11,173 research outputs found
Interferometer
A high resolution interferometer is described. The interferometer is insensitive to slight misalignment of its elements, avoids channeling in the spectrum, generates a maximum equal path fringe contrast, produces an even two sided interferogram without critical matching of the wedge angles of the beamsplitter and compensator wedges, and is optically phase tunable. The interferometer includes a mirror along the path of each beam component produced by the beamsplitter, for reflecting the beam component from the beamsplitter, for reflecting the beam component from the beamsplitter to a corresponding retroreflector and for reflecting the beam returned by the retroreflector back to the beamsplitter. A wedge located along each beam component path, is large enough to cover the retroreflector, so that each beam component passes through the wedge during movement towards the retroreflector and away therefrom
High magnetic field superconducting properties of Nb3Sn films Final report
High magnetic field superconducting properties of niobium stannide films and shielding characterictics of stannide layer
Electronic and phononic properties of the chalcopyrite CuGaS2
The availability of ab initio electronic calculations and the concomitant
techniques for deriving the corresponding lattice dynamics have been profusely
used for calculating thermodynamic and vibrational properties of
semiconductors, as well as their dependence on isotopic masses. The latter have
been compared with experimental data for elemental and binary semiconductors
with different isotopic compositions. Here we present theoretical and
experimental data for several vibronic and thermodynamic properties of CuGa2, a
canonical ternary semiconductor of the chalcopyrite family. Among these
properties are the lattice parameters, the phonon dispersion relations and
densities of states (projected on the Cu, Ga, and S constituents), the specific
heat and the volume thermal expansion coefficient. The calculations were
performed with the ABINIT and VASP codes within the LDA approximation for
exchange and correlation and the results are compared with data obtained on
samples with the natural isotope composition for Cu, Ga and S, as well as for
isotope enriched samples.Comment: 9 pages, 8 Figures, submitted to Phys. Rev
CHANDRA reveals galaxy cluster with the most massive nearby cooling core, RXCJ1504.1-0248
A CHANDRA follow-up observation of an X-ray luminous galaxy cluster with a
compact appearance, RXCJ1504.1-0248 discovered in our REFLEX Cluster Survey,
reveals an object with one of the most prominent cluster cooling cores. With a
core radius of ~30 kpc smaller than the cooling radius with ~140 kpc more than
70% of the high X-ray luminosity of Lbol = 4.3 10e45 erg s-1 of this cluster is
radiated inside the cooling radius. A simple modeling of the X-ray morphology
of the cluster leads to a formal mass deposition rate within the classical
cooling flow model of 1500 - 1900 Msun yr-1 (for h=0.7), and 2300 - 3000 Msun
yr-1 (for h=0.5). The center of the cluster is marked by a giant elliptical
galaxy which is also a known radio source. Thus it is very likely that we
observe one of the interaction systems where the central cluster AGN is heating
the cooling core region in a self-regulated way to prevent a massive cooling of
the gas, similar to several such cases studied in detail in more nearby
clusters. The interest raised by this system is then due to the high power
recycled in RXCJ1504-0248 over cooling time scales which is about one order of
magnitude higher than what occurs in the studied, nearby cooling core clusters.
The cluster is also found to be very massive, with a global X-ray temperature
of about 10.5 keV and a total mass of about 1.7 10e15 Msun inside 3 Mpc.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophys. Journal, 10 figure
Narrow-line magneto-optical trap for erbium
We report on the experimental realization of a robust and efficient
magneto-optical trap for erbium atoms, based on a narrow cooling transition at
583nm. We observe up to atoms at a temperature of about
. This simple scheme provides better starting conditions for direct
loading of dipole traps as compared to approaches based on the strong cooling
transition alone, or on a combination of a strong and a narrow kHz transition.
Our results on Er point to a general, simple and efficient approach to laser
cool samples of other lanthanide atoms (Ho, Dy, and Tm) for the production of
quantum-degenerate samples
Dense Cloud Ablation and Ram Pressure Stripping of the Virgo Spiral NGC 4402
We present optical, HI and radio continuum observations of the highly
inclined Virgo Cluster Sc galaxy NGC 4402, which show evidence for ram-pressure
stripping and dense cloud ablation. VLA HI and radio continuum maps show a
truncated gas disk and emission to the northwest of the main disk emission. In
particular, the radio continuum emission is asymmetrically extended to the
north and skewed to the west. The Halpha image shows numerous HII complexes
along the southern edge of the gas disk, possibly indicating star formation
triggered by the ICM pressure. BVR images at 0.5" resolution obtained with the
WIYN Tip-Tilt Imager show a remarkable dust lane morphology: at half the
optical radius, the dust lane of the galaxy curves up and out of the disk,
matching the HI morphology. Large dust plumes extend upward for ~1.5 kpc from
luminous young star clusters at the SE edge of the truncated gas disk. These
star clusters are very blue, indicating very little dust reddening, which
suggests dust blown away by an ICM wind at the leading edge of the interaction.
To the south of the main ridge of interstellar material, where the galaxy is
relatively clean of gas and dust, we have discovered 1 kpc long linear dust
filaments with a position angle that matches the extraplanar radio continuum
tail; we interpret this angle as the projected ICM wind direction. One of the
observed dust filaments has an HII region at its head. We interpret these dust
filaments as large, dense clouds which were initially left behind as the
low-density ISM is stripped, but are then ablated by the ICM wind. These
results provide striking new evidence on the fate of molecular clouds in
stripped cluster galaxies.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in AJ. See
ftp://ftp.astro.yale.edu/pub/hugh/papers/crowl_n4402.ps.gz for a version with
high-resolution figure
Computing stationary free-surface shapes in microfluidics
A finite-element algorithm for computing free-surface flows driven by
arbitrary body forces is presented. The algorithm is primarily designed for the
microfluidic parameter range where (i) the Reynolds number is small and (ii)
force-driven pressure and flow fields compete with the surface tension for the
shape of a stationary free surface. The free surface shape is represented by
the boundaries of finite elements that move according to the stress applied by
the adjacent fluid. Additionally, the surface tends to minimize its free energy
and by that adapts its curvature to balance the normal stress at the surface.
The numerical approach consists of the iteration of two alternating steps: The
solution of a fluidic problem in a prescribed domain with slip boundary
conditions at the free surface and a consecutive update of the domain driven by
the previously determined pressure and velocity fields. ...Comment: Revised versio
Stripped Spiral Galaxies as Promising Targets for the Determination of the Cepheid distance to the Virgo Cluster
The measurement of precise galaxy distances by Cepheid observations out to
the distance of the Virgo cluster is important for the determination of the
Hubble constant (). The Virgo cluster is thereby often used as an
important stepping stone. The first HST measurement of the distance of a Virgo
galaxy (M100) using Cepheid variables provided a value for
km/s/Mpc (Freedman et al. 1994). This measurement was preceeded by a ground
based study of the Virgo spiral NGC4571 (Pierce et al. 1994) formally providing
km/s/Mpc. These determinations rely on the accuracy with which
the position of this observed spiral galaxy can be located with respect to the
Virgo cluster center. This uncertainty introduces a major error in the
determination of , together with the uncertainty in the adopted Virgo
infall velocity of the Local Group. Here we propose the use of spiral galaxies
which show clear signs of being stripped off their interstellar medium by the
intracluster gas of the Virgo cluster as targets for the Cepheid distance
measurements. We show that the stripping process and the knowledge of the
intracluster gas distribution from ROSAT X-ray observations allow us to locate
these galaxies with an at least three times higher precision with respect to
M87 than in the case of other spirals like M100. The X-ray observations further
imply that M87 is well centered within the intracluster gas halo of the Virgo
cluster and that M86 is associated with a group of galaxies and a larger dark
matter halo. The combination of these informations could enable us to locate
the two stripped spiral galaxies quite precisely within the Virgo cluster and
could greatly improve the determination of the Virgo cluster distance.Comment: 21 pages, Latex(aaspp.sty), including 6 figures, accepted for
publication in ApJL (shortened abstract:
Co/Ni element ratio in the galactic cosmic rays between 0.8 and 4.3 GeV/nucleon
In a one-day balloon flight of the Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER) in 1997, the instrument achieved excellent charge resolution for elements near the Fe peak, permitting a new measurement of the element ratio Co/Ni. The best fit to the data, extrapolated to the top of the atmosphere, gives an upper limit for this ratio of 0.093±0.037 over the energy interval 0.8 to 4.3 GeV/nucleon; because a Co peak is not seen in the data, this result is given as an upper limit. Comparing this upper limit with calculations by Webber & Gupta suggests that at the source of these cosmic rays a substantial amount of the electron-capture isotope 59Ni survived. This conclusion is in conflict with the clear evidence from ACE/CRIS below 0.5 GeV/nucleon that there is negligible 59Ni surviving at the source. Possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy are discussed
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