19,250 research outputs found
Proton Decay and the Planck Scale
Even without grand unification, proton decay can be a powerful probe of
physics at the highest energy scales. Supersymmetric theories with conserved
R-parity contain Planck-suppressed dimension 5 operators that give important
contributions to nucleon decay. These operators are likely controlled by flavor
physics, which means current and near future proton decay experiments might
yield clues about the fermion mass spectrum. I present a thorough analysis of
nucleon partial lifetimes in supersymmetric one-flavon Froggatt-Nielsen models
with a single U(1)_X family symmetry which is responsible for the fermionic
mass spectrum as well as forbidding R-parity violating interactions. Many of
the models naturally lead to nucleon decay near present limits without any
reference to grand unification.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, talk given at PASCOS '04, to appear in the
proceeding
Cavity state preparation using adiabatic transfer
We show how to prepare a variety of cavity field states for multiple
cavities. The state preparation technique used is related to the method of
stimulated adiabatic Raman passage or STIRAP. The cavity modes are coupled by
atoms, making it possible to transfer an arbitrary cavity field state from one
cavity to another, and also to prepare non-trivial cavity field states. In
particular, we show how to prepare entangled states of two or more cavities,
such as an EPR state and a W state, as well as various entangled superpositions
of coherent states in different cavities, including Schrodinger cat states. The
theoretical considerations are supported by numerical simulations.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev.
A constant altitude flight survey method for mapping atmospheric ambient pressures and systematic radar errors
The flight test technique described uses controlled survey runs to determine horizontal atmospheric pressure variations and systematic altitude errors that result from space positioning measurements. The survey data can be used not only for improved air data calibrations, but also for studies of atmospheric structure and space positioning accuracy performance. The examples presented cover a wide range of radar tracking conditions for both subsonic and supersonic flight to an altitude of 42,000 ft
Program to design, fabricate, test, and deliver a thermal control-mixing control device for the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
The development and testing of a temperature sensor and pulse duration modulation (PDM) diverter valve for a thermal control-mixing control device are described. The temperature sensor selected for use uses a fluidic pin amplifier in conjunction with an expansion device. This device can sense changes of less than 0.25 F with greater than 15:1 signal to noise ratio when operating with a typical Freon pump supplied pressure. The pressure sensitivity of the sensor is approximately 0.0019 F/kPa. The valve which was selected was tested and performed with 100% flow diversion. In addition, the valve operates with a flow efficiency of at least 95%, with the possibility of attaining 100% if the vent flow of the PDM can be channeled through the last stage of the diverter valve. A temperature sensor which utilized an orifice bridge circuit and proportional-vortex combination mixing valve were also evaluated, but the concepts were rejected due to various problems
A simplified flight-test method for determining aircraft takeoff performance that includes effects of pilot technique
A method for evaluating aircraft takeoff performance from brake release to air-phase height that requires fewer tests than conventionally required is evaluated with data for the XB-70 airplane. The method defines the effects of pilot technique on takeoff performance quantitatively, including the decrease in acceleration from drag due to lift. For a given takeoff weight and throttle setting, a single takeoff provides enough data to establish a standardizing relationship for the distance from brake release to any point where velocity is appropriate to rotation. The lower rotation rates penalized takeoff performance in terms of ground roll distance; the lowest observed rotation rate required a ground roll distance that was 19 percent longer than the highest. Rotations at the minimum rate also resulted in lift-off velocities that were approximately 5 knots lower than the highest rotation rate at any given lift-off distance
Thermal and Fragmentation Properties of Star-forming Clouds in Low-metallicity Environments
The thermal and chemical evolution of star-forming clouds is studied for
different gas metallicities, Z, using the model of Omukai (2000), updated to
include deuterium chemistry and the effects of cosmic microwave background
(CMB) radiation. HD-line cooling dominates the thermal balance of clouds when Z
\~ 10^{-5}-10^{-3} Z_sun and density ~10^{5} cm^{-3}. Early on, CMB radiation
prevents the gas temperature to fall below T_CMB, although this hardly alters
the cloud thermal evolution in low-metallicity gas. From the derived
temperature evolution, we assess cloud/core fragmentation as a function of
metallicity from linear perturbation theory, which requires that the core
elongation E := (b-a)/a > E_NL ~ 1, where a (b) is the short (long) core axis
length. The fragment mass is given by the thermal Jeans mass at E = E_NL. Given
these assumptions and the initial (gaussian) distribution of E we compute the
fragment mass distribution as a function of metallicity. We find that: (i) For
Z=0, all fragments are very massive, > 10^{3}M_sun, consistently with previous
studies; (ii) for Z>10^{-6} Z_sun a few clumps go through an additional high
density (> 10^{10} cm^{-3}) fragmentation phase driven by dust-cooling, leading
to low-mass fragments; (iii) The mass fraction in low-mass fragments is
initially very small, but at Z ~ 10^{-5}Z_sun it becomes dominant and continues
to grow as Z is increased; (iv) as a result of the two fragmentation modes, a
bimodal mass distribution emerges in 0.01 0.1Z_sun,
the two peaks merge into a singly-peaked mass function which might be regarded
as the precursor of the ordinary Salpeter-like IMF.Comment: 38 pages, 16 figures, ApJ in pres
Quiescent Cores and the Efficiency of Turbulence-Accelerated, Magnetically Regulated Star Formation
The efficiency of star formation, defined as the ratio of the stellar to
total (gas and stellar) mass, is observed to vary from a few percent in regions
of dispersed star formation to about a third in cluster-forming cores. This
difference may reflect the relative importance of magnetic fields and
turbulence in controlling star formation. We investigate the interplay between
supersonic turbulence and magnetic fields using numerical simulations, in a
sheet-like geometry. We demonstrate that star formation with an efficiency of a
few percent can occur over several gravitational collapse times in moderately
magnetically subcritical clouds that are supersonically turbulent. The
turbulence accelerates star formation by reducing the time for dense core
formation. The dense cores produced are predominantly quiescent, with subsonic
internal motions. These cores tend to be moderately supercritical. They have
lifetimes long compared with their local gravitational collapse time. Some of
the cores collapse to form stars, while others disperse away without star
formation. In turbulent clouds that are marginally magnetically supercritical,
the star formation efficiency is higher, but can still be consistent with the
values inferred for nearby embedded clusters. If not regulated by magnetic
fields at all, star formation in a multi-Jeans mass cloud endowed with a strong
initial turbulence proceeds rapidly, with the majority of cloud mass converted
into stars in a gravitational collapse time. The efficiency is formally higher
than the values inferred for nearby cluster-forming cores, indicating that
magnetic fields are dynamically important even for cluster formation.Comment: submitted to Ap
Subsonic tests of an all-flush-pressure-orifice air data system
The use of an all-flush-pressure-orifice array as a subsonic air data system was evaluated in flight and wind tunnel tests. Two orifice configurations were investigated. Both used orifices arranged in a cruciform pattern on the airplane nose. One configuration also used orifices on the sides of the fuselage for a source of static pressure. The all-nose-orifice configuration was similar to the shuttle entry air data system (SEADS). The flight data were obtained with a KC-135A airplane. The wind tunnel data were acquired with a 0.035-scale model of the KC-135A airplane. With proper calibration, several orifices on the vertical centerline of the vehicle's nose were found to be satisfactory for the determination of total pressure and angle of attack. Angle of sideslip could be accurately determined from pressure measurements made on the horizontal centerline of the aircraft. Orifice pairs were also found that provided pressure ratio relationships suitable for the determination of Mach number. The accuracy that can be expected for the air data determined with SEADS during subsonic orbiter flight is indicated
Supercell studies of the Fermi surface changes in the electron-doped superconductor LaFeAsOF
We study the changes in the Fermi surface with electron doping in the
LaFeAsOF superconductors with density-functional supercell
calculations using the linearized augmented planewave (LAPW) method. The
supercell calculations with explicit F substitution are compared with those
obtained from the virtual crystal approximation (VCA) and from a simple rigid
band shift. We find significant differences between the supercell results and
those obtained from the rigid-band shift with electron doping, although quite
remarkably the supercell results are in good agreement with the virtual crystal
approximation (VCA) where the nuclear charges of the O atoms are slightly
increased to mimic the addition of the extra electrons. With electron doping,
the two cylindrical hole pockets along shrink in size, and the third
hole pocket around disappears for an electron doping concentration in
excess of about 7-8%, while the two elliptical electron cylinders along
expand in size. The spin-orbit coupling does not affect the Fermi surface much
except to somewhat reduce the size of the third hole pocket in the undoped
case. We find that with the addition of the electrons the antiferromagnetic
state becomes energetically less stable as compared to the nonmagnetic state,
indicating that the electron doping may provide an extra degree of stability to
the formation of the superconducting ground state.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
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