9,920 research outputs found
Elucidating the role of hyperfine interactions on organic magnetoresistance using deuterated aluminium tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)
Measurements of the effect of a magnetic field on the light output and
current through an organic light emitting diode made with deuterated aluminium
tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) have shown that hyperfine coupling with protons is not
the cause of the intrinsic organic magnetoresistance. We suggest that
interactions with unpaired electrons in the device may be responsible.Comment: Submitte
Local dynamics in high-order harmonic generation using Bohmian trajectories
We investigate high-order harmonic generation from a Bohmian-mechanical
perspective, and find that the innermost part of the core, represented by a
single Bohmian trajectory, leads to the main contributions to the high-harmonic
spectra. Using time-frequency analysis, we associate this central Bohmian
trajectory to an ensemble of unbound classical trajectories leaving and
returning to the core, in agreement with the three step model. In the Bohmian
scenario, this physical picture builds up non-locally near the core via the
quantum mechanical phase of the wavefunction. This implies that the flow of the
wavefunction far from the core alters the central Bohmian trajectory. We also
show how this phase degrades in time for the peripheral Bohmian trajectories as
they leave the core region.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; the manuscript has been considerably extended and
modified with regard to the previous version
Hydrodynamic View of Wave-Packet Interference: Quantum Caves
Wave-packet interference is investigated within the complex quantum
Hamilton-Jacobi formalism using a hydrodynamic description. Quantum
interference leads to the formation of the topological structure of quantum
caves in space-time Argand plots. These caves consist of the vortical and
stagnation tubes originating from the isosurfaces of the amplitude of the wave
function and its first derivative. Complex quantum trajectories display
counterclockwise helical wrapping around the stagnation tubes and hyperbolic
deflection near the vortical tubes. The string of alternating stagnation and
vortical tubes is sufficient to generate divergent trajectories. Moreover, the
average wrapping time for trajectories and the rotational rate of the nodal
line in the complex plane can be used to define the lifetime for interference
features.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (major revisions with respect to the previous
version have been carried out
Debris discs in binaries: a numerical study
Debris disc analysis and modelling provide crucial information about the
structure and the processes at play in extrasolar planetary systems. In binary
systems, this issue is more complex because the disc should in addition respond
to the companion star's perturbations. We explore the dynamical evolution of a
collisionally active debris disc for different initial parent body populations,
diverse binary configurations and optical depths. We focus on the radial extent
and size distribution of the disc at a stationary state. We numerically follow
the evolution of massless small grains, initially produced from a
circumprimary disc of parent bodies following a size distribution in ds . Grains are submitted to both stars' gravity as well as
radiation pressure. In addition, particles are assigned an empirically derived
collisional lifetime. For all the binary configurations the disc extends far
beyond the critical semimajor axis for orbital stability. This is due
to the steady production of small grains, placed on eccentric orbits reaching
beyond by radiation pressure. The amount of matter beyond acrit
depends on the balance between collisional production and dynamical removal
rates: it increases for more massive discs as well as for eccentric binaries.
Another important effect is that, in the dynamically stable region, the disc is
depleted from its smallest grains. Both results could lead to observable
signatures. We have shown that a companion star can never fully truncate a
collisionally active disc. For eccentric companions, grains in the unstable
regions can significantly contribute to the thermal emission in the mid-IR.
Discs with sharp outer edges, especially bright ones such as HR4796A, are
probably shaped by other mechanisms.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
--PhotoZ: Photometric Redshifts by Inverting the Tolman Surface Brightness Test
Surface brightness is a fundamental observational parameter of galaxies. We
show, for the first time in detail, how it can be used to obtain photometric
redshifts for galaxies, the -PhotoZ method.
We demonstrate that the Tolman surface brightness relation, , is a powerful tool for determining galaxy redshifts from
photometric data.
We develop a model using and a color percentile (ranking) measure to
demonstrate the -PhotoZ method. We apply our method to a set of galaxies
from the SHELS survey, and demonstrate that the photometric redshift accuracy
achieved using the surface brightness method alone is comparable with the best
color-based methods.
We show that the -PhotoZ method is very effective in determining the
redshift for red galaxies using only two photometric bands. We discuss the
properties of the small, skewed, non-gaussian component of the error
distribution.
We calibrate from the SDSS to redshift, and tabulate the
result, providing a simple, but accurate look up table to estimate the redshift
of distant red galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
XX/XY Sex Chromosomes in the South American Dwarf Gecko (\u3cem\u3eGonatodes humeralis\u3c/em\u3e)
Sex-specific genetic markers identified using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, or RADseq, permits the recognition of a species’ sex chromosome system in cases where standard cytogenetic methods fail. Thus, species with male-specific RAD markers have an XX/XY sex chromosome system (male heterogamety) while species with female-specific RAD markers have a ZZ/ZW sex chromosome (female heterogamety). Here, we use RADseq data from 5 male and 5 female South American dwarf geckos (Gonatodes humeralis) to identify an XX/XY sex chromosome system. This is the first confidently known sex chromosome system in a Gonatodes species. We used a low-coverage de novo G. humeralis genome assembly to design PCR primers to validate the male-specificity of a subset of the sex-specific RADseq markers and describe how even modest genome assemblies can facilitate the design of sex-specific PCR primers in species with diverse sex chromosome systems
Discovery of the Fomalhaut C debris disc
Fomalhaut is one of the most interesting and well studied nearby stars,
hosting at least one planet, a spectacular debris ring, and two distant
low-mass stellar companions (TW PsA and LP 876-10, a.k.a. Fomalhaut B & C). We
observed both companions with Herschel, and while no disc was detected around
the secondary, TW PsA, we have discovered the second debris disc in the
Fomalhaut system, around LP 876-10. This detection is only the second case of
two debris discs seen in a multiple system, both of which are relatively wide
(3000 AU for HD 223352/40 and 158 kAU [0.77 pc] for Fomalhaut/LP
876-10). The disc is cool (24K) and relatively bright, with a fractional
luminosity , and represents the rare
observation of a debris disc around an M dwarf. Further work should attempt to
find if the presence of two discs in the Fomalhaut system is coincidental,
perhaps simply due to the relatively young system age of 440 Myr, or if the
stellar components have dynamically interacted and the system is even more
complex than it currently appears.Comment: Published in MNRAS Letters. Merry Xma
Reconciling Semiclassical and Bohmian Mechanics: II. Scattering states for discontinuous potentials
In a previous paper [J. Chem. Phys. 121 4501 (2004)] a unique bipolar
decomposition, Psi = Psi1 + Psi2 was presented for stationary bound states Psi
of the one-dimensional Schroedinger equation, such that the components Psi1 and
Psi2 approach their semiclassical WKB analogs in the large action limit.
Moreover, by applying the Madelung-Bohm ansatz to the components rather than to
Psi itself, the resultant bipolar Bohmian mechanical formulation satisfies the
correspondence principle. As a result, the bipolar quantum trajectories are
classical-like and well-behaved, even when Psi has many nodes, or is wildly
oscillatory. In this paper, the previous decomposition scheme is modified in
order to achieve the same desirable properties for stationary scattering
states. Discontinuous potential systems are considered (hard wall, step, square
barrier/well), for which the bipolar quantum potential is found to be zero
everywhere, except at the discontinuities. This approach leads to an exact
numerical method for computing stationary scattering states of any desired
boundary conditions, and reflection and transmission probabilities. The
continuous potential case will be considered in a future publication.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Collisional modelling of the AU Microscopii debris disc
The spatially resolved AU Mic debris disc is among the most famous and
best-studied debris discs. We aim at a comprehensive understanding of the dust
production and the dynamics of the disc objects with in depth collisional
modelling including stellar radiative and corpuscular forces. Our models are
compared to a suite of observational data for thermal and scattered light
emission, ranging from the ALMA radial surface brightness profile at 1.3mm to
polarisation measurements in the visible. Most of the data can be reproduced
with a planetesimal belt having an outer edge at around 40au and subsequent
inward transport of dust by stellar winds. A low dynamical excitation of the
planetesimals with eccentricities up to 0.03 is preferred. The radial width of
the planetesimal belt cannot be constrained tightly. Belts that are 5au and
17au wide, as well as a broad 44au-wide belt are consistent with observations.
All models show surface density profiles increasing with distance from the star
as inferred from observations. The best model is achieved by assuming a stellar
mass loss rate that exceeds the solar one by a factor of 50. While the SED and
the shape of the ALMA profile are well reproduced, the models deviate from the
scattered light data more strongly. The observations show a bluer disc colour
and a lower degree of polarisation for projected distances <40au than predicted
by the models. The problem may be mitigated by irregularly-shaped dust grains
which have scattering properties different from the Mie spheres used. From
tests with a handful of selected dust materials, we derive a preference for
mixtures of silicate, carbon, and ice of moderate porosity. We address the
origin of the unresolved central excess emission detected by ALMA and show that
it cannot stem from an additional inner belt alone. Instead, it should derive,
at least partly, from the chromosphere of the central star.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (accepted for publication), 18 pages, 11
figure
Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with P-R drag and other loss processes
We present a new scheme for determining the shape of the size distribution,
and its evolution, for collisional cascades of planetesimals undergoing
destructive collisions and loss processes like Poynting-Robertson drag. The
scheme treats the steady state portion of the cascade by equating mass loss and
gain in each size bin; the smallest particles are expected to reach steady
state on their collision timescale, while larger particles retain their
primordial distribution. For collision-dominated disks, steady state means that
mass loss rates in logarithmic size bins are independent of size. This
prescription reproduces the expected two phase size distribution, with ripples
above the blow-out size, and above the transition to gravity-dominated
planetesimal strength. The scheme also reproduces the expected evolution of
disk mass, and of dust mass, but is computationally much faster than evolving
distributions forward in time. For low-mass disks, P-R drag causes a turnover
at small sizes to a size distribution that is set by the redistribution
function (the mass distribution of fragments produced in collisions). Thus
information about the redistribution function may be recovered by measuring the
size distribution of particles undergoing loss by P-R drag, such as that traced
by particles accreted onto Earth. Although cross-sectional area drops with
1/age^2 in the PR-dominated regime, dust mass falls as 1/age^2.8, underlining
the importance of understanding which particle sizes contribute to an
observation when considering how disk detectability evolves. Other loss
processes are readily incorporated; we also discuss generalised power law loss
rates, dynamical depletion, realistic radiation forces and stellar wind drag.Comment: Accepted for publication by Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical
Astronomy (special issue on EXOPLANETS
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