Magnetic Blue Phase in the Chiral Itinerant Magnet MnSi

Chiral nematic liquid crystals sometimes form blue phases characterized by spirals twisting in different directions. By combining model calculations with neutron-scattering experiments, we show that the magnetic analogue of blue phases does form in the chiral itinerant magnet MnSi in a large part of the phase diagram. The properties of this blue phase explain a number of previously reported puzzling features of MnSi such as partial magnetic order and a two-component specific-heat and thermal-expansion anomaly at the magnetic transition

Optical spectroscopy of EX Lupi during quiescence and outburst: Infall, wind, and dynamics in the accretion flow

We explore the accretion mechanisms in EX Lupi, prototype of EXor variables, during its quiescence and outburst phases. We analyse high-resolution optical spectra taken before, during, and after its 2008 outburst. In quiescence and outburst, the star presents many permitted emission lines, including typical CTTS lines and numerous neutral and ionized metallic lines. During the outburst, the number of emission lines increases to over a thousand, with narrow plus broad component structure (NC+BC). The BC profile is highly variable on short timescales (24-72h). An active chromosphere can explain the metallic lines in quiescence and the outburst NC. The dynamics of the BC line profiles suggest an origin in a hot, dense, non-axisymmetric, and non-uniform accretion column that suffers velocity variations along the line-of-sight on timescales of days. Assuming Keplerian rotation, the emitting region would be located at ~0.1-0.2 AU, consistent with the inner disk rim, but the velocity profiles of the lines reveal a combination of rotation and infall. Line ratios of ions and neutrals can be reproduced with a temperature of T~6500 K for electron densities of a few times 10$^{12}$cm$^{-3}$ in the line-emitting region. The data confirm that the 2008 outburst was an episode of increased accretion, albeit much stronger than previous EX Lupi and typical EXors outbursts. The line profiles are consistent with the infall/rotation of a non-axisymmetric structure that could be produced by clumpy accretion during the outburst phase. A strong inner disk wind appears in the epochs of higher accretion. The rapid recovery of the system after the outburst and the similarity between the pre-outburst and post-outburst states suggest that the accretion channels are similar during the whole period, and only the accretion rate varies, providing a superb environment for studying the accretion processes.Comment: 15 pages plus 26 pages online material, accepted by A&

Ab initio Calculations of Multilayer Relaxations of Stepped Cu Surfaces

We present trends in the multilayer relaxations of several vicinals of Cu(100) and Cu(111) of varying terrace widths and geometry. The electronic structure calculations are based on density functional theory in the local density approximation with norm-conserving, non-local pseudopotentials in the mixed basis representation. While relaxations continue for several layers, the major effect concentrates near the step and corner atoms. On all surfaces the step atoms contract inwards, in agreement with experimental findings. Additionally, the corner atoms move outwards and the atoms in the adjacent chain undergo large inward relaxation. Correspondingly, the largest contraction (4%) is in the bond length between the step atom and its bulk nearest neighbor (BNN), while that between the corner atom and BNN is somewhat enlarged. The surface atoms also display changes in registry of upto 1.5%. Our results are in general in good agreement with LEED data including the controversial case of Cu(511). Subtle differences are found with results obtained from semi-empirical potentials.Comment: 21 pages and 3 figure

Theoretical investigation of carbon defects and diffusion in α-quartz

The geometries, formation energies, and diffusion barriers of carbon point defects in silica (α-quartz) have been calculated using a charge-self-consistent density-functional based nonorthogonal tight-binding method. It is found that bonded interstitial carbon configurations have significantly lower formation energies (on the order of 5 eV) than substitutionals. The activation energy of atomic C diffusion via trapping and detrapping in interstitial positions is about 2.7 eV. Extraction of a CO molecule requires an activation energy <3.1 eV but the CO molecule can diffuse with an activation energy <0.4 eV. Retrapping in oxygen vacancies is hindered—unlike for O2—by a barrier of about 2 eV

Cosmological parameters constraints from galaxy cluster mass function measurements in combination with other cosmological data

We present the cosmological parameters constraints obtained from the combination of galaxy cluster mass function measurements (Vikhlinin et al., 2009a,b) with new cosmological data obtained during last three years: updated measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropy with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observatory, and at smaller angular scales with South Pole Telescope (SPT), new Hubble constant measurements, baryon acoustic oscillations and supernovae Type Ia observations. New constraints on total neutrino mass and effective number of neutrino species are obtained. In models with free number of massive neutrinos the constraints on these parameters are notably less strong, and all considered cosmological data are consistent with non-zero total neutrino mass \Sigma m_\nu \approx 0.4 eV and larger than standard effective number of neutrino species, N_eff \approx 4. These constraints are compared to the results of neutrino oscillations searches at short baselines. The updated dark energy equation of state parameters constraints are presented. We show that taking in account systematic uncertainties, current cluster mass function data provide similarly powerful constraints on dark energy equation of state, as compared to the constraints from supernovae Type Ia observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter

UV Circular Polarisation in Star Formation Regions : The Origin of Homochirality?

Ultraviolet circularly polarised light has been suggested as the initial cause of the homochirality of organic molecules in terrestrial organisms, via enantiomeric selection of prebiotic molecules by asymmetric photolysis. We present a theoretical investigation of mechanisms by which ultraviolet circular polarisation may be produced in star formation regions. In the scenarios considered here, light scattering produces only a small percentage of net circular polarisation at any point in space, due to the forward throwing nature of the phase function in the ultraviolet. By contrast, dichroic extinction can produce a fairly high percentage of net circular polarisation (∼10%) and may therefore play a key role in producing an enantiomeric excessPeer reviewe

Star and protoplanetary disk properties in Orion's suburbs

(Note: this is a shortened version of the original "structured" A&A format abstract.) We performed a large optical spectroscopic and photometric survey of the Lynds~1630N and 1641 clouds. We provide a catalog of 132 confirmed young stars in L1630N and 267 such objects in L1641. We identify 28 transition disk systems, 20 of which were previously unknown, as well as 42 new transition disk candidates for which we have broad-band photometry but no optical spectroscopy. We estimate mass accretion rates M_acc from the equivalent widths of the H_alpha, H_beta, and HeI 5876\AA emission lines, and find a dependence on stellar mass of M_acc propto Mstar^alpha, with alpha~3.1 in the subsolar mass range that we probe. An investigation of a large literature sample of mass accretion rate estimates yields a similar slope of alpha~2.8 in the subsolar regime, but a shallower slope of alpha~2.0 if the whole mass range of 0.04 M_sun-5 Msun is included. Among the transition disk objects, the fraction of stars that show significant accretion activity is relatively low compared to stars with still optically thick disks (26\pm11% vs. 57\pm6%, respectively). However, those transition disks that do show significant accretion have the same median accretion rate as normal optically thick disks of 3-4*10^{-9} M_sun/yr. We find that the ages of the transition disks and the WTTSs without disks are statistically indistinguishable, and both groups are significantly older than the CTTSs. These results argue against disk-binary interaction or gravitational instability as mechanisms causing a transition disk appearance. Our observations indicate that disk lifetimes in the clustered population are shorter than in the distributed population. We propose refined Halpha equivalent width criteria to distinguish WTTSs from CTTSs.Comment: 52 pages, 16 tables, 29 figures. Accepted by A&A. Table numbering error correcte

Dynamical mean-field approach to materials with strong electronic correlations

We review recent results on the properties of materials with correlated electrons obtained within the LDA+DMFT approach, a combination of a conventional band structure approach based on the local density approximation (LDA) and the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). The application to four outstanding problems in this field is discussed: (i) we compute the full valence band structure of the charge-transfer insulator NiO by explicitly including the p-d hybridization, (ii) we explain the origin for the simultaneously occuring metal-insulator transition and collapse of the magnetic moment in MnO and Fe2O3, (iii) we describe a novel GGA+DMFT scheme in terms of plane-wave pseudopotentials which allows us to compute the orbital order and cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion in KCuF3 and LaMnO3, and (iv) we provide a general explanation for the appearance of kinks in the effective dispersion of correlated electrons in systems with a pronounced three-peak spectral function without having to resort to the coupling of electrons to bosonic excitations. These results provide a considerable progress in the fully microscopic investigations of correlated electron materials.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, final version, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. for publication in the Special Topics volume "Cooperative Phenomena in Solids: Metal-Insulator Transitions and Ordering of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom

Light Sterile Neutrinos: A White Paper

This white paper addresses the hypothesis of light sterile neutrinos based on recent anomalies observed in neutrino experiments and the latest astrophysical data