13,708 research outputs found
Role of Boron p-Electrons and Holes in Superconducting MgB2, and other Diborides: A Fully-Relaxed, Full-Potential Electronic Structure Study
We present the results of fully-relaxed, full-potential electronic structure
calculations for the new superconductor MgB2, and BeB2, NaB2, and AlB2, using
density-functional-based methods. Our results described in terms of (i) density
of states (DOS), (ii) band-structure, and (iii) the DOS and the charge density
around the Fermi energy EF, clearly show the importance of B p-band for
superconductivity. In particular, we show that around EF, the charge density in
MgB2, BeB2 and NaB2 is planar and is associated with the B plane. For BeB2 and
NaB2, our results indicate qualitative similarities but significant
quantitative differences in their electronic structure due to different lattice
constants a and c.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys Rev. Lett. on March 6, 2001;
resubmission on April 2
Unusually large polarizabilities and "new" atomic states in Ba
Electric polarizabilities of four low-J even-parity states and three low-J
odd-parity states of atomic barium in the range to $36,000\
^{-1}6s8p
^3P_{0,2}$ is suggested.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figure
Conditional operation of a spin qubit
We report coherent operation of a singlet-triplet qubit controlled by the
arrangement of two electrons in an adjacent double quantum dot. The system we
investigate consists of two pairs of capacitively coupled double quantum dots
fabricated by electrostatic gates on the surface of a GaAs heterostructure. We
extract the strength of the capacitive coupling between qubit and double
quantum dot and show that the present geometry allows fast conditional gate
operation, opening pathways to multi-qubit control and implementation of
quantum algorithms with spin qubits.Comment: related papers here: http://marcuslab.harvard.ed
Asymmetry Function of Interstellar Scintillations of Pulsars
A new method for separating intensity variations of a source's radio emission
having various physical natures is proposed. The method is based on a joint
analysis of the structure function of the intensity variations and the
asymmetry function, which is a generalization of the asymmetry coefficient and
characterizes the asymmetry of the distribution function of the intensity
fluctuations on various scales for the inhomogeneities in the diffractive
scintillation pattern. Relationships for the asymmetry function in the cases of
a logarithmic normal distribution of the intensity fluctuations and a normal
distribution of the field fluctuations are derived. Theoretical relationships
and observational data on interstellar scintillations of pulsars (refractive,
diffractive, and weak scintillations) are compared. Pulsar scintillations match
the behavior expected for a normal distribution of the field fluctuations
(diffractive scintillation) or logarithmic normal distribution of the intensity
fluctuations (refractive and weak scintillation). Analysis of the asymmetry
function is a good test for distinguishing scintillations against the
background of variations that have different origins
Electromagnetic and corpuscular emission from the solar flare of 1991 June 15: Continuous acceleraton of relativistic particles
Data on X-,γ-ray, optical and radio emission from the 1991 June 15 solar flare are considered. We have calculated the spectrum of protons that producesγ-rays during the gradual phase of the flare. The primary proton spectrum can be described as a Bessel-function-type up to 0.8 GeV and a power law with the spectral index ≈3 from 0.8 up to 10 GeV or above. We have also analyzed data on energetic particles near the Earth. Their spectrum differed from that of primary protons producingγ-ray line emission. In the gradual phase of the flare additional pulses of energy release occurred and the time profiles of cm-radio emission andγ-rays in the 0.8–10 MeV energy band and above 50 MeV coincided. A continuous and simultaneous stochastic acceleration of the protons and relativistic electrons at the gradual phase of the flare is considered as a natural explanation of the data
Algebraic Aspects of Abelian Sandpile Models
The abelian sandpile models feature a finite abelian group G generated by the
operators corresponding to particle addition at various sites. We study the
canonical decomposition of G as a product of cyclic groups G = Z_{d_1} X
Z_{d_2} X Z_{d_3}...X Z_{d_g}, where g is the least number of generators of G,
and d_i is a multiple of d_{i+1}. The structure of G is determined in terms of
toppling matrix. We construct scalar functions, linear in height variables of
the pile, that are invariant toppling at any site. These invariants provide
convenient coordinates to label the recurrent configurations of the sandpile.
For an L X L square lattice, we show that g = L. In this case, we observe that
the system has nontrivial symmetries coming from the action of the cyclotomic
Galois group of the (2L+2)th roots of unity which operates on the set of
eigenvalues of the toppling matrix. These eigenvalues are algebraic integers,
whose product is the order |G|. With the help of this Galois group, we obtain
an explicit factorizaration of |G|. We also use it to define other simpler,
though under-complete, sets of toppling invariants.Comment: 39 pages, TIFR/TH/94-3
Double radiative pion capture on hydrogen and deuterium and the nucleon's pion cloud
We report measurements of double radiative capture in pionic hydrogen and
pionic deuterium. The measurements were performed with the RMC spectrometer at
the TRIUMF cyclotron by recording photon pairs from pion stops in liquid
hydrogen and deuterium targets. We obtained absolute branching ratios of for hydrogen and for deuterium, and
relative branching ratios of double radiative capture to single radiative
capture of for hydrogen
and for
deuterium. For hydrogen, the measured branching ratio and photon energy-angle
distributions are in fair agreement with a reaction mechanism involving the
annihilation of the incident on the cloud of the target proton.
For deuterium, the measured branching ratio and energy-angle distributions are
qualitatively consistent with simple arguments for the expected role of the
spectator neutron. A comparison between our hydrogen and deuterium data and
earlier beryllium and carbon data reveals substantial changes in the relative
branching ratios and the energy-angle distributions and is in agreement with
the expected evolution of the reaction dynamics from an annihilation process in
S-state capture to a bremsstrahlung process in P-state capture. Lastly, we
comment on the relevance of the double radiative process to the investigation
of the charged pion polarizability and the in-medium pion field.Comment: 44 pages, 7 tables, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Bounds on gravitational wave backgrounds from large distance clock comparisons
Our spacetime is filled with gravitational wave backgrounds that constitute a
fluctuating environment created by astrophysical and cosmological sources.
Bounds on these backgrounds are obtained from cosmological and astrophysical
data but also by analysis of ranging and Doppler signals from distant
spacecraft. We propose here a new way to set bounds on those backgrounds by
performing clock comparisons between a ground clock and a remote spacecraft
equipped with an ultra-stable clock, rather than only ranging to an onboard
transponder. This technique can then be optimized as a function of the signal
to be measured and the dominant noise sources, leading to significant
improvements on present bounds in a promising frequency range where different
theoretical models are competing. We illustrate our approach using the SAGAS
project which aims to fly an ultra stable optical clock in the outer solar
system.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, minor amendment
Spatial patterns of the tau pathology in progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterized neuropathologically by neuronal loss, gliosis, and the presence of tau-immunoreactive neuronal and glial cell inclusions affecting subcortical and some cortical regions. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the spatial patterns of the tau-immunoreactive pathology, viz., neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), oligodendroglial inclusions (GI), tufted astrocytes (TA), and Alzheimer's disease-type neuritic plaques (NP) in PSP and (2) to investigate the spatial correlations between the histological features. Post-mortem material of cortical and subcortical regions of eight PSP cases was studied. Spatial pattern analysis was applied to the NFT, GI, TA, NP, abnormally enlarged neurons (EN), surviving neurons, and glial cells. NFT, GI, and TA were distributed either at random or in regularly distributed clusters. The EN and NP were mainly randomly distributed. Clustering of NFT and EN was more frequent in the cortex and subcortical regions, respectively. Variations in NFT density were not spatially correlated with the densities of either GI or TA, but were positively correlated with the densities of EN and surviving neurons in some regions. (1) NFT were the most widespread tau-immunoreactive pathology in PSP being distributed randomly in subcortical regions and in regular clusters in cortical regions, (2) GI and TA were more localized and exhibited a regular pattern of clustering in subcortical regions, and (3) neuronal and glial cell pathologies were not spatially correlated. © 2012 Springer-Verlag
Contrasting responses of lizard occurrences to burrowing by a critically endangered seabird
Abstract
Seabirds are considered ecosystem engineers, because they facilitate ecosystem functioning (e.g., nutrient cycling), crucial for other marine and terrestrial species, including reptiles. However, studies of seabird-reptile interactions are limited. Here, we assessed the influence of the ‘Critically Endangered’ Whenua Hou Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides whenuahouensis) on the occurrence of two threatened skinks, Stewart Island green skink (Oligosoma aff. chloronoton) and southern grass skink (O. aff. polychroma). We surveyed skinks for 26 consecutive days at 51 sites with and 48 sites without Diving Petrel burrows in the dunes on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), New Zealand. We used occupancy modelling to assess the influence of burrows on the occurrence of skinks, while accounting for other factors affecting occupancy (Ψ) and detection probabilities (p). Diving Petrel burrows had a contrasting effect on the occurrence of skinks. On average, Ψ̂ of Stewart Island green skinks was 114% higher at sites with burrows compared to sites without, while Ψ̂ of southern grass skinks was only 2% higher. Occurrence of both skinks was negatively influenced by the presence of the other skink species. On average p̂ were low: 0.013 and 0.038 for Stewart Island green and southern grass skinks, respectively. Stewart Island green skinks appear attracted to burrows, which might facilitate thermoregulation (i.e., shelter from temperature extremes). The larger Stewart Island green skinks may subsequently exclude the smaller southern grass skinks at burrows, causing the contrasting relationships. We suggest that these interspecific interactions should be considered when implementing conservation management, e.g., through the order of species reintroductions
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