High purity niobium (Nb), subjected to the processing methods used in the fabrication of superconducting RF cavities, displays micron-sized surface patches containing excess carbon. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy
-loss spectroscopy measurements are presented which reveal the presence of nanoscale NbC coherent precipitates in such regions. Raman backscatter spectroscopy on similar surface regions exhibit spectra consistent with the literature results on bulk NbC but with significantly enhanced two-phonon scattering. The unprecedented strength and sharpness of the two-phonon signal has prompted a theoretical analysis, using density functional theory (DFT), of phonon modes in NbC for two different interface models of the coherent precipitate. One model leads to overall compressive strain and a comparison to ab-initio calculations of phonon dispersion curves under uniform compression of the NbC shows that the measured two-phonon peaks are linked directly to phonon anomalies arising from strong electron-phonon interaction. Another model of the extended interface between Nb and NbC, studied by DFT, gives insight into the frequency shifts of the acoustic and optical mode density of states measured by first order Raman. The exact origin of the stronger two-phonon response is not known at present but it suggests the possibility of enhanced electron-phonon coupling in transition metal carbides under strain found either in the bulk NbC inclusions or at their interfaces with Nb metal. Preliminary tunneling studies using a point contact method show some energy gaps larger than expected for bulk NbC.
We report the first results of a study of variable point sources identified using multi-color time-series photometry from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 over a span of nearly 10 years (1998-2007). We construct a light-curve catalog of 221,
842 point sources in the R.A. 0-4 h half of Stripe 82, limited to r = 22.0, that have at least 10 detections in the ugriz bands and color errors of < 0.2 mag. These objects are then classified by color and by cross-matching them to existing SDSS catalogs of interesting objects. We use inhomogeneous ensemble differential photometry techniques to greatly improve our sensitivity to variability. Robust variable identification methods are used to extract 6520 variable candidates in this dataset, resulting in an overall variable fraction of ~2.9% at the level of 0.05 mag variability. A search for periodic variables results in the identification of 30 eclipsing/ellipsoidal binary candidates, 55 RR Lyrae, and 16 Delta Scuti variables. We also identify 2704 variable quasars matched to the SDSS Quasar catalog (Schneider et al. 2007), as well as an additional 2403 quasar candidates identified by their non-stellar colors and variability properties. Finally, a sample of 11,328 point sources that appear to be nonvariable at the limits of our sensitivity is also discussed. (Abridged.)
We present a weak-lensing analysis of the z=1.4 galaxy cluster XMMU J2235.3-2557, based on deep Advanced Camera for Surveys images. Despite the observational challenge set by the high redshift of the lens, we detect a substantial lensing signal at th
e >~ 8 sigma level. This clear detection is enabled in part by the high mass of the cluster, which is verified by our both parametric and non-parametric estimation of the cluster mass. Assuming that the cluster follows a Navarro-Frenk-White mass profile, we estimate that the projected mass of the cluster within r=1 Mpc is (8.5+-1.7) x 10^14 solar mass, where the error bar includes the statistical uncertainty of the shear profile, the effect of possible interloping background structures, the scatter in concentration parameter, and the error in our estimation of the mean redshift of the background galaxies. The high X-ray temperature 8.6_{-1.2}^{+1.3} keV of the cluster recently measured with Chandra is consistent with this high lensing mass. When we adopt the 1-sigma lower limit as a mass threshold and use the cosmological parameters favored by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-year (WMAP5) result, the expected number of similarly massive clusters at z >~ 1.4 in the 11 square degree survey is N ~ 0.005. Therefore, the discovery of the cluster within the survey volume is a rare event with a probability < 1%, and may open new scenarios in our current understanding of cluster formation within the standard cosmological model.
Using HST and Spitzer IRAC imaging, we report the discovery of a very bright strongly lensed Lyman break galaxy (LBG) candidate at z~7.6 in the field of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689. The galaxy candidate, which we refer to as A1689-zD1, show
s a strong z-J break of at least 2.2 mag and is completely undetected (<1 sigma) in HST/ACS g, r, i, and z-band data. These properties, combined with the very blue J-H and H-[4.5] colors, are exactly the properties of an z~7.6 LBG and can only be reasonably fit by a star-forming galaxy at z=7.6 +/- 0.4. Attempts to reproduce these properties with a model galaxy at z<4 yield particularly poor fits. A1689-zD1 has an observed (lensed) magnitude of 24.7 AB (8 sigma) in the NICMOS H band and is ~1.3 mag brighter than the brightest-known z-dropout galaxy. When corrected for the cluster magnification of 9.3 at z~7.6, the candidate has an intrinsic magnitude of H=27.1 AB, or about an L* galaxy at z~7.6. The source-plane deprojection shows that the star formation is occurring in compact knots of size ~<300 pc. The best-fit stellar population synthesis models yield a median redshift of 7.6, stellar masses (1.6-3.9) x 10^9 M_sun, stellar ages 45-320 Myr, star-formation rates ~<7.6 M_sun/yr, and low reddening with A_V <= 0.3. These properties are generally similar to those of LBGs found at z~5-6. The inferred stellar ages suggest a formation redshift of z~8-10 (t~<0.63 Gyr). A1689-zD1 is the brightest observed, highly reliable z>7.0 galaxy candidate found to date.
