Optical conductivity of the Kondo insulator YbB_12: Gap formation and low-energy excitations

Optical reflectivity experiments have been conducted on single crystals of the Kondo insulator YbB_12 in order to obtain its optical conductivity, \sigma(\omega). Upon cooling below 70 K, a strong supression of \sigma(\omega) is seen in the far-infrared region, indicating the opening of an energy gap of ~ 25 meV. This gap development is coincident with a rapid decrease in the magnetic susceptibility, which shows that the gap opening has significant influence on magnetic properties. A narrow, asymmetric peak is observed at ~40 meV in \sigma(\omega), which is attributed to optical transitions between the Yb 4f-derived states across the gap. In addition, a broad peak is observed at ~0.25 eV. This peak is attributed to transitions between Yb 4f-derived states and p-d band, and is reminiscent of similar peaks previously observed for rare-earth hexaborides.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Early stage scaling in phase ordering kinetics

A global analysis of the scaling behaviour of a system with a scalar order parameter quenched to zero temperature is obtained by numerical simulation of the Ginzburg-Landau equation with conserved and non conserved order parameter. A rich structure emerges, characterized by early and asymptotic scaling regimes, separated by a crossover. The interplay among different dynamical behaviours is investigated by varying the parameters of the quench and can be interpreted as due to the competition of different dynamical fixed points.Comment: 21 pages, latex, 7 figures available upon request from [email protected]

Statistical methods applied to composition studies of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays

The mass composition of high energy cosmic rays above $10^{17}$ eV is a crucial issue to solve some open questions in astrophysics such as the acceleration and propagation mechanisms. Unfortunately, the standard procedures to identify the primary particle of a cosmic ray shower have low efficiency mainly due to large fluctuations and limited experimental observables. We present a statistical method for composition studies based on several measurable features of the longitudinal development of the CR shower such as $N_{max}$, $X_{max}$, asymmetry, skewness and kurtosis. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the relevance of each parameter in the representation of the overall shower features and a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to combine the different parameters to maximize the discrimination between different particle showers. The new parameter from LDA provides a separation between primary gammas, proton and iron nuclei better than the procedures based on $X_{max}$ only. The method proposed here was successfully tested in the energy range from $10^{17}$ to $10^{20}$ eV even when limitations of shower track length were included in order to simulate the field of view of fluorescence telescopes

Computer simulations of domain growth and phase separation in two-dimensional binary immiscible fluids using dissipative particle dynamics

We investigate the dynamical behavior of binary fluid systems in two dimensions using dissipative particle dynamics. We find that following a symmetric quench the domain size R(t) grows with time t according to two distinct algebraic laws R(t) = t^n: at early times n = 1/2, while for later times n = 2/3. Following an asymmetric quench we observe only n = 1/2, and if momentum conservation is violated we see n = 1/3 at early times. Bubble simulations confirm the existence of a finite surface tension and the validity of Laplace's law. Our results are compared with similar simulations which have been performed previously using molecular dynamics, lattice-gas and lattice-Boltzmann automata, and Langevin dynamics. We conclude that dissipative particle dynamics is a promising method for simulating fluid properties in such systems.Comment: RevTeX; 22 pages, 5 low-resolution figures. For full-resolution figures, connect to http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~ken21/tension/tension.htm

Comportamento espectral de diferentes genótipos de soja (GM para tolerância a seca e convencionais), em condição irrigada e sob estresse hídrico.

Objetivou-se no presente trabalho obter valores de NDVI para cultivares convencionais de soja BR 16 e Embrapa 48 consideradas sensível e tolerante à seca respectivamente e para linhagens geneticamente modificadas DREB1A-P58 e DREB2A-P2193 as quais contêm genes de tolerância à seca e à seca e calor, respectivamente. Todos esses materiais juntamente com genótipo 09D-077 resultante do cruzamento entre DREB1A-P58 e BR16 foram avaliados sob condição irrigada e de estresse hídrico (abrigo) em cinco datas diferentes. Plantas no tratamento irrigado apresentaram maiores valores de NDVI quando comparados ao tratamento estressado. Analisando os genótipos dentro do tratamento irrigado observou-se que a cv BR 16 apresentou maiores valores de NDVI nas datas 07 e 14 de dezembro. Nas plantas sob abrigo o cruzamento 09D-077 e DREB1A-P58 tiveram em geral menores valores de NDVI, exceto na data de 22 de dezembro. Os resultados obtidos mostraram o potencial do uso do NDVI para estudos que visam desenvolver plantas tolerantes ao estresse hídrico