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At least 343 records · Page 19

Spin waves in the soft layer of exchange-coupled soft/hard bilayers

The magnetic dynamical properties of the soft layer in exchange-coupled soft/hard bilayers have been investigated numerically using a one-dimensional atomic chain model. The frequencies and spatial profiles of spin wave eigenmodes are calculated during the magnetization reversal process of the soft layer. The spin wave modes exhibit a spatially modulated amplitude, which is especially evident for high-order modes. A dynamic pinning effect of surface magnetic moment is observed. The spin wave eigenfrequency decreases linearly with the increase of the magnetic field in the uniformly magnetized state and increases nonlinearly with field when spiral magnetization configuration is formed in the soft layer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

The Global and Small-scale Magnetic Fields of Fully Convective, Rapidly Spinning M Dwarf Pair GJ65 A and B

The nearby M dwarf binary GJ65 AB, also known as BL Cet and UV Cet, is a unique benchmark for investigation of dynamo-driven activity of low-mass stars. Magnetic activity of GJ65 was repeatedly assessed by indirect means, such as studies of flares, photometric variability, X-ray, and radio emission. Here, we present a direct analysis of large-scale and local surface magnetic fields in both components. Interpreting high-resolution circular polarization spectra (sensitive to a large-scale field geometry) we uncovered a remarkable difference of the global stellar field topologies. Despite nearly identical masses and rotation rates, the secondary exhibits an axisymmetric, dipolar-like global field with an average strength of 1.3 kG while the primary has a much weaker, more complex, and non-axisymmetric 0.3 kG field. On the other hand, an analysis of the differential Zeeman intensification (sensitive to the total magnetic flux) shows the two stars having similar magnetic fluxes of 5.2 and 6.7 kG for GJ65 A and B, respectively, although there is evidence that the field strength distribution in GJ65 B is shifted toward a higher field strength compared to GJ65 A. Based on these complementary magnetic field diagnostic results, we suggest that the dissimilar radio and X-ray variability of GJ65 A and B is linked to their different global magnetic field topologies. However, this difference appears to be restricted to the upper atmospheric layers but does not encompass the bulk of the stars and has no influence on the fundamental stellar properties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Correlation of lunar far-side magnetized regions with ringed impact basins

By the method of electron reflection, we have identified seven well-defined magnetized regions in the equatorial belt of the lunar far side sampled by the Apollo 16 Particles and Fields subsatellite. Most of these surface magnetic fields lie within one basin radius from the rim of a ringed impact basin, where thick deposits of basin ejecta are observed or inferred. The strongest of the seven magnetic features is linear, at least 250 km long, and radial to the Freundlich-Sharonov basin. The apparent correlation with basin ejecta suggests some form of impact origin for the observed permanently magnetized regions.

Anderson, K. A.↗

MEASUREMENTS OF STELLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS USING AUTOCORRELATION OF SPECTRA

We present a novel technique that uses the autocorrelation of the spectrum of a star to measure the line broadening caused by the modulus of its average surface magnetic field. The advantage of the autocorrelation comes from the fact that it can detect very small spectral line broadening effects because it averages over many spectral lines and therefore gives an average with a very high signal-to-noise ratio. We validate the technique with the spectra of known magnetic stars and obtain autocorrelation curves that are in full agreement with published magnetic curves obtained with Zeeman splitting. The autocorrelation also gives less noisy curves so that it can be used to obtain very accurate curves. We degrade the resolution of the spectra of these magnetic stars to lower spectral resolutions where the Zeeman splitting is undetectable. At these resolutions, the autocorrelation still gives good quality curves, thereby showing that it can be used to measure magnetic fields in spectra where the Zeeman splitting is significantly smaller than the width of the spectral line. This would therefore allow observing magnetic fields in very faint Ap stars with low-resolution spectrographs, thereby greatly increasing the number of known magnetic stars. It also demonstrates that the autocorrelation can measure magnetic fields in rapidly rotating stars as well as weak magnetic fields that give a Zeeman splitting smaller than the intrinsic width of the spectral lines. Finally, it shows that the autocorrelation can be used to find unknown magnetic stars in low-resolution spectroscopic surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Confirmation of the topology of the Wendelstein 7-X magnetic field to better than 1:100,000

Fusion energy research has in the past 40 years focused primarily on the tokamak concept, but recent advances in plasma theory and computational power have led to renewed interest in stellarators. The largest and most sophisticated stellarator in the world, Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), has just started operation, with the aim to show that the earlier weaknesses of this concept have been addressed successfully, and that the intrinsic advantages of the concept persist, also at plasma parameters approaching those of a future fusion power plant. Here we show the first physics results, obtained before plasma operation: that the carefully tailored topology of nested magnetic surfaces needed for good confinement is realized, and that the measured deviations are smaller than one part in 100,000. Lastly, this is a significant step forward in stellarator research, since it shows that the complicated and delicate magnetic topology can be created and verified with the required accuracy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Proof-of-principle demonstration of Nb{sub 3}Sn superconducting radiofrequency cavities for high Q{sub 0} applications

Many future particle accelerators require hundreds of superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities operating with high duty factor. The large dynamic heat load of the cavities causes the cryogenic plant to make up a significant part of the overall cost of the facility. This contribution can be reduced by replacing standard niobium cavities with ones coated with a low-dissipation superconductor such as Nb{sub 3}Sn. In this paper, we present results for single cell cavities coated with Nb{sub 3}Sn at Cornell. Five coatings were carried out, showing that at 4.2 K, high Q{sub 0} out to medium fields was reproducible, resulting in an average quench field of 14 MV/m and an average 4.2 K Q{sub 0} at quench of 8 × 10{sup 9}. In each case, the peak surface magnetic field at quench was well above H{sub c1}, showing that it is not a limiting field in these cavities. The coating with the best performance had a quench field of 17 MV/m, exceeding gradient requirements for state-of-the-art high duty factor SRF accelerators. It is also shown that—taking into account the thermodynamic efficiency of the cryogenic plant—the 4.2 K Q{sub 0} values obtained meet the AC power consumption requirements of state-of-the-art high duty factor accelerators, making this a proof-of-principle demonstration for Nb{sub 3}Sn cavities in future applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars as highly magnetized white dwarfs

We explore the possibility that soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are powered by highly magnetized white dwarfs (B-WDs). We take a sample of SGRs and AXPs and provide the possible parameter space in mass, radius, and surface magnetic field based on their observed properties (period and its derivative) and the assumption that these sources obey the mass-radius relation derived for the B-WDs. The radius and magnetic field of B-WDs are adequate to explain energies in SGRs/AXPs as the rotationally powered energy. In addition, B-WDs also adequately explain the perplexing radio transient GCRT J1745-3009 as a white dwarf pulsar. Note that the radius and magnetic fields of B-WDs are neither extreme (unlike of highly magnetized neutron stars) nor ordinary (unlike of magnetized white dwarfs, yet following the Chandrasekhar's mass-radius relation (C-WDs)). In order to explain SGRs/AXPs, while the highly magnetized neutron stars require an extra, observationally not well established yet, source of energy, the C-WDs predict large ultra-violet luminosity which is observationally constrained from a strict upper limit. Finally, we provide a set of basic differences between the magnetar and B-WD hypotheses for SGRs/AXPs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Information from Jupiter's decametric radiation

Radiation associated with decametric bursts are observed from about 39.5 MHz downwards, and its occurrence probability depends partly on the central meridian longitude of Jupiter. Three central meridian longitude regions of emission are designated as Sources A, B, and C. Emissions from B and C regions are also dependent on Io's phase. The frequency band of noise storms drifts slowly up or down the spectrum. Pulses with durations of 20 microseconds display drifts at the rate of 1000 MHz/sec. Decametric data are used to estimate Jupiter's surface magnetic field strength to be 10 gauss; however, if the maximum emission, about 10 MHz, is the electron gyrofrequency at Io's orbit, the surface field strength would be about 800 gauss. A model of the emission beam control exercised by Io is summarized. Data are presented which indicate that the width of source A emissions results from the changes in the angle of Jovicentric declination of the earth. One of two recent theories places the plasmapause at least 50 Jupiter radii from the surface on the sunward side, and the other places it within Io's orbit.

Carr, T. D.↗

Unconventional magnetisation texture in graphene/cobalt hybrids

Magnetic domain structure and spin-dependent reflectivity measurements on cobalt thin films intercalated at the graphene/Ir(111) interface are investigated using spin-polarised low-energy electron microscopy. We find that graphene-covered cobalt films have surprising magnetic properties. Vectorial imaging of magnetic domains reveals an unusually gradual thickness-dependent spin reorientation transition, in which magnetisation rotates from out-of-the-film plane to the in-plane direction by less than 10° per cobalt monolayer. During this transition, cobalt films have a meandering spin texture, characterised by a complex, three-dimensional, wavy magnetisation pattern. In addition, spectroscopy measurements suggest that the electronic band structure of the unoccupied states is essentially spin-independent already a few electron-Volts above the vacuum level. These properties strikingly differ from those of pristine cobalt films and could open new prospects in surface magnetism.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A flexible gyro-fluid system of equations

Gyro-fluid equations are velocity space moments of the gyrokinetic equations. Special gyro-Landau-fluid closures have been developed that include the damping due to kinetic resonances by fitting to the collisionless local plasma response functions. This damping allows for accurate linear eigenmodes to be computed with a relatively low number of velocity space moments compared to the number of velocity quadrature points in gyrokinetic codes. However, none of the published gyro-Landau-fluid closure schemes considers the Onsager symmetries of the resulting quasi-linear fluxes as a constraint. Onsager symmetry guarantees that the matrix of diffusivities is positive definite, an important property for the numerical stability of a transport solver. A two-parameter real closure for improving the accuracy of low-resolution gyro-fluid equations, which preserves the Onsager symmetry and allows higher velocity space moments, is presented in this paper. The new linear gyro-fluid system (GFS) is used to extend the TGLF quasi-linear transport model so that it can compute the energy and momentum fluxes due to parallel magnetic fluctuations, completing the transport matrix. The GFS equations do not use a bounce average approximation. The GFS equations are fully electromagnetic with general flux surface magnetic geometry, pitch angle scattering for electron collisions, and subsonic equilibrium toroidal rotation. Using GFS eigenmodes in the quasi-linear TGLF model will be shown to yield a more accurate match to fluxes computed by CGYRO turbulence simulations. In conclusion, prospects for future applications of a quasi-linear theory to new plasma transport regimes and magnetic confinement devices in addition to tokamaks are opened by the flexibility of the GFS eigensolver.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Effect of inhomogeneous surface disorder on the superheating field of superconducting RF cavities

Recent advances in surface treatments of Niobium superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities have led to substantially increased Q-factors and maximum surface field. This poses theoretical challenges to identify the mechanisms responsible for such performance enhancements. We report theoretical results for the effects of inhomogeneous surface disorder on the superheating field --- the surface magnetic field above which the Meissner state is globally unstable. We find that inhomogeneous disorder, such as that introduced by infusion of Nitrogen into the surface layers of Niobium SRF cavities, can increase the superheating field above the maximum for superconductors in the clean limit or with homogeneously distributed disorder. Homogeneous disorder increases the penetration of screening current, but also suppresses the maximum supercurrent. Inhomogeneous disorder in the form of an impurity diffusion layer biases this trade-off by increasing the penetration of the screening currents into cleaner regions with larger critical currents, thus limiting the suppression of the screening current to a thin dirty region close to the surface. Our results suggest that the impurity diffusion layers play a role in enhancing the maximum accelerating gradient of Nitrogen treated Niobium SRF cavities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Einstein@Home DISCOVERY OF A PALFA MILLISECOND PULSAR IN AN ECCENTRIC BINARY ORBIT

We report the discovery of the millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J1950+2414 (P = 4.3 ms) in a binary system with an eccentric (e = 0.08) 22 day orbit in Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array survey observations with the Arecibo telescope. Its companion star has a median mass of 0.3 M{sub ⊙} and is most likely a white dwarf (WD). Fully recycled MSPs like this one are thought to be old neutron stars spun-up by mass transfer from a companion star. This process should circularize the orbit, as is observed for the vast majority of binary MSPs, which predominantly have orbital eccentricities e < 0.001. However, four recently discovered binary MSPs have orbits with 0. 027 < e < 0.44; PSR J1950+2414 is the fifth such system to be discovered. The upper limits for its intrinsic spin period derivative and inferred surface magnetic field strength are comparable to those of the general MSP population. The large eccentricities are incompatible with the predictions of the standard recycling scenario: something unusual happened during their evolution. Proposed scenarios are (a) initial evolution of the pulsar in a triple system which became dynamically unstable, (b) origin in an exchange encounter in an environment with high stellar density, (c) rotationally delayed accretion-induced collapse of a super-Chandrasekhar WD, and (d) dynamical interaction of the binary with a circumbinary disk. We compare the properties of all five known eccentric MSPs with the predictions of these formation channels. Future measurements of the masses and proper motion might allow us to firmly exclude some of the proposed formation scenarios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Magnetization of the oceanic crust: TRM or CRM?

A model was proposed in which chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) acquired within the first 20 Ma of crustal evolution may account for 80% of the bulk natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of older basalts. The CRM of the crust is acquired as the original thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) is lost through low temperature alteration. The CRM intensity and direction are controlled by the post-emplacement polarity history. This model explains several independent observations concerning the magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model accounts for amplitude and skewness discrepancies observed in both the intermediate wavelength satellite field and the short wavelength sea surface magnetic anomaly pattern. It also explains the decay of magnetization away from the spreading axis, and the enhanced magnetization of the Cretaceous Quiet Zones while predicting other systematic variations with age in the bulk magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model also explains discrepancies in the anomaly skewness parameter observed for anomalies of Cretaceous age. Further studies indicate varying rates of TRM decay in very young crust which depicts the advance of low temperature alteration through the magnetized layer.

Raymond, C. A.↗

Magnetization of the oceanic crust - Thermoremanent magnetization of chemical remanent magnetization?

A model was proposed in which chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) acquired within the first 20 Ma of crustal evolution may account for 80 percent of the bulk natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of older basalts. The CRM of the crust is acquired as the original thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) is lost through low temperature alteration. The CRM intensity and direction are controlled by the post-emplacement polarity history. This model explains several independent observations concerning the magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model accounts for amplitude and skewness dicrepancies observed in both the intermediate wavelength satellite field and the short wavelength sea surface magnetic anomaly pattern. It also explains the decay of magnetization away from the spreading axis, and the enhanced magnetization of the Cretaceous Quiet Zones while predicting other systematic variations with age in the bulk magnetization of the oceanic crust. The model also explains discrepancies in the anomaly skewness parameter observed for anomalies of Cretaceous age. Further studies indicate varying rates of TRM decay in very young crust which depicts the advance of low temperature alteration through the magnetized layer.

Raymond, C. A.↗

Estimating the Magnetic Field Strength in Hot Jupiters

A large fraction of known Jupiter-like exoplanets are inflated as compared to Jupiter. These “hot” Jupiters orbit close to their parent star and are bombarded with intense starlight. Many theories have been proposed to explain their radius inflation and several suggest that a small fraction of the incident starlight is injected into the planetary interior, which helps to puff up the planet. How will such energy injection affect the planetary dynamo? In this Letter, we estimate the surface magnetic field strength of hot Jupiters using scaling arguments that relate energy available in planetary interiors to the dynamo-generated magnetic fields. We find that if we take into account the energy injected in the planetary interior that is sufficient to inflate hot Jupiters to observed radii, then the resulting dynamo should be able generate magnetic fields that are more than an order of magnitude stronger than the Jovian values. Our analysis highlights the potential fundamental role of the stellar light in setting the field strength in hot Jupiters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

X-ray perspective of the twisted magnetospheres of magnetars

Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are recognized as the most promising magnetar candidates, as indicated by their energetic bursts and rapid spin-downs. It is expected that the strong magnetic field leaves distinctive imprints on the emergent radiation both by affecting the radiative processes in atmospheres of magnetars and by scattering in the upper magnetospheres. We construct a self-consistent physical model that incorporates emission from the magnetar surface and its reprocessing in the three-dimensional (3D) twisted magnetosphere using a Monte Carlo technique. The synthetic spectra are characterized by four parameters: surface temperature kT, surface magnetic field strength B, magnetospheric twist angle Δϕ, and the normalized electron velocity β. We also create a tabular model (STEMS3D) and apply it to a large sample of XMM-Newton spectra of magnetars. The model successfully fits nearly all spectra, and the obtained magnetic field for 7 out of the 11 sources are consistent with the values inferred from the spin-down rates. We conclude that the continuum-fitting by our model is a robust method to measure the magnetic field strength and magnetospheric configuration of AXPs and SGRs. Investigating the multiple observations of variable sources, we also study the mechanism of their spectral evolution. Our results suggest that the magnetospheres in these sources are highly twisted (Δϕ>1), and the behavior of magnetospheric twisting and untwisting is revealed in the 2002 outburst of 1E 2259+586.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Polarization of Coronal Forbidden Lines

Since the magnetic field is responsible for most manifestations of solar activity, one of the most challenging problems in solar physics is the diagnostics of solar magnetic fields, particularly in the outer atmosphere. To this end, it is important to develop rigorous diagnostic tools to interpret polarimetric observations in suitable spectral lines. This paper is devoted to analyzing the diagnostic content of linear polarization imaging observations in coronal forbidden lines. Although this technique is restricted to off-limb observations, it represents a significant tool to diagnose the magnetic field structure in the solar corona, where the magnetic field is intrinsically weak and still poorly known. We adopt the quantum theory of polarized line formation developed in the framework of the density matrix formalism, and synthesize images of the emergent linear polarization signal in coronal forbidden lines using potential-field source-surface magnetic field models. The influence of electronic collisions, active regions, and Thomson scattering on the linear polarization of coronal forbidden lines is also examined. It is found that active regions and Thomson scattering are capable of conspicuously influencing the orientation of the linear polarization. These effects have to be carefully taken into account to increase the accuracy of the field diagnostics. We also found that linear polarization observation in suitable lines can give valuable information on the long-term evolution of the magnetic field in the solar corona.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Swift J045106.8-694803: A Highly Magnetised Neutron Star in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We report the analysis of a highly magnetised neutron star in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The high mass X-ray binary pulsar Swift J045106.8-694803 has been observed with Swift X-ray telescope (XRT) in 2008, The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in 2011 and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission - Newton (XMM-Newton) in 2012. The change in spin period over these four years indicates a spin-up rate of 5.010.06 s/yr, amongst the highest observed for an accreting pulsar. This spin-up rate can be accounted for using Ghosh and Lambs (1979) accretion theory assuming it has a magnetic field of (1.2 +/= 0.20/0.7) x 10(exp 14) Gauss. This is over the quantum critical field value. There are very few accreting pulsars with such high surface magnetic fields and this is the first of which to be discovered in the LMC. The large spin-up rate is consistent with Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) observations which show that Swift J045106.8-694803 has had a consistently high X-ray luminosity for at least five years. Optical spectra have been used to classify the optical counterpart of Swift J045106.8-694803 as a B0-1 III-V star and a possible orbital period of 21.631 +/- 0.005 days has been found from MACHO optical photometry.

Klus, H.↗