25,029 research outputs found
The Milky Way Galaxy as a Strong Gravitational Lens
We study the gravitational lensing effects of spiral galaxies by taking a
model of the Milky Way and computing its lensing properties. The model is
composed of a spherical Hernquist bulge, a Miyamoto-Nagai disc and an
isothermal halo. As a strong lens, a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way can give
rise to four different imaging geometries. They are (i) three images on one
side of the galaxy centre (`disc triplets'), (ii) three images with one close
to the centre (`core triplets'), (iii) five images and (iv) seven images.
Neglecting magnification bias, we show that the core triplets, disc triplets
and fivefold imaging are roughly equally likely. Even though our models contain
edge-on discs, their image multiplicities are not dominated by disc triplets.
The halo has a small effect on the caustic structure, the time delays and
brightnesses of the images. The Milky Way model has a maximum disc (i.e., the
halo is not dynamically important in the inner parts). Strong lensing by nearly
edge-on disc galaxies breaks the degeneracy between the relative contribution
of the disc and halo to the overall rotation curve. If a spiral galaxy has a
sub-maximum disc, then the astroid caustic shrinks dramatically in size, whilst
the radial caustic shrinks more modestly. This causes changes in the relative
likelihood of the image geometries, specifically (i) core triplets are now 9/2
times more likely than disc triplets, (ii) the cross section for threefold
imaging is reduced by a factor of 2/3, whilst (iii) the cross section for
fivefold imaging is reduced by 1/2. Although multiple imaging is less likely
(the cross sections are smaller), the average total magnification is greater.Comment: MNRAS, in pres
Sine-Gordon Soliton on a Cnoidal Wave Background
The method of Darboux transformation, which is applied on cnoidal wave
solutions of the sine-Gordon equation, gives solitons moving on a cnoidal wave
background. Interesting characteristics of the solution, i.e., the velocity of
solitons and the shift of crests of cnoidal waves along a soliton, are
calculated. Solutions are classified into three types (Type-1A, Type-1B,
Type-2) according to their apparent distinct properties.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, Contents change
A supermassive binary black hole with triple disks
Hierarchical structure formation inevitably leads to the formation of
supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) with a sub-parsec separation in galactic
nuclei. However, to date there has been no unambiguous detection of such
systems. In an effort to search for potential observational signatures of
supermassive BBHs, we performed high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics
(SPH) simulations of two black holes in a binary of moderate eccentricity
surrounded by a circumbinary disk. Building on our previous work, which has
shown that gas can periodically transfer from the circumbinary disk to the
black holes when the binary is on an eccentric orbit, the current set of
simulations focuses on the formation of the individual accretion disks, their
evolution and mutual interaction, and the predicted radiative signature. The
variation in mass transfer with orbital phase from the circumbinary disk
induces periodic variations in the light curve of the two accretion disks at
ultraviolet wavelengths, but not in the optical or near-infrared. Searches for
this signal offer a promising method to detect supermassive BBHs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 16 pages, 11
figures. High Resolution Version is Available at
http://www2.yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kimitake/bbhs.htm
Spin relaxation in mesoscopic superconducting Al wires
We studied the diffusion and the relaxation of the polarized quasiparticle
spins in superconductors. To that end, quasiparticles of polarized spins were
injected through an interface of a mesoscopic superconducting Al wire in
proximity contact with an overlaid ferromagnetic Co wire in the single-domain
state. The superconductivity was observed to be suppressed near the
spin-injecting interface, as evidenced by the occurrence of a finite voltage
for a bias current below the onset of the superconducting transition. The spin
diffusion length, estimated from finite voltages over a certain length of Al
wire near the interface, was almost temperature independent in the temperature
range sufficiently below the superconducting transition but grew as the
transition temperature was approached. This temperature dependence suggests
that the relaxation of the spin polarization in the superconducting state is
governed by the condensation of quasiparticles to the paired state. The spin
relaxation in the superconducting state turned out to be more effective than in
the normal state.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Avatars:the other side of Proteus's mirror : a study into avatar choice regarding perception
The trend for online interactions, can be regarded as being ‘anti-so-cially social’, meaning that a great deal of time is spent playing, working and socializing with the internet serving as the communication conduit. Within that Virtual Social Environment very deep relationships are formed and maintained without the parties ever having met each other face-to-face. Raising the question how much does the physical appearance of an avatar influence the perception of the person behind it? Are relationships informed by appearance even in the vir-tual world and what implications does that have for second language acquisition? This paper leads to a small-scale research project where a selection of avatars with various racially identifiable characteristics were used to identify which av-atars a second language speaker would feel more at ease interacting with in the target language. The resultant research aims to test three hypotheses regarding preferred avatar choice for second language users based solely on perceptions
Two Langevin equations in the Doi-Peliti formalism
A system-size expansion method is incorporated into the Doi-Peliti formalism
for stochastic chemical kinetics. The basic idea of the incorporation is to
introduce a new decomposition of unity associated with a so-called Cole-Hopf
transformation. This approach elucidates a relationship between two different
Langevin equations; one is associated with a coherent-state path-integral
expression and the other describes density fluctuations. A simple reaction
scheme is investigated as an illustrative example.Comment: 14page
X-Ray Fluctuations from Locally Unstable Advection-Dominated Disks
The response of advection-dominated accretion disks to local disturbances is
examined by one-dimensional numerical simulations. It is generally believed
that advection-dominated disks are thermally stable. We, however, find that any
disurbance added onto accretion flow at large radii does not decay so rapidly
that it can move inward with roughly the free-fall velocity. Although
disturbances continue to be present, the global disk structure will not be
modified largely. This can account for persistent hard X-ray emission with
substantial variations observed in active galactic nuclei and stellar black
hole candidates during the hard state. Moreover, when the disturbance reaches
the innermost parts, an acoustic wave emerges, propagating outward as a shock
wave. The resultant light variation is roughly (time) symmetric and is quite
reminiscent of the observed X-ray shots of Cygnus X-1.Comment: plain TeX, 11 pages, without figures; to be published in ApJ Lette
Dielectric constants of Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO2: Contributions from bound charges
We investigated the dielectric functions () of Ir, Ru, Pt,
and IrO, which are commonly used as electrodes in ferroelectric thin film
applications. In particular, we investigated the contributions from bound
charges (), since these are important scientifically as
well as technologically: the (0) of a metal electrode is one of
the major factors determining the depolarization field inside a ferroelectric
capacitor. To obtain (0), we measured reflectivity spectra of
sputtered Pt, Ir, Ru, and IrO2 films in a wide photon energy range between 3.7
meV and 20 eV. We used a Kramers-Kronig transformation to obtain real and
imaginary dielectric functions, and then used Drude-Lorentz oscillator fittings
to extract (0) values. Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO produced
experimental (0) values of 4810, 8210, 5810, and
295, respectively, which are in good agreement with values obtained using
first-principles calculations. These values are much higher than those for
noble metals such as Cu, Ag, and Au because transition metals and IrO have
such strong d-d transitions below 2.0 eV. High (0) values will
reduce the depolarization field in ferroelectric capacitors, making these
materials good candidates for use as electrodes in ferroelectric applications.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Energy dissipation and violation of the fluctuation-response relation in non-equilibrium Langevin systems
The fluctuation-response relation is a fundamental relation that is
applicable to systems near equilibrium. On the other hand, when a system is
driven far from equilibrium, this relation is violated in general because the
detailed-balance condition is not satisfied in nonequilibrium systems. Even in
this case, it has been found that for a class of Langevin equations, there
exists an equality between the extent of violation of the fluctuation-response
relation in the nonequilibrium steady state and the rate of energy dissipation
from the system into the environment [T. Harada and S. -i. Sasa, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 95, 130602 (2005)]. Since this equality involves only experimentally
measurable quantities, it serves as a proposition to determine experimentally
whether the system can be described by a Langevin equation. Furthermore, the
contribution of each degree of freedom to the rate of energy dissipation can be
determined based on this equality. In this paper, we present a comprehensive
description on this equality, and provide a detailed derivation for various
types of models including many-body systems, Brownian motor models,
time-dependent systems, and systems with multiple heat reservoirs.Comment: 18 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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