The Upper Limit of Magnetic Field Strength in Dense Stellar Hadronic Matter

It is shown that in strongly magnetized neutron stars, there exist upper limits of magnetic field strength, beyond which the self energies for both neutron and proton components of neutron star matter become complex in nature. As a consequence they decay within the strong interaction time scale. However, in the ultra-strong magnetic field case, when the zeroth Landau level is only occupied by protons, the system again becomes stable against strong decay.Comment: 6 pages Revtex, 2 .eps figures, fig.(1) is not include

The composition of the protosolar disk and the formation conditions for comets

Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that began in the parent molecular cloud core and continued through the collapse of that core to form the protosun and the solar nebula, and finally during the evolution of the solar nebula itself as the cometary bodies were accreting. Disentangling the effects of the various epochs on the final composition of a comet is complicated. But comets are not the only source of information about the solar nebula. Protostellar disks around young stars similar to the protosun provide a way of investigating the evolution of disks similar to the solar nebula while they are in the process of evolving to form their own solar systems. In this way we can learn about the physical and chemical conditions under which comets formed, and about the types of dynamical processing that shaped the solar system we see today. This paper summarizes some recent contributions to our understanding of both cometary volatiles and the composition, structure and evolution of protostellar disks.Comment: To appear in Space Science Reviews. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0167-

Destruction of 18F via 18F(p,α) 15O burning through the Ec.m.=665 keV resonance

Knowledge of the astrophysical rate of the 18F(p,α)15O reaction is important for understanding the γ-ray emission expected from novae and heavy-element production in x-ray bursts. The rate of this reaction is dominated at temperatures above ∼0.4 GK by a resonance near 7.08 MeV excitation energy in 19Ne. The 18F(p,α)15O rate has been uncertain in part because of disagreements among previous measurements concerning the resonance strength and excitation energy of this state. To resolve these uncertainties, we have made simultaneous measurements of the 1H(18F,p)18F and 1H(18F,α)15O excitation functions using a radioactive 18F beam at the ORNL Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. A simultaneous fit of the data sets has been performed, and the best fit was obtained with a center-of-mass resonance energy of 664.7±1.6 keV (Ex = 7076±2 keV), a total width of 39.0±1.6 keV, a proton branching ratio of Γp/Γ = 0.39±0.02, and a resonance strength of ωγ= 6.2±0.3 keV

Magnetic Field Generation in Stars

Enormous progress has been made on observing stellar magnetism in stars from the main sequence through to compact objects. Recent data have thrown into sharper relief the vexed question of the origin of stellar magnetic fields, which remains one of the main unanswered questions in astrophysics. In this chapter we review recent work in this area of research. In particular, we look at the fossil field hypothesis which links magnetism in compact stars to magnetism in main sequence and pre-main sequence stars and we consider why its feasibility has now been questioned particularly in the context of highly magnetic white dwarfs. We also review the fossil versus dynamo debate in the context of neutron stars and the roles played by key physical processes such as buoyancy, helicity, and superfluid turbulence,in the generation and stability of neutron star fields. Independent information on the internal magnetic field of neutron stars will come from future gravitational wave detections. Thus we maybe at the dawn of a new era of exciting discoveries in compact star magnetism driven by the opening of a new, non-electromagnetic observational window. We also review recent advances in the theory and computation of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence as it applies to stellar magnetism and dynamo theory. These advances offer insight into the action of stellar dynamos as well as processes whichcontrol the diffusive magnetic flux transport in stars.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures. Invited review chapter on on magnetic field generation in stars to appear in Space Science Reviews, Springe

Strength of the 18F(p, α)15O resonance at Ec.m. = 330 keV

The astrophysical rate of the 18F(p,α)15O reaction at nova temperatures is critical to understanding production of the radioisotope 18F, which may be used to constrain nova models via observations with the coming generation of satellite-based γ-ray telescopes. As such, a measurement is made of the strength of this resonance using a radioactive 18F beam at the HRIBF. As a result, it is indicated that the 18F(p,α)15O reaction rate is lower than previous estimates by a factor of ∼2

Kinematically complete measurement of the 1H(18F,p)18F excitation function for the astrophysically important 7.08-MeV state in 19Ne

Knowledge of the astrophysical [Formula Presented] rate is important for understanding gamma-ray emission from novae and heavy-element production in x-ray bursts. A state with [Formula Presented] in [Formula Presented] provides an s-wave resonance and, depending on its properties, could dominate the [Formula Presented] rate. By measuring a kinematically complete [Formula Presented] excitation function with a radioactive [Formula Presented] beam at the ORNL Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, we find that the [Formula Presented] state lies at a center-of-mass energy of [Formula Presented] has a total width of [Formula Presented] and a proton partial-width of [Formula Presented]

A Computational Complexity Theory in Membrane Computing

In this paper, a computational complexity theory within the framework of Membrane Computing is introduced. Polynomial complexity classes associated with di erent models of cell-like and tissue-like membrane systems are de ned and the most relevant results obtained so far are presented. Many attractive characterizations of P 6= NP conjecture within the framework of a bio-inspired and non-conventional computing model are deduced.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2006-13425Junta de Andalucía P08–TIC-0420

Grain Surface Models and Data for Astrochemistry

AbstractThe cross-disciplinary field of astrochemistry exists to understand the formation, destruction, and survival of molecules in astrophysical environments. Molecules in space are synthesized via a large variety of gas-phase reactions, and reactions on dust-grain surfaces, where the surface acts as a catalyst. A broad consensus has been reached in the astrochemistry community on how to suitably treat gas-phase processes in models, and also on how to present the necessary reaction data in databases; however, no such consensus has yet been reached for grain-surface processes. A team of ∼25 experts covering observational, laboratory and theoretical (astro)chemistry met in summer of 2014 at the Lorentz Center in Leiden with the aim to provide solutions for this problem and to review the current state-of-the-art of grain surface models, both in terms of technical implementation into models as well as the most up-to-date information available from experiments and chemical computations. This review builds on the results of this workshop and gives an outlook for future directions

Observation of the astrophysically important 3+ state in 18Ne via elastic scattering of a radioactive 17F beam from 1H

The 17F(p, γ)18 reaction is important in stellar explosions, but its rate has been uncertain because of an expected 3+ state in 18Ne that has never been conclusively observed. This state would provide a strong l = 0 resonance and, depending on its excitation energy, could dominate the stellar reaction rate. We have observed this missing 3+ state by measuring the 1H(17F, p)17F excitation function with a radioactive 17F beam at the ORNL Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. We find that the state lies at a center-of-mass energy of Er = 599.8 ± 1.5stat ± 2.0sys keV (Ex = 4523.7 ± 2.9keV) and has a width of Γ = 18 ± 2stat ± 1sys keV

Frequency spectrum of toroidal Alfv\'en mode in a neutron star with Ferraro's form of nonhomogeneous poloidal magnetic field

Using the energy variational method of magneto-solid-mechanical theory of a perfectly conducting elastic medium threaded by magnetic field, the frequency spectrum of Lorentz-force-driven global torsional nodeless vibrations of a neutron star with Ferraro's form of axisymmetric poloidal nonhomogeneous internal and dipole-like external magnetic field is obtained and compared with that for this toroidal Alfv\'en mode in a neutron star with homogeneous internal and dipolar external magnetic field. The relevance of considered asteroseismic models to quasi-periodic oscillations of the X-ray flux during the ultra powerful outbursts of SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14 is discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc