5,676 research outputs found
Spin gap in the Quasi-One-Dimensional S=1/2 Antiferromagnet: Cu2(1,4-diazacycloheptane)2Cl4
Cu_{2}(1,4-diazacycloheptane)_{2}Cl_{4} contains double chains of spin 1/2
Cu^{2+} ions. We report ac susceptibility, specific heat, and inelastic neutron
scattering measurements on this material. The magnetic susceptibility,
, shows a rounded maximum at T = 8 K indicative of a low dimensional
antiferromagnet with no zero field magnetic phase transition. We compare the
data to exact diagonalization results for various one dimensional
spin Hamiltonians and find excellent agreement for a spin ladder with
intra-rung coupling meV and two mutually frustrating
inter-rung interactions: meV and meV. The
specific heat in zero field is exponentially activated with an activation
energy meV. A spin gap is also found through inelastic
neutron scattering on powder samples which identify a band of magnetic
excitations for meV. Using sum-rules we derive an
expression for the dynamic spin correlation function associated with
non-interacting propagating triplets in a spin ladder. The van-Hove
singularities of such a model are not observed in our scattering data
indicating that magnetic excitations in Cu_{2}(1,4-diazacycloheptane)_{2}Cl_{4}
are more complicated. For magnetic fields above T specific
heat data versus temperature show anomalies indicating a phase transition to an
ordered state below T = 1 K.Comment: 9 pages, 8 postscript figures, LaTeX, Submitted to PRB 8/4/97, e-mail
Comments to [email protected]
Crystal Structure and Magnetism of the Linear-Chain Copper Oxides Sr5Pb3-xBixCuO12
The title quasi-1D copper oxides (0=< x =<0.4) were investigated by neutron
diffraction and magnetic susceptibility studies. Polyhedral CuO4 units in the
compounds were found to comprise linear-chains at inter-chain distance of
approximately 10 A. The parent chain compound (x = 0), however, shows less
anisotropic magnetic behavior above 2 K, although it is of substantially
antiferromagnetic (mu_{eff}= 1.85 mu_{B} and Theta_{W} = -46.4 K) spin-chain
system. A magnetic cusp gradually appears at about 100 K in T vs chi with the
Bi substitution. The cusp (x = 0.4) is fairly characterized by and therefore
suggests the spin gap nature at Delta/k_{B} ~ 80 K. The chain compounds hold
electrically insulating in the composition range.Comment: To be published in PR
The Origin of Primordial Dwarf Stars and Baryonic Dark Matter
I present a scenario for the production of low mass, degenerate dwarfs of
mass via the mechanism of Lenzuni, Chernoff & Salpeter (1992).
Such objects meet the mass limit requirements for halo dark matter from
microlensing surveys while circumventing the chemical evolution constraints on
normal white dwarf stars. I describe methods to observationally constrain this
scenario and suggest that such objects may originate in small clusters formed
from the thermal instability of shocked, heated gas in dark matter haloes, such
as suggested by Fall & Rees (1985) for globular clusters.Comment: TeX, 4 pages plus 2 postscript figures. To appear in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
The Nature of the Dense Core Population in the Pipe Nebula: Thermal Cores Under Pressure
In this paper we present the results of a systematic investigation of an
entire population of starless dust cores within a single molecular cloud.
Analysis of extinction data shows the cores to be dense objects characterized
by a narrow range of density. Analysis of C18O and NH3 molecular-line
observations reveals very narrow lines. The non-thermal velocity dispersions
measured in both these tracers are found to be subsonic for the large majority
of the cores and show no correlation with core mass (or size). Thermal pressure
is thus the dominate source of internal gas pressure and support for most of
the core population. The total internal gas pressures of the cores are found to
be roughly independent of core mass over the entire range of the core mass
function (CMF) indicating that the cores are in pressure equilibrium with an
external source of pressure. This external pressure is most likely provided by
the weight of the surrounding Pipe cloud within which the cores are embedded.
Most of the cores appear to be pressure confined, gravitationally unbound
entities whose nature, structure and future evolution are determined by only a
few physical factors which include self-gravity, the fundamental processes of
thermal physics and the simple requirement of pressure equilibrium with the
surrounding environment. The observed core properties likely constitute the
initial conditions for star formation in dense gas. The entire core population
is found to be characterized by a single critical Bonnor-Ebert mass. This mass
coincides with the characteristic mass of the Pipe CMF indicating that most
cores formed in the cloud are near critical stability. This suggests that the
mass function of cores (and the IMF) has its origin in the physical process of
thermal fragmentation in a pressurized medium.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
Structured evaluation of virtual environments for special-needs education
This paper describes the development of a structured approach to evaluate experiential and communication virtual learning environments (VLEs) designed specifically for use in the education of children with severe learning difficulties at the Shepherd special needs school in Nottingham, UK. Constructivist learning theory was used as a basis for the production of an evaluation framework, used to evaluate the design of three VLEs and how they were used by students with respect to this learning theory. From an observational field study of student-teacher pairs using the VLEs, 18 behaviour categories were identified as relevant to five of the seven constructivist principles defined by Jonassen (1994). Analysis of student-teacher behaviour was used to provide support for, or against, the constructivist principles. The results show that the three VLEs meet the constructivist principles in very different ways and recommendations for design modifications are put forward
Microscopic Electron Models with Exact SO(5) Symmetry
We construct a class of microscopic electron models with exact SO(5) symmetry
between antiferromagnetic and d-wave superconducting ground states. There is an
exact one-to-one correspondence between both single-particle and collective
excitations in both phases. SO(5) symmetry breaking terms can be introduced and
classified according to irreducible representations of the exact SO(5) algebra.
The resulting phase diagram and collective modes are identical to that of the
SO(5) nonlinear sigma model.Comment: 5 pages, LATEX, 4 eps fig
Replica theory for learning curves for Gaussian processes on random graphs
Statistical physics approaches can be used to derive accurate predictions for
the performance of inference methods learning from potentially noisy data, as
quantified by the learning curve defined as the average error versus number of
training examples. We analyse a challenging problem in the area of
non-parametric inference where an effectively infinite number of parameters has
to be learned, specifically Gaussian process regression. When the inputs are
vertices on a random graph and the outputs noisy function values, we show that
replica techniques can be used to obtain exact performance predictions in the
limit of large graphs. The covariance of the Gaussian process prior is defined
by a random walk kernel, the discrete analogue of squared exponential kernels
on continuous spaces. Conventionally this kernel is normalised only globally,
so that the prior variance can differ between vertices; as a more principled
alternative we consider local normalisation, where the prior variance is
uniform
Acceptability, Precision and Accuracy of 3D Photonic Scanning for Measurement of Body Shape in a Multi-Ethnic Sample of Children Aged 5-11 Years: The SLIC Study.
Information on body size and shape is used to interpret many aspects of physiology, including nutritional status, cardio-metabolic risk and lung function. Such data have traditionally been obtained through manual anthropometry, which becomes time-consuming when many measurements are required. 3D photonic scanning (3D-PS) of body surface topography represents an alternative digital technique, previously applied successfully in large studies of adults. The acceptability, precision and accuracy of 3D-PS in young children have not been assessed
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