23,245 research outputs found
Re-parameterization Invariance in Fractional Flux Periodicity
We analyze a common feature of a nontrivial fractional flux periodicity in
two-dimensional systems. We demonstrate that an addition of fractional flux can
be absorbed into re-parameterization of quantum numbers. For an exact
fractional periodicity, all the electronic states undergo the
re-parameterization, whereas for an approximate periodicity valid in a large
system, only the states near the Fermi level are involved in the
re-parameterization.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, final version to appear in J. Phys.
Soc. Jp
Laser surface colouring of titanium for contemporary jewellery
This paper describes work which emerged through a need to understand more about the potential of laser surface engineering for use in the creative industries. The method of creation of contemporary jewellery pieces and the resultant 'Ocular' jewellery series are described from the creative point of view. The work demonstrates how laser controlled oxide growth on Ti–6Al–4V alloy under ambient conditions can be used as an artistic tool by producing precisely defined colours. Use of the method to produce regular areas of even colour and to reproduce freehand drawings on a titanium alloy surface is described. Analysis highlights interference as the main colouring mechanism and suggests a graded surface layer, progressing from an outer layer of TiO2 to lower layers rich in TiO and Ti2O. The model of research by practice presented in this paper offers a contribution to the current debate on partnerships between art and science and engineering
Coherent phenomena in mesoscopic systems
A mesoscopic system of cylindrical geometry made of a metal or a
semiconductor is shown to exhibit features of a quantum coherent state. It is
shown that magnetostatic interaction can play an important role in mesoscopic
systems leading to an ordered ground state. The temperature below the
system exhibits long-range order is determined. The self-consistent mean field
approximation of the magnetostatic interaction is performed giving the
effective Hamiltonian from which the self-sustaining currents can be obtained.
The relation of quantum coherent state in mesoscopic cylinders to other
coherent systems like superconductors is discussed.Comment: REVTeX, 4 figures, in print in Supercond. Sci. Techno
Nonperturbative Determination of Heavy Meson Bound States
In this paper we obtain a heavy meson bound state equation from the heavy
quark equation of motion in heavy quark effective theory (HQET) and the heavy
meson effective field theory we developed very recently. The bound state
equation is a covariant extention of the light-front bound state equation for
heavy mesons derived from light-front QCD and HQET. We determine the covariant
heavy meson wave function variationally by minimizing the binding energy
. Subsequently the other basic HQET parameters and
, and the heavy quark masses and can also be
consistently determined.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur
Patterns of antihypertensive prescribing, discontinuation and switching among a Hong Kong Chinese population from over one million prescriptions
Hypertension is an alarming public health problem among Chinese. The present study evaluated the prescribing patterns, discontinuation and switching profiles of antihypertensive agents and their associated factors in one Hong Kong Chinese population. Data were retrieved from computerized records for patients prescribed anti-hypertensive agents in government primary care clinics of Hong Kong from January, 2004 to June, 2007. A total of 1,069,836 antihypertensive drug visits, representing 67,028 patients, were analyzed. The most commonly prescribed drugs were Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs) (49%), b-Blockers (BBs) (46%) and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs) (19%). Thiazide diuretic prescribing was low (13%) and on the decline (14% in 2004 to 12% in 2007). Prescribing of ACEIs was rising (16% in 2004 to 23% in 2007). Patients’ age, gender, and socio-economic status were independent predictors of class of anti-hypertensive prescribed but explained less than 3.5% of the variation observed. Drug discontinuation was highest for BBs (21%) and lowest for CCBs (12%). The high rates of discontinuation in BBs remained apparent after controlling for confounding variables. Switching was less common than discontinuation and was most likely with thiazide diuretics. To summarize, prescribing of CCBs and BBs were high and that of thiazide diuretics particularly low in this Chinese population when compared with international trends. CCBs may be a particularly favorable antihypertensive treatment in Chinese, given the high discontinuation rates of BBs and international guidelines advising against the use of BBs as first-line therapy. The low use of thiazide diuretics warrants further clinical and cost effectiveness studies among Chinese
Persistent Current of Free Electrons in the Plane
Predictions of Akkermans et al. are essentially changed when the Krein
spectral displacement operator is regularized by means of zeta function.
Instead of piecewise constant persistent current of free electrons on the plane
one has a current which varies linearly with the flux and is antisymmetric with
regard to all time preserving values of including . Different
self-adjoint extensions of the problem and role of the resonance are discussed.Comment: (Comment on "Relation between Persistent Currents and the Scattering
Matrix", Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 66}, 76 (1991)) plain latex, 4pp., IPNO/TH
94-2
Persistent spin current in mesoscopic ferrimagnetic spin ring
Using a semiclassical approach, we study the persistent magnetization current
of a mesoscopic ferrimagnetic ring in a nonuniform magnetic field. At zero
temperature, there exists persistent spin current because of the quantum
fluctuation of magnons, similar to the case of an antiferromagnetic spin ring.
At low temperature, the current shows activation behavior because of the
field-induced gap. At higher temperature, the magnitude of the spin current is
proportional to temperature T, similar to the reported result of a
ferromagnetic spin ring.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, one more reference adde
Identifying Young Brown Dwarfs Using Gravity-Sensitive Spectral Features
We report the initial results of the Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey Gravity
Project, to study gravity sensitive features as indicators of youth in brown
dwarfs. Low-resolution (R~2000) J-band and optical (R~1000) observations using
NIRSPEC and LRIS at the W.M. Keck Observatory reveal transitions of TiO, VO, K
I, Na I, Cs I, Rb I, CaH, and FeH. By comparing these features in late-type
giants and in old field dwarfs we show that they are sensitive to the gravity
(g = GM/R^2) of the object. Using low-gravity spectral signatures as age
indicators, we observed and analyzed J-band and optical spectra of two young
brown dwarfs, G 196-3B (20-300 Myr) and KPNO Tau-4 (1-2 Myr), and two possible
low mass brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster (3-7 Myr). We report the
identification of the phi bands of TiO near 1.24 microns and the A-X band of VO
near 1.18 microns together with extremely weak J-band lines of K I in
KPNO-Tau4. This is the first detection of TiO and VO in the J-band in a
sub-stellar mass object. The optical spectrum of KPNO-Tau4 exhibits weak K I
and Na I lines, weak absorption by CaH, and strong VO bands, also signatures of
a lower gravity atmosphere. G 196-3B shows absorption features in both
wavelength regions like those of KPNO-Tau4 suggesting that its age and mass are
at the lower end of published estimates. Whereas sigma Ori 51 appears to be
consistent with a young sub-stellar object, sigma Ori 47 shows signatures of
high gravity most closely resembling an old L1.5/L0, and can not be a member of
the sigma Orionis cluster.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the January 10, 2004 issue of the
Astrophysical Journa
Relativistic field theories in a magnetic background as noncommutative field theories
We study the connection of the dynamics in relativistic field theories in a
strong magnetic field with the dynamics of noncommutative field theories
(NCFT). As an example, the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models in spatial dimensions are considered. We show that this connection is rather sophisticated.
In fact, the corresponding NCFT are different from the conventional ones
considered in the literature. In particular, the UV/IR mixing is absent in
these theories. The reason of that is an inner structure (i.e., dynamical
form-factors) of neutral composites which plays an important role in providing
consistency of the NCFT. An especially interesting case is that for a magnetic
field configuration with the maximal number of independent nonzero tensor
components. In that case, we show that the NCFT are finite for even and
their dynamics is quasi-(1+1)-dimensional for odd . For even , the NCFT
describe a confinement dynamics of charged particles. The difference between
the dynamics in strong magnetic backgrounds in field theories and that in
string theories is briefly discussed.Comment: 19 pages, REVTeX4, clarifications added, references added, to appear
in Phys. Rev.
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