31,966 research outputs found
Evidence for crossed Andreev reflection in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid structures
We have measured the non-local resistance of aluminum-iron spin-valve
structures fabricated by e-beam lithography and shadow evaporation. The sample
geometry consists of an aluminum bar with two or more ferromagnetic wires
forming point contacts to the aluminum at varying distances from each other. In
the normal state of aluminum, we observe a spin-valve signal which allows us to
control the relative orientation of the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic
contacts. In the superconducting state, at low temperatures and excitation
voltages well below the gap, we observe a spin-dependent non-local resistance
which decays on a smaller length scale than the normal-state spin-valve signal.
The sign, magnitude and decay length of this signal is consistent with
predictions made for crossed Andreev reflection (CAR).Comment: RevTeX, 4 page
Observation of heteronuclear atomic Efimov resonances
The Efimov effect represents a cornerstone in few-body physics. Building on
the recent experimental observation with ultracold atoms, we report the first
experimental signature of Efimov physics in a heteronuclear system. A mixture
of K and Rb atoms was cooled to few hundred nanoKelvins and
stored in an optical dipole trap. Exploiting a broad interspecies Feshbach
resonance, the losses due to three-body collisions were studied as a function
of the interspecies scattering length. We observe an enhancement of the
three-body collisions for three distinct values of the interspecies scattering
lengths, both positive and negative. We attribute the two features at negative
scattering length to the existence of two kind of Efimov trimers, namely KKRb
and KRbRb.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Modeling Hybrid Stars with an SU(3) non-linear sigma model
We study the behavior of hybrid stars using an extended hadronic and quark
SU(3) non-linear sigma model. The degrees of freedom change naturally, in this
model, from hadrons to quarks as the density/temperature increases. At zero
temperature, we reproduce massive neutron stars containing a core of hybrid
matter of 2 km for the non-rotating case and 1.18 km and 0.87 km, in the
equatorial and polar directions respectively, for stars rotating at the Kepler
frequency (physical cases lie in between). The cooling of such stars is also
analyzed.Comment: Revised version, references and figures added. Accepted for
publication in Physical Review
Gluon-Induced Weak Boson Fusion
The gluon-gluon induced terms for Higgs production through weak boson fusion
(WBF) are computed. Formally, these are of NNLO in the strong coupling
constant. This is the lowest order at which non-zero color exchange occurs
between the scattering quarks, leading to a color field and thus additional
hadronic activity between the outgoing jets. Using a minimal set of cuts, the
numerical impact of these terms is at the percent level with respect to the NLO
rate for weak boson fusion. Applying the so-called WBF cuts leads to an even
stronger suppression, so that we do not expect a significant deterioration of
the WFB signal by these color exchange effects.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures (21 included ps- and eps-files
A New Phytochemical Screening Programme used for Crops grown with Organic and Conventional Methods
A broad screening programme, covering the most general phytochemical groups of compounds, was developed on the basis of Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). A total of 46 TLC systems, comprising 26 derivatization reagents, 3 stationary phases, and 4 mobile phases, were included. The TLC systems were classified according to the groups of phytochemical compounds detected: Alcohols and phenolic compounds; Carbohydrates; N-containing compounds; Organic acids and lipids; P-containing compounds; S-containing compounds, and Terpenoids. Furthermore, one group of TLC systems detected compounds from several of the mentioned groups.
The screening programme was applied in the screening of potatoes (S. tuberosum L.), peas (P. sativum L.), kale (B. oleracea L.), carrots (D. carota L.), and apples (M. domestica Borkh.), cultivated with combinations of organic and conventional methods for plant protection and nutrient supply, for phytochemical differences (biomarkers).
Distinctive phytochemical differences were found between the differently cultivated samples of these crops. In peas and carrots only one biomarker was found. In peas the biomarker was related to the soil conditions, while the biomarker in carrots was related to the use of pesticides. In potato, two biomarkers related to the use of pesticides were found. Three biomarkers were found in kale. Two of these could be related to the use of pesticide, while the last was related to either fertiliser or soil conditions. Several biomarkers were found apples, but a relation to the cultivation methods was not clear. Three of the biomarkers in apples could be related to either the use of pesticides or fertiliser, while no conclusions could be drawn from the other biomarkers found.
The results of the screening programme form the basis for a potential development of a kit to detect whether crops are organically- or conventionally cultivated. Furthermore, the results from this part and other parts of the project "Organic food and health – a multigenerational animal experiment" provide basis for the selection of which secondary compounds to quantify by specific chemical analysis, isolate, and/or structure elucidation
Quark core impact on hybrid star cooling
In this paper we investigate the thermal evolution of hybrid stars, objects
composed of a quark matter core, enveloped by ordinary hadronic matter. Our
purpose is to investigate how important are the microscopic properties of the
quark core to the thermal evolution of the star. In order to do that we use a
simple MIT bag model for the quark core, and a relativistic mean field model
for the hadronic envelope. By choosing different values for the microscopic
parameters (bag constant, strange quark mass, strong coupling constant) we
obtain hybrid stars with different quark core properties. We also consider the
possibility of color superconductivity in the quark core. With this simple
approach, we have found a set of microscopic parameters that lead to a good
agreement with observed cooling neutron stars. Our results can be used to
obtain clues regarding the properties of the quark core in hybrid stars, and
can be used to refine more sophisticated models for the equation of state of
quark matter.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
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Full-field and anomaly initialization using a low-order climate model: a comparison and proposals for advanced formulations
Initialization techniques for seasonal-to-decadal climate predictions fall into two main categories; namely full-field initialization (FFI) and anomaly initialization (AI). In the FFI case the initial model state is replaced by the best possible available estimate of the real state. By doing so the initial error is efficiently reduced but, due to the unavoidable presence of model deficiencies, once the model is let free to run a prediction, its trajectory drifts away from the observations no matter how small the initial error is. This problem is partly overcome with AI where the aim is to forecast future anomalies by assimilating observed anomalies on an estimate of the model climate.
The large variety of experimental setups, models and observational networks adopted worldwide make it difficult to draw firm conclusions on the respective advantages and drawbacks of FFI and AI, or to identify distinctive lines for improvement. The lack of a unified mathematical framework adds an additional difficulty toward the design of adequate initialization strategies that fit the desired forecast horizon, observational network and model at hand.
Here we compare FFI and AI using a low-order climate model of nine ordinary differential equations and use the notation and concepts of data assimilation theory to highlight their error scaling properties. This analysis suggests better performances using FFI when a good observational network is available and reveals the direct relation of its skill with the observational accuracy. The skill of AI appears, however, mostly related to the model quality and clear increases of skill can only be expected in coincidence with model upgrades.
We have compared FFI and AI in experiments in which either the full system or the atmosphere and ocean were independently initialized. In the former case FFI shows better and longer-lasting improvements, with skillful predictions until month 30. In the initialization of single compartments, the best performance is obtained when the stabler component of the model (the ocean) is initialized, but with FFI it is possible to have some predictive skill even when the most unstable compartment (the extratropical atmosphere) is observed.
Two advanced formulations, least-square initialization (LSI) and exploring parameter uncertainty (EPU), are introduced. Using LSI the initialization makes use of model statistics to propagate information from observation locations to the entire model domain. Numerical results show that LSI improves the performance of FFI in all the situations when only a portion of the system's state is observed. EPU is an online drift correction method in which the drift caused by the parametric error is estimated using a short-time evolution law and is then removed during the forecast run. Its implementation in conjunction with FFI allows us to improve the prediction skill within the first forecast year.
Finally, the application of these results in the context of realistic climate models is discussed
Lubrication effects on the flow of wet granular materials
We investigate the dynamics of a partially saturated grain-liquid mixture
with a rotating drum apparatus. The drum is partially filled with the mixture
and then rotated about its horizontal axis. We focus on the continous
avalanching regime and measure the impact of volume fraction and viscosity of
the liquid on the dynamic surface angle. The inclination angle of the surface
is observed to increase sharply to a peak and then decrease as a function of
liquid volume fraction. The height of the peak is observed to increase with
rotation rate. For higher liquid volume fractions, the inclination angle of the
surface can decrease with viscosity before increasing. The viscosity where the
minima occurs decreases with the rotation rate of the drum. Limited
measurements of the flow depth were made, and these were observed to show only
fractional changes with volume fraction and rotation speeds. We show that the
qualitative features of our observations can be understood by analyzing the
effect of lubrication forces on the timescale over which particles come in
contact.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Hybrid Stars in an SU(3) Parity Doublet Model
We apply an extended version of the SU(3) parity model, containing quark
degrees of freedom, to study neutron stars. The model successfully reproduces
the main thermodynamic features of QCD which allows us to describe the
composition of dense matter. Chiral symmetry restoration is realized inside the
star and the chiral partners of the baryons appear, their masses becoming
degenerate. Furthermore, quark degrees of freedom appear in a transition to a
deconfined state. Performing an investigation of the macroscopic properties of
neutron stars, we show that observational constraints, like mass and thermal
evolution, are satisfied and new predictions can be made
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