5,096 research outputs found
Understanding and Improving the Wang-Landau Algorithm
We present a mathematical analysis of the Wang-Landau algorithm, prove its
convergence, identify sources of errors and strategies for optimization. In
particular, we found the histogram increases uniformly with small fluctuation
after a stage of initial accumulation, and the statistical error is found to
scale as with the modification factor . This has implications
for strategies for obtaining fast convergence.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
A framework for assessing product innovation strategies in a competitive context
The development of new products capable of satisfying customer demands on a timely basis has become a priority for firms seeking to improve their competitive advantage in a global context. However, this challenge has become highly complex due to a growing diversity of both products and processes, higher costs, and unprecedented considerations for quality and service. Despite knowing a great deal about both the characteristics of successful firms and new product development processes, little is known regarding requisite guidelines for successful strategies in product development
Spin Waves in Disordered III-V Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors
We propose a new scheme for numerically computing collective-mode spectra for
large-size systems, using a reformulation of the Random Phase Approximation. In
this study, we apply this method to investigate the spectrum and nature of the
spin-waves of a (III,Mn)V Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor. We use an impurity
band picture to describe the interaction of the charge carriers with the local
Mn spins. The spin-wave spectrum is shown to depend sensitively on the
positional disorder of the Mn atoms inside the host semiconductor. Both
localized and extended spin-wave modes are found. Unusual spin and charge
transport is implied.Comment: 14 pages, including 11 figure
Two-component approach for thermodynamic properties in diluted magnetic semiconductors
We examine the feasibility of a simple description of Mn ions in III-V
diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) in terms of two species (components),
motivated by the expectation that the Mn-hole exchange couplings are widely
distributed, expecially for low Mn concentrations. We find, using distributions
indicated by recent numerical mean field studies, that the thermodynamic
properties (magnetization, susceptibility, and specific heat) cannot be fit by
a single coupling as in a homogeneous model, but can be fit well by a
two-component model with a temperature dependent number of ``strongly'' and
``weakly'' coupled spins. This suggests that a two-component description may be
a minimal model for the interpretation of experimental measurements of
thermodynamic quantities in III-V DMS systems.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 1 new figure, substantial revision
Monte Carlo simulations of an impurity band model for III-V diluted magnetic semiconductors
We report the results of a Monte Carlo study of a model of (III,Mn)V diluted
magnetic semiconductors which uses an impurity band description of carriers
coupled to localized Mn spins and is applicable for carrier densities below and
around the metal-insulator transition. In agreement with mean field studies, we
find a transition to a ferromagnetic phase at low temperatures. We compare our
results for the magnetic properties with the mean field approximation, as well
as with experiments, and find favorable qualitative agreement with the latter.
The local Mn magnetization below the Curie temperature is found to be spatially
inhomogeneous, and strongly correlated with the local carrier charge density at
the Mn sites. The model contains fermions and classical spins and hence we
introduce a perturbative Monte Carlo scheme to increase the speed of our
simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 24 figures, 2 table
A truncated lipoglycan from mycobacteria with altered immunological properties
Maintenance of cell-wall integrity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is essential and is the target of several antitubercular drugs. For example, ethambutol targets arabinogalactan and lipoarabinomannan (LAM) biosynthesis through the inhibition of several arabinofuranosyltransferases. Apart from their role in cell-wall integrity, mycobacterial LAMs also exhibit important immunomodulatory activities. Here we report the isolation and detailed structural characterization of a unique LAM molecule derived from Mycobacterium smegmatis deficient in the arabinofuranosyltransferase AftC (AftC-LAM). This mutant LAM expresses a severely truncated arabinan domain completely devoid of 3,5-Araf–branching residues, revealing an intrinsic involvement of AftC in the biosynthesis of LAM. Furthermore, we found that ethambutol efficiently inhibits biosynthesis of the AftC-LAM arabinan core, unambiguously demonstrating the involvement of the arabinofuranosyltransferase EmbC in early stages of LAM-arabinan biosynthesis. Finally, we demonstrate that AftC-LAM exhibits an enhanced proinflammatory activity, which is due to its ability to activate Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Overall, our efforts further describe the mechanism of action of an important antitubercular drug, ethambutol, and demonstrate a role for specific arabinofuranosyltransferases in LAM biosynthesis. In addition, the availability of sufficient amounts of chemically defined wild-type and isogenic truncated LAMs paves the way for further investigations of the structure–function relationship of TLR2 activation by mycobacterial lipoglycans
Role of promaxon-d in controlling tribological performance of cu-free brake pads
Copper appears to be an indispensable ingredient of non-asbestos organic (NAO) brake friction materials owing to its multifunctionality. However, recent findings proved it as a threat to aquatic life and efforts were initiated worldwide over the last few years to find a substitute for it. Recently, the authors’ group had reported on the potential of particulate Promaxon-D (hydrated calcium silicate), a porous material for enhancement of noise–vibration (NV) performance of Cu-free brake pads. It was felt necessary to investigate how Promaxon-D (PD) contributes to controlling tribo-performance of brake pads since this aspect is most important for the brake friction materials. A series of five types of brake pads was developed by keeping parent composition fixed and varying the theme ingredient PD content from 0–20 wt.%. The tribo-performance was evaluated on a full-scale brake inertia dynamometer as per the JASO C406 test standards. The increase in PD contents led to a reduction in density, hardness, and thermal conductivity while an increase in porosity and compressibility. With the increase in PD contents, almost all tribo properties such as average μ, fade ratio, and recovery ratio got enhanced, sensitivity of μ for pressure, speed, and temperature lowered but at the cost of wear resistance. Finally, the worn surfaces of pads and discs were observed under a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) to find out the presence of various elements at the contact zone and to monitor specific topographical events responsible for wear mechanism
Bound Magnetic Polaron Interactions in Insulating Doped Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors
The magnetic behavior of insulating doped diluted magnetic semiconductors
(DMS) is characterized by the interaction of large collective spins known as
bound magnetic polarons. Experimental measurements of the susceptibility of
these materials have suggested that the polaron-polaron interaction is
ferromagnetic, in contrast to the antiferromagnetic carrier-carrier
interactions that are characteristic of nonmagnetic semiconductors. To explain
this behavior, a model has been developed in which polarons interact via both
the standard direct carrier-carrier exchange interaction (due to virtual
carrier hopping) and an indirect carrier-ion-carrier exchange interaction (due
to the interactions of polarons with magnetic ions in an interstitial region).
Using a variational procedure, the optimal values of the model parameters were
determined as a function of temperature. At temperatures of interest, the
parameters describing polaron-polaron interactions were found to be nearly
temperature-independent. For reasonable values of these constant parameters, we
find that indirect ferromagnetic interactions can dominate the direct
antiferromagnetic interactions and cause the polarons to align. This result
supports the experimental evidence for ferromagnetism in insulating doped DMS.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Performance of Promising Forage in Eastern India and Their Nutritive Value
Eastern region of India possesses large number of ruminant population (162 million) that depend on available feed resources (GOI, 2014). But, at the same time, an acute shortage of green fodder prevails in the eastern part of India that varies from 82 to 89 per cent. The main reason behind this gap is low land holding and negligible area under fodder production. Shortage of quality feed and fodder resources and neglect of forage crops led to decline in the productivity of Indian livestock. However, as a whole, country having 8.30 million ha area under fodder production (Anon, 2013) and out of this 4.90 million ha covered during Kharif season and 3.01 million ha utilized for fodder production during Rabi season. Therefore, considering the above problem, a study was conducted on fodder cum grain production to mitigate fodder scarcity problem in the eastern part of Indi
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