4,049 research outputs found
Intrinsic Pinning in the High Field C-Phase of UPt_3
We report on the a.c. magnetic response of superconducting UPt_3 in a d.c.
magnetic field. At low fields (H < H^*), the in-phase susceptibility shows a
sharp drop at followed by a gradual decrease with decreasing temperature,
while the out-of-phase component shows a large peak at T_c followed by an
unusual broad peak. As the B-C phase line is crossed (H>H^*), however, both the
in-phase and out-of-phase susceptibilities resemble the zero-field Meissner
curves. We interpret these results in terms of a vortex pinning force which,
while comparatively small in the A/B-phases, becomes large enough to
effectively prevent vortex motion in the C-phase.Comment: Modified discussion, slight changes to figures, accepted in PRB Rapid
Communications. RevTex file, 5 figure
Knowledge Representation with Ontologies: The Present and Future
Recently, we have seen an explosion of interest in ontologies as
artifacts to represent human knowledge and as critical components in
knowledge management, the semantic Web, business-to-business
applications, and several other application areas. Various research
communities commonly assume that ontologies are the appropriate modeling
structure for representing knowledge. However, little discussion has
occurred regarding the actual range of knowledge an ontology can
successfully represent
Foundation Optimization and Design for Replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge
The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge (WWB) will replace the existing bridge over the Potomac River to connect Alexandria, Virginia to Prince Georges County, Maryland. The new WWB will extend approximately 1.1 miles across the river, with a 367-ft long bascule span in the main river channel where the water depth is about 36 ft. The subsurface soil profile consists of up to 50 ft of a soft organic silty clay layer that is very vulnerable to scour, underlain by a deep deposit of hard sandy clay. This paper will present results from a Pile Demonstration Program (PDP) that was conducted as part of the bridge replacement project, discuss the various aspects of the seismic design and analysis, and describe how those data were applied to optimize foundation design. The PDP included dynamic monitoring, static load tests and Statnamic load tests at several locations, to evaluate: (i) the pile driveability and associated parameters necessary for dynamic analysis; and (ii) the ultimate skin friction and end bearing values for design. The PDP provided a basis for eliminating static load tests during construction and construction quality control, and for evaluating potential settlement of the existing bridge. Although the seismicity of the region is low, considering the importance of this bridge and the consequences of potential damage during an earthquake, seismic issues were addressed thoroughly in the design of the new structure, including: (i) development of design spectra based on site-specific seismic hazard and ground motion analyses; (ii) implications of the complex soil profile and potential scour on the dynamic response of the foundations; (iii) Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) analyses for the various foundation alternatives; and (iv) evaluation of the significance of the kinematic SSI effect on the piles. The presented case study proves how results of a pile demonstration program and extensive seismic studies can enable significant optimization of the foundation design and cost savings, and provide significant quality control during construction
Second harmonic light scattering induced by defects in the twist-bend nematic phase of liquid crystal dimers
The nematic twist-bend (NTB) phase, exhibited by certain thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) dimers, represents a new orientationally ordered mesophase -- the first distinct nematic variant discovered in many years. The NTB phase is distinguished by a heliconical winding of the average molecular long axis (director) with a remarkably short (nanoscale) pitch and, in systems of achiral dimers, with an equal probability to form right- and left-handed domains. The NTB structure thus provides another fascinating example of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in nature. The order parameter driving the formation of the heliconical state has been theoretically conjectured to be a polarization field, deriving from the bent conformation of the dimers, that rotates helically with the same nanoscale pitch as the director field. It therefore presents a significant challenge for experimental detection. Here we report a second harmonic light scattering (SHLS) study on two achiral, NTB-forming LCs, which is sensitive to the polarization field due to micron-scale distortion of the helical structure associated with naturally-occurring textural defects. These defects are parabolic focal conics of smectic-like ``pseudo-layers", defined by planes of equivalent phase in a coarse-grained description of the NTB state. Our SHLS data are explained by a coarse-grained free energy density that combines a Landau-deGennes expansion of the polarization field, the elastic energy of a nematic, and a linear coupling between the two
Mechanisms of Electrical Conductivity in Y(1-x)CaxBa2Cu3O6.1 System
Systematic studies of transport properties in deoxygenated
Y(1-x)CaxBa2Cu3O6.1 series allowed to propose a diagram of conductivity
mechanisms for this system. At intermediate temperature a variable range
hopping (VRH) in 2 dimensions prevails. At lower temperature VRH in the
presence of a Coulomb gap for smaller x and VRH in 2 dimensions for larger x
are found. In a vicinity of superconductivity we observe conductivity
proportional to \sqrt{T}. Thermally activated conductivity dominates at higher
temperature. This diagram may be universal for the whole family of undoped high
Tc related cuprates.Comment: 5 page
Time Domain Explorations With Digital Sky Surveys
One of the new frontiers of astronomical research is the exploration of time
variability on the sky at different wavelengths and flux levels. We have
carried out a pilot project using DPOSS data to study strong variables and
transients, and are now extending it to the new Palomar-QUEST synoptic sky
survey. We report on our early findings and outline the methodology to be
implemented in preparation for a real-time transient detection pipeline. In
addition to large numbers of known types of highly variable sources (e.g., SNe,
CVs, OVV QSOs, etc.), we expect to find numerous transients whose nature may be
established by a rapid follow-up. Whereas we will make all detected variables
publicly available through the web, we anticipate that email alerts would be
issued in the real time for a subset of events deemed to be the most
interesting. This real-time process entails many challenges, in an effort to
maintain a high completeness while keeping the contamination low. We will
utilize distributed Grid services developed by the GRIST project, and implement
a variety of advanced statistical and machine learning techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 2 postscript figures, uses adassconf.sty. To be published
in: "ADASS XIV (2004)", Eds. Patrick Shopbell, Matthew Britton and Rick
Ebert, ASP Conference Serie
Identification of Non-unitary triplet pairing in a heavy Fermion superconductor UPt_3
A NMR experiment recently done by Tou et al. on a heavy Fermion
superconductor UPt is interpreted in terms of a non-unitary spin-triplet
pairing state which we have been advocating. The proposed state successfully
explains various aspects of the seemingly complicated Knight shift behaviors
probed for major orientations, including a remarkable d-vector rotation under
weak fields. This entitles UPt as the first example that a charged many
body system forms a spin-triplet odd-par ity pairing at low temperatures and
demonstrates unambiguously that the putative spin-orbit coupling in UPt is
weak.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 67
(1998) No.
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