1,174 research outputs found
Effect of positron-atom interactions on the annihilation gamma spectra of molecules
Calculations of gamma spectra for positron annihilation on a selection of
molecules, including methane and its fluoro-substitutes, ethane, propane,
butane and benzene are presented. The annihilation gamma spectra characterise
the momentum distribution of the electron-positron pair at the instant of
annihilation. The contribution to the gamma spectra from individual molecular
orbitals is obtained from electron momentum densities calculated using modern
computational quantum chemistry density functional theory tools. The
calculation, in its simplest form, effectively treats the low-energy
(thermalised, room-temperature) positron as a plane wave and gives annihilation
gamma spectra that are about 40% broader than experiment, although the main
chemical trends are reproduced. We show that this effective "narrowing" of the
experimental spectra is due to the action of the molecular potential on the
positron, chiefly, due to the positron repulsion from the nuclei. It leads to a
suppression of the contribution of small positron-nuclear separations where the
electron momentum is large. To investigate the effect of the nuclear repulsion,
as well as that of short-range electron-positron and positron-molecule
correlations, a linear combination of atomic orbital description of the
molecular orbitals is employed. It facilitates the incorporation of correction
factors which can be calculated from atomic many-body theory and account for
the repulsion and correlations. Their inclusion in the calculation gives gamma
spectrum linewidths that are in much better agreement with experiment.
Furthermore, it is shown that the effective distortion of the electron momentum
density, when it is observed through positron annihilation gamma spectra, can
be approximated by a relatively simple scaling factor.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figure
Measuring mechanical motion with a single spin
We study theoretically the measurement of a mechanical oscillator using a
single two level system as a detector. In a recent experiment, we used a single
electronic spin associated with a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond to probe
the thermal motion of a magnetized cantilever at room temperature {Kolkowitz et
al., Science 335, 1603 (2012)}. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the
sensitivity limits of this technique, as well as the possibility to measure the
zero point motion of the oscillator. Further, we discuss the issue of
measurement backaction in sequential measurements and find that although
backaction heating can occur, it does not prohibit the detection of zero point
motion. Throughout the paper we focus on the experimental implementation of a
nitrogen vacancy center coupled to a magnetic cantilever; however, our results
are applicable to a wide class of spin-oscillator systems. Implications for
preparation of nonclassical states of a mechanical oscillator are also
discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
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Accounting for changing temperature patterns increases historical estimates of climate sensitivity
Eight atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) are forced with observed historical (1871–2010) monthly sea surface temperature and sea ice variations using the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project II data set. The AGCMs therefore have a similar temperature pattern and trend to that of observed historical climate change. The AGCMs simulate a spread in climate feedback similar to that seen in coupled simulations of the response to CO2 quadrupling. However, the feedbacks are robustly more stabilizing and the effective climate sensitivity (EffCS) smaller. This is due to a pattern effect, whereby the pattern of observed historical sea surface temperature change gives rise to more negative cloud and longwave clear‐sky feedbacks. Assuming the patterns of long‐term temperature change simulated by models, and the radiative response to them, are credible; this implies that existing constraints on EffCS from historical energy budget variations give values that are too low and overly constrained, particularly at the upper end. For example, the pattern effect increases the long‐term Otto et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1836) EffCS median and 5–95% confidence interval from 1.9 K (0.9–5.0 K) to 3.2 K (1.5–8.1 K
Shallow BF2 implants in Xe-bombardment-preamorphized Si: the interaction between Xe and F
Si(100) samples, preamorphized to a depth of ~30 nm using 20 keV Xe ions to a nominal fluence of 2×1014 cm-2 were implanted with 1 and 3 keV BF2 ions to fluences of 7×1014 cm-2. Following annealing over a range of temperatures (from 600 to 1130 °C) and times the implant redistribution was investigated using medium-energy ion scattering (MEIS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM). MEIS studies showed that for all annealing conditions leading to solid phase epitaxial regrowth, approximately half of the Xe had accumulated at depths of 7 nm for the 1 keV and at 13 nm for the 3 keV BF2 implant. These depths correspond to the end of range of the B and F within the amorphous Si. SIMS showed that in the preamorphized samples, approximately 10% of the F migrates into the bulk and is trapped at the same depths in a ~1:1 ratio to Xe. These observations indicate an interaction between the Xe and F implants and a damage structure that becomes a trapping site. A small fraction of the implanted B is also trapped at this depth. EXTEM micrographs suggest the development of Xe agglomerates at the depths determined by MEIS. The effect is interpreted in terms of the formation of a volume defect structure within the amorphized Si, leading to F stabilized Xe agglomerates or XeF precipitates
Fermi point in graphene as a monopole in momentum space
We consider the effective field theory of graphene monolayer with the Coulomb
interaction between fermions taken into account. The gauge field in momentum
space is introduced. The position of the Fermi point coincides with the
position of the corresponding monopole. The procedure of extracting such
monopoles during lattice simulations is suggested.Comment: Latex, 12 page
Variational calculations for the hydrogen-antihydrogen system with a mass-scaled Born-Oppenheimer potential
The problem of proton-antiproton motion in the --
system is investigated by means of the variational method. We introduce a
modified nuclear interaction through mass-scaling of the Born-Oppenheimer
potential. This improved treatment of the interaction includes the nondivergent
part of the otherwise divergent adiabatic correction and shows the correct
threshold behavior.
Using this potential we calculate the vibrational energy levels with angular
momentum 0 and 1 and the corresponding nuclear wave functions, as well as the
S-wave scattering length. We obtain a full set of all bound states together
with a large number of discretized continuum states that might be utilized in
variational four-body calculations. The results of our calculations gives an
indication of resonance states in the hydrogen-antihydrogen system
Current noise of a superconducting single electron transistor coupled to a resonator
We analyze the current and zero-frequency current noise properties of a
superconducting single electron resonator (SSET) coupled to a resonator,
focusing on the regime where the SSET is operated in the vicinity of the
Josephson quasiparticle resonance. We consider a range of coupling strengths
and resonator frequencies to reflect the fact that in practice the system can
be tuned to quite a high degree with the resonator formed either by a
nanomechanical oscillator or a superconducting stripline fabricated in close
proximity to the SSET. For very weak couplings the SSET acts on the resonator
like an effective thermal bath. In this regime the current characteristics of
the SSET are only weakly modified by the resonator. Using a mean field
approach, we show that the current noise is nevertheless very sensitive to the
correlations between the resonator and the SSET charge. For stronger couplings,
the SSET can drive the resonator into limit cycle states where self-sustained
oscillation occurs and we find that regions of well-defined bistability exist.
Dynamical transitions into and out of the limit cycle state are marked by
strong fluctuations in the resonator energy, but these fluctuations are
suppressed within the limit cycle state. We find that the current noise of the
SSET is strongly influenced by the fluctuations in the resonator energy and
hence should provide a useful indicator of the resonator's dynamics.Comment: Reduced quality figures for arXiv version; v2 minor correction
Distribution and abundance of fish and crayfish in a Waikato stream in relation to basin area
The aim of this study was to relate the longitudinal distribution of fish and crayfish to increasing basin area and physical site characteristics in the Mangaotama Stream, Waikato region, North Island, New Zealand. Fish and crayfish were captured with two-pass removal electroshocking at 11 sites located in hill-country with pasture, native forest, and mixed land uses within the 21.6 km2 basin. Number of fish species and lineal biomass of fish increased with increasing basin area, but barriers to upstream fish migration also influenced fish distribution; only climbing and non-migratory species were present above a series of small waterfalls. Fish biomass increased in direct proportion to stream width, suggesting that fish used much of the available channel, and stream width was closely related to basin area. Conversely, the abundance of crayfish was related to the amount of edge habitat, and therefore crayfish did not increase in abundance as basin area increased. Densities of all fish species combined ranged from 17 to 459 fish 100 m-2, and biomass ranged from 14 to 206 g m-2. Eels dominated the fish assemblages, comprising 85-100% of the total biomass; longfinned eels the majority of the biomass at most sites. Despite the open access of the lower sites to introduced brown trout, native species dominated all the fish communities sampled
Beyond shareholder primacy? Reflections on the trajectory of UK corporate governance.
Core institutions of UK corporate governance, in particular the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, the Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the law on directors’ duties, are strongly orientated towards the norm of shareholder primacy. Beyond the core, however, stakeholder interests are better represented, in particular at the intersection of insolvency and employment law. This reflects the influence of European Community laws on information and consultation of employees. In addition, there are signs that some institutional shareholders are redirecting their investment strategies, under government encouragement, away from a focus on short-term returns, in such a way as to favour stakeholder-inclusive practices by firms. On this basis we suggest that the UK system is currently in a state of flux and that the debate over shareholder primacy has not been concluded
Quantum master equation descriptions of a nanomechanical resonator coupled to a single-electron transistor
We analyse the quantum dynamics of a nanomechanical resonator coupled to a
normal-state single-electron transistor (SET). Starting from a microscopic
description of the system, we derive a master equation for the SET island
charge and resonator which is valid in the limit of weak electro-mechanical
coupling. Using this master equation we show that, apart from brief transients,
the resonator always behaves like a damped harmonic oscillator with a shifted
frequency and relaxes into a thermal-like steady state. Although the behaviour
remains qualitatively the same, we find that the magnitude of the resonator
damping rate and frequency shift depend very sensitively on the relative
magnitudes of the resonator period and the electron tunnelling time. Maximum
damping occurs when the electrical and mechanical time-scales are the same, but
the frequency shift is greatest when the resonator moves much more slowly than
the island charge. We then derive reduced master equations which describe just
the resonator dynamics. By making slightly different approximations, we obtain
two different reduced master equations for the resonator. Apart from minor
differences, the two reduced master equations give rise to a consistent picture
of the resonator dynamics which matches that obtained from the master equation
including the SET island charge.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
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