3,853 research outputs found
Dynamical precursor of nematic order in a dense fluid of hard ellipsoids of revolution
We investigate hard ellipsoids of revolution in a parameter regime where no
long range nematic order is present but already finite size domains are formed
which show orientational order. Domain formation leads to a substantial slowing
down of a collective rotational mode which separates well from the usual
microscopic frequency regime. A dynamic coupling of this particular mode into
all other modes provides a general mechanism which explains an excess peak in
spectra of molecular fluids. Using molecular dynamics simulation on up to 4096
particles and on solving the molecular mode coupling equation we investigate
dynamic properties of the peak and prove its orientational origin.Comment: RevTeX4 style, 7 figure
Electrophoretic Properties of Highly Charged Colloids: A Hybrid MD/LB Simulation Study
Using computer simulations, the electrophoretic motion of a positively
charged colloid (macroion) in an electrolyte solution is studied in the
framework of the primitive model. Hydrodynamic interactions are fully taken
into account by applying a hybrid simulation scheme, where the charged ions
(i.e. macroion and electrolyte), propagated via molecular dynamics (MD), are
coupled to a Lattice Boltzmann (LB) fluid. In a recent experiment it was shown
that, for multivalent salt ions, the mobility initially increases with
charge density , reaches a maximum and then decreases with further
increase of . The aim of the present work is to elucidate the behaviour
of at high values of . Even for the case of monovalent microions,
we find a decrease of with . A dynamic Stern layer is defined
that includes all the counterions that move with the macroion while subject to
an external electrical field. The number of counterions in the Stern layer,
, is a crucial parameter for the behavior of at high values of
. In this case, the mobility depends primarily on the ratio
(with the valency of the macroion). The previous contention that
the increase in the distortion of the electric double layer (EDL) with
increasing leads to the lowering of does not hold for high
. In fact, we show that the deformation of the EDL decreases with
increase of . The role of hydrodynamic interactions is inferred from
direct comparisons to Langevin simulations where the coupling to the LB fluid
is switched off. Moreover, systems with divalent counterions are considered. In
this case, at high values of the phenomenon of charge inversion is
found.Comment: accepted in J. Chem Phys., 10 pages, 9 figure
Collective oscillations driven by correlation in the nonlinear optical regime
We present an analytical and numerical study of the coherent exciton
polarization including exciton-exciton correlation. The time evolution after
excitation with ultrashort optical pulses can be divided into a slowly varying
polarization component and novel ultrafast collective modes. The frequency and
damping of the collective modes are determined by the high-frequency properties
of the retarded two-exciton correlation function, which includes Coulomb
effects beyond the mean-field approximation. The overall time evolution depends
on the low-frequency spectral behavior. The collective mode, well separated
from the slower coherent density evolution, manifests itself in the coherent
emission of a resonantly excited excitonic system, as demonstrated numerically.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
RR Lyrae Stars in the Andromeda Halo from Deep Imaging with the Advanced Camera for Surveys
We present a complete census of RR Lyrae stars in a halo field of the
Andromeda galaxy. These deep observations, taken as part of a program to
measure the star formation history in the halo, spanned a period of 41 days
with sampling on a variety of time scales, enabling the identification of short
and long period variables. Although the long period variables cannot be fully
characterized within the time span of this program, the enormous advance in
sensitivity provided by the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space
Telescope allows accurate characterization of the RR Lyrae population in this
field. We find 29 RRab stars with a mean period of 0.594 days, 25 RRc stars
with a mean period of 0.316 days, and 1 RRd star with a fundamental period of
0.473 days and a first overtone period of 0.353 days. These 55 RR Lyrae stars
imply a specific frequency S_RR=5.6, which is large given the high mean
metallicity of the halo, but not surprising given that these stars arise from
the old, metal-poor tail of the distribution. This old population in the
Andromeda halo cannot be clearly placed into one of the Oosterhoff types: the
ratio of RRc/RRabc stars is within the range seen in Oosterhoff II globular
clusters, the mean RRab period is in the gap between Oosterhoff types, and the
mean RRc period is in the range seen in Oosterhoff I globular clusters. The
periods of these RR Lyraes suggest a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.6, while
their brightness implies a distance modulus to Andromeda of 24.5+/-0.1, in good
agreement with the Cepheid distance.Comment: 15 pages, latex. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa
Functional renormalization group approach to zero-dimensional interacting systems
We apply the functional renormalization group method to the calculation of
dynamical properties of zero-dimensional interacting quantum systems. As case
studies we discuss the anharmonic oscillator and the single impurity Anderson
model. We truncate the hierarchy of flow equations such that the results are at
least correct up to second order perturbation theory in the coupling. For the
anharmonic oscillator energies and spectra obtained within two different
functional renormalization group schemes are compared to numerically exact
results, perturbation theory, and the mean field approximation. Even at large
coupling the results obtained using the functional renormalization group agree
quite well with the numerical exact solution. The better of the two schemes is
used to calculate spectra of the single impurity Anderson model, which then are
compared to the results of perturbation theory and the numerical
renormalization group. For small to intermediate couplings the functional
renormalization group gives results which are close to the ones obtained using
the very accurate numerical renormalization group method. In particulare the
low-energy scale (Kondo temperature) extracted from the functional
renormalization group results shows the expected behavior.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures include
Weak-coupling expansions for the attractive Holstein and Hubbard models
Weak-coupling expansions (conserving approximations) are carried out for the
attractive Holstein and Hubbard models (on an infinite-dimensional hypercubic
lattice) that include all bandstructure and vertex correction effects. Quantum
fluctuations are found to renormalize transition temperatures by factors of
order unity, but may be incorporated into the superconducting channel of
Migdal-Eliashberg theory by renormalizing the phonon frequency and the
interaction strength.Comment: 10 pages, (five figures available from the author by request) typeset
with ReVTeX, preprint NSF-ITP-93-10
Optical absorption in the strong coupling limit of Eliashberg theory
We calculate the optical conductivity of superconductors in the
strong-coupling limit. In this anomalous limit the typical energy scale is set
by the coupling energy, and other energy scales such as the energy of the
bosons mediating the attraction are negligibly small. We find a universal
frequency dependence of the optical absorption which is dominated by bound
states and differs significantly from the weak coupling results. A comparison
with absorption spectra of superconductors with enhanced electron-phonon
coupling shows that typical features of the strong-coupling limit are already
present at intermediate coupling.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 4 uuencoded figure
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