9,445 research outputs found
Phase diagram of vortex matter in layered superconductors with random point pinning
We study the phase diagram of the superconducting vortex system in layered
high-temperature superconductors in the presence of a magnetic field
perpendicular to the layers and of random atomic scale point pinning centers.
We consider the highly anisotropic limit where the pancake vortices on
different layer are coupled only by their electromagnetic interaction. The free
energy of the vortex system is then represented as a Ramakrishnan-Yussouff free
energy functional of the time averaged vortex density. We numerically minimize
this functional and examine the properties of the resulting phases. We find
that, in the temperature () -- pinning strength () plane at constant
magnetic induction, the equilibrium phase at low and is a Bragg glass.
As one increases or a first order phase transition occurs to another
phase that we characterize as a pinned vortex liquid. The weakly pinned vortex
liquid obtained for high and small smoothly crosses over to the
strongly pinned vortex liquid as is decreased or increased -- we do not
find evidence for the existence, in thermodynamic equilibrium, of a distinct
vortex glass phase in the range of pinning parameters considered here. %cdr We
present results for the density correlation functions, the density and defect
distributions, and the local field distribution accessible via SR
experiments. These results are compared with those of existing theoretical,
numerical and experimental studies.Comment: 15 pages, including figures. Higher resolution files for Figs 3a and
11 available from author
Consumer behaviour with environmental and social externalities : implications for analysis and policy
In this paper we summarise some of our recent work on consumer behaviour, drawing on recent developments in behavioural economics, particularly linked to sociology as much as psychology, in which consumers are embedded in a social context, so their behaviour is shaped by their interactions with other consumers. For the purpose of this paper we also allow consumption to cause environmental damage. Analysing the social context of consumption naturally lends itself to the use of game theoretic tools. We shall be concerned with two ways in which social interactions affect consumer preferences and behaviour: socially-embedded preferences, where the behaviour of other consumers affect an individual’s preferences and hence consumption (we consider two examples: conspicuous consumption and consumption norms) and socially-directed preferences where people display altruistic behaviour. Our aim is to show that building links between sociological and behavioural economic approaches to the study of consumer behaviour can lead to significant and surprising implications for conventional economic analysis and policy prescriptions, especially with respect to environmental policy.PostprintPeer reviewe
Magneto-optical rotation of spectrally impure fields and its nonlinear dependence on optical density
We calculate magneto-optical rptation of spectrally impure fileds in an
optically thick cold atmic medium. We show that the spectral impurity leads to
non-linear dependence of the rotation angle on optical density. Using our
calculations, we provide a quanttative analysis of the recent experimental
results of G. Labeyrie et al. [Phys. Rev. A 64, 033402 (2001)] using cold
Rb atoms.Comment: 6 pages, 5 Figures, ReVTeX4, Submitted to PR
The String Deviation Equation
The relative motion of many particles can be described by the geodesic
deviation equation. This can be derived from the second covariant variation of
the point particle's action. It is shown that the second covariant variation of
the string action leads to a string deviation equation.Comment: 18 pages, some small changes, no tables or diagrams, LaTex2
Characterization of the Dynamics of Glass-forming Liquids from the Properties of the Potential Energy Landscape
We develop a framework for understanding the difference between strong and
fragile behavior in the dynamics of glass-forming liquids from the properties
of the potential energy landscape. Our approach is based on a master equation
description of the activated jump dynamics among the local minima of the
potential energy (the so-called inherent structures) that characterize the
potential energy landscape of the system. We study the dynamics of a small
atomic cluster using this description as well as molecular dynamics simulations
and demonstrate the usefulness of our approach for this system. Many of the
remarkable features of the complex dynamics of glassy systems emerge from the
activated dynamics in the potential energy landscape of the atomic cluster. The
dynamics of the system exhibits typical characteristics of a strong supercooled
liquid when the system is allowed to explore the full configuration space. This
behavior arises because the dynamics is dominated by a few lowest-lying minima
of the potential energy and the potential energy barriers between these minima.
When the system is constrained to explore only a limited region of the
potential energy landscape that excludes the basins of attraction of a few
lowest-lying minima, the dynamics is found to exhibit the characteristics of a
fragile liquid.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
Accuracy Analysis of an Image Guided Robotic Urology Surgery System
We present an evaluation of the accuracy of a system for image guided radical prostatectomy using the daVinci telemanipulator. The system is split into components and ten sources of error identified. The magnitude of three of these error sources; segmentation of bone from MRI, registration to patient using intraoperative ultrasound, and endoscope tracking error is determined experimentally. The remaining errors are estimated from the literature. We demonstrate that the distribution of ultrasound slices used for registration can reduce the system error by up to 0.7mm. Our results show that our system can localise the prostate to within 3.7mm RMS, and that the largest component of the this error is the segmentation of the pelvic bone from MRI
Comprehensive Assessment of GPR68 Expression in Normal and Neoplastic Human Tissues Using a Novel Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
GPR68 (OGR1) belongs to the proton-sensing G protein-coupled receptors that are involved in cellular adaptations to pH changes during tumour development. Although expression of GPR68 has been described in many tumour cell lines, little is known about its presence in human tumour entities. We characterised the novel rabbit monoclonal anti-human GPR68 antibody 16H23L16 using various cell lines and tissue specimens. The antibody was then applied to a large series of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded normal and neoplastic human tissue samples. Antibody specificity was demonstrated in a Western blot analysis of GPR68-expressing cells using specific siRNAs. Immunocytochemical experiments revealed pH-dependent changes in subcellular localisation of the receptor and internalisation after stimulation with lorazepam. In normal tissue, GPR68 was present in glucagon-producing islet cells, neuroendocrine cells of the intestinal tract, gastric glands, granulocytes, macrophages, muscle layers of arteries and arterioles, and capillaries. GPR68 was also expressed in neuroendocrine tumours, where it may be a positive prognostic factor, in pheochromocytomas, cervical adenocarcinomas, and endometrial cancer, as well as in paragangliomas, medullary thyroid carcinomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumours, and pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Often, tumour capillaries were also strongly GPR68-positive. The novel antibody 16H23L16 will be a valuable tool for basic research and for identifying GPR68-expressing tumours during histopathological examinations
Entanglement as a source of black hole entropy
We review aspects of black hole thermodynamics, and show how entanglement of
a quantum field between the inside and outside of a horizon can account for the
area-proportionality of black hole entropy, provided the field is in its ground
state. We show that the result continues to hold for Coherent States and
Squeezed States, while for Excited States, the entropy scales as a power of
area less than unity. We also identify location of the degrees of freedom which
give rise to the above entropy.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 5 figures. Invited talk by SD at `Recent
Developments in Gravity' (NEB XII), Nafplion, Greece, 30 June 2006. To appear
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series; V2: References added, Minor changes
to match published versio
New Aspects and Boundary Conditions of Core-Collapse Supernova Theory
Core-collapse supernovae are among Nature's grandest explosions. They are
powered by the energy released in gravitational collapse and include a rich set
of physical phenomena involving all fundamental forces and many branches of
physics and astrophysics. We summarize the current state of core-collapse
supernova theory and discuss the current set of candidate explosion mechanisms
under scrutiny as core-collapse supernova modeling is moving towards
self-consistent three-dimensional simulations. Recent work in nuclear theory
and neutron star mass and radius measurements are providing new constraints for
the nuclear equation of state. We discuss these new developments and their
impact on core-collapse supernova modeling. Neutrino-neutrino forward
scattering in the central regions of core-collapse supernovae can lead to
collective neutrino flavor oscillations that result in swaps of electron and
heavy-lepton neutrino spectra. We review the rapid progress that is being made
in understanding these collective oscillations and their potential impact on
the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to the proceedings of the HAmburg
Neutrinos from Supernova Explosions (HANSE) 2011 conferenc
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