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2010-05-22
Helical edge magnetoplasmon in the quantum Hall effect regime
We present the microscopic treatment of edge magnetoplasmons (EMPs) for the regime of not-too-low temperatures defined by the condition $\hbar \omega_{c}\gg k_{B}T\gg \hbar v_{g}/2\ell_{0}$, where $v_{g}$ is the group velocity of the edge states, $\ell_{0}=\sqrt{\hbar /m^{\ast}\omega_{c}}$ is the magnetic length and $\omega_{c}$ is the cyclotron frequency. We find a weakly damped symmetric mode, named helical edge magnetoplasmon, which is localized at the edge states region for filling factors $\nu =1, 2$ and \textit{very strong dissipation} $\eta_{T}=\xi /k_{x}\ell_{T}\agt\ln (1/k_{x}\ell_{T})\gg 1$, where the characteristic length $\ell_{T}=k_{B}T\ell_{0}^{2}/\hbar v_{g}\gg \ell_{0}/2$ with $\xi $ being the ratio of the local transverse conductivity to the local Hall conductivity at the edge states and $k_{x}$ is the wave vector along the edge; here other EMP modes are strongly damped. The spatial structure of the helical edge magnetoplasmon, transverse to the edge, is strongly modified as the wave propagates along the edge. In the regime of \textit{weak dissipation}, $\eta_{T}\ll 1$, we obtain exactly the damping of the fundamental mode as a function of $k_{x}$. For $\nu=4$ and weak dissipation we find that the fundamental modes of $n=0$ and $n=1$ Landau levels (LLs) are strongly renormalized due to the Coulomb coupling. Renormalization of all these EMPs coming from a metal gate and air half-space is studied.
1005.4154v1
2010-06-02
Do Damped and Sub-damped Lyman-alpha Absorbers Arise in Galaxies of Different Masses?
We consider the questions of whether the damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) and sub-DLA absorbers in quasar spectra differ intrinsically in metallicity, and whether they could arise in galaxies of different masses. Using the recent measurements of the robust metallicity indicators Zn and S in DLAs and sub-DLAs, we confirm that sub-DLAs have higher mean metallicities than DLAs, especially at $z \lesssim 2$. We find that the intercept of the metallicity-redshift relation derived from Zn and S is higher than that derived from Fe by 0.5-0.6 dex. We also show that, while there is a correlation between the metallicity and the rest equivalent width of Mg II $\lambda 2796$ or Fe II $\lambda 2599$ for DLAs, no correlation is seen for sub-DLAs. Given this, and the similar Mg II or Fe II selection criteria employed in the discovery of both types of systems at lower redshifts, the difference between metallicities of DLAs and sub-DLAs appears to be real and not an artefact of selection. This conclusion is supported by our simulations of Mg II $\lambda 2796$ and Fe II $\lambda 2599$ lines for a wide range of physical conditions. On examining the velocity spreads of the absorbers, we find that sub-DLAs show somewhat higher mean and median velocity spreads ($\Delta v$), and an excess of systems with $\Delta v > 150$ km s$^{-1}$, than DLAs. Compared to DLAs, the [Mn/Fe] vs. [Zn/H] trend for sub-DLAs appears to be steeper and closer to the trend for Galactic bulge and thick disk stars, possibly suggesting different stellar populations. The absorber data appear to be consistent with galaxy down-sizing. The data are also consistent with the relative number densities of low-mass and high-mass galaxies. It is thus plausible that sub-DLAs arise in more massive galaxies on average than DLAs.
1006.0298v1
2010-08-31
A SINFONI Integral Field Spectroscopy Survey for Galaxy Counterparts to Damped Lyman-alpha Systems - I. New Detections and Limits for Intervening and Associated Absorbers
Detailed studies of Damped and sub-Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLA), the galaxies probed by the absorption they produce in the spectra of background quasars, rely on identifying the galaxy responsible for the absorber with more traditional methods. Integral field spectroscopy provides an efficient way of detecting faint galaxies near bright quasars, further providing immediate redshift confirmation. Here, we report the detection of H-alpha emission from a DLA and a sub-DLA galaxy among a sample of 6 intervening quasar absorbers targeted. We derive F(H-alpha)=7.7+/-2.7*10^-17 erg/s/cm^2 (SFR=1.8+/-0.6 M_sun/yr) at impact parameter b=25 kpc towards quasar Q0302-223 for the DLA at z_abs=1.009 and F(H-alpha)=17.1+/-6.0*10^-17 erg/s/cm^2 (SFR=2.9+/-1.0 M_sun/yr) at b=39 kpc towards Q1009-0026 for the sub-DLA at z_abs=0.887. These results are in line with low star formation rates previously reported in the literature for quasar absorbers. We use the NII 6585/H-alpha ratio to derive the HII emission metallicities and compare them with the neutral gas H I absorption metallicities derived from high-resolution spectra. In one case, the absorption metallicity is actually found to be higher than the emission line metallicity. For the remaining objects, we achieve 3-sigma limiting fluxes of the order F(H-alpha)~10^-17 erg/s/cm^2 (corresponding to SFR~ 0.1 M_sun/yr at z~1 and ~1 M_sun/yr at z~2), i.e. among the lowest that have been possible with ground-based observations. We also present two other galaxies associated with C IV systems and serendipitously discovered in our data.
1009.0025v1
2010-12-22
Abstract Wave Equations and Associated Dirac-Type Operators
We discuss the unitary equivalence of generators $G_{A,R}$ associated with abstract damped wave equations of the type $\ddot{u} + R \dot{u} + A^*A u = 0$ in some Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}_1$ and certain non-self-adjoint Dirac-type operators $Q_{A,R}$ (away from the nullspace of the latter) in $\mathcal{H}_1 \oplus \mathcal{H}_2$. The operator $Q_{A,R}$ represents a non-self-adjoint perturbation of a supersymmetric self-adjoint Dirac-type operator. Special emphasis is devoted to the case where 0 belongs to the continuous spectrum of $A^*A$. In addition to the unitary equivalence results concerning $G_{A,R}$ and $Q_{A,R}$, we provide a detailed study of the domain of the generator $G_{A,R}$, consider spectral properties of the underlying quadratic operator pencil $M(z) = |A|^2 - iz R - z^2 I_{\mathcal{H}_1}$, $z\in\mathbb{C}$, derive a family of conserved quantities for abstract wave equations in the absence of damping, and prove equipartition of energy for supersymmetric self-adjoint Dirac-type operators. The special example where $R$ represents an appropriate function of $|A|$ is treated in depth and the semigroup growth bound for this example is explicitly computed and shown to coincide with the corresponding spectral bound for the underlying generator and also with that of the corresponding Dirac-type operator. The cases of undamped (R=0) and damped ($R \neq 0$) abstract wave equations as well as the cases $A^* A \geq \epsilon I_{\mathcal{H}_1}$ for some $\epsilon > 0$ and $0 \in \sigma (A^* A)$ (but 0 not an eigenvalue of $A^*A$) are separately studied in detail.
1012.4927v2
2011-02-18
The First Observations of Low Redshift Damped Lyman-alpha Systems with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
We report on the first Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) observations of damped and sub-damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) systems discovered in a new survey of the gaseous halos of low-redshift galaxies. From observations of 37 sightlines, we have discovered three DLAs and four sub-DLAs. We measure the neutral gas density Omega(HI), and redshift density dN/dz, of DLA and sub-DLA systems at z<0.35. We find dN/dz=0.25 and Omega(HI)=1.4x10^-3 for DLAs, and dN/dz=0.08 with Omega(HI)=4.2x10^-5 for sub-DLAs over a redshift path delta z=11.9. To demonstrate the scientific potential of such systems, we present a detailed analysis of the DLA at z=0.1140 in the spectrum of SDSS J1009+0713. Profile fits to the absorption lines determine log N(H I)=20.68pm0.10 with a metallicity determined from the undepleted element Sulfur of [S/H]=-0.62pm0.18. The abundance pattern of this DLA is similar to that of higher z DLAs, showing mild depletion of the refractory elements Fe and Ti with [S/Fe]=+0.24pm0.22 and [S/Ti]=+0.28pm0.15. Nitrogen is underabundant in this system with [N/H]=-1.40pm0.14, placing this DLA below the plateau of the [N/alpha] measurements in the local Universe at similar metallicities. This DLA has a simple kinematic structure with only two components required to fit the profiles and a kinematic width of 52 km/s. Imaging of the QSO field with WFC3 reveals a spiral galaxy at very small impact parameter to the QSO and several galaxies within 10". Followup spectra with LRIS reveal that none of the nearby galaxies are at the redshift of the DLA. The spiral galaxy is identified as the host galaxy of the QSO based on the near perfect alignment of the nucleus and disk of the galaxy as well as spectra of an H II region showing emission lines at the QSO redshift. A small feature appears 0.70" from the nucleus of the QSO after PSF subtraction, providing another candidate for the host galaxy of the DLA. (abb)
1102.3927v1
2011-05-23
BCS - BEC crossover and quantum hydrodynamics in p-wave superfluids with a symmetry of the A1 - phase
We solve the Leggett equations for the BCS - BEC crossover in the three dimension resonance p-wave superfluid with the symmetry of the A1 - phase. We calculate the sound velocity, the normal density, and the specific heat for the BCS-domain (\mu > 0), BEC-domain (\mu < 0), and close to important point \mu = 0 in 100% polarized case. We find the indications of quantum phase - transition close to the point \mu(T = 0) = 0. Deep in the BCS and BEC-domains the crossover ideas of Leggett and Nozieres, Schmitt-Rink work pretty well. We discuss the spectrum of orbital waves, the paradox of intrinsic angular momentum and complicated problem of chiral anomaly in the BCS A1 - phase at T = 0. We present two different approaches to a chiral anomaly: one based on supersymmetric hydrodynamics, another one on the formal analogy with the Dirac equation in quantum electrodynamics. We evaluate the damping of nodal fermions due to different decay processes in superclean case at T = 0 and find that we are in a ballistic regime \omega\tau >> 1. We propose to use aerogel or nonmagnetic impurities to reach hydrodynamic regime \omega\tau<< 1 at T = 0. We discuss the concept of the spectral flow and exact cancellations between time-derivatives of anomalous and quasiparticle currents in the equation for the total linear momentum conservation. We propose to derive and solve the kinetic equation for the nodal quasiparticles both in the hydrodynamic and in the ballistic regimes to demonstrate this cancellation explicitly. We briefly discuss the role of the other residual interactions different from damping and invite experimentalists to measure the spectrum and damping of orbital waves in A-phase of 3He at low temperatures.
1105.4438v1
2011-07-12
Considerations on the accretion of Uranus and Neptune by mutual collisions of planetary embryos in the vicinity of Jupiter and Saturn
Modeling the formation of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune is a long-lasting problem in planetary science. Due to gas-drag, collisional damping, and resonant shepherding, the planetary embryos repel the planetesimals away from their reach and thus they stop growing (Levison et al. 2010). This problem persists independently of whether the accretion took place at the current locations of the ice giants or closer to the Sun. Instead of trying to push the runaway/oligarchic growth of planetary embryos up to 10-15 Earth masses, we envision the possibility that the planetesimal disk could generate a system of planetary embryos of only 1-3 Earth masses. Then we investigate whether these embryos could have collided with each other and grown enough to reach the masses of current Uranus and Neptune. Our results point to two major problems. First, there is typically a large difference in mass between the first and the second most massive core formed and retained beyond Saturn. Second, in many simulations the final planetary system has more than two objects beyond Saturn. The growth of a major planet from a system of embryos requires strong damping of eccentricities and inclinations from the disk of gas. But strong damping also favors embryos and cores to find a stable resonant configuration, so that systems with more than two surviving objects are found. In addition to these problems, in order to have substantial mutual accretion among embryos, it is necessary to assume that the surface density of the gas was several times higher than that of the minimum-mass solar nebula. However this contrasts with the common idea that Uranus and Neptune formed in a gas-starving disk, which is suggested by the relatively small amount of hydrogen and helium contained in the atmospheres of these planets. Only one of our simulations "by chance" successfully reproduced the structure of the outer Solar System.
1107.2235v2
2011-08-19
The ALFALFA HI Absorption Pilot Survey: A Wide-Area Blind Damped Lyman Alpha System Survey of the Local Universe
We present the results of a pilot survey for neutral hydrogen (HI) 21 cm absorption in the Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-Band Feed Array (ALFALFA) Survey. This project is a wide-area "blind" search for HI absorption in the local universe, spanning -650 km/s < cz < 17,500 km/s and covering 517.0 square degrees (7% of the full ALFALFA survey). The survey is sensitive to HI absorption lines stronger than 7.7 mJy (8983 radio sources) and is 90% complete for lines stronger than 11.0 mJy (7296 sources). The total redshift interval sensitive to all damped Lyman alpha (DLA) systems (N_HI >= 2x10^20 cm^-2) is Delta z = 7.0 (129 objects, assuming T_s = 100 K and covering fraction unity); for super-DLAs (N_HI >= 2x10^21 cm^-2) it is Delta z= 128.2 (2353 objects). We re-detect the intrinsic HI absorption line in UGC 6081 but detect no intervening absorption line systems. We compute a 95% confidence upper limit on the column density frequency distribution function f(N_HI,X) spanning four orders of magnitude in column density, 10^19 (T_s/100 K)(1/f) cm^-2 < N_HI < 10^23 (T_s/100 K)(1/f) cm^-2, that is consistent with previous redshifted optical damped Ly alpha surveys and the aggregate HI 21 cm emission in the local universe. The detection rate is in agreement with extant observations. This pilot survey suggests that an absorption line search of the complete ALFALFA survey --- or any higher redshift, larger bandwidth, or more sensitive survey, such as those planned for Square Kilometer Array pathfinders or a low frequency lunar array --- will either make numerous detections or will set a strong statistical lower limit on the typical spin temperature of neutral hydrogen gas.
1108.4011v1
2011-09-22
Tidal Dissipation in Planet-Hosting Stars: Damping of Spin-Orbit Misalignment and Survival of Hot Jupiters
Observations of hot Jupiters around solar-type stars with very short orbital periods (~day) suggest that tidal dissipation in such stars is not too efficient so that these planets can survive against rapid orbital decay. This is consistent with recent theoretical works, which indicate that the tidal Q of planet-hosting stars can indeed be much larger than the values inferred from stellar binaries. On the other hand, recent measurements of Rossiter-McLaughlin effects in transiting hot Jupiter systems not only reveal that many such systems have misaligned stellar spin with respect to the orbital axis, but also show that systems with cooler host stars tend to have aligned spin and orbital axes. Winn et al. suggested that this obliquity - temperature correlation may be explained by efficient damping of stellar obliquity due to tidal dissipation in the star. This explanation, however, is in apparent contradiction with the survival of these short-period hot Jupiters. We show that in the solar-type parent stars of close-in exoplanetary systems, the effective tidal Q governing the damping of stellar obliquity can be much smaller than that governing orbital decay. This is because for misaligned systems, the tidal potential contains a Fourier component with frequency equal to the stellar spin frequency (in the rotating frame of the star). This component can excite inertial waves in the convective envelope of the star, and the dissipation of inertial waves then leads to a spin-orbit alignment torque, but not orbital decay. By contrast, for aligned systems, such inertial wave excitation is forbidden since the tidal forcing frequency is much larger than the stellar spin frequency. We derive a general effective tidal evolution theory for misaligned binaries, taking account of different tidal responses and dissipation rates for different tidal forcing components.
1109.4703v2
2011-10-20
The First Observations of Low-Redshift Damped Lyman-α Systems with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph: Chemical Abundances and Affiliated Galaxies
We present Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) measurements of metal abundances in eight 0.083<z<0.321 damped Lyman-\alpha (DLA) and sub-damped Ly-\alpha\ absorption systems serendipitously discovered in the COS-Halos survey. We find that these systems show a large range in metallicities, with -1.10<[Z/H]<0.31, similar to the spread found at higher redshifts. These low-redshift systems on average have subsolar metallicities, but do show a rise in metallicity over cosmic time when compared to higher-redshift systems. We find the average sub-DLA metallicity is higher than the average DLA metallicity at all redshifts. Nitrogen is underabundant with respect to \alpha-group elements in all but perhaps one of the absorbers. In some cases, [N/\alpha] is significantly below the lowest nitrogen measurements in nearby galaxies. Systems for which depletion patterns can be studied show little, if any, depletion, which is characteristic of Milky Way halo-type gas. We also identify affiliated galaxies for 3 of the sub-DLAs using spectra obtained from Keck/LRIS. None of these sub-DLAs arise in the stellar disks of luminous galaxies; instead, these absorbers may exist in galaxy halos at impact parameters ranging from 38 to 92 kpc. Multiple galaxies are present near two of the sub-DLAs, and galaxy interactions may play a role in the dispersal of the gas. Many of these low-redshift absorbers exhibit simple kinematics, but one sub-DLA has a complicated mix of at least 13 components spread over 150 km/s. We find three galaxies near this sub-DLA, which also suggests that galaxy interactions roil the gas. This study reinforces the view that DLAs have a variety of origins, and low-redshift studies are crucial for understanding absorber-galaxy connections.
1110.4557v2
2011-11-01
On the misalignment of the directly imaged planet β Pictoris b with the system's warped inner disk
The vertical warp in the debris disk Beta Pictoris -- an inclined inner disk extending into a flat outer disk -- has long been interpreted as the signpost of a planet on an inclined orbit. Direct images spanning 2004-2010 have revealed Beta Pictoris b, a planet with a mass and orbital distance consistent with this picture. However, it was recently reported that the orbit of planet b is aligned with the flat outer disk, not the inclined inner disk, and thus lacks the inclination to warp the disk. We explore three scenarios for reconciling the apparent misalignment of the directly imaged planet Beta Pictoris b with the warped inner disk of Beta Pictoris: observational uncertainty, an additional planet, and damping of planet b's inclination. We find that, at the extremes of the uncertainties, the orbit of Beta Pictoris b has the inclination necessary to produce the observed warp. We also find that if planet b were aligned with the flat outer disk, it would prevent another planet from creating a warp with the observed properties; therefore planet b itself must be responsible for the warp. Finally, planet b's inclination could have been damped by dynamical friction and still produce the observed disk morphology, but the feasibility of damping depends on disk properties and the presence of other planets. More precise observations of the orbit of planet b and the position angle of the outer disk will allow us to distinguish between the first and third scenario.
1111.0297v2
2011-11-25
Application of a damped Locally Optimized Combination of Images method to the spectral characterization of faint companions using an Integral Field Spectrograph
High-contrast imaging instruments are now being equipped with integral field spectrographs (IFS) to facilitate the detection and characterization of faint substellar companions. Algorithms currently envisioned to handle IFS data, such as the Locally Optimized Combination of Images (LOCI) algorithm, rely upon aggressive point-spread-function (PSF) subtraction, which is ideal for initially identifying companions but results in significantly biased photometry and spectroscopy due to unwanted mixing with residual starlight. This spectro-photometric issue is further complicated by the fact that algorithmic color response is a function of the companion's spectrum, making it difficult to calibrate the effects of the reduction without using iterations involving a series of injected synthetic companions. In this paper, we introduce a new PSF calibration method, which we call "damped LOCI", that seeks to alleviate these concerns. By modifying the cost function that determines the weighting coefficients used to construct PSF reference images, and also forcing those coefficients to be positive, it is possible to extract companion spectra with a precision that is set by calibration of the instrument response and transmission of the atmosphere, and not by post-processing. We demonstrate the utility of this approach using on-sky data obtained with the Project 1640 IFS at Palomar. Damped-LOCI does not require any iterations on the underlying spectral type of the companion, nor does it rely upon priors involving the chromatic and statistical properties of speckles. It is a general technique that can readily be applied to other current and planned instruments that employ IFS's.
1111.6102v1
2012-02-01
CMB at 2x2 order: the dissipation of primordial acoustic waves and the observable part of the associated energy release
Silk damping of primordial small-scale perturbations in the photon-baryon fluid due to diffusion of photons inevitably creates spectral distortions in the CMB. With the proposed CMB experiment PIXIE it might become possible to measure these distortions and thereby constrain the primordial power spectrum at comoving wavenumbers 50 Mpc^{-1} < k < 10^4 Mpc^{-1}. Since primordial fluctuations in the CMB on these scales are completely erased by Silk damping, these distortions may provide the only way to shed light on otherwise unobservable aspects of inflationary physics. A consistent treatment of the primordial dissipation problem requires going to second order in perturbation theory, while thermalization of these distortions necessitates consideration of second order in Compton scattering energy transfer. Here we give a full 2x2 treatment for the creation and evolution of spectral distortions due to the acoustic dissipation process, consistently including the effect of polarization and photon mixing in the free streaming regime. We show that 1/3 of the total energy (9/4 larger than previous estimates) stored in small-scale temperature perturbations imprints observable spectral distortions, while the remaining 2/3 only raises the average CMB temperature, an effect that is unobservable. At high redshift dissipation is mainly mediated through the quadrupole anisotropies, while after recombination peculiar motions are most important. During recombination the damping of the higher multipoles is also significant. We compute the average distortion for several examples using CosmoTherm, analyzing their dependence on parameters of the primordial power spectrum. For one of the best fit WMAP7 cosmologies, with n_S=1.027 and n_run=-0.034, the cooling of baryonic matter practically compensates the heating from acoustic dissipation in the mu-era. (abridged)
1202.0057v2
2012-02-28
The Last Stages of Terrestrial Planet Formation: Dynamical Friction and the Late Veneer
The final stage of terrestrial planet formation consists of the cleanup of residual planetesimals after the giant impact phase. Dynamically, a residual planetesimal population is needed to damp the high eccentricities of the terrestrial planets after the giant impact stage. Geochemically, highly siderophile element (HSE) abundance patterns inferred for the terrestrial planets and the Moon suggest that a total of about 0.01 M_Earth of chondritic material was delivered as `late veneer' by planetesimals to the terrestrial planets after the end of giant impacts. Here we combine these two independent lines of evidence for a leftover population of planetesimals and show that: 1) A residual planetesimal population containing 0.01 M_Earth is able to damp the eccentricities of the terrestrial planets after giant impacts to their observed values. 2) At the same time, this planetesimal population can account for the observed relative amounts of late veneer added to the Earth, Moon and Mars provided that the majority of the late veneer was delivered by small planetesimals with radii <10m. These small planetesimal sizes are required to ensure efficient damping of the planetesimal's velocity dispersion by mutual collisions, which in turn ensures that the planets' accretion cross sections are significantly enhanced by gravitational focusing above their geometric values. Specifically we find, in the limit that the relative velocity between the terrestrial planets and the planetesimals is significantly less than the terrestrial planets' escape velocities, that gravitational focusing yields an accretion ratio Earth/Mars~17, which agrees well with the accretion ratio inferred from HSEs of 12-23. For the Earth-Moon system, we find an accretion ratio of ~200, which is consistent with estimates of 150-700 derived from HSE abundances that include the lunar crust as well as mantle component. (Abridged)
1202.6372v2
2012-03-13
Trapping in three-planet resonances during gas-driven migration
We study the establishment of three-planet resonances -similar to the Laplace resonance in the Galilean satellites- and their effects on the mutual inclinations of the orbital planes of the planets, assuming that the latter undergo migration in a gaseous disc. In particular, we examine the resonance relations that occur, by varying the physical and initial orbital parameters of the planets (mass, initial semi-major axis and eccentricity) as well as the parameters of the migration forces (migration rate and eccentricity damping rate), which are modeled here through a simplified analytic prescription. We find that, in general, for planetary masses below 1.5 M_J, multiple-planet resonances of the form n3:n2:n1=1:2:4 and 1:3:6 are established, as the inner planets, m1 and m2, get trapped in a 1:2 resonance and the outer planet m3 subsequently is captured in a 1:2 or 1:3 resonance with m2. For mild eccentricity damping, the resonance pumps the eccentricities of all planets on a relatively short time-scale, to the point where they enter an inclination-type resonance (as in Libert & Tsiganis 2011); then mutual inclinations can grow to ~35{\deg}, thus forming a "3-D system". On the other hand, we find that trapping of m2 in a 2:3 resonance with m1 occurs very rarely, for the range of masses used here, so only two cases of capture in a respective three-planet resonance were found. Our results suggest that trapping in a three-planet resonance can be common in exoplanetary systems, provided that the planets are not very massive. Inclination pumping could then occur relatively fast, provided that eccentricity damping is not very efficient so that at least one of the inner planets acquires an orbital eccentricity higher than e=0.3.
1203.2960v1
2012-10-04
Plasmonic Waves on a Chain of Metallic Nanoparticles: Effects of a Liquid Crystalline Host or an Applied Magnetic Field
A chain of metallic particles, of sufficiently small diameter and spacing, allows linearly polarized plasmonic waves to propagate along the chain. In this paper, we consider how these waves are altered by an anisotropic host (such as a nematic liquid crystal) or an applied magnetic field. In a liquid crystalline host, with principal axis (director) oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the chain, we find that the dispersion relations of both the longitudinal ($L$) and transverse ($T$) modes are significantly altered relative to those of an isotropic host. Furthermore, when the director is perpendicular to the chain, the doubly degenerate $T$ branch is split by the anisotropy of the host material. With an applied magnetic field ${\bf B}$ parallel to the chain, the propagating transverse modes are circularly polarized, and the left and right circularly polarized branches have slightly different dispersion relations. As a result, if a linearly polarized transverse wave is launched along the chain, it undergoes Faraday rotation. For parameters approximating that of a typical metal and for a field of 2T, the Faraday rotation is of order 1$^o$ per ten interparticle spacings, even taking into account single-particle damping. If ${\bf B}$ is perpendicular to the chain, one of the $T$ branches mixes with the $L$ branch to form two elliptically polarized branches. Our calculations include single-particle damping and can, in principle, be generalized to include radiation damping. The present work suggests that the dispersion relations of plasmonic waves on chain of nanoparticles can be controlled by immersing the chain in a nematic liquid crystal and varying the director axis, or by applying a magnetic field.
1210.1509v1
2012-11-12
The explosion energy of early stellar populations: The Fe-peak element ratios in low metallicity damped Lyman-alpha systems
The relative abundances of the Fe-peak elements (Ti-Zn) at the lowest metallicities are intimately linked to the physics of core-collapse supernova explosions. With a sample of 25 very metal-poor damped Lyman-alpha systems, we investigate the trends of the Fe-peak element ratios with metallicity. For nine of the 25 DLAs, a direct measurement (or useful upper limit) of one or more of the Ti,Cr,Co,Ni,Zn/Fe abundance ratios could be determined from detected absorption lines. For the remaining systems (without detections), we devised a new form of spectral stacking to estimate the typical Fe-peak element ratios of the DLA population in this metallicity regime. We compare these data to analogous measurements in metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo and to detailed calculations of explosive nucleosynthesis in metal-free stars. We conclude that most of the DLAs in our sample were enriched by stars that released an energy of < 1.2 x 10^51 erg when they exploded as core-collapse supernovae. Finally, we discuss the exciting prospect of measuring Fe-peak element ratios in damped Lyman-alpha systems with Fe/H < 1/1000 of solar when 30-m class telescopes become available. Only then will we be able to pin down the energy that was released by the supernovae of the first stars.
1211.2805v3
2012-12-07
Circumstellar disks can erase the effects of stellar fly-bys on planetary systems
Most stars form in embedded clusters. Stellar flybys may affect the orbital architecture of the systems by exciting the eccentricity and causing dynamical instability. Since, incidentally, the timescale over which a cluster loses its gaseous component and begins to disperse is comparable to the circumstellar disk lifetime, we expect that closer, and more perturbing, stellar flybys occur when the planets are still embedded in their birth disk. We investigate the effects of the disk on the dynamics of planets after the stellar encounter to test whether it can damp the eccentricity and return the planetary system to a non-excited state. We use the hydrodynamical code FARGO to study the disk+planet(s) system during and after the stellar encounter in the context of evolved disk models whose superficial density is 10 times lower than that of the Minimum Mass Solar Nebula. The numerical simulations show that the planet eccentricity, excited during a close stellar flyby, is damped on a short timescale (~ 10 Kyr) in spite of the disk low initial density and subsequent tidal truncation. This damping is effective also for a system of 3 giant planets and the effects of the dynamical instability induced by the passing star are quickly absorbed. If the circumstellar disk is still present around the star during a stellar flyby, a planet (or a planetary system) is returned to a non-excited state on a short timescale. This does not mean that stellar encounters do not affect the evolution of planets, but they do it in a subtle way with a short period of agitated dynamical evolution. At the end of it, the system resumes a quiet evolution and the planetary orbits are circularized by the interaction with the disk.
1212.1561v1
2013-01-21
Mass-metallicity relation from z=5 to the present: Evidence for a transition in the mode of galaxy growth at z=2.6 due to the end of sustained primordial gas infall
We analyze the redshift evolution of the mass-metallicity relation in a sample of 110 Damped Ly$\alpha$ absorbers spanning the redshift range $z=0.11-5.06$ and find that the zero-point of the correlation changes significantly with redshift. The evolution is such that the zero-point is constant at the early phases of galaxy growth (i.e. no evolution) but then features a sharp break at $z=2.6\pm 0.2$ with a rapid incline towards lower redshifts such that damped absorbers of identical masses are more metal rich at later times than earlier. The slope of this mass metallicity correlation evolution is $0.35 \pm 0.07$ dex per unit redshift. We compare this result to similar studies of the redshift evolution of emission selected galaxy samples and find a remarkable agreement with the slope of the evolution of galaxies of stellar mass log$(M_{*}/M_\odot) \approx 8.5$. This allows us to form an observational tie between damped absorbers and galaxies seen in emission. We use results from simulations to infer the virial mass of the dark matter halo of a typical DLA galaxy and find a ratio $(M_{vir}/M_{*}) \approx 30$. We compare our results to those of several other studies that have reported strong transition-like events at redshifts around $z=2.5-2.6$ and argue that all those observations can be understood as the consequence of a transition from a situation where galaxies were fed more unprocessed infalling gas than they could easily consume to one where they suddenly become infall starved and turn to mainly processing, or re-processing, of previously acquired gas.
1301.5013v2
2013-01-22
Effect of partial ionization on wave propagation in solar magnetic flux tubes
Observations show that waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and may play an important role for plasma heating. The study of waves in the solar corona is usually based on linear ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for a fully ionized plasma. However, the plasma in the photosphere and the chromosphere is only partially ionized. Here we investigate theoretically the impact of partial ionization on MHD wave propagation in cylindrical flux tubes in the two-fluid model. We derive the general dispersion relation that takes into account the effects of neutral-ion collisions and the neutral gas pressure. We take the neutral-ion collision frequency as an arbitrary parameter. Particular results for transverse kink modes and slow magnetoacoustic modes are shown. We find that the wave frequencies only depend on the properties of the ionized fluid when the neutral-ion collision frequency is much lower that the wave frequency. For high collision frequencies realistic of the solar atmosphere ions and neutrals behave as a single fluid with an effective density corresponding to the sum of densities of both fluids and an effective sound velocity computed as the average of the sound velocities of ions and neutrals. The MHD wave frequencies are modified accordingly. The neutral gas pressure can be neglected when studying transverse kink waves but it has to be taken into account for a consistent description of slow magnetoacoustic waves. The MHD waves are damped due to neutral-ion collisions. The damping is most efficient when the wave frequency and the collision frequency are of the same order of magnitude. For high collision frequencies slow magnetoacoustic waves are more efficiently damped than transverse kink waves. In addition, we find the presence of cut-offs for certain combinations of parameters that cause the waves to become non-propagating.
1301.5214v1
2013-02-07
Secular Orbital Evolution of Compact Planet Systems
Recent observations have shown that at least some close-in exoplanets maintain eccentric orbits despite tidal circularization timescales that are typically shorter than stellar ages. We explore gravitational interactions with a distant planetary companion as a possible cause of these non-zero eccentricities. For simplicity, we focus on the evolution of a planar two-planet system subject to slow eccentricity damping and provide an intuitive interpretation of the resulting long-term orbital evolution. We show that dissipation shifts the two normal eigenmode frequencies and eccentricity ratios of the standard secular theory slightly, and that each mode decays at its own rate. Tidal damping of the eccentricities drives orbits to transition between periods of pericenter circulation and libration, and the planetary system settles into a locked state where the pericenters are nearly aligned or anti-aligned. Once in the locked state, the eccentricities of the two orbits decrease very slowly due to tides rather than at the much more rapid single-planet rate, and thus eccentric orbits, even for close-in planets, can often survive much longer than the age of the system. Assuming that an observed close-in planet on an elliptical orbit is apsidally-locked to a more distant, and perhaps unseen companion, we provide a constraint on the mass, semi-major axis, and eccentricity of the companion. We find the observed two-planet system HAT-P-13 might be in just such an apsidally-locked state, with parameters that obey our constraint well. We also survey close-in single planets, and found that none provide compelling evidence for unseen companions. Instead, we suspect that (1) orbits are circular, (2) tidal damping rates are slower than our assumption, or (3) a recent event has excited these eccentricities. Our method should prove useful for interpreting the results of current and future planet searches.
1302.1620v2
2013-02-13
Low mass planets in protoplanetary disks with net vertical magnetic fields: the Planetary Wake and Gap Opening
We study wakes and gap opening by low mass planets in gaseous protoplanetary disks threaded by net vertical magnetic fields which drive magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence through the magnetorotational instabilty (MRI), using three dimensional simulations in the unstratified local shearing box approximation. The wakes, which are excited by the planets, are damped by shocks similar to the wake damping in inviscid hydrodynamic (HD) disks. Angular momentum deposition by shock damping opens gaps in both MHD turbulent disks and inviscid HD disks even for low mass planets, in contradiction to the "thermal criterion" for gap opening. To test the "viscous criterion", we compared gap properties in MRI-turbulent disks to those in viscous HD disks having the same stress, and found that the same mass planet opens a significantly deeper and wider gap in net vertical flux MHD disks than in viscous HD disks. This difference arises due to the efficient magnetic field transport into the gap region in MRI disks, leading to a larger effective \alpha within the gap. Thus, across the gap, the Maxwell stress profile is smoother than the gap density profile, and a deeper gap is needed for the Maxwell stress gradient to balance the planetary torque density. We also confirmed the large excess torque close to the planet in MHD disks, and found that long-lived density features (termed zonal flows) produced by the MRI can affect planet migration. The comparison with previous results from net toroidal flux/zero flux MHD simulations indicates that the magnetic field geometry plays an important role in the gap opening process. Overall, our results suggest that gaps can be commonly produced by low mass planets in realistic protoplanetary disks, and caution the use of a constant \alpha-viscosity to model gaps in protoplanetary disks.
1302.3239v1
2013-05-10
Nonlinear Development of the R Mode Instability and the Maximum Rotation Rate of Neutron Stars
We describe how the nonlinear development of the R mode instability of neutron stars influences spin up to millisecond periods via accretion. Our arguments are based on nearly-resonant interactions of the R mode with pairs of "daughter modes". The amplitude of the R mode saturates at the lowest value for which parametric instability leads to significant excitation of a particular pair of daughters. The lower bound on this limiting amplitude is proportional to the damping rate of the daughter modes that are excited parametrically. Based on this picture, we show that if modes damp because of dissipation in a very thin boundary layer at the crust-core boundary then spin up to frequencies larger than about 300 Hz does not occur. Within this conventional scenario the R mode saturates at an amplitude that is too large for angular momentum gain from accretion to overcome gravitational loss to gravitational radiation. We conclude that lower dissipation is required for spin up to frequencies much higher than 300 Hz. We conjecture that if the transition from the fluid core to the crystalline crust occurs over a distance much longer than 1 cm then a sharp viscous boundary layer fails to form. In this case, damping is due to shear viscosity dissipation integrated over the entire star; the rate is slower than if a viscous boundary layer forms. We use statistical arguments and scaling relations to estimate the lowest parametric instability threshold from first principles. The resulting saturation amplitudes are low enough to permit spin up to higher frequencies. Further, we show that the requirement that the lowest parametric instability amplitude be small enough to allow continued spin up imposes an upper bound to the frequencies that may be attained via accretion that may plausibly be about 750 Hz. Within this framework, the R mode is unstable for all millisecond pulsars, whether accreting or not.
1305.2335v2
2013-07-28
Constraint damping of the conformal and covariant formulation of the Z4 system in simulations of binary neutron stars
Following previous work in vacuum spacetimes, we investigate the constraint-damping properties in the presence of matter of the recently developed traceless, conformal and covariant Z4 (CCZ4) formulation of the Einstein equations. First, we evolve an isolated neutron star with an ideal gas equation of state and subject to a constraint-violating perturbation. We compare the evolution of the constraints using the CCZ4 and Baumgarte-Shibata-Shapiro-Nakamura-Oohara-Kojima (BSSNOK) systems. Second, we study the collapse of an unstable spherical star to a black hole. Finally, we evolve binary neutron star systems over several orbits until the merger, the formation of a black hole, and up to the ringdown. We show that the CCZ4 formulation is stable in the presence of matter and that the constraint violations are one or more orders of magnitude smaller than for the BSSNOK formulation. Furthermore, by comparing the CCZ4 and the BSSNOK formulations also for neutron star binaries with large initial constraint violations, we investigate their influence on the errors on physical quantities. We also give a new, simple and robust prescription for the damping parameter that removes the instabilities found when using the fully covariant version of CCZ4 in the evolution of black holes. Overall, we find that at essentially the same computational costs the CCZ4 formulation provides solutions that are stable and with a considerably smaller violation of the Hamiltonian constraint than the BSSNOK formulation. We also find that the performance of the CCZ4 formulation is very similar to another conformal and traceless, but noncovariant formulation of the Z4 system, i.e. the Z4c formulation.
1307.7391v2
2013-08-05
Peculiar Velocity Decomposition, Redshift Space Distortion and Velocity Reconstruction in Redshift Surveys. II. Dark Matter Velocity Statistics
Massive spectroscopic redshift surveys open a promising window to accurately measure peculiar velocity at cosmological distances through redshift space distortion (RSD). In paper I of this series of work we proposed to decompose peculiar velocity into three eigen-modes (v_\delta, v_S and v_B) in order to facilitate the RSD modeling and peculiar velocity reconstruction. In the current paper we measure the dark matter RSD related statistics of the velocity eigen-modes through a set of N-body simulations, including the velocity power spectra, correlation functions, one-point probability distribution functions, cumulants and the damping functions describing the Finger of God effect. (1) The power spectrum measurement shows that these velocity components have distinctly different spatial distribution and redshift evolution. In particular, we measure the window function \tilde{W}(k,z), which describes the impact of nonlinear evolution on the v_\delta-density relation. We confirm that it can induce a significant systematic error of O(10%) in RSD cosmology. We demonstrate that \tilde{W} can be accurately described by a simple fitting formula with one or two free parameters. (2) The correlation function measurement shows that the correlation length is O(100), O(10) and O(1) Mpc for v_\delta, v_S and v_B respectively. These correlation lengths determine where we can treat the velocity fields as spatially uncorrelated. (3) The velocity PDFs and cumulants quantify non-Gaussianities of the velocity fields. We confirm speculation in paper I that v_\delta is largely Gaussian, nevertheless with non-negligible non-Gaussianity, v_B is significantly non-Gaussian. We also measure the damping functions. Despite the observed non-Gaussianities, the damping functions and hence the FOG effect are all well approximated as Gaussian ones at scales of interest.
1308.0886v4
2013-10-25
A SINFONI Integral Field Spectroscopy Survey for Galaxy Counterparts to Damped Lyman-alpha Systems - V. Neutral and Ionised Phase Metallicities
The gas-phase and stellar metallicities have proven to be important parameters to constrain the star formation history of galaxies. However, HII regions associated with recent star-formation may not have abundances typical for the galaxy as a whole and it is believed that the bulk of the metals may be contained in the neutral gas. It is therefore important to directly probe the metal abundances in the neutral gas, which can be done by using absorption lines imprinted on a background quasar. Recently, we have presented studies of the stellar content of a small sample of such quasar absorbers with HI column densities measured to be in the sub-Damped Lyman-alpha to Damped Lyman-alpha range. Here, we present observations covering 300 nm to 2.5 microns of emission line spectra of three of these absorbing-galaxies using the long-slit spectrograph X-Shooter on the VLT. This allows us to compare the neutral and ionised phase metallicities in the same objects and relates these measures to possible signature of low-metallicity gas accretion or outflows of gas enriched by star formation. Our results suggest that the abundances derived in absorption along the line-of-sight to background quasars are reliable measures of the overall galaxy metallicities. In addition to a comparison of abundances in different phases of the gas, a potential observational consequence of differences in fueling mechanisms for disc galaxies is the internal distribution of their chemical abundances. We present some evidence for small negative metallicity gradients in the three systems. The flat slopes are in line with the differences observed between the two phases of the gas. These results suggest that a comparison of the HI and HII metallicities is a robust indicator of abundance gradients in high-redshift galaxies and do not favour the presence of infall of fresh gas in these objects.
1310.6865v1
2014-04-10
Thirty-six New, High-Probability, Damped Ly-alpha Absorbers at Redshift 0.42 < z < 0.70
Quasar damped Ly-alpha (DLA) absorption line systems with redshifts z<1.65 are used to trace neutral gas over approximately 70 per cent of the most recent history of the Universe. However, such systems fall in the UV and are rarely found in blind UV spectroscopic surveys. Therefore, it has been difficult to compile a moderate-sized sample of UV DLAs in any narrow cosmic time interval. However, DLAs are easy to identify in low-resolution spectra because they have large absorption rest equivalent widths. We have performed an efficient strong-MgII-selected survey for UV DLAs at redshifts z=[0.42,0.70] using HST's low-resolution ACS-HRC-PR200L prism. This redshift interval covers ~1.8 Gyr in cosmic time, i.e., t~[7.2,9.0] Gyrs after the Big Bang. A total of 96 strong MgII absorption-line systems identified in SDSS spectra were successfully observed with the prism at the predicted UV wavelengths of Ly-alpha absorption. We found that 35 of the 96 systems had a significant probability of being DLAs. One additional observed system could be a very high N(HI) DLA (N(HI)~2x10^22 atoms cm^-2 or possibly higher), but since very high N(HI) systems are extremely rare, it would be unusual for this system to be a DLA given the size of our sample. Here we present information on our prism sample, including our best estimates of N(HI) and errors for the 36 systems fitted with damped Ly-alpha profiles. This list is valuable for future follow-up studies of low-redshift DLAs in a small redshift interval, although such work would clearly benefit from improved UV spectroscopy to more accurately determine their neutral hydrogen column densities.
1404.2914v2
2014-05-03
3D MHD simulation of linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress magnetic field
Previous studies [Malara et al ApJ, 533, 523 (2000)] considered small-amplitude Alfven wave (AW) packets in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) magnetic field using WKB approximation. In this work linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in ABC magnetic field via direct 3D MHD numerical simulation is studied for the first time. Gaussian AW pulse with length-scale much shorter than ABC domain length and harmonic AW with wavelength equal to ABC domain length are studied for four different resistivities. While it is found that AWs dissipate quickly in the ABC field, surprisingly, AW perturbation energy increases in time. In the case of the harmonic AW perturbation energy growth is transient in time, attaining peaks in both velocity and magnetic perturbation energies within timescales much smaller than resistive time. In the case of the Gaussian AW pulse velocity perturbation energy growth is still transient in time, attaining a peak within few resistive times, while magnetic perturbation energy continues to grow. It is also shown that the total magnetic energy decreases in time and this is governed by the resistive evolution of the background ABC magnetic field rather than AW damping. On contrary, when background magnetic field is uniform, the total magnetic energy decrease is prescribed by AW damping, because there is no resistive evolution of the background. By considering runs with different amplitudes and by analysing perturbation spectra, possible dynamo action by AW perturbation-induced peristaltic flow and inverse cascade of magnetic energy have been excluded. Therefore, the perturbation energy growth is attributed to a new instability. The growth rate appears to be dependent on the value of the resistivity and spatial scale of the AW disturbance. Thus, when going beyond WKB approximation, AW damping, described by full MHD equations, does not guarantee decrease of perturbation energy.
1405.0587v1
2014-11-25
Investigation of toroidal acceleration and potential acceleration forces in EAST and J-TEXT plasmas
In order to produce intrinsic rotation, bulk plasmas must be collectively accelerated by the net force exerted on them, which results from both driving and damping forces. So, to study the possible mechanisms of intrinsic rotation generation, it is only needed to understand characteristics of driving and damping terms because the toroidal driving and damping forces induce net acceleration which generates intrinsic rotation. Experiments were performed on EAST and J-TEXT for ohmic plasmas with net counter- and co-current toroidal acceleration generated by density ramping up and ramping down. Additionally on EAST, net co-current toroidal acceleration was also formed by LHCD or ICRF. For the current experimental results, toroidal acceleration was between - 50 km/s^2 in counter-current direction and 70 km/s^2 in co-current direction. According to toroidal momentum equation, toroidal electric field (E\-(\g(f))), electron-ion toroidal friction, and toroidal viscous force etc. may play roles in the evolution of toroidal rotation. To evaluate contribution of each term, we first analyze characteristics of E\-(\g(f)). E\-(\g(f)) is one of the co-current toroidal forces that acts on the plasma as a whole and persists for the entire discharge period. It was shown to drive the co-current toroidal acceleration at a magnitude of 10^3 km/s^2, which was much larger than the experimental toroidal acceleration observed on EAST and J-TEXT. So E\-(\g(f)) is one of co-current forces producing cocurrent intrinsic toroidal acceleration and rotation. Meanwhile, it indicates that there must be a strong counter-current toroidal acceleration resulting from counter-current toroidal forces. Electron-ion toroidal friction is one of the counter-current toroidal forces because global electrons move in the counter-current direction in order to produce a toroidal plasma current.
1411.6744v1
2015-01-07
Understanding resonance graphs using Easy Java Simulations (EJS) and why we use EJS
This paper reports a computer model- simulation created using Easy Java Simulation (EJS) for learners to visualize how the steady-state amplitude of a driven oscillating system varies with the frequency of the periodic driving force. The simulation shows (N=100) identical spring-mass systems being subjected to (1) periodic driving force of equal amplitude but different driving frequencies and (2) different amount of damping. The simulation aims to create a visually intuitive way of understanding how the series of amplitude versus driving frequency graphs are obtained by showing how the displacement of the system changes over time as it transits from the transient to the steady state. A suggested how to use the model is added to help educators and students in their teaching and learning, where we explained the theoretical steady state equation, time conditions when the model starts allowing data recording of maximum amplitudes to closely match the theoretical equation and steps to collect different runs of degree of damping. We also discuss two design features in our computer model: A) displaying the instantaneous oscillation together with the achieved steady state amplitudes and B) explicit world view overlay with scientific representation with different degrees of damping runs. Three advantages of using EJS include 1) Open Source Codes and Creative Commons Attribution Licenses for scaling up of interactively engaging educational practices 2) models made can run on almost any device including Android and iOS and 3) allows for redefining physics educational practices through computer modeling. 2015 resource: http://iwant2study.org/ospsg/index.php/interactive-resources/physics/02-newtonian-mechanics/09-oscillations/88-shm24
1501.01535v4
2015-04-20
Forward Modeling of Reduced Power Spectra From Three-Dimensional k-Space
We present results from a numerical forward model to evaluate one-dimensional reduced power spectral densities (PSD) from arbitrary energy distributions in $\mathbf{k}$-space. In this model, we can separately calculate the diagonal elements of the spectral tensor for incompressible axisymmetric turbulence with vanishing helicity. Given a critically balanced turbulent cascade with $k_\|\sim k_\perp^\alpha$ and $\alpha<1$, we explore the implications on the reduced PSD as a function of frequency. The spectra are obtained under the assumption of Taylor's hypothesis. We further investigate the functional dependence of the spectral index $\kappa$ on the field-to-flow angle $\theta$ between plasma flow and background magnetic field from MHD to electron kinetic scales. We show that critically balanced turbulence asymptotically develops toward $\theta$-independent spectra with a slope corresponding to the perpendicular cascade. This occurs at a transition frequency $f_{2D}(L,\alpha,\theta)$, which is analytically estimated and depends on outer scale $L$, critical balance exponent $\alpha$ and field-to-flow angle $\theta$. We discuss anisotropic damping terms acting on the $\mathbf{k}$-space distribution of energy and their effects on the PSD. Further, we show that the spectral anisotropies $\kappa(\theta)$ as found by Horbury et al. (2008) and Chen et al. (2010) in the solar wind are in accordance with a damped critically balanced cascade of kinetic Alfv\'en waves. We also model power spectra obtained by von Papen et al. (2014) in Saturn's plasma sheet and find that the change of spectral indices inside $9\,R_\mathrm{s}$ can be explained by damping on electron scales.
1504.04995v2
2015-07-13
The role of low-energy phonons with mean-free-paths >0.8 um in heat conduction in silicon
Despite recent progress in the first-principles calculations and measurements of phonon mean-free-paths (MFPs), contribution of low-energy phonons to heat conduction in silicon is still inconclusive, as exemplified by the discrepancies between different first-principles calculations. Here we investigate the contribution of low-energy phonons with MFP>0.8 um by accurately measuring the cross-plane thermal conductivity of crystalline silicon films by time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR), over a wide range of film thickness 1-10 um and temperature 100-300 K. We employ a dual-frequency TDTR approach to improve the accuracy of our cross-plane thermal conductivity measurements. We find from our cross-plane thermal conductivity measurements that phonons with MFP>0.8 um contribute 53 W/m-K (37%) to heat conduction in Si at 300 K while phonons with MFP>3 um contribute 523 W/m-K (61%) at 100 K, >20% lower than the first-principles predictions by Lindsay et al. of 68 W/m-K (47%) and 695 W/m-K (77%), respectively. Using a relaxation times approximation (RTA) model, we demonstrate that macroscopic damping (e.g., Akhieser's damping) eliminates the contribution of phonons with mean-free-paths >30 um at 300 K, which contributes 15 W/m-K (10%) to heat conduction in Si according to Lindsay et al. Thus we propose that omission of the macroscopic damping for low-energy phonons in the first-principles calculations could be one of the possible explanations for the observed discrepancy between our measurements and calculations by Lindsay et al. Our work provides an important benchmark for future measurements and calculations of the distribution of phonon mean-free-paths in crystalline silicon.
1507.03422v4
2015-08-03
Using coronal seismology to estimate the magnetic field strength in a realistic coronal model
Coronal seismology is extensively used to estimate properties of the corona, e.g. the coronal magnetic field strength are derived from oscillations observed in coronal loops. We present a three-dimensional coronal simulation including a realistic energy balance in which we observe oscillations of a loop in synthesised coronal emission. We use these results to test the inversions based on coronal seismology. From the simulation of the corona above an active region we synthesise extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission from the model corona. From this we derive maps of line intensity and Doppler shift providing synthetic data in the same format as obtained from observations. We fit the (Doppler) oscillation of the loop in the same fashion as done for observations to derive the oscillation period and damping time. The loop oscillation seen in our model is similar to imaging and spectroscopic observations of the Sun. The velocity disturbance of the kink oscillation shows an oscillation period of 52.5s and a damping time of 125s, both being consistent with the ranges of periods and damping times found in observation. Using standard coronal seismology techniques, we find an average magnetic field strength of $B_{\rm kink}=79$G for our loop in the simulation, while in the loop the field strength drops from some 300G at the coronal base to 50G at the apex. Using the data from our simulation we can infer what the average magnetic field derived from coronal seismology actually means. It is close to the magnetic field strength in a constant cross-section flux tube that would give the same wave travel time through the loop. Our model produced not only a realistic looking loop-dominated corona, but also provides realistic information on the oscillation properties that can be used to calibrate and better understand the result from coronal seismology.
1508.00593v1
2015-08-27
Nonlinear Landau damping and modulation of electrostatic waves in a nonextensive electron-positron-pair plasma
The nonlinear theory of amplitude modulation of electrostatic wave envelopes in a collisionless electron-positron (EP) pair plasma is studied by using a set of Vlasov-Poisson equations in the context of Tsallis' $q$-nonextensive statistics. In particular, the previous linear theory of Langmuir oscillations in EP plasmas [Phys. Rev. E {\bf87}, 053112 (2013)] is rectified and modified. Applying the multiple scale technique (MST), it is shown that the evolution of electrostatic wave envelopes is governed by a nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger (NLS) equation with a nonlocal nonlinear term $\propto {\cal{P}}\int|\phi(\xi',\tau)|^2d\xi'\phi/(\xi-\xi') $ [where ${\cal P}$ denotes the Cauchy principal value, $\phi$ is the small-amplitude electrostatic (complex) potential, and $\xi$ and $\tau$ are the stretched coordinates in MST] which appears due to the wave-particle resonance. It is found that a subregion $1/3<q\lesssim3/5$ of superextensivity $(q<1)$ exists where the carrier wave frequency can turn over with the group velocity going to zero and then to negative values. The effects of the nonlocal nonlinear term and the nonextensive parameter $q$ are examined on the modulational instability (MI) of wave envelopes as well as on the solitary wave solution of the NLS equation. It is found that the modulated wave packet is always unstable (nonlinear Landau damping) due to the nonlocal nonlinearity in the NLS equation. Furthermore, the effect of the nonlinear Landau damping is to slow down the amplitude of the wave envelope, and the corresponding decay rate can be faster the larger is the number of superthermal particles in pair plasmas.
1508.06903v2
2015-10-03
Systematic investigations of deep sub-barrier fusion reactions using an adiabatic approach
To describe fusion hindrance observed in fusion reactions at extremely low incident energies, I propose a novel extension of the standard CC model by introducing a damping factor that describes a smooth transition from sudden to adiabatic processes. I demonstrate the performance of this model by systematically investigating various deep sub-barrier fusion reactions. I extend the standard CC model by introducing a damping factor into the coupling matrix elements in the standard CC model. I adopt the Yukawa-plus-exponential (YPE) model as a basic heavy ion-ion potential, which is advantageous for a unified description of the one- and two-body potentials. For the purpose of these systematic investigations, I approximate the one-body potential with a third-order polynomial function based on the YPE model. Calculated fusion cross sections for the medium-heavy mass systems of $^{64}$Ni + $^{64}$Ni, $^{58}$Ni + $^{58}$Ni, and $^{58}$Ni + $^{54}$Fe, the medium-light mass systems of $^{40}$Ca + $^{40}$Ca, $^{48}$Ca + $^{48}$Ca, and $^{24}$Mg + $^{30}$Si, and the mass-asymmetric systems of $^{48}$Ca + $^{96}$Zr and $^{16}$O + $^{208}$Pb are consistent with the experimental data. The astrophysical S factor and logarithmic derivative representations of these are also in good agreement with the experimental data. Since the results calculated with the damping factor are in excellent agreement with the experimental data in all systems, I conclude that the smooth transition from the sudden to adiabatic processes occurs and that a coordinate-dependent coupling strength is responsible for the fusion hindrance. In all systems, the potential energies at the touching point $V_{\rm Touch}$ strongly correlate with the incident threshold energies for which the fusion hindrance starts to emerge, except for the medium-light mass systems.
1510.00806v1
2015-10-29
Numerical simulations of transverse oscillations in radiatively cooling coronal loops
We aim to study the influence of radiative cooling on the standing kink oscillations of a coronal loop. Using the FLASH code, we solved the 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations. Our model consists of a straight, density enhanced and gravitationally stratified magnetic flux tube. We perturbed the system initially, leading to a transverse oscillation of the structure, and followed its evolution for a number of periods. A realistic radiative cooling is implemented. Results are compared to available analytical theory. We find that in the linear regime (i.e. low amplitude perturbation and slow cooling) the obtained period and damping time are in good agreement with theory. The cooling leads to an amplification of the oscillation amplitude. However, the difference between the cooling and non-cooling cases is small (around 6% after 6 oscillations). In high amplitude runs with realistic cooling, instabilities deform the loop, leading to increased damping. In this case, the difference between cooling and non-cooling is still negligible at around 12%. A set of simulations with higher density loops are also performed, to explore what happens when the cooling takes place in a very short time (tcool = 100 s). We strengthen the results of previous analytical studies that state that the amplification due to cooling is ineffective, and its influence on the oscillation characteristics is small, at least for the cases shown here. Furthermore, the presence of a relatively strong damping in the high amplitude runs even in the fast cooling case indicates that it is unlikely that cooling could alone account for the observed, flare-related undamped oscillations of coronal loops. These results may be significant in the field of coronal seismology, allowing its application to coronal loop oscillations with observed fading-out or cooling behaviour.
1510.08760v1
2016-04-28
Single-Particle Dynamics in a Nonlinear Accelerator Lattice: Attaining a Large Tune Spread with Octupoles in IOTA
Fermilab is constructing the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) as the centerpiece of the Accelerator R&D Program towards high-intensity circular machines. One of the factors limiting the beam intensity in present circular accelerators is collective instabilities, which can be suppressed by a spread of betatron frequencies (tunes) through the Landau damping mechanism or by an external damper, if the instability is slow enough. The spread is usually created by octupole magnets, which introduce the tune dependence on the amplitude and, in some cases, by a chromatic spread (tune dependence on particle's momentum). The introduction of octupoles usually has both the beneficial (improved Landau damping) and harmful properties, such as a resonant behavior and a reduction of the dynamic aperture. One of the research goals at the IOTA ring is to achieve a large betatron tune spread, while retaining a large dynamic aperture, using conventional octupole magnets in a special but realistic accelerator configuration. In this paper, we present results of computer simulations of an electron beam in the IOTA by particle tracking and the Frequency Map Analysis. The results show that the ring's octupole magnets can be configured to provide a betatron tune shift of 0.08 (for particles at large amplitudes) with the dynamical aperture of over 20 beam sigma for a 150-MeV electron beam. The influence of the synchrotron motion, lattice errors, and magnet imperfections is insignificant for the parameters and levels of tolerances set by the design of the ring. The described octupole insert could be beneficial for enhancing Landau damping in high intensity machines.
1604.08565v4
2016-10-12
Dipole modes with depressed amplitudes in red giants are mixed modes
Seismic observations have shown that a number of evolved stars exhibit low-amplitude dipole modes, which are referred to as depressed modes. Recently, these low amplitudes have been attributed to the presence of a strong magnetic field in the stellar core of those stars. We intend to study the properties of depressed modes in evolved stars, which is a necessary condition before concluding on the physical nature of the mechanism responsible for the reduction of the dipole mode amplitudes. We perform a thorough characterization of the global seismic parameters of depressed dipole modes and show that these modes have a mixed character. The observation of stars showing dipole mixed modes that are depressed is especially useful for deriving model-independent conclusions on the dipole mode damping. Observations prove that depressed dipole modes in red giants are not pure pressure modes but mixed modes. This result invalidates the hypothesis that the depressed dipole modes result from the suppression of the oscillation in the radiative core of the stars. Observations also show that, except for the visibility, the seismic properties of the stars with depressed modes are equivalent to those of normal stars. The mixed nature of the depressed modes in red giants and their unperturbed global seismic parameters carry strong constraints on the physical mechanism responsible for the damping of the oscillation in the core. This mechanism is able to damp the oscillation in the core but cannot fully suppress it. Moreover, it cannot modify the radiative cavity probed by the gravity component of the mixed modes. The recent mechanism involving high magnetic field proposed for explaining depressed modes is not compliant with the observations and cannot be used to infer the strength and the prevalence of high magnetic fields in red giants.
1610.03872v1
2016-11-07
Three-phonon and four-phonon interaction processes in a pair-condensed Fermi gas
We study the interactions among phonons and the phonon lifetime in a pair-condensed Fermi gas in the BEC-BCS crossover in the collisionless regime. To compute the phonon-phonon coupling amplitudes we use a microscopic model based on a generalized BCS Ansatz including moving pairs, which allows for a systematic expansion around the mean field BCS approximation of the ground state. We show that the quantum hydrodynamic expression of the amplitudes obtained by Landau and Khalatnikov apply only on the energy shell, that is for resonant processes that conserve energy. The microscopic model yields the same excitation spectrum as the Random Phase Approximation, with a linear (phononic) start and a concavity at low wave number that changes from upwards to downwards in the BEC-BCS crossover. When the concavity of the dispersion relation is upwards at low wave number, the leading damping mechanism at low temperature is the Beliaev-Landau process 2 phonons $\leftrightarrow$ 1 phonon while, when the concavity is downwards, it is the Landau-Khalatnikov process 2 phonons $\leftrightarrow$ 2 phonons. In both cases, by rescaling the wave vectors to absorb the dependence on the interaction strength, we obtain a universal formula for the damping rate. This universal formula corrects and extends the original analytic results of Landau and Khalatnikov [ZhETF {\bf 19}, 637 (1949)] for the $2\leftrightarrow2$ processes in the downward concavity case. In the upward concavity case, for the Beliaev 1$\leftrightarrow$ 2 process for the unitary gas at zero temperature, we calculate the damping rate of an excitation with wave number $q$ including the first correction proportional to $q^7$ to the $q^5$ hydrodynamic prediction, which was never done before in a systematic way.
1611.01954v3
2016-11-20
Migration of Planets Into and Out of Mean Motion Resonances in Protoplanetary Disks: Analytical Theory of Second-Order Resonances
Recent observations of Kepler multi-planet systems have revealed a number of systems with planets very close to second-order mean motion resonances (MMRs, with period ratio $1:3$, $3:5$, etc.) We present an analytic study of resonance capture and its stability for planets migrating in gaseous disks. Resonance capture requires slow convergent migration of the planets, with sufficiently large eccentricity damping timescale $T_e$ and small pre-resonance eccentricities. We quantify these requirements and find that they can be satisfied for super-Earths under protoplanetary disk conditions. For planets captured into resonance, an equilibrium state can be reached, in which eccentricity excitation due to resonant planet-planet interaction balances eccentricity damping due to planet-disk interaction. We show that this "captured" equilibrium can be overstable, leading to partial or permanent escape of the planets from the resonance. In general, the stability of the captured state depends on the inner to outer planet mass ratio $q=m_1/m_2$ and the ratio of the eccentricity damping times. The overstability growth time is of order $T_e$, but can be much larger for systems close to the stability threshold. For low-mass planets undergoing type I (non-gap opening) migration, convergent migration requires $q \lesssim 1$, while the stability of the capture requires $q\gtrsim 1$. These results suggest that planet pairs stably captured into second-order MMRs have comparable masses. This is in contrast to first-order MMRs, where a larger parameter space exists for stable resonance capture. We confirm and extend our analytical results with $N$-body simulations, and show that for overstable capture, the escape time from the MMR can be comparable to the time the planets spend migrating between resonances.
1611.06463v2
2016-11-29
Kinetic Field Theory: Effects of momentum correlations on the cosmic density-fluctuation power spectrum
In earlier work, we have developed a Kinetic Field Theory (KFT) for cosmological structure formation and showed that the non-linear density-fluctuation power spectrum known from numerical simulations can be reproduced quite well even if particle interactions are taken into account to first order only. Besides approximating gravitational interactions, we had to truncate the initial correlation hierarchy of particle momenta at the second order. Here, we substantially simplify KFT. We show that its central object, the free generating functional, can be factorized, taking the full hierarchy of momentum correlations into account. The factors appearing in the generating functional, which we identify as non-linearly evolved density-fluctuation power spectra, have a universal form and can thus be tabulated for fast access in perturbation schemes. In this paper, we focus on a complete evaluation of the free generating functional of KFT, not including particle interactions yet. This implies that the non-linearly evolved power spectra contain a damping term which reflects that structures are being wiped out at late times by free streaming. Once particle interactions will be taken into account, they will compensate this damping. If we suppress this damping in a way suggested by the fluctuation-dissipation relations of KFT, our results show that the complete hierarchy of initial momentum correlations is responsible for a large part of the characteristic non-linear deformation and the mode transport in the density-fluctuation power spectrum. Without any adjustable parameters, KFT accurately reproduces the scale at which non-linear evolution sets in. Finally, we further develop perturbation theory based on the factorization of the generating functional and propose a diagrammatic scheme for the perturbation terms.
1611.09503v2
2016-12-08
Highly inclined and eccentric massive planets. II. Planet-planet interactions during the disc phase
We aim to investigate the influence of the eccentricity and inclination damping due to planet-disc interactions on the final configurations of the systems, generalizing previous studies on the combined action of the gas disc and planet-planet scattering during the disc phase. Instead of the simplistic $K$-prescription, our n-body simulations adopt the damping formulae for eccentricity and inclination provided by the hydrodynamical simulations of our companion paper. We follow the evolution of $11000$ numerical experiments of three giant planets in the late stage of the gas disc, exploring different initial configurations, planetary mass ratios and disc masses. The dynamical evolutions of the planetary systems are studied along the simulations, with emphasis on the resonance captures and inclination-growth mechanisms. Most of the systems are found with small inclinations ($\le10^{\circ}$) at the dispersal of the disc. Even though many systems enter an inclination-type resonance during the migration, the disc usually damps the inclinations on a short timescale. Although the majority of the multiple systems in our results are quasi-coplanar, $\sim5\%$ of them end up with high mutual inclinations ($\ge10^{\circ}$). Half of these highly mutually inclined systems result from two- or three-body MMR captures, the other half being produced by orbital instability and/or planet-planet scattering. When considering the long-term evolution over $100$ Myr, destabilization of the resonant systems is common, and the percentage of highly mutually inclined systems still evolving in resonance drops to $30\%$. Finally, the parameters of the final system configurations are in very good agreement with the semi-major axis and eccentricity distributions in the observations, showing that planet-planet interactions during the disc phase could have played an important role in sculpting planetary systems.
1612.02693v1
2017-02-22
A Model of Energetic Ion Effects on Pressure Driven Tearing Modes in Tokamaks
The effects that energetic trapped ions have on linear resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities are studied in a reduced model that captures the essential physics driving or damping the modes through variations in the magnetic shear. The drift-kinetic orbital interaction of a slowing down distribution of trapped energetic ions with a resistive MHD instability is integrated to a scalar contribution to the perturbed pressure, and entered into an asymptotic matching formalism for the resistive MHD dispersion relation. Toroidal magnetic field line curvature is included to model trapping in the particle distribution, in an otherwise cylindrical model. The focus is on a configuration that is driven unstable to the m/n = 2/1 mode by increasing pressure, where m is the poloidal mode number and n the toroidal. The particles and pressure can affect the mode both in the core region where there can be low and reversed shear and outside the resonant surface in significant positive shear. The results show that the energetic ions damp and stabilize the mode when orbiting in significant positive shear, increasing the marginal stability boundary. However, the inner core region contribution with low and reversed shear can drive the mode unstable. This effect of shear on the energetic ion pressure contribution is found to be consistent with the literature. These results explain the observation that the 2/1 mode was found to be damped and stabilized by energetic ions in {\delta}f - MHD simulations of tokamak experiments with positive shear throughout, while the 2/1 mode was found to be driven unstable in simulations of experiments with weakly reversed shear in the core. This is also found to be consistent with related experimental observations of the stability of the 2/1 mode changing significantly with core shear.
1702.06837v2
2017-06-16
Damping of Rabi oscillations in intensity-dependent photon echoes from exciton complexes in a CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te single quantum well
We study Rabi oscillations detected in the coherent optical response from various exciton complexes in a 20~nm-thick CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well using time-resolved photon echoes. In order to evaluate the role of exciton localization and inhomogeneous broadening we use selective excitation with spectrally narrow ps-pulses. We demonstrate that the transient profile of the photon echo from the localized trion (X$^-$) and the donor-bound exciton (D$^0$X) transitions strongly depends on the strength of the first pulse. It acquires a non-Gaussian shape and experiences significant advancement for pulse areas larger than $\pi$ due to non-negligible inhomogeneity-induced dephasing of the oscillators during the optical excitation. Next, we observe that an increase of the area of either the first (excitation) or the second (rephasing) pulse leads to a significant damping of the photon echo signal, which is strongest for the neutral excitons and less pronounced for the donor-bound exciton complex (D$^0$X). The measurements are analyzed using a theoretical model based on the optical Bloch equations which accounts for the inhomogeneity of optical transitions in order to reproduce the complex shape of the photon echo transients. In addition, the spreading of Rabi frequencies within the ensemble due to the spatial variation of the intensity of the focused Gaussian beams and excitation-induced dephasing are required to explain the fading and damping of Rabi oscillations. By analyzing the results of the simulation for the X$^-$ and the D$^0$X complexes we are able to establish a correlation between the degree of localization and the transition dipole moments determined as $\mu($X$^-$)=73~D and $\mu($D$^0$X)=58~D.
1706.05327v1
2017-06-28
Generating Log-normal Mock Catalog of Galaxies in Redshift Space
We present a public code to generate a mock galaxy catalog in redshift space assuming a log-normal probability density function (PDF) of galaxy and matter density fields. We draw galaxies by Poisson-sampling the log-normal field, and calculate the velocity field from the linearised continuity equation of matter fields, assuming zero vorticity. This procedure yields a PDF of the pairwise velocity fields that is qualitatively similar to that of N-body simulations. We check fidelity of the catalog, showing that the measured two-point correlation function and power spectrum in real space agree with the input precisely. We find that a linear bias relation in the power spectrum does not guarantee a linear bias relation in the density contrasts, leading to a cross-correlation coefficient of matter and galaxies deviating from unity on small scales. We also find that linearising the Jacobian of the real-to-redshift space mapping provides a poor model for the two-point statistics in redshift space. That is, non-linear redshift-space distortion is dominated by non-linearity in the Jacobian. The power spectrum in redshift space shows a damping on small scales that is qualitatively similar to that of the well-known Fingers-of-God (FoG) effect due to random velocities, except that the log-normal mock does not include random velocities. This damping is a consequence of non-linearity in the Jacobian, and thus attributing the damping of the power spectrum solely to FoG, as commonly done in the literature, is misleading.
1706.09195v2
2017-07-31
Investigating quantum wireless multihop teleportation under decoherence
This research work scrutinizes quantum routing protocol with multihop teleportation for wireless mesh backbone networks, in amplitude and phase damping channels. After analyzing the quantum multihop protocol, we select a four-qubit cluster state as the quantum channel for the protocol. The quantum channel linking the intermediate nodes has been established via entanglement swapping based on four-qubit cluster state. Also, we established the classical and the quantum route in a distributed manner. We show that from the source node to the destination node, quantum information can be teleported hop-by-hop through an amplitude damping channel. We show that the quantum teleportation could be successful if the sender node performs Bell state measurements (BSM), and the receiver introduces auxiliary particles, applies positive operative value measure and then utilizes corresponding unitary transformation to recover the transmitted state. We scrutinize the success probability of transferring the quantum state through a noisy channel. We found that optimum probability would be attained if decoherence rate of amplitude damping channel ($\xi_a$) is zero or the number of hops ($N$) is above $75$. Our numerical results evince susceptibility of success probability to $\xi_a$ and $N$. It has been shown that as the decoherence increases, the fidelity exponentially decays until it vanishes. This decay is as a consequence of information loss from the system to the surrounding. However, the fidelity can be enhanced by considering fewer hops.
1708.00087v6
2017-11-30
Origins of sharp cosmic-ray electron structures and the DAMPE excess
Nearby sources may contribute to cosmic-ray electron (CRE) structures at high energies. Recently, the first DAMPE results on the CRE flux hinted at a narrow excess at energy ~1.4 TeV. We show that in general a spectral structure with a narrow width appears in two scenarios: I) "Spectrum broadening" for the continuous sources with a delta-function-like injection spectrum. In this scenario, a finite width can develop after propagation through the Galaxy, which can reveal the distance of the source. Well-motivated sources include mini-spikes and subhalos formed by dark matter (DM) particles $\chi_{s}$ which annihilate directly into e+e- pairs. II) "Phase-space shrinking" for burst-like sources with a power-law-like injection spectrum. The spectrum after propagation can shrink at a cooling-related cutoff energy and form a sharp spectral peak. The peak can be more prominent due to the energy-dependent diffusion. In this scenario, the width of the excess constrains both the power index and the distance of the source. Possible such sources are pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) and supernova remnants (SNRs). We analysis the DAMPE excess and find that the continuous DM sources should be fairly close within ~0.3 kpc, and the annihilation cross sections are close to the thermal value. For the burst-like source, the narrow width of the excess suggests that the injection spectrum must be hard with power index significantly less than two, the distance is within ~(3-4) kpc, and the age of the source is ~0.16 Myr. In both scenarios, large anisotropies in the CRE flux are predicted. We identify possible candidates of mini-spike (PWN) sources in the current Fermi-LAT 3FGL (ATNF) catalog. The diffuse gamma-rays from these sources can be well below the Galactic diffuse gamma-ray backgrounds and less constrained by the Ferm-LAT data, if they are located at the low Galactic latitude regions.
1712.00005v2
2017-11-30
Bayesian analysis of the break in DAMPE lepton spectra
Recently, DAMPE has released its first results on the high-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs) from about $25$ GeV to $4.6$ TeV, which directly detect a break at $\sim 1$ TeV. This result gives us an excellent opportunity to study the source of the CREs excess. In this work, we used the data fo proton and helium flux (from AMS-02 and CREAM), $\bar{\mathrm{p}}/\mathrm{p}$ ratio (from AMS-02), positron flux (from AMS-02) and CREs flux (from DAMPE without the peak signal point at $\sim 1.4$ TeV) to do global fitting simultaneously, which can account the influence from the propagation model, the nuclei and electron primary source injection and the secondary lepton production precisely. For extra source to interpret the excess in lepton spectrum, we consider two separate scenarios (pulsar and dark matter annihilation via leptonic channels) to construct the bump ($\gtrsim 100$ GeV) and the break at $\sim 1$ TeV. The result shows: (i) in pulsar scenario, the spectral index of the injection should be $\nu_{\mathrm{psr}} \sim 0.65$ and the cut-off should be $R_{c} \sim 650$ GV; (ii) in dark matter scenario, the dark matter particle's mass is $m_{\chi} \sim 1208$ GeV and the cross section is $\langle \sigma v \rangle \sim 1.48 \times 10^{-23} \mathrm{cm}^{3} \mathrm{s}^{-1}$. Moreover, in the dark matter scenario, the $\tau \bar{\tau}$ annihilation channel is highly suppressed, and a DM model is built to satisfy the fitting results.
1712.00372v4
2017-12-07
Internal alignment and position resolution of the silicon tracker of DAMPE determined with orbit data
The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is a space-borne particle detector designed to probe electrons and gamma-rays in the few GeV to 10 TeV energy range, as well as cosmic-ray proton and nuclei components between 10 GeV and 100 TeV. The silicon-tungsten tracker-converter is a crucial component of DAMPE. It allows the direction of incoming photons converting into electron-positron pairs to be estimated, and the trajectory and charge (Z) of cosmic-ray particles to be identified. It consists of 768 silicon micro-strip sensors assembled in 6 double layers with a total active area of 6.6 m$^2$. Silicon planes are interleaved with three layers of tungsten plates, resulting in about one radiation length of material in the tracker. Internal alignment parameters of the tracker have been determined on orbit, with non-showering protons and helium nuclei. We describe the alignment procedure and present the position resolution and alignment stability measurements.
1712.02739v2
2018-01-24
Modelling redshift-space distortion in the post-reionization ${\rm HI}$ 21-cm power spectrum
The post-reionization ${\rm HI}$ 21-cm signal is an excellent candidate for precision cosmology, this however requires accurate modelling of the expected signal. Sarkar et al. (2016) have simulated the real space ${\rm HI}$ 21-cm signal, and have modelled the ${\rm HI}$ power spectrum as $P_{{\rm HI}}(k)=b^2 P(k)$ where $P(k)$ is the dark matter power spectrum and $b(k)$ is a (possibly complex) scale dependent bias for which fitting formulas have been provided. This paper extends these simulations to incorporate redshift space distortion and predict the expected redshift space ${\rm HI}$ 21-cm power spectrum $P^s_{{\rm HI}}(k_{\perp},k_{\parallel})$ using two different prescriptions for the ${\rm HI}$ distributions and peculiar velocities. We model $P^s_{{\rm HI}}(k_{\perp},k_{\parallel})$ assuming that it is the product of $P_{{\rm HI}}(k)=b^2 P(k)$ with a Kaiser enhancement term and a Finger of God (FoG) damping which has $\sigma_p$ the pair velocity dispersion as a free parameter. Considering several possibilities for the bias and the damping profile, we find that the models with a scale dependent bias and a Lorentzian damping profile best fit the simulated $P^s_{{\rm HI}}(k_{\perp},k_{\parallel})$ over the entire range $1 \le z \le 6$. The best fit value of $\sigma_p$ falls approximately as $(1+z)^{-m}$ with $m=2$ and $1.2$ respectively for the two different prescriptions. The model predictions are consistent with the simulations for $k < 0.3 \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ over the entire $z$ range for the monopole $P^s_0(k)$, and at $z \le 3$ for the quadrupole $P^s_2(k)$. At $z \ge 4$ the models underpredict $P^s_2(k)$ at large $k$, and the fit is restricted to $k < 0.15 \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$.
1801.07868v1
2018-02-16
Quantitative Constraints on the Reionization History from the IGM Damping Wing Signature in Two Quasars at z > 7
During reionization, neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) imprints a damping wing absorption feature on the spectrum of high-redshift quasars. A detection of this signature provides compelling evidence for a significantly neutral Universe, and enables measurements of the hydrogen neutral fraction $x_{\rm HI}(z)$ at that epoch. Obtaining reliable quantitative constraints from this technique, however, is challenging due to stochasticity induced by the patchy inside-out topology of reionization, degeneracies with quasar lifetime, and the unknown unabsorbed quasar spectrum close to rest-frame Ly$\alpha$. We combine a large-volume semi-numerical simulation of reionization topology with 1D radiative transfer through high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the high-redshift Universe to construct models of quasar transmission spectra during reionization. Our state-of-the-art approach captures the distribution of damping wing strengths in biased quasar halos that should have reionized earlier, as well as the erosion of neutral gas in the quasar environment caused by its own ionizing radiation. Combining this detailed model with our new technique for predicting the quasar continuum and its associated uncertainty, we introduce a Bayesian statistical method to jointly constrain the neutral fraction of the Universe and the quasar lifetime from individual quasar spectra. We apply this methodology to the spectra of the two highest redshift quasars known, ULAS J1120+0641 and ULAS J1342+0928, and measured volume-averaged neutral fractions $\langle x_{\rm HI} \rangle(z=7.09)=0.48^{+0.26}_{-0.26}$ and $\langle x_{\rm HI} \rangle(z=7.54)=0.60^{+0.20}_{-0.23}$ (posterior medians and 68% credible intervals) when marginalized over quasar lifetimes of $10^3 \leq t_{\rm q} \leq 10^8$ years.
1802.06066v1
2018-02-16
Landau Damping in a strong magnetic field: Dissociation of Quarkonia
We have investigated the effects of strong magnetic field on the properties of quarkonia immersed in a thermal medium of quarks and gluons and studied its quasi-free dissociation due to the Landau-damping. Thermalizing the Schwinger propagator in the lowest Landau levels for quarks and the Feynman propagator for gluons in real-time formalism, we have calculated the resummed retarded and symmetric propagators, which in turn give the real and imaginary components of dielectric permittivity, respectively. The magnetic field affects the large-distance interaction more than the short-distance interaction, as a result, the real part of potential becomes more attractive and the magnitude of imaginary part too becomes larger, compared to the thermal medium in absence of strong magnetic field. As a consequence the average size of $J/\psi$'s and $\psi^\prime$'s are increased but $\chi_c$'s get shrunk. Similarly the magnetic field affects the binding of $J/\psi$'s and $\chi_c$'s discriminately, i.e. it decreases the binding of $J/\psi$ and increases for $\chi_c$. However, the further increase in magnetic field results in the decrease of binding energies. On contrary the magnetic field increases the width of the resonances, unless the temperature is sufficiently high. We have finally studied how the presence of magnetic field affects the dissolution of quarkonia in a thermal medium due to the Landau damping, where the dissociation temperatures are found to increase compared to the thermal medium in absence of magnetic field. However, further increase of magnetic field decreases the dissociation temperatures. For example, $J/\psi$'s and $\chi_c$'s are dissociated at higher temperatures at 2 $T_c$ and 1.1 $T_c$ at a magnetic field $eB \approx 6~{\rm{and}}~4~m_\pi^2$, respectively, compared to the values 1.60 $T_c$ and 0.8 $T_c$ in the absence of magnetic field, respectively.
1802.06874v1
2018-05-09
Amplitude and lifetime of radial modes in red giant star spectra observed by Kepler
Context: the space-borne missions CoRoT and Kepler have provided photometric observations of unprecedented quality. The study of solar-like oscillations observed in red giant stars by these satellites allows a better understanding of the different physical processes occurring in their interiors. In particular, the study of the mode excitation and damping is a promising way to improve our understanding of stellar physics that has, so far, been performed only on a limited number of targets. Aims: the recent asteroseismic characterization of the evolutionary status for a large number of red giants allows us to study the physical processes acting in the interior of red giants and how they are modify during stellar evolution. In this work, we aim to obtain information on the excitation and damping of pressure modes through the measurement of the stars' pressure mode widths and amplitudes and to analyze how they are modified with stellar evolution. The objective is to bring observational constraints on the modeling of the physical processes behind mode excitation and damping. Methods: we fit the frequency spectra of red giants with well defined evolutionary status using Lorentzians functions to derive the pressure mode widths and amplitudes. To strengthen our conclusions, we used two different fitting techniques. Results: pressure mode widths and amplitudes were determined for more than 5000 red giants. With a stellar sample two orders of magnitude larger than previous results, we confirmed that the mode width depends on stellar evolution and varies with stellar effective temperature. In addition, we discovered that the mode width depends on stellar mass. We also confirmed observationally the influence of the stellar metallicity on the mode amplitudes, as predicted by models.
1805.03690v1
2018-05-31
Impact of bias and redshift-space modelling for the halo power spectrum: Testing the effective field theory of large-scale structure
We study the impact of different bias and redshift-space models on the halo power spectrum, quantifying their effect by comparing the fit to a subset of realizations taken from the WizCOLA suite. These provide simulated power spectrum measurements between $k_{\rm min}$ = 0.03 h/Mpc and $k_{\rm max}$ = 0.29 h/Mpc, constructed using the comoving Lagrangian acceleration method. For the bias prescription we include (i) simple linear bias; (ii) the McDonald & Roy model and (iii) its coevolution variant introduced by Saito et al.; and (iv) a very general model including all terms up to one-loop and corrections from advection. For the redshift-space modelling we include the Kaiser formula with exponential damping and the power spectrum provided by (i) tree-level perturbation theory and (ii) the Halofit prescription; (iii) one-loop perturbation theory, also with exponential damping; and (iv) an effective field theory description, also at one-loop, with damping represented by the EFT subtractions. We quantify the improvement from each layer of modelling by measuring the typical improvement in chi-square when fitting to a member of the simulation suite. We attempt to detect overfitting by testing for compatibility between the best-fit power spectrum per realization and the best-fit over the entire WizCOLA suite. For both bias and the redshift-space map we find that increasingly permissive models yield improvements in chi-square but with diminishing returns. The most permissive models show modest evidence for overfitting. Accounting for model complexity using the Bayesian Information Criterion, we argue that standard perturbation theory up to one-loop, or a related model such as that of Taruya, Nishimichi & Saito, coupled to the coevolution bias model, is likely to provide a good compromise for near-future galaxy surveys operating with comparable $k_{\rm max}$.
1805.12394v3
2018-06-10
Non-damping oscillations at flaring loops
Context. QPPs are usually detected as spatial displacements of coronal loops in imaging observations or as periodic shifts of line properties in spectroscopic observations. They are often applied for remote diagnostics of magnetic fields and plasma properties on the Sun. Aims. We combine imaging and spectroscopic measurements of available space missions, and investigate the properties of non-damping oscillations at flaring loops. Methods. We used the IRIS to measure the spectrum over a narrow slit. The double-component Gaussian fitting method was used to extract the line profile of Fe XXI 1354.08 A at "O I" window. The quasi-periodicity of loop oscillations were identified in the Fourier and wavelet spectra. Results. A periodicity at about 40 s is detected in the line properties of Fe XXI, HXR emissions in GOES 1-8 A derivative, and Fermi 26-50 keV. The Doppler velocity and line width oscillate in phase, while a phase shift of about Pi/2 is detected between the Doppler velocity and peak intensity. The amplitudes of Doppler velocity and line width oscillation are about 2.2 km/s and 1.9 km/s, respectively, while peak intensity oscillate with amplitude at about 3.6% of the background emission. Meanwhile, a quasi-period of about 155 s is identified in the Doppler velocity and peak intensity of Fe XXI, and AIA 131 A intensity. Conclusions. The oscillations at about 40 s are not damped significantly during the observation, it might be linked to the global kink modes of flaring loops. The periodicity at about 155 s is most likely a signature of recurring downflows after chromospheric evaporation along flaring loops. The magnetic field strengths of the flaring loops are estimated to be about 120-170 G using the MHD seismology diagnostics, which are consistent with the magnetic field modeling results using the flux rope insertion method.
1806.03573v1
2018-07-04
Constraints on reionisation from the z=7.5 QSO ULASJ1342+0928
The recent detection of ULASJ1342+0928, a bright QSO at $z=7.54$, provides a powerful probe of the ionisation state of the intervening intergalactic medium, potentially allowing us to set strong constraints on the epoch of reionisation (EoR). Here we quantify the presence of Ly$\alpha$ damping wing absorption from the EoR in the spectrum of ULASJ1342+0928. Our Bayesian framework simultaneously accounts for uncertainties on: (i) the intrinsic QSO emission (obtained from reconstructing the Ly$\alpha$ profile from a covariance matrix of emission lines) and (ii) the distribution of HII regions during reionisation (obtained from three different 1.6$^3$ Gpc$^3$ simulations spanning the range of plausible EoR morphologies). Our analysis is complementary to that in the discovery paper (Ba\~nados et al.) and the accompanying method paper (Davies et al.) as it focuses solely on the damping wing imprint redward of Ly$\alpha$ ($1218 < \lambda < 1230$\AA), and uses a different methodology for (i) and (ii). We recover weak evidence for damping wing absorption. Our intermediate EoR model yields a volume-weighted neutral hydrogen fraction at $z=7.5$ of $\bar{x}_{\rm HI} = 0.21\substack{+0.17 \\ -0.19}$ (68 per cent). The constraints depend weakly on the EoR morphology. Our limits are lower than those presented previously, though they are consistent at ~1-1.5$\sigma$. We attribute this difference to: (i) a lower amplitude intrinsic Ly$\alpha$ profile obtained from our reconstruction pipeline, driven by correlations with other high-ionisation lines in the spectrum which are relatively weak; and (ii) only considering transmission redward of Ly$\alpha$ when computing the likelihood, which reduces the available constraining power but makes the results less model-dependent. Our results are consistent with previous estimates of the EoR history, and support the picture of a moderately extended EoR.
1807.01593v1
2018-07-04
Stellar masses, metallicity gradients and suppressed star formation revealed in a new sample of absorption selected galaxies
Context. Absorbing galaxies are selected via the detection of characteristic absorption lines which their gas-rich media imprint in the spectra of distant light-beacons. The proximity of the typically faint foreground absorbing galaxies to bright background sources makes it challenging to robustly identify these in emission, and hence to characterise their relation to the general galaxy population. Aims. We search for emission to confirm and characterise ten galaxies hosting damped, metal-rich quasar absorbers at redshift z < 1. Methods. We identify the absorbing galaxies by matching spectroscopic absorption -and emission redshifts and from projected separations. Combining emission-line diagnostics with existing absorption spectroscopy and photometry of quasar-fields hosting metal-rich, damped absorbers, we compare our new detections with reference samples and place them on scaling relations. Results. We spectroscopically confirm seven galaxies harbouring damped absorbers (a 70% success-rate). Our results conform to the emerging picture that neutral gas on scales of tens of kpc in galaxies is what causes the characteristic Hi absorption. Our key results are: (I) Absorbing galaxies with $\log _{10} [M_\star ~(M_\odot)] \gtrsim 10$ have star formation rates that are lower than predicted for the main sequence of star formation. (II) The distribution of impact parameter with Hi column density and with absorption-metallicity for absorbing galaxies at $z\sim 2-3$ extends to $z\sim 0.7$ and to lower Hi column densities. (III) A robust mean metallicity gradient of $\langle \Gamma \rangle = 0.022 \pm 0.001~[dex~kpc^{-1}]$. (IV) By correcting absorption metallicities for $\langle \Gamma \rangle$ and imposing a truncation-radius at $12~\mathrm{kpc}$, absorbing galaxies fall on top of predicted mass-metallicity relations, with a statistically significant decrease in scatter.
1807.01755v1
2018-07-05
Stationarity and energy transfer in out-of-equilibrium systems
We define a characteristic energy density based on the measurement of the two first moments of the extrinsic injected power smoothed over time. Using the stationarity, we show that this definition characterizes an energy per degrees freedom of the intrinsic dissipation. Our framework can be applied to systems in contact with thermostats put out of equilibrium by an external driving but it holds also for intrinsically dissipative macroscopic systems that go at rest when the forcing is stopped. Moreover, we are not concerned about the fluctuations around zero of the smoothed injected power that can be extremely rare and difficult to catch experimentally. Then we show that the characteristic energy density we defined, reduces to the kinetic energy of a Brownian-like particle described by a set of Langevin equations with a viscous damping term. The particle can be either in contact with a thermostat or intrinsically dissipative and driven by a random force. In the first case, we recover the result obtained in the framework of the fluctuation relation but extended to a correlated thermal noise. Our characteristic energy density is measured in an experimental system of nonlinear waves generated by a large shaker in a thin elastic plate. A smaller shaker attached to the moving plate is used as a probe to measure the energy exchanged with the plate excited by the large shaker. For both, the proportionality of our characteristic energy density with the kinetic energy is demonstrated. It is a consequence of the viscous damping driving the dissipation in this system. Another system with nonlinear frictional dissipation is investigated numerically model. In this case, our definition of energy density deduced from fluctuations of injected power still characterizes the dissipation but is no more proportional to the kinetic energy because the dissipative process is not a viscous damping.
1807.01856v1
2018-09-05
Nonlinear Mixed Modes in Red Giants
Turbulent motions in the convective envelope of red giants excite a rich spectrum of solar-like oscillation modes. Observations by CoRoT and Kepler have shown that the mode amplitudes increase dramatically as the stars ascend the red giant branch, i.e., as the frequency of maximum power, $\nu_\mathrm{max}$, decreases. Most studies nonetheless assume that the modes are well described by the linearized fluid equations. We investigate to what extent the linear approximation is justified as a function of stellar mass $M$ and $\nu_\mathrm{max}$, focusing on dipole mixed modes with frequency near $\nu_\mathrm{max}$. A useful measure of a mode's nonlinearity is the product of its radial wavenumber and its radial displacement, $k_r \xi_r$ (i.e., its shear). We show that $k_r \xi_r \propto \nu_\mathrm{max}^{-9/2}$, implying that the nonlinearity of mixed modes increases significantly as a star evolves. The modes are weakly nonlinear ($k_r \xi_r > 10^{-3}$) for $\nu_\mathrm{max} \lesssim 150 \, \mu\mathrm{Hz}$ and strongly nonlinear ($k_r \xi_r > 1$) for $\nu_\mathrm{max} \lesssim 30 \, \mu\mathrm{Hz}$, with only a mild dependence on $M$ over the range we consider ($1.0 - 2.0 M_\odot$). A weakly nonlinear mixed mode can excite secondary waves in the stellar core through the parametric instability, resulting in enhanced, but partial, damping of the mode. By contrast, a strongly nonlinear mode breaks as it propagates through the core and is fully damped there. Evaluating the impact of nonlinear effects on observables such as mode amplitudes and linewidths requires large mode network simulations. We plan to carry out such calculations in the future and investigate whether nonlinear damping can explain why some red giants exhibit dipole modes with unusually small amplitudes, known as depressed modes.
1809.01727v2
2018-12-14
Probing neutron star structure via f-mode oscillations and damping in dynamical spacetime models
Gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations can provide new insights into the nature of matter at supra-nuclear densities inside neutron stars. Improvements in electromagnetic and gravitational wave sensing instruments continue to enhance the accuracy with which they can measure the masses, radii, and tidal deformability of neutron stars. These better measurements place tighter constraints on the equation of state of cold matter above nuclear density. In this article, we discuss a complementary approach to get insights into the structure of neutron stars by providing a model prediction for non-linear fundamental eigenmodes (f-modes) and their decay over time, which are thought to be induced by time-dependent tides in neutron star binaries. Building on pioneering studies that relate the properties of f-modes to the structure of neutron stars, we systematically study this link in the non-perturbative regime using models that utilize numerical relativity. Using a suite of fully relativistic numerical relativity simulations of oscillating TOV stars, we establish blueprints for the numerical accuracy needed to accurately compute the frequency and damping times of f-mode oscillations, which we expect to be a good guide for the requirements in the binary case. We show that the resulting f-mode frequencies match established results from linear perturbation theory, but the damping times within numerical errors depart from linear predictions. This work lays the foundation for upcoming studies aimed at a comparison of theoretical models of f-mode signatures in gravitational waves, and their uncertainties with actual gravitational wave data, searching for neutron star binaries on highly eccentric orbits, and probing neutron star structure at high densities.
1812.06126v1
2019-05-06
Proximate Molecular Quasar Absorbers: Excess of damped H2 systems at zabs~zQSO in SDSS DR14
We present results from a search for strong H2 absorption systems proximate to quasars (zabs~zem) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 14. The search is based on the Lyman-Werner band signature of damped H2 absorption lines without any prior on the associated metal or neutral hydrogen content. This has resulted in the detection of 81 systems with log N(H2)~19-20 located within a few thousand km/s from the quasar. Compared to a control sample of intervening systems, this implies an excess of proximate H2 systems by about a factor of 4 to 5. The incidence of H2 systems increases steeply with decreasing relative velocity, reaching an order of magnitude higher than expected from intervening statistics at Delta_v<1000 km/s. The most striking feature of the proximate systems compared to the intervening ones is the presence of Ly-alpha emission in the core of the associated damped HI absorption line in about half of the sample. This puts constraints on the relative projected sizes of the absorbing clouds to those of the quasar line emitting regions. Using the SDSS spectra, we estimate the HI, metal and dust content of the systems, which are found to have typical metallicities of one tenth Solar, albeit with a large spread among individual systems. We observe trends between the fraction of leaking Ly-alpha emission and the relative absorber-quasar velocity as well as with the excitation of several metal species, similar to what has been seen in metal-selected proximate DLAs. With the help of theoretical HI-H2 transition relations, we show that the presence of H2 helps to break the degeneracy between density and strength of the UV field as main sources of excitation and hence provides unique constraints on the possible origin and location of the absorbing clouds. We suggest that most of these systems originate from galaxies in the quasar group. [truncated]
1905.02040v1
2019-07-17
Sub-damped Lyman alpha systems in the XQ-100 survey I -- Identification and contribution to the cosmological HI budget
Sub-damped Lyman alpha systems (subDLAs; HI column densities of 19.0<=logN(HI)<20.3) are rarely included in the cosmic HI census performed at redshifts z>=1.5, yet are expected to contribute significantly to the overall HI mass budget of the Universe. In this paper, we present a blindly selected sample of 155 subDLAs found along 100 quasar sightlines (with a redshift path length X=475) in the XQ-100 survey to investigate the contribution of subDLAs to the HI mass density of the Universe. The impact of X-Shooter's spectral resolution on sub-DLA identification is evaluated, and found to be sufficient for reliably finding absorbers with logN(HI)>=18.9. We compared the implications of searching for subDLAs solely using HI absorption versus the use of additional metal lines to confirm the identification, and found that metal-selection techniques would have missed 75 subDLAs. Using a bootstrap-Monte Carlo simulation, we computed the column density distribution function (f(N,X)) and the cosmological HI mass density of subDLAs and compared with our previous work based on the XQ-100 damped Lyman alpha systems. We do not find any significant redshift evolution in f(N,X) or cosmological HI mass density for subDLAs. However, subDLAs contribute 10-20 per cent of the total cosmological HI mass density measured at redshifts 2<z<5 (agreeing with previous measurements), and thus have a small but significant contribution to the HI budget of the Universe.
1907.07703v1
2019-10-28
Investigating the damping rate of phase-mixed Alfven waves
Context: This paper investigates the effectiveness of phase mixing as a coronal heating mechanism. A key quantity is the wave damping rate, $\gamma$, defined as the ratio of the heating rate to the wave energy. Aims: We investigate whether or not laminar phase-mixed Alfv\'en waves can have a large enough value of $\gamma$ to heat the corona. We also investigate the degree to which the $\gamma$ of standing Alfv\'en waves which have reached steady-state can be approximated with a relatively simple equation. Further foci of this study are the cause of the reduction of $\gamma$ in response to leakage of waves out of a loop, the quantity of this reduction, and how increasing the number of excited harmonics affects $\gamma$. Results: We find that at observed frequencies $\gamma$ is too small to heat the corona by approximately three orders of magnitude. Therefore, we believe that laminar phase mixing is not a viable stand-alone heating mechanism for coronal loops. We show that $\gamma$ is largest at resonance. We find our simple equation provides a good estimate for the damping rate (within approximately 10% accuracy) for resonant field lines. However, away from resonance, the equation provides a poor estimate, predicting $\gamma$ to be orders of magnitude too large. We find that leakage acts to reduce $\gamma$ but plays a negligible role if $\gamma$ is of the order required to heat the corona. If the wave energy follows a power spectrum with slope -5/3 then $\gamma$ grows logarithmically with the number of excited harmonics. If the number of excited harmonics is increased by much more than 100, then the heating is mainly caused by gradients that are parallel to the field rather than perpendicular to it. Therefore, in this case, the system is not heated mainly by phase mixing.
1910.12510v1
2019-11-12
Self Sustained Thermally Induced Gas-Damped Oscillations of Bimetal Cantilevers with Application to the Design of a New Pyroelectric Micro Energy Harvester
Low efficiency is the main drawback of many MEMS thermal energy harvesters. Recently, energy harvesting micro-devices that operate using the pyroelectric effect gained attention due to their potential superior performance. Operation of these devices is based on the cyclic motion of a pyroelectric capacitor that operates between a high temperature and a low temperature reservoirs. In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of oscillations of a pyroelectric capacitor self sustained by thermally actuated bimetal micro-cantilevers, a topic which is so far under investigated. In addition to highlighting key thermodynamic aspects of the operation, we explore conditions for self-sustained oscillations and discuss the viability of operation at the mechanical resonance frequency. The analysis is presented for a new design inspired by the device proposed in Refs.\cite{2011,2012}, where in contrast, our proposed design boasts the following features: The pyroelectric capacitor remains parallel to the heat reservoirs, by virtue of its symmetric support by two bimetallic cantilever beams; In addition, the cyclic operation of the device does not require physical contact, thus lowering the risk of mechanical failure; To adjust the damping force imparted by the surrounding gas, the thermal reservoirs are equipped with trenches. To study the dynamic operation of the device, we developed a physically based reduced order, yet accurate, model that accounts for the heat transfer between and within the different components, and for the various forces including the gas damping force. The model is embedded within an optimization algorithm to produce optimal designs over the range 26-38 C of temperature difference between the two reservoirs. The corresponding range of harvested power density is 0.4-0.65 mW/cm2.
1911.04823v1
2020-03-01
Positivity and nonadditivity of quantum capacities using generalized erasure channels
We consider various forms of a process, which we call {\em gluing}, for combining two or more complementary quantum channel pairs $(\mathcal{B},\mathcal{C})$ to form a composite. One type of gluing combines a perfect channel with a second channel to produce a \emph{generalized erasure channel} pair $(\mathcal{B}_g,\mathcal{C}_g)$. We consider two cases in which the second channel is (i) an amplitude-damping, or (ii) a phase-damping qubit channel; (ii) is the \emph{dephrasure channel} of Leditzky et al. For both (i) and (ii), $(\mathcal{B}_g,\mathcal{C}_g)$ depends on the damping parameter $0\leq p\leq 1$ and a parameter $0 \leq \lambda \leq 1$ that characterizes the gluing process. In both cases we study $Q^{(1)}(\mathcal{B}_g)$ and $Q^{(1)}(\mathcal{C}_g)$, where $Q^{(1)}$ is the channel coherent information, and determine the regions in the $(p,\lambda)$ plane where each is zero or positive, confirming previous results for (ii). A somewhat surprising result for which we lack any intuitive explanation is that $Q^{(1)}(\mathcal{C}_g)$ is zero for $\lambda \leq 1/2$ when $p=0$, but is strictly positive (though perhaps extremely small) for all values of $\lambda> 0$ when $p$ is positive by even the smallest amount. In addition we study the nonadditivity of $Q^{(1)}(\mathcal{B}_g)$ for two identical channels in parallel. It occurs in a well-defined region of the $(p,\lambda)$ plane in case (i). In case (ii) we have extended previous results for the dephrasure channel without, however, identifying the full range of $(p,\lambda)$ values where nonadditivity occurs. Again, an intuitive explanation is lacking.
2003.00583v2
2020-04-22
A Significantly Neutral Intergalactic Medium Around the Luminous z=7 Quasar J0252-0503
Luminous $z\ge7$ quasars provide direct probes of the evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the epoch of reionization (EoR). The Ly$\alpha$ damping wing absorption imprinted by neutral hydrogen in the IGM can be detected in a single EoR quasar spectrum, allowing the measurement of the IGM neutral fraction towards that line of sight. However, damping wing features have only been detected in two $z>7$ quasars in previous studies. In this paper, we present new high quality optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the $z=7.00$ quasar DES J025216.64--050331.8 obtained with Keck/NIRES and Gemini/GMOS. By using the MgII single-epoch virial method, we find that it hosts a $\rm (1.39\pm0.16) \times10^{9} ~M_\odot$ SMBH accreting at an Eddington ratio of $\lambda_{\rm Edd}=0.7\pm0.1$, consistent with the values seen in other luminous $z\sim 7$ quasars. Furthermore, the Ly$\alpha$ region of the spectrum exhibits a strong damping wing absorption feature. The lack of associated metal absorption in the quasar spectrum indicates that this absorption is imprinted by a neutral IGM. Using a state-of-the-art model developed by Davies et al., we measure a volume-averaged neutral hydrogen fraction at $z=7$ of $\langle x_{\rm HI} \rangle = 0.70^{+0.20}_{-0.23} (^{+0.28}_{-0.48})$ within 68% (95%) confidence intervals when marginalizing over quasar lifetimes of $10^3\le t_{\rm Q}\le10^8$ yr. This is the highest IGM neutral fraction yet measured using reionization-era quasar spectra.
2004.10877v1
2020-09-28
Comparison of proton shower developments in the BGO calorimeter of the Dark Matter Particle Explorer between GEANT4 and FLUKA simulations
The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is a satellite-borne detector for high-energy cosmic rays and $\gamma$-rays. To fully understand the detector performance and obtain reliable physical results, extensive simulations of the detector are necessary. The simulations are particularly important for the data analysis of cosmic ray nuclei, which relies closely on the hadronic and nuclear interactions of particles in the detector material. Widely adopted simulation softwares include the GEANT4 and FLUKA, both of which have been implemented for the DAMPE simulation tool. Here we describe the simulation tool of DAMPE and compare the results of proton shower properties in the calorimeter from the two simulation softwares. Such a comparison gives an estimate of the most significant uncertainties of our proton spectral analysis.
2009.13036v1
2021-01-19
Sub-damped Lyman alpha systems in the XQ-100 survey II -- Chemical evolution at 2.4<z<4.3
We present the measured gas-phase metal column densities in 155 sub-damped Lyman alpha systems (subDLAs) with the aim to investigate the contribution of subDLAs to the chemical evolution of the Universe. The sample was identified within the absorber-blind XQ-100 quasar spectroscopic survey over the redshift range 2.4<=z<=4.3. Using all available column densities of the ionic species investigated (mainly CIV, SiII, MgII, SiIV, AlII, FeII, CII, and OI; in order of decreasing detection frequency), we estimate the ionization-corrected gas-phase metallicity of each system using Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques to explore a large grid of Cloudy ionization models. Without accounting for ionization and dust depletion effects, we find that the HI-weighted gas-phase metallicity evolution of subDLAs are consistent with damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs). When ionization corrections are included, subDLAs are systematically more metal-poor than DLAs (between ~0.5 sigma and ~3 sigma significance) by up to ~1.0 dex over the redshift range 3<=z<=4.3. The correlation of gas-phase [Si/Fe] with metallicity in subDLAs appears to be consistent with that of DLAs, suggesting that the two classes of absorbers have a similar relative dust depletion pattern. As previously seen for Lyman limit systems, the gas-phase [C/O] in subDLAs remains constantly solar for all metallicities indicating that both subDLAs and Lyman limit systems could trace carbon-rich ejecta, potentially in circumgalactic environments.
2101.07821v1
2021-02-01
On a Possible Solution to the Tidal Realignment Problem for Hot Jupiters
Hot stars with hot Jupiters have a wide range of obliquities, while cool stars with hot Jupiters tend to have low obliquities. An enticing explanation for this pattern is tidal realignment of the cool host stars, although this explanation assumes that obliquity damping occurs faster than orbital decay, an assumption that needs further exploration. Here we revisit this tidal realignment problem, building on previous work identifying a low-frequency component of the time-variable tidal potential that affects the obliquity but not the orbital separation. We adopt a recent empirically-based model for the stellar tidal quality factor and its sharp increase with forcing frequency. This leads to enhanced dissipation at low frequencies, and efficient obliquity damping. We model the tidal evolution of 46 observed hot Jupiters orbiting cool stars. A key parameter is the stellar age, which we determine in a homogeneous manner for the sample, taking advantage of Gaia DR2 data. We explore a variety of tidal histories and futures for each system, finding in most cases that the stellar obliquity is successfully damped before the planet is destroyed. A testable prediction of our model is that hot-Jupiter hosts with orbital periods shorter than 2--3 days should have obliquities much smaller than $1^\circ$. With the possible exception of WASP-19b, the predicted future lifetimes of the planets range from $10^8$\,yr to more than $10^{10}$\,yr. Thus, our model implies that these hot Jupiters are probably not in immediate danger of being devoured by their host stars while they are on the main sequence.
2102.01081v2
2021-02-22
Slow-Mode Magnetoacoustic Waves in Coronal Loops
Rapidly decaying long-period oscillations often occur in hot coronal loops of active regions associated with small (or micro-) flares. This kind of wave activity was first discovered with the SOHO/SUMER spectrometer from Doppler velocity measurements of hot emission lines, thus also often called "SUMER" oscillations. They were mainly interpreted as global (or fundamental mode) standing slow magnetoacoustic waves. In addition, increasing evidence has suggested that the decaying harmonic type of pulsations detected in light curves of solar and stellar flares are likely caused by standing slow-mode waves. The study of slow magnetoacoustic waves in coronal loops has become a topic of particular interest in connection with coronal seismology. We review recent results from SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT observations that have detected both standing and reflected intensity oscillations in hot flaring loops showing the physical properties (e.g., oscillation periods, decay times, and triggers) in accord with the SUMER oscillations. We also review recent advances in theory and numerical modeling of slow-mode waves focusing on the wave excitation and damping mechanisms. MHD simulations in 1D, 2D and 3D have been dedicated to understanding the physical conditions for the generation of a reflected propagating or a standing wave by impulsive heating. Various damping mechanisms and their analysis methods are summarized. Calculations based on linear theory suggest that the non-ideal MHD effects such as thermal conduction, compressive viscosity, and optically thin radiation may dominate in damping of slow-mode waves in coronal loops of different physical conditions. Finally, an overview is given of several important seismological applications such as determination of transport coefficients and heating function.
2102.11376v1
2021-04-24
Compressive oscillations in hot coronal loops: Are sloshing oscillations and standing slow waves independent?
Employing high-resolution EUV imaging observations from SDO/AIA, we analyse a compressive plasma oscillation in a hot coronal loop triggered by a C-class flare near one of its foot points as first studied by Kumar et al. We investigate the oscillation properties in both the 131{\,}{\AA} and 94{\,}{\AA} channels and find that what appears as a pure sloshing oscillation in the 131{\,}{\AA} channel actually transforms into a standing wave in the 94{\,}{\AA} channel at a later time. This is the first clear evidence of such transformation confirming the results of a recent numerical study which suggests that these two oscillations are not independent phenomena. We introduce a new analytical expression to properly fit the sloshing phase of an oscillation and extract the oscillation properties. For the AIA 131{\,}{\AA} channel, the obtained oscillation period and damping time are 608$\pm$4{\,}s and 431$\pm$20{\,}s, respectively during the sloshing phase. The corresponding values for the AIA 94{\,}{\AA} channel are 617$\pm$3{\,}s and 828$\pm$50{\,}s. During the standing phase that is observed only in the AIA 94{\,}{\AA} channel, the oscillation period and damping time have increased to 791$\pm$5{\,}s and 1598$\pm$138{\,}s, respectively. The plasma temperature obtained from the DEM analysis indicates substantial cooling of the plasma during the oscillation. Considering this, we show that the observed oscillation properties and the associated changes are compatible with damping due to thermal conduction. We further demonstrate that the absence of a standing phase in the 131{\,}{\AA} channel is a consequence of cooling plasma besides the faster decay of oscillation in this channel.
2104.12038v1
2021-08-05
Small-scale clumping at recombination and the Hubble tension
Despite the success of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology, recent data improvements have made tensions emerge between low- and high-redshift observables, most importantly in determinations of the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the (rescaled) clustering amplitude $S_8$. The high-redshift data, from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), crucially relies on recombination physics for its interpretation. Here we study how small-scale baryon inhomogeneities (i.e., clumping) can affect recombination and consider whether they can relieve both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions. Such small-scale clumping, which may be caused by primordial magnetic fields or baryon isocurvature below kpc scales, enhances the recombination rate even when averaged over larger scales, shifting recombination to earlier times. We introduce a flexible clumping model, parametrized via three spatial zones with free densities and volume fractions, and use it to study the impact of clumping on CMB observables. We find that increasing $H_0$ decreases both $\Omega_m$ and $S_8$, which alleviates the $S_8$ tension. On the other hand, the shift in $\Omega_m$ is disfavored by the low-$z$ baryon-acoustic-oscillations measurements. We find that the clumping parameters that can change the CMB sound horizon enough to explain the $H_0$ tension also alter the damping tail, so they are disfavored by current Planck 2018 data. We test how the CMB damping-tail information rules out changes to recombination by first removing $\ell>1000$ multipoles in Planck data, where we find that clumping could resolve the $H_0$ tension. Furthermore, we make predictions for future CMB experiments, as their improved damping-tail precision can better constrain departures from standard recombination. Both the Simons Observatory and CMB-S4 will provide decisive evidence for or against clumping as a resolution to the $H_0$ tension.
2108.02747v3
2021-08-09
Synchronization of Power Systems under Stochastic Disturbances
The synchronization of power generators is an important condition for the proper functioning of a power system, in which the fluctuations in frequency and the phase angle differences between the generators are sufficiently small when subjected to stochastic disturbances. Serious fluctuations can prompt desynchronization, which may lead to widespread power outages. Here, we model the stochastic disturbance by a Brownian motion process in the linearized system of the non-linear power systems and characterize the fluctuations by the variances of the frequency and the phase angle differences in the invariant probability distribution. We propose a method to calculate the variances of the frequency and the phase angle differences. For the system with uniform disturbance-damping ratio, we derive explicit formulas for the variance matrices of the frequency and the phase angle differences. It is shown that the fluctuation of the frequency at a node depends on the disturbance-damping ratio and the inertia at this node only, and the fluctuations of the phase angle differences in the lines are independent of the inertia. In particular, the synchronization stability is related to the cycle space of the network. We reveal the influences of constructing new lines and increasing capacities of lines on the fluctuations in the phase angle differences in the existing lines. The results are illustrated for the transmission system of Shandong Province of China. For the system with non-uniform disturbance-damping ratio, we further obtain bounds of the variance matrices.
2108.04667v2
2021-10-12
Two-body collapse model for self-gravitating flow of dark matter and generalized stable clustering hypothesis for pairwise velocity
Analytical tools are extremely hard to find for non-linear gravitational collpase. Only a few simple but powerful tools exist so far. Two examples are the spherical collapse model (SCM) and stable clustering hypothesis (SCH). We present a new analytical tool, a two-body collapse model (TBCM), that plays the same fundamental role as harmonic oscillator in dynamics. For convenience, TBCM is formulated for gravity with any potential exponent $n$ in a static background with a fixed damping ($n$=-1 for Newtonian gravity). The competition between gravity, expanding background (or damping), and angular momentum classifies two-body collapse into: 1) free fall collapse, where free fall time is greater if same system starts to collapse at earlier time; 2) equilibrium collapse that persists longer in time, whose perturbative solutions lead to power-law evolution of system energy and momentum. Two critical values $\beta_{s1}=1$ and $\beta_{s2}=1/3\pi$ are identified that quantifies the competition between damping and gravity. Value $\beta_{s2}$ only exists for discrete values of potential exponent $n=(2-6m)/(1+3m)=$ -1,-10/7... for integer $m$. Critical density ratio ($\Delta_c=18\pi^2$) is obtained for $n$=-1 that is consistent with SCM. TBCM predicts angular velocity $\propto Hr^{-3/2}$ for two-body system of size $r$. The isothermal density is a result of extremely fast mass accretion. TBCM is able to demonstrate SCH, i.e. mean pairwise velocity (first moment) $\langle\Delta u\rangle=-Hr$. A generalized SCH is developed for higher order moments $\langle\Delta u^{2m+1}\rangle=-(2m+1)\langle\Delta u^{2m}\rangle Hr$ that is validated by N-body simulation. Energy evolution in TBCM is independent of particle mass and energy equipartition does not apply. TBCM can be considered as a non-radial SCM. Both models predict the same critical density ratio, while TBCM contains much richer information.
2110.05784v2
2021-10-25
Capillary gravity water waves linearized at monotone shear flows: eigenvalues and inviscid damping
This paper is concerned with the eigenvalues and linear inviscid damping of the 2D capillary gravity water waves of finite depth $x_2\in(-h,0)$ linearized at a monotone shear flow $U(x_2)$. Unlike the linearized Euler equation in a fixed channel where eigenvalues exist only in low horizontal wave number $k$, we first prove the linearized capillary gravity wave has two branches of eigenvalues $-ikc^\pm(k)$, where the wave speeds $c^\pm(k)=O(\sqrt{|k|})$ for $|k|\gg1$ have the same asymptotics as the those of the linear irrotational capillary gravity waves. Under the additional assumption of $U"\ne0$, we obtain the complete continuation of these two branches, which are all the eigenvalues in this (and some other) case(s). Particularly $-ikc^-(k)$ could bifurcate into unstable eigenvalues at $c^-(k)=U(-h)$. The bifurcation of unstable eigenvalues from inflection values of $U$ is also proved. Assuming no singular modes, i.e. no embedded eigenvalues for any wave number $k$, linear solutions $(v(t,x),\eta(t,x_1))$ are studieded in both periodic-in-$x_1$ and $x_1\in R$ cases, where $v$ is the velocity and $\eta$ the surface profile. Solutions can be split into $(v^p,\eta^p)$ and $(v^c,\eta^c)$ whose $k$-th Fourier mode in $x_1$ correspond to the eigenvalues and the continuous spectra of wave number $k$, respectively. The component $(v^p,\eta^p)$ is governed by a (possibly unstable) dispersion relation given by the eigenvalues, which are simply $k\to-ikc^\pm(k)$ in the case of $x_1\in R$. The other component $(v^c,\eta^c)$ satisfies the inviscid damping as fast as $|v_1^c|_{L_x^2},|\eta^c|_{L_x^2}=O(|t|^{-1})$ and $|v_2^c|_{L_x^2}=O(t^{-2})$ as $|t|\gg1$. Additional decay of $tv_1^c,t^2v_2^c$ in $L_x^2L_t^q$, $q\in(2,\infty]$, is obtained after leading asymptotic terms are removed, which are in the forms of $t$-dependent translations in $x_1$ of certain functions of $x$.
2110.12604v3
2021-11-22
Recent Developments in Quantum-Circuit Refrigeration
We review the recent progress in direct active cooling of the quantum-electric degrees freedom in engineered circuits, or quantum-circuit refrigeration. In 2017, the invention of a quantum-circuit refrigerator (QCR) based on photon-assisted tunneling of quasiparticles through a normal-metal--insulator--superconductor junction inspired a series of experimental studies demonstrating the following main properties: (i) the direct-current (dc) bias voltage of the junction can change the QCR-induced damping rate of a superconducting microwave resonator by orders of magnitude and give rise to non-trivial Lamb shifts, (ii) the damping rate can be controlled in nanosecond time scales, and (iii) the dc bias can be replaced by a microwave excitation, the amplitude of which controls the induced damping rate. Theoretically, it is predicted that state-of-the-art superconducting resonators and qubits can be reset with an infidelity lower than $10^{-4}$ in tens of nanoseconds using experimentally feasible parameters. A QCR-equipped resonator has also been demonstrated as an incoherent photon source with an output temperature above one kelvin yet operating at millikelvin. This source has been used to calibrate cryogenic amplification chains. In the future, the QCR may be experimentally used to quickly reset superconducting qubits, and hence assist in the great challenge of building a practical quantum computer.
2111.11234v1
2021-12-01
Damped Ly-alpha Absorbers in Star-forming Galaxies at z < 0.15 Detected with the Hubble Space Telescope and Implications for Galaxy Evolution
We report {\it HST} COS spectroscopy of 10 quasars with foreground star-forming galaxies at 0.02$<$$z$$<$ 0.14 within impact parameters of $\sim$1-7 kpc. We detect damped/sub-damped Ly$\alpha$ absorption in 100$\%$ of cases where no higher-redshift Lyman-limit systems extinguish the flux at the expected wavelength of Ly$\alpha$ absorption, obtaining the largest targeted sample of DLA/sub-DLAs in low-redshift galaxies. We present absorption measurements of neutral hydrogen and metals. Additionally, we present GBT 21-cm emission measurements for 5 of the galaxies (including 2 detections). Combining our sample with the literature, we construct a sample of 115 galaxies associated with DLA/sub-DLAs spanning 0$<$$z$$<$4.4, and examine trends between gas and stellar properties, and with redshift. The H~I column density is anti-correlated with impact parameter and stellar mass. More massive galaxies appear to have gas-rich regions out to larger distances. The specific SFR (sSFR) of absorbing galaxies increases with redshift and decreases with $M^{\ast}$, consistent with evolution of the star-formation main sequence (SFMS). However, $\sim$20$\%$ of absorbing galaxies lie below the SFMS, indicating that some DLA/sub-DLAs trace galaxies with longer-than-typical gas-depletion time-scales. Most DLA/sub-DLA galaxies with 21-cm emission have higher H I masses than typical galaxies with comparable $M^{\ast}$. High $M_{\rm H I}/M^{\ast}$ ratios and high sSFRs in DLA/sub-DLA galaxies with $M^{\ast}$$<$$10^{9}$$M_{\odot}$ suggest these galaxies may be gas-rich because of recent gas accretion rather than inefficient star formation. Our study demonstrates the power of absorption and emission studies of DLA/sub-DLA galaxies for extending galaxy-evolution studies to previously under-explored regimes of low $M^{\ast}$ and low SFR.
2112.00870v1
2022-01-06
Parameter-free quantum hydrodynamic theory for plasmonics: Electron density-dependent damping rate and diffusion coefficient
Plasmonics is a rapid growing field, which has enabled both fundamental science and inventions of various quantum optoelectronic devices. An accurate and efficient method to calculate the optical response of metallic structures with feature size in the nanoscale plays an important role. Quantum hydrodynamic theory (QHT) provides an efficient description of the free-electron gas, where quantum effects of nonlocality and spill-out are taken into account. In this work, we introduce a general QHT that includes diffusion to account for the broadening, which is a key problem in practical applications of surface plasmon. We will introduce a density-dependent diffusion coefficient to give very accurate linewidth. It is a self-consistent method, in which both the ground and excited states are solved by using the same energy functional, with the kinetic energy described by the Thomas-Fermi and von Weizs\"{a}cker (vW) formalisms. In addition, our QHT method is stable by introduction of an electron density-dependent damping rate. For sodium nanosphere of various sizes, the plasmon energy and broadening by our QHT method are in excellent agreement with those by density functional theory and Kreibig formula. By applying our QHT method to sodium jellium nanorods, we clearly show that our method enables a parameter-free simulation, i.e. without resorting to any empirical parameter, such as size-dependent damping rate and diffusing coefficient. It is found that there exists a perfect linear relation between the resonance wavelength and aspect radio. The width decreases with increasing aspect ratio and height. The calculations show that our QHT method provides an explicit and unified way to account for size-dependent frequency shifts and broadening of arbitrarily shaped geometries. It is reliable and robust with great predicability, and hence provides a general and efficient platform to study plasmonics.
2201.03426v3
2022-01-12
Neutrino effective potential and damping in a fermion and scalar background in the resonance region
We consider the propagation of a neutrino or an antineutrino in a medium composed of fermions $f$ and scalars $\phi$ interacting via a Yukawa-type coupling of the form $\bar f\nu\phi$, for neutrino energies at which the processes like $\nu + \phi \leftrightarrow f$ or $\nu + \bar f \leftrightarrow \bar\phi$, and the corresponding ones for the antineutrino, are kinematically accessible. The relevant energy values are around $|m^2_\phi - m^2_f|/2m_\phi$ or $|m^2_\phi - m^2_f|/2m_f$, where $m_\phi$ and $m_f$ are the masses of $\phi$ and $f$, respectively. We refer to either one of these regions as a resonance energy range. Near these points, the one-loop formula for the neutrino self-energy has a singularity. From a technical point of view, that feature is indicative that the self-energy acquires an imaginary part, which is associated with damping effects and cannot be neglected, while the integral formula for the real part must be evaluated using the principal value of the integral. We carry out the calculations explicitly for some cases that allow us to give analytic results. Writing the dispersion relation in the form $\omega = \kappa + V_{\text{eff}} - i\gamma/2$, we give the explicit formula for $V_{\text{eff}}$ and $\gamma$ for the cases considered. When the neutrino energy is either much larger or much smaller than the resonance energy, $V_{\text{eff}}$ reduces to the effective potential that has been already determined in the literature in the high or low momentum regime, respectively. The virtue of the formula we give for $V_{\text{eff}}$ is that it is valid also in the \emph{resonance energy range}, which is outside the two limits mentioned. As a guide to possible applications we give the relevant formulas for $V_{\text{eff}}$ and $\gamma$, and consider the solution to the oscillation equations including the damping term, in a simple two-generation case.
2201.04661v2
2022-01-19
Transverse Coronal-Loop Oscillations Induced by the Non-radial Eruption of a Magnetic Flux Rope
We investigate the transverse coronal-loop oscillations induced by the eruption of a prominence-carrying flux rope on 7 December 2012. The flux rope originating from NOAA Active Region (AR) 11621 was observed in EUV wavelengths by the SDO/AIA and in H$\alpha$ line center by the ground-based telescope at the BBSO. The early evolution of the flux rope is divided into two steps: a slow rise phase at a speed of $\approx$230\,km\,s$^{-1}$ and a fast rise phase at a speed of $\approx$706\,km\,s$^{-1}$. The eruption generates a C5.8 flare and the onset of the fast rise is consistent with the HXR peak time of the flare. The embedded prominence has a lower speed of $\approx$452\,km\,s$^{-1}$. During the early eruption of the flux rope, the nearby coronal loops are disturbed and experience independent kink-mode oscillations in the horizontal and vertical directions. The oscillation in the horizontal direction has an initial amplitude of $\approx$3.1\,Mm, a period of $\approx$294\,seconds, and a damping time of $\approx$645\,seconds. It is most striking in 171\,{\AA} and lasts for three to four cycles. The oscillations in the vertical directions are observed mainly in 171, 193, and 211\,{\AA}. The initial amplitudes lie in the range of 3.4\,--\,5.2\,Mm, with an average value of 4.5\,Mm. The periods are between 407\,seconds and 441\,seconds, with an average value of 423\,seconds. The oscillations are damping and last for nearly four cycles. The damping times lie in the range of 570\,--\,1012\,seconds, with an average value of 741\,seconds. Assuming a semi-circular shape of the vertically oscillating loops, we calculate the loop lengths according to their heights. Using the observed periods, we carry out coronal seismology and estimate the internal Alfv\'{e}n speeds (988\,--\,1145\,km\,s$^{-1}$) and the magnetic-field strengths (12\,--\,43\,G) of the oscillating loops.
2201.07389v1
2022-03-16
Snowmass Whitepaper AF6: Plasma-Based Particle Sources
High-brightness beams generated by particle sources based on advanced accelerator concepts have the potential to become an essential part of future accelerator technology. High-gradient accelerators can generate and rapidly accelerate particle beams to relativistic energies while minimizing irreversible detrimental effects to the beam brightness that occur at low beam energies. Due to the high accelerating gradients, these novel accelerators are also significantly more compact than conventional technology. The beam parameters of these particle sources are largely determined by the injection and subsequent acceleration processes. While there has been significant progress crucial parameters that are required for a future collider or more near-term applications, including X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), such as a sufficiently small energy spread and small emittance for bunches with a high charge and at high pulse repetition rate. Major research and development efforts are required to realize these approaches for a front-end injector for a future collider in order to address these limitations. In particular, this includes methods to control and manipulate the phase-space and spin degrees-of-freedom of ultrashort LWFA electron bunches with high accuracy, methods that increase the laser-to-electron beam efficiency and increased repetition rate. This also includes the development of high-resolution diagnostics, such as full 6D phase-space measurements, beam polarimetry and high-fidelity simulation tools. A further increase in beam luminosity can be achieve through emittance damping. For future colliders, the damping rings might be replaced by a substantially more compact plasma-based approach. Here, plasma wigglers are used to achieve similar damping performance but over a two orders of magnitude reduced length.
2203.08379v2
2022-04-04
Staring at the Shadows of Archaic Galaxies: Damped Ly$α$ and Metal Absorbers toward a Young $z \sim 6$ Weak-line Quasar
We characterize the Ly$\alpha$ halo and absorption systems toward PSO J083+11, a unique $z=6.3401$ weak-line quasar, using Gemini/GNIRS, Magellan/FIRE, and VLT/MUSE data. Strong absorptions by hydrogen and several metal lines (e.g., CII, MgII, and OI) are discovered in the spectrum, which indicates the presence of: (i) a proximate sub-damped Ly$\alpha$ (sub-DLA) system at $z=6.314$ and (ii) a MgII absorber at $z=2.2305$. To describe the observed damping wing signal, we model the Ly$\alpha$ absorption with a combination of a sub-DLA with the neutral hydrogen column density of $\log N_\mathrm{HI} = 20.03 \pm 0.30$ cm$^{-2}$ and absorption from the intergalactic medium with a neutral fraction of around 10 percent. The sub-DLA toward PSO J083+11 has an abundance ratio of [C/O] $=-0.04 \pm 0.33$ and metallicity of [O/H] $=-2.19 \pm 0.44$, similar to those of low-redshift metal-poor DLAs. These measurements suggest that the sub-DLA might truncate PSO J083+11's proximity zone size and complicate the quasar lifetime measurement. However, this quasar shows no sign of a Ly$\alpha$ halo in the MUSE data cube, where the estimated $1\sigma$ limit of surface brightness is $2.76 \times 10^{-18}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ arcsec$^{-2}$ at aperture size of 1 arcsecond, or equivalent to a Ly$\alpha$ luminosity of $\leq 43.46$ erg s$^{-1}$. This non-detection, while being only weak independent evidence on its own, is at least consistent with a young quasar scenario, as expected for a quasar with a short accretion timescale.
2204.01245v2
2022-04-28
Viscous inertial modes on a differentially rotating sphere: Comparison with solar observations
In a previous paper we studied the effect of latitudinal rotation on solar equatorial Rossby modes in the beta-plane approximation. Since then, a rich spectrum of inertial modes has been observed on the Sun, which is not limited to the equatorial Rossby modes and includes high-latitude modes. Here we extend the computation of toroidal modes in 2D to spherical geometry, using realistic solar differential rotation and including viscous damping. The aim is to compare the computed mode spectra with the observations and to study mode stability. At fixed radius, we solve the eigenvalue problem numerically using a spherical harmonics decomposition of the velocity stream function. Due to the presence of viscous critical layers, the spectrum consists of four different families: Rossby modes, high-latitude modes, critical-latitude modes, and strongly damped modes. For each longitudinal wavenumber m<4, up to three Rossby-like modes are present on the sphere, in contrast to the equatorial beta plane where only the equatorial Rossby mode is present. The least damped modes in the model have eigenfrequencies and eigenfunctions that resemble the observed modes; the comparison improves when the radius is taken in the lower half of the convection zone. For radii above 0.75R and Ekman numbers E<10^{-4}, at least one mode is unstable. For either m=1 or m=2, up to two Rossby modes are unstable when the radial dependence of the Ekman number follows a quenched diffusivity model (E=2. 10^{-5} at the base of the convection zone). For m=3, up to two Rossby modes can be unstable, including the equatorial Rossby mode. Although the 2D model discussed here is highly simplified, the spectrum of toroidal modes appears to include many of the observed solar inertial modes. The self-excited modes in the model have frequencies close to those of the observed modes with the largest amplitudes.
2204.13412v1
2022-05-29
Modeling the Dynamics of the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic using Modified SIR Model with the 'Damped-Oscillator' Dynamics of the Effective Reproduction Number
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great catastrophe that upended human lives and caused millions of deaths all over the world. The rapid spread of the virus, with its early-stage exponential growth and subsequent 'waves', caught many medical professionals and decision-makers unprepared. Even though epidemiological models have been known for almost a century (since the 'Spanish Influenza' pandemic of 1918-20), the real-life spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus often confounded the modelers. While the general framework of epidemiological models like SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered) or SIR (susceptible-exposed-infected) was not in question, the behavior of model parameters turned out to be unpredictable and complicated. In particular, while the 'basic' reproduction number, R0, can be considered a constant (for the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, prior to the emergence of variants, R0 is between 2.5 and 3.0), the 'effective' reproduction number, R(t), was a complex function of time, influenced by human behavior in response to the pandemic (e.g., masking, lockdowns, transition to remote work, etc.) To better understand these phenomena, we model the first year of the pandemic (between February 2020 and February 2021) for a number of localities (fifty US states, as well as several countries) using a simple SIR model. We show that the evolution of the pandemic can be described quite successfully by assuming that R(t) behaves in a 'viscoelastic' manner, as a sum of two or three 'damped oscillators' with different natural frequencies and damping coefficients. These oscillators likely correspond to different sub-populations having different reactions to proposed mitigation measures. The proposed approach can offer future data modelers new ways to fit the reproduction number evolution with time (as compared to the purely data-driven approaches most prevalent today).
2205.14747v1
2022-07-27
Determination of Thickness-dependent Damping Constant and Plasma Frequency for Ultrathin Ag and Au Films: Nanoscale Dielectric Function
There is an ever increasing interest in the development of plasmonic 2D nanomaterials, with widespread applications in optoelectronics, high resolution microscopy, imaging and sensing, among others. With the current ability of ultrathin noble metal film deposition down to a few monolayers in thickness, there is a need for an analytical expression of the thickness dependent complex dielectric function for predicting optical properties for arbitrary thicknesses. The free and bound electron contributions to the dielectric function are dealt with independently, since their influences affect separate wavelengths ranges. The former is dealt within the Drude model framework for large wavelengths with appropriately addressed damping constant and plasma frequency parameters to account for thickness dependence. Applying our previously developed method, we determine these parameters for specific film thicknesses, based on refractive index experimental values for Ag and Au thin films. Fitting separately each one of these parameters allowed us to find an analytical expression for their dependence on arbitrary film thickness and consequently for the free electron contribution. Concerning bound electrons, it is seen that its contribution for small wavelengths is the same for all analyzed thicknesses and may be set equal to the bulk bound contribution. Taking all these facts into account, the complex dielectric function can be rewritten analytically, in terms of the bulk dielectric function plus corrective film thickness dependent terms. In particular, the fitting process for the damping constant allows us to determine that the electron scattering at the film boundary is mainly diffusive (inelastic) for both silver and gold thin films. It is also shown that, in accordance with theoretical studies, plasma frequency shows a red shift as the film thickness decreases.
2207.13580v1
2022-10-18
Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in a self-gravitating rotating cosmic plasma
The generation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and their instabilities are studied in galactic gaseous rotating plasmas with the effects of the magnetic field, the self gravity, the diffusion-convection of cosmic rays as well as the gas and cosmic-ray pressures. The coupling of the Jeans, Alfv{\'e}n and magnetosonic waves, and the conditions of damping or instability are studied in three different cases, namely when the propagation direction is perpendicular, parallel and oblique to the static magnetic field, and are shown to be significantly modified by the effects of the Coriolis force due to the rotation of cosmic fluids and the cosmic-ray diffusion. The coupled modes can be damped or anti-damped depending on the wave number is above or below the Jeans critical wave number that is reduced by the effects of the Coriolis force and the cosmic-ray pressure. It is found that the deviation of the axis of rotation from the direction of the static magnetic field gives rise to the coupling between the Alfv{\'e}n wave and the classical Jeans mode which otherwise results into the modified slow and fast Alfv{\'e}n waves as well as the modified classical Jeans modes. Furthermore, due to the effects of the cosmic rays diffusion, there appears a new wave mode (may be called the fast Jeans mode) in the intermediate frequency regimes of the slow and fast Alfv{\'e}n waves, which seems to be dispersionless in the long-wavelength propagation and has a lower growth rate of instability in the high density regimes of galaxies. The dispersion properties and the instabilities of different kinds of MHD waves reported here can play pivotal roles in the formation of various galactic structures at different length scales.
2210.09595v1
2023-04-17
Theoretical study of the Alfven Eigenmode stability in CFETR steady state discharges
The aim of this study is to analyze the stability of Alfven Eigenmodes (AE) in the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) plasma for steady state operations. The analysis is done using the gyro-fluid code FAR3d including the effect of the acoustic modes, EP Finite Larmor radius damping effects and multiple energetic particle populations. Two high poloidal beta scenarios are studied with respect to the location of the internal transport barrier (ITB) at r/a = 0.45 (case A) and r/a = 0.6 (case B). Both operation scenarios show a narrow TAE gap between the inner-middle plasma region and a wide EAE gap all along the plasma radius. The AE stability of CFETR plasmas improves if the ITB is located inwards, case A, showing AEs with lower growth rates with respect to the case B. The AEs growth rate is smaller in the case A because the modes are located in the inner-middle plasma region where the stabilizing effect of the magnetic shear is stronger with respect to the case B. Multiple EP populations effects (NBI driven EP + alpha articles) are negligible for the case A, although the simulations for the case B show a stabilizing effect of the NBI EP on the n=1 BAE caused by alpha particles during the thermalization process. If the FLR damping effects are included in the simulations, the growth rate of the EAE/NAE decreases up to 70 %, particularly for n > 3 toroidal families. Low n AEs (n<6) show the largest growth rates. On the other hand, high $n$ modes (n=6 to 15) are triggered in the frequency range of the NAE, strongly damped by the FLR effects.
2304.08412v1
2023-05-21
Small-amplitude Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence Modulated by Collisionless Damping in Earth's Magnetosheath: Observation Matches Theory
Plasma turbulence is a ubiquitous dynamical process that transfers energy across many spatial and temporal scales and affects energetic particle transport. Recent advances in the understanding of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence demonstrate the important role of damping in shaping energy distributions on small scales, yet its observational evidence is still lacking. This study provides the first observational evidence of substantial collisionless damping (CD) modulation on small-amplitude compressible MHD turbulence cascade in Earth's magnetosheath using four Cluster spacecraft. Based on an improved compressible MHD decomposition algorithm, turbulence is decomposed into three eigenmodes: incompressible Alfv\'en modes, and compressible slow and fast (magnetosonic) modes. Our observations demonstrate that CD enhances the anisotropy of compressible MHD modes because CD has a strong dependence on wave propagation angle. The wavenumber distributions of slow modes are mainly stretched perpendicular to the background magnetic field ($\mathbf{B_0}$) and weakly modulated by CD. In contrast, fast modes are subjected to a more significant CD modulation. Fast modes exhibit a weak, scale-independent anisotropy above the CD truncation scale. Below the CD truncation scale, the anisotropy of fast modes enhances as wavenumbers increase. As a result, fast mode fractions in the total energy of compressible modes decrease with the increase of perpendicular wavenumber (to $\mathbf{B_0}$) or wave propagation angle. Our findings reveal how the turbulence cascade is shaped by CD and its consequences to anisotropies in the space environment.
2305.12507v3
2023-07-14
PIC simulations of stable surface waves on a subcritical fast magnetosonic shock front
We study with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations the stability of fast magnetosonic shocks. They expand across a collisionless plasma and an orthogonal magnetic field that is aligned with one of the directions resolved by the 2D simulations. The shock speed is 1.6 times the fast magnetosonic speed when it enters a layer with a reduced density of mobile ions, which decreases the shock speed by up to 15\% in 1D simulations. In the 2D simulations, the density of mobile ions in the layer varies sinusoidally perpendicularly to the shock normal. We resolve one sine period. This variation only leads to small changes in the shock speed evidencing a restoring force that opposes a shock deformation. As the shock propagates through the layer, the ion density becomes increasingly spatially modulated along the shock front and the magnetic field bulges out where the mobile ion density is lowest. The perturbed shock eventually reaches a steady state. Once it leaves the layer, the perturbations of the ion density and magnetic field oscillate along its front at a frequency close to the lower-hybrid frequency; the shock is mediated by a standing wave composed of obliquely propagating lower-hybrid waves. We perform three 2D simulations with different box lengths along the shock front. The shock front oscillations are aperiodically damped in the smallest box with the fastest variation of the ion density, strongly damped in the intermediate one, and weakly damped in the largest box. The shock front oscillations perturb the magnetic field in a spatial interval that extends by several electron skin depths upstream and downstream of the shock front and could give rise to Whistler waves that propagate along the shock's magnetic field overshoot. Similar waves were observed in hybrid and PIC simulations and by the MMS satellite mission.
2307.07435v1
2023-08-03
Part I: Rebuttal to "Uniform stabilization for the Timoshenko beam by a locally distributed damping"
A paper, entitled "Uniform stabilization for the Timoshenko beam by a locally distributed damping" was published in 2003, in the journal Electronic Journal of Differential Equations. Its title concerns exclusively its Section 3, devoted to the case of equal speeds of propagation and to its main theorem, namely Theorem 3.1. It states that the solutions of the Timoshenko system (see (1.3) in [1]) decays exponentially when the damping coefficient b is locally distributed. The proof of Theorem 3.1 is crucially based on Lemma 3.6, which states the existence of a strict Lyapunov function along which the solutions of (1.3) decay when the speeds of propagation are equal. This rebuttal shows the major gap and flaws in the proof of Lemma 3.6, which invalidate the proofs of Lemma 3.6 and Theorem 3.1. Lemma 3.6 is stated at the top of page 12. The main part of its proof is given in the pages 12 and 13. In the last eight lines of page 13, eight inequalities are requested to hold together for the proof of Lemma 3.6. They don't appear in the statements of Lemma 3.6. The subsequent flaws come from the evidence that several of them are contradictory either between them or with claims in the title of the article. We also point in this rebuttal other flaws, or gaps in the proofs of Theorem 2.2 related to strong stability and non uniform stability for the case of distinct speeds of propagation. In [3], we correct and complete the proof of strong stability. We also correct, set up the missing functional frames, fill the gaps in the proof of non uniform stability in the cases of different speeds of propagation, and complete a missing argument in the proof of Theorem A in [4] (see Remark 4.3), the result of Theorem A being used in the paper [1] on which this rebuttal is mainly devoted.
2308.01611v1
2023-08-05
Modulating Spin Current Induced Effective Damping in $β-W/Py$ Heterostructures by a Systematic Variation in Resistivity of the Sputtered Deposited $β-W$ films
Utilizing the spin-induced pumping from a ferromagnet (FM) into a heavy metal (HM) under the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) condition, we report an enhancement in effective damping in $\beta$- W/Py bilayers by systematically varying resistivity ($\rho_{W}$) of $\beta$-W films. Different resistivity ranging from 100 $\mu\Omega$-cm to 1400 $\mu\Omega$-cm with a thickness of 8 nm can be achieved by varying the argon pressure ($P_{Ar}$) during the growth by the method of sputtering. The coefficient of effective damping $\alpha_{eff}$ is observed to increase from 0.010 to 0.025 with $\rho_{W}$, which can be modulated by $P_{Ar}$. We observe a modest dependence of $\alpha_{eff}$ on the sputtering power ($p_{S}$) while keeping the $P_{Ar}$ constant. $\alpha_{eff}$ dependence on both $P_{Ar}$ and $p_{S}$ suggests that there exists a strong correlation between $\alpha_{eff}$ and $\rho_{W}$. It is thus possible to utilize $\rho_{W}$ as a tuning parameter to regulate the $\alpha_{eff}$, which can be advantageous for faster magnetization dynamics switching. The thickness dependence study of Py in the aforementioned bilayers manifests a higher spin mixing conductance ($g^{\uparrow\downarrow}_{eff}$) which suggests a strong spin pumping from Py into the $\beta$-W layer. The effective spin current ($J_{S(eff)}$) is also evaluated by considering the spin-back flow in this process. Intrinsic spin mixing conductance ($g^{\uparrow\downarrow}_{W}$) and spin diffusion length ($\lambda_{SD}$) of $\beta$-W are additionally investigated using thickness variations in $\beta$-W. Furthermore, the low-temperature study in $\beta$-W/Py reveals an intriguing temperature dependence in $\alpha_{eff}$ which is quite different from $\alpha_{b}$ of single Py layer and the enhancement in $\alpha_{eff}$ at low temperature can be attributed to the spin-induced pumping from Py layer into $\beta$-W.
2308.02939v1
2023-09-01
f-mode oscillations of anisotropic neutron stars in full general relativity
We investigate f-mode oscillations of static anisotropic stable neutron stars within the framework of full general relativity. We present equations governing unperturbed stellar structures and oscillations with an ansatz to account for the anisotropy. We solve those equations for two different equations of states. We see that, moderately anisotropic neutron stars with the tangential pressure larger than the radial pressure can give more massive neutron stars than the isotropic or very anisotropic ones. We find that the frequency of the f-mode exhibits a linear relationship with the square root of the average density of the stars and the slope of the fit depends on the anisotropic strength. For any given value of the anisotropic strength, the frequency increases with the increase of the mass of the neutron star, linearly for lower masses, and rapidly at higher masses. However, this non-linear rise in the frequency with the mass is not prominent when the radial pressure is larger than the tangential pressure. For a fixed value of a small mass, higher anisotropy leads to a larger value of the frequency, but when the fixed mass is above a threshold value, higher anisotropy leads to a smaller value of the frequency. The nature of the variation in the frequency with the change in the anisotropic strength is similar for the two equations of state, but for a fixed mass and the same amount of the anisotropy, the softer equations of state gives higher frequency. We also find that the damping time of the f-mode oscillation decreases as the mass of the neutron star increases for all values of the anisotropic strength. For a fixed mass of the neutron star and for the same amount of the anisotropy, the value of the damping time is lower for the softer equation of state, but the nature of the variation in the damping time with the change in the anisotropic strength is similar.
2309.00439v2
2023-09-10
Stability and Regularity for Double Wall Carbon Nanotubes Modeled as Timoshenko Beams with Thermoelastic Effects and Intermediate Damping
This research studies two systems composed by the Timoshenko beam model for double wall carbon nanotubes, coupled with the heat equation governed by Fourier's law. For the first system, the coupling is given by the speed the rotation of the vertical filament in the beam $\beta\psi_t$ from the first beam of Tymoshenko and the Laplacian of temperature $\delta\theta_{xx}$, where we also consider the damping terms fractionals $\gamma_1(-\partial_{xx})^{\tau_1}\phi_t$, $\gamma_2(-\partial_{xx})^{\tau_2} y_t$ and $\gamma_3(-\partial_{xx})^{\tau_3} z_t$, where $(\tau_1, \tau_2, \tau_3) \in [0,1]^3$. For this first system we proved that the semigroup $S_1(t)$ associated to system decays exponentially for all $(\tau_1 , \tau_2 , \tau_3 ) \in [0,1]^3$. The second system also has three fractional damping $\gamma_1(-\partial_{xx})^{\beta_1}\phi_t$, $\gamma_2(-\partial_{xx})^{\beta_2} y_t$ and $\gamma_3(-\partial_{xx})^{\beta_3} z_t$, with $(\beta_1, \beta_2, \beta_3) \in [0,1]^3$. Furthermore, the couplings between the heat equation and the Timoshenko beams of the double wall carbon nanotubes for the second system is given by the Laplacian of the rotation speed of the vertical filament in the beam $\beta\psi_{xxt}$ of the first beam of Timoshenko and the Lapacian of the temperature $\delta\theta_{xx}$. For the second system, we prove the exponential decay of $S_2(t)$ for $(\beta_1, \beta_2, \beta_3) \in [0,1]^3$ and also show that $S_2(t)$ admits Gevrey classes $s>(\phi+1)/(2\phi)$ for $\phi=\min\{\beta_1,\beta_2,\beta_3\}, \forall (\beta_1,\beta_2,\beta_3)\in (0,1)^3$, and proving that $S_2(t)$ is analytic when the parameters $(\beta_1, \beta_2, \beta_3) \in [1/2,1]^3$. One of the motivations for this research was the work; Ramos et al. \cite{Ramos2023CNTs}, whose partial results are part of our results obtained for the first system for $(\tau_1, \tau_2, \tau_3) = (0, 0, 0)$.
2309.04906v1
2023-11-03
Probing the disc-jet coupling in S4 0954+65, PKS 0903-57, & 4C +01.02 with $γ$-rays
We present a comprehensive variability study on three blazars, S4 0954+65, PKS 0903-57, and 4C +01.02 covering a mass range of log(M/M$_{\odot}$) = 8--9, by using $\sim$15 years-long $\gamma$-ray light curves from \textit{Fermi}-LAT. The variability level is characterized by the fractional variability amplitude which is higher for $\gamma$-rays compared to optical/UV and X-rays emissions. A power spectral density (PSD) study and damped random walk (DRW) modeling are done to probe the characteristic timescale. The PSD is fitted with a single power-law (PL) and bending power-law models and the corresponding success fraction was estimated. In the case of PKS 0903-57, We observed a break in the $\gamma$-ray PSD at 256 days which is comparable to the viscous timescale in the accretion disc suggesting a possible disk-jet coupling. The non-thermal damping timescale from the DRW modeling is compared with the thermal damping timescale for AGNs including our three sources. Our sources lie on the best-fit of the $\mathrm{\tau^{rest}_{damping}} - M_{BH}$ plot derived for AGN suggesting a possible accretion disc-jet connection. If the jet's variability is linked to the disc's variability, we expect a log-normal flux distribution, often connected to the accretion disc's multiplicative processes. Our study observed a double log-normal flux distribution, possibly linked to long and short-term variability from the accretion disk and the jet. In summary, PSD and DRW modeling results for these three sources combined with blazars and AGNs studied in literature favor a disc-jet coupling scenario. However, more such studies are needed to refine this understanding.
2311.01738v1
2023-11-30
Compton scattering of electrons in the intergalactic medium
This paper investigates the distribution and implications of cosmic ray electrons within the intergalactic medium (IGM). Utilizing a synthesis model of the extragalactic background, we evolve the spectrum of Compton-included cosmic rays. The energy density distribution of cosmic ray electrons peaks at redshift $z \approx2$, and peaks in the $\sim$MeV range. The fractional contribution of cosmic ray pressure to the general IGM pressure progressively increases toward lower redshift. At mean density, the ratio of cosmic ray electron to thermal pressure in the IGM $ P_{\rm CRe} / P_{\rm th}$ is 0.3% at $z=2$, rising to 1.0% at $z=1$, and 1.8% at $z=0.1$ (considering only the cosmic rays produced locally by Compton scattering). We compute the linear Landau damping rate of plasma oscillations in the IGM caused by the $\sim$MeV cosmic ray electrons, and find it to be of order $\sim 10^{-6}\,\rm s^{-1}$ for wavenumbers $1.2\lesssim ck/\omega_{\rm p}\lesssim 5$ at $z=2$ and mean density (where $\omega_{\rm p}$ is the plasma frequency). This strongly affects the fate of TeV $e^+e^-$ pair beams produced by blazars, which are potentially unstable to oblique instabilities involving plasma oscillations with wavenumber $ck/\omega_{\rm p}\approx\sec\theta$ ($\theta$ being the angle between the beam and wave vector). Linear Landau damping is at least thousands of times faster than either pair beam instability growth or collisional effects; it thus turns off the pair beam instability except for modes with very small $\theta$ ($ck/\omega_{\rm p}\rightarrow 1$, where linear Landau damping is kinematically suppressed). This leaves open the question of whether the pair beam instability is turned off entirely, or can still proceed via the small-$\theta$ modes.
2311.18721v2
2023-12-26
Observation of Magnon Damping Minimum Induced by Kondo Coupling in a van der Waals Ferromagnet Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_{2}$
In heavy-fermion systems with $f$ electrons, there is an intricate interplay between Kondo screening and magnetic correlations, which can give rise to various exotic phases. Recently, similar interplay appears to also occur in $d$-electron systems, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, using inelastic neutron scattering, we investigate the temperature evolution of the low-energy spin waves in a metallic van der Waals ferromagnet Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_{2}$ (Curie temperature $T_{\rm C}\sim160$ K), where the Kondo-lattice behavior emerges in the ferromagnetic phase below a characteristic temperature $T^*\sim90$ K. We observe that the magnon damping constant diverges at both low and high temperatures, exhibiting a minimum coincidentally around $T^*$. Such an observation is analogous to the resistivity minimum as due to the single-impurity Kondo effect. This unusual behavior is described by a formula that combines logarithmic and power terms, representing the dominant contributions from Kondo screening and thermal fluctuations, respectively. Furthermore, we find that the magnon damping increases with momentum below $T_{\rm C}$. These findings can be explained by considering spin-flip electron-magnon scattering, which serves as a magnonic analog of the Kondo-impurity scattering, and thus provides a measure of the Kondo coupling through magnons. Our results provide critical insights into how Kondo coupling manifests itself in a system with magnetic ordering and shed light on the coexistence of and interplay between magnetic order and Kondo effect in itinerant 3$d$-electron systems.
2312.15961v1
2024-01-18
Chronicling the reionization history at $6\lesssim z \lesssim 7$ with emergent quasar damping wings
The spectra of high-redshift ($z\gtrsim 6$) quasars contain valuable information on the progression of the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). At redshifts $z<6$, the observed Lyman-series forest shows that the intergalactic medium (IGM) is nearly ionized, while at $z>7$ the observed quasar damping wings indicate high neutral gas fractions. However, there remains a gap in neutral gas fraction constraints at $6\lesssim z \lesssim 7$ where the Lyman series forest becomes saturated but damping wings have yet to fully emerge. In this work, we use a sample of 18 quasar spectra at redshifts $6.0<z<7.1$ to close this gap. We apply neural networks to reconstruct the quasars' continuum emission around the partially absorbed Lyman $\alpha$ line to normalize their spectra, and stack these continuum-normalized spectra in three redshift bins. To increase the robustness of our results, we compare the stacks to a grid of models from two hydrodynamical simulations, ATON and CROC, and we measure the volume-averaged neutral gas fraction, $\bar{x}_{\rm HI}$, while jointly fitting for the mean quasar lifetime, $t_{\rm Q}$, for each stacked spectrum. We chronicle the evolution of neutral gas fraction using the ATON (CROC) models as follows: $\bar{x}_{\rm HI} = 0.21_{-0.07}^{+0.17}$ ($\bar{x}_{\rm HI} = 0.10_{<10^{-4}}^{+0.73}$) at $\langle z \rangle =6.10$, $\bar{x}_{\rm HI} = 0.21_{-0.07}^{+0.33}$ ($\bar{x}_{\rm HI} =0.57_{-0.47}^{+0.26}$) at $\langle z \rangle =6.46$, and $\bar{x}_{\rm HI} = 0.37_{-0.17}^{+0.17}$ ($\bar{x}_{\rm HI} =0.57_{-0.21}^{+0.26}$) at $\langle z \rangle =6.87$. At the same time we constrain the average quasar lifetime to be $t_{\rm Q} \lesssim 7\ {\rm Myr}$ across all redshift bins, in good agreement with previous studies.
2401.10328v1
2024-03-04
Exploring Standing and Reflected Slow-mode Waves in Flaring Coronal Loops: A Parametric Study Using 2.5D MHD Modeling
Recent observations of reflected propagating and standing slow-mode waves in hot flaring coronal loops have spurred our investigation into their underlying excitation and damping mechanisms. To understand these processes, we conduct 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using an arcade active region model that includes a hot and dense loop. Our simulations allow for in-depth parametric investigations complementing and expanding our previous 3D MHD modeling results. We excite these waves in two distinct models as motivated by observations from the SDO/AIA. Model 1 incorporates classical compressive viscosity coefficient, while Model 2 adopts a 10-times enhanced viscosity coefficient. We find that: (1) Our 2.5D MHD simulations reinforce previous conclusions derived from 1D and 3D MHD models that significantly enhanced viscosity is crucial for the rapid excitation of standing slow waves with damping times consistent with observations by Wang et al. (2015). (2) We uncover that nonlinearity in Model 1 delays the conversion of a reflected propagating wave into a standing wave. In contrast, Model 2 exhibits a much weak influence of nonlinearity. (3) Our results reveal that the transverse temperature structure holds more influence on wave behavior than the density structure. In Model 1, increased loop temperature contrast significantly enhances wave trapping within the structure, mitigating the impact of temperature-dependent viscous damping. Conversely, in Model 2, the impact of temperature structure on wave behavior weakens in comparison to the effect of viscosity. (4) Model 1 displays evident nonlinear coupling to the fast and kink magnetoacoustic waves and pronounced wave leakage into the corona. However, analyzing three observed wave events by SDO/AIA aligns with Model 2 predictions, providing further support for the substantial viscosity increase.
2403.02464v1
2000-02-17
Constraints on Cosmological Parameters from Future Galaxy Cluster Surveys
We study the expected redshift evolution of galaxy cluster abundance between 0 < z < 3 in different cosmologies, including the effects of the cosmic equation of state parameter w=p/rho. Using the halo mass function obtained in recent large scale numerical simulations, we model the expected cluster yields in a 12 deg^2 Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE) survey and a deep 10^4 deg^2 X-ray survey over a wide range of cosmological parameters. We quantify the statistical differences among cosmologies using both the total number and redshift distribution of clusters. Provided that the local cluster abundance is known to a few percent accuracy, we find only mild degeneracies between w and either Omega_m or h. As a result, both surveys will provide improved constraints on Omega_m and w. The Omega_m-w degeneracy from both surveys is complementary to those found either in studies of CMB anisotropies or of high-redshift Supernovae (SNe). As a result, combining these surveys together with either CMB or SNe studies can reduce the statistical uncertainty on both w and Omega_m to levels below what could be obtained by combining only the latter two data sets. Our results indicate a formal statistical uncertainty of about 3% (68% confidence) on both Omega_m and w when the SZE survey is combined with either the CMB or SN data; the large number of clusters in the X-ray survey further suppresses the degeneracy between w and both Omega_m and h. Systematics and internal evolution of cluster structure at the present pose uncertainties above these levels. We briefly discuss and quantify the relevant systematic errors. By focusing on clusters with measured temperatures in the X-ray survey, we reduce our sensitivity to systematics such as non-standard evolution of internal cluster structure.
0002336v2
2000-03-03
J-Band Infrared Spectroscopy of a Sample of Brown Dwarfs Using Nirspec on Keck II
Near-infrared spectroscopic observations of a sample of very cool, low-mass objects are presented with higher spectral resolution than in any previous studies. Six of the objects are L-dwarfs, ranging in spectral class from L2 to L8/9, and the seventh is a methane or T-dwarf. These new observations were obtained during commissioning of NIRSPEC, the first high-resolution near-infrared cryogenic spectrograph for the Keck II 10-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Spectra with a resolving power of R=2500 from 1.135 to 1.360 microns (approximately J-band) are presented for each source. At this resolution, a rich spectral structure is revealed, much of which is due to blending of unresolved molecular transitions. Strong lines due to neutral potassium (K I), and bands due to iron hydride (FeH) and steam (H2O) change significantly throughout the L sequence. Iron hydride disappears between L5 and L8, the steam bands deepen and the K I lines gradually become weaker but wider due to pressure broadening. An unidentified feature occurs at 1.22 microns which has a temperature dependence like FeH but has no counterpart in the available FeH opacity data. Because these objects are 3-6 magnitudes brighter in the near-infrared compared to the I-band, spectral classification is efficient. One of the objects studied (2MASSW J1523+3014) is the coolest L-dwarf discovered so far by the 2-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), but its spectrum is still significantly different from the methane-dominated objects such as Gl229B or SDSS 1624+0029.
0003035v1