8,991 research outputs found
Investigating the interstellar dust through the Fe K-edge
The chemical and physical properties of interstellar dust in the densest
regions of the Galaxy are still not well understood. X-rays provide a powerful
probe since they can penetrate gas and dust over a wide range of column
densities (up to ). The interaction (scattering and
absorption) with the medium imprints spectral signatures that reflect the
individual atoms which constitute the gas, molecule, or solid. In this work we
investigate the ability of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy to probe the
properties of cosmic grains containing iron. Although iron is heavily depleted
into interstellar dust, the nature of the Fe-bearing grains is still largely
uncertain. In our analysis we use iron K-edge synchrotron data of minerals
likely present in the ISM dust taken at the European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility. We explore the prospects of determining the chemical composition and
the size of astrophysical dust in the Galactic centre and in molecular clouds
with future X-ray missions. The energy resolution and the effective area of the
present X-ray telescopes are not sufficient to detect and study the Fe K-edge,
even for bright X-ray sources. From the analysis of the extinction cross
sections of our dust models implemented in the spectral fitting program SPEX,
the Fe K-edge is promising for investigating both the chemistry and the size
distribution of the interstellar dust. We find that the chemical composition
regulates the X-ray absorption fine structures in the post edge region, whereas
the scattering feature in the pre-edge is sensitive to the mean grain size.
Finally, we note that the Fe K-edge is insensitive to other dust properties,
such as the porosity and the geometry of the dust.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Moment evolution across the ferromagnetic phase transition of giant magnetocaloric (Mn,Fe)2(P,Si,B) compounds
A strong electronic reconstruction resulting in a quenching of the Fe
magnetic moments has recently been predicted to be at the origin of the giant
magnetocaloric effect displayed by Fe2Pbased materials. To verify this
scenario, X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism experiments have been carried out
at the L edges of Mn and Fe for two typical compositions of the
(Mn,Fe)2(P,Si,B) system. The dichroic absorption spectra of Mn and Fe have been
measured element specific in the vicinity of the first-order ferromagnetic
transition. The experimental spectra are compared with first-principle
calculations and charge-transfer multiplet simulations in order to derive the
magnetic moments. Even though signatures of a metamagnetic behaviour are
observed either as a function of the temperature or the magnetic field, the
similarity of the Mn and Fe moment evolution suggests that the quenching of the
Fe moment is weaker than previously predicted
Energy and entropy of relativistic diffusing particles
We discuss energy-momentum tensor and the second law of thermodynamics for a
system of relativistic diffusing particles. We calculate the energy and entropy
flow in this system. We obtain an exact time dependence of energy, entropy and
free energy of a beam of photons in a reservoir of a fixed temperature.Comment: 14 pages,some formulas correcte
A first--order irreversible thermodynamic approach to a simple energy converter
Several authors have shown that dissipative thermal cycle models based on
Finite-Time Thermodynamics exhibit loop-shaped curves of power output versus
efficiency, such as it occurs with actual dissipative thermal engines. Within
the context of First-Order Irreversible Thermodynamics (FOIT), in this work we
show that for an energy converter consisting of two coupled fluxes it is also
possible to find loop-shaped curves of both power output and the so-called
ecological function against efficiency. In a previous work Stucki [J.W. Stucki,
Eur. J. Biochem. vol. 109, 269 (1980)] used a FOIT-approach to describe the
modes of thermodynamic performance of oxidative phosphorylation involved in
ATP-synthesis within mithochondrias. In that work the author did not use the
mentioned loop-shaped curves and he proposed that oxidative phosphorylation
operates in a steady state simultaneously at minimum entropy production and
maximum efficiency, by means of a conductance matching condition between
extreme states of zero and infinite conductances respectively. In the present
work we show that all Stucki's results about the oxidative phosphorylation
energetics can be obtained without the so-called conductance matching
condition. On the other hand, we also show that the minimum entropy production
state implies both null power output and efficiency and therefore this state is
not fulfilled by the oxidative phosphorylation performance. Our results suggest
that actual efficiency values of oxidative phosphorylation performance are
better described by a mode of operation consisting in the simultaneous
maximization of the so-called ecological function and the efficiency.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Fluctuation-Dissipation theorems and entropy production in relaxational systems
We show that for stochastic dynamical systems out of equilibrium the
violation of the fluctuation-dissipation equality is bounded by a function of
the entropy production. The result applies to a much wider situation than `near
equilibrium', comprising diffusion as well as glasses and other macroscopic
systems far from equilibrium. For aging systems this bounds the age-frequency
regimes in which the susceptibilities satisfy FDT in terms of the rate of decay
of the H-function, a question intimately related to the reading of a
thermometer placed in contact with the system.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex; formula and reference added plus various minor
changes in the tex
Liposomal clodronate inhibition of osteoclastogenesis and osteoinduction by submicrostructured beta-tricalcium phosphate
Bone graft substitutes such as calcium phosphates are subject to the innate inflammatory reaction, which may bear important consequences for bone regeneration. We speculate that the surface architecture of osteoinductive ÎČ-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) stimulates the differentiation of invading monocyte/macrophages into osteoclasts, and that these cells may be essential to ectopic bone formation. To test this, porous TCP cubes with either submicron-scale surface architecture known to induce ectopic bone formation (TCPs, positive control) or micron-scale, non-osteoinductive surface architecture (TCPb, negative control) were subcutaneously implanted on the backs of FVB strain mice for 12 weeks. Additional TCPs samples received local, weekly injections of liposome-encapsulated clodronate (TCPs + LipClod) to deplete invading monocyte/macrophages. TCPs induced osteoclast formation, evident by positive tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) cytochemical staining and negative macrophage membrane marker F4/80 immunostaining. No TRAP positive cells were found in TCPb or TCPs + LipClod, only F4/80 positive macrophages and foreign body giant cells. TCPs stimulated subcutaneous bone formation in all implants, while no bone could be found in TCPb or TCPs + LipClod. In agreement, expression of bone and osteoclast gene markers was upregulated in TCPs versus both TCPb and TCPs + LipClod, which were equivalent. In summary, submicron-scale surface structure of TCP induced osteoclastogenesis and ectopic bone formation in a process that is blocked by monocyte/macrophage depletion
Expert chess memory: Revisiting the chunking hypothesis
After reviewing the relevant theory on chess expertise, this paper re-examines experimentally the finding of Chase and Simon (1973a) that the differences in ability of chess players at different skill levels to copy and to recall positions are attributable to the experts' storage of thousands of chunks (patterned clusters of pieces) in long-term memory. Despite important differences in the experimental apparatus, the data of the present experiments regarding latencies and chess relations between successively placed pieces are highly correlated with those of Chase and Simon. We conclude that the 2-second inter-chunk interval used to define chunk boundaries is robust, and that chunks have psychological reality. We discuss the possible reasons why Masters in our new study used substantially larger chunks than the Master of the 1973 study, and extend the chunking theory to take account of the evidence for large retrieval structures (templates) in long-term memory
Poisson-Bracket Approach to the Dynamics of Nematic Liquid Crystals. The Role of Spin Angular Momentum
Nematic liquid crystals are well modeled as a fluid of rigid rods. Starting
from this model, we use a Poisson-bracket formalism to derive the equations
governing the dynamics of nematic liquid crystals. We treat the spin angular
momentum density arising from the rotation of constituent molecules about their
centers of mass as an independent field and derive equations for it, the mass
density, the momentum density, and the nematic director. Our equations reduce
to the original Leslie-Ericksen equations, including the inertial director term
that is neglected in the hydrodynamic limit, only when the moment of inertia
for angular momentum parallel to the director vanishes and when a dissipative
coefficient favoring locking of the angular frequencies of director rotation
and spin angular momentum diverges. Our equations reduce to the equations of
nematohydrodynamics in the hydrodynamic limit but with dissipative coefficients
that depend on the coefficient that must diverge to produce the Leslie-Ericksen
equations.Comment: 10 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev. E 72(5
Extended matrix Gelfand-Dickey hierarchies: reduction to classical Lie algebras
The Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction method has been used to associate with
extensions of the matrix r-KdV system. Reductions of these systems to the fixed
point sets of involutive Poisson maps, implementing reduction of to
classical Lie algebras of type , are here presented. Modifications
corresponding, in the first place to factorisation of the Lax operator, and
then to Wakimoto realisations of the current algebra components of the
factorisation, are also described.Comment: plain TeX, 12 page
Heat Capacity and Magnetic Phase Diagram of the Low-Dimensional Antiferromagnet YBaCuO
A study by specific heat of a polycrystalline sample of the low-dimensional
magnetic system YBaCuO is presented. Magnetic fields up to 14 T are
applied and permit to extract the (,) phase diagram. Below
T, the N\'eel temperature, associated with a
three-dimensional antiferromagnetic long-range ordering, is constant and equals
K. Above , increases linearly with and a
field-induced increase of the entropy at is related to the presence of an
isosbestic point at K, where all the specific heat curves cross.
A comparison is made between YBaCuO and the quasi-two-dimensional
magnetic systems BaNiVO, SrCuOCl, and
PrCuO, for which very similar phase diagrams have been reported. An
effective field-induced magnetic anisotropy is proposed to explain these phase
diagrams.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
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