2,401 research outputs found
Spin dynamics of counterrotating Kitaev spirals via duality
Incommensurate spiral order is a common occurrence in frustrated magnetic
insulators. Typically, all magnetic moments rotate uniformly, through the same
wavevector. However the honeycomb iridates family Li2IrO3 shows an
incommensurate order where spirals on neighboring sublattices are
counter-rotating, giving each moment a different local environment.
Theoretically describing its spin dynamics has remained a challenge: the Kitaev
interactions proposed to stabilize this state, which arise from strong
spin-orbit effects, induce magnon umklapp scattering processes in spin-wave
theory. Here we propose an approach via a (Klein) duality transformation into a
conventional spiral of a frustrated Heisenberg model, allowing a direct
derivation of the dynamical structure factor. We analyze both Kitaev and
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya based models, both of which can stabilize counterrotating
spirals, but with different spin dynamics, and we propose experimental tests to
identify the origin of counterrotation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; appendix 5 pages, 2 figure
Colloidal Gels: Equilibrium and Non-Equilibrium Routes
We attempt a classification of different colloidal gels based on
colloid-colloid interactions. We discriminate primarily between non-equilibrium
and equilibrium routes to gelation, the former case being slaved to
thermodynamic phase separation while the latter is individuated in the
framework of competing interactions and of patchy colloids. Emphasis is put on
recent numerical simulations of colloidal gelation and their connection to
experiments. Finally we underline typical signatures of different gel types, to
be looked in more details in experiments.Comment: topical review, accepted in J. Phys. Condens. Matte
Galaxy alignments: An overview
The alignments between galaxies, their underlying matter structures, and the
cosmic web constitute vital ingredients for a comprehensive understanding of
gravity, the nature of matter, and structure formation in the Universe. We
provide an overview on the state of the art in the study of these alignment
processes and their observational signatures, aimed at a non-specialist
audience. The development of the field over the past one hundred years is
briefly reviewed. We also discuss the impact of galaxy alignments on
measurements of weak gravitational lensing, and discuss avenues for making
theoretical and observational progress over the coming decade.Comment: 43 pages excl. references, 16 figures; minor changes to match version
published in Space Science Reviews; part of a topical volume on galaxy
alignments, with companion papers at arXiv:1504.05546 and arXiv:1504.0546
Nonlinear physics of electrical wave propagation in the heart: a review
The beating of the heart is a synchronized contraction of muscle cells
(myocytes) that are triggered by a periodic sequence of electrical waves (action
potentials) originating in the sino-atrial node and propagating over the atria and
the ventricles. Cardiac arrhythmias like atrial and ventricular fibrillation (AF,VF)
or ventricular tachycardia (VT) are caused by disruptions and instabilities of these
electrical excitations, that lead to the emergence of rotating waves (VT) and turbulent
wave patterns (AF,VF). Numerous simulation and experimental studies during the
last 20 years have addressed these topics. In this review we focus on the nonlinear
dynamics of wave propagation in the heart with an emphasis on the theory of pulses,
spirals and scroll waves and their instabilities in excitable media and their application
to cardiac modeling. After an introduction into electrophysiological models for action
potential propagation, the modeling and analysis of spatiotemporal alternans, spiral
and scroll meandering, spiral breakup and scroll wave instabilities like negative line
tension and sproing are reviewed in depth and discussed with emphasis on their impact
in cardiac arrhythmias.Peer ReviewedPreprin
Is Betelgeuse the Outcome of a Past Merger?
We explore the possibility that the star alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse) is the
outcome of a merger that occurred in a low mass ratio (q = M2/M1 = 0.07 - 0.25)
binary system some time in the past hundreds of thousands of years. To that
goal, we present a simple analytical model to approximate the perturbed
internal structure of a post-merger object following the coalescence of a
secondary in the mass range 1-4 Msun into the envelope of a 15-17 Msun primary.
We then compute the long-term evolution of post-merger objects for a grid of
initial conditions and make predictions about their surface properties for
evolutionary stages that are consistent with the observed location of
Betelgeuse in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We find that if a merger
occurred after the end of the primary's main-sequence phase, while it was
expanding toward becoming a red supergiant star and typically with radius ~200
- 300 Rsun, then it's envelope is spun-up to values which remain in a range
consistent with the Betelgeuse observations for thousands of years of
evolution. We argue that the best scenario that can explain both the fast
rotation of Betelgeuse and its observed large space velocity is one where a
binary was dynamically ejected by its parent cluster a few million years ago
and then subsequently merged. An alternative scenario in which the progenitor
of Betelgeuse was spun up by accretion in a binary and released by the
supernova explosion of the companion requires a finely tuned set of conditions
but cannot be ruled out.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Adaptive, locally-linear models of complex dynamics
The dynamics of complex systems generally include high-dimensional,
non-stationary and non-linear behavior, all of which pose fundamental
challenges to quantitative understanding. To address these difficulties we
detail a new approach based on local linear models within windows determined
adaptively from the data. While the dynamics within each window are simple,
consisting of exponential decay, growth and oscillations, the collection of
local parameters across all windows provides a principled characterization of
the full time series. To explore the resulting model space, we develop a novel
likelihood-based hierarchical clustering and we examine the eigenvalues of the
linear dynamics. We demonstrate our analysis with the Lorenz system undergoing
stable spiral dynamics and in the standard chaotic regime. Applied to the
posture dynamics of the nematode our approach identifies
fine-grained behavioral states and model dynamics which fluctuate close to an
instability boundary, and we detail a bifurcation in a transition from forward
to backward crawling. Finally, we analyze whole-brain imaging in
and show that the stability of global brain states changes with oxygen
concentration.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figure
Engineering aperiodic spiral order for photonic-plasmonic device applications
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityDeterministic arrays of metal (i.e., Au) nanoparticles and dielectric nanopillars (i.e., Si and SiN) arranged in aperiodic spiral geometries (Vogel's spirals) are proposed as a novel platform for engineering enhanced photonic-plasmonic coupling and increased light-matter interaction over broad frequency and angular spectra for planar optical devices. Vogel's spirals lack both translational and orientational symmetry in real space, while displaying continuous circular symmetry (i.e., rotational symmetry of infinite order) in reciprocal Fourier space. The novel regime of "circular multiple light scattering" in finite-size deterministic structures will be investigated. The distinctive geometrical structure of Vogel spirals will be studied by a multifractal analysis, Fourier-Bessel decomposition, and Delaunay tessellation methods, leading to spiral structure optimization for novel localized optical states with broadband fluctuations in their photonic mode density. Experimentally, a number of designed passive and active spiral structures will be fabricated and characterized using dark-field optical spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and Fourier space imaging. Polarization-insensitive planar omnidirectional diffraction will be demonstrated and engineered over a large and controllable range of frequencies. Device applications to enhanced LEDs, novel lasers, and thin-film solar cells with enhanced absorption will be specifically targeted. Additionally, using Vogel spirals we investigate the direct (i.e. free space) generation of optical vortices, with well-defined and controllable values of orbital angular momentum, paving the way to the engineering and control of novel types of phase discontinuities (i.e., phase dislocation loops) in compact, chip-scale optical devices. Finally, we report on the design, modeling, and experimental demonstration of array-enhanced nanoantennas for polarization-controlled multispectral nanofocusing, nanoantennas for resonant near-field optical concentration of radiation to individual nanowires, and aperiodic double resonance surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates
Magnetic resonance fingerprinting review part 2: Technique and directions
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154317/1/jmri26877.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154317/2/jmri26877_am.pd
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