A fossil origin for the magnetic field in A stars and white dwarfs

Some main-sequence stars of spectral type A are observed to have a strong (0.03-3 tesla), static, large-scale magnetic field, of a chiefly dipolar shape: they are known as 'Ap stars', such as Alioth, the fifth star in the Big Dipper. Following the discovery of these fields, it was proposed that they are remnants of the star's formation, a 'fossil' field. An alternative suggestion is that they could be generated by a dynamo process in the star's convective core. The dynamo hypothesis, however, has difficulty explaining high field strengths and the observed lack of a correlation with rotation. The weakness of the fossil-field theory has been the absence of field configurations stable enough to survive in a star over its lifetime. Here we report numerical simulations that show that stable magnetic field configurations, with properties agreeing with those observed, can develop through evolution from arbitrary, unstable initial fields. The results are applicable equally to Ap stars, magnetic white dwarfs and some highly magnetized neutron stars known as magnetars. This establishes fossil fields as the natural, unifying explanation for the magnetism of all these stars.     

A planetary system as the origin of structure in Fomalhaut's dust belt

The Sun and >15 per cent of nearby stars are surrounded by dusty disks that must be collisionally replenished by asteroids and comets, as the dust would otherwise be depleted on timescales <10(7) years (ref. 1). Theoretical studies show that the structure of a dusty disk can be modified by the gravitational influence of planets, but the observational evidence is incomplete, at least in part because maps of the thermal infrared emission from the disks have low linear resolution (35 au in the best case). Optical images provide higher resolution, but the closest examples (AU Mic and beta Pic) are edge-on, preventing the direct measurement of the azimuthal and radial disk structure that is required for fitting theoretical models of planetary perturbations. Here we report the detection of optical light reflected from the dust grains orbiting Fomalhaut (HD 216956). The system is inclined 24 degrees away from edge-on, enabling the measurement of disk structure around its entire circumference, at a linear resolution of 0.5 au. The dust is distributed in a belt 25 au wide, with a very sharp inner edge at a radial distance of 133 au, and we measure an offset of 15 au between the belt's geometric centre and Fomalhaut. Taken together, the sharp inner edge and offset demonstrate the presence of planetary-mass objects orbiting Fomalhaut.     

Convective-region geometry as the cause of Uranus' and Neptune's unusual magnetic fields

The discovery of Uranus' and Neptune's non-dipolar, non-axisymmetric magnetic fields destroyed the picture--established by Earth, Jupiter and Saturn--that planetary magnetic fields are dominated by axial dipoles. Although various explanations for these unusual fields have been proposed, the cause of such field morphologies remains unexplained. Planetary magnetic fields are generated by complex fluid motions in electrically conducting regions of the planets (a process known as dynamo action), and so are intimately linked to the structure and evolution of planetary interiors. Determining why Uranus and Neptune have different field morphologies is not only critical for studying the interiors of these planets, but also essential for understanding the dynamics of magnetic-field generation in all planets. Here we present three-dimensional numerical dynamo simulations that model the dynamo source region as a convecting thin shell surrounding a stably stratified fluid interior. We show that this convective-region geometry produces magnetic fields similar in morphology to those of Uranus and Neptune. The fields are non-dipolar and non-axisymmetric, and result from a combination of the stable fluid's response to electromagnetic stress and the small length scales imposed by the thin shell.     

An asymptotic-giant-branch star in the progenitor system of a type Ia supernova

Stars that explode as supernovae come in two main classes. A type Ia supernova is recognized by the absence of hydrogen and the presence of elements such as silicon and sulphur in its spectrum; this class of supernova is thought to produce the majority of iron-peak elements in the Universe. They are also used as precise 'standard candles' to measure the distances to galaxies. While there is general agreement that a type Ia supernova is produced by an exploding white dwarf star, no progenitor system has ever been directly observed. Significant effort has gone into searching for circumstellar material to help discriminate between the possible kinds of progenitor systems, but no such material has hitherto been found associated with a type Ia supernova. Here we report the presence of strong hydrogen emission associated with the type Ia supernova SN2002ic, indicating the presence of large amounts of circumstellar material. We infer from this that the progenitor system contained a massive asymptotic-giant-branch star that lost several solar masses of hydrogen-rich gas before the supernova explosion.     

永磁行星齿轮传动系统受迫振动分析

获得满意的传动系统动力学特性需要合理选择设计参数.为此,对永磁行星齿轮传动系统受迫振动时域和频域响应进行了求解,分3 种激励条件对该系统进行了时域和频域响应分析,讨论了系统磁性能参数对该系统频域响应的影响规律.结果表明：只考虑输出端激励时系统各部件动态位移响应较只考虑输入端激励时大,磁性能参数对各构件的低频振幅影响比较大,进行结构设计时要合理选择参数,避免系统各部件产生较大的振动.     

Galactic cosmic ray origin of Li, Be and B in stars

A study of the implications of the hypothesis that high energy processes involving cosmic rays acting on the interstellar medium are the sources of the elements Li, Be and B present in stellar atmospheres and in the solar system.     

强磁场下中子星外壳层的电子俘获

 以核素⁵⁶Co和⁵⁹Fe为例,讨论了强磁场中子星外壳层电子俘获.结果表明,绝大部分中子星表面的磁场范围10⁴~10⁹T,磁场对电子俘获率的影响很小.对于一些磁场范围为10⁹~10¹⁴T的超磁星,磁场可使电子俘获率大大降低,甚至可以降低3个量级.     

含非线性磁介质材料恒定磁场的差分离散

给出了含非线性磁介质恒定磁场中用积分泊松方程的差分离散, 该方法把求解非线性准泊松方程边值问题转化成求解线性代数方程组,在变压器、电机内电 磁场的分析与计算中具有广泛的应用.     

钕铁硼稀土永磁材料交流失磁

Nd- Fe- B稀土永磁材料的失磁现象制约了其在大型永磁电机中的应用。针对电机的实际工作环境 ,研究了不同工作状态的磁体在交变磁场作用下表面磁感应强度随时间的变化。研究发现 ,常温 2 5℃下磁体只有起始最低工作点低于其退磁曲线拐点时才会发生失磁现象 ,且随着磁场交变频率的升高 ,磁体失磁程度逐渐增大。并且运用磁体磁畴畴壁钉扎与运动模型和畴壁钉扎的热激活效应对实验现象进行了合理解释。这对 Nd- Fe- B稀土永磁电机的设计和失磁故障分析提供了实验依据与技术参考     

含非线性磁介质材料恒定磁场的差分离散

给出了含非线性磁介质恒定磁场中用积分泊松方程的差分离散，该方法把求解非线性准泊松方程边值问题转化成求解线性代数方程组，在变压器，电机内电磁场的分析与计算中具有广泛的应用。     

中子星壳层中强磁场与β衰变

 基于原子核壳层模型,分析了在强磁场作用下中子星壳层中的β衰变率,并以反应⁶³Co(β^-)⁶³Ni为例作详细计算.结果表明:弱磁场对中子星壳层中的β衰变几乎没有影响,强磁场(B>10⁸T)使β衰变率显著增大;同时在相同的磁场强度下,基态的β衰变比激发态的β衰变所受影响更大.这些结论对进一步研究中子星晚期演化和双中子星系统快中子俘获过程的核合成是有意义的.     

Application of high magnetic fields in advanced materials processing

Recently,steady magnetic fields avail-able from cryogen-free superconducting magnets open up new ways to process materials. In this paper,the main results obtained by using a high magnetic field to process several advanced materials are re-viewed. These processed objects primarily include superconducting,magnetic,metallic and nanome-ter-scaled materials. It has been found that a high magnetic field can effectively align grains when fab-ricating the magnetic and non-magnetic materials and make inclusions migrate in a molten metal. The mechanism is discussed from the theoretical view-point of magnetization energy.     

Coherent spin manipulation without magnetic fields in strained semiconductors

A consequence of relativity is that in the presence of an electric field, the spin and momentum states of an electron can be coupled; this is known as spin-orbit coupling. Such an interaction opens a pathway to the manipulation of electron spins within non-magnetic semiconductors, in the absence of applied magnetic fields. This interaction has implications for spin-based quantum information processing and spintronics, forming the basis of various device proposals. For example, the concept of spin field-effect transistors is based on spin precession due to the spin-orbit coupling. Most studies, however, focus on non-spin-selective electrical measurements in quantum structures. Here we report the direct measurement of coherent electron spin precession in zero magnetic field as the electrons drift in response to an applied electric field. We use ultrafast optical techniques to spatiotemporally resolve spin dynamics in strained gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide epitaxial layers. Unexpectedly, we observe spin splitting in these simple structures arising from strain in the semiconductor films. The observed effect provides a flexible approach for enabling electrical control over electron spins using strain engineering. Moreover, we exploit this strain-induced field to electrically drive spin resonance with Rabi frequencies of up to approximately 30 MHz.     

Strong magnetic fields in normal galaxies at high redshift

The origin and growth of magnetic fields in galaxies is still something of an enigma. It is generally assumed that seed fields are amplified over time through the dynamo effect, but there are few constraints on the timescale. It was recently demonstrated that field strengths as traced by rotation measures of distant (and hence ancient) quasars are comparable to those seen today, but it was unclear whether the high fields were in the unusual environments of the quasars themselves or distributed along the lines of sight. Here we report high-resolution spectra that demonstrate that the quasars with strong Mg II absorption lines are unambiguously associated with larger rotation measures. Because Mg ii absorption occurs in the haloes of normal galaxies along the sightlines to the quasars, this association requires that organized fields of surprisingly high strengths are associated with normal galaxies when the Universe was only about one-third of its present age.     

Effects of magnetic fields on Fe-Si composite electrodeposition

Coatings containing Fe-Si particles were electrodeposited on 3.0wt% Si steel sheets under magnetic fields. The effects of magnetic flux density (MFD), electrode arrangement and current density on the surface morphology, the silicon content in the coatings and the cathode current efficiency were investigated. When a magnetic field was applied parallel to the current and when the MFD was less than 0.5 T, numerous needle-like structures appeared on the coating surface. With increasing MFD, the needle-like structures weakened and were transformed into dome-shaped structures. Meanwhile, compared to results obtained in the absence of a magnetic field, the silicon content in the coatings significantly increased as the MFD was increased for all of the samples obtained using a vertical electrode system. However, in the case of an aclinic electrode system, the silicon content decreased. Furthermore, the cathode current efficiency was considerably diminished when a magnetic field was applied. A possible mechanism for these phenomena was discussed.     

永磁同步伺服电动机的磁场分析与参数计算

为了更有效地对永磁同步伺服电动机进行设计和分析,需准确进行电机的磁场分析和参数计算。该文以一台定子为集中绕组、槽/极比为9/6、转子磁极为径向充磁圆筒形磁极等结构特点的永磁三相同步伺服电动机为例,分析了其磁场的分布情况,给出了电机的磁场分布图;对用电磁场数值计算来求解电机的空载反电动势进行了研究和分析;同时对如何求解电机的定子绕组电感进行了研究。计算结果与实验所测的结果吻合较好。该文提出的磁场分析和参数计算方法,对这类结构的永磁伺服电动机的设计和分析具有很好的参考价值。     

Ultrafast generation of magnetic fields in a Schottky diode.

For the development of future magnetic data storage technologies, the ultrafast generation of local magnetic fields is essential. Subnanosecond excitation of the magnetic state has so far been achieved by launching current pulses into micro-coils and micro-striplines and by using high-energy electron beams. Local injection of a spin-polarized current through an all-metal junction has been proposed as an efficient method of switching magnetic elements, and experiments seem to confirm this. Spin injection has also been observed in hybrid ferromagnetic-semiconductor structures. Here we introduce a different scheme for the ultrafast generation of local magnetic fields in such a hybrid structure. The basis of our approach is to optically pump a Schottky diode with a focused, approximately 150-fs laser pulse. The laser pulse generates a current across the semiconductor-metal junction, which in turn gives rise to an in-plane magnetic field. This scheme combines the localization of current injection techniques with the speed of current generation at a Schottky barrier. Specific advantages include the ability to rapidly create local fields along any in-plane direction anywhere on the sample, the ability to scan the field over many magnetic elements and the ability to tune the magnitude of the field with the diode bias voltage.