Quantum spin liquids and the metal-insulator transition in doped semiconductors

We describe a new possible route to the metal-insulator transition in doped semiconductors such as Si:P or Si:B. We explore the possibility that the loss of metallic transport occurs through Mott localization of electrons into a quantum spin liquid state with diffusive charge neutral "spinon" excitations. Such a quantum spin liquid state can appear as an intermediate phase between the metal and the Anderson-Mott insulator. An immediate testable consequence is the presence of metallic thermal conductivity at low temperature in the electrical insulator near the metal-insulator transition. Further we show that though the transition is second order the zero temperature residual electrical conductivity will jump as the transition is approached from the metallic side. However the electrical conductivity will have a non-monotonic temperature dependence that may complicate the extrapolation to zero temperature. Signatures in other experiments and some comparisons with existing data are made.Comment: 4 pages text + 3 pages Appendices, 3 Figures; v2 - References Adde

Observational Constraints on Interstellar Grain Alignment

We present new multicolor photo-polarimetry of stars behind the Southern Coalsack. Analyzed together with multiband polarization data from the literature, probing the Chamaeleon I, Musca, rho Opiuchus, R CrA and Taurus clouds, we show that the wavelength of maximum polarization (lambda_max) is linearly correlated with the radiation environment of the grains. Using Far-Infrared emission data, we show that the large scatter seen in previous studies of lambda_max as a function of A_V is primarily due to line of sight effects causing some A_V measurements to not be a good tracer of the extinction (radiation field strength) seen by the grains being probed. The derived slopes in lambda_max vs. A_V, for the individual clouds, are consistent with a common value, while the zero intercepts scale with the average values of the ratios of total-to-selective extinction (R_V) for the individual clouds. Within each cloud we do not find direct correlations between lambda_max and R_V. The positive slope in consistent with recent developments in theory and indicating alignment driven by the radiation field. The present data cannot conclusively differentiate between direct radiative torques and alignment driven by H_2 formation. However, the small values of lambda_max(A_V=0), seen in several clouds, suggest a role for the latter, at least at the cloud surfaces. The scatter in the lambda_max vs. A_V relation is found to be associated with the characteristics of the embedded Young Stellar Objects (YSO) in the clouds. We propose that this is partially due to locally increased plasma damping of the grain rotation caused by X-rays from the YSOs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Demonstration of magnetic field tomography with starlight polarization towards a diffuse sightline of the ISM

The availability of large datasets with stellar distance and polarization information will enable a tomographic reconstruction of the (plane-of-the-sky-projected) interstellar magnetic field in the near future. We demonstrate the feasibility of such a decomposition within a small region of the diffuse ISM. We combine measurements of starlight (R-band) linear polarization obtained using the RoboPol polarimeter with stellar distances from the second Gaia data release. The stellar sample is brighter than 17 mag in the R band and reaches out to several kpc from the Sun. HI emission spectra reveal the existence of two distinct clouds along the line of sight. We decompose the line-of-sight-integrated stellar polarizations to obtain the mean polarization properties of the two clouds. The two clouds exhibit significant differences in terms of column density and polarization properties. Their mean plane-of-the-sky magnetic field orientation differs by 60 degrees. We show how our tomographic decomposition can be used to constrain our estimates of the polarizing efficiency of the clouds as well as the frequency dependence of the polarization angle of polarized dust emission. We also demonstrate a new method to constrain cloud distances based on this decomposition. Our results represent a preview of the wealth of information that can be obtained from a tomographic map of the ISM magnetic field.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, published in ApJ, data appear in journa

Imaging Polarimetric Observations of a New Circumstellar Disk System

Few circumstellar disks have been directly observed. Here we use sensitive differential polarimetric techniques to overcome atmospheric speckle noise in order to image the circumstellar material around HD 169142. The detected envelope or disk is considerably smaller than expectations based on the measured strength of the far-IR excess from this system

Thermodynamics of statistically interacting quantum gas in D dimensions

We present the exact thermodynamics (isochores, isotherms, isobars, response functions) of a statistically interacting quantum gas in D dimensions. The results in D=1 are those of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz for the nonlinear Schroedinger model, a gas with repulsive two-body contact potential. In all dimensions the ideal boson and fermion gases are recovered in the weak-coupling and strong-coupling limits, respectively. For all nonzero couplings ideal fermion gas behavior emerges for D>>1 and, in the limit D->infinity, a phase transition occurs at T>0. Significant deviations from ideal quantum gas behavior are found for intermediate coupling and finite D.Comment: 12 pages and 19 figure

Space Velocities of L- and T-type Dwarfs

(Abridged) We have obtained radial velocities of a sample of 18 ultracool dwarfs (M6.5-T8) using high-resolution, near-infrared spectra obtained with NIRSPEC and the Keck II telescope. We have confirmed that the radial velocity of Gl 570 D is coincident with that of the K-type primary star Gl 570 A, thus providing additional support for their true companionship. The presence of planetary-mass companions around 2MASS J05591914-1404488 (T4.5V) has been analyzed using five NIRSPEC radial velocity measurements obtained over a period of 4.37 yr. We have computed UVW space motions for a total of 21 L and T dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun. This population shows UVW velocities that nicely overlap the typical kinematics of solar to M-type stars within the same spatial volume. However, the mean Galactic (44.2 km/s) and tangential (36.5 km/s) velocities of the L and T dwarfs appear to be smaller than those of G to M stars. A significant fraction (~40%) of the L and T dwarfs lies near the Hyades moving group (0.4-2 Gyr), which contrasts with the 10-12% found for earlier-type stellar neighbors. Additionally, the distributions of all three UVW components (sigma_{UVW} = 30.2, 16.5, 15.8 km/s) and the distributions of the total Galactic (sigma_{v_tot} = 19.1 km/s) and tangential (sigma_{v_t} = 17.6 km/s) velocities derived for the L and T dwarf sample are narrower than those measured for nearby G, K, and M-type stars, but similar to the dispersions obtained for F stars. This suggests that, in the solar neighborhood, the L- and T-type ultracool dwarfs in our sample (including brown dwarfs) is kinematically younger than solar-type to early M stars with likely ages in the interval 0.5-4 Gyr.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Why do some intermediate polars show soft X-ray emission? A survey of XMM-Newton spectra

We make a systematic analysis of the XMM-Newton X-ray spectra of intermediate polars (IPs) and find that, contrary to the traditional picture, most show a soft blackbody component. We compare the results with those from AM Her stars and deduce that the blackbody emission arises from reprocessing of hard X-rays, rather than from the blobby accretion sometimes seen in AM Hers. Whether an IP shows a blackbody component appears to depend primarily on geometric factors: a blackbody is not seen in those that have accretion footprints that are always obscured by accretion curtains or are only visible when foreshortened on the white-dwarf limb. Thus we argue against previous suggestions that the blackbody emission characterises a separate sub-group of IPs which are more akin to AM Hers, and develop a unified picture of the blackbody emission in these stars.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

The effect of two-temperature post-shock accretion flow on the linear polarization pulse in magnetic cataclysmic variables

The temperatures of electrons and ions in the post-shock accretion region of a magnetic cataclysmic variable (mCV) will be equal at sufficiently high mass flow rates or for sufficiently weak magnetic fields. At lower mass flow rates or in stronger magnetic fields, efficient cyclotron cooling will cool the electrons faster than the electrons can cool the ions and a two-temperature flow will result. Here we investigate the differences in polarized radiation expected from mCV post-shock accretion columns modeled with one- and two-temperature hydrodynamics. In an mCV model with one accretion region, a magnetic field >~30 MG and a specific mass flow rate of ~0.5 g/cm/cm/s, along with a relatively generic geometric orientation of the system, we find that in the ultraviolet either a single linear polarization pulse per binary orbit or two pulses per binary orbit can be expected, depending on the accretion column hydrodynamic structure (one- or two-temperature) modeled. Under conditions where the physical flow is two-temperature, one pulse per orbit is predicted from a single accretion region where a one-temperature model predicts two pulses. The intensity light curves show similar pulse behavior but there is very little difference between the circular polarization predictions of one- and two-temperature models. Such discrepancies indicate that it is important to model some aspect of two-temperature flow in indirect imaging procedures, like Stokes imaging, especially at the edges of extended accretion regions, were the specific mass flow is low, and especially for ultraviolet data.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc