3,057 research outputs found
Discrete ordinates-Monte Carlo coupling: A comparison of techniques in NERVA radiation analysis
In the radiation analysis of the NERVA nuclear rocket system, two-dimensional discrete ordinates calculations are sufficient to provide detail in the pressure vessel and reactor assembly. Other parts of the system, however, require three-dimensional Monte Carlo analyses. To use these two methods in a single analysis, a means of coupling was developed whereby the results of a discrete ordinates calculation can be used to produce source data for a Monte Carlo calculation. Several techniques for producing source detail were investigated. Results of calculations on the NERVA system are compared and limitations and advantages of the coupling techniques discussed
On possible superconductivity in the doped ladder compound La_(1-x)Sr_xCuO_2.5
LaCuO_2.5 is a system of coupled, two-chain, cuprate ladders which may be
doped systematically by Sr substitution. Motivated by the recent synthesis of
single crystals, we investigate theoretically the possibility of
superconductivity in this compound. We use a model of spin fluctuation-mediated
superconductivity, where the pairing potential is strongly peaked at \pi in the
ladder direction. We solve the coupled gap equations on the bonding and
antibonding ladder bands to find superconducting solutions across the range of
doping, and discuss their relevance to the real material.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 7 figure
Interplay between shear loading and structural aging in a physical gel
We show that the aging of the mechanical relaxation of a gelatin gel exhibits
the same scaling phenomenology as polymer and colloidal glasses. Besides,
gelatin is known to exhibit logarithmic structural aging (stiffening). We find
that stress accelerates this process. However, this effect is definitely
irreducible to a mere age shift with respect to natural aging. We suggest that
it is interpretable in terms of elastically-aided elementary (coilhelix)
local events whose dynamics gradually slows down as aging increases geometric
frustration
Postglacial migration supplements climate in determining plant species ranges in Europe
The influence of dispersal limitation on species ranges remains controversial. Considering the dramatic impacts of the last glaciation in Europe, species might not have tracked climate changes through time and, as a consequence, their present-day ranges might be in disequilibrium with current climate. For 1016 European plant species, we assessed the relative importance of current climate and limited postglacial migration in determining species ranges using regression modelling and explanatory variables representing climate, and a novel species-specific hind-casting-based measure of accessibility to postglacial colonization. Climate was important for all species, while postglacial colonization also constrained the ranges of more than 50 per cent of the species. On average, climate explained five times more variation in species ranges than accessibility, but accessibility was the strongest determinant for one-sixth of the species. Accessibility was particularly important for species with limited long-distance dispersal ability, with southern glacial ranges, seed plants compared with ferns, and small-range species in southern Europe. In addition, accessibility explained one-third of the variation in species' disequilibrium with climate as measured by the realized/potential range size ratio computed with niche modelling. In conclusion, we show that although climate is the dominant broad-scale determinant of European plant species ranges, constrained dispersal plays an important supplementary role
Block orthogonal polynomials: I. Definition and properties
Constrained orthogonal polynomials have been recently introduced in the study
of the Hohenberg-Kohn functional to provide basis functions satisfying particle
number conservation for an expansion of the particle density. More generally,
we define block orthogonal (BO) polynomials which are orthogonal, with respect
to a first Euclidean scalar product, to a given -dimensional subspace of polynomials associated with the constraints. In addition, they are
mutually orthogonal with respect to a second Euclidean scalar product. We
recast the determination of these polynomials into a general problem of finding
particular orthogonal bases in an Euclidean vector space endowed with distinct
scalar products. An explicit two step Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization (G-SO)
procedure to determine these bases is given. By definition, the standard block
orthogonal (SBO) polynomials are associated with a choice of equal
to the subspace of polynomials of degree less than . We investigate their
properties, emphasizing similarities to and differences from the standard
orthogonal polynomials. Applications to classical orthogonal polynomials will
be given in forthcoming papers.Comment: This is a reduced version of the initial manuscript, the number of
pages being reduced from 34 to 2
The Effects of Negative Legacies on the Adjustment of Parentally Bereaved Children and Adolescents
This is a report of a qualitative analysis of a sample of bereaved families in which one parent died and in which children scored in the clinical range on the Child Behavior Check List. The purpose of this analysis was to learn more about the lives of these children. They were considered to be at risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems associated with the death. We discovered that many of these “high risk” children had a continuing bond with the deceased that was primarily negative and troubling for them in contrast to a comparison group of children not at risk from the same study. Five types of legacies, not mutually exclusive, were identified: health related, role related, personal qualities, legacy of blame, and an emotional legacy. Coping behavior on the part of the surviving parent seemed to make a difference in whether or not a legacy was experienced as negative
By design : negotiating flexible learning in the built environment discipline
The term ‘flexible education’ is now firmly entrenched within Australian higher education discourse, yet the term is a contested one imbued with a multiplicity of meanings. This paper describes a process designed to elucidate how the idea of flexible education can be translated into teaching models that are informed by the specific demands of disciplinary contexts. The process uses a flexible learning ‘matching’ tool to articulate the understandings and preferences of students and academics of the Built Environment to bridge the gap between student expectations of flexibility and their teacher’s willingness and ability to provide that flexibility within the limits of the pedagogical context and teaching resources. The findings suggest an informed starting point for educators in the Built Environment and other creative disciplines from which to traverse the complexities inherent in negotiating flexibility in an increasingly digital world
Electronic and Magnetic Structure of LaCuO
The recently-discovered ``ladder'' compound LaCuO has been found to
admit hole doping without altering its structure of coupled copper oxide
ladders. While susceptibility measurements on the parent compound suggest a
spin gap and a spin-liquid state, NMR results indicate magnetic order at low
temperatures. These seemingly contradictory results may be reconciled if in
fact the magnetic state is near the crossover from spin liquid to
antiferromagnet, and we investigate this possibility. From a tight-binding fit
to the valence LDA bandstructure, we deduce that the strength of the
interladder hopping term is approximately half that of intraladder hopping,
showing that the material is three-dimensional in character. A mean-field
treatment of the insulating magnetic state gives a spin-liquid phase whose spin
gap decreases with increasing interladder coupling, vanishing (signalling a
transition to the ordered phase) at a value somewhat below that obtained for
LaCuO. The introduction of an on-site repulsion term, , to the band
scheme causes a transition to an antiferromagnetic insulator for rather small
but finite values of , reflecting the predominance of (one-dimensional)
ladder behavior, and an absence of any special nesting features.Comment: 8 pages + 5 figure
Nucleation and crystallization process of silicon using Stillinger-Weber potential
We study the homogeneous nucleation process in Stillinger-Weber silicon in
the NVT ensemble. A clear first-order transition from the liquid to crystal
phase is observed thermodynamically with kinetic and structural evidence of the
transformation. At 0.75 T_m, the critical cluster size is about 175 atoms. The
lifetime distribution of clusters as a function of the maximum size their reach
follows an inverse gaussian distribution as was predicted recently from the
classical theory of nucleation (CNT). However, while there is a qualitative
agreement with the CNT, the free energy curve obtained from the simulations
differs significantly from the theoretical predictions, suggesting that the
low-density liquid phase found recently could play a role in the nucleation
process.Comment: 21 page
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