26,835 research outputs found
Stationary Bianchi type II perfect fluid models
Einstein's field equations for stationary Bianchi type II models with a
perfect fluid source are investigated. The field equations are rewritten as a
system of autonomous first order differential equations. Dimensionless
variables are subsequently introduced for which the reduced phase space is
compact. The system is then studied qualitatively using the theory of dynamical
systems. It is shown that the locally rotationally symmetric models are not
asymptotically self-similar for small values of the independent , tovariable. A
new exact solution is also given.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure LaTeX. To appear in JM
The micrometeoroid experiment on the OGO 2 satellite
Micrometeoroids in earths dust cloud obtained from OGO-B satellit
Variability and stability in optical blazar jets: the case of OJ287
OJ287 is a BL Lac object at redshift z=0.306 that has shown double-peaked
bursts at regular intervals of ~12 yr during the last ~ 40 yr. Due to this
behavior, it has been suggested that OJ287 might host a close supermassive
binary black hole. We present optical photopolarimetric monitoring data from
2005-2009, during which the latest double-peaked outburst occurred. We find a
stable component in the optical jet: the optical polarization core. The optical
polarization indicates that the magnetic field is oriented parallel to the jet.
Using historical optical polarization data, we trace the evolution of the
optical polarization core and find that it has showed a swing in the Stokes
plane indicating a reorientation of the jet magnetic field. We also find that
changes in the optical jet magnetic field seem tightly related to the
double-peaked bursts. We use our findings as a new constraint on possible
binary black hole models. Combining all available observations, we find that
none of the proposed binary black bole models is able to fully explain the
observations. We suggest a new approach to understanding OJ287 that is based on
the assumption that changes in the jet magnetic field drive the regular
outbursts.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the meeting "Steady and Transient
Jets", held in Bonn, Germany (7-8 April 2010
Electrically detected interferometry of Majorana fermions in a topological insulator
We show how a chiral Dirac fermion (a massless electron or hole) can be
converted into a pair of neutral chiral Majorana fermions (a particle equal to
its own antiparticle). These two types of fermions exist on the metallic
surface of a topological insulator, respectively, at a magnetic domain wall and
at a magnet-superconductor interface. Interferometry of Majorana fermions is a
key operation in topological quantum computation, but the detection is
problematic since these particles have no charge. The Dirac-Majorana converter
enables electrical detection of the interferometric signal.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Uni-directional polymerization leading to homochirality in the RNA world
The differences between uni-directional and bi-directional polymerization are
considered. The uni-directional case is discussed in the framework of the RNA
world. Similar to earlier models of this type, where polymerization was assumed
to proceed in a bi-directional fashion (presumed to be relevant to peptide
nucleic acids), left-handed and right-handed monomers are produced via an
autocatalysis from an achiral substrate. The details of the bifurcation from a
racemic solution to a homochiral state of either handedness is shown to be
remarkably independent of whether the polymerization in uni-directional or
bi-directional. Slightly larger differences are seen when dissociation is
allowed and the dissociation fragments are being recycled into the achiral
substrate.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astrobiolog
The role of singletons in compactifications
We derive the isometry irrep content of squashed seven-sphere
compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity, i.e., the left-squashed
() with and right-squashed () with supersymmetry, in a manner completely independent of the round sphere.
Then we compare this result with the spectrum obtained by Higgsing the round
sphere spectrum. This way we discover features of the spectra which makes it
possible to argue that the only way the round spectrum can be related by a
Higgs mechanism to the one of is if the singletons are included in the
round sphere spectrum. For this to work also in the case it seems that
the gravitino of the spectrum must be replaced by a fermionic singleton
present in the spectrum.Comment: 24 pages including appendix with 12 figure, v2 minor typos correcte
Mass-metallicity relation from z=5 to the present: Evidence for a transition in the mode of galaxy growth at z=2.6 due to the end of sustained primordial gas infall
We analyze the redshift evolution of the mass-metallicity relation in a
sample of 110 Damped Ly absorbers spanning the redshift range
and find that the zero-point of the correlation changes
significantly with redshift. The evolution is such that the zero-point is
constant at the early phases of galaxy growth (i.e. no evolution) but then
features a sharp break at with a rapid incline towards lower
redshifts such that damped absorbers of identical masses are more metal rich at
later times than earlier. The slope of this mass metallicity correlation
evolution is dex per unit redshift.
We compare this result to similar studies of the redshift evolution of
emission selected galaxy samples and find a remarkable agreement with the slope
of the evolution of galaxies of stellar mass log.
This allows us to form an observational tie between damped absorbers and
galaxies seen in emission.
We use results from simulations to infer the virial mass of the dark matter
halo of a typical DLA galaxy and find a ratio .
We compare our results to those of several other studies that have reported
strong transition-like events at redshifts around and argue that
all those observations can be understood as the consequence of a transition
from a situation where galaxies were fed more unprocessed infalling gas than
they could easily consume to one where they suddenly become infall starved and
turn to mainly processing, or re-processing, of previously acquired gas.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Low-level Spectrum of the String
We investigate the spectrum of physical states in the string theory, up
to level 2 for a multi-scalar string, and up to level 4 for the two-scalar
string. The (open) string has a photon as its only massless state. By
using screening charges to study the null physical states in the two-scalar
string, we are able to learn about the gauge symmetries of the states in
the multi-scalar string.Comment: 31 pages, Plain Tex, CTP TAMU-70/92, Goteborg ITP 92-43,
Imperial/TP/91-92/22, KCL-TH-92-
Redshift constraints for RGB 0136+391 and PKS 0735+178 from deep optical imaging
We present the results of deep I-band imaging of two BL Lacerate objects, RGB
0136+391 and PKS 0735+178, during an epoch when the optical nucleus was in a
faint state in both targets. In PKS 0735+178 we find a significant excess over
a point source, which, if fitted by the de Vaucouleurs model, corresponds to a
galaxy with I = 18.64 +- 0.11 and r_eff = 1.8 +- 0.4 arcsec. Interpreting this
galaxy as the host galaxy of PKS 0735+178 we derive z = 0.45 +- 0.06 using the
host galaxy as a "standard candle". We also discuss the immediate optical
environment of PKS 0735+178 and the identity of the MgII absorber at z = 0.424.
Despite of the optimally chosen epoch and deep imaging we find the surface
brightness profile of RGB 0136+391 to be consistent with a point source. By
determining a lower limit for the host galaxy brightness by simulations, we
derive z > 0.40 for this target.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
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