4,182 research outputs found
Hopping Conduction in Uniaxially Stressed Si:B near the Insulator-Metal Transition
Using uniaxial stress to tune the critical density near that of the sample,
we have studied in detail the low-temperature conductivity of p-type Si:B in
the insulating phase very near the metal-insulator transition. For all values
of temperature and stress, the conductivity collapses onto a single universal
scaling curve. For large values of the argument, the scaling function is well
fit by the exponentially activated form associated with variable range hopping
when electron-electron interactions cause a soft Coulomb gap in the density of
states at the Fermi energy. The temperature dependence of the prefactor,
corresponding to the T-dependence of the critical curve, has been determined
reliably for this system, and is proportional to the square-root of T. We show
explicitly that nevlecting the prefactor leads to substantial errors in the
determination of the scaling parameters and the critical exponents derived from
them. The conductivity is not consistent with Mott variable-range hopping in
the critical region nor does it obey this form for any range of the parameters.
Instead, for smaller argument of the scaling function, the conductivity of Si:B
is well fit by an exponential form with exponent 0.31 related to the critical
exponents of the system at the metal- insulator transition.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Narasimham Committee Report - Some Further Ramifications and Suggestions
This paper while agreeing with the general thrust of the Narasimham Committee Report. Calls attention to some logical corollaries of the Report and analyses some possible fallout from implementing the Report. We agree with the view that control of banking system should be under an autonomous body supervised by the RBI. However at the level of individual banks, closer scrutiny of lending procedures may be called for than is envisaged in the Report. In a freely functioning capital market the potential of government bonds is enormous, but this necessitates restructuring of the government bond market. The government bonds may then also be used as suitable hedging mechanisms by introducing options and futures trading. We recommend freeing up the operation of pension and provident fund to enable at least partial investment of such funds in risky securities. In the corporate sector, we believe that the current 2:1 debt equity norm is too high and not sustainable in the long term. We envisage that high debt levels and higher interest rates, combined with higher business risk may result in greater incidence of corporate sickness. This may call for various schemes for retrenched workers and amendment to land laws for easy exit of companies. On account of interdependencies across different policies, any sequencing of their implementation may be highly problematic. We therefore suggest a near simultaneity in the implementation of various reforms in order to build up a momentum which would be irreversible if people are to have confidence that the reforms will endure, and if we are to retain our credibility with international financial institutions.
Experimental Investigation of Single Cylinder Diesel Engine using Tyre Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) Blends
Increasing industrialization and motorization led to a significant rise in demand of petroleum products. As these are the non-renewable resources, it will be troublesome to predict the availability of these resources in the future, resulting in uncertainty in its supply and price and is impacting growing economies like India importing 80% of the total demand of the petroleum products. Many attempts have been made by different researchers to find out alternate fuels for Internal Combustion engines. Many alternate fuels like Biodiesel, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and Alcohol are being used nowadays by different vehicles. In this context pyrolysis of scrap tires can be used effectively to produce oil, thereby solving the problem of waste tire disposal. In the present study, Experimental investigations were carried out to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine fueled by TPO10, TPO15, and TPO20 at a crank angle 260 before TDC (Top Dead Centre) and injection pressure of 190 bar keeping the blend quality by controlling the density and viscosity of tire pyrolysis oil within permissible limit of euro IV diesel requirement. The performance and emission results were analyzed and compared with that of diesel fuel operation. The results of investigations indicate that the brake thermal efficiency of the TPO - DF blend decreases by 2 to 3%. CO emissions are well within permissible limits. HC emissions are higher by about 20 to 40% at partial load whereas smoke opacity is lower by about 20 to 30% as compared to diesel fuel
Composition of Jupiter irregular satellites sheds light on their origin
Irregular satellites of Jupiter with their highly eccentric, inclined and
distant orbits suggest that their capture took place just before the giant
planet migration. We aim to improve our understanding of the surface
composition of irregular satellites of Jupiter to gain insight into a narrow
time window when our Solar System was forming. We observed three Jovian
irregular satellites, Himalia, Elara, and Carme, using a medium-resolution
0.8-5.5 micro m spectrograph on the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). Using a linear
spectral unmixing model we have constrained the major mineral phases on the
surface of these three bodies. Our results confirm that the surface of Himalia,
Elara, and Carme are dominated by opaque materials such as those seen in
carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Our spectral modeling of NIR spectra of
Himalia and Elara confirm that their surface composition is the same and
magnetite is the dominant mineral. A comparison of the spectral shape of
Himalia with the two large main C-type asteroids, Themis (D 176 km) and Europa
(D 352 km), suggests surface composition similar to Europa. The NIR spectrum of
Carme exhibits blue slope up to 1.5 microm and is spectrally distinct from
those of Himalia and Elara. Our model suggests that it is compositionally
similar to amorphous carbon. Himalia and Elara are compositionally similar but
differ significantly from Carme. These results support the hypotheses that the
Jupiter irregular satellites are captured bodies that were subject to further
breakup events and clustered as families based on their similar physical and
surface compositions
Dilute electron gas near the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions
In recent years systematic experimental studies of the temperature dependence
of the resistivity in a variety of dilute, ultra clean two dimensional
electron/hole systems have revived the fundamental question of localization or,
alternatively, the existence of a metal-insulator transition in the presence of
strong electron-electron interactions in two dimensions. We argue that under
the extreme conditions of ultra clean systems not only is the electron-electron
interaction very strong but the role of other system specific properties are
also enhanced. In particular, we emphasize the role of valleys in determining
the transport properties of the dilute electron gas in silicon inversion layers
(Si-MOSFETs). It is shown that for a high quality sample the temperature
behavior of the resistivity in the region close to the critical region of the
metal-insulator transition is well described by a renormalization group
analysis of the interplay of interaction and disorder if the electron band is
assumed to have two distinct valleys. The decrease in the resistivity up to
five times has been captured in the correct temperature interval by this
analysis, without involving any adjustable parameters. The considerable
variance in the data obtained from different Si-MOSFET samples is attributed to
the sample dependent scattering rate across the two valleys, presenting thereby
with a possible explanation for the absence of universal behavior in Si-MOSFET
samples of different quality
Steady-state simulations using weighted ensemble path sampling
We extend the weighted ensemble (WE) path sampling method to perform rigorous
statistical sampling for systems at steady state. The straightforward
steady-state implementation of WE is directly practical for simple landscapes,
but not when significant metastable intermediates states are present. We
therefore develop an enhanced WE scheme, building on existing ideas, which
accelerates attainment of steady state in complex systems. We apply both WE
approaches to several model systems confirming their correctness and efficiency
by comparison with brute-force results. The enhanced version is significantly
faster than the brute force and straightforward WE for systems with WE bins
that accurately reflect the reaction coordinate(s). The new WE methods can also
be applied to equilibrium sampling, since equilibrium is a steady state
Water poverty in the northeastern hill region (India): potential alleviation through multiple-use water systems: cross-learnings from Nepal Hills
Water poverty index / Construction / Multiple use / Water storage / Farming systems / Villages / Social aspects / Drip irrigation / India / Nepal / Nagaland / Mon district / Lampong Sheanghah
- …