896 research outputs found
Effects of screened Coulomb impurities on autoionizing two-electron resonances in spherical quantum dots
In a recent paper (Phys. Rev. B {\bf 78}, 075316 (2008)), Sajeev and Moiseyev
demonstrated that the bound-to-resonant transitions and lifetimes of
autoionizing states in spherical quantum dots can be controlled by varying the
confinment strength. In the present paper, we report that such control can in
some cases be compromised by the presence of Coulomb impurities. It is
demonstrated that a screened Coulomb impurity placed in the vicinity of the dot
center can lead to bound-to-resonant transitions and to avoided crossings-like
behavior when the screening of the impurity charge is varied. It is argued that
these properties also can have impact on electron transport through quantum dot
arrays
The nonrelativistic limit of Dirac-Fock codes: the role of Brillouin configurations
We solve a long standing problem with relativistic calculations done with the
widely used Multi-Configuration Dirac-Fock Method (MCDF). We show, using
Relativistic Many-Body Perturbation Theory (RMBPT), how even for relatively
high-, relaxation or correlation causes the non-relativistic limit of states
of different total angular momentum but identical orbital angular momentum to
have different energies. We show that only large scale calculations that
include all single excitations, even those obeying the Brillouin's theorem have
the correct limit. We reproduce very accurately recent high-precision
measurements in F-like Ar, and turn then into precise test of QED. We obtain
the correct non-relativistic limit not only for fine structure but also for
level energies and show that RMBPT calculations are not immune to this problem.Comment: AUgust 9th, 2004 Second version Nov. 18th, 200
Performance of the coupled cluster singles and doubles method on two-dimensional quantum dots
An implementation of the coupled-cluster single- and double excitations
(CCSD) method on two-dimensional quantum dots is presented. Advantages and
limitations are studied through comparison with other high accuracy approaches
for two to eight confined electrons. The possibility to effectively use a very
large basis set is found to be an important advantage compared to full
configuration interaction implementations. For the two to eight electron ground
states, with a confinement strength close to what is used in experiments, the
error in the energy introduced by truncating triple excitations and beyond is
shown to be on the same level or less than the differences in energy given by
two different Quantum Monte Carlo methods. Convergence of the iterative
solution of the coupled cluster equations is, for some cases, found for
surprisingly weak confinement strengths even when starting from a
non-interacting basis. The limit where the missing triple and higher
excitations become relevant is investigated through comparison with full
Configuration Interaction results.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, 5 table
Resonance structure in the Li^- photodetachment cross section
We report on the first observation of resonance structure in the total cross
section for the photodetachment of Li^-. The structure arises from the
autodetaching decay of doubly excited ^1P states of Li^- that are bound with
respect to the 3p state of the Li atom. Calculations have been performed for
both Li^- and H^- to assist in the identification of these resonances. The
lowest lying resonance is a symmetrically excited intrashell resonance. Higher
lying asymmetrically excited intershell states are observed which converge on
the Li(3p) limit.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure, 19 references, RevTeX, figures in ep
Small Mammal Activity Alters Plant Community Composition and Microbial Activity in an Old-Field Ecosystem
Herbivores modify their environment by consuming plant biomass and redistributing materials across the landscape. While small mammalian herbivores, such as rodents, are typically inconspicuous, their impacts on plant community structure and chemistry can be large. We used a small mammal exclosure experiment to explore whether rodents in a southeastern old field directly altered the above ground plant species composition and chemistry, and indirectly altered the below ground soil community composition and activity. In general, when rodents were excluded, C3 graminoids increased in cover and biomass, contributing toward a shift in plant species composition relative to plots where rodents were present. The plant community chemistry also shifted; plant fiber concentration and carbon : nitrogen were higher, whereas plant nitrogen concentration was lower in exclosure plots relative to access plots. While microbial community enzyme activity increased when rodents were excluded, no significant changes in the fungal : bacterial or potential nitrogen mineralization occurred between treatments. Our results show that rodents can rapidly influence aboveground plant community composition and chemistry, but their influence on below ground processes may require plant inputs to the soil to accumulate over longer periods of time
Photoionization in the time and frequency domain
Ultrafast processes in matter, such as the electron emission following light
absorption, can now be studied using ultrashort light pulses of attosecond
duration (s) in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. The lack of
spectral resolution due to the use of short light pulses may raise serious
issues in the interpretation of the experimental results and the comparison
with detailed theoretical calculations. Here, we determine photoionization time
delays in neon atoms over a 40 eV energy range with an interferometric
technique combining high temporal and spectral resolution. We spectrally
disentangle direct ionization from ionization with shake up, where a second
electron is left in an excited state, thus obtaining excellent agreement with
theoretical calculations and thereby solving a puzzle raised by seven-year-old
measurements. Our experimental approach does not have conceptual limits,
allowing us to foresee, with the help of upcoming laser technology, ultra-high
resolution time-frequency studies from the visible to the x-ray range.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Macroecology of ground beetles : Species richness, range size and body size show different geographical patterns across a climatically heterogeneous area
Aim
Ecogeographical patterns have been widely studied in endothermic vertebrates, but relatively few studies have simultaneously examined patterns and causes of gradients in species richness, range size and body size in ectothermic insects. We examined patterns in species richness, mean range size and mean body size of ground beetle assemblages across the biogeographical provinces of Northern Europe, a region that was mostly covered by ice sheets during the latest Ice Age and that presents strong contemporary climatic gradients.
Location
Northern Europe.
Methods
We used literature information on the occurrence of ground beetles, and analysed patterns in species richness, mean range size and mean body size across the provinces using generalized linear models and boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis.
Results
We found a strongly decreasing gradient in species richness with increasing latitude, a strongly unimodal range size-latitude relationship, and a weak unimodal body size-latitude relationship in entire ground beetle assemblages. These gradients also varied among four major genera, suggesting that the overall patterns result from the nuances of smaller clades of ground beetles. The relative importance of contemporary environmental drivers also varied between species richness, mean range size and mean body size in BRT analysis. While species richness increased with mean annual temperature, mean range size showed an opposite relationship. Mean body size was most clearly associated with the precipitation of the driest month.
Main Conclusions
Our findings showed that the latitudinal species richness gradient was strong, and it was closely related to concomitant variation in temperature, whereas variations in mean range size and mean body size were more complex. These findings suggest that the causes for range size and body size variation in insects may be complex, requiring additional insights from studies conducted at local, regional and continental scales
CP-odd Phase Correlations and Electric Dipole Moments
We revisit the constraints imposed by electric dipole moments (EDMs) of
nucleons and heavy atoms on new CP-violating sources within supersymmetric
theories. We point out that certain two-loop renormalization group corrections
induce significant mixing between the basis-invariant CP-odd phases. In the
framework of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM), the
CP-odd invariant related to the soft trilinear A-phase at the GUT scale,
theta_A, induces non-trivial and distinct CP-odd phases for the three gaugino
masses at the weak scale. The latter give one-loop contributions to EDMs
enhanced by tan beta, and can provide the dominant contribution to the electron
EDM induced by theta_A. We perform a detailed analysis of the EDM constraints
within the CMSSM, exhibiting the reach, in terms of sparticle spectra, which
may be obtained assuming generic phases, as well as the limits on the CP-odd
phases for some specific parameter points where detailed phenomenological
studies are available. We also illustrate how this reach will expand with
results from the next generation of experiments which are currently in
development.Comment: 31 pages, 21 eps figures; v2: additional remarks on 2-loop threshold
corrections and references added; v3: typos corrected, to appear in Phys.
Rev.
High accuracy calculation of 6s -> 7s parity nonconserving amplitude in Cs
We calculated the parity nonconserving (PNC) 6s -> 7s amplitude in Cs. In the
Dirac-Coulomb approximation our result is in a good agreement with other
calculations. Breit corrections to the PNC amplitude and to the Stark-induced
amplitude are found to be -0.4% and -1% respectively. The weak charge
of Cs is in agreement with the standard model.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX2e, uses revtex4.cls, submitted to PR
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