35,060 research outputs found
Influence of interface potential on the effective mass in Ge nanostructures
The role of the interface potential on the effective mass of charge carriers
is elucidated in this work. We develop a new theoretical formalism using a
spatially dependent effective mass that is related to the magnitude of the
interface potential. Using this formalism we studied Ge quantum dots (QDs)
formed by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) and co-sputtering
(sputter). These samples allowed us to isolate important consequences arising
from differences in the interface potential. We found that for a higher
interface potential, as in the case of PECVD QDs, there is a larger reduction
in the effective mass, which increases the confinement energy with respect to
the sputter sample. We further understood the action of O interface states by
comparing our results with Ge QDs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is found
that the O states can suppress the influence of the interface potential. From
our theoretical formalism we determine the length scale over which the
interface potential influences the effective mass
Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies. IV. Dipoles of the Velocity Field
We use the recently completed redshift-distance survey of nearby early-type
galaxies (ENEAR) to measure the dipole component of the peculiar velocity field
to a depth of cz ~ 6000 km/s. The sample consists of 1145 galaxies brighter
than m_B=14.5 and cz < 7000 km/s, uniformly distributed over the whole sky, and
129 fainter cluster galaxies within the same volume. Most of the Dn-sigma
distances were obtained from new spectroscopic and photometric observations
conducted by this project, ensuring the homogeneity of the data over the whole
sky. These 1274 galaxies are objectively assigned to 696 objects -- 282
groups/clusters and 414 isolated galaxies. We find that within a volume of
radius ~ 6000 km/s, the best-fitting bulk flow has an amplitude of |vbulk| =220
+/- 42 km/s in the CMB restframe, pointing towards l=304 +/- 16 degrees, b=25
+/- 11 degrees. The error in the amplitude includes statistical, sampling and
possible systematic errors. This solution is in excellent agreement with that
obtained by the SFI Tully-Fisher survey. Our results suggest that most of the
motion of the Local Group is due to fluctuations within 6000 km/s, in contrast
to recent claims of large amplitude bulk motions on larger scales.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, ApJL, accepted (updated results; matches
accepted version
Efficiency of low versus high airline pressure in stunning cattle with a pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun
The efficiency of stunning cattle was assessed in 443 animals (304 pure Zebu and 139 crossbred cattle), being mainly mature bulls and cows. Cattle were stunned using a Jarvis pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun operating with low (160–175 psi, N = 82) and high (190 psi, N = 363) airline pressure, which was within the manufactures specifications. Signs of brain function and the position of the shots on the heads were recorded after stunning. Velocity of the captive bolt and its physical parameters were calculated. Cattle shot with low pressures showed more rhythmic respiration (27 vs. 8%, P < 0.001), less tongue protrusion (4 vs. 12%, P = 0.03) and less masseter relaxation (22 vs. 48%, P < 0.001). There was an increased frequency of shots in the ideal position when cattle were shot with the low compared to high airline pressures (15.3 vs. 3.1%). Bolt velocity and its physical parameters were significantly (P < 0.01) higher when using high pressure. Airline pressures below 190 psi are inappropriate when shooting adult Zebu beef cattle with pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt guns
Changes in sleep pattern, sense of time and digital media use during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy
Italy is one of the major COVID-19 hotspots. To reduce the spread of the infections and the pressure on Italian healthcare systems, since March 10, 2020, Italy has been under a total lockdown, forcing people into home confinement. Here we present data from 1,310 people living in the Italian territory (Mage = 23.91 ± 3.60 years, 880 females, 501 workers, 809 university students), who completed an online survey from March 24 to March 28, 2020. In the survey, we asked participants to think about their use of digital media before going to bed, their sleep pattern and their subjective experience of time in the previous week (March 17–23, which was the second week of the lockdown) and up to the first week of February (February 3–10, before any restriction in any Italian area). During the lockdown, people increased the usage of digital media near bedtime, but this change did not affect sleep habits. Nevertheless, during home confinement, sleep timing markedly changed, with people going to bed and waking up later, and spending more time in bed, but, paradoxically, also reporting a lower sleep quality. The increase in sleep difficulties was stronger for people with a higher level of depression, anxiety and stress symptomatology, and associated with the feeling of elongation of time. Considering that the lockdown is likely to continue for weeks, research data are urgently needed to support decision making, to build public awareness and to provide timely and supportive psychosocial interventions
Dependence of the Black-body Force on Spacetime Geometry and Topology
In this paper we compute the corrections to the black-body force (BBF)
potential due to spacetime geometry and topology. This recently discovered
attractive force on neutral atoms is caused by the thermal radiation emitted
from black bodies and here we investigate it in relativistic gravitational
systems with spherical and cylindrical symmetries. For some astrophysical
objects we find that the corrected black-body potential is greater than the
flat case, showing that this kind of correction can be quite relevant when
curved spaces are considered. Then we consider four cases: The Schwarzschild
spacetime, the global monopole, the non-relativistic infinity cylinder and the
static cosmic string. For the spherically symmetric case of a massive body, we
find that two corrections appear: One due to the gravitational modification of
the temperature and the other due to the modification of the solid angle
subtended by the atom. We apply the found results to a typical neutron star and
to the Sun. For the global monopole, the modification in the black-body
potential is of topological nature and it is due to the central solid angle
deficit that occurs in the spacetime generated by that object. In the
cylindrical case, which is locally flat, no gravitational correction to the
temperature exists, as in the global monopole case. However, we find the
curious fact that the BBF depends on the topology of the spacetime through the
modification of the azimuthal angle and therefore of the solid angle. For the
static cosmic string we find that the force is null for the zero thickness
case.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Revised versio
Certificação e selos de qualidade asseguram requisitos na produção.
Em 2011, o Committee on Fisheries (Cofi) da Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) comitê de pesca da FAO, órgão da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) aprovou o documento que contém as Diretrizes Técnicas para Certificação da Aquicultura, visando ao desenvolvimento, à organização e à implementação de regimes confiáveis de certificação de aquicultura. Os países signatários deverão internalizá-lo e usá-lo como base para adaptar ou criar as normas relacionadas ao tema. O documento abrange questões de saúde e bem-estar animal, segurança alimentar, integridade ambiental e aspectos socioeconômicos
Modelling a Particle Detector in Field Theory
Particle detector models allow to give an operational definition to the
particle content of a given quantum state of a field theory. The commonly
adopted Unruh-DeWitt type of detector is known to undergo temporary transitions
to excited states even when at rest and in the Minkowski vacuum. We argue that
real detectors do not feature this property, as the configuration "detector in
its ground state + vacuum of the field" is generally a stable bound state of
the underlying fundamental theory (e.g. the ground state-hydrogen atom in a
suitable QED with electrons and protons) in the non-accelerated case. As a
concrete example, we study a local relativistic field theory where a stable
particle can capture a light quantum and form a quasi-stable state. As
expected, to such a stable particle correspond energy eigenstates of the full
theory, as is shown explicitly by using a dressed particle formalism at first
order in perturbation theory. We derive an effective model of detector (at
rest) where the stable particle and the quasi-stable configurations correspond
to the two internal levels, "ground" and "excited", of the detector.Comment: 13 pages, references added, final versio
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