5,451 research outputs found
White Dwarf Cosmochronology in the Solar Neighborhood
The study of the stellar formation history in the solar neighborhood is a
powerful technique to recover information about the early stages and evolution
of the Milky Way. We present a new method which consists of directly probing
the formation history from the nearby stellar remnants. We rely on the volume
complete sample of white dwarfs within 20 pc, where accurate cooling ages and
masses have been determined. The well characterized initial-final mass relation
is employed in order to recover the initial masses (1 < M/Msun < 8) and total
ages for the local degenerate sample. We correct for moderate biases that are
necessary to transform our results to a global stellar formation rate, which
can be compared to similar studies based on the properties of main-sequence
stars in the solar neighborhood. Our method provides precise formation rates
for all ages except in very recent times, and the results suggest an enhanced
formation rate for the solar neighborhood in the last 5 Gyr compared to the
range 5 < Age (Gyr) < 10. Furthermore, the observed total age of ~10 Gyr for
the oldest white dwarfs in the local sample is consistent with the early
seminal studies that have determined the age of the Galactic disk from stellar
remnants. The main shortcoming of our study is the small size of the local
white dwarf sample. However, the presented technique can be applied to larger
samples in the future.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Neel order, ring exchange and charge fluctuations in the half-filled Hubbard model
We investigate the ground state properties of the two dimensional half-filled
one band Hubbard model in the strong (large-U) to intermediate coupling limit
({\it i.e.} away from the strict Heisenberg limit) using an effective spin-only
low-energy theory that includes nearest-neighbor exchange, ring exchange, and
all other spin interactions to order t(t/U)^3. We show that the operator for
the staggered magnetization, transformed for use in the effective theory,
differs from that for the order parameter of the spin model by a
renormalization factor accounting for the increased charge fluctuations as t/U
is increased from the t/U -> 0 Heisenberg limit. These charge fluctuations lead
to an increase of the quantum fluctuations over and above those for an S=1/2
antiferromagnet. The renormalization factor ensures that the zero temperature
staggered moment for the Hubbard model is a monotonously decreasing function of
t/U, despite the fact that the moment of the spin Hamiltonien, which depends on
transverse spin fluctuations only, in an increasing function of t/U. We also
comment on quantitative aspects of the t/U and 1/S expansions.Comment: 9 pages - 3 figures - References and details to help the reader adde
Potential-energy (BCS) to kinetic-energy (BEC)-driven pairing in the attractive Hubbard model
The BCS-BEC crossover within the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model is
studied by using the Cellular Dynamical Mean-Field Theory both in the normal
and superconducting ground states. Short-range spatial correlations
incorporated in this theory remove the normal-state quasiparticle peak and the
first-order transition found in the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory, rendering the
normal state crossover smooth. For smaller than the bandwidth, pairing is
driven by the potential energy, while in the opposite case it is driven by the
kinetic energy, resembling a recent optical conductivity experiment in
cuprates. Phase coherence leads to the appearance of a collective Bogoliubov
mode in the density-density correlation function and to the sharpening of the
spectral function.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
The Field White Dwarf Mass Distribution
We revisit the properties and astrophysical implications of the field white
dwarf mass distribution in preparation of Gaia applications. Our study is based
on the two samples with the best established completeness and most precise
atmospheric parameters, the volume-complete survey within 20 pc and the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) magnitude-limited sample. We explore the modelling of
the observed mass distributions with Monte Carlo simulations, but find that it
is difficult to constrain independently the initial mass function (IMF), the
initial-to-final-mass relation (IFMR), the stellar formation history (SFH), the
variation of the Galactic disk vertical scale height as a function of stellar
age, and binary evolution. Each of these input ingredients has a moderate
effect on the predicted mass distributions, and we must also take into account
biases owing to unidentified faint objects (20 pc sample), as well as unknown
masses for magnetic white dwarfs and spectroscopic calibration issues (SDSS
sample). Nevertheless, we find that fixed standard assumptions for the above
parameters result in predicted mean masses that are in good qualitative
agreement with the observed values. It suggests that derived masses for both
studied samples are consistent with our current knowledge of stellar and
Galactic evolution. Our simulations overpredict by 40-50% the number of massive
white dwarfs (M > 0.75 Msun) for both surveys, although we can not exclude a
Salpeter IMF when we account for all biases. Furthermore, we find no evidence
of a population of double white dwarf mergers in the observed mass
distributions.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Superintegrability of the Tremblay-Turbiner-Winternitz quantum Hamiltonians on a plane for odd
In a recent FTC by Tremblay {\sl et al} (2009 {\sl J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.}
{\bf 42} 205206), it has been conjectured that for any integer value of ,
some novel exactly solvable and integrable quantum Hamiltonian on a plane
is superintegrable and that the additional integral of motion is a th-order
differential operator . Here we demonstrate the conjecture for the
infinite family of Hamiltonians with odd , whose first member
corresponds to the three-body Calogero-Marchioro-Wolfes model after elimination
of the centre-of-mass motion. Our approach is based on the construction of some
-extended and invariant Hamiltonian \chh_k, which can be interpreted
as a modified boson oscillator Hamiltonian. The latter is then shown to possess
a -invariant integral of motion \cyy_{2k}, from which can be
obtained by projection in the identity representation space.Comment: 14 pages, no figure; change of title + important addition to sect. 4
+ 2 more references + minor modifications; accepted by JPA as an FT
3D Model Atmospheres for Extremely Low-Mass White Dwarfs
We present an extended grid of mean three-dimensional (3D) spectra for
low-mass, pure-hydrogen atmosphere DA white dwarfs (WDs). We use CO5BOLD
radiation-hydrodynamics 3D simulations covering Teff = 6000-11,500 K and logg =
5-6.5 (cgs units) to derive analytical functions to convert spectroscopically
determined 1D temperatures and surface gravities to 3D atmospheric parameters.
Along with the previously published 3D models, the 1D to 3D corrections are now
available for essentially all known convective DA WDs (i.e., logg = 5-9). For
low-mass WDs, the correction in temperature is relatively small (a few per cent
at the most), but the surface gravities measured from the 3D models are lower
by as much as 0.35 dex. We revisit the spectroscopic analysis of the extremely
low-mass (ELM) WDs, and demonstrate that the 3D models largely resolve the
discrepancies seen in the radius and mass measurements for relatively cool ELM
WDs in eclipsing double WD and WD + milli-second pulsar binary systems. We also
use the 3D corrections to revise the boundaries of the ZZ Ceti instability
strip, including the recently found ELM pulsators.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Characteristics of oxygen isotope substitutions in the quasiparticle spectrum of BiSrCaCuO
There is an ongoing debate about the nature of the bosonic excitations
responsible for the quasiparticle self energy in high temperature
superconductors -- are they phonons or spin fluctuations? We present a careful
analysis of the bosonic excitations as revealed by the `kink' feature at 70 meV
in angle resolved photoemission data using Eliashberg theory for a d-wave
superconductor. Starting from the assumption that nodal quasiparticles are not
coupled to the magnetic resonance, the sharp structure at meV
can be assigned to phonons. We find that not only can we account for the shifts
of the kink energy seen on oxygen isotope substitution but also get a
quantitative estimate of the fraction of the area under the electron-boson
spectral density which is due to phonons. We conclude that for optimally doped
BiSrCaCuO phonons contribute % and
non-phononic excitations %.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Parameter-free Stark Broadening of Hydrogen Lines in DA White Dwarfs
We present new calculations for the Stark broadening of the hydrogen line
profiles in the dense atmospheres of white dwarf stars. Our improved model is
based on the unified theory of Stark broadening from Vidal, Cooper & Smith, but
it also includes non-ideal gas effects from the Hummer & Mihalas occupation
probability formalism directly inside the line profile calculations. This
approach improves upon previous calculations that relied on the use of an
ad-hoc free parameter to describe the dissolution of the line wing opacity in
the presence of high electric microfields in the plasma. We present here the
first grid of model spectra for hot Teff >~ 12,000 K DA white dwarfs that has
no free parameters. The atmospheric parameters obtained from optical and UV
spectroscopic observations using these improved models are shown to differ
substantially from those published in previous studies.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Journal of Physics Conference
Proceedings for the 16th European White Dwarf Worksho
An Empirical Measure of the Rate of White Dwarf Cooling in 47 Tucanae
We present an empirical determination of the white dwarf cooling sequence in
the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Using spectral models, we determine
temperatures for 887 objects from Wide Field Camera 3 data, as well as 292
objects from data taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. We make the
assumption that the rate of white dwarf formation in the cluster is constant.
Stellar evolution models are then used to determine the rate at which objects
are leaving the main sequence, which must be the same as the rate at which
objects are arriving on the white dwarf sequence in our field. The result is an
empirically derived relation between temperature () and time () on
the white dwarf cooling sequence. Comparing this result to theoretical cooling
models, we find general agreement with the expected slopes between 20,000K and
30,000K and between 6,000K and 20,000K, but the transition to the Mestel
cooling rate of is found to occur at hotter
temperatures, and more abruptly than is predicted by any of these models.Comment: 10 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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