5,412 research outputs found
Stationary and non-stationary fluid flow of a Bose-Einstein condensate through a penetrable barrier
We experimentally study the fluid flow induced by a broad, penetrable barrier
moving through an elongated dilute gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate. The
barrier is created by a laser beam swept through the condensate, and the
resulting dipole potential can be either attractive or repulsive. We examine
both cases and find regimes of stable and unstable fluid flow: At slow speeds
of the barrier, the fluid flow is stationary due to the superfluidity of the
condensate. At intermediate speeds, we observe a non-stationary regime in which
the condensate gets filled with dark solitons. At faster speeds, soliton
formation completely ceases and a remarkable absence of excitation in the
condensate is seen again.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Experimental studies of equilibrium vortex properties in a Bose-condensed gas
We characterize several equilibrium vortex effects in a rotating
Bose-Einstein condensate. Specifically we attempt precision measurements of
vortex lattice spacing and the vortex core size over a range of condensate
densities and rotation rates. These measurements are supplemented by numerical
simulations, and both experimental and numerical data are compared to theory
predictions of Sheehy and Radzihovsky [17] (cond-mat/0402637) and Baym and
Pethick [25] (cond-mat/0308325). Finally, we study the effect of the
centrifugal weakening of the trapping spring constants on the critical
temperature for quantum degeneracy and the effects of finite temperature on
vortex contrast.Comment: Fixed minor notational inconsistencies in figures. 12 pages, 8
figure
Nonequilibrium effects of anisotropic compression applied to vortex lattices in Bose-Einstein condensates
We have studied the dynamics of large vortex lattices in a dilute-gas
Bose-Einstein condensate. While undisturbed lattices have a regular hexagonal
structure, large-amplitude quadrupolar shape oscillations of the condensate are
shown to induce a wealth of nonequilibrium lattice dynamics. When exciting an m
= -2 mode, we observe shifting of lattice planes, changes of lattice structure,
and sheet-like structures in which individual vortices appear to have merged.
Excitation of an m = +2 mode dissolves the regular lattice, leading to randomly
arranged but still strictly parallel vortex lines.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
OH 12.8-0.9: A New Water-Fountain Source
We present observational evidence that the OH/IR star OH 12.8-0.9 is the
fourth in a class of objects previously dubbed "water-fountain" sources. Using
the Very Long Baseline Array, we produced the first images of the water maser
emission associated with OH 12.8-0.9. We find that the masers are located in
two compact regions with an angular separation of ~109 mas on the sky. The axis
of separation between the two maser regions is at a position angle of 1.5 deg.
East of North with the blue-shifted (-80.5 to -85.5 km/s) masers located to the
North and the red-shifted (-32.0 to -35.5 km/s) masers to the South. In
addition, we find that the blue- and red-shifted masers are distributed along
arc-like structures ~10-12 mas across oriented roughly perpendicular to the
separation axis. The morphology exhibited by the water masers is suggestive of
an axisymmetric wind with the masers tracing bow shocks formed as the wind
impacts the ambient medium. This bipolar jet-like structure is typical of the
three other confirmed water-fountain sources. When combined with the previously
observed spectral characteristics of OH 12.8-0.9, the observed spatio-kinematic
structure of the water masers provides strong evidence that OH 12.8-0.9 is
indeed a member of the water-fountain class.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures (1 color), accepted for publication in the Ap J
Letter
Flux-tube Structure, Sum Rules and Beta-functions in SU(2)
Action and energy flux-tube profiles are computed, in SU(2) with
beta=2.4,2.5, for two quarks up to 1 fm apart and for which the colour fields
are in their ground state (A_1g) and the first (E_u) and higher (A'_1g) excited
gluonic states. When these profiles are integrated over all space, a scaling
comparison is made between the beta=2.4 and 2.5 data. Using sum rules, these
integrated forms also permit an estimate to be made of generalised
beta-functions giving b(2.4)=-0.312(15), b(2.5)=-0.323(9), f(2.4)=0.65(1) and
f(2.5)=0.68(1). When the profiles are integrated only over planes transverse to
the interquark line and assuming underlying string features, scaling
comparisons are again made near the centres of the interquark line for the
largest interquark distances. For the A'_{1g} case, some of the profiles
exhibit a 'dip-like' structure characteristic of the Isgur-Paton model.Comment: 3 pages, 6 eps figures. Presented at LATTICE9
An infrared study of galactic OH/IR stars. I. An optical/near-IR atlas of the Arecibo sample
In this paper we present optical and near-infrared finding charts, accurate
astrometry (~1") and single-epoch near-infrared photometry for 371 IRAS
sources, 96% of those included in the so-called Arecibo sample of OH/IR stars
(Eder et al. 1988; Lewis et al. 1990a; Chengalur et al. 1993). The main
photometric properties of the stars in the sample are presented and discussed
as well as the problems found during the process of identification of the
optical/near-infrared counterparts. In addition, we also identify suitable
reference stars in each field to be used for differential photometry purposes
in the future.
We find that 39% of the sources (144 in number) have no optical counterpart,
8 of them being invisible even at near infrared wavelengths. The relative
distribution of sources with and without optical counterpart in the IRAS
two-colour diagram and their characteristic near infrared colours are
interpreted as the consequence of the increasing thickness of their
circumstellar shells. Among the objects not detected at near infrared
wavelengths four non-variable sources are proposed to be heavily obscured
post-AGB stars which have just very recently left the AGB. Eight additional
objects with unusually bright and/or blue near-infrared colours are identified
as candidate post-AGB stars and/or proto-planetary nebulae.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, for associated finding charts see:
http://www.edpsciences.org/articles/aa/full/2005/08/aa1709/FINDING_CHARTS/are
cibo_index.htm
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