Initial Magnetization of Galaxies by Exploding, Magnetized Stars

We conduct a series of magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of magnetized interstellar medium (ISM) disturbed by exploding stars. Each star deposits a randomly oriented, dipolar magnetic field into ISM. The simulations are performed in a Cartesian box, in a reference frame that is corotating with the galactic disk. The medium is stratified by vertical galactic gravity. The resulting turbulent state of ISM magnetized by the stellar explosions is processed with the aid of Fourier analysis. The results leads to the conclusion that the input of magnetic energy from exploding stars is additionally multiplied by differential rotation. The resulting magnetic field appears to grow up in small-scale component, while the total magnetic flux remains limited. Our results indicate that magnetic field originating from exploding stars can be a source of initial magnetic fields for a subsequent dynamo process.Comment: Published in Proceedings of the 14th Young Scientists Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23-28, 200

Delta G from high pT events at SMC and high pT analysis at COMPASS

Measurements of the longitudinal spin cross section asymmetry for deep inelastic muon-nucleon interactions with two high transverse momentum hadrons ($p_T >$ 0.7 GeV) in the final state are presented for SMC data for polarized proton and deuteron and for data on polarized deuteron from COMPASS taken in 2002 and 2003. The muon asymmetries determined with a cut on $Q^2>$ 1 GeV$^2$ in SMC are: $A_p = 0.03 \pm 0.057\pm 0.01$ and $A_d = 0.070 \pm 0.076 \pm 0.010$, respectively. From these values a gluon polarization $\Delta G /G = -0.20\pm 0.28\pm 0.10$ was obtained at an average fraction of nucleon momentum carried by gluons $\eta = 0.07$. The measured asymmetry (with cut on $Q^2>$ 1 GeV$^2$) in COMPASS is $(A_d/D) = -0.015 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.013$ where D is depolarization factor and the gluon polarization $\Delta G /G = 0.06\pm 0.31\pmComment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Talk given at 10-th International Conference Baryons04, October 25-29, 2004, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, Franc

Single spin optical read-out in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dot studied by photon correlation spectroscopy

Spin dynamics of a single electron and an exciton confined in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dot is investigated by polarization-resolved correlation spectroscopy. Spin memory effects extending over at least a few tens of nanoseconds have been directly observed in magnetic field and described quantitatively in terms of a simple rate equation model. We demonstrate an effective (68%) all-optical read-out of the single carrier spin state through probing the degree of circular polarization of exciton emission after capture of an oppositely charged carrier. The perturbation introduced by the pulsed optical excitation serving to study the spin dynamics has been found to be the main source of the polarization loss in the read-out process. In the limit of low laser power the read-out efficiency extrapolates to a value close to 100%. The measurements allowed us as well to determine neutral exciton spin relaxation time ranging from 3.4 +/- 0.1 ns at B = 0 T to 16 +/- 3 ns at B = 5 T.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.

Optical alignment and polarization conversion of neutral exciton spin in individual InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We investigate exciton spin memory in individual InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots via optical alignment and conversion of exciton polarization in a magnetic field. Quasiresonant phonon-assisted excitation is successfully employed to define the initial spin polarization of neutral excitons. The conservation of the linear polarization generated along the bright exciton eigenaxes of up to 90% and the conversion from circular- to linear polarization of up to 47% both demonstrate a very long spin relaxation time with respect to the radiative lifetime. Results are quantitatively compared with a model of pseudo-spin 1/2 including heavy-to-light hole mixing.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Longitudinal Double Spin Asymmetry in Inclusive Jet Production at STAR

This contribution reports on the first measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry $A_{LL}$ for the inclusive production of jets in polarized proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200 \mathrm{GeV}$. The data were collected with STAR at RHIC in the years 2003 and 2004, and correspond to a sampled integrated luminosity of $0.3 \mathrm{pb}^{-1}$ with beam polarizations up to 45%. The results on $A_{LL}$ cover jet transverse momenta $5 < p_{T} < 17 \mathrm{GeV/c}$ and agree with perturbative QCD evaluations based on deep-inelastic scattering parametrizations for the gluon polarization in the proton. The results disfavor large positive gluon polarization in the polarized proton.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Circularly Polarized Resonant Rayleigh Scattering and Skyrmions in the ν\nu = 1 Quantum Hall Ferromagnet

We use the circularly polarized resonant Rayleigh scattering (RRS) to study the quantum Hall ferromagnet at $\nu$ = 1. At this filling factor we observe a right handed copolarized RRS which probes the Skyrmion spin texture of the electrons in the photoexcited grounds state. The resonant scattering is not present in the left handed copolarization, and this can be related to the correlation between Skymionic effects, screening and spin wave excitations. These results evidence that RRS is a valid method for the study of the spin texture of the quantum Hall states

Relationship between plasma cortisol level and bodyweight and antler size in farmed fallow deer

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between the plasma cortisol level and bodyweight and antler size in farmed male fallow deer (Dama dama) of various ages. The study involved 33 animals divided into three age groups: one year old, three years old, and older. Their bodyweight was measured and blood samples were taken twice a year during antler growth (May) and before the rut (September). Whole antlers were collected in September to measure their length and weight. The plasma cortisol concentration was determined with an immunoenzymatic method. The correlations between cortisol level and bodyweight were significant and positive in both May and September (P ≤0.05). There was a negative correlation between weight gain and change in cortisol levels (P ≤0.05). Thus, fallow deer with large seasonal changes in cortisol gained less weight from May to September. The results of the present study indicated that calmer animals with lower cortisol fluctuations should be selected for breeding, which would contribute to greater stability of weight gain

Three red giants with substellar-mass companions

We present three giant stars from the ongoing Penn State-Toru\'n Planet Search with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which exhibit radial velocity variations that point to a presence of planetary --mass companions around them. BD+49 828 is a $M=1.52 \pm 0.22$ $M_{\odot}$ K0 giant with a $m sini$=$1.6^{+0.4}_{-0.2}$ $M_{J}$ minimum mass companion in $a=4.2^{+0.32}_{-0.2}$ AU ($2590^{+300}_{-180}$d), $e=0.35^{+0.24}_{-0.10}$ orbit. HD 95127, a log$L$/$L_{\odot}$=$2.28 \pm 0.38$, $R = 20\pm 9$ $R_{\odot}$, $M=1.20 \pm 0.22$ $M_{\odot}$ K0 giant has a $m sini$=$5.01^{+0.61}_{-0.44}$ $M_{J}$ minimum mass companion in $a=1.28^{+0.01}_{-0.01}$ AU ($482^{+5}_{-5}$d), $e=0.11^{+0.15}_{-0.06}$ orbit. Finally, HD 216536, is a $M=1.36 \pm 0.38$ $M_{\odot}$ K0 giant with a $m sin i=1.47^{+0.20}_{-0.12}$ $M_{J}$ minimum mass companion in $a=0.609^{+0.002}_{-0.002}$ AU ($148.6^{+0.7}_{-0.7}$d), $e=0.38^{+0.12}_{-0.10}$ orbit. Both, HD 95127 b and HD 216536 b in their compact orbits, are very close to the engulfment zone and hence prone to ingestion in the near future. BD+49 828 b is among the longest period planets detected with the radial velocity technique until now and it will remain unaffected by stellar evolution up to a very late stage of its host. We discuss general properties of planetary systems around evolved stars and planet survivability using existing data on exoplanets in more detail.Comment: 47 pages, 11 figures. Accepted by Ap

MnAs dots grown on GaN(0001)-(1x1) surface

MnAs has been grown by means of MBE on the GaN(0001)-(1x1) surface. Two options of initiating the crystal growth were applied: (a) a regular MBE procedure (manganese and arsenic were delivered simultaneously) and (b) subsequent deposition of manganese and arsenic layers. It was shown that spontaneous formation of MnAs dots with the surface density of 1$\cdot 10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $2.5\cdot 10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$, respectively (as observed by AFM), occurred for the layer thickness higher than 5 ML. Electronic structure of the MnAs/GaN systems was studied by resonant photoemission spectroscopy. That led to determination of the Mn 3d - related contribution to the total density of states (DOS) distribution of MnAs. It has been proven that the electronic structures of the MnAs dots grown by the two procedures differ markedly. One corresponds to metallic, ferromagnetic NiAs-type MnAs, the other is similar to that reported for half-metallic zinc-blende MnAs. Both system behave superparamagnetically (as revealed by magnetization measurements), but with both the blocking temperatures and the intra-dot Curie temperatures substantially different. The intra-dot Curie temperature is about 260 K for the former system while markedly higher than room temperature for the latter one. Relations between growth process, electronic structure and other properties of the studied systems are discussed. Possible mechanisms of half-metallic MnAs formation on GaN are considered.Comment: 20+ pages, 8 figure

Cosmic-ray driven dynamo in galaxies

We present recent developments of global galactic-scale numerical models of the Cosmic Ray (CR) driven dynamo, which was originally proposed by Parker (1992). We conduct a series of direct CR+MHD numerical simulations of the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM), composed of gas, magnetic fields and CR components. We take into account CRs accelerated in randomly distributed supernova (SN) remnants, and assume that SNe deposit small-scale, randomly oriented, dipolar magnetic fields into the ISM. The amplification timescale of the large-scale magnetic field resulting from the CR-driven dynamo is comparable to the galactic rotation period. The process efficiently converts small-scale magnetic fields of SN-remnants into galactic-scale magnetic fields. The resulting magnetic field structure resembles the X-shaped magnetic fields observed in edge-on galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proceedings of IAU Symp. 274, Advances in Plasma Astrophysics, ed. A. Bonanno, E. de Gouveia dal Pino and A. Kosoviche