27,683 research outputs found
Nanostructuring lithium niobate substrates by focused ion beam milling
We report on two novel ways for patterning Lithium Niobate (LN) at
submicronic scale by means of focused ion beam (FIB) bombardment. The first
method consists of direct FIB milling on LiNbO3 and the second one is a
combination of FIB milling on a deposited metallic layer and subsequent RIE
(Reactive Ion Etching) etching. FIB images show in both cases homogeneous
structures with well reproduced periodicity. These methods open the way to the
fabrication of photonic crystals on LiNbO3 substrates
A satellite image-based analysis of factors contributing to the green-space cool island intensity on a city scale
Urban green spaces provide cooler microclimates and create localized urban cool islands and, as part of an adaption strategy to cope with future urban climate change, have been proposed as a means to mitigate the urban heat island effect. Numerous previous research papers have discussed green-space size, type, and vegetation density, as well as many other factors that might influence green-space cooling effects. However, little has been done with regard to exploring and quantifying the characteristics of the green-space cool island (UCI). It is also largely unknown whether or how the patterns of green space and land use, as well as the adjacent urban thermal environment, affect UCIs. In this paper, based on the satellite image, the land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved and the UCI was first identified, then the UCI intensity, one of the UCI characteristics, is defined and at last multiple linear regression models used to explore and quantify the combined effects of factors related to UCI intensity. The results show that the intensity differed between UCIs, and that it was correlated significantly with the extent of and mean temperature reduction associated with a UCI. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that UCI intensity was affected by areas of forest vegetation and its spatial arrangements, as well as by the composition of the cool island and its neighboring thermal environment. The study validated the suitability of using intensity as an indicator of the UCI. Identifying the UCI as a result of the green-space cooling effect, will help in the management and planning of the spatial arrangement of green spaces in cities to mitigate the effects of the urban heat environment and help cities adapt to the climate change
On Measuring Condensate Fraction in Superconductors
An analysis of off-diagonal long-range order in superconductors shows that
the spin-spin correlation function is significantly influenced by the order if
the order parameter is anisotropic on a microscopic scale. Thus, magnetic
neutron scattering can provide a direct measurement of the condensate fraction
of a superconductor. It is also argued that recent measurements in high
temperature superconductors come very close to achieving this goal.Comment: 4 pages, 1 eps figure, RevTex. A new possibility in the underdoped
regime is added. Other corrections are mino
Thermal and electrical transport in the spin density wave antiferromagnet CaFeAs
We present here measurements of the thermopower, thermal conductivity, and
electrical resistivity of the newly reported compound CaFe4As3. Evidence is
presented from specific heat and electrical resistivity measurements that a
substantial fraction of the Fermi surface survives the onset of spin density
wave (SDW) order at the Neel temperature TN=88 K, and its subsequent
commensurate lockin transition at T2=26.4 K. The specific heat below T2
consists of a normal metallic component from the ungapped parts of the Fermi
surface, and a Bardeen-Cooper- Schrieffer (BCS) component that represents the
SDW gapping of the Fermi surface. A large Kadowaki-Woods ratio is found at low
temperatures, showing that the ground state of CaFe4As3 is a strongly
interacting Fermi liquid. The thermal conductivity of CaFe4As3 is an order of
magnitude smaller than those of conventional metals at all temperatures, due to
a strong phonon scattering. The thermoelectric power displays a sign change
from positive to negative indicating that a partial gap forms at the Fermi
level with the onset of commensurate spin density wave order at T2=26.4 K. The
small value of the thermopower and the enhancements of the resistivity due to
gap formation and strong quasiparticle interactions offset the low value of the
thermal conductivity, yielding only a modest value for the thermoelectric
figure of merit Z < 5x10^-6 1/K in CaFe4As3. The results of ab initio
electronic structure calculations are reported, confirming that the sign change
in the thermopower at T2 is reflected by a sign change in the slope of the
density of states at the Fermi level. Values for the quasiparticle
renormalization are derived from measurements of the specific heat and
thermopower, indicating that as T->0, CaFe4As3 is among the most strongly
correlated of the known Fe-based pnictide and chalcogenide systems.Comment: 8 pages with 5 figure
The kaon semileptonic form factor in Nf=2+1 domain wall lattice QCD with physical light quark masses
We present the first calculation of the kaon semileptonic form factor with
sea and valence quark masses tuned to their physical values in the continuum
limit of 2+1 flavour domain wall lattice QCD. We analyse a comprehensive set of
simulations at the phenomenologically convenient point of zero momentum
transfer in large physical volumes and for two different values of the lattice
spacing. Our prediction for the form factor is f+(0)=0.9685(34)(14) where the
first error is statistical and the second error systematic. This result can be
combined with experimental measurements of K->pi decays for a determination of
the CKM-matrix element for which we predict |Vus|=0.2233(5)(9) where the first
error is from experiment and the second error from the lattice computation.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, 6 table
Heavy Quarkonia and Quark Drip Lines in Quark-Gluon Plasma
Using the potential model and thermodynamical quantities obtained in lattice
gauge calculations, we determine the spontaneous dissociation temperatures of
color-singlet quarkonia and the `quark drip lines' which separate the region of
bound states from the unbound region. The dissociation temperatures
of and in quenched QCD are found to be 1.62 and
respectively, in good agreement with spectral function analyses. The
dissociation temperature of in full QCD with 2 flavors is found to be
1.42. For possible bound quarkonium states with light quarks, the
characteristics of the quark drip lines severely limit the stable region close
to the phase transition temperature. Bound color-singlet quarkonia with light
quarks may exist very near the phase transition temperature if their effective
quark mass is of the order of 300-400 MeV and higher.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, in LaTex, invited talk presented at the
International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter, UCLA, March 26-31,
200
Singularity Structures in Coulomb-Type Potentials in Two Body Dirac Equations of Constraint Dynamics
Two Body Dirac Equations (TBDE) of Dirac's relativistic constraint dynamics
have been successfully applied to obtain a covariant nonperturbative
description of QED and QCD bound states. Coulomb-type potentials in these
applications lead naively in other approaches to singular relativistic
corrections at short distances that require the introduction of either
perturbative treatments or smoothing parameters. We examine the corresponding
singular structures in the effective potentials of the relativistic
Schroedinger equation obtained from the Pauli reduction of the TBDE. We find
that the relativistic Schroedinger equation lead in fact to well-behaved wave
function solutions when the full potential and couplings of the system are
taken into account. The most unusual case is the coupled triplet system with
S=1 and L={(J-1),(J+1)}. Without the inclusion of the tensor coupling, the
effective S-state potential would become attractively singular. We show how
including the tensor coupling is essential in order that the wave functions be
well-behaved at short distances. For example, the S-state wave function becomes
simply proportional to the D-state wave function and dips sharply to zero at
the origin, unlike the usual S-state wave functions. Furthermore, this behavior
is similar in both QED and QCD, independent of the asymptotic freedom behavior
of the assumed QCD vector potential. Light- and heavy-quark meson states can be
described well by using a simplified linear-plus-Coulomb-type QCD potential
apportioned appropriately between world scalar and vector potentials. We use
this potential to exhibit explicitly the origin of the large pi-rho splitting
and effective chiral symmetry breaking. The TBDE formalism developed here may
be used to study quarkonia in quark-gluon plasma environments.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure
An analysis of the X-ray emission from the supernova remnant 3C397
The ASCA SIS and the ROSAT PSPC spectral data of the SNR 3C397 are analysed
with a two-component non-equilibrium ionization model. Besides, the ASCA SIS0
and SIS1 spectra are also fitted simultaneously in an equilibrium case. The
resulting values of the hydrogen column density yield a distance of \sim8\kpc
to 3C397. It is found that the hard X-ray emission, containing S and Fe
K lines, arises primarily from the hot component, while most of the
soft emission, composed mainly of Mg, Si, Fe L lines, and continuum, is
produced by the cool component. The emission measures suggest that the remnant
evolves in a cloudy medium and imply that the supernova progenitor might not be
a massive early-type star. The cool component is approaching ionization
equilibrium. The ages estimated from the ionization parameters and dynamics are
all much greater than the previous determination. We restore the X-ray maps
using the ASCA SIS data and compare them with the ROSAT HRI and the NRAO VLA
Sky Survey (NVSS) 20 cm maps. The morphology with two bright concentrations
suggests a bipolar remnant encountering a denser medium in the west.Comment: 20 pages, aasms4.sty, 3 figures To appear in ApJ (1999
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