A simple topological model with continuous phase transition

In the area of topological and geometric treatment of phase transitions and symmetry breaking in Hamiltonian systems, in a recent paper some general sufficient conditions for these phenomena in $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetric systems (i.e. invariant under reflection of coordinates) have been found out. In this paper we present a simple topological model satisfying the above conditions hoping to enlighten the mechanism which causes this phenomenon in more general physical models. The symmetry breaking is testified by a continuous magnetization with a nonanalytic point in correspondence of a critical temperature which divides the broken symmetry phase from the unbroken one. A particularity with respect to the common pictures of a phase transition is that the nonanalyticity of the magnetization is not accompanied by a nonanalytic behavior of the free energy.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure

Adapting robot behavior to user's capabilities: a dance instruction study.

The ALIZ-E1 projects goal is to design a robot companion able to maintain affective interactions with young users over a period of time. One of these interactions consists in teaching a dance to hospitalized children according to their capabilities. We propose a methodology for adapting both, the movements used in the dance based on the users cognitive and physical capabilities through a set of metrics, and the robots interaction based on the users personality traits

Topological conditions for discrete symmetry breaking and phase transitions

In the framework of a recently proposed topological approach to phase transitions, some sufficient conditions ensuring the presence of the spontaneous breaking of a Z_2 symmetry and of a symmetry-breaking phase transition are introduced and discussed. A very simple model, which we refer to as the hypercubic model, is introduced and solved. The main purpose of this model is that of illustrating the content of the sufficient conditions, but it is interesting also in itself due to its simplicity. Then some mean-field models already known in the literature are discussed in the light of the sufficient conditions introduced here

Accurate quadratic-response approximation for the self-consistent pseudopotential of semiconductor nanostructures

Quadratic-response theory is shown to provide a conceptually simple but accurate approximation for the self-consistent one-electron potential of semiconductor nanostructures. Numerical examples are presented for GaAs/AlAs and InGaAs/InP (001) superlattices using the local-density approximation to density-functional theory and norm-conserving pseudopotentials without spin-orbit coupling. When the reference crystal is chosen to be the virtual-crystal average of the two bulk constituents, the absolute error in the quadratic-response potential for Gamma(15) valence electrons is about 2 meV for GaAs/AlAs and 5 meV for InGaAs/InP. Low-order multipole expansions of the electron density and potential response are shown to be accurate throughout a small neighborhood of each reciprocal lattice vector, thus providing a further simplification that is confirmed to be valid for slowly varying envelope functions. Although the linear response is about an order of magnitude larger than the quadratic response, the quadratic terms are important both quantitatively (if an accuracy of better than a few tens of meV is desired) and qualitatively (due to their different symmetry and long-range dipole effects).Comment: 16 pages, 20 figures; v2: new section on limitations of theor

Tissue location of resistance in apple to the rosy apple aphid established by electrical penetration graphs

A study of the constitutive resistance of the apple cultivar Florina, Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae), to the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea (Passerini) (Homoptera Aphididae), was performed for the first time by the electrical penetration graph (DC-EPG) system, using the susceptible apple cultivar Smoothe as control. All experiments were conducted with apterous adult virginoparae. The results showed a constitutive resistance in Florina due to a much longer period before the first probe reflecting surface factors. Some weak indications were found for pre-phloem resistance and initiating phloem access was not affected as inferred from equal time to show phloem salivation. However, the complete absence of phloem ingestion indicates a major resistance factor in the phloem sieve elements, most likely in the sieve element sap. Surface factors could have affected tissue related variables and this should be studied further. Anyhow, the strong constitutive resistance in Florina, either on the surface alone or in the phloem as well, effectively prevented reliable experiments on induced resistance, previously detected by molecular methods

De l'interactivité du récit au récit interactif

À ses origines, la théorie du récit, notamment la narratologie d'inspiration formaliste et structuraliste, s'est développée dans le creuset des études littéraires. De ce fait, le point focal de cette discipline a longtemps été constitué par le récit verbal, généralement sous la forme d'un texte écrit et planifié par un auteur, laissant de côté les formes narratives émergentes, participatives ou interactives. On observe cependant, depuis une vingtaine d'année, une accélération dans le processus d'élargissement des objets d'étude de la narratologie, accompagnée par une mutation épistémologique. Retraçant cette évolution, Jan Christoph Meister observe ainsi un changement d'orientation faisant passer la théorie du récit de l'étude de phénomènes textuels à l'analyse « des fonctions cognitives de récits oraux et non littéraires, ouvrant ainsi un nouveau chapitre dans le projet narratologique » (2009 : 340). Si l'intrigue peut être décrite - en adoptant un point de vue fonctionnaliste et cognitiviste - comme une matrice de possibilités ontologiquement instable, comme un dispositif dont la fonction première est d'ouvrir des virtualités narratives et d'engendrer de la curiosité ou du suspense (Baroni 2007 ; 2009), alors il n'y a pas de raison de la considérer comme un obstacle à l'analyse de récits émergents et participatifs, voire de simulations ou de pratiques ludiques hautement interactives

Tritium β\beta-decay in chiral effective field theory

We evaluate the Fermi and Gamow-Teller (GT) matrix elements in tritium $\beta$-decay by including in the charge-changing weak current the corrections up to one loop recently derived in nuclear chiral effective field theory ($\chi$ EFT). The trinucleon wave functions are obtained from hyperspherical-harmonics solutions of the Schrodinger equation with two- and three-nucleon potentials corresponding to either $\chi$ EFT (the N3LO/N2LO combination) or meson-exchange phenomenology (the AV18/UIX combination). We find that contributions due to loop corrections in the axial current are, in relative terms, as large as (and in some cases, dominate) those from one-pion exchange, which nominally occur at lower order in the power counting. We also provide values for the low-energy constants multiplying the contact axial current and three-nucleon potential, required to reproduce the experimental GT matrix element and trinucleon binding energies in the N3LO/N2LO and AV18/UIX calculations.Comment: 19 pages,6 figures, corrections to Text as suggested by Referee added; Erratum: 4 pages, 3 figures, corrections to Eq.(20), Tables I, II, III, Figures 4, 5, conclusions unchange

A chiral effective field theory study of hadronic parity violation in few-nucleon systems

We reconsider the derivation of the nucleon-nucleon parity-violating (PV) potential within a chiral effective field theory framework. We construct the potential up to next-to-next-to-leading order by including one-pion-exchange, two-pion-exchange, contact, and 1/M (M being the nucleon mass) terms, and use dimensional regularization to renormalize the pion-loop corrections. A detailed analysis of the number of independent low-energy constants (LEC's) entering the potential is carried out. We find that it depends on six LEC's: the pion-nucleon PV coupling constant $h^1_\pi$ and five parameters multiplying contact interactions. We investigate PV effects induced by this potential on several few-nucleon observables, including the $\vec{p}$-$p$ longitudinal asymmetry, the neutron spin rotation in $\vec{n}$-$p$ and $\vec{n}$-$d$ scattering, and the longitudinal asymmetry in the $^3$He$(\vec{n},p)^3$H charge-exchange reaction. An estimate for the range of values of the various LEC's is provided by using available experimental data.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review

GW quasi-particle spectra from occupied states only

We introduce a method that allows for the calculation of quasi-particle spectra in the GW approximation, yet avoiding any explicit reference to empty one-electron states. This is achieved by expressing the irreducible polarizability operator and the self-energy operator through a set of linear response equations, which are solved using a Lanczos-chain algorithm. We first validate our approach by calculating the vertical ionization energies of the benzene molecule and then show its potential by addressing the spectrum of a large molecule such as free-base tetraphenylporphyrin.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure