833 research outputs found
SOME RESULTS ON THE DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS FOR COMPARING UNREPLICATED TREATMENTS
In early generation variety trials, large numbers of new varieties may be compared, and little seed is usually available for each variety. A so-called unreplicated trial has each new variety on just one plot at a site, but includes several (often around 5) replicated check or control (or standard) varieties. The total proportion of check plots is usually between 10% and 20%. The aim of the trial is to choose some (around 1/3) good performing varieties to go on for further testing, rather than precise estimation of their mean yield.
Now that spatial analyses of data from field experiments are becoming more common, there is interest in an efficient layout of an experiment given a proposed spatial analysis. Some possible design criteria are discussed, and efficient layouts under spatial dependence are considered
Spin Dynamics in the Magnetic Chains Arrays of Sr14Cu24O41: a Neutron Inelastic scattering Investigation
Below about 150 K, the spin arrangement in the chain arrays of Sr14Cu24O41 is
shown to develop in two dimensions (2D). Both the correlations and the
dispersion of the observed elementary excitations agree well with a model of
interacting dimers. Along the chains, the intra- and inter-dimer distances are
equal to 2 and about 3 times the distance (c) between neighboring Cu ions.
While the intra-dimer coupling is J about 10 meV, the inter-dimer couplings
along and between the chains are of comparable strenght, J// about -1.1 meV and
Jperp about 1.7 meV, respectively. This remarkable 2D arrangement satisfies the
formal Cu valence of the undoped compound. Our data suggest also that it is
associated with a relative sliding of one chain with respect to the next one,
which, as T decreases, develops in the chain direction. A qualitative analysis
shows that nearest inter-dimer spin correlations are ferromagnetic, which, in
such a 2D structure, could well result from frustration effects.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.B, date of receipt 29 June
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Distraction from pain and executive functioning: an experimental investigation of the role of inhibition, task switching and working memory
Although many studies have investigated the effectiveness of distraction as a method of pain control, the cognitive processes by which attentional re-direction is achieved, remain unclear. In this study the role of executive functioning abilities (inhibition, task switching and working memory) in the effectiveness of distraction is investigated. We hypothesized that the effectiveness of distraction in terms of pain reduction would be larger in participants with better executive functioning abilities. Ninety-one undergraduate students first performed executive functioning tasks, and subsequently participated in a cold pressor task (CPT). Participants were randomly assigned to (1) a distraction group, in which an attention-demanding tone-detection task was performed during the CPT, or (2) a control group, in which no distraction task was performed. Participants in the distraction group reported significantly less pain during the CPT, but the pain experience was not influenced by executive functioning abilities. However, the performance on the distraction task improved with better inhibition abilities, indicating that inhibition abilities might be important in focussing on a task despite the pain
Pathologies in International Policy Transfer:The Case of the OECD Tax Transparency Initiative
ABSTRACT The importance of international organizations to the development and diffusion of
international policy norms is widely recognized but is increasingly tempered by an appreciation of
the pathologies of policy transfer. Using a case study of the OECD’s campaign to promote
transparency in global tax affairs, this paper identifies a new and relatively distinctive form of
dysfunctional policy transfer. Specifically it argues that international organizations face bureaucratic
incentives to promote weak or lowest common denominator standards in order to maximize
their prospects of brokering successful international agreements. However the paper also notes that
while international organizations may have a short-term interest in promoting weak standards, their
longer-term legitimacy is often tied to the effectiveness of the standards they promote. It is argued
that this dynamic often leads to incremental policy change
Phases of two coupled Luttinger liquids
A model of two interacting one--dimensional fermion systems (``Luttinger
liquids'') coupled by single--particle hopping is investigated. Bosonization
allows a number of exact statements to be made. In particular, for forward
scattering only, the model contains two massless boson sectors and an Ising
type critical sector. For general interactions, there is a spin excitation gap
and either s-- or d--type pairing fluctuations dominate. It is shown that the
same behavior is also found for strong interactions. A possible scenario for
the crossover to a Fermi liquid in a many chain system is discussed.Comment: revised version, some changes, 11 pages, no figures, RexTeX3.
Temperature-dependent spin gap and singlet ground state in BaCuSi2O6
Bulk magnetic measurements and inelastic neutron scattering were used to
investigate the spin-singlet ground state and magnetic gap excitations in
BaCuSi2O6, a quasi-2-dimensional antiferromagnet with a bilayer structure. The
results are well described by a model based on weakly interacting
antiferromagnetic dimers. A strongly temperature-dependent dispersion in the
gap modes was found. We suggest that the observed excitations are analogous to
magneto-excitons in light rare-earth compounds, but are an intrinsic property
of a simple Heisenberg Hamiltonian for the S=1/2 magnetic bilayer.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX and PS for text, PS for figures direct
download: http://papillon.phy.bnl.gov/preprints/bacusio.htm
Bose-Einstein statistics in thermalization and photoluminescence of quantum well excitons
Quasi-equilibrium relaxational thermodynamics is developed to understand
LA-phonon-assisted thermalization of Bose-Einstein distributed excitons in
quantum wells. We study the quantum-statistical effects in the relaxational
dynamics of the effective temperature of excitons . When is less
than the degeneracy temperature , well-developed Bose-Einstein statistics
of quantum well excitons leads to nonexponential and density-dependent
thermalization. At low bath temperatures the thermalization of
quantum-statistically degenerate excitons effectively slows down and . We also analyze the optical decay of Bose-Einstein
distributed excitons in perfect quantum wells and show how nonclassical
statistics influences the effective lifetime . In particular,
of a strongly degenerate gas of excitons is given by ,
where is the intrinsic radiative lifetime of quasi-two-dimensional
excitons. Kinetics of resonant photoluminescence of quantum well excitons
during their thermalization is studied within the thermodynamic approach and
taking into account Bose-Einstein statistics. We find density-dependent
photoluminescence dynamics of statistically degenerate excitons. Numerical
modeling of the thermalization and photoluminescence kinetics of
quasi-two-dimensional excitons are given for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Phys. Rev. B (accepted for publication
Field dependent thermodynamics and Quantum Critical Phenomena in the dimerized spin system Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4
Experimental data for the uniform susceptibility, magnetization and specific
heat for the material Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4 (abbreviated CuHpCl) as a function of
temperature and external field are compared with those of three different
dimerized spin models: alternating spin-chains, spin-ladders and the bilayer
Heisenberg model. It is shown that because this material consists of weakly
coupled spin-dimers, much of the data is insensitive to how the dimers are
coupled together and what the effective dimensionality of the system is. When
such a system is tuned to the quantum critical point by application of a field,
the dimensionality shows up in the power-law dependences of thermodynamic
quantities on temperature. We discuss the temperature window for such a quantum
critical behavior in CuHpCl.Comment: Revtex, 5 pages, 4 figures (postscript
Excitation Spectrum and Superexchange Pathways in the Spin Dimer VODPO_4 . 1/2 D_2O
Magnetic excitations have been investigated in the spin dimer material
VODPO_4 \cdot 1/2 D_2O using inelastic neutron scattering. A dispersionless
magnetic mode was observed at an energy of 7.81(4) meV. The wavevector
dependence of the scattering intensityfrom this mode is consistent with the
excitation of isolated V^{4+} spin dimers with a V-V separation of 4.43(7) \AA.
This result is unexpected since the V-V pair previously thought to constitute
themagnetic dimer has a separation of 3.09 \AA. We identify an alternative V-V
pair as the likely magnetic dimer, which involves superexchange pathways
through a covalently bonded PO_4 group. This surprising result casts doubt on
the interpretation of (VO)_2P_2O_7 as a spin ladder.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures - identical to previous paper but
figure 2 and 3 hopefully more compatible .p
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