the two investigated compounds. This temperature
dependence is just the one expected for the depairing current, but the
amplitude is about 100 times smaller.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, Revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
'Education, education, education' : legal, moral and clinical
This article brings together Professor Donald Nicolson's intellectual interest in professional legal ethics and his long-standing involvement with law clinics both as an advisor at the University of Cape Town and Director of the University of Bristol Law Clinic and the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic. In this article he looks at how legal education may help start this process of character development, arguing that the best means is through student involvement in voluntary law clinics. And here he builds upon his recent article which argues for voluntary, community service oriented law clinics over those which emphasise the education of students
Star Models with Dark Energy
We have constructed star models consisting of four parts: (i) a homogeneous
inner core with anisotropic pressure (ii) an infinitesimal thin shell
separating the core and the envelope; (iii) an envelope of inhomogeneous
density and isotropic pressure; (iv) an infinitesimal thin shell matching the
envelope boundary and the exterior Schwarzschild spacetime. We have analyzed
all the energy conditions for the core, envelope and the two thin shells. We
have found that, in order to have static solutions, at least one of the regions
must be constituted by dark energy. The results show that there is no physical
reason to have a superior limit for the mass of these objects but for the ratio
of mass and radius.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, references and some comments added, typos
corrected, in press GR
Studying Millisecond Pulsars in X-rays
Millisecond pulsars represent an evolutionarily distinct group among rotation-powered pulsars. Outside the radio band, the soft X-ray range (--10 keV) is most suitable for studying radiative mechanisms operating in these fascinating objects. X-ray observations revealed diverse properties of emission from millisecond pulsars. For the most of them, the bulk of radiation is of a thermal origin, emitted from small spots (polar caps) on the neutron star surface heated by relativistic particles produced in pulsar acceleration zones. On the other hand, a few other very fast rotating pulsars exhibit almost pure nonthermal emission generated, most probably, in pulsar magnetospheres. There are also examples of nonthermal emission detected from X-ray nebulae powered by millisecond pulsars, as well as from pulsar winds shocked in binary systems with millisecond pulsars as companions. These and other most important results obtained from X-ray observations of millisecond pulsars are reviewed in this paper, as well as results from the search for millisecond pulsations in X-ray flux of the radio-quite neutron star RX J1856.5-3754
Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV
We present the first measurement of directed flow () at RHIC. is
found to be consistent with zero at pseudorapidities from -1.2 to 1.2,
then rises to the level of a couple of percent over the range . The latter observation is similar to data from NA49 if the SPS rapidities
are shifted by the difference in beam rapidity between RHIC and SPS.
Back-to-back jets emitted out-of-plane are found to be suppressed more if
compared to those emitted in-plane, which is consistent with {\it jet
quenching}. Using the scalar product method, we systematically compared
azimuthal correlations from p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions. Flow and non-flow
from these three different collision systems are discussed.Comment: Quark Matter 2004 proceeding, 4 pages, 3 figure
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