83 research outputs found
Vortices and Superfluidity in a Strongly Interacting Fermi Gas
Quantum-degenerate Fermi gases provide a remarkable opportunity to study
strongly interacting fermions. In contrast to other Fermi systems, such as
superconductors, neutron stars or the quark-gluon plasma, these gases have low
densities and their interactions can be precisely controlled over an enormous
range. Here we report observations of vortices in such a gas that provide
definitive evidence for superfluidity. By varying the pairing strength between
two fermions near a Feshbach resonance, one can explore the crossover from a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer
(BCS) superfluid of loosely bound pairs whose size is comparable to, or even
larger than, the interparticle spacing. The crossover realizes a novel form of
high-T_C superfluidity and it may provide new insight for high-T_C
superconductors. Previous experiments with Fermi gases have revealed
condensation of fermion pairs. While these and other studies were consistent
with predictions assuming superfluidity, the smoking gun for superfluid
behavior has been elusive. Our observation of vortex lattices directly displays
superfluid flow in a strongly interacting, rotating Fermi gas.Comment: 14 pages, including 7 figures, submitted to Natur
Stochastic Gravity: Theory and Applications
Whereas semiclassical gravity is based on the semiclassical Einstein equation
with sources given by the expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of
quantum fields, stochastic semiclassical gravity is based on the
Einstein-Langevin equation, which has in addition sources due to the noise
kernel. In the first part, we describe the fundamentals of this new theory via
two approaches: the axiomatic and the functional. In the second part, we
describe three applications of stochastic gravity theory. First, we consider
metric perturbations in a Minkowski spacetime, compute the two-point
correlation functions of these perturbations and prove that Minkowski spacetime
is a stable solution of semiclassical gravity. Second, we discuss structure
formation from the stochastic gravity viewpoint. Third, we discuss the
backreaction of Hawking radiation in the gravitational background of a black
hole and describe the metric fluctuations near the event horizon of an
evaporating black holeComment: 100 pages, no figures; an update of the 2003 review in Living Reviews
in Relativity gr-qc/0307032 ; it includes new sections on the Validity of
Semiclassical Gravity, the Stability of Minkowski Spacetime, and the Metric
Fluctuations of an Evaporating Black Hol
Determining how best to support overweight adults to adhere to lifestyle change: protocol for the SWIFT study
Therapeutic strategies for functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome based on pathophysiology
Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century
Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating.
This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions
Plant species composition alters the sign and strength of an emergent multi-predator effect by modifying predator foraging behaviour
The prediction of pest-control functioning by multi-predator communities is hindered by the non-additive nature of species functioning. Such non-additivity, commonly termed an emergent multi-predator effect, is known to be affected by elements of the ecological context, such as the structure and composition of vegetation, in addition to the traits of the predators themselves. Here we report mesocosm experiments designed to test the influence of plant density and species composition (wheat monoculture or wheat and faba bean polyculture) on the emergence of multi-predator effects between Adalia bipunctata and Chrysoperla carnea, in their suppression of populations of the aphid Metopolophium dirhodum. The mesocosm experiments were followed by a series of behavioural observations designed to identify how interactions among predators are modified by plant species composition and whether these effects are consistent with the observed influence of plant species composition on aphid population suppression. Although plant density was shown to have no influence on the multi-predator effect on aphid population growth, plant composition had a marked effect. In wheat monoculture, Adalia and Chrysoperla mixed treatments caused greater suppression of M. dirhodum populations than expected. However this positive emergent effect was reversed to a negative multi-predator effect in wheat and faba bean polyculture. The behavioural observations revealed that although dominant individuals did not respond to the presence of faba bean plants, the behaviour of sub-dominants was affected markedly, consistent with their foraging for extra-floral nectar produced by the faba bean. This interaction between plant composition and predator community composition on the foraging behaviour of sub-dominants is thought to underlie the observed effect of plant composition on the multi-predator effect. Thus, the emergence of multi-predator effects is shown to be strongly influenced by plant species composition, mediated, in this case, by the provision of extra-floral nectar by one of the plant species
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