4,839 research outputs found
Impurity effects in few-electron quantum dots: Incipient Wigner molecule regime
Numerically exact path-integral Monte Carlo data are presented for
strongly interacting electrons confined in a 2D parabolic quantum dot,
including a defect to break rotational symmetry. Low densities are studied,
where an incipient Wigner molecule forms. A single impurity is found to cause
drastic effects: (1) The standard shell-filling sequence with magic numbers
, corresponding to peaks in the addition energy , is
destroyed, with a new peak at N=8, (2) spin gaps decrease,
(3) for N=8, sub-Hund's rule spin S=0 is induced, and (4) spatial ordering of
the electrons becomes rather sensitive to spin. We also comment on the recently
observed bunching phenomenon.Comment: 7 pages, 1 table, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Europhysics
Letter
Parameter identification in a semilinear hyperbolic system
We consider the identification of a nonlinear friction law in a
one-dimensional damped wave equation from additional boundary measurements.
Well-posedness of the governing semilinear hyperbolic system is established via
semigroup theory and contraction arguments. We then investigte the inverse
problem of recovering the unknown nonlinear damping law from additional
boundary measurements of the pressure drop along the pipe. This coefficient
inverse problem is shown to be ill-posed and a variational regularization
method is considered for its stable solution. We prove existence of minimizers
for the Tikhonov functional and discuss the convergence of the regularized
solutions under an approximate source condition. The meaning of this condition
and some arguments for its validity are discussed in detail and numerical
results are presented for illustration of the theoretical findings
Estimating historical changes in physical activity levels.
ObjectiveTo compare activity levels between a simulated “historical” lifestyle and a “modern” lifestyle to try to validate earlier estimates of secular changes in activity.DesignTriaxial accelerometers (TRACMORs) were used to measure activity levels in a “historical” group of seven male actors who were paid to live like early Australian settlers at a theme park north of Sydney (eg, minimising the use of modern technology) for a week. Results were compared with those from a group of seven “modern” sedentary office workers.ResultsActivity levels were up to 2.3 times greater in the historical group than the modern group. Calculations based on body weight and energy expenditure suggest the difference is the equivalent of walking up to 16 km per day more in the past than today.ConclusionsThese findings accord with two previous estimates of changes in daily activity levels over time and suggest that recent public health guidelines for increasing physical activity may be inadequate
Fluctuation relations and rare realizations of transport observables
Fluctuation relations establish rigorous identities for the nonequilibrium
averages of observables. Starting from a general transport master equation with
time-dependent rates, we employ the stochastic path integral approach to study
statistical fluctuations around such averages. We show how under nonequilibrium
conditions, rare realizations of transport observables are crucial and imply
massive fluctuations that may completely mask such identities. Quantitative
estimates for these fluctuations are provided. We illustrate our results on the
paradigmatic example of a mesoscopic RC circuit.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor changes, published versio
A Bayesian dose-response meta-analysis model: simulation study and application
Dose-response models express the effect of different dose or exposure levels
on a specific outcome. In meta-analysis, where aggregated-level data is
available, dose-response evidence is synthesized using either one-stage or
two-stage models in a frequentist setting. We propose a hierarchical
dose-response model implemented in a Bayesian framework. We present the model
with cubic dose-response shapes for a dichotomous outcome and take into account
heterogeneity due to variability in the dose-response shape. We develop our
Bayesian model assuming normal or binomial likelihood and accounting for
exposures grouped in clusters. We implement these models in R using JAGS and we
compare our approach to the one-stage dose-response meta-analysis model in a
simulation study. We found that the Bayesian dose-response model with binomial
likelihood has slightly lower bias than the Bayesian model with the normal
likelihood and the frequentist one-stage model. However, all three models
perform very well and give practically identical results. We also re-analyze
the data from 60 randomized controlled trials (15,984 participants) examining
the efficacy (response) of various doses of antidepressant drugs. All models
suggest that the dose-response curve increases between zero dose and 40 mg of
fluoxetine-equivalent dose, and thereafter is constant. We draw the same
conclusion when we take into account the fact that five different
antidepressants have been studied in the included trials. We show that
implementation of the hierarchical model in Bayesian framework has similar
performance to, but overcomes some of the limitations of the frequentist
approaches and offers maximum flexibility to accommodate features of the data
Conductance quantization and snake states in graphene magnetic waveguides
We consider electron waveguides (quantum wires) in graphene created by
suitable inhomogeneous magnetic fields. The properties of uni-directional snake
states are discussed. For a certain magnetic field profile, two spatially
separated counter-propagating snake states are formed, leading to conductance
quantization insensitive to backscattering by impurities or irregularities of
the magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, final version accepted as Rapid Comm. in PR
Phonon-phonon interactions and phonon damping in carbon nanotubes
We formulate and study the effective low-energy quantum theory of interacting
long-wavelength acoustic phonons in carbon nanotubes within the framework of
continuum elasticity theory. A general and analytical derivation of all three-
and four-phonon processes is provided, and the relevant coupling constants are
determined in terms of few elastic coefficients. Due to the low dimensionality
and the parabolic dispersion, the finite-temperature density of noninteracting
flexural phonons diverges, and a nonperturbative approach to their interactions
is necessary. Within a mean-field description, we find that a dynamical gap
opens. In practice, this gap is thermally smeared, but still has important
consequences. Using our theory, we compute the decay rates of acoustic phonons
due to phonon-phonon and electron-phonon interactions, implying upper bounds
for their quality factor.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, published versio
Spin-orbit coupling and electron spin resonance for interacting electrons in carbon nanotubes
We review the theoretical description of spin-orbit scattering and electron
spin resonance in carbon nanotubes. Particular emphasis is laid on the effects
of electron-electron interactions. The spin-orbit coupling is derived, and the
resulting ESR spectrum is analyzed both using the effective low-energy field
theory and numerical studies of finite-size Hubbard chains and two-leg Hubbard
ladders. For single-wall tubes, the field theoretical description predicts a
double peak spectrum linked to the existence of spin-charge separation. The
numerical analysis basically confirms this picture, but also predicts
additional features in finite-size samples.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, invited review article for special issue in J.
Phys. Cond. Mat., published versio
Charging effects in quantum wires
We investigate the role of charging effects in a voltage-biased quantum wire.
Both the finite range of the Coulomb interaction and the long-ranged nature of
the Friedel oscillation imply a finite capacitance, leading to a charging
energy. While observable Coulomb blockade effects are absent for a single
impurity, they are crucial if islands are present. For a double barrier, we
give the resonance condition, fully taking into account the charging of the
island.Comment: 6 Pages RevTeX, no figures, Phys. Rev. B (in press
The scaled boundary finite element method for the efficient modeling of linear elastic fracture
In this work, a study of computational and implementational efficiency is presented, on the treatment of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) problems. To this end, the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method (SBFEM), is compared against the popular eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) and the standard FEM approach for efficient calculation of Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs). The aim is to examine SBFEM’s potential for inclusion within a multiscale fracture mechanics framework. The above features will be exploited to solve a series of benchmarks in LEFM comparing XFEM, SBFEM and commercial FEM software to analytical solutions. The extent to which the SBFEM lends itself for inclusion within a multiscale framework will further be assessed
- …