7,301 research outputs found
Intention insertion: Activating an action's perceptual consequences is sufficient to induce non-willed motor behavior
Bromination of Graphene and Graphite
We present a density functional theory study of low density bromination of
graphene and graphite, finding significantly different behaviour in these two
materials. On graphene we find a new Br2 form where the molecule sits
perpendicular to the graphene sheet with an extremely strong molecular dipole.
The resultant Br+-Br- has an empty pz-orbital located in the graphene
electronic pi-cloud. Bromination opens a small (86meV) band gap and strongly
dopes the graphene. In contrast, in graphite we find Br2 is most stable
parallel to the carbon layers with a slightly weaker associated charge transfer
and no molecular dipole. We identify a minimum stable Br2 concentration in
graphite, finding low density bromination to be endothermic. Graphene may be a
useful substrate for stabilising normally unstable transient molecular states
Seeing with sound? Exploring different characteristics of a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device
Sensory substitution devices convert live visual images into auditory signals, for example with a web camera (to record the images), a computer (to perform the conversion) and headphones (to listen to the sounds). In a series of three experiments, the performance of one such device (‘The vOICe’) was assessed under various conditions on blindfolded sighted participants. The main task that we used involved identifying and locating objects placed on a table by holding a webcam (like a flashlight) or wearing it on the head (like a miner’s light). Identifying objects on a table was easier with a hand-held device, but locating the objects was easier with a head-mounted device. Brightness converted into loudness was less effective than the reverse contrast (dark being loud), suggesting that performance under these conditions (natural indoor lighting, novice users) is related more to the properties of the auditory signal (ie the amount of noise in it) than the cross-modal association between loudness and brightness. Individual differences in musical memory (detecting pitch changes in two sequences of notes) was related to the time taken to identify or recognise objects, but individual differences in self-reported vividness of visual imagery did not reliably predict performance across the experiments. In general, the results suggest that the auditory characteristics of the device may be more important for initial learning than visual associations
Phase diagrams of the 2D t-t'-U Hubbard model from an extended mean field method
It is well-known from unrestricted Hartree-Fock computations that the 2D
Hubbard model does not have homogeneous mean field states in significant
regions of parameter space away from half filling. This is incompatible with
standard mean field theory. We present a simple extension of the mean field
method that avoids this problem. As in standard mean field theory, we restrict
Hartree-Fock theory to simple translation invariant states describing
antiferromagnetism (AF), ferromagnetism (F) and paramagnetism (P), but we use
an improved method to implement the doping constraint allowing us to detect
when a phase separated state is energetically preferred, e.g. AF and F
coexisting at the same time. We find that such mixed phases occur in
significant parts of the phase diagrams, making them much richer than the ones
from standard mean field theory. Our results for the 2D t-t'-U Hubbard model
demonstrate the importance of band structure effects.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
The Pseudosquares Prime Sieve
We present the pseudosquares prime sieve, which finds all primes up to n
Equilibration, generalized equipartition, and diffusion in dynamical Lorentz gases
We prove approach to thermal equilibrium for the fully Hamiltonian dynamics
of a dynamical Lorentz gas, by which we mean an ensemble of particles moving
through a -dimensional array of fixed soft scatterers that each possess an
internal harmonic or anharmonic degree of freedom to which moving particles
locally couple. We establish that the momentum distribution of the moving
particles approaches a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution at a certain temperature
, provided that they are initially fast and the scatterers are in a
sufficiently energetic but otherwise arbitrary stationary state of their free
dynamics--they need not be in a state of thermal equilibrium. The temperature
to which the particles equilibrate obeys a generalized equipartition
relation, in which the associated thermal energy is equal to
an appropriately defined average of the scatterers' kinetic energy. In the
equilibrated state, particle motion is diffusive
Biochemical and Isoenzyme Analysis of Seven Pennisetum Purpureum (schum.) Cultivars
This study characterized seven Pennisetum purpureum cultivars, namely cv. Anão, Bajra, Cameroon, Guaçu, Roxo, Taiwan A-144 and Uruckwami, through biochemical analysis, including protein, glucose and fructose contents, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using the esterase system, by sampling 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 dayold leaves. Cultivar Taiwan A-144 presented the highest number of nodes per stem and percentage of emerging buds. Protein concentration decreased gradually after 60 days for all cultivars, except for Anão. Cultivar Guaçu presented the highest level of glucose in 90 day old plants, whereas Cameroon presented the highest levels at 120 and 150 days. The esterase band patterns changed with plant age for all cultivars, showing a tendency to increase the number of bands with time. The best age for discriminating between esterase bands of P. purpureum cultivars was at 120 days, when most variation could be seen
Refusing to Endorse. A must Explanation for Pejoratives.
In her analysis of pejoratives, Eva Picardi rejects a too sharp separation between descriptive and expressive content. I reconstruct some of her arguments, endorsing Eva’s criticism of Williamson’s analysis of Dummett and developing a suggestion by Manuel Garcia Carpintero on a speech act analysis of pejoratives. Eva’s main concern is accounting for our instinctive refusal to endorse an assertion containing pejoratives because it suggests a picture of reality we do not share. Her stance might be further developed claiming that uses of pejoratives not only suggest, but also promote a wrong picture of reality. Our refusal to endorse implies rejecting not only a wrong picture of reality but also a call for participation to what that
picture promotes
Spontaneous emission of atoms via collisions of Bose-Einstein condensates
The widely used Gross-Pitaevskii equation treats only coherent aspects of the
evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate. However, inevitably some atoms scatter
out of the condensate. We have developed a method, based on the field theory
formulation, describing the dynamics of incoherent processes which are due to
elastic collisions. We can therefore treat processes of spontaneous emission of
atoms into the empty modes, as opposed to stimulated processes, which require
non-zero initial occupation.
In this article we study two counter-propagating plane waves of atoms,
calculating the full dynamics of mode occupation, as well as the statistics of
scattered atoms. The more realistic case of Gaussian wavepackets is also
analyzed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Interactions between fluids, minerals, and organisms in sulfur-dominated hydrothermal vents in the eastern Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea – A report from RV Sonne Cruise 216
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