The Ratio of Helium- to Hydrogen-Atmosphere White Dwarfs: Direct Evidence for Convective Mixing

We determine the ratio of helium- to hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarf stars as a function of effective temperature from a model atmosphere analysis of the infrared photometric data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey combined with available visual magnitudes. Our study surpasses any previous analysis of this kind both in terms of the accuracy of the Teff determinations as well as the size of the sample. We observe that the ratio of helium- to hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs increases gradually from a constant value of ~0.25 between Teff = 15,000 K and 10,000 K to a value twice as large in the range 10,000 > Teff > 8000 K, suggesting that convective mixing, which occurs when the bottom of the hydrogen convection zone reaches the underlying convective helium envelope, is responsible for this gradual transition. The comparison of our results with an approximate model used to describe the outcome of this convective mixing process implies hydrogen mass layers in the range log M_H/M_tot = -10 to -8 for about 15% of the DA stars that survived the DA to DB transition near Teff ~ 30,000 K, the remainder having presumably more massive layers above log M_H/M_tot ~ -6.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Radiative Transfer on Perturbations in Protoplanetary Disks

We present a method for calculating the radiative tranfer on a protoplanetary disk perturbed by a protoplanet. We apply this method to determine the effect on the temperature structure within the photosphere of a passive circumstellar disk in the vicinity of a small protoplanet of up to 20 Earth masses. The gravitational potential of a protoplanet induces a compression of the disk material near it, resulting in a decrement in the density at the disk's surface. Thus, an isodensity contour at the height of the photosphere takes on the shape of a well. When such a well is illuminated by stellar irradiation at grazing incidence, it results in cooling in a shadowed region and heating in an exposed region. For typical stellar and disk parameters relevant to the epoch of planet formation, we find that the temperature variation due to a protoplanet at 1 AU separation from its parent star is about 4% (5 K) for a planet of 1 Earth mass, about 14% (19 K) for planet of 10 Earth masses, and about 18% (25 K) for planet of 20 Earth masses, We conclude that even such relatively small protoplanets can induce temperature variations in a passive disk. Therefore, many of the processes involved in planet formation should not be modeled with a locally isothermal equation of state.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures (including 3 color figs). Submitted to Ap

The Change of Intensity, Color, Line Strength, and Line Position in the QSS 3C 446 during the 1966 Outburst

During the course of routine observations of quasi-stellar radio sources, 3C 446 was found to be abnormally bright on June 24.4 U.T., 1966 (Sandage 1966). A further observation on July 12.4 U.T., 1966, confirmed this result, showing that the object had undergone an outburst of at least 3.2 mag. sometime between October 5, 1964, and June 24, 1966. This time interval can be narrowed appreciably because a visual estimate of the V magnitude by Schmidt on September 23 and 25, 1965, gave V not brighter than 18 on those dates. The event is of particular importance as it enables us to make several tests concerning the intensity and position of the emission-line features

Chandra Observations of Radio-Loud Quasars at z > 4: X-rays from the Radio Beacons of the Early Universe

We present the results of Chandra observations of six radio-loud quasars (RLQs) and one optically bright radio-quiet quasar (RQQ) at z = 4.1-4.4. These observations cover a representative sample of RLQs with moderate radio-loudness (R ~ 40-400), filling the X-ray observational gap between optically selected RQQs and the five known blazars at z > 4 (R ~ 800-27000). We study the relationship between X-ray luminosity and radio-loudness for quasars at high redshift and constrain RLQ X-ray continuum emission and absorption. From a joint spectral fit of nine moderate-R RLQs observed by Chandra, we find tentative evidence for absorption above the Galactic N_H, with a best-fit neutral intrinsic column density of N_H = 2.4^{+2.0}_{-1.8} x 10^{22} cm^{-2}, consistent with earlier claims of increased absorption toward high-redshift RLQs. We also search for evidence of an enhanced jet-linked component in the X-ray emission due to the increased energy density of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at high redshift, but we find neither spatial detections of X-ray jets nor a significant enhancement in the X-ray emission relative to comparable RLQs at low-to-moderate redshifts. Overall, the z ~ 4-5 RLQs have basic X-ray properties consistent with comparable RLQs in the local universe, suggesting that the accretion/jet mechanisms of these objects are similar as well.Comment: 12 pages, The Astronomical Journal, in pres

Line-of-Sight Reddening Predictions: Zero Points, Accuracies, the Interstellar Medium, and the Stellar Populations of Elliptical Galaxies

Revised (B-V)_0-Mg_2 data for 402 elliptical galaxies are given to test reddening predictions which can also tell us both what the intrinsic errors are in this relationship among gE galaxy stellar populations, as well as details of nearby structure in the interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy and of the intrinsic errors in reddening predictions. Using least-squares fits, the explicit 1-sigma errors in the Burstein-Heiles (BH) and the Schlegel et al. (IR) predicted reddenings are calculated, as well as the 1-sigma observational error in the (B-V)_0-Mg_2 for gE galaxies. It is found that, in directions with E(B-V)<0.100 mag (where most of these galaxies lie), 1-sigma errors in the IR reddening predictions are 0.006 to 0.009 in E(B-V) mag, those for BH reddening prediction are 0.011 mag, and the 1-sigma agreement between the two reddening predictions is 0.007 mag. IR predictions have an accuracy of 0.010-0.011 mag in directions with E(B-V)>= 0.100 mag, significantly better than those of the BH predictions (0.024-0.025). Gas-to-dust variations that vary by a factor of 3, both high and low, exist along many lines-of-sight in our Galaxy. The approx 0.02 higher reddening zero point in E(B-V) previously determined by Schlegel et al. is confirmed, primarily at the Galactic poles. Despite this, both methods also predict many directions with E(B-V)<0.015 mag. Independent evidence of reddening at the North Galactic pole is reviewed, with the conclusion that there still exists directions at the NGP that have E(B-V)<<0.01. Two lines of evidence suggest that IR reddenings are overpredicted in directions with high gas-to-dust ratios. As high gas-to-dust directions in the ISM also include the Galactic poles, this overprediction is the likely cause of the E(B-V) = 0.02 mag larger IR reddening zero point.Comment: 5 figure

Emission Line Flickering from the Secondary Star in Cataclysmic Variables? A study of V3885 Sagitarii

Spectrophotometric observations of H-alpha and He I 6678 emission lines of the nova-like Cataclysmic Variable V3885 Sgr are presented and analyzed. The binary orbital period was determined as P = 0.20716071(22) days. Doppler Tomography was performed with both H-alpha and He I lines. Disc radial emissivity profiles were also computed. The tomography mapping of flickering sources was performed using the H-alpha line, from which we concluded that the flickering is not uniformly distributed on the disc. The observed tomogram of the flickering was compared with simulations, suggesting that the most intense flickering source in the H-alpha is not located in the accretion disc. It is proposed that the main line flickering source may be associated with the illuminated secondary star.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted to be published on AJ. to donwload high resolution figures: http://www.astro.iag.usp.br/~fabiola/V3885_hires.pd

Piezoelectrically enhanced photocathode

A photocathode, for generating electrons in response to incident photons in a photodetector, includes a base layer having a first lattice structure and an active layer having a second lattice structure and epitaxially formed on the base layer, the first and second lattice structures being sufficiently different to create a strain in the active layer with a corresponding piezoelectrically induced polarization field in the active layer, the active layer having a band gap energy corresponding to a desired photon energy

Impact of phonons on dephasing of individual excitons in deterministic quantum dot microlenses

Optimized light-matter coupling in semiconductor nanostructures is a key to understand their optical properties and can be enabled by advanced fabrication techniques. Using in-situ electron beam lithography combined with a low-temperature cathodoluminescence imaging, we deterministically fabricate microlenses above selected InAs quantum dots (QDs) achieving their efficient coupling to the external light field. This enables to perform four-wave mixing micro-spectroscopy of single QD excitons, revealing the exciton population and coherence dynamics. We infer the temperature dependence of the dephasing in order to address the impact of phonons on the decoherence of confined excitons. The loss of the coherence over the first picoseconds is associated with the emission of a phonon wave packet, also governing the phonon background in photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Using theory based on the independent boson model, we consistently explain the initial coherence decay, the zero-phonon line fraction, and the lineshape of the phonon-assisted PL using realistic quantum dot geometries

Exploring Dephasing of a Solid-State Quantum Emitter via Time- and Temperature- Dependent Hong-Ou-Mandel Experiments

We probe the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) via time- and temperature- dependent two-photon interference (TPI) experiments. An increase in temporal-separation between consecutive photon emission events, reveals a decrease in TPI visibility on a nanosecond timescale, theoretically described by a non-Markovian noise process in agreement with fluctuating charge-traps in the QD's vicinity. Phonon-induced pure dephasing results in a decrease in TPI visibility from $(96\pm4)\,$\% at 10\,K to a vanishing visibility at 40\,K. In contrast to Michelson-type measurements, our experiments provide direct access to the time-dependent coherence of a quantum emitter at a nanosecond timescale.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure