312 research outputs found
Physical Fruit Traits in Moroccan Almond Seedlings: Quality Aspects and Post-Harvest Uses
The physical traits of local almond populations from Morocco were studied to characterize their genetic resources and to evaluate the possibility of their commercial valorization. Nut weight ranged between 1.15 and 7.39 g, and kernel weight between 0.54 and 1.85 g, but most accessions were characterized by small kernels, pronounced wrinkles, and double kernels. Although the physical quality of the kernels of these populations was low, they show the possibility of some specialized uses, which could improve their marketable value. The genotypes with favorable values could be incorporated into an almond breeding program as parents to increase the kernel quality.Publishe
Exact Analysis of Level-Crossing Statistics for (d+1)-Dimensional Fluctuating Surfaces
We carry out an exact analysis of the average frequency
in the direction of positive-slope crossing of a given level
such that, , of growing surfaces in spatial
dimension . Here, is the surface height at time , and
is its mean value. We analyze the problem when the surface growth
dynamics is governed by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation without surface
tension, in the time regime prior to appearance of cusp singularities (sharp
valleys), as well as in the random deposition (RD) model. The total number
of such level-crossings with positive slope in all the directions is then
shown to scale with time as for both the KPZ equation and the RD
model.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure
A Fermi Surface study of BaKBiO
We present all electron computations of the 3D Fermi surfaces (FS's) in
BaKBiO for a number of different compositions based on the
selfconsistent Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker coherent-potential-approximation
(KKR-CPA) approach for incorporating the effects of Ba/K substitution. By
assuming a simple cubic structure throughout the composition range, the
evolution of the nesting and other features of the FS of the underlying
pristine phase is correlated with the onset of various structural transitions
with K doping. A parameterized scheme for obtaining an accurate 3D map of the
FS in BaKBiO for an arbitrary doping level is developed. We
remark on the puzzling differences between the phase diagrams of
BaKBiO and BaPbBiO by comparing aspects
of their electronic structures and those of the end compounds BaBiO,
KBiO and BaPbO. Our theoretically predicted FS's in the cubic phase are
relevant for analyzing high-resolution Compton scattering and
positron-annihilation experiments sensitive to the electron momentum density,
and are thus amenable to substantial experimental verification.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Topological (Sliced) Doping of a 3D Peierls System: Predicted Structure of Doped BaBiO3
At hole concentrations below x=0.4, Ba_(1-x)K_xBiO_3 is non-metallic. At x=0,
pure BaBiO3 is a Peierls insulator. Very dilute holes create bipolaronic point
defects in the Peierls order parameter. Here we find that the Rice-Sneddon
version of Peierls theory predicts that more concentrated holes should form
stacking faults (two-dimensional topological defects, called slices) in the
Peierls order parameter. However, the long-range Coulomb interaction, left out
of the Rice-Sneddon model, destabilizes slices in favor of point bipolarons at
low concentrations, leaving a window near 30% doping where the sliced state is
marginally stable.Comment: 6 pages with 5 embedded postscript figure
The low-lying excitations of polydiacetylene
The Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonian is used to calculate and identify the
nature of the low-lying vertical transition energies of polydiacetylene. The
model is solved using the density matrix renormalisation group method for a
fixed acetylenic geometry for chains of up to 102 atoms. The non-linear optical
properties of polydiacetylene are considered, which are determined by the
third-order susceptibility. The experimental 1Bu data of Giesa and Schultz are
used as the geometric model for the calculation. For short chains, the
calculated E(1Bu) agrees with the experimental value, within solvation effects
(ca. 0.3 eV). The charge gap is used to characterise bound and unbound states.
The nBu is above the charge gap and hence a continuum state; the 1Bu, 2Ag and
mAg are not and hence are bound excitons. For large chain lengths, the nBu
tends towards the charge gap as expected, strongly suggesting that the nBu is
the conduction band edge. The conduction band edge for PDA is agreed in the
literature to be ca. 3.0 eV. Accounting for the strong polarisation effects of
the medium and polaron formation gives our calculated E(nBu) ca. 3.6 eV, with
an exciton binding energy of ca. 1.0 eV. The 2Ag state is found to be above the
1Bu, which does not agree with relaxed transition experimental data. However,
this could be resolved by including explicit lattice relaxation in the Pariser-
Parr-Pople-Peierls model. Particle-hole separation data further suggest that
the 1Bu, 2Ag and mAg are bound excitons, and that the nBu is an unbound
exciton.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, 4 postscript tables and 8 postscript figure
Charge-density wave formation in Sr_{14}Cu_{24}O_{41}
The electrodynamic response of the spin-ladder compound
SrCaCuO () has been studied from
radiofrequencies up to the infrared. At temperatures below 250 K a pronounced
absorption peak appears around 12 cm in SrCuO for
the radiation polarized along the chains/ladders ().
In addition a strongly temperature dependent dielectric relaxation is observed
in the kHz - MHz range. We explain this behavior by a charge density wave which
develops in the ladders sub-system and produces a mode pinned at 12 cm.
With increasing Ca doping the mode shifts up in frequency and eventually
disappears for because the dimensionality of the system crosses over from
one to two dimensions, giving way to the superconducting ground state under
pressure.Comment: One name added to author list 4 pages, 2 figures, email:
[email protected]
Kinks in the discrete sine-Gordon model with Kac-Baker long-range interactions
We study effects of Kac-Baker long-range dispersive interaction (LRI) between
particles on kink properties in the discrete sine-Gordon model. We show that
the kink width increases indefinitely as the range of LRI grows only in the
case of strong interparticle coupling. On the contrary, the kink becomes
intrinsically localized if the coupling is under some critical value.
Correspondingly, the Peierls-Nabarro barrier vanishes as the range of LRI
increases for supercritical values of the coupling but remains finite for
subcritical values. We demonstrate that LRI essentially transforms the internal
dynamics of the kinks, specifically creating their internal localized and
quasilocalized modes. We also show that moving kinks radiate plane waves due to
break of the Lorentz invariance by LRI.Comment: 11 pages (LaTeX) and 14 figures (Postscript); submitted to Phys. Rev.
Phase diagram of the one-dimensional extended attractive Hubbard model for large nearest-neighbor repulsion
We consider the extended Hubbard model with attractive on-site interaction U
and nearest-neighbor repulsions V. We construct an effective Hamiltonian
H_{eff} for hopping t<<V and arbitrary U<0. Retaining the most important terms,
H_{eff} can be mapped onto two XXZ models, solved by the Bethe ansatz. The
quantum phase diagram shows two Luttinger liquid phases and a region of phase
separation between them. For density n<0.422 and U<-4, singlet superconducting
correlations dominate at large distances. For some parameters, the results are
in qualitative agreement with experiments in BaKBiO.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks
We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in
the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system
formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system
and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and
giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some
of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a
collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks"
observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system
provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while
observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book
"Astrophysics in the Next Decade
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