4,576 research outputs found
Replica field theory for a polymer in random media
In this paper we revisit the problem of a (non self-avoiding) polymer chain
in a random medium which was previously investigated by Edwards and Muthukumar
(EM). As noticed by Cates and Ball (CB) there is a discrepancy between the
predictions of the replica calculation of EM and the expectation that in an
infinite medium the quenched and annealed results should coincide (for a chain
that is free to move) and a long polymer should always collapse. CB argued that
only in a finite volume one might see a ``localization transition'' (or
crossover) from a stretched to a collapsed chain in three spatial dimensions.
Here we carry out the replica calculation in the presence of an additional
confining harmonic potential that mimics the effect of a finite volume. Using a
variational scheme with five variational parameters we derive analytically for
d<4 the result R~(g |ln \mu|)^{-1/(4-d)} ~(g lnV)^{-1/(4-d)}, where R is the
radius of gyration, g is the strength of the disorder, \mu is the spring
constant associated with the confining potential and V is the associated
effective volume of the system. Thus the EM result is recovered with their
constant replaced by ln(V) as argued by CB. We see that in the strict infinite
volume limit the polymer always collapses, but for finite volume a transition
from a stretched to a collapsed form might be observed as a function of the
strength of the disorder. For d<2 and for large
V>V'~exp[g^(2/(2-d))L^((4-d)/(2-d))] the annealed results are recovered and
R~(Lg)^(1/(d-2)), where L is the length of the polymer. Hence the polymer also
collapses in the large L limit. The 1-step replica symmetry breaking solution
is crucial for obtaining the above results.Comment: Revtex, 32 page
Quantum fluctuations and glassy behavior: The case of a quantum particle in a random potential
In this paper we expand our previous investigation of a quantum particle
subject to the action of a random potential plus a fixed harmonic potential at
a finite temperature T. In the classical limit the system reduces to a
well-known ``toy'' model for an interface in a random medium. It also applies
to a single quantum particle like an an electron subject to random
interactions, where the harmonic potential can be tuned to mimic the effect of
a finite box. Using the variational approximation, or alternatively, the limit
of large spatial dimensions, together with the use the replica method, and are
able to solve the model and obtain its phase diagram in the
plane, where is the particle's mass. The phase diagram is similar to that
of a quantum spin-glass in a transverse field, where the variable
plays the role of the transverse field. The glassy phase is characterized by
replica-symmetry-breaking. The quantum transition at zero temperature is also
discussed.Comment: revised version, 23 pages, revtex, 5 postscript figures in a separate
file figures.u
NICMOS Observations of Low-Redshift Quasar Host Galaxies
We have obtained Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer images of
16 radio quiet quasars observed as part of a project to investigate the
``luminosity/host-mass limit.'' The limit results were presented in McLeod,
Rieke, & Storrie-Lombardi (1999). In this paper, we present the images
themselves, along with 1- and 2-dimensional analyses of the host galaxy
properties. We find that our model-independent 1D technique is reliable for use
on ground-based data at low redshifts; that many radio-quiet quasars live in
deVaucouleurs-law hosts, although some of the techniques used to determine host
type are questionable; that complex structure is found in many of the hosts,
but that there are some hosts that are very smooth and symmetric; and that the
nuclei radiate at ~2-20% of the Eddington rate based on the assumption that all
galaxies have central black holes with a constant mass fraction of 0.6%.
Despite targeting hard-to-resolve hosts, we have failed to find any that imply
super-Eddington accretion rates.Comment: To appear in ApJ, 28 pages including degraded figures. Download the
paper with full-resolutio figures from
http://www.astro.wellesley.edu/kmcleod/mm.p
A comparison of the optical properties of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars
We have made radio observations of 87 optically selected quasars at 5 GHz
with the VLA in order to measure the radio power for these objects and hence
determine how the fraction of radio-loud quasars varies with redshift and
optical luminosity. The sample has been selected from the recently completed
Edinburgh Quasar Survey and covers a redshift range of 0.3 < z < 1.5 and an
optical absolute magnitude range of -26.5 < M_{B} < -23.5 (h, q_{0} = 1/2). We
have also matched up other existing surveys with the FIRST and NVSS radio
catalogues and combined these data so that the optical luminosity-redshift
plane is now far better sampled than previously. We have fitted a model to the
probability of a quasar being radio-loud as a function of absolute magnitude
and redshift and from this model infer the radio-loud and radio-quiet optical
luminosity functions. The radio-loud optical luminosity function is featureless
and flatter than the radio-quiet one. It evolves at a marginally slower rate if
quasars evolve by density evolution, but the difference in the rate of
evolutions of the two different classes is much less than was previously
thought. We show, using Monte-Carlo simulations, that the observed difference
in the shape of the optical luminosity functions can be partly accounted for by
Doppler boosting of the optical continuum of the radio-loud quasars and explain
how this can be tested in the future.Comment: 33 pages, 9 postscript figures, uses the AAS aaspp4 LaTeX style file,
to appear in the 1 February 1999 issue of The Astrophysical Journa
Counting Giant Gravitons in AdS_3
We quantize the set of all quarter BPS brane probe solutions in global AdS_3
\times S^3 \times T^4/K3 found in arxiv:0709.1168 [hep-th]. We show that,
generically, these solutions give rise to states in discrete representations of
the SL(2,R) WZW model on AdS_3. Our procedure provides us with a detailed
description of the low energy 1/4 and 1/2 BPS sectors of string theory on this
background. The 1/4 BPS partition function jumps as we move off the point in
moduli space where the bulk theta angle and NS-NS fields vanish. We show that
generic 1/2 BPS states are protected because they correspond to geodesics
rather than puffed up branes. By exactly quantizing the simplest of the probes
above, we verify our description of 1/4 BPS states and find agreement with the
known spectrum of 1/2 BPS states of the boundary theory. We also consider the
contribution of these probes to the elliptic genus and discuss puzzles, and
their possible resolutions, in reproducing the elliptic genus of the symmetric
product.Comment: 47 pages; (v2) references and minor clarifications adde
The dusty environment of Quasars. Far-IR properties of Optical Quasars
We present the ISO far-IR photometry of a complete sub-sample of optically
selected bright quasars belonging to two complete surveys selected through
multicolour (U,B,V,R,I) techniques. The ISOPHOT camera on board of the ISO
Satellite was used to target these quasars at wavelengths of 7.3, 11.5, 60, 100
and 160 micron. Almost two thirds of the objects were detected at least in one
ISOPHOT band. The detection rate is independent of the source redshift, very
likely due to the negative K-correction of the far-IR thermal emission. More
than a half of the optically selected QSOs show significant emission between 4
and 100 micron in the quasar rest-frame. These fluxes have a very likely
thermal origin, although in a few objects an additional contribution from a
non-thermal component is plausible in the long wavelength bands. In a
colour-colour diagram these objects span a wide range of properties from
AGN-dominated to ULIRG-like. The far-IR composite spectrum of the quasar
population presents a broad far-IR bump between 10 and 30 micron and a sharp
drop at wavelengths greater than 100 micron in the quasar restframe. The amount
of energy emitted in the far-IR, is on average a few times larger than that
emitted in the blue and the ratio L(FIR)/L(B) increases with the bolometric
luminosity. Objects with fainter blue magnitudes have larger ratios between the
far-IR (wavelengths > 60 micron) fluxes and the blue band flux, which is
attributed to extinction by dust around the central source. No relation between
the blue absolute magnitude and the dust colour temperature is seen, suggesting
that the dominant source of FIR energy could be linked to a concurrent
starburst rather than to gravitational energy produced by the central engine.Comment: Astronomical Journal, in pres
Optical/Near-Infrared Imaging of Infrared-Excess Palomar-Green QSOs
Ground-based high spatial-resolution (FWHM < 0.3-0.8") optical and
near-infrared imaging (0.4-2.2um) is presented for a complete sample of
optically selected Palomar-Green QSOs with far-infrared excesses at least as
great as those of "warm" AGN-like ultraluminous infrared galaxies
(L_ir/L_big-blue-bump > 0.46). In all cases, the host galaxies of the QSOs were
detected and most have discernable two-dimensional structure. The QSO host
galaxies and the QSO nuclei are similar in magnitude at H-band. H-band
luminosities of the hosts range from 0.5-7.5 L* with a mean of 2.3 L*, and are
consistent with those found in ULIGs. Both the QSO nuclei and the host galaxies
have near-infrared excesses, which may be the result of dust associated with
the nucleus and of recent dusty star formation in the host. These results
suggest that some, but not all, optically-selected QSOs may have evolved from
an infrared-active state triggered by the merger of two similarly-sized L*
galaxies, in a manner similar to that of the ultraluminous infrared galaxies.Comment: Aastex format, 38 pages, 4 tables, 10 figures. Higher quality figures
are available in JPG forma
Radio Properties of z>4 Optically-Selected Quasars
We report on two programs to address differential evolution between the
radio-loud and radio-quiet quasar populations at high (z>4) redshift. Both
programs entail studying the radio properties of optically-selected quasars.
First, we have observed 32 optically-selected, high-redshift (z>4) quasars with
the VLA at 6 cm (5 GHz). These sources comprise a statistically complete and
well-understood sample. We detect four quasars above our 3-sigma limit of ~0.15
mJy, which is sufficiently sensitive to detect all radio-loud quasars at the
probed redshift range. Second, we have correlated 134 z>4 quasars, comprising
all such sources that we are aware of as of mid-1999, with FIRST and NVSS.
These two recent 1.4 GHz VLA sky surveys reach 3-sigma limits of approximately
0.6 mJy and 1.4 mJy respectively. We identify a total of 15 z>4 quasars, of
which six were not previously known to be radio-loud. The depth of these
surveys does not reach the radio-loud/radio-quiet demarcation luminosity
density (L(1.4 GHz) = 10^32.5 h(50)^(-2) ergs/s/Hz) at the redshift range
considered; this correlation therefore only provides a lower limit to the
radio-loud fraction of quasars at high-redshift. The two programs together
identify eight new radio-loud quasars at z>4, a significant increase over the
seven currently in the published literature. We find no evidence for radio-loud
fraction depending on optical luminosity for -25 > M_B > -28 at z~2, or for
-26>M_B>-28 at z>4. Our results also show no evolution in the radio-loud
fraction between z~2 and z>4 (-26>M_B>-28).Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures; to appear in The Astronomical Journal (April
2000
The universal behavior of one-dimensional, multi-species branching and annihilating random walks with exclusion
A directed percolation process with two symmetric particle species exhibiting
exclusion in one dimension is investigated numerically. It is shown that if the
species are coupled by branching (, ) a continuous phase
transition will appear at zero branching rate limit belonging to the same
universality class as that of the dynamical two-offspring (2-BARW2) model. This
class persists even if the branching is biased towards one of the species. If
the two systems are not coupled by branching but hard-core interaction is
allowed only the transition will occur at finite branching rate belonging to
the usual 1+1 dimensional directed percolation class.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures include
Magnetism and local distortions near carbon impurity in -iron
Local perturbations of crystal and magnetic structure of -iron near
carbon interstitial impurity is investigated by {\it ab initio} electronic
structure calculations. It is shown that the carbon impurity creates locally a
region of ferromagnetic ordering with substantial tetragonal distortions.
Exchange integrals and solution enthalpy are calculated, the latter being in a
very good agreement with experimental data. Effect of the local distortions on
the carbon-carbon interactions in -iron is discussed.Comment: 4 pages 3 figures. Final version, accepted to Phys.Rev. Let
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