The Equation of State of Neutron-Star Matter in Strong Magnetic Fields

We study the effects of very strong magnetic fields on the equation of state (EOS) in multicomponent, interacting matter by developing a covariant description for the inclusion of the anomalous magnetic moments of nucleons. For the description of neutron star matter, we employ a field-theoretical approach which permits the study of several models which differ in their behavior at high density. Effects of Landau quantization in ultra-strong magnetic fields ($B>10^{14}$ Gauss) lead to a reduction in the electron chemical potential and a substantial increase in the proton fraction. We find the generic result for $B>10^{18}$ Gauss that the softening of the EOS caused by Landau quantization is overwhelmed by stiffening due to the incorporation of the anomalous magnetic moments of the nucleons. In addition, the neutrons become completely spin polarized. The inclusion of ultra-strong magnetic fields leads to a dramatic increase in the proton fraction, with consequences for the direct Urca process and neutron star cooling. The magnetization of the matter never appears to become very large, as the value of $|H/B|$ never deviates from unity by more than a few percent. Our findings have implications for the structure of neutron stars in the presence of large frozen-in magnetic fields.Comment: 40 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Interplay between soft and hard hadronic components for identified hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions

We investigate the transverse dynamics in Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN}=200 GeV by emphasis upon the interplay between soft and hard components through p_T dependences of particle spectra, ratios of yields, suppression factors, and elliptic flow for identified hadrons. From hydrodynamics combined with traversing minijets which go through jet quenching in the hot medium, we calculate interactions of hard jets with the soft hydrodynamic components. It is shown by the explicit dynamical calculations that the hydrodynamic radial flow and the jet quenching of hard jets are the keys to understand the differences among the hadron spectra for pions, kaons, and protons. This leads to the natural interpretation for N_p/N_\pi ~ 1, R_{AA} >~ 1 for protons, and v_2^p > v_2^\pi recently observed in the intermediate transverse momentum region at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures; some references added; title changed, some data points included in figure

The extended, relativistic hyperon star model

In this paper an equation of state of neutron star matter which includes strange baryons in the framework of Zimanyi and Moszkowski (ZM) model has been obtained. We concentrate on the effects of the isospin dependence of the equation of state constructing for the appropriate choices of parameters the hyperons star model. Numerous neutron star models show that the appearance of hyperons is connected with the increasing density in neutron star interiors. Various studies have indicated that the inclusion of delta meson mainly affects the symmetry energy and through this the chemical composition of a neutron star. As the effective nucleon mass contributes to hadron chemical potentials it alters the chemical composition of the star. In the result the obtained model of the star not only excludes large population of hadrons but also does not reduce significantly lepton contents in the star interior.Comment: 22 pages, revtex4, 13 figure

Josephson array of mesoscopic objects. Modulation of system properties through the chemical potential

The phase diagram of a two-dimensional Josephson array of mesoscopic objects is examined. Quantum fluctuations in both the modulus and phase of the superconducting order parameter are taken into account within a lattice boson Hubbard model. Modulating the average occupation number $n_0$ of the sites in the system leads to changes in the state of the array, and the character of these changes depends significantly on the region of the phase diagram being examined. In the region where there are large quantum fluctuations in the phase of the superconducting order parameter, variation of the chemical potential causes oscillations with alternating superconducting (superfluid) and normal states of the array. On the other hand, in the region where the bosons interact weakly, the properties of the system depend monotonically on $n_0$. Lowering the temperature and increasing the particle interaction force lead to a reduction in the width of the region of variation in $n_0$ within which the system properties depend weakly on the average occupation number. The phase diagram of the array is obtained by mapping this quantum system onto a classical two-dimensional XY model with a renormalized Josephson coupling constant and is consistent with our quantum Path-Integral Monte Carlo calculations.Comment: 12 pages, 8 Postscript figure

An asymptotical von-Neumann measurement strategy for solid-state qubits

A measurement on a macroscopic quantum system does in general not lead to a projection of the wavefunction in the basis of the detector as predicted by von-Neumann's postulate. Hence, it is a question of fundametal interest, how the preferred basis onto which the state is projected is selected out of the macroscopic Hilbert space of the system. Detector-dominated von-Neumann measurements are also desirable for both quantum computation and verification of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale. The connection of these questions to the predictions of the spin-boson modelis outlined. I propose a measurement strategy, which uses the entanglement of the qubit with a weakly damped harmonic oscillator. It is shown, that the degree of entanglement controls the degree of renormalization of the qubit and identify, that this is equivalent to the degree to which the measurement is detector-dominated. This measurement very rapidly decoheres the initial state, but the thermalization is slow. The implementation in Josephson quantum bits is described and it is shown that this strategy also has practical advantages for the experimental implementation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication as a rapid communication in Phys. Rev.

Vertically Graded Anisotropy in Co/Pd Multilayers

Depth-grading of magnetic anisotropy in perpendicular magnetic media has been predicted to reduce the field required to write data without sacrificing thermal stability. To study this prediction, we have produced Co/Pd multilayers with depth-dependent Co layer thickness. Polarized neutron reflectometry shows that the thickness grading results in a corresponding magnetic anisotropy gradient. Magnetometry reveals that the anisotropy gradient promotes domain nucleation upon magnetization reversal - a clear experimental demonstration of the effectiveness of graded anisotropy for reducing write-field

Phase Diagram for Splay Glass Superconductivity

Localization of flux lines to splayed columnar pins is studied. A sine-Gordon type renormalization group study reveals the existence of a Splay glass phase and yields an analytic form for the transition temperature into the glass phase. As an independent test, the $I-V$ characteristics are determined via a Molecular Dynamics code. The glass transition temperature supports the RG results convincingly. The full phase diagram of the model is constructed.Comment: 14 pages, uuencoded compressed tar file with 3 postscript figure

Remnants of Initial Anisotropic High Energy Density Domains in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

Anisotropic high energy density domains may be formed at early stages of ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, e.g. due to phase transition dynamics or non-equilibrium phenomena like (mini-)jets. Here we investigate hadronic observables resulting from an initially created anisotropic high energy density domain. Based on our studies using a transport model we find that the initial anisotropies are reflected in the freeze-out multiplicity distribution of both pions and kaons due to secondary hadronic rescattering. The anisotropy appears to be stronger for particles at high transverse momenta. The overall kaon multiplicity increases with large fluctuations of local energy densities, while no change has been found in the pion multiplicity.Comment: Submitted to PR

Parquet solution for a flat Fermi surface

We study instabilities occurring in the electron system whose Fermi surface has flat regions on its opposite sides. Such a Fermi surface resembles Fermi surfaces of some high-$T_c$ superconductors. In the framework of the parquet approximation, we classify possible instabilities and derive renormalization-group equations that determine the evolution of corresponding susceptibilities with decreasing temperature. Numerical solutions of the parquet equations are found to be in qualitative agreement with a ladder approximation. For the repulsive Hubbard interaction, the antiferromagnetic (spin-density-wave) instability dominates, but when the Fermi surface is not perfectly flat, the $d$-wave superconducting instability takes over.Comment: REVTeX, 36 pages, 20 ps figures inserted via psfig. Submitted to Phys. Rev.