21,235 research outputs found
The Amorphous-Crystal Interface in Silicon: a Tight-Binding Simulation
The structural features of the interface between the cystalline and amorphous
phases of Si solid are studied in simulations based on a combination of
empirical interatomic potentials and a nonorthogonal tight-binding model. The
tight-binding Hamiltonian was created and tested for the types of structures
and distortions anticipated to occur at this interface. The simulations
indicate the presence of a number of interesting features near the interface.
The features that may lead to crystallization upon heating include chains
with some defects, most prominently dimers similar to those on the Si(001) 2x1
reconstructed free surface. Within the amorphous region order is lost over very
short distances. By examining six different samples with two interfaces each,
we find the energy of the amorphous-crystal interface to be 0.49 +/- 0.05 J/m^2Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Origin of the structural phase transition in Li7La3Zr2O12
Garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is a solid electrolyte material with a
low-conductivity tetragonal and a high-conductivity cubic phase. Using
density-functional theory and variable cell shape molecular dynamics
simulations, we show that the tetragonal phase stability is dependent on a
simultaneous ordering of the Li ions on the Li sublattice and a
volume-preserving tetragonal distortion that relieves internal structural
strain. Supervalent doping introduces vacancies into the Li sublattice,
increasing the overall entropy and reducing the free energy gain from ordering,
eventually stabilizing the cubic phase. We show that the critical temperature
for cubic phase stability is lowered as Li vacancy concentration (dopant level)
is raised and that an activated hop of Li ions from one crystallographic site
to another always accompanies the transition. By identifying the relevant
mechanism and critical concentrations for achieving the high conductivity
phase, this work shows how targeted synthesis could be used to improve
electrolytic performance
Weak Lensing Determination of the Mass in Galaxy Halos
We detect the weak gravitational lensing distortion of 450,000 background
galaxies (20<R<23) by 790 foreground galaxies (R<18) selected from the Las
Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). This is the first detection of weak lensing by
field galaxies of known redshift, and as such permits us to reconstruct the
shear profile of the typical field galaxy halo in absolute physical units
(modulo H_0), and to investigate the dependence of halo mass upon galaxy
luminosity. This is also the first galaxy-galaxy lensing study for which the
calibration errors are negligible. Within a projected radius of 200 \hkpc, the
shear profile is consistent with an isothermal profile with circular velocity
164+-20 km/s for an L* galaxy, consistent with typical disk rotation at this
luminosity. This halo mass normalization, combined with the halo profile
derived by Fischer et al (2000) from lensing analysis SDSS data, places a lower
limit of (2.7+-0.6) x 10^{12}h^{-1} solar masses on the mass of an L* galaxy
halo, in good agreement with satellite galaxy studies. Given the known
luminosity function of LCRS galaxies, and the assumption that for galaxies, we determine that the mass within 260\hkpc of normal
galaxies contributes to the density of the Universe (for
) or for . These lensing data suggest
that (95% CL), only marginally in agreement with the usual
Faber-Jackson or Tully-Fisher scaling. This is the most
complete direct inventory of the matter content of the Universe to date.Comment: 18 pages, incl. 3 figures. Submitted to ApJ 6/7/00, still no response
from the referee after four months
Fast quantum algorithm for numerical gradient estimation
Given a blackbox for f, a smooth real scalar function of d real variables,
one wants to estimate the gradient of f at a given point with n bits of
precision. On a classical computer this requires a minimum of d+1 blackbox
queries, whereas on a quantum computer it requires only one query regardless of
d. The number of bits of precision to which f must be evaluated matches the
classical requirement in the limit of large n.Comment: additional references and minor clarifications and corrections to
version
Matrix De Rham complex and quantum A-infinity algebras
I establish the relation of the non-commutative BV-formalism with
super-invariant matrix integration. In particular, the non-commutative
BV-equation, defining the quantum A-infinity-algebras, introduced in "Modular
operads and Batalin-Vilkovisky geometry" IMRN, Vol. 2007, doi:
10.1093/imrn/rnm075, is represented via de Rham differential acting on the
matrix spaces related with Bernstein-Leites simple associative algebras with
odd trace q(N), and with gl(N|N). I also show that the Lagrangians of the
matrix integrals from "Noncommmutative Batalin-Vilkovisky geometry and Matrix
integrals", Comptes Rendus Mathematique, vol 348 (2010), pp. 359-362,
arXiv:0912.5484, are equivariantly closed differential forms.Comment: published versio
The Size Distribution of Trans-Neptunian Bodies
[Condensed] We search 0.02 deg^2 for trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with
m<=29.2 (diameter ~15 km) using the ACS on HST. Three new objects are
discovered, roughly 25 times fewer than expected from extrapolation of the
differential sky density Sigma(m) of brighter objects. The ACS and other recent
TNO surveys show departures from a power law size distribution. Division of the
TNO sample into ``classical Kuiper belt'' (CKB) and ``Excited'' samples reveals
that Sigma(m) differs for the two populations at 96% confidence. A double power
law adequately fits all data. Implications include: The total mass of the CKB
is ~0.010 M_Earth, only a few times Pluto's mass, and is predominately in the
form of ~100 km bodies. The mass of Excited objects is perhaps a few times
larger. The Excited class has a shallower bright-end size distribution; the
largest objects, including Pluto, comprise tens of percent of the total mass
whereas the largest CKBOs are only ~2% of its mass. The predicted mass of the
largest Excited body is close to the Pluto mass; the largest CKBO is ~60 times
less massive. The deficit of small TNOs occurs for sizes subject to disruption
by present-day collisions, suggesting extensive depletion by collisions. Both
accretion and erosion appearing to have proceeded to more advanced stages in
the Excited class than the CKB. The absence of distant TNOs implies that any
distant (60 AU) population must have less than the CKB mass in the form of
objects 40 km or larger. The CKB population is sparser than theoretical
estimates of the required precursor population for short period comets, but the
Excited population could be a viable precursor population.Comment: Revised version accepted to the Astronomical Journal. Numerical
results are very slightly revised. Implications for the origins of
short-period comets are substantially revised, and tedious material on
statistical tests has been collected into a new Appendi
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