arXiv subjects

P. Kumar

Publications and source records attributed to P. Kumar.

124 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

GRB 021004: a Massive Progenitor Star Surrounded by Shells

We present spectra of the optical transient of GRB021004 obtained with the Hobby-Eberly telescope starting 15.48, 20.31 hours, and 4.84 days after the burst and a spectrum obtained with the H. J. Smith 2.7 m Telescope starting 14.31 hours after the burst. GRB021004 is the first afterglow whose spectrum is dominated by absorption lines from high ionization species with multiple velocity components separated by up to 3000 km/s. We argue that these lines are likely to come from shells around a massive progenitor star. The high velocities and high ionizations arise from a combination of acceleration and flash-ionization by the burst photons and the wind velocity and steady ionization by the progenitor. We also analyze the broad-band spectrum and the light curve. We distinguish six components along the line of sight: (1) The z~2.293 absorption lines arise from the wind of a massive star. For a mass loss rate of ~6 x 10^{-5} solar masses per year, this component also provides the external medium to create the afterglow light. (2) A second shell produces absorption lines with a relative velocity of 560 km/s, and this is associated with the shell created by the fast massive star wind blowing a bubble in the preceding slow wind at a radial distance of order 10 pc. (3) More distant clouds within the host galaxy lie between 30-2500 pc, where they have been ionized by the burst. (4-6) The massive star wind has clumps with radii and over-densities of 0.022, 0.063, and 0.12 parsecs and 50%, 10%, and 10% respectively. The immediate progenitor of the burster could either be a WC-type Wolf-Rayet star or a highly evolved star whose original mass was just too small for it to become a WN-type Wolf-Rayet star.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Specific Heat of URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ in Fields to 42 T: Clues to the 'Hidden Order'

The large $Δ$C observed at 17.5 K in URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ is inconsistent with the small, 0.04 $μ_{B}$ moment measured for the antiferromagnetism observed starting (perhaps coincidentally) at the same temperature. We report measurements of this specific heat transition, thought to be due to some 'hidden order', in magnetic fields between 24 and 42 T, i. e. through the field region where three metamagnetic transtions are known to occur at 35.8, 37.3, and 39.4 T. The response of $Δ$C in single crystal URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ to magnetic field, which includes a change to $Δ$C being possibly associated with a first order phase transition for high fields, is analyzed to shed further light on the possible explanations of this unknown ordering process. At fields above 35 T, a new high field phase comes into being; the connection between this high field phase revealed by the specific heat and earlier magnetization data is discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Fiber-Optic Sources of Quantum Entanglement

We present a fiber-based source of polarization-entangled photon pairs that is well suited for quantum communication applications in the 1.5$μ$m band of standard telecommunication fiber. Quantum-correlated signal and idler photon pairs are produced when a nonlinear-fiber Sagnac interferometer is pumped in the anomalous-dispersion region of the fiber. Recently, we have demonstrated nonclassical properties of such photon pairs by using Geiger-mode InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes. Polarization entanglement in the photon pairs can be created by pumping the Sagnac interferometer with two orthogonally polarized pulses. In this case the parametrically scattered signal-idler photons yield biphoton interference with $>$90% visibility in coincidence detection, while no interference is observed in direct detection of either the signal or the idler photons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Thermodynamics of a Higher Order Phase Transition: Scaling Exponents and Scaling Laws

The well known scaling laws relating critical exponents in a second order phase transition have been generalized to the case of an arbitrarily higher order phase transition. In a higher order transition, such as one suggested for the superconducting transition in Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$BiO$_3$ and in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$, there are singularities in higher order derivatives of the free energy. A relation between exponents of different observables has been found, regardless of whether the exponents are classical (mean-field theory, no fluctuations, integer order of a transition) or not (fluctuation effects included). We also comment on the phase transition in a thin film.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Off-Axis Afterglow Emission from Jetted Gamma-Ray Bursts

We calculate Gamma-Ray Burst afterglow light-curves from a relativistic jet of initial opening angle theta_0, as seen by observers at a wide range of viewing angles, theta_obs, from the jet axis. We describe three increasingly more realistic models and compare the resulting light-curves. An observer at theta_obs < theta_0 should see a light curve very similar to that for an on-axis observer. An observer at theta_obs > theta_0 should see a rising light curve at early times, the flux peaking when the jet Lorentz factor sim 1/theta_obs. After this time the flux is not very different from that seen by an on-axis observer. A strong linear polarization (<40%) may occur near the peak in the light curve, and slowly decay with time. We show that if GRB jets have a universal energy, then orphan afterglows associated with off-axis jets should be seen up to a constant theta_obs, therefore the detection rate of orphan afterglows would be proportional to the true GRB rate. We also discuss the proposed connection between supernova 1998bw and GRB 980425.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Properties of Relativistic Jets in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

We extend our calculation of physical parameters of GRB jets by modeling the broadband emission of the afterglows 970508, 980519, 991208, 000926, 000418, and 010222. Together with 990123, 990510, 991216, and 000301c, there are ten well-observed afterglows for which the initial opening angle of the GRB jet can be constrained. The jet energies (after the GRB phase) obtained for this set of afterglows are within one decade around 5E50erg. With the exception of 000418, which requires a jet wider than 1/2 radians, the jet initial half-angle in the other cases ranges from 2 deg to 20 deg. We find that, in half of the cases, a homogeneous ambient medium accommodates the afterglow emission better than the wind-like 1/r^2 profile medium expected around massive stars. The two types of media give fits of comparable quality in four cases, a wind medium providing a better description only for 970508. The circumburst densities we obtain are in the 0.1-100 per cc range, with the exception of 990123, for which it is below 0.01 per cc. If in all ten cases the observed GRB durations are a good measure of the ejecta deceleration timescale, then the parameters obtained here lead to jet initial bulk Lorentz factors between 70 and 300, anticorrelated with the jet initial aperture, and jet masses around 1E-6 M_sun. Our results on the jet energy, opening Lorentz factor, and evacuation of material until break-out provide constraints on theoretical models of GRB jets.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Fundamental Physical Parameters of Collimated Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

We determine the basic physical characteristics of eight Gamma-Ray Bursts -- 980519, 990123, 990510, 991028, 991216, 000301c, 000926 and 010222 -- by modelling the broadband emission of their afterglows. We find that the burst kinetic energies after the GRB phase are well clustered around a mean value of 3E50 ergs. In contrast, the energy release in gamma-rays, after correcting for collimated explosion, varies among bursts by more than an order of magnitude. The jet initial apertures are the 2-14 degree range, mildly correlated with the energy, half of the jets being narrower than ~3 deg. This implies that, within 100 Mpc, there are about 10 GRB remnants (expanding at ~0.1c) which can be resolved with VLBA. For all eight afterglows the total energy in the shock-accelerated electrons is close to equipartition with protons. However the slope of the power-law electron distribution is not universal, varying between 1.4 and 2.8. In at least half of the cases, the density structure of the medium is inconsistent with an r^{-2} profile. A homogeneous medium with density in the 0.1-50 per cc range can accommodate the broadband emission of all afterglows, with the exception of 990123, for which we find the density to be less than 0.01 per cc. If GRBs arise from the core collapse of massive stars, then such low densities indicate the existence of superbubbles created by the supernovae and winds within a cluster of massive stars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Physical Parameters for the Afterglows of GRB 980703, 990123, 990510, and 991216 Determined from Modeling of Multi-Frequency Data

We model the radio, optical, and X-ray emission for the afterglows of GRB 980703, 990123, 990510, and 991216, within the framework of relativistic jets, to determine their physical parameters. The models that yield acceptable fits to the data have jet energies mostly between 10^{50} to 10^{51} erg and initial opening angles between 1 deg and 4 deg. The external medium density is uncertain by at least one order of magnitude in each case, being around 10^{-3}/cm^3 for GRB 980703 and 990123, ~0.1/cm^3 for GRB 990510, and ~3/cm^3 for GRB 991216. If the jets are uniform (i.e. there are no angular gradients of the energy per solid angle) then the 20 keV -- 1 MeV radiative efficiency during the GRB phase must have been at least 2-3% for GRB 990510, 20% for GRB 990123, and 30% for GRB 991216.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Clapping modes in unconventional superconductors

We consider a superconducting state with a mixed symmetry order parameter components, e.g. $d+is$ or $d+id'$ with $d'= d_{xy}$. We argue for the existence of the new orbital magnetization mode which corresponds to the oscillations of relative phase $ϕ$ between two components around an equilibrium value of $ϕ= \fracπ{2}$. It is similar to the so called ``clapping'' mode in superfluid $^3He-A$. We estimate the frequency of this mode $ω_0(B,T)$ depending on the field and temperature for the specific case of magnetic field induced $d'$ state. We find that this mode is {\em tunable} with an applied magnetic field with $ω_0(B,T) \propto B \0$, where $\0$ is the magnitude of the d-wave order parameter. We argue also that similar filed induced clapping mode should be present in an organic p-wave superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

Analytic Light-Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: Homogeneous versus Wind External Media

Assuming an adiabatic evolution of a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) remnant interacting with an external medium, we calculate the injection, cooling, and absorption break frequencies, and the afterglow flux for plausible orderings of the break and observing frequencies. The analytical calculations are restricted to a relativistic remnant and, in the case of collimated ejecta, to the phase where there is an insignificant lateral expansion. Results are given for both a homogeneous external medium and for a wind ejected by the GRB progenitor. We compare the afterglow emission at different observing frequencies, for each type of external medium. It is found that observations at sub-millimeter frequencies during the first day provide the best way of discriminating between the two models. By taking into account the effect of inverse Compton scatterings on the electron cooling, a new possible time-dependence of the cooling break is identified. The signature of the up-scattering losses could be seen in the optical synchrotron emission from a GRB remnant interacting with a pre-ejected wind, as a temporary mild flattening of the afterglow decay. The up-scattered radiation itself should be detected in the soft X-ray emission from GRB remnants running into denser external media, starting few hours after the main event.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Collective Mode in a d_{x^2-y^2} + id_xy Superconductor

We consider a superconducting state with a mixed symmetry order parameter components, e.g. d+is or d+id' with d'= d_{xy}. We argue for the existence of the new orbital magnetization mode which corresponds to the oscillations of relative phase ϕbetween two components around an equilibrium value of ϕ= π/2. It is similar to the so called ``clapping'' mode in superfluid 3He-A. We estimate the frequency of this mode ω_0(B,T) depending on the field and temperature for the specific case of magnetic field induced d'= d_{xy} state. We find that this mode is tunable with an applied magnetic field with ω_0(B,T) \propto B D_0, where D_0 is the magnitude of the d-wave order parameter. We also estimate the velocity s(B,T) of this mode.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

A Comment on ``Superconducting-Normal Phase Transition in (Ba1-xKx)BiO3, x = 0.40, 0.47'' by B. F. Woodfield, D. A. Wright, R. A. Fisher, N. E. Phillips and H. Y. Tang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4622 (1999)

This comment addresses criticisms of our PRL 82 (1999) p. 4532-4535 (cond-mat/9904288) raised by Woodfield et al. in their recent PRL. We find that the critical fields in single crystals of Ba1-xKxBiO3 (x = 0.4) have anomalous temperature dependecies which suggests that the superconducting phase transition in this material is not of order II.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Magnetization Measurements on Single Crystals of Superconducting Ba0.6K0.4BiO3

Extensive measurements of the magnetization of superconducting single crystal samples of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3} have been made using SQUID and cantilever force magnetometry at temperatures ranging between 1.3 and 350 K and in magnetic fields from near zero to 27 T. Hysteresis curves of magnetization versus field allow a determination of the thermodynamic critical field, the reversibility field, and the upper critical field as a function of temperature. The lower critical field is measured seperately and the Ginzburg-Landau parameter is found to be temperature dependent. All critical fields have higher T = 0 limits than have been previously noted and none of the temperature dependence of the critical fields follow the expected power laws leading to possible alternate interpretation of the thermodynamic nature of the superconducting transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Thermodynamics of the Superconducting Phase Transition in Ba_{0.6}K_{0.4}BiO_3

We suggest that the transition to superconductivity in a single crystal of Ba_{0.6}K_{0.4}BiO_3 with a T_c = 32K, and having critical fields with anomalous temperature dependencies and vanishing discontinuities in specific heat and magnetic susceptibility, may well be an example of a fourth order (in Ehrenfest's sense) phase transition. We have derived a free energy functional for a fourth order transition and calculated (for the temperature range ${T_c/2 < T \simeq T_c}$) the temperature dependence of the critical fields. We find $H_{c1}(T)\propto (1-T/T_c)^3, H_0(T)\propto (1-T/T_c)^2$ and $H_{c2}(T)\propto (1-T/T_c)^{1}$ in general agreement with experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Tomographic measurement of nonclassical radiation states

We propose to experimentally test the nonclassicality of quantum states through homodyne tomography. For single-mode states we check violations of inequalities involving the photon-number probability. For two-mode states we test the nonclassicality by reconstructing some suitable number-operator functions. The test can be performed with available quantum efficiency of homodyne detection, by measuring the pertaining quantities on the corresponding noisy states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1994

A Model for Solid $^3$He: II

We propose a simple Ginzburg-Landau free energy to describe the magnetic phase transition in solid $^3$He. The free energy is analyzed with due consideration of the hard first order transitions at low magnetic fields. The resulting phase diagram contains all of the important features of the experimentally observed ph ase diagram. The free energy also yields a critical field at which the transition from the disordered state to the high field state changes from a first order to a second order one.

cond-mat↗