20,089 research outputs found
The cyclic oxidation resistance at 1200 C of beta-NiAl, FeAl, and CoAl alloys with selected third element additions
The intermetallic compounds Beta-NiAl, FeAl, and CoAl were tested in cyclic oxidation with selected third element alloy additions. Tests in static air for 200 1-hr cycles at 1200 C indicated by specific weight change/time data and x-ray diffraction analysis that the 5 at percent alloy additions did not significantly improve the oxidation resistance over the alumina forming baseline alloys without the additions. Many of the alloy additions were actually deleterious. Ta and Nb were the only alloy additions that actually altered the nature of the oxide(s) formed and still maintained the oxidation resistance of the protective alumina scale
Asymptotics of Relativistic Spin Networks
The stationary phase technique is used to calculate asymptotic formulae for
SO(4) Relativistic Spin Networks. For the tetrahedral spin network this gives
the square of the Ponzano-Regge asymptotic formula for the SU(2) 6j symbol. For
the 4-simplex (10j-symbol) the asymptotic formula is compared with numerical
calculations of the Spin Network evaluation. Finally we discuss the asymptotics
of the SO(3,1) 10j-symbol.Comment: 31 pages, latex. v3: minor clarification
Electric field formulation for thin film magnetization problems
We derive a variational formulation for thin film magnetization problems in
type-II superconductors written in terms of two variables, the electric field
and the magnetization function. A numerical method, based on this formulation,
makes it possible to accurately compute all variables of interest, including
the electric field, for any value of the power in the power law current-voltage
relation characterizing the superconducting material. For high power values we
obtain a good approximation to the critical state model solution. Numerical
simulation results are presented for simply and multiply connected films, and
also for an inhomogeneous film.Comment: 15 p., submitte
Perturbative Effective Theory in an Oscillator Basis?
The effective interaction/operator problem in nuclear physics is believed to
be highly nonperturbative, requiring extended high-momentum spaces for accurate
solution. We trace this to difficulties that arise at both short and long
distances when the included space is defined in terms of a basis of harmonic
oscillator Slater determinants. We show, in the simplest case of the deuteron,
that both difficulties can be circumvented, yielding highly perturbative
results in the potential even for modest (~6hw) included spaces.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
On the causal Barrett--Crane model: measure, coupling constant, Wick rotation, symmetries and observables
We discuss various features and details of two versions of the Barrett-Crane
spin foam model of quantum gravity, first of the Spin(4)-symmetric Riemannian
model and second of the SL(2,C)-symmetric Lorentzian version in which all
tetrahedra are space-like. Recently, Livine and Oriti proposed to introduce a
causal structure into the Lorentzian Barrett--Crane model from which one can
construct a path integral that corresponds to the causal (Feynman) propagator.
We show how to obtain convergent integrals for the 10j-symbols and how a
dimensionless constant can be introduced into the model. We propose a `Wick
rotation' which turns the rapidly oscillating complex amplitudes of the Feynman
path integral into positive real and bounded weights. This construction does
not yet have the status of a theorem, but it can be used as an alternative
definition of the propagator and makes the causal model accessible by standard
numerical simulation algorithms. In addition, we identify the local symmetries
of the models and show how their four-simplex amplitudes can be re-expressed in
terms of the ordinary relativistic 10j-symbols. Finally, motivated by possible
numerical simulations, we express the matrix elements that are defined by the
model, in terms of the continuous connection variables and determine the most
general observable in the connection picture. Everything is done on a fixed
two-complex.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX 2e, 1 figur
Effect of frequency mismatched photons in quantum information processing
Many promising schemes for quantum information processing (QIP) rely on
few-photon interference effects. In these proposals, the photons are treated as
being indistinguishable particles. However, single photon sources are typically
subject to variation from device to device. Thus the photons emitted from
different sources will not be perfectly identical, and there will be some
variation in their frequencies. Here, we analyse the effect of this frequency
mismatch on QIP schemes. As examples, we consider the distributed QIP protocol
proposed by Barrett and Kok, and Hong-Ou-Mandel interference which lies at the
heart of many linear optical schemes for quantum computing. In the distributed
QIP protocol, we find that the fidelity of entangled qubit states depends
crucially on the time resolution of single photon detectors. In particular,
there is no reduction in the fidelity when an ideal detector model is assumed,
while reduced fidelities may be encountered when using realistic detectors with
a finite response time. We obtain similar results in the case of Hong-Ou-Mandel
interference -- with perfect detectors, a modified version of quantum
interference is seen, and the visibility of the interference pattern is reduced
as the detector time resolution is reduced. Our findings indicate that problems
due to frequency mismatch can be overcome, provided sufficiently fast detectors
are available.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Comments welcome. v2: Minor changes. v3: Cleaned
up 3 formatting error
Asymptotics of 10j symbols
The Riemannian 10j symbols are spin networks that assign an amplitude to each
4-simplex in the Barrett-Crane model of Riemannian quantum gravity. This
amplitude is a function of the areas of the 10 faces of the 4-simplex, and
Barrett and Williams have shown that one contribution to its asymptotics comes
from the Regge action for all non-degenerate 4-simplices with the specified
face areas. However, we show numerically that the dominant contribution comes
from degenerate 4-simplices. As a consequence, one can compute the asymptotics
of the Riemannian 10j symbols by evaluating a `degenerate spin network', where
the rotation group SO(4) is replaced by the Euclidean group of isometries of
R^3. We conjecture formulas for the asymptotics of a large class of Riemannian
and Lorentzian spin networks in terms of these degenerate spin networks, and
check these formulas in some special cases. Among other things, this conjecture
implies that the Lorentzian 10j symbols are asymptotic to 1/16 times the
Riemannian ones.Comment: 25 pages LaTeX with 8 encapsulated Postscript figures. v2 has various
clarifications and better page breaks. v3 is the final version, to appear in
Classical and Quantum Gravity, and has a few minor corrections and additional
reference
Microwave Thermography
Contains research objectives and summary of research on one research project.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 GM20370-04)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 SO5 RR07047-l1
Microwave Thermography
Contains report on one research project.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 GNI20370
Variation and evolution of herkogamy in Exochaenium (Gentianaceae): implications for the evolution of distyly
Backgrounds and Aims The spatial separation of stigmas and anthers (herkogamy) in flowering plants functions to reduce self-pollination and avoid interference between pollen dispersal and receipt. Little is known about the evolutionary relationships among the three main forms of herkogamy - approach, reverse and reciprocal herkogamy (distyly) - or about transitions to and from a non-herkogamous condition. This problem was examined in Exochaenium (Gentianaceae), a genus of African herbs that exhibits considerable variation in floral morphology, including the three forms of herkogamy. Methods Using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, the evolutionary history of herkogamic and non-herkogamic conditions was reconstructed from a molecular phylogeny of 15 species of Exochaenium and four outgroup taxa, based on three chloroplast regions, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and 2) and the 5·8S gene. Ancestral character states were determined and the reconstructions were used to evaluate competing models for the origin of reciprocal herkogamy. Key results Reciprocal herkogamy originated once in Exochaenium from an ancestor with approach herkogamy. Reverse herkogamy and the non-herkogamic condition homostyly were derived from heterostyly. Distylous species possessed pendent, slightly zygomorphic flowers, and the single transition to reverse herkogamy was associated with the hawkmoth pollination syndrome. Reductions in flower size characterized three of four independent transitions from reciprocal herkogamy to homostyly. Conclusions The results support Lloyd and Webb's model in which distyly originated from an ancestor with approach herkogamy. They also demonstrate the lability of sex organ deployment and implicate pollinators, or their absence, as playing an important role in driving transitions among herkogamic and non-herkogamic condition
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