1,379 research outputs found
Fe1-xNix alloy nanoparticles encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes: Controlled synthesis, structure and magnetic properties
In the present work, different synthesis procedures have been demonstrated to fill carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Fe1-xNix alloy nanoparticles (x = 0.33, 0.5). CNTs act as templates for the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticles, and provide a protective shield against oxidation as well as prevent nanoparticles agglomeration. By variation of the reaction parameters, the purity of the samples, degree of filling, the composition and size of filling nanoparticles have been tailored and therefore the magnetic properties. The samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Bright-field (BF) TEM tomography, X-ray powder diffraction, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Fe1-x Nix-filled CNTs show a huge enhancement in the coercive fields compared to the corresponding bulk materials, which make them excellent candidates for several applications such as magnetic storage devices
Investigating long-term human ecodynamics in the European Arctic:Towards an integrated multi-scalar analysis of early and mid Holocene cultural, environmental and palaeodemographic sequences in Finnmark County, Northern Norway
Most parts of the Circumpolar Arctic have only discontinuous evidence for long-term human settlement. In contrast, Northern Norway has an unbroken archaeological record that extends back to the early Holocene. Numerous high-resolution archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records have been generated by commercial excavations and surveys, offering archaeologists unique opportunities to investigate long-term human ecodynamics in an Arctic coastal setting. To date, however, deeper analysis of the new datasets has yet to be undertaken. This paper aims to present a new synthesis of early and mid Holocene archaeological and paleoenvironmental sequences for Western Finnmark (11500-2000 cal BP). This enables us to identify three major phases of culture change that broadly correlate with climatic and environmental shifts. We then present emerging results from our multi-scalar analysis of the processes driving these transformations. At supra-regional and regional scales, our palaeodemographic modelling indicates major population events centered around 6000 cal BP and 4000 cal BP. At intra-regional scales, we are identifying spatial clustering of prehistoric settlements into local socio-economic communities. At the scale of local settlements, our analysis of house-pit chronologies is clarifying the degree of simultaneous occupation and re-use. We also draw on recent research into rock art and ritual landscapes in an effort to reconstruct the relationship between settlement clusters and general interaction patterns. Integration of these diverse lines of evidence is generating a vivid picture of thriving Arctic coastal communities, with indications that the timing and pace of cultural responses to climatic and environmental changes were more complex than previously thought
Processing Succinct Matrices and Vectors
We study the complexity of algorithmic problems for matrices that are
represented by multi-terminal decision diagrams (MTDD). These are a variant of
ordered decision diagrams, where the terminal nodes are labeled with arbitrary
elements of a semiring (instead of 0 and 1). A simple example shows that the
product of two MTDD-represented matrices cannot be represented by an MTDD of
polynomial size. To overcome this deficiency, we extended MTDDs to MTDD_+ by
allowing componentwise symbolic addition of variables (of the same dimension)
in rules. It is shown that accessing an entry, equality checking, matrix
multiplication, and other basic matrix operations can be solved in polynomial
time for MTDD_+-represented matrices. On the other hand, testing whether the
determinant of a MTDD-represented matrix vanishes PSPACE$-complete, and the
same problem is NP-complete for MTDD_+-represented diagonal matrices. Computing
a specific entry in a product of MTDD-represented matrices is #P-complete.Comment: An extended abstract of this paper will appear in the Proceedings of
CSR 201
Florix, an index to assess plant species in floodplains for nature conservation – Developed and tested along the river Danube
Natural floodplains are ecosystems with a diverse mosaic of habitats and site conditions, but also highly threatened due to anthropogenic pressures. Plant species occur in all habitat types and can indicate their value for nature conservation. To improve sustainable management of rivers and floodplains, several indices such as the River Ecosystem Service Index (RESI) have been developed. However, there are so far no assessment schemes for the entire range of floodplain plants. The common assessment approaches like biological integrity, achievement rates or threatened species (Red list), applying to other species groups or other ecosystems, are not appropriate in floodplains. Legal obligations and the need to restore floodplains clearly call for an index assessing the ecological value in a reference area which can be combined with a 5-scale assessment in accordance to established assessments like RESI or the Water Framework Directive.
Five typical characteristics describing vascular plants’ adaptation to floodplain habitats were identified. These can be derived from published data sets available for all species in Germany. We checked these indicators for multicollinearity and selected three of them: species number, hydrodynamic indicators, nature conservation indicators. Species number highly correlate with habitat indicators and geographic occurrence. For the selected three indicators we determined thresholds to group habitats and their indicator rate to five classes (very low to very high value for nature conservation). These thresholds are valid for the river Danube and for the habitat types scrutinized in this study.
The Florix approach was sensitive in data sets testing active against former floodplains and protected against unprotected areas: For the entire reference region ‘Danube floodplain’, Florix values were higher in the active floodplain and in the protected areas. Only the habitat type ‘water bodies’ showed better scores for habitats in the former floodplain, for ‘softwood forests’ the status of being part of a protected area had no effect. Florix results were validated in two case studies differing in land use intensity. The region with dominant agricultural use showed significantly lower values than that with a higher portion of forests and grasslands.
Florix can be used for a floristic conservation status assessment at single habitat level or for the entity of a study region in comparison to a reference region. It allows to identify main pressures and to complement a habitat-type based evaluation. To achieve higher comparability, we should strive for a generalized monitoring in Europe like it is common in aquatic ecosystem monitoring
Scaling analysis of the magnetic monopole mass and condensate in the pure U(1) lattice gauge theory
We observe the power law scaling behavior of the monopole mass and condensate
in the pure compact U(1) gauge theory with the Villain action. In the Coulomb
phase the monopole mass scales with the exponent \nu_m=0.49(4). In the
confinement phase the behavior of the monopole condensate is described with
remarkable accuracy by the exponent \beta_{exp}=0.197(3). Possible implications
of these phenomena for a construction of a strongly coupled continuum U(1)
gauge theory are discussed.Comment: Added references [1
Being Warm Being Happy: fuel poverty and adults with intellectual disabilities
Self-determination has been acknowledged as a criticalconstruct for people with intellectual disability (ID), given the benefits itspromotion entails towards an enhanced quality of life..
High-statistics finite size scaling analysis of U(1) lattice gauge theory with Wilson action
We describe the results of a systematic high-statistics Monte-Carlo study of
finite-size effects at the phase transition of compact U(1) lattice gauge
theory with Wilson action on a hypercubic lattice with periodic boundary
conditions. We find unambiguously that the critical exponent nu is lattice-size
dependent for volumes ranging from 4^4 to 12^4. Asymptotic scaling formulas
yield values decreasing from nu(L >= 4) = 0.33 to nu(L >= 9) = 0.29. Our
statistics are sufficient to allow the study of different phenomenological
scenarios for the corrections to asymptotic scaling. We find evidence that
corrections to a first-order transition with nu=0.25 provide the most accurate
description of the data. However the corrections do not follow always the
expected first-order pattern of a series expansion in the inverse lattice
volume V^{-1}. Reaching the asymptotic regime will require lattice sizes
greater than L=12. Our conclusions are supported by the study of many cumulants
which all yield consistent results after proper interpretation.Comment: revtex, 12 pages, 9 figure
Infrared behavior of the gluon propagator in lattice Landau gauge: the three-dimensional case
We evaluate numerically the three-momentum-space gluon propagator in the
lattice Landau gauge, for three-dimensional pure-SU(2) lattice gauge theory
with periodic boundary conditions. Simulations are done for nine different
values of the coupling , from (strong coupling) to (in the scaling region), and for lattice sizes up to . In the
limit of large lattice volume we observe, in all cases, a gluon propagator
decreasing for momenta smaller than a constant value . From our data
we estimate MeV. The result of a gluon propagator
decreasing in the infrared limit has a straightforward interpretation as
resulting from the proximity of the so-called first Gribov horizon in the
infrared directions.Comment: 14 pages, BI-TP 99/03 preprint, correction in the Acknowledgments
section. To appear in Phys.Rev.
Giant crystal-electric-field effect and complex magnetic behavior in single-crystalline CeRh3Si2
Single-crystalline CeRh3Si2 was investigated by means of x-ray diffraction,
magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, electrical resistivity, and specific
heat measurements carried out in wide temperature and magnetic field ranges.
Moreover, the electronic structure of the compound was studied at room
temperature by cerium core-level x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The
physical properties were analyzed in terms of crystalline electric field and
compared with results of ab-initio band structure calculations performed within
the density functional theory approach. The compound was found to crystallize
in the orthorhombic unit cell of the ErRh3Si2 type (space group Imma -- No.74,
Pearson symbol: oI24) with the lattice parameters: a = 7.1330(14) A, b =
9.7340(19) A, and c = 5.6040(11) A. Analysis of the magnetic and XPS data
revealed the presence of well localized magnetic moments of trivalent cerium
ions. All physical properties were found to be highly anisotropic over the
whole temperature range studied, and influenced by exceptionally strong
crystalline electric field with the overall splitting of the 4f1 ground
multiplet exceeding 5700 K. Antiferromagnetic order of the cerium magnetic
moments at TN = 4.70(1)K and their subsequent spin rearrangement at Tt =
4.48(1) K manifest themselves as distinct anomalies in the temperature
characteristics of all investigated physical properties and exhibit complex
evolution in an external magnetic field. A tentative magnetic B-T phase
diagram, constructed for B parallel to the b-axis being the easy magnetization
direction, shows very complex magnetic behavior of CeRh3Si2, similar to that
recently reported for an isostructural compound CeIr3Si2. The electronic band
structure calculations corroborated the antiferromagnetic ordering of the
cerium magnetic moments and well reproduced the experimental XPS valence band
spectrum.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Physical Review
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