1,202 research outputs found
Classical and quantum three-dimensional integrable systems with axial symmetry
We study the most general form of a three dimensional classical integrable
system with axial symmetry and invariant under the axis reflection. We assume
that the three constants of motion are the Hamiltonian, , with the standard
form of a kinetic part plus a potential dependent on the position only, the
-component of the angular momentum, , and a Hamiltonian-like constant,
, for which the kinetic part is quadratic in the momenta. We find
the explicit form of these potentials compatible with complete integrability.
The classical equations of motion, written in terms of two arbitrary potential
functions, is separated in oblate spheroidal coordinates. The quantization of
such systems leads to a set of two differential equations that can be presented
in the form of spheroidal wave equations.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Investigations on T violation and CPT symmetry in the neutral kaon system -- a pedagogical approach --
During the recent years experiments with neutral kaons have yielded
remarkably sensitive results which are pertinent to such fundamental phenomena
as CPT invariance (protecting causality), time-reversal invariance violation,
coherence of wave functions, and entanglement of kaons in pair states. We
describe the phenomenological developments and the theoretical conclusions
drawn from the experimental material. An outlook to future experimentation is
indicated.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures. See arXiv:hep-ph/0603075 for an enlarged versio
Flows along cometary tails in the Helix planetary nebula NGC 7293
Previous velocity images which reveal flows of ionized gas along the most
prominent cometary tail (from Knot 38) in the Helix planetary nebula are
compared with that taken at optical wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope
and with an image in the emission from molecular hydrogen. The flows from the
second most prominent tail from Knot 14 are also considered. The kinematics of
the tail from the more complex Knot 32, shown here for the first time, also
reveals an acceleration away from the central star. All of the tails are
explained as accelerating ionized flows of ablated material driven by the
previous, mildly supersonic, AGB wind from the central star. The longest tail
of ionized gas, even though formed by this mechanism in a very clumpy medium,
as revealed by the emission from molecular hydrogen, appears to be a coherent
outflowing feature.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Scalable register initialization for quantum computing in an optical lattice
The Mott insulator state created by loading an atomic Bose-Einstein
condensate (BEC) into an optical lattice may be used as a means to prepare a
register of atomic qubits in a quantum computer. Such architecture requires a
lattice commensurately filled with atoms, which corresponds to the insulator
state only in the limit of zero inter-well tunneling. We show that a lattice
with spatial inhomogeneity created by a quadratic magnetic trapping potential
can be used to isolate a subspace in the center which is impervious to
hole-hoping. Components of the wavefunction with more than one atom in any well
can be projected out by selective measurement on a molecular photo-associative
transition. Maintaining the molecular coupling induces a quantum Zeno effect
that can sustain a commensurately filled register for the duration of a quantum
computation.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
The Multitude of Molecular Hydrogen Knots in the Helix Nebula
We present HST/NICMOS imaging of the H_2 2.12 \mu m emission in 5 fields in
the Helix Nebula ranging in radial distance from 250-450" from the central
star. The images reveal arcuate structures with their apexes pointing towards
the central star. Comparison of these images with comparable resolution ground
based images reveals that the molecular gas is more highly clumped than the
ionized gas line tracers. From our images, we determine an average number
density of knots in the molecular gas ranging from 162 knots/arcmin^2 in the
denser regions to 18 knots/arcmin^2 in the lower density outer regions. Using
this new number density, we estimate that the total number of knots in the
Helix to be ~23,000 which is a factor of 6.5 larger than previous estimates.
The total neutral gas mass in the Helix is 0.35 M_\odot assuming a mass of
\~1.5x10^{-5} M_\odot for the individual knots. The H_2 intensity, 5-9x10^{-5}
erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} sr^{-1}, remains relatively constant with projected distance
from the central star suggesting a heating mechanism for the molecular gas that
is distributed almost uniformly in the knots throughout the nebula. The
temperature and H_2 2.12 \mu m intensity of the knots can be approximately
explained by photodissociation regions (PDRs) in the individual knots; however,
theoretical PDR models of PN under-predict the intensities of some knots by a
factor of 10.Comment: 26 pages, 3 tables, 10 figures; AJ accepte
Evidence for mass ejection associated with long secondary periods in red giants
Approximately 30% of luminous red giants exhibit a Long Secondary Period
(LSP) of variation in their light curves, in addition to a shorter primary
period of oscillation. The cause of the LSP has so far defied explanation:
leading possibilities are binarity and a nonradial mode of oscillation. Here,
large samples of red giants in the Large Magellanic Cloud both with and without
LSPs are examined for evidence of an 8 or 24 m mid-IR excess caused by
circumstellar dust. It is found that stars with LSPs show a significant mid-IR
excess compared to stars without LSPs. Furthermore, the near-IR - color
seems unaffected by the presence of the 24 m excess. These findings
indicate that LSPs cause mass ejection from red giants and that the lost mass
and circumstellar dust is most likely in either a clumpy or a disk-like
configuration. The underlying cause of the LSP and the mass ejection remains
unknown.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication in Ap
Identical temperature dependence of the time scales of several linear-response functions of two glass-forming liquids
The frequency-dependent dielectric constant, shear and adiabatic bulk moduli,
longitudinal thermal expansion coefficient, and longitudinal specific heat have
been measured for two van der Waals glass-forming liquids,
tetramethyl-tetraphenyl-trisiloxane (DC704) and 5-polyphenyl-4-ether. Within
the experimental uncertainties the loss-peak frequencies of the measured
response functions have identical temperature dependence over a range of
temperatures, for which the Maxwell relaxation time varies more than nine
orders of magnitude. The time scales are ordered from fastest to slowest as
follows: Shear modulus, adiabatic bulk modulus, dielectric constant,
longitudinal thermal expansion coefficient, longitudinal specific heat. The
ordering is discussed in light of the recent conjecture that van der Waals
liquids are strongly correlating, i.e., approximate single-parameter liquids.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Substantially revised versio
Dust in the bright supernova remnant N49 in the LMC
We investigate the dust associated with the supernova remnant (SNR) N49 in
the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) as observed with the Herschel Space
Observatory. N49 is unusually bright because of an interaction with a molecular
cloud along its eastern edge. We have used PACS and SPIRE to measure the far IR
flux densities of the entire SNR and of a bright region on the eastern edge of
the SNR where the SNR shock is encountering the molecular cloud. Using these
fluxes supplemented with archival data at shorter wavelengths, we estimate the
dust mass associated with N49 to be about 10 Msun. The bulk of the dust in our
simple two-component model has a temperature of 20-30 K, similar to that of
nearby molecular clouds. Unfortunately, as a result of the limited angular
resolution of Herschel at the wavelengths sampled with SPIRE, the uncertainties
are fairly large. Assuming this estimate of the dust mass associated with the
SNR is approximately correct, it is probable that most of the dust in the SNR
arises from regions where the shock speed is too low to produce significant
X-ray emission. The total amount of warm 50-60 K dust is ~0.1 or 0.4 Msun,
depending on whether the dust is modeled in terms of carbonaceous or silicate
grains. This provides a firm lower limit to the amount of shock heated dust in
N49.Comment: accepted by the Astronomy & Astrophysics Lette
The Large Magellanic Cloud: A power spectral analysis of Spitzer images
We present a power spectral analysis of Spitzer images of the Large
Magellanic Cloud. The power spectra of the FIR emission show two different
power laws. At larger scales (kpc) the slope is ~ -1.6, while at smaller ones
(tens to few hundreds of parsecs) the slope is steeper, with a value ~ -2.9.
The break occurs at a scale around 100-200 pc. We interpret this break as the
scale height of the dust disk of the LMC. We perform high resolution
simulations with and without stellar feedback. Our AMR hydrodynamic simulations
of model galaxies using the LMC mass and rotation curve, confirm that they have
similar two-component power-laws for projected density and that the break does
indeed occur at the disk thickness. Power spectral analysis of velocities
betrays a single power law for in-plane components. The vertical component of
the velocity shows a flat behavior for large structures and a power law similar
to the in-plane velocities at small scales. The motions are highly anisotropic
at large scales, with in-plane velocities being much more important than
vertical ones. In contrast, at small scales, the motions become more isotropic.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at "Galaxies and their Masks",
celebrating Ken Freeman's 70-th birthday, Sossusvlei, Namibia, April 2010. To
be published by Springer, New York, editors D.L. Block, K.C. Freeman, & I.
Puerar
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