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J. F. Babb

Publications and source records attributed to J. F. Babb.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2024

Evidence for Dust Depletion in a Misaligned Protoplanetary Disk with JWST

Here we report the detection of dust depletion in a misaligned inner disk around UX Tau A using JWST MIRI spectra. Mid-infrared (MIR) continuum "seesaw" variability was detected in this disk by Spitzer and attributed to variable shadows cast on the outer disk by the inner disk. The JWST MIRI spectrum of UX Tau A also shows seesaw variability, but with a significant decrease of emission shortwards of 10 micron to nearly photospheric levels. We argue that UX Tau A's MIR continuum variability is due to depletion of dust in a misaligned inner disk. We speculate that this dust depletion occurs because the inner disk is misaligned from the outer disk, which can disrupt the replenishment of the inner disk from the outer disk. Using contemporaneous measurements of the mass accretion rate of UX Tau A and estimating the amount of dust necessary to produce the MIR excess in the Spitzer observations, we estimate a minimum dust depletion timescale of ~0.1 yr. These observations show that we can indirectly detect the signatures of misaligned inner disks through MIR continuum variability and that in some cases the inner disk may be significantly depleted of dust and become optically thin.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2021

Few-neutron systems with the long-range Casimir-Polder force

In this work we present results of the long-range electromagnetic Casimir-Polder interactions between two neutrons, a neutron and a conducting wall, and a neutron between two walls. As input, we use the dynamic dipole polarizabilities of the neutron fitted to chiral EFT results up to the pion production threshold and at the onset of the Delta resonance. Our work can be relevant to the physics of confined ultracold neutrons inside bottles.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2020

Revisiting the Formation of HeH$^+$ in the Planetary Nebula NGC 7027

From four independent calculations using three different theoretical approaches, rate coefficients for the formation of HeH$^+$ via the radiative association of He$^+$ and H were computed. Good agreement is found between our new calculations and prior results obtained two decades ago for kinetic temperatures between $\sim$800 and 20,000 K. This finding is inconsistent with a recent claim in the literature of a wide variation in published values and establishes the robustness of our knowledge of this process for the formation of HeH$^+$. The implications of the current results to the first detection of HeH$^+$ and its modeled abundance in the planetary nebula NGC 7027 are discussed.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2018

Theory and simulation of spectral line broadening by exoplanetary atmospheric haze

Atmospheric haze is the leading candidate for the flattening of expolanetary spectra, as it's also an important source of opacity in the atmospheres of solar system planets, satellites, and comets. Exoplanetary transmission spectra, which carry information about how the planetary atmospheres become opaque to stellar light in transit, show broad featureless absorption in the region of wavelengths corresponding to spectral lines of sodium, potassium and water. We develop a detailed atomistic model, describing interactions of atomic or molecular radiators with dust and atmospheric haze particulates. This model incorporates a realistic structure of haze particulates from small nano-size seed particles up to sub-micron irregularly shaped aggregates, accounting for both pairwise collisions between the radiator and haze perturbers, and quasi-static mean field shift of levels in haze environments. This formalism can explain large flattening of absorption and emission spectra in haze atmospheres and shows how the radiator - haze particle interaction affects the absorption spectral shape in the wings of spectral lines and near their centers. The theory can account for nearly all realistic structure, size and chemical composition of haze particulates and predict their influence on absorption and emission spectra in hazy environments. We illustrate the utility of the method by computing shift and broadening of the emission spectra of the sodium D line in an argon haze. The simplicity, elegance and generality of the proposed model should make it amenable to a broad community of users in astrophysics and chemistry.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2017

Editorial: Special Issue on the Atomic and Molecular Processes in the Ultracold Regime, the Chemical Regime, and Astrophysics

This editorial introduces the J. Phys. B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Special Issue "Atomic and Molecular Processes in the Ultracold Regime, the Chemical Regime and Astrophysics" dedicated to Professor Alexander Dalgarno (1928-2015). After a brief biographical review, short summaries of the contributed papers and their relations to some of Prof. Dalgarno's work are given.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2017

Rate constants for the formation of SiO by radiative association

Accurate molecular data for the low-lying states of SiO are computed and used to calculate rate constants for radiative association of Si and O. Einstein A-coefficients are also calculated for transitions between all of the bound and quasi-bound levels for each molecular state. The radiative widths are used together with elastic tunneling widths to define effective radiative association rate constants which include both direct and indirect (inverse predissociation) formation processes. The indirect process is evaluated for two kinetic models which represent limiting cases for astrophysical environments. The first case scenario assumes an equilibrium distribution of quasi-bound states and would be applicable whenever collisional and/or radiative excitation mechanisms are able to maintain the population. The second case scenario assumes that no excitation mechanisms are available which corresponds to the limit of zero radiation temperature and zero atomic density. Rate constants for SiO formation in realistic astrophysical environments would presumably lie between these two limiting cases.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2007

Accurate long-range coefficients for two excited like isotope He atoms: He($2 ^1P$)--He($2 ^1P$), He($2 ^1P$)--He($2 ^3P$), and He($2 ^3P$)--He($2 ^3P$)

A general formalism is used to express the long-range potential energies in inverse powers of the separation distance between two like atomic or molecular systems with $P$ symmetries. The long-range molecular interaction coefficients are calculated for the molecular symmetries $Δ$, $Π$, and $Σ$, arising from the following interactions: He($2 ^1P$)--He($2 ^1P$), He($2 ^1P$)--He($2 ^3P$), and He($2 ^3P$)--He($2 ^3P$). The electric quadrupole-quadrupole term, $C_{5}$, the van der Waals (dispersion) term $C_{6}$, and higher-order terms, $C_{8}$, and $C_{10}$, are calculated \textit{ab initio} using accurate variational wave functions in Hylleraas coordinates with finite nuclear mass effects. A comparison is made with previously published results where available.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2006

Long-range interactions for He($n S$)--He$(n' S)$ and He($n S$)--He$(n' P)$

The energetically lowest five states of a helium atom are: He($1^1S$), He($2^3S$), He($2^1S$), He($2^3P$), and He($2^1P$). Long-range interaction coefficients $C_3$, $C_6$, $C_8$, $C_9$, and $C_{10}$ for all $S-S$ and $S-P$ pairs of these states are calculated precisely using correlated wave functions in Hylleraas coordinates. Finite nuclear isotope mass effects are included.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2006

Dependences of the Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a cavity wall on atomic and material properties

The Casimir-Polder and van der Waals interactions between an atom and a flat cavity wall are investigated under the influence of real conditions including the dynamic polarizability of the atom, actual conductivity of the wall material and nonzero temperature of the wall. The cases of different atoms near metal and dielectric walls are considered. It is shown that to obtain accurate results for the atom-wall interaction at short separations, one should use the complete tabulated optical data for the complex refractive index of the wall material and the accurate dynamic polarizability of an atom. At relatively large separations in the case of a metal wall, one may use the plasma model dielectric function to describe the dielectric properties of wall material. The obtained results are important for the theoretical interpretation of experiments on quantum reflection and Bose-Einstein condensation.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2005

Long-range interactions between a He($2 ^3S$) atom and a He($2 ^3P$) atom for like isotopes

For the interactions between a He($2 ^3S$) atom and a He($2 ^3P$) atom for like isotopes, we report perturbation theoretic calculations using accurate variational wave functions in Hylleraas coordinates of the coefficients determining the potential energies at large internuclear separations. We evaluate the coefficient $C_{3}$ of the first order resonant dipole-dipole energy and the van der Waals coefficients $C_{6}$, $C_{8}$, and $C_{10}$ for the second order energies arising from the mutual perturbations of instantaneous electric dipole, quadrupole, and octupole interactions. We also evaluate the coefficient $C_{9}$ of the leading contribution to the third order energy. We establish definitive values including treatment of the finite nuclear mass for the ${}^3$He($2 ^3S$)--${}^3$He($2 ^3P$) and ${}^4$He($2 ^3S$)--${}^4$He($2 ^3P$) interactions.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2004

Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a cavity wall under the influence of real conditions

The Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a metal wall is investigated under the influence of real conditions including the dynamic polarizability of the atom, finite conductivity of the wall metal and nonzero temperature of the system. Both analytical and numerical results for the free energy and force are obtained over a wide range of the atom-wall distances. Numerical computations are performed for an Au wall and metastable He${}^{\ast}$, Na and Cs atoms. For the He${}^{\ast}$ atom we demonstrate, as an illustration, that at short separations of about the Au plasma wavelength at room temperature the free energy deviates up to 35% and the force up to 57% from the classical Casimir-Polder result. Accordingly, such large deviations should be taken into account in precision experiments on atom-wall interactions. The combined account of different corrections to the Casimir-Polder interaction leads to the conclusion that at short separations the corrections due to the dynamic polarizability of an atom play a more important role than -- and suppress -- the corrections due to the nonideality of the metal wall. By the comparison of the exact atomic polarizabilities with those in the framework of the single oscillator model, it is shown that the obtained asymptotic expressions enable calculation of the free energy and force for the atom-wall interaction under real conditions with a precision of one percent.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2001

Ultracold collisions of metastable helium atoms

We report scattering lengths for the singlet Sigma g +, triplet Sigma u + and quintet Sigma g + adiabatic molecular potentials relevant to collisions of two metastable (n=2 triplet S) helium atoms as a function of the uncertainty in these potentials. These scattering lengths are used to calculate experimentally observable scattering lengths, elastic cross sections and inelastic rates for any combination of states of the colliding atoms, at temperatures where the Wigner threshold approximation is valid.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2000

Theoretical study of the absorption spectra of the sodium dimer

Absorption of radiation from the sodium dimer molecular states correlating to Na(3s)-Na(3s) is investigated theoretically. Vibrational bound and continuum transitions from the singlet X Sigma-g+ state to the first excited singlet A Sigma-u+ and singlet B Pi-u states and from the triplet a Sigma-u+ state to the first excited triplet b Sigma-g+ and triplet c Pi-g states are studied quantum-mechanically. Theoretical and experimental data are used to characterize the molecular properties taking advantage of knowledge recently obtained from ab initio calculations, spectroscopy, and ultra-cold atom collision studies. The quantum-mechanical calculations are carried out for temperatures in the range from 500 to 3000 K and are compared with previous calculations and measurements where available.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv1999

The dipole polarizability of the hydrogen molecular ion

A procedure is described for the precise nonrelativistic evaluation of the dipole polarizabilities of H_2^+ and D_2^+ that avoids any approximation based on the size of the electron mass relative to the nucleus mass. The procedure is constructed so that sum rules may be used to assess the accuracy of the calculation. The resulting polarizabilities are consistent with experiment within the error bars of the measurements and are far more precise than values obtained by other theoretical methods.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv1999

Theoretical study of the absorption spectra of the lithium dimer

For the lithium dimer we calculate cross sections for absorption of radiation from the vibrational-rotational levels of the ground X [singlet Sigma g +] electronic state to the vibrational levels and continua of the excited A [singlet Sigma u +] and B [singlet Pi u] electronic states. Theoretical and experimental data are used to characterize the molecular properties taking advantage of knowledge recently obtained from photoassociation spectroscopy and ultra-cold atom collision studies. The quantum-mechanical calculations are carried out for temperatures in the range from 1000 to 2000 K and are compared with previous calculations and measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv1999

Rate coefficients for rovibrational transitions in H_2 due to collisions with He

We present quantum mechanical and quasiclassical trajectory calculations of cross sections for rovibrational transitions in ortho- and para-H_2 induced by collisions with He atoms. Cross sections were obtained for kinetic energies between 10^-4 and 3 eV, and the corresponding rate coefficients were calculated for the temperature range 100<T<4000 K. Comparisons are made with previous calculations.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

Short distance relativistic atom-atom forces

For the interactions between two atoms or between an ion and an electron the connections between the Casimir-Polder-type potentials and the relativistic potentials arising from the Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian are surveyed.

physics.atom-ph↗