551 research outputs found
Chandra X-Ray Spectroscopy Of The Very Early O Supergiant HD 93129A: Constraints On Wind Shocks And The Mass-Loss Rate
We present an analysis of both the resolved X-ray emission-line profiles and the broad-band X-ray spectrum of the O-2 If* star HD 93129A, measured with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer ( HETGS). This star is among the earliest and most massive stars in the Galaxy, and provides a test of the embedded wind-shock scenario in a very dense and powerful wind. A major new result is that continuum absorption by the dense wind is the primary cause of the hardness of the observed X-ray spectrum, while intrinsically hard emission from colliding wind shocks contributes less than 10 per cent of the X-ray flux. We find results consistent with the predictions of numerical simulations of the line-driving instability, including line broadening indicating an onset radius of X-ray emission of several tenths of R-*. Helium-like forbidden-to-intercombination line ratios are consistent with this onset radius, and inconsistent with being formed in a wind-collision interface with the star\u27s closest visual companion at a distance of 100 au. The broad-band X-ray spectrum is fitted with a dominant emission temperature of just kT = 0.6 keV along with significant wind absorption. The broad-band wind absorption and the line profiles provide two independent measurements of the wind mass-loss rate:. M = 5.2(-1.5)(+1.8) x 10(-6) and 6.8(-2.2)(+2.8) x 10(-6) M-circle dot yr(-1), respectively. This is the first consistent modelling of the X-ray line-profile shapes and broad-band X-ray spectral energy distribution in a massive star, and represents a reduction of a factor of 3-4 compared to the standard H alpha mass-loss rate that assumes a smooth wind
S and D Wave Mixing in High Superconductors
For a tight binding model with nearest neighbour attraction and a small
orthorhombic distortion, we find a phase diagram for the gap at zero
temperature which includes three distinct regions as a function of filling. In
the first, the gap is a mixture of mainly -wave with a smaller extended
-wave part. This is followed by a region in which there is a rapid increase
in the -wave part accompanied by a rapid increase in relative phase between
and from 0 to . Finally, there is a region of dominant with a
mixture of and zero phase. In the mixed region with a finite phase, the
-wave part of the gap can show a sudden increase with decreasing temperature
accompanied with a rapid increase in phase which shows many of the
characteristics measured in the angular resolved photoemission experiments of
Ma {\em et al.} in Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX 3.0, 3 PostScript figures uuencoded and compresse
Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Response of - and -Wave Superconductors
The nonlinear magneto-optical response of - and -wave superconductors
is discussed. We carry out the symmetry analysis of the nonlinear
magneto-optical susceptibility in the superconducting state. Due to the surface
sensitivity of the nonlinear optical response for systems with bulk inversion
symmetry, we perform a group theoretical classification of the superconducting
order parameter close to a surface. For the first time, the mixing of singlet
and triplet pairing states induced by spin-orbit coupling is systematically
taken into account. We show that the interference of singlet and triplet
pairing states leads to an observable contribution of the nonlinear
magneto-optical Kerr effect. This effect is not only sensitive to the
anisotropy of the gap function but also to the symmetry itself. In view of the
current discussion of the order parameter symmetry of High-T
superconductors, results for a tetragonal system with bulk singlet pairing for
various pairing symmetries are discussed.Comment: 21 pages (REVTeX) with 8 figures (Postscript
Measuring Mass-Loss Rates And Constraining Shock Physics Using X-Ray Line Profiles Of O Stars From The Chandra Archive
We quantitatively investigate the extent of wind absorption signatures in the X-ray grating spectra of all non-magnetic, effectively single O stars in the Chandra archive via line profile fitting. Under the usual assumption of a spherically symmetric wind with embedded shocks, we confirm previous claims that some objects show little or no wind absorption. However, many other objects do show asymmetric and blueshifted line profiles, indicative of wind absorption. For these stars, we are able to derive wind mass-loss rates from the ensemble of line profiles, and find values lower by an average factor of 3 than those predicted by current theoretical models, and consistent with Hα if clumping factors of fcl ≈ 20 are assumed. The same profile fitting indicates an onset radius of X-rays typically at r ≈ 1.5R*, and terminal velocities for the X-ray emitting wind component that are consistent with that of the bulk wind. We explore the likelihood that the stars in the sample that do not show significant wind absorption signatures in their line profiles have at least some X-ray emission that arises from colliding wind shocks with a close binary companion. The one clear exception is ζ Oph, a weak-wind star that appears to simply have a very low mass-loss rate. We also reanalyse the results from the canonical O supergiant ζ Pup, using a solar-metallicity wind opacity model and find M˙=1.8×10−6 M⊙yr−1, consistent with recent multiwavelength determinations
Critical Josephson Current in a Model Pb/YBa_2Cu_3O_7 Junction
In this article we consider a simple model for a c--axis
Pb/YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta} Josephson junction. The observation of a nonzero
current in such a junction by Sun et al. [A. G. Sun, D. A. Gajewski, M. B.
Maple, R. C. Dynes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2267 (1994)] has been taken as
evidence against d--wave superconductivity in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}. We
suggest, however, that the pairing interaction in the CuO_2 planes may well be
d--wave but that the CuO chains destroy the tetragonal symmetry of the system.
We examine two ways in which this happens. In a simple model of an incoherent
junction, the chains distort the superconducting condensate away from
d_{x^2-y^2} symmetry. In a specular junction the chains destroy the tetragonal
symmetry of the tunneling matrix element. In either case, the loss of
tetragonal symmetry results in a finite Josephson current. Our calculated
values of the critical current for specular junctions are in good agreement
with the results of Sun and co-workers.Comment: Latex File, 21 pages, 6 figures in uuencoded postscript, In Press
(Phys. Rev. B
Josephson tunneling in high- superconductors
This article describes the Josephson tunneling from time-reversal
symmetry-breaking states and compares it with that from time-reversal invariant
states for both twinned and untwinned crystals and for both -axis and
basal-plane currents, in a model for orthorhombic YBCO. A macroscopic
invariance group describing the superconducting state of a twinned crystal is
introduced and shown to provide a useful framework for the discussion of the
results for twinned crystals. In addition, a ring geometry, which allows
-wave and -wave superconductivity in a tetragonal
superconductor to be distinguished on the basis of symmetry arguments only, is
proposed and analyzed. Finally, an appendix gives details of the experimental
Josephson tunneling evidence for a superconducting state of orthorhombic
symmetry in YBCO.Comment: Latex File, 18 pages, 6 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Phenomenological BCS theory of the high- cuprates
A BCS model characterized by a phenomenological pair potential with on-site
(), nearest (), and next nearest () neighbour coupling
constants, and an empirical quasiparticle dispersion taken from angle-resolved
photoemission spectra is considered. The model can consistently explain the
experimental data concerning the pair state of the hole doped cuprates. Three
ingredients are required to make the interpretation possible: the existence of
flat bands, a very small effective on-site repulsion, and a slightly dominating
effective nnn attraction of the order of 60-80meV with a ratio .Comment: 13 pages, uuencoded Postscrip
Infrared conductivity of a d_{x^2-y^2}-wave superconductor with impurity and spin-fluctuation scattering
Calculations are presented of the in-plane far-infrared conductivity of a
d_{x^2-y^2}-wave superconductor, incorporating elastic scattering due to
impurities and inelastic scattering due to spin fluctuations. The impurity
scattering is modeled by short-range potential scattering with arbitrary phase
shift, while scattering due to spin fluctuations is calculated within a
weak-coupling Hubbard model picture. The conductivity is characterized by a
low-temperature residual Drude feature whose height and weight are controlled
by impurity scattering, as well as a broad peak centered at 4 Delta_0 arising
from clean-limit inelastic processes. Results are in qualitative agreement with
experiment despite missing spectral weight at high energies.Comment: 29 pages (11 tar-compressed-uuencoded Postscript figures), REVTeX 3.0
with epsf macro
Induction of non-d-wave order-parameter components by currents in d-wave superconductors
It is shown, within the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau theory for a
superconductor with d_{x^2-y^2} symmetry, that the passing of a supercurrent
through the sample results, in general, in the induction of order-parameter
components of distinct symmetry. The induction of s-wave and
d_{xy(x^2-y^2)-wave components are considered in detail. It is shown that in
both cases the order parameter remains gapless; however, the structure of the
lines of nodes and the lobes of the order parameter are modified in distinct
ways, and the magnitudes of these modifications differ in their dependence on
the (a-b plane) current direction. The magnitude of the induced s-wave
component is estimated using the results of the calculations of Ren et al.
[Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 3680 (1995)], which are based on a microscopic approach.Comment: 15 pages, includes 2 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
- …