675 research outputs found
Restoring observed classical behavior of the carbon nanotube field emission enhancement factor from the electronic structure
Experimental Fowler-Nordheim plots taken from orthodoxly behaving carbon
nanotube (CNT) field electron emitters are known to be linear. This shows that,
for such emitters, there exists a characteristic field enhancement factor (FEF)
that is constant for a range of applied voltages and applied macroscopic fields
. A constant FEF of this kind can be evaluated for classical CNT
emitter models by finite-element and other methods, but (apparently contrary to
experiment) several past quantum-mechanical (QM) CNT calculations find
FEF-values that vary with . A common feature of most such
calculations is that they focus only on deriving the CNT real-charge
distributions. Here we report on calculations that use density functional
theory (DFT) to derive real-charge distributions, and then use these to
generate the related induced-charge distributions and related fields and FEFs.
We have analysed three carbon nanostructures involving CNT-like nanoprotrusions
of various lengths, and have also simulated geometrically equivalent classical
emitter models, using finite-element methods. We find that when the
DFT-generated local induced FEFs (LIFEFs) are used, the resulting values are
effectively independent of macroscopic field, and behave in the same
qualitative manner as the classical FEF-values. Further, there is fair to good
quantitative agreement between a characteristic FEF determined classically and
the equivalent characteristic LIFEF generated via DFT approaches. Although many
issues of detail remain to be explored, this appears to be a significant step
forwards in linking classical and QM theories of CNT electrostatics. It also
shows clearly that, for ideal CNTs, the known experimental constancy of the FEF
value for a range of macroscopic fields can also be found in appropriately
developed QM theory.Comment: A slightly revised version has been published - citation below -
under a title different from that originally used. The new title is:
"Restoring observed classical behavior of the carbon nanotube field emission
enhancement factor from the electronic structure
Jamming transition in a two-dimensional open granular pile with rolling resistance
We present a molecular dynamics study of the jamming/unjamming transition in
two-dimensional granular piles with open boundaries. The grains are modeled by
viscoelastic forces, Coulomb friction and resistance to rolling. Two models for
the rolling resistance interaction were assessed: one considers a constant
rolling friction coefficient, and the other one a strain dependent coefficient.
The piles are grown on a finite size substrate and subsequently discharged
through an orifice opened at the center of the substrate. Varying the orifice
width and taking the final height of the pile after the discharge as the order
parameter, one can devise a transition from a jammed regime (when the grain
flux is always clogged by an arch) to a catastrophic regime, in which the pile
is completely destroyed by an avalanche as large as the system size. A finite
size analysis shows that there is a finite orifice width associated with the
threshold for the unjamming transition, no matter the model used for the
microscopic interactions. As expected, the value of this threshold width
increases when rolling resistance is considered, and it depends on the model
used for the rolling friction.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
On the classical-quantum correspondence for the scattering dwell time
Using results from the theory of dynamical systems, we derive a general
expression for the classical average scattering dwell time, tau_av. Remarkably,
tau_av depends only on a ratio of phase space volumes. We further show that,
for a wide class of systems, the average classical dwell time is not in
correspondence with the energy average of the quantum Wigner time delay.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
On the quantum mechanics of how an ideal carbon nanotube field emitter can exhibit a constant field enhancement factor
Measurements of current-voltage characteristics from ideal carbon nanotube
(CNT) field electron emitters of small apex radius have shown that these
emitters can exhibit a linear Fowler-Nordheim (FN) plot [e.g., Dean and
Chalamala, Appl. Phys. Lett., 76, 375, 2000]. From such a plot, a constant
(voltage-independent) characteristic field enhancement factor (FEF) can be
deduced. Over fifteen years later, this experimental result has not yet been
convincingly retrieved from first-principles electronic structure calculations,
or more generally from quantum mechanics (QM). On the contrary, several QM
calculations have deduced that the characteristic FEF should be a function of
the macroscopic field applied to the CNT. This apparent contradiction between
experiment and QM theory has been an unexplained feature of CNT emission
science, and has raised doubts about the ability of existing QM models to
satisfactorily describe experimental CNT emission behavior. In this work we
demonstrate, by means of a density functional theory analysis of single-walled
CNTs "floating" in an applied macroscopic field, the following significant
result. This is that agreement between experiment, classical-conductor CNT
models and QM calculations can be achieved if the latter are used to calculate
(from the "real" total-charge-density distributions initially obtained) the
distributions of charge-density, induced local fields and
induced local FEFs. The present work confirms, more reliably and in
significantly greater detail than in earlier work on a different system, that
this finding applies to the common "post-on-a-conducing plane" situation of CNT
field electron emission. This finding also brings out various further
theoretical questions that need to be explored
Modeling the Field Emission Enhancement Factor for Capped Carbon Nanotubes using the Induced Electron Density
In many field electron emission experiments on single-walled carbon nanotubes
(SWCNTs), the SWCNT stands on one of two well-separated parallel plane plates,
with a macroscopic field FM applied between them. For any given location "L" on
the SWCNT surface, a field enhancement factor (FEF) is defined as
/, where is a local field defined at "L".
The best emission measurements from small-radii capped SWCNTs exhibit
characteristic FEFs that are constant (i.e., independent of ). This
paper discusses how to retrieve this result in quantum-mechanical (as opposed
to classical electrostatic) calculations. Density functional theory (DFT) is
used to analyze the properties of two short, floating SWCNTS, capped at both
ends, namely a (6,6) and a (10,0) structure. Both have effectively the same
height ( nm) and radius ( nm). It is found that apex
values of local induced FEF are similar for the two SWCNTs, are independent of
, and are similar to FEF-values found from classical conductor
models. It is suggested that these induced-FEF values relate to the SWCNT
longitudinal system polarizabilities, which are presumed similar. The DFT
calculations also generate "real", as opposed to ``induced", potential-energy
(PE) barriers for the two SWCNTs, for FM-values from 3 V/m to 2 V/nm. PE
profiles along the SWCNT axis and along a parallel ``observation line" through
one of the topmost atoms are similar. At low macroscopic fields the details of
barrier shape differ for the two SWCNT types. Even for , there
are distinct PE structures present at the emitter apex (different for the two
SWCNTs); this suggests the presence of structure-specific chemically induced
charge transfers and related patch-field distributions
Disentangling the influence of earthworms in sugarcane rhizosphere
For the last 150 years many studies have shown the importance of earthworms for plant growth, but the exact mechanisms involved in the process are still poorly understood. Many important functions required for plant growth can be performed by soil microbes in the rhizosphere. To investigate earthworm influence on the rhizosphere microbial community, we performed a macrocosm experiment with and without Pontoscolex corethrurus (EW+ and EW−, respectively) and followed various soil and rhizosphere processes for 217 days with sugarcane. In EW+ treatments, N2O concentrations belowground (15 cm depth) and relative abundances of nitrous oxide genes (nosZ) were higher in bulk soil and rhizosphere, suggesting that soil microbes were able to consume earthworm-induced N2O. Shotgun sequencing (total DNA) revealed that around 70 microbial functions in bulk soil and rhizosphere differed between EW+ and EW− treatments. Overall, genes indicative of biosynthetic pathways and cell proliferation processes were enriched in EW+ treatments, suggesting a positive influence of worms. In EW+ rhizosphere, functions associated with plant-microbe symbiosis were enriched relative to EW− rhizosphere. Ecological networks inferred from the datasets revealed decreased niche diversification and increased keystone functions as an earthworm-derived effect. Plant biomass was improved in EW+ and worm population proliferated.São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)/13/22845-2São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)/15/11120-2).FAPESP/15/08564-6CNPq fellowshi
The effects of death and post-mortem cold ischemia on human tissue transcriptomes
Post-mortem tissues samples are a key resource for investigating patterns of gene expression. However, the processes triggered by death and the post-mortem interval (PMI) can significantly alter physiologically normal RNA levels. We investigate the impact of PMI on gene expression using data from multiple tissues of post-mortem donors obtained from the GTEx project. We find that many genes change expression over relatively short PMIs in a tissue-specific manner, but this potentially confounding effect in a biological analysis can be minimized by taking into account appropriate covariates. By comparing ante- and post-mortem blood samples, we identify the cascade of transcriptional events triggered by death of the organism. These events do not appear to simply reflect stochastic variation resulting from mRNA degradation, but active and ongoing regulation of transcription. Finally, we develop a model to predict the time since death from the analysis of the transcriptome of a few readily accessible tissues.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
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