1,283 research outputs found
Quantum dislocations: the fate of multiple vacancies in two dimensional solid 4He
Defects are believed to play a fundamental role in the supersolid state of
4He. We have studied solid 4He in two dimensions (2D) as function of the number
of vacancies n_v, up to 30, inserted in the initial configuration at rho =
0.0765 A^-2, close to the melting density, with the exact zero temperature
Shadow Path Integral Ground State method. The crystalline order is found to be
stable also in presence of many vacancies and we observe two completely
different regimes. For small n_v, up to about 6, vacancies form a bound state
and cause a decrease of the crystalline order. At larger n_v, the formation
energy of an extra vacancy at fixed density decreases by one order of magnitude
to about 0.6 K. In the equilibrated state it is no more possible to recognize
vacancies because they mainly transform into quantum dislocations and
crystalline order is found almost independent on how many vacancies have been
inserted in the initial configuration. The one--body density matrix in this
latter regime shows a non decaying large distance tail: dislocations, that in
2D are point defects, turn out to be mobile, their number is fluctuating, and
they are able to induce exchanges of particles across the system mainly
triggered by the dislocation cores. These results indicate that the notion of
incommensurate versus commensurate state loses meaning for solid 4He in 2D,
because the number of lattice sites becomes ill defined when the system is not
commensurate. Crystalline order is found to be stable also in 3D in presence of
up to 100 vacancies
Observation of non-classical rotational inertia in bulk solid 4He
In recent torsional oscillator experiments by Kim and Chan (KC), a decrease
of rotational inertia has been observed in solid 4He in porous materials and in
a bulk annular channel. This observation strongly suggests the existence of
"non-classical rotational inertia" (NCRI), i.e. superflow, in solid 4He. In
order to study such a possible "supersolid" phase, we perform torsional
oscillator experiments for cylindrical solid 4He samples. We have observed
decreases of rotational inertia below 200 mK for two solid samples (pressures P
= 4.1 and 3.0 MPa). The observed NCRI fraction at 70 mK is 0.14 %, which is
about 1/3 of the fraction observed in the annulus by KC. Our observation is the
first experimental confirmation of the possible supersolid finding by KC.Comment: 6 pages, 3 firures, submitted to J. Low Temp. Phys. (Proceedings of
QFS2006
Electronic Properties of Topological Materials: Optical Excitations in Moebius Conjugated Polymers
Electronic structures and optical excitations in Moebius conjugated polymers
are studied theoretically. Periodic and Moebius boundary conditions are applied
to the tight binding model of poly(para-phenylene), taking exciton effects into
account. We discuss that oligomers with a few structural units are more
effective than polymers for observations of effects of discrete wave numbers
that are shifted by the change in boundary condition. Next, calculations of
optical absorption spectra are reported. Certain components of optical
absorption for an electric field perpendicular to the polymer axis mix with
absorption spectra for an electric field parallel to the polymer axis.
Therefore, the polarization dependences of an electric field of light enable us
to detect whether conjugated polymers have the Moebius boundary.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn., Vol. 74
No. 2 (February, 2005), Letter sectio
On the existence of supersolid helium-4 monolayer films
Extensive Monte Carlo simulations of helium-4 monolayer films adsorbed on
weak substrates have been carried out, aimed at ascertaining the possible
occurrence of a quasi-two-dimensional supersolid phase. Only crystalline films
not registered with underlying substrates are considered. Numerical results
yield strong evidence that helium-4 will not form a supersolid film on {any}
substrate strong enough to stabilize a crystalline layer. On weaker substrates,
continuous growth of a liquid film takes place
Hidden amorphous phase and reentrant supercooled liquid in Pd-Ni-P metallic glasses
An anomaly in differential scanning calorimetry has been reported in a number of metallic glass materials in which a broad exothermal peak was observed between the glass and crystallization temperatures. The mystery surrounding this calorimetric anomaly is epitomized by four decades long studies of Pd-Ni-P metallic glasses, arguably the best glass-forming alloys. Here we show, using a suite of in situ experimental techniques, that Pd-Ni-P alloys have a hidden amorphous phase in the supercooled liquid region. The anomalous exothermal peak is the consequence of a polyamorphous phase transition between two supercooled liquids, involving a change in the packing of atomic clusters over medium-range length scales as large as 18Ă
. With further temperature increase, the alloy reenters the supercooled liquid phase, which forms the room-temperature glass phase on quenching. The outcome of this study raises a possibility to manipulate the structure and hence the stability of metallic glasses through heat treatment
Interfacial layering in a three-component polymer system
We study theoretically the temporal evolution and the spatial structure of
the interface between two polymer melts involving three different species (A,
A* and B). The first melt is composed of two different polymer species A and A*
which are fairly indifferent to one another (Flory parameter chi_AA* ~ 0). The
second melt is made of a pure polymer B which is strongly attracted to species
A (chi_AB 0). We then show
that, due to these contradictory tendencies, interesting properties arise
during the evolution of the interface after the melts are put into contact: as
diffusion proceeds, the interface structures into several adjacent
"compartments", or layers, of differing chemical compositions, and in addition,
the central mixing layer grows in a very asymmetric fashion. Such unusual
behaviour might lead to interesting mechanical properties, and demonstrates on
a specific case the potential richness of multi-component polymer interfaces
(as compared to conventional two-component interfaces) for various
applications.Comment: Revised version, to appear in Macromolecule
Nonmagnetic-Defect-Induced Magnetism in Graphene
It is shown that a strong impurity potential induces short-range
antiferromagnetic (ferrimagnetic) order around itself in a Hubbard model on a
half-filled honeycomb lattice. This implies that short-range magnetic order is
induced in monolayer graphene by a nonmagnetic defect such as a vacancy with
full hydrogen termination or a chemisorption defect.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure
An alternative method using digital cameras for continuous monitoring of crop status
Crop physiological and phenological status is an important factor that characterizes crop yield as well as carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere in agroecosystems. It is difficult to establish high frequency observations of crop status in multiple locations using conventional approaches such as agronomical sampling and also remote sensing techniques that use spectral radiometers because of the labor intensive work required for field surveys and the high cost of radiometers designed for scientific use. This study explored the potential utility of an inexpensive camera observation system called crop phenology recording system (CPRS) as an alternative approach for the observation of seasonal change in crop growth. The CPRS consisting of two compact digital cameras was used to capture visible and near infrared (NIR) images of maize in 2009 and soybean in 2010 for every hour both day and night continuously. In addition, a four channel sensor SKYE measured crop reflectance and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images were acquired over crop fields. The six different camera- radiometer- and MODIS-derived vegetation indices (VIs) were calculated and compared with the ground-measured crop biophysical parameters. In addition to VIs that use digital numbers, we proposed to use daytime exposure value-adjusted VIs. The camera-derived VIs were compared with the VIs calculated from spectral reflectance observations taken by SKYE and MODIS. It was found that new camera-derived VIs using daytime exposure values are closely related to VIs calculated using SKYE and MODIS reflectance and good proxies of crop biophysical parameters. Camera-derived green chlorophyll index, simple ratio and NDVI were found to be able to estimate the total leaf area index (LAI) of maize and soybean with high accuracy and were better than the widely used 2g-r-b. However, camera-derived 2g-r-b showed the best accuracy in estimating daily fAPAR in vegetative and reproductive stages of both crops. Visible atmospherically resistant vegetation index showed the highest accuracy in the estimation of the green LAI of maize. A unique VI, calculated from nighttime flash NIR images called the nighttime relative brightness index of NIR, showed a strong relationship with total aboveground biomass for both crops. The study concludes that the CPRS is a practical and cost-effective approach for monitoring temporal changes in crop growth, and it also provides an alternative source of ground truth data to validate time-series VIs derived from MODIS and other satellite systems
An alternative method using digital cameras for continuous monitoring of crop status
Crop physiological and phenological status is an important factor that characterizes crop yield as well as carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere in agroecosystems. It is difficult to establish high frequency observations of crop status in multiple locations using conventional approaches such as agronomical sampling and also remote sensing techniques that use spectral radiometers because of the labor intensive work required for field surveys and the high cost of radiometers designed for scientific use. This study explored the potential utility of an inexpensive camera observation system called crop phenology recording system (CPRS) as an alternative approach for the observation of seasonal change in crop growth. The CPRS consisting of two compact digital cameras was used to capture visible and near infrared (NIR) images of maize in 2009 and soybean in 2010 for every hour both day and night continuously. In addition, a four channel sensor SKYE measured crop reflectance and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images were acquired over crop fields. The six different camera- radiometer- and MODIS-derived vegetation indices (VIs) were calculated and compared with the ground-measured crop biophysical parameters. In addition to VIs that use digital numbers, we proposed to use daytime exposure value-adjusted VIs. The camera-derived VIs were compared with the VIs calculated from spectral reflectance observations taken by SKYE and MODIS. It was found that new camera-derived VIs using daytime exposure values are closely related to VIs calculated using SKYE and MODIS reflectance and good proxies of crop biophysical parameters. Camera-derived green chlorophyll index, simple ratio and NDVI were found to be able to estimate the total leaf area index (LAI) of maize and soybean with high accuracy and were better than the widely used 2g-r-b. However, camera-derived 2g-r-b showed the best accuracy in estimating daily fAPAR in vegetative and reproductive stages of both crops. Visible atmospherically resistant vegetation index showed the highest accuracy in the estimation of the green LAI of maize. A unique VI, calculated from nighttime flash NIR images called the nighttime relative brightness index of NIR, showed a strong relationship with total aboveground biomass for both crops. The study concludes that the CPRS is a practical and cost-effective approach for monitoring temporal changes in crop growth, and it also provides an alternative source of ground truth data to validate time-series VIs derived from MODIS and other satellite systems
Study of solid 4He in two dimensions. The issue of zero-point defects and study of confined crystal
Defects are believed to play a fundamental role in the supersolid state of
4He. We report on studies by exact Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations at
zero temperature of the properties of solid 4He in presence of many vacancies,
up to 30 in two dimensions (2D). In all studied cases the crystalline order is
stable at least as long as the concentration of vacancies is below 2.5%. In the
2D system for a small number, n_v, of vacancies such defects can be identified
in the crystalline lattice and are strongly correlated with an attractive
interaction. On the contrary when n_v~10 vacancies in the relaxed system
disappear and in their place one finds dislocations and a revival of the
Bose-Einstein condensation. Thus, should zero-point motion defects be present
in solid 4He, such defects would be dislocations and not vacancies, at least in
2D. In order to avoid using periodic boundary conditions we have studied the
exact ground state of solid 4He confined in a circular region by an external
potential. We find that defects tend to be localized in an interfacial region
of width of about 15 A. Our computation allows to put as upper bound limit to
zero--point defects the concentration 0.003 in the 2D system close to melting
density.Comment: 17 pages, accepted for publication in J. Low Temp. Phys., Special
Issue on Supersolid
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