10,874 research outputs found
Diffusive convective overshoot in core He-burning intermediate mass stars. I: the LMC metallicity
We present detailed evolutionary calculations focused on the evolution of
intermediate mass stars with 3 Msun < M < 9 Msun of metallicity typical of the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), i.e. Z=0.008. We compare carefully the models
calculated by adopting a diffusive scheme for chemical mixing, in which nuclear
burning and mixing are self-consistently coupled, while the eddy velocities
beyond the formal convective core boundary are treated to decay exponentially,
and those calculated with the traditional instantaneous mixing approximation.
We find that: i) the physical and chemical behaviour of the models during the
H-burning phase is independent of the scheme used for the treatment of mixing
inside the CNO burning core; ii) the duration of the He-burning phase relative
to the MS phase is systematically longer in the diffusive models, due to a
slower redistribution of helium to the core from the outer layers; iii) the
fraction of time spent in the blue part of the clump, compared to the stay in
the red, is larger in the diffusive models. The differences described in points
ii) and iii) tend to vanish for M > Msun. In terms of the theoretical
interpretation of an open cluster stellar population, the differences
introduced by the use of a self-consistent scheme for mixing in the core with
adjacent exponential decay are relevant for ages in the range 80 Myr < t < 200
Myr. These results are robust, since they are insensitive to the choice of the
free-parameters regulating the extension of the extra-mixing region.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure, accepted for publication on Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Electronic and structural distortions in graphene induced by carbon vacancies and boron doping
We present an ab initio study on the structural and electronic distortions of
modified graphene by creation of vacancies, inclusion of boron atoms, and the
coexistence of both, by means of thermodynamics and band structure
calculations. In the case of coexistence of boron atoms and vacancy, the
modified graphene presents spin polarization only when B atoms locate far from
vacancy. Thus, when a boron atom fills single- and di-vacancies, it suppresses
the spin polarization of the charge density. In particular when B atoms fill a
di-vacancy a new type of rearrangement occurs, where a stable BC4 unit is
formed inducing important out of plane distortions to graphene. All these
findings suggest that new chemical modifications to graphene and new type of
vacancies can be used for interesting applications such as sensor and chemical
labeling.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures and 3 table
The Lithium Depletion Boundary and the Age of the Young Open Cluster IC~2391
We have obtained new photometry and intermediate resolution ( \AA\ ) spectra of 19 of these objects
(14.9 17.5) in order to confirm cluster membership. We
identify 15 of our targets as likely cluster members based on their
photometry, spectral types, radial velocity, and H emission strengths.
Higher S/N spectra were obtained for 8 of these probable cluster members in
order to measure the strength of the lithium 6708 \AA\ doublet and thus obtain
an estimate of the cluster's age. One of these 8 stars has a definite lithium
detection and two other (fainter) stars have possible lithium detections. A
color-magnitude diagram for our program objects shows that the lithium
depletion boundary in IC~2391 is at =16.2. Using recent theoretical model
predictions, we derive an age for IC~2391 of 535 Myr. While this is
considerably older than the age most commonly attributed for this cluster
(35 Myr) this result for IC~2391 is comparable those recently derived for
the Pleiades and Alpha Persei clusters and can be explained by new models for
high mass stars that incorporate a modest amount of convective core
overshooting.Comment: ApJ Letters, acccepte
Abundance patterns of multiple populations in Globular Clusters: a chemical evolution model based on yields from AGB ejecta
A large number of spectroscopic studies have provided evidence of the
presence of multiple populations in globular clusters by revealing patterns in
the stellar chemical abundances. This paper is aimed at studying the origin of
these abundance patterns. We explore a model in which second generation (SG)
stars form out of a mix of pristine gas and ejecta of the first generation of
asymptotic giant branch stars. We first study the constraints imposed by the
spectroscopic data of SG stars in globular clusters on the chemical properties
of the asymptotic and super asymptotic giant branch ejecta. With a simple
one-zone chemical model, we then explore the formation of the SG population
abundance patterns focussing our attention on the Na-O, Al-Mg anticorrelations
and on the helium distribution function. We carry out a survey of models and
explore the dependence of the final SG chemical properties on the key
parameters affecting the gas dynamics and the SG formation process. Finally, we
use our chemical evolution framework to build specific models for NGC 2808 and
M4, two Galactic globular clusters which show different patterns in the Na-O
and Mg-Al anticorrelation and have different helium distributions. We find that
the amount of pristine gas involved in the formation of SG stars is a key
parameter to fit the observed O-Na and Mg-Al patterns. The helium distribution
function for these models is in general good agreement with the observed one.
Our models, by shedding light on the role of different parameters and their
interplay in determining the final SG chemical properties, illustrate the basic
ingredients, constraints and problems encountered in this self-enrichment
scenario which must be addressed by more sophisticated chemical and
hydrodynamic simulations.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, MNRAS accepte
Electromigration in thin tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic: nanoconstrictions, local heating, and direct and wind forces
Current Induced Resistance Switching (CIS) was recently observed in thin
tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes \emph{i.e} FM/I/FM. This
effect was attributed to electromigration of metallic atoms in
nanoconstrictions in the insulating barrier (I). Here we study how the CIS
effect is influenced by a thin non-magnetic (NM) Ta layer, deposited just below
the AlO insulating barrier in tunnel junctions of the type FM/NM/I/FM
(FM=CoFe). Enhanced resistance switching occurs with increasing maximum applied
current (\Imax), until a plateau of constant CIS is reached for \Imax\sim65
mA (CIS60%) and above. However, such high electrical currents also lead
to a large (9%) irreversible resistance decrease, indicating barrier
degradation. Anomalous voltage-current characteristics with negative derivative
were also observed near \pm\Imax and this effect is here attributed to
heating in the tunnel junction. One observes that the current direction for
which resistance switches in FM/NM/I/FM (clockwise) is opposite to that of
FM/I/FM tunnel junctions (anti-clockwise). This effect will be discussed in
terms of a competition between the electromigration contributions due to the so
called direct and wind forces. It will be shown that the direct force is likely
to dominate electromigration in the Ta (NM) layers, while the wind contribution
likely dominates in the CoFe (FM) layers
Coagulation properties and Nostrano di Primiero cheese yield of milk from Brown grazing cows of different k-casein genotype
Propriet\ue0 di coagulazione e resa in Nostrano di Primiero del latte di vacche Brune al pascolo con differente genotipo per la k-caseina \u2013 Il latte prodotto in alpeggio da 16 bovine di razza Bruna Italiana con diverso genotipo per la k-caseina, 8 AA e 8 BB, \ue8 stato analizzato per composizione e caratteristiche reologiche. Lo stesso latte \ue8 stato trasformato in formaggio del tipo Nostrano di Primiero. La composizione del latte e il tempo di coagulazione (r) sono risultati simili tra i due tipi genetici, cos\uec come la composizione del siero e la resa in formaggio. Il tempo di rassodamento del coagulo (k20) e la sua consistenza (a30) sono risultati invece migliori per il tipo genetico BB rispetto all\u2019AA (4,2 min vs 7,9 min e 32,9 mm vs 25,2 mm)
Preliminary Studies of Ground Motions at Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Sites During the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
Site response analyses were conducted at the Treasure Island site where surface motions were recorded during the Loma Prieta earthquake. The analyses were conducted using a nonlinear dynamic effective stress method which took into account the effects of the liquefaction that occurred at the site. The rock motions recorded at nearby Yerba Buena Island were used as input motions. Computed and recorded ground motions transverse to the direction of wave propagation and associated response spectra were in good agreement. Agreement was also good in the radial direction, except in certain frequency bands higher than 1.25 Hz. Coherence studies showed that some of these discrepancies may be due to low coherence between the Treasure Island and Yerba Buena motions in these same frequency bands
Probabilistic Quantum Memories
Typical address-oriented computer memories cannot recognize incomplete or
noisy information. Associative (content-addressable) memories solve this
problem but suffer from severe capacity shortages. I propose a model of a
quantum memory that solves both problems. The storage capacity is exponential
in the number of qbits and thus optimal. The retrieval mechanism for incomplete
or noisy inputs is probabilistic, with postselection of the measurement result.
The output is determined by a probability distribution on the memory which is
peaked around the stored patterns closest in Hamming distance to the input.Comment: Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
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