81,071 research outputs found
Reversal Modes of Simulated Iron Nanopillars in an Obliquely Oriented Field
Stochastic micromagnetic simulations are employed to study switching in
three-dimensional magnetic nanopillars exposed to highly misaligned fields. The
switching appears to proceed through two different decay modes, characterized
by very different average lifetimes and different average values of the
transverse magnetization components.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
zCOSMOS: A large VLT/VIMOS redshift survey covering 0 < z < 3 in the COSMOS field
zCOSMOS is a large-redshift survey that is being undertaken in the COSMOS field using 600 hr of observation
with the VIMOS spectrograph on the 8 m VLT. The survey is designed to characterize the environments of COSMOS
galaxies from the 100 kpc scales of galaxy groups up to the 100 Mpc scale of the cosmic web and to produce diagnostic
information on galaxies and active galactic nuclei. The zCOSMOS survey consists of two parts: (1) zCOSMOSbright,
a magnitude-limited I-band I_(AB) < 22.5 sample of about 20,000 galaxies with 0.1 < z < 1.2 covering the whole
1.7 deg^2 COSMOS ACS field, for which the survey parameters at z ~ 0.7 are designed to be directly comparable to
those of the 2dFGRS at z ~ 0.1; and (2) zCOSMOS-deep, a survey of approximately 10,000 galaxies selected through
color-selection criteria to have 1.4 < z < 3.0, within the central 1 deg^2. This paper describes the survey design and the
construction of the target catalogs and briefly outlines the observational program and the data pipeline. In the first
observing season, spectra of 1303 zCOSMOS-bright targets and 977 zCOSMOS-deep targets have been obtained.
These are briefly analyzed to demonstrate the characteristics that may be expected from zCOSMOS, and particularly
zCOSMOS-bright, when it is finally completed between 2008 and 2009. The power of combining spectroscopic and
photometric redshifts is demonstrated, especially in correctly identifying the emission line in single-line spectra and in
determining which of the less reliable spectroscopic redshifts are correct and which are incorrect. These techniques
bring the overall success rate in the zCOSMOS-bright so far to almost 90% and to above 97% in the 0.5 < z < 0.8
redshift range. Our zCOSMOS-deep spectra demonstrate the power of our selection techniques to isolate high-redshift
galaxies at 1.4 < z < 3.0 and of VIMOS to measure their redshifts using ultraviolet absorption lines
Carbonate Formation in Non-Aqueous Environments by Solid-Gas Carbonation of Silicates
We have produced synthetic analogues of cosmic silicates using the Sol Gel
method, producing amorphous silicates of composition Mg(x)Ca(1-x)SiO3. Using
synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction on Beamline I11 at the Diamond Light
Source, together with a newly-commissioned gas cell, real-time powder
diffraction scans have been taken of a range of silicates exposed to CO2 under
non-ambient conditions. The SXPD is complemented by other techniques including
Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy and SEM imaging.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the Proceedings of the First
European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics (ECLA
Nucleation of quark matter in neutron stars cores
We consider the general conditions of quark droplets formation in high
density neutron matter. The growth of the quark bubble (assumed to contain a
sufficiently large number of particles) can be described by means of a
Fokker-Planck equation. The dynamics of the nucleation essentially depends on
the physical properties of the medium it takes place. The conditions for quark
bubble formation are analyzed within the frameworks of both dissipative and
non-dissipative (with zero bulk and shear viscosity coefficients) approaches.
The conversion time of the neutron star to a quark star is obtained as a
function of the equation of state of the neutron matter and of the microscopic
parameters of the quark nuclei. As an application of the obtained formalism we
analyze the first order phase transition from neutron matter to quark matter in
rapidly rotating neutron stars cores, triggered by the gravitational energy
released during the spinning down of the neutron star. The endothermic
conversion process, via gravitational energy absorption, could take place, in a
very short time interval, of the order of few tens seconds, in a class of dense
compact objects, with very high magnetic fields, called magnetars.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Ap
First Observations of the Magnetic Field Geometry in Pre-stellar Cores
We present the first published maps of magnetic fields in pre-stellar cores,
to test theoretical ideas about the way in which the magnetic field geometry
affects the star formation process. The observations are JCMT-SCUBA maps of 850
micron thermal emission from dust. Linear polarizations at typically ten or
more independent positions in each of three objects, L1544, L183 and L43 were
measured, and the geometries of the magnetic fields in the plane of the sky
were mapped from the polarization directions. The observed polarizations in all
three objects appear smooth and fairly uniform. In L1544 and L183 the mean
magnetic fields are at an angle of around 30 degrees to the minor axes of the
cores. The L43 B-field appears to have been influenced in its southern half,
such that it is parallel to the wall of a cavity produced by a CO outflow from
a nearby T Tauri star, whilst in the northern half the field appears less
disturbed and has an angle of 44 degrees to the core minor axis. We briefly
compare our results with published models of magnetized cloud cores and
conclude that no current model can explain these observations simultaneously
with previous ISOCAM data.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figs, to appear in ApJ Letter
Electrodynamics of Magnetars IV: Self-Consistent Model of the Inner Accelerator, with Implications for Pulsed Radio Emission
We consider the voltage structure in the open-field circuit and outer
magnetosphere of a magnetar. The standard polar-cap model for radio pulsars is
modified significantly when the polar magnetic field exceeds 1.8x10^{14} G.
Pairs are created by accelerated particles via resonant scattering of thermal
X-rays, followed by the nearly instantaneous conversion of the scattered photon
to a pair. A surface gap is then efficiently screened by e+- creation, which
regulates the voltage in the inner part of the circuit to ~10^9 V. We also
examine the electrostatic gap structure that can form when the magnetic field
is somewhat weaker, and deduce a voltage 10-30 times larger over a range of
surface temperatures. We examine carefully how the flow of charge back to the
star above the gap depends on the magnitude of the current that is extracted
from the surface of the star, on the curvature of the magnetic field lines, and
on resonant drag. The rates of different channels of pair creation are
determined self-consistently, including the non-resonant scattering of X-rays,
and collisions between gamma rays and X-rays. We find that the electrostatic
gap solution has too small a voltage to sustain the observed pulsed radio
output of magnetars unless i) the magnetic axis is nearly aligned with the
rotation axis and the light of sight; or ii) the gap is present on the closed
as well as the open magnetic field lines. Several properties of the radio
magnetars -- their rapid variability, broad pulses, and unusually hard radio
spectra -- are consistent with a third possibility, that the current in the
outer magnetosphere is strongly variable, and a very high rate of pair creation
is sustained by a turbulent cascade.Comment: 32 pages, submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
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