476 research outputs found
Backflow in a Fermi Liquid
We calculate the backflow current around a fixed impurity in a Fermi liquid.
The leading contribution at long distances is radial and proportional to 1/r^2.
It is caused by the current induced density modulation first discussed by
Landauer. The familiar 1/r^3 dipolar backflow obtained in linear response by
Pines and Nozieres is only the next to leading term, whose strength is
calculated here to all orders in the scattering. In the charged case the
condition of perfect screening gives rise to a novel sum rule for the phase
shifts. Similar to the behavior in a classical viscous liquid, the friction
force is due only to the leading contribution in the backflow while the dipolar
term does not contribute.Comment: 4 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses ReVTeX and epsfig macro, submitted
to Physical Review Letter
The role of the spin in quasiparticle interference
Quasiparticle interference patterns measured by scanning tunneling microscopy
(STM) can be used to study the local electronic structure of metal surfaces and
high temperature superconductors. Here, we show that even in non-magnetic
systems the spin of the quasiparticles can have a profound effect on the
interference patterns. On Bi(110), where the surface state bands are not
spin-degenerate, the patterns are not related to the dispersion of the
electronic states in a simple way. In fact, the features which are expected for
the spin-independent situation are absent and the observed interference
patterns can only be interpreted by taking spin-conserving scattering events
into account.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling across an amorphous metallic spacer layer
By means of magneto-optical Kerr effect we observe for the first time
antiferromagnetic coupling between ferromagnetic layers across an amorphous
metallic spacer layer. Biquadratic coupling occurs at the transition from a
ferromagnetically to an antiferromagnetically coupled region. Scanning
tunneling microscopy images of all involved layers are used to extract
thickness fluctuations and to verify the amorphous state of the spacer. The
observed antiferromagnetic coupling behavior is explained by RKKY interaction
taking into account the amorphous structure of the spacer material.Comment: Typset using RevTex, 4 pages with 4 figures (.eps
Implication of the overlap representation for modelling generalized parton distributions
Based on a field theoretically inspired model of light-cone wave functions,
we derive valence-like generalized parton distributions and their double
distributions from the wave function overlap in the parton number conserved
s-channel. The parton number changing contributions in the t-channel are
restored from duality. In our construction constraints of positivity and
polynomiality are simultaneously satisfied and it also implies a model
dependent relation between generalized parton distributions and transverse
momentum dependent parton distribution functions. The model predicts that the
t-behavior of resulting hadronic amplitudes depends on the Bjorken variable
x_Bj. We also propose an improved ansatz for double distributions that embeds
this property.Comment: 15 pages, 8 eps figure
How the other half lives: CRISPR-Cas's influence on bacteriophages
CRISPR-Cas is a genetic adaptive immune system unique to prokaryotic cells
used to combat phage and plasmid threats. The host cell adapts by incorporating
DNA sequences from invading phages or plasmids into its CRISPR locus as
spacers. These spacers are expressed as mobile surveillance RNAs that direct
CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins to protect against subsequent attack by the
same phages or plasmids. The threat from mobile genetic elements inevitably
shapes the CRISPR loci of archaea and bacteria, and simultaneously the
CRISPR-Cas immune system drives evolution of these invaders. Here we highlight
our recent work, as well as that of others, that seeks to understand phage
mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas evasion and conditions for population coexistence of
phages with CRISPR-protected prokaryotes.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
Nanoscopic Tunneling Contacts on Mesoscopic Multiprobe Conductors
We derive Bardeen-like expressions for the transmission probabilities between
two multi-probe mesoscopic conductors coupled by a weak tunneling contact. We
emphasize especially the dual role of a weak coupling contact as a current
source and sink and analyze the magnetic field symmetry. In the limit of a
point-like tunneling contact the transmission probability becomes a product of
local, partial density of states of the two mesoscopic conductors. We present
expressions for the partial density of states in terms of functional
derivatives of the scattering matrix with respect to the local potential and in
terms of wave functions. We discuss voltage measurements and resistance
measurements in the transport state of conductors. We illustrate the theory for
the simple case of a scatterer in an otherwise perfect wire. In particular, we
investigate the development of the Hall-resistance as measured with weak
coupling probes.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, revte
Cosmogenic Ages Indicate No MIS 2 Refugia in the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska
The late-Pleistocene history of the coastal Cordilleran Ice Sheet remains relatively unstudied compared to chronologies of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Yet accurate reconstructions of Cordilleran Ice Sheet extent and the timing of ice retreat along the Pacific Coast are essential for paleoclimate modeling, assessing meltwater contribution to the North Pacific, and determining the availability of ice-free land along the coastal Cordilleran Ice Sheet margin for human migration from Beringia into the rest of the Americas. To improve the chronology of Cordilleran Ice Sheet history in the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, we applied 10Be and 36Cl dating to boulders and glacially sculpted bedrock in areas previously hypothesized to have remained ice-free throughout the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM; 20–17 ka). Results indicate that these sites, and more generally the coastal northern Alexander Archipelago, became ice-free by 15.1 ± 0.9 ka (n = 12 boulders; 1 SD). We also provide further age constraints on deglaciation along the southern Alexander Archipelago and combine our new ages with data from two previous studies. We determine that ice retreatedfrom the outer coast of the southern Alexander Archipelago at 16.3 ± 0.8 ka (n = 14 boulders; 1 SD). These results collectively indicate that areas above modern sea level that were previously mapped as glacial refugia were covered by ice during the LLGM until between ∼ 16.3 and 15.1 ka. As no evidence was found for ice-free land during the LLGM, our results suggest that previous ice-sheet reconstructions underestimate the regional maximum Cordilleran Ice Sheet extent, and that all ice likely terminated on the continental shelf. Future work should investigate whether presently submerged areas of the continental shelf were ice-free
The impact of model resolution on the simulated Holocene retreat of the southwestern Greenland ice sheet using the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM)
Geologic archives constraining the variability of the Greenland
ice sheet (GrIS) during the Holocene provide targets for ice sheet models to
test sensitivities to variations in past climate and model formulation. Even
as data–model comparisons are becoming more common, many models simulating
the behavior of the GrIS during the past rely on meshes with coarse
horizontal resolutions (≥10 km). In this study, we explore the impact of
model resolution on the simulated nature of retreat across southwestern
Greenland during the Holocene. Four simulations are performed using the Ice
Sheet System Model (ISSM): three that use a uniform mesh and horizontal mesh
resolutions of 20, 10, and 5 km, and one that uses a nonuniform mesh with
a resolution ranging from 2 to 15 km. We find that the simulated retreat can
vary significantly between models with different horizontal resolutions based
on how well the bed topography is resolved. In areas of low topographic
relief, the horizontal resolution plays a negligible role in simulated
differences in retreat, with each model instead responding similarly to
retreat driven by surface mass balance (SMB). Conversely, in areas where the bed
topography is complex and high in relief, such as fjords, the lower-resolution models (10 and 20 km) simulate unrealistic retreat that occurs as
ice surface lowering intersects bumps in the bed topography that would
otherwise be resolved as troughs using the higher-resolution grids. Our
results highlight the important role that high-resolution grids play in
simulating retreat in areas of complex bed topography, but also suggest that
models using nonuniform grids can save computational resources through
coarsening the mesh in areas of noncomplex bed topography where the SMB
predominantly drives retreat. Additionally, these results emphasize that care
must be taken with ice sheet models when tuning model parameters to match
reconstructed margins, particularly for lower-resolution models in regions
where complex bed topography is poorly resolved.</p
Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Sea-Level History and Glacial Retreat Interpreted from Shell-Bearing Marine Deposits of Southeastern Alaska, USA
We leverage a data set of \u3e720 shell-bearing marine deposits throughout southeastern Alaska (USA) to develop updated relative sea-level curves that span the past ~14,000 yr. This data set includes site location, elevation, description when avail-able, and 436 14C ages, 45 of which are published here for the first time. Our sea-level curves suggest a peripheral forebulge developed west of the retreating Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) margin between ca. 17,000 and 10,800 calibrated yr B.P. By 14,870 ± 630 to 12,820 ± 340 cal. yr B.P., CIS mar-gins had retreated from all of southeastern Alaska’s fjords, channels, and passages. At this time, isolated or stranded ice caps existed on the islands, with alpine or tidewater glaciers in many valleys. Paleoshorelines up to 25 m above sea level mark the maximum elevation of transgression in the southern portion of the study region, which was achieved by 11,000 ± 390 to 10,500 ± 420 cal. yr B.P. The presence of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and the abundance of charcoal in sediments that date between 11,000 ± 390 and 7630 ± 90 cal. yr B.P. suggest that both ocean and air temperatures in southeastern Alaska were relatively warm in the early Holocene. The sea-level and paleoenvironmental reconstruction presented here can inform future investigations into the glacial, volcanic, and archaeological history of southeastern Alaska
How to detect fluctuating order in the high-temperature superconductors
We discuss fluctuating order in a quantum disordered phase proximate to a
quantum critical point, with particular emphasis on fluctuating stripe order.
Optimal strategies for extracting information concerning such local order from
experiments are derived with emphasis on neutron scattering and scanning
tunneling microscopy. These ideas are tested by application to two model
systems - the exactly solvable one dimensional electron gas with an impurity,
and a weakly-interacting 2D electron gas. We extensively review experiments on
the cuprate high-temperature superconductors which can be analyzed using these
strategies. We adduce evidence that stripe correlations are widespread in the
cuprates. Finally, we compare and contrast the advantages of two limiting
perspectives on the high-temperature superconductor: weak coupling, in which
correlation effects are treated as a perturbation on an underlying metallic
(although renormalized) Fermi liquid state, and strong coupling, in which the
magnetism is associated with well defined localized spins, and stripes are
viewed as a form of micro-phase separation. We present quantitative indicators
that the latter view better accounts for the observed stripe phenomena in the
cuprates.Comment: 43 pages, 11 figures, submitted to RMP; extensively revised and
greatly improved text; one new figure, one new section, two new appendices
and more reference
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