1,816 research outputs found
High temperature ferromagnetism of Li-doped vanadium oxide nanotubes
The nature of a puzzling high temperature ferromagnetism of doped
mixed-valent vanadium oxide nanotubes reported earlier by Krusin-Elbaum et al.,
Nature 431 (2004) 672, has been addressed by static magnetization, muon spin
relaxation, nuclear magnetic and electron spin resonance spectroscopy
techniques. A precise control of the charge doping was achieved by
electrochemical Li intercalation. We find that it provides excess electrons,
thereby increasing the number of interacting magnetic vanadium sites, and, at a
certain doping level, yields a ferromagnetic-like response persisting up to
room temperature. Thus we confirm the surprising previous results on the
samples prepared by a completely different intercalation method. Moreover our
spectroscopic data provide first ample evidence for the bulk nature of the
effect. In particular, they enable a conclusion that the Li nucleates
superparamagnetic nanosize spin clusters around the intercalation site which
are responsible for the unusual high temperature ferromagnetism of vanadium
oxide nanotubes.Comment: with some amendments published in Europhysics Letters (EPL) 88 (2009)
57002; http://epljournal.edpsciences.or
Cold Atomic Collisions: Coherent Control of Penning and Associative Ionization
Coherent Control techniques are computationally applied to cold (1mK < T < 1
K) and ultracold (T < 1 microK) Ne*(3s,3P2) + Ar(1S0) collisions. We show that
by using various initial superpositions of the Ne*(3s,3P2) M = {-2,-1,0,1,2}
Zeeman sub-levels it is possible to reduce the Penning Ionization (PI) and
Associative Ionization (AI) cross sections by as much as four orders of
magnitude. It is also possible to drastically change the ratio of these two
processes. The results are based on combining, within the "Rotating Atom
Approximation", empirical and ab-initio ionization-widths.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure
From sensorimotor dependencies to perceptual practices: making enactivism social
Proponents of enactivism should be interested in exploring what notion of action best captures the type of action-perception link that the view proposes, such that it covers all the aspects in which our doings constitute and are constituted by our perceiving. This article proposes and defends the thesis that the notion of sensorimotor dependencies is insufficient to account for the reality of human perception, and that the central enactive notion should be that of perceptual practices. Sensorimotor enactivism is insufficient because it has no traction on socially dependent perceptions, which are essential to the role and significance of perception in our lives. Since the social dimension is a central desideratum in a theory of human perception, enactivism needs a notion that accounts for such an aspect. This article sketches the main features of the Wittgenstein-inspired notion of perceptual practices as the central notion to understand perception. Perception, I claim, is properly understood as woven into a type of social practices that includes food, dance, dress, music, etc. More specifically, perceptual practices are the enactment of culturally structured, normatively rich techniques of commerce of meaningful multi- and inter-modal perceptible material. I argue that perceptual practices explain three central features of socially dependent perception: attentional focus, aspects’ saliency, and modal-specific harmony-like relations
Liquefaction Resistance of Gravelly Soils
Liquefaction assessments of gravels and soils that contain a large gravel fraction are difficult. Undisturbed (intact) sampling of these soils is problematic and laboratory testing carried out on reconstituted samples or on frozen samples obtained from the field is time consuming, expensive, and interpretation of the results requires considerable judgment. Because of these and other issues, for a remote site in British Columbia, Canada (aka “Study Site”), it was decided to carry out the liquefaction potential assessment using existing published relationships and case history data on similar soils. This case history describes the approach utilized, including material mechanical properties, measured shear wave velocities and insitu density data obtained from shallow test pits excavated across the study site. Comparisons to published data on similar soils are discussed. To assess the liquefaction potential of the gravels, normalized shear wave velocity data were related to void ratio. The void ratio was then related to the CRR using published relationships on a similar gravelly soil tested in the laboratory. The liquefaction potential was assessed in the conventional manner comparing the cyclic resistance ratio (after appropriate consideration of correction factors used in laboratory cyclic testing) to the seismic demand (CSR). The approach described in the case history generalizes the methodology for application to other gravel deposits at other sites
Data-Driven, Multi-Model Workflow Suggests Strong Influence from Hurricanes on the Generation of Turbidity Currents in the Gulf of Mexico
Turbidity currents deliver sediment rapidly from the continental shelf to the slope and beyond; and can be triggered by processes such as shelf resuspension during oceanic storms; mass failure of slope deposits due to sediment- and wave-pressure loadings; and localized events that grow into sustained currents via self-amplifying ignition. Because these operate over multiple spatial and temporal scales, ranging from the eddy-scale to continental-scale; coupled numerical models that represent the full transport pathway have proved elusive though individual models have been developed to describe each of these processes. Toward a more holistic tool, a numerical workflow was developed to address pathways for sediment routing from terrestrial and coastal sources, across the continental shelf and ultimately down continental slope canyons of the northern Gulf of Mexico, where offshore infrastructure is susceptible to damage by turbidity currents. Workflow components included: (1) a calibrated simulator for fluvial discharge (Water Balance Model - Sediment; WBMsed); (2) domain grids for seabed sediment textures (dbSEABED); bathymetry, and channelization; (3) a simulator for ocean dynamics and resuspension (the Regional Ocean Modeling System; ROMS); (4) A simulator (HurriSlip) of seafloor failure and flow ignition; and (5) A Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbidity current model (TURBINS). Model simulations explored physical oceanic conditions that might generate turbidity currents, and allowed the workflow to be tested for a year that included two hurricanes. Results showed that extreme storms were especially effective at delivering sediment from coastal source areas to the deep sea, at timescales that ranged from individual wave events (~hours), to the settling lag of fine sediment (~days)
Multi-class classification based on quantum state discrimination
We present a general framework for the problem of multi-class classification using classification functions that can be interpreted as fuzzy sets. We specialize these functions in the domain of Quantum-inspired classifiers, which are based on quantum state discrimination techniques. In particular, we use unsharp observables (Positive Operator-Valued Measures) that are determined by the training set of a given dataset to construct these classification functions. We show that such classifiers can be tested on near-term quantum computers once these classification functions are “distilled” (on a classical platform) from the quantum encoding of a training dataset. We compare these experimental results with their theoretical counterparts and we pose some questions for future research
Entanglement and Timing-Based Mechanisms in the Coherent Control of Scattering Processes
The coherent control of scattering processes is considered, with electron
impact dissociation of H used as an example. The physical mechanism
underlying coherently controlled stationary state scattering is exposed by
analyzing a control scenario that relies on previously established entanglement
requirements between the scattering partners. Specifically, initial state
entanglement assures that all collisions in the scattering volume yield the
desirable scattering configuration. Scattering is controlled by preparing the
particular internal state wave function that leads to the favored collisional
configuration in the collision volume. This insight allows coherent control to
be extended to the case of time-dependent scattering. Specifically, we identify
reactive scattering scenarios using incident wave packets of translational
motion where coherent control is operational and initial state entanglement is
unnecessary. Both the stationary and time-dependent scenarios incorporate
extended coherence features, making them physically distinct. From a
theoretical point of view, this work represents a large step forward in the
qualitative understanding of coherently controlled reactive scattering. From an
experimental viewpoint, it offers an alternative to entanglement-based control
schemes. However, both methods present significant challenges to existing
experimental technologies
A quantitative approach to neuropsychiatry: The why and the how
The current nosology of neuropsychiatric disorders allows for a pragmatic approach to treatment choice, regulation and clinical research. However, without a biological rationale for these disorders, drug development has stagnated. The recently EU-funded PRISM project aims to develop a quantitative biological approach to the understanding and classification of neuropsychiatric diseases to accelerate the discovery and development of better treatments. By combining clinical data sets from major worldwide disease cohorts and by applying innovative technologies to deeply phenotype stratified patient groups, we will define a set of quantifiable biological parameters for social withdrawal and cognitive deficits common to Schizophrenia (SZ), Major Depression (MD), and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). These studies aim to provide new classification and assessment tools for social and cognitive performance across neuropsychiatric disorders, clinically relevant substrates for treatment development, and predictive, preclinical animal systems. With patients and regulatory agencies, we seek to provide clear routes for the future translation and regulatory approval for new treatments and provide solutions to the growing public health challenges of psychiatry and neurology
Magnetic properties of the low-dimensional spin-1/2 magnet \alpha-Cu_2As_2O_7
In this work we study the interplay between the crystal structure and
magnetism of the pyroarsenate \alpha-Cu_2As_2O_7 by means of magnetization,
heat capacity, electron spin resonance and nuclear magnetic resonance
measurements as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations and
quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations. The data reveal that the magnetic Cu-O
chains in the crystal structure represent a realization of a quasi-one
dimensional (1D) coupled alternating spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain model with
relevant pathways through non-magnetic AsO_4 tetrahedra. Owing to residual 3D
interactions antiferromagnetic long range ordering at T_N\simeq10K takes place.
Application of external magnetic field B along the magnetically easy axis
induces the transition to a spin-flop phase at B_{SF}~1.7T (2K). The
experimental data suggest that substantial quantum spin fluctuations take place
at low magnetic fields in the ordered state. DFT calculations confirm the
quasi-one-dimensional nature of the spin lattice, with the leading coupling J_1
within the structural dimers. QMC fits to the magnetic susceptibility evaluate
J_1=164K, the weaker intrachain coupling J'_1/J_1 = 0.55, and the effective
interchain coupling J_{ic1}/J_1 = 0.20.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
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