9,939 research outputs found
Abelian-Higgs-Navier-Stokes Hydrodynamics for Nematic Films with Defects
A new theory of hydrodynamics of uniaxial nematic liquid crystal films in the
presence of defects is developed. A gauge field incorporating screening is
introduced, resulting in the static elastic free energy having the form of a
two-dimensional Abelian-Higgs model. Hydrodynamic equations are derived via the
standard methods of de~Groot and Mazur. By working in the vicinity of the
Bogomol'nyi equations consequences for defect centre motion are outlined.Comment: 12 page
A scheme for parameterizing cirrus cloud ice water content in general circulation models
Clouds strongly influence th earth's energy budget. They control th amount of solar radiative energy absorbed by the climate system, partitioning the energy between the atmosphere and the earth's surface. They also control the loss of energy to space by their effect on thermal emission. Cirrus and altostratus are the most frequent cloud types, having an annual average global coverage of 35 and 40 percent, respectively. Cirrus is composed almost entirely of ice crystals and the same is frequently true of the upper portions of altostratus since they are often formed by the thickening of cirrostratus and by the spreading of the middle or upper portions of thunderstorms. Thus, since ice clouds cover such a large portion of the earth's surface, they almost certainly have an important effect on climate. With this recognition, researchers developing climate models are seeking largely unavailable methods for specifying the conditions for ice cloud formation, and quantifying the spatial distribution of ice water content, IWC, a necessary step in deriving their radiative characteristics since radiative properties are apparently related to IWC. A method is developed for specifying IWC in climate models, based on theory and measurements in cirrus during FIRE and other experiments
Continuum elasticity theory of edge excitations in a two-dimensional electron liquid with finite range interactions
We make use of continuum elasticity theory to investigate the collective
modes that propagate along the edge of a two-dimensional electron liquid or
crystal in a magnetic field. An exact solution of the equations of motion is
obtained with the following simplifying assumptions: (i) The system is {\it
macroscopically} homogeneous and isotropic in the half-plane delimited by the
edge (ii) The electron-electron interaction is of finite range due to screening
by external electrodes (iii) The system is nearly incompressible. At
sufficiently small wave vector we find a universal dispersion curve independent of the shear modulus. At larger wave vectors the dispersion
can change its form in a manner dependent on the comparison of various length
scales. We obtain analytical formulas for the dispersion and damping of the
modes in various physical regimes.Comment: 3 figure
On the accuracy of the melting curves drawn from modelling a solid as an elastic medium
An ongoing problem in the study of a classical many-body system is the
characterization of its equilibrium behaviour by theory or numerical
simulation. For purely repulsive particles, locating the melting line in the
pressure-temperature plane can be especially hard if the interparticle
potential has a softened core or contains some adjustable parameters. A method
is hereby presented that yields reliable melting-curve topologies with
negligible computational effort. It is obtained by combining the Lindemann
melting criterion with a description of the solid phase as an elastic
continuum. A number of examples are given in order to illustrate the scope of
the method and possible shortcomings. For a two-body repulsion of Gaussian
shape, the outcome of the present approach compares favourably with the more
accurate but also more computationally demanding self-consistent harmonic
approximation.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure
Magnetoelasticity theory of incompressible quantum Hall liquids
A simple and physically transparent magnetoelasticity theory is proposed to
describe linear dynamics of incompressible fractional quantum Hall states. The
theory manifestly satisfies the Kohn theorem and the -sum rule, and predicts
a gaped intra-Landau level collective mode with a roton minimum. In the limit
of vanishing bare mass the correct form of the static structure factor,
, is recovered. We establish a connection of the present approach
to the fermionic Chern-Simons theory, and discuss further extensions and
applications. We also make an interesting analogy of the present theory to the
theory of visco-elastic fluids.Comment: RevTeX 4, 6 pages; expanded version to appear in PRB; more technical
details, and discussions of the physics adde
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