2,607 research outputs found
Spatial dispersion in Casimir forces: A brief review
We present the basic principles of non-local optics in connection with the
calculation of the Casimir force between half-spaces and thin films.
At currently accessible distances , non-local corrections amount to about
half a percent, but they increase roughly as 1/L at smaller separations. Self
consistent models lead to corrections with the opposite sign as models with
abrupt surfaces.Comment: Proceedings of QFEXT05, Barcelona, Sept. 5-9, 200
Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a dielectric slab
We present an explicit analytic calculation of the energy-level shift of an
atom in front of a non-dispersive and non-dissipative dielectric slab. We work
with the fully quantized electromagnetic field, taking retardation into
account. We give the shift as a two-dimensional integral and use asymptotic
analysis to find expressions for it in various retarded and non-retarded
limiting cases. The results can be used to estimate the energy shift of an atom
close to layered microstructures.Comment: 10 pages, incl 7 figure
Deep lithospheric structures along the southern central Chile Margin from wide-angle P-wave modellilng
Crustal- and upper-mantle structures of the subduction zone in south central Chile, between 42 degrees S and 46 degrees S, are determined from seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data, using the seismic ray tracing method to calculate minimum parameter models. Three profiles along differently aged segments of the subducting Nazca Plate were analysed in order to study subduction zone structure dependencies related to the age, that is, thermal state, of the incoming plate. The age of the oceanic crust at the trench ranges from 3 Ma on the southernmost profile, immediately north of the Chile triple junction, to 6.5 Ma old about 100 km to the north, and to 14.5 Ma old another 200 km further north, off the Island of Chiloe. Remarkable similarities appear in the structures of both the incoming as well as the overriding plate. The oceanic Nazca Plate is around 5 km thick, with a slightly increasing thickness northward, reflecting temperature changes at the time of crustal generation. The trench basin is about 2 km thick except in the south where the Chile Ridge is close to the deformation front and only a small, 800-m-thick trench infill could develop. In south central Chile, typically three quarters (1.5 km) of the trench sediments subduct below the decollement in the subduction channel. To the north and south of the study area, only about one quarter to one third of the sediments subducts, the rest is accreted above. Similarities in the overriding plate are the width of the active accretionary prism, 35-50 km, and a strong lateral crustal velocity gradient zone about 75-80 km landward from the deformation front, where landward upper-crustal velocities of over 5.0-5.4 km s<SU-1</SU decrease seaward to around 4.5 km s<SU-1</SU within about 10 km, which possibly represents a palaeo-backstop. This zone is also accompanied by strong intraplate seismicity. Differences in the subduction zone structures exist in the outer rise region, where the northern profile exhibits a clear bulge of uplifted oceanic lithosphere prior to subduction whereas the younger structures have a less developed outer rise. This plate bending is accompanied by strongly reduced rock velocities on the northern profile due to fracturing and possible hydration of the crust and upper mantle. The southern profiles do not exhibit such a strong alteration of the lithosphere, although this effect may be counteracted by plate cooling effects, which are reflected in increasing rock velocities away from the spreading centre. Overall there appears little influence of incoming plate age on the subduction zone structure which may explain why the M-w = 9.5 great Chile earthquake from 1960 ruptured through all these differing age segments. The rupture area, however, appears to coincide with a relatively thick subduction channel
CdTe Raman Line Shape in Resonance: a Space Correlation Zone Study
We show that the line shape of resonant Raman spectra of CdTe can be reproduced using the spatial correlation model (SCM). Our results show that the resonant Raman spectrum for a surface with a RMS of 430 nm is characterized by the presence of two intense sharp peaks located at frequencies corresponding to LO and 2LOmodes. The resonant Raman spectrum for a surface with a RMS of 6 nm on the other hand, can be reproduced using the contribution of high frequency phonons related with the acoustic transverse harmonics. These results suggest that under resonance conditions, such acoustic transverse modes define the line shape for a small size correlation region diameter. This study provides a new application of SCM to estimate the size grain of a surface where this information is not available
Egg-mediated maternal effects in a cooperatively breeding cichlid fish.
Mothers can influence offspring phenotype through egg-mediated maternal effects, which can be influenced by cues mothers obtain from their environment during offspring production. Developing embryos use these components but have mechanisms to alter maternal signals. Here we aimed to understand the role of mothers and embryos in how maternal effects might shape offspring social phenotype. In the cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher different social phenotypes develop in large and small social groups differing in predation risk and social complexity. We manipulated the maternal social environment of N. pulcher females during egg laying by allocating them either to a small or a large social group. We compared egg mass and clutch size and the concentration of corticosteroid metabolites between social environments, and between fertilized and unfertilized eggs to investigate how embryos deal with maternal signalling. Mothers in small groups produced larger clutches but neither laid smaller eggs nor bestowed eggs differently with corticosteroids. Fertilized eggs scored lower on a principal component representing three corticosteroid metabolites, namely 11-deoxycortisol, cortisone, and 11-deoxycorticosterone. We did not detect egg-mediated maternal effects induced by the maternal social environment. We discuss that divergent social phenotypes induced by different group sizes may be triggered by own offspring experience
Muros de escollera en urbanizaciones
The uneven and slopes terrain force us to intervene with rigid or flexible containment
structures. Containment structures tend to be mostly of reinforced concrete or steel sheet piling. For some time, the use of stone jetties as containment structures and permanent stabilization in housing estates is being imposed. This type of structure has been used successfully in slopes of roads and jetties on port. When moving it to suburbia has disparaged some aspects, both design and calculation, not taking into account actions in risk areas, or eliminating essential components as filters and drain components. This document analyzes the work of intervention in two works affected in Motril (Granada, Spain) and Almeria (Spain), where the breakwaters were utilized, reaching recidivism in one of them. Guide for the design and construction of breakwaters in roadworks from the Ministry of Public Works in 1998, revised in 2006, [3] is a valuable document but requires a Decalogue of specific instructions for use in works of urbanization, in general of lower volume, and with the largest number of meetings of surfaces. Three-dimensionality is usually an important factor to take into account.Los desniveles y pendientes del terreno nos obligan a intervenir mediante estructuras de contención, rígidas o flexibles. Las estructuras de contención suelen ser en su mayor parte de hormigón armado o tablestacas metálicas. Desde hace algún tiempo se está imponiendo la utilización de escolleras de piedra como estructuras de contención y estabilización permanentes en urbanizaciones. Este tipo de estructuras ya habían sido usadas con éxito en taludes de carreteras y espigones de puerto. Al trasladarse a las urbanizaciones se ha menospreciado algunos aspectos, tanto de diseño y cálculo, no teniendo en cuenta las acciones sísmicas en zonas de riesgo como Motril, o eliminando componentes esenciales como filtros y drenajes. El presente documento analiza los trabajos de intervención realizados en dos obras siniestradas en Motril y Almería (España), donde se utilizaron las escolleras, uno de ellos incluso reincidente. La Guía para el diseño y construcción de escolleras en obras de carreteras del Ministerio de Fomento de 1998, revisada en 2006, es un valioso documento pero precisa de un decálogo de instrucciones precisas para su uso en obras de urbanización, en general de menor volumen, y con mayor número de encuentros de superficies. La tridimensionalidad suele ser un factor importante a tener en cuenta
Data model issues in the Cherenkov Telescope Array project
The planned Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), a future ground-based
Very-High-Energy (VHE) gamma-ray observatory, will be the largest project of
its kind. It aims to provide an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity
compared to currently operating VHE experiments and open access to guest
observers. These features, together with the thirty years lifetime planned for
the installation, impose severe constraints on the data model currently being
developed for the project.
In this contribution we analyze the challenges faced by the CTA data model
development and present the requirements imposed to face them. While the full
data model is still not completed we show the organization of the work, status
of the design, and an overview of the prototyping efforts carried out so far.
We also show examples of specific aspects of the data model currently under
development.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
Coseismic seafloor deformation in the trench region during the Mw8.8 Maule megathrust earthquake
The Mw 8.8 megathrust earthquake that occurred on 27 February 2010 offshore the Maule region of central Chile triggered a destructive tsunami. Whether the earthquake rupture extended to the shallow part of the plate boundary near the trench remains controversial. The up-dip limit of rupture during large subduction zone earthquakes has important implications for tsunami generation and for the rheological behavior of the sedimentary prism in accretionary margins. However, in general, the slip models derived from tsunami wave modeling and seismological data are poorly constrained by direct seafloor geodetic observations. We difference swath bathymetric data acquired across the trench in 2008, 2011 and 2012 and find ∼3-5 m of uplift of the seafloor landward of the deformation front, at the eastern edge of the trench. Modeling suggests this is compatible with slip extending seaward, at least, to within ∼6 km of the deformation front. After the Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, this result for the Maule earthquake represents only the second time that repeated bathymetric data has been used to detect the deformation following megathrust earthquakes, providing methodological guidelines for this relatively inexpensive way of obtaining seafloor geodetic data across subduction zone
Casimir-like tunneling-induced electronic forces
We study the quantum forces that act between two nearby conductors due to
electronic tunneling. We derive an expression for these forces by calculating
the flux of momentum arising from the overlap of evanescent electronic fields.
Our result is written in terms of the electronic reflection amplitudes of the
conductors and it has the same structure as Lifshitz's formula for the
electromagnetically mediated Casimir forces. We evaluate the tunneling force
between two semiinfinite conductors and between two thin films separated by an
insulating gap. We discuss some applications of our results.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figs, submitted to Proc. of QFEXT'05, to be published in
J. Phys.
Experimental and theoretical assessment of native oxide in the superconducting TaN
In this manuscript, we show through an experimental-computational proof of
concept the native oxide formation into superconducting TaN films. First, TaN
was synthesized at an ultra-high vacuum system by reactive pulsed laser
deposition and characterized in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The
material was also characterized ex situ by X-ray diffraction, transmission
electron microscopy, and the four-point probe method. It was detected that TaN
contained considerable oxygen impurities (up to 26 %O) even though it was grown
in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Furthermore, the impurified TaN evidence a
face-centered cubic crystalline structure only and exhibits superconductivity
at 2.99 K. To understand the feasibility of the native oxide in TaN, we study
the effect of incorporating different amounts of O atoms in TaN using ab-initio
calculations. A thermodynamic stability analysis shows that a TaOxN1-x model
increases its stability as oxygen is added, demonstrating that oxygen may
always be present in TaN, even when obtained at ultra-high vacuum conditions.
All analyzed models exhibit metallic behavior. Charge density difference maps
reveal that N and O atoms have a higher charge density redistribution than Ta
atoms. The electron localization function maps and line profiles indicate that
Ta-O and Ta-N bonds are mainly ionic. As expected, stronger ionic behavior is
observed in the Ta-O bonds due to the electronegativity difference between O
and N atoms. Recent evidence points to superconductivity in bulk TaO,
confirming the asseverations of superconductivity in our samples. The results
discussed here highlight the importance of considering native oxide when
reporting superconductivity in TaN films since the TaO regions formed in the
compound may be key to understanding the different critical temperatures
reported in the literature.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure
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