12,987 research outputs found
The effect of core polarization on longitudinal form factors in B
Electron scattering Coulomb form factors for the single-particle quadrupole
transitions in -shell B nucleus have been studied. Core polarization
effects are included through a microscopic theory that includes excitations
from the core orbits up to higher orbits with 2 excitations. The
modified surface delta interaction (MSDI) is employed as a residual
interaction. The effect of core polarization is found essential in both the
transition strengths and momentum transfer dependence of form factors, and
gives a remarkably good agreement with the measured data with no adjustable
parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Evidence for precession of the isolated neutron star RX J0720.4-3125
The XMM-Newton spectra of the isolated neutron star RX J0720.4-3125 obtained
over 4.5 years can be described by sinusoidal variations in the inferred
blackbody temperature, the size of the emitting area and the depth of the
absorption line with a period of 7.1 +/- 0.5 years, which we suggest to be the
precession period of the neutron star. Precession of a neutron star with two
hot spots of different temperature and size, probably not located exactly in
antipodal positions, may account for the variations in the X-ray spectra,
changes in the pulsed fraction, shape of the light curve and the phase-lag
between soft and hard energy bands observed from RX J0720.4-3125. An
independent sinusoidal fit to published and new pulse timing residuals from a
coherent analysis covering ~12 years yields a consistent period of 7.7 +/- 0.6
years supporting the precession model.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters, 5 pages, 5 figure
Proton pump inhibitors, fracture risk and selection bias: three studies, same database, two answers
17O NMR study of the intrinsic magnetic susceptibility and spin dynamics of the quantum kagome antiferromagnet ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2
We report through 17O NMR, an unambiguous local determination of the
intrinsic kagome lattice spin susceptibility as well as that created around
non-magnetic defects issued from natural Zn/ Cu exchange in the S=1/2 (Cu2+)
herbertsmithite ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2 compound. The issue of a singlet-triplet gap is
addressed. The magnetic response around a defect is found to markedly differ
from that observed in non-frustrated antiferromagnetic materials. Finally, we
discuss our relaxation measurements in the light of Cu and Cl NMR data
[cond-mat 070314] and suggest a flat q-dependence of the excitations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett., 3 jan. 2008 Figure 1
has been modified to include a two-components fit of the 17O NMR spectru
Investigating the interstellar dust through the Fe K-edge
The chemical and physical properties of interstellar dust in the densest
regions of the Galaxy are still not well understood. X-rays provide a powerful
probe since they can penetrate gas and dust over a wide range of column
densities (up to ). The interaction (scattering and
absorption) with the medium imprints spectral signatures that reflect the
individual atoms which constitute the gas, molecule, or solid. In this work we
investigate the ability of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy to probe the
properties of cosmic grains containing iron. Although iron is heavily depleted
into interstellar dust, the nature of the Fe-bearing grains is still largely
uncertain. In our analysis we use iron K-edge synchrotron data of minerals
likely present in the ISM dust taken at the European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility. We explore the prospects of determining the chemical composition and
the size of astrophysical dust in the Galactic centre and in molecular clouds
with future X-ray missions. The energy resolution and the effective area of the
present X-ray telescopes are not sufficient to detect and study the Fe K-edge,
even for bright X-ray sources. From the analysis of the extinction cross
sections of our dust models implemented in the spectral fitting program SPEX,
the Fe K-edge is promising for investigating both the chemistry and the size
distribution of the interstellar dust. We find that the chemical composition
regulates the X-ray absorption fine structures in the post edge region, whereas
the scattering feature in the pre-edge is sensitive to the mean grain size.
Finally, we note that the Fe K-edge is insensitive to other dust properties,
such as the porosity and the geometry of the dust.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Dust absorption and scattering in the silicon K-edge
The composition and properties of interstellar silicate dust are not well
understood. In X-rays, interstellar dust can be studied in detail by making use
of the fine structure features in the Si K-edge. The features in the Si K-edge
offer a range of possibilities to study silicon-bearing dust, such as
investigating the crystallinity, abundance, and the chemical composition along
a given line of sight. We present newly acquired laboratory measurements of the
silicon K-edge of several silicate-compounds that complement our measurements
from our earlier pilot study. The resulting dust extinction profiles serve as
templates for the interstellar extinction that we observe. The extinction
profiles were used to model the interstellar dust in the dense environments of
the Galaxy. The laboratory measurements, taken at the Soleil synchrotron
facility in Paris, were adapted for astrophysical data analysis and implemented
in the SPEX spectral fitting program. The models were used to fit the spectra
of nine low-mass X-ray binaries located in the Galactic center neighborhood in
order to determine the dust properties along those lines of sight. Most lines
of sight can be fit well by amorphous olivine. We also established upper limits
on the amount of crystalline material that the modeling allows. We obtained
values of the total silicon abundance, silicon dust abundance, and depletion
along each of the sightlines. We find a possible gradient of
dex/kpc for the total silicon abundance versus the Galactocentric distance. We
do not find a relation between the depletion and the extinction along the line
of sight.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Climbing the water ladder: multiple-use water services for poverty reduction
Multiple use / Models / Water productivity / Research projects / Water supply / Domestic water / Irrigation water / Water governance / Poverty / Gender / Rural areas / Wells / Water harvesting / Runoff / Water storage / Water purification / Appropriate technology / Costs / Local government / Non governmental organizations / Case studies / Ehiopia / Nepal / Zimbabwe / Bolivia / India / Colombia / Thailand / South Africa
Scaling of spontaneous rotation with temperature and plasma current in tokamaks
Using theoretical arguments, a simple scaling law for the size of the
intrinsic rotation observed in tokamaks in the absence of momentum injection is
found: the velocity generated in the core of a tokamak must be proportional to
the ion temperature difference in the core divided by the plasma current,
independent of the size of the device. The constant of proportionality is of
the order of . When the
intrinsic rotation profile is hollow, i.e. it is counter-current in the core of
the tokamak and co-current in the edge, the scaling law presented in this
Letter fits the data remarkably well for several tokamaks of vastly different
size and heated by different mechanisms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Pair Correlations, Short Range Order and Dispersive Excitations in the Quasi-Kagome Quantum Magnet Volborthite
We present spatial and dynamic information on the s=1/2 distorted kagome
antiferromagnet volborthite, Cu3V2O7(OD)2.2D2O, obtained by polarized and
inelastic neutron scattering. The instantaneous structure factor, S(Q), is
dominated by nearest neighbor pair correlations, with short range order at wave
vectors Q1=0.65(3) {\AA}^-1 and Q2=1.15(5) {\AA}^-1 emerging below 5 K. The
excitation spectrum, S(Q,{\omega}), reveals two steep branches dispersing from
Q1 and Q2, and a flat mode at {\omega}=5.0(2) meV. The results allow us to
identify the cross-over at T*=1 K in 51V NMR and specific heat measurements as
the build-up of correlations at Q_1. We compare our data to theoretical models
proposed for volborthite, and demonstrate that the excitation spectrum can be
explained by spin-wave-like excitations with anisotropic exchange parameters,
as also suggested by recent local density calculations.Comment: Rewritten article resubmitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. 021
Scaling of polymers in aligned rods
We study the behavior of self avoiding polymers in a background of vertically
aligned rods that are either frozen into random positions or free to move
horizontally. We find that in both cases the polymer chains are highly
elongated, with vertical and horizontal size exponents that differ by a factor
of 3. Though these results are different than previous predictions, our results
are confirmed by detailed computer simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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