14,577 research outputs found
Electron-Hole Crossover in Graphene Quantum Dots
We investigate the addition spectrum of a graphene quantum dot in the
vicinity of the electron-hole crossover as a function of perpendicular magnetic
field. Coulomb blockade resonances of the 50 nm wide dot are visible at all
gate voltages across the transport gap ranging from hole to electron transport.
The magnetic field dependence of more than 50 states displays the unique
complex evolution of the diamagnetic spectrum of a graphene dot from the
low-field regime to the Landau regime with the n=0 Landau level situated in the
center of the transport gap marking the electron-hole crossover. The average
peak spacing in the energy region around the crossover decreases with
increasing magnetic field. In the vicinity of the charge neutrality point we
observe a well resolved and rich excited state spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Nonaffine rubber elasticity for stiff polymer networks
We present a theory for the elasticity of cross-linked stiff polymer
networks. Stiff polymers, unlike their flexible counterparts, are highly
anisotropic elastic objects. Similar to mechanical beams stiff polymers easily
deform in bending, while they are much stiffer with respect to tensile forces
(``stretching''). Unlike in previous approaches, where network elasticity is
derived from the stretching mode, our theory properly accounts for the soft
bending response. A self-consistent effective medium approach is used to
calculate the macroscopic elastic moduli starting from a microscopic
characterization of the deformation field in terms of ``floppy modes'' --
low-energy bending excitations that retain a high degree of non-affinity. The
length-scale characterizing the emergent non-affinity is given by the ``fiber
length'' , defined as the scale over which the polymers remain straight.
The calculated scaling properties for the shear modulus are in excellent
agreement with the results of recent simulations obtained in two-dimensional
model networks. Furthermore, our theory can be applied to rationalize bulk
rheological data in reconstituted actin networks.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, revised Section II
Pair distribution function and structure factor of spherical particles
The availability of neutron spallation-source instruments that provide total
scattering powder diffraction has led to an increased application of real-space
structure analysis using the pair distribution function. Currently, the
analytical treatment of finite size effects within pair distribution refinement
procedures is limited. To that end, an envelope function is derived which
transforms the pair distribution function of an infinite solid into that of a
spherical particle with the same crystal structure. Distributions of particle
sizes are then considered, and the associated envelope function is used to
predict the particle size distribution of an experimental sample of gold
nanoparticles from its pair distribution function alone. Finally, complementing
the wealth of existing diffraction analysis, the peak broadening for the
structure factor of spherical particles, expressed as a convolution derived
from the envelope functions, is calculated exactly for all particle size
distributions considered, and peak maxima, offsets, and asymmetries are
discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Seed Quality and Planting Rates Affect Oat Yields
Study reveals importance of seedling vigor as well as germination in getting high yields of oats. Tests on planting rates suggest two to three bushels per acre when drilled, more than three if broadcast
Evaluation of electrode shape and nondestructive evaluation method for welded solar cell interconnects
Resistance welds of solar cell interconnect tabs were evaluated. Both copper-silver and silver-silver welds were made with various heat inputs and weld durations. Parallel gap and annular gap weld electrode designs were used. The welds were analyzed by light microscope, electron microprobe and scanning laser acoustic microscope. These analyses showed the size and shape of the weld, the relationship between the acoustic micrographs, the visible electrode footprint, and the effect of electrode misalignment. The effect of weld heat input on weld microstructure was also shown
Automated longitudinal control based on nonlinear recursive B-spline approximation for battery electric vehicles
This works presents a driver assistance system for energy-efficient ALC of a BEV. The ALC calculates a temporal velocity trajectory from map data. The trajectory is represented by a cubic B-spline function and results from an optimization problem with respect to travel time, driving comfort and energy consumption. For the energetic optimization we propose an adaptive model of the required electrical traction power. The simple power train of a BEV allows the formulation of constraints as soft constraints. This leads to an unconstrained optimization problem that can be solved with iterative filter-based data approximation algorithms. The result is a direct trajectory optimization method of which the effort grows linearly with the trajectory length, as opposed to exponentially as with most other direct methods. We evaluate ALC in real test drives with a BEV. We also investigate the energy-saving potential in driving simulations with ALC compared to MLC. On the chosen reference route the ALC saves up to 3.4% energy compared to MLC at same average velocity, and achieves a 2.6% higher average velocity than MLC at the same energy consumptio
Entropic forces generated by grafted semiflexible polymers
The entropic force exerted by the Brownian fluctuations of a grafted
semiflexible polymer upon a rigid smooth wall are calculated both analytically
and by Monte Carlo simulations. Such forces are thought to play an important
role for several cellular phenomena, in particular, the physics of
actin-polymerization-driven cell motility and movement of bacteria like
Listeria. In the stiff limit, where the persistence length of the polymer is
larger than its contour length, we find that the entropic force shows scaling
behavior. We identify the characteristic length scales and the explicit form of
the scaling functions. In certain asymptotic regimes we give simple analytical
expressions which describe the full results to a very high numerical accuracy.
Depending on the constraints imposed on the transverse fluctuations of the
filament there are characteristic differences in the functional form of the
entropic forces; in a two-dimensional geometry the entropic force exhibits a
marked peak.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, minor misprints correcte
Renal handling of prednisolone/prednisone: effect of steroid dose and llβ-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine under steady-state conditions whether the renal clearance of prednisolone is concentration dependent, and (2) to establish whether the urinary excretion of prednisolone and its biologically inactive 11-dehydro metabolite prednisone depend upon the activity of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-OHSD). For that purpose 10 healthy volunteers were infused to steady state over a 13-h period either at a low (11 μg/h × kg) or a high (70 μg/h × kg) rate with prednisolone on two occasions, once without and once with administration of glycyrrhetinic acid, an inhibitor of 11β-OHSD. Prednisolone and prednisone were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Mean renal clearance values of total or unbound prednisolone were several times higher during the high than the low infusion rate. The fractional renal clearance of unbound prednisolone during the high, but not during the low infusion rate exceeded 1. This indicates that in addition to unbound prednisolone, protein-bound prednisolone is excreted in urine at high plasma concentrations. Inhibition of 11β-OHSD increased the urinary ratios of prednisolone/prednisone in all subjects. Conclusions: (1) The renal clearance of prednisolone is concentration dependent; (2) there must be tubular secretion and/or glomerular filtration of prednisolone bound to plasma proteins; (3) the urinary excretion of prednisolone/prednisone is modulated by the activity of 11 β-OHS
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