167 research outputs found
Stellar feedback efficiencies: supernovae versus stellar winds
The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 456(1): 710-730, February 2016, DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2699, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of MNRAS.Stellar winds and supernova (SN) explosions of massive stars (`stellar feedback') create bubbles in the interstellar medium (ISM) and insert newly produced heavy elements and kinetic energy into their surroundings, possibly driving turbulence. Most of this energy is thermalized and immediately removed from the ISM by radiative cooling. The rest is available for driving ISM dynamics. In this work we estimate the amount of feedback energy retained as kinetic energy when the bubble walls have decelerated to the sound speed of the ambient medium. We show that the feedback of the most massive star outweighs the feedback from less massive stars. For a giant molecular cloud (GMC) mass of 105 M⊙ (as e.g. found in the Orion GMCs) and a star formation efficiency of 8 per cent the initial mass function predicts a most massive star of approximately 60 M⊙. For this stellar evolution model we test the dependence of the retained kinetic energy of the cold GMC gas on the inclusion of stellar winds. In our model winds insert 2.34 times the energy of an SN and create stellar wind bubbles serving as pressure reservoirs. We find that during the pressure-driven phases of the bubble evolution radiative losses peak near the contact discontinuity (CD), and thus the retained energy depends critically on the scales of the mixing processes across the CD. Taking into account the winds of massive stars increases the amount of kinetic energy deposited in the cold ISM from 0.1 per cent to a few per cent of the feedback energy.Peer reviewe
A microfabricated sensor for thin dielectric layers
We describe a sensor for the measurement of thin dielectric layers capable of
operation in a variety of environments. The sensor is obtained by
microfabricating a capacitor with interleaved aluminum fingers, exposed to the
dielectric to be measured. In particular, the device can measure thin layers of
solid frozen from a liquid or gaseous medium. Sensitivity to single atomic
layers is achievable in many configurations and, by utilizing fast, high
sensitivity capacitance read out in a feedback system onto environmental
parameters, coatings of few layers can be dynamically maintained. We discuss
the design, read out and calibration of several versions of the device
optimized in different ways. We specifically dwell on the case in which
atomically thin solid xenon layers are grown and stabilized, in cryogenic
conditions, from a liquid xenon bath
First observation of trapped high-field seeking ultracold neutron spin states
Ultracold neutrons were stored in a volume, using a magnetic dipole field shutter. Radial confinement was provided by material walls. Low-field seeking neutrons were axially confined above the magnetic field. High-field seeking neutrons are trapped inside the magnetic field. They can systematically shift the measured neutron lifetime to lower values in experiments with magnetic confinement
A scalable high-performance magnetic shield for very long baseline atom interferometry
We report on the design, construction, and characterization of a 10 m-long high-performance magnetic shield for very long baseline atom interferometry. We achieve residual fields below 4 nT and longitudinal inhomogeneities below 2.5 nT/m over 8 m along the longitudinal direction. Our modular design can be extended to longer baselines without compromising the shielding performance. Such a setup constrains biases associated with magnetic field gradients to the sub-pm/s2 level in atomic matterwave accelerometry with rubidium atoms and paves the way toward tests of the universality of free fall with atomic test masses beyond the 10-13 level. © 2020 Author(s)
A next generation measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron at the FRM II
In this paper we discuss theoretical motivations and the status of experimental searches to find time-reversal symmetry-violating electric dipole moments (EDM). Emphasis is given to a next generation search for the EDM of the
neutron, which is currently being set up at the FRM II neutron source in Garching, with an ultimate sensitivity goal of 5 × 10−28 cm (3σ). The layout of the apparatus
allows for the detailed investigation of systematic effects by combining various means of magnetic field control and polarized UCN optics. All major components of the
installations are portable and can be installed at the strongest available UCN beam
Testing isotropy of the universe using the Ramsey resonance technique on ultracold neutron spins
Physics at the Planck scale could be revealed by looking for tiny violations
of fundamental symmetries in low energy experiments. In 2008, a sensitive test
of the isotropy of the Universe using has been performed with stored ultracold
neutrons (UCN), this is the first clock-comparison experiment performed with
free neutrons. During several days we monitored the Larmor frequency of neutron
spins in a weak magnetic field using the Ramsey resonance technique. An
non-zero cosmic axial field, violating rotational symmetry, would induce a
daily variation of the precession frequency. Our null result constitutes one of
the most stringent tests of Lorentz invariance to date.Comment: proceedings of the PNCMI2010 conferenc
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