Stability of a hard-sphere binary quasicrystal

The stability of a quasicrystalline structure, recently obtained in a molecular-dynamics simulation of rapid cooling of a binary melt, is analyzed for binary hard-sphere mixtures within a density-functional approach. It is found that this quasicrystal is metastable relative to crystalline and fluid phases for diameter ratios above 0.83. Such trend is partially reversed for lower diameter ratios, since the quasicrystal becomes stable with respect to the crystal but does not reach a coexistence with the fluid.Comment: 14 pages, 6 eps figures included. Revised version to appear in Phil. Mag.

Rescaled density expansions and demixing in hard-sphere binary mixtures

The demixing transition of a binary fluid mixture of additive hard spheres is analyzed for different size asymmetries by starting from the exact low-density expansion of the pressure. Already within the second virial approximation the fluid separates into two phases of different composition with a lower consolute critical point. By successively incorporating the third, fourth, and fifth virial coefficients, the critical consolute point moves to higher values of the pressure and to lower values of the partial number fraction of the large spheres. When the exact low-density expansion of the pressure is rescaled to higher densities as in the Percus-Yevick theory, by adding more exact virial coefficients a different qualitative movement of the critical consolute point in the phase diagram is found. It is argued that the Percus-Yevick factor appearing in many empirical equations of state for the mixture has a deep influence on the location of the critical consolute point, so that the resulting phase diagram for a prescribed equation has to be taken with caution.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; to be published in The Journal of Chemical Physic

Radiative decays of dynamically generated charmed baryons

In this work we study the radiative decay of dynamically generated J^P=\oh^- charm baryons into the ground state J^P=\oh^+ baryons. Since different theoretical interpretations of these baryonic resonances, and in particular of the $\Lambda_c(2595)$, give different predictions, a precise experimental measurement of these decays would be an important step for understanding their nature.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Los significados de entropía : mecanismos para su adquisición

Dotar de significado a expresiones abstractas se logra asignando cualidades; creando diferencias; elaborando entidades; transformando el conocimiento y dando sentido al tema. En este trabajo presentamos los mecanismos de adquisición de significado del concepto “entropía”. Los registros empleados fueron ensayos escritos por estudiantes de ingeniería, sobre el concepto de entropía. Se identificaron diferentes modalidades de adquirir significado: por aplicación del concepto a una entidad conocida; a través de la asignación de atributos; mediante ejemplos; por hiponimia y con explicaciones. El estudio permite identificar el empleo de recursos explicativos heterogéneos, con relación semántica de pertenencia o bien localización de la entropía en el universo; el atributo predominante es la función creciente y la hiponimia preferida desorden o irreversibilidad

Stability of the hard-sphere icosahedral quasilattice

The stability of the hard-sphere icosahedral quasilattice is analyzed using the differential formulation of the generalized effective liquid approximation. We find that the icosahedral quasilattice is metastable with respect to the hard-sphere crystal structures. Our results agree with recent findings by McCarley and Ashcroft [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 49}, 15600 (1994)] carried out using the modified weighted density approximation.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures available from authors upon request, (revtex), submitted to Phys. Rev.