14,892 research outputs found
Collective effects in charge transfer within a hybrid organic-inorganic system
A collective electron transfer (ET) process was discovered by studying the
current noise in a field effect transistor with light-sensitive gate formed by
nanocrystals linked by organic molecules to its surface. Fluctuations in the ET
through the organic linker are reflected in the fluctuations of the transistor
conductivity. The current noise has an avalanche character. Critical exponents
obtained from the noise power spectra, avalanche distributions, and the
dependence of the average avalanche size on avalanche duration are consistent
with each other. A plausible model is proposed for this phenomenonComment: 15 pages 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
Classical versus Quantum Structure of the Scattering Probability Matrix. Chaotic wave-guides
The purely classical counterpart of the Scattering Probability Matrix (SPM)
of the quantum scattering matrix is defined for 2D
quantum waveguides for an arbitrary number of propagating modes . We compare
the quantum and classical structures of for a waveguide
with generic Hamiltonian chaos. It is shown that even for a moderate number of
channels, knowledge of the classical structure of the SPM allows us to predict
the global structure of the quantum one and, hence, understand important
quantum transport properties of waveguides in terms of purely classical
dynamics. It is also shown that the SPM, being an intensity measure, can give
additional dynamical information to that obtained by the Poincar\`{e} maps.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Urbanization impacts on the climate in Europe: Numerical experiments by the PSU-NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)
The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of urban land on the climate in Europe on local and regional scales. Effects of urban land cover on the climate are isolated using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU-NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) with a modified land surface scheme based on the Town Energy Budget model. Two model scenarios represent responses of climate to different states of urbanization in Europe: 1) no urban areas and 2) urban land in the actual state in the beginning of the twenty-first century. By comparing the simulations of these contrasting scenarios, spatial differences in near-surface temperature and precipitation are quantified. Simulated near-surface temperatures and an urban heat island for January and July over a period of 6 yr (2000-05) agree well with corresponding measurements at selected urban areas. The conversion of rural to urban land results in statistically significant changes to precipitation and near-surface temperature over areas of the land cover perturbations. The diurnal temperature range in urbanized regions was reduced on average by 1.26 degrees +/- 0.71 degrees C in summer and by 0.73 degrees +/- 00.54 degrees C in winter. Inclusion of urban areas results in an increase of urban precipitation in winter (0.09 +/- 00.16 mm day(-1)) and a precipitation reduction in summer (-0.05 +/- 0.22 mm day(-1)). [References: 49
Microstructure and pinning properties of hexagonal-disc shaped single crystalline MgB2
We synthesized hexagonal-disc-shaped MgB2 single crystals under high-pressure
conditions and analyzed the microstructure and pinning properties. The lattice
constants and the Laue pattern of the crystals from X-ray micro-diffraction
showed the crystal symmetry of MgB2. A thorough crystallographic mapping within
a single crystal showed that the edge and c-axis of hexagonal-disc shape
exactly matched the (10-10) and the (0001) directions of the MgB2 phase. Thus,
these well-shaped single crystals may be the best candidates for studying the
direction dependences of the physical properties. The magnetization curve and
the magnetic hysteresis for these single crystals showed the existence of a
wide reversible region and weak pinning properties, which supported our single
crystals being very clean.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.
Escape from a metastable well under a time-ramped force
Thermally activated escape of an over-damped particle from a metastable well
under the action of a time-ramped force is studied. We express the mean first
passage time (MFPT) as the solution to a partial differential equation, which
we solve numerically for a model case. We discuss two approximations of the
MFPT, one of which works remarkably well over a wide range of loading rates,
while the second is easy to calculate and can provide a valuable first
estimate.Comment: 9 pages, including 2 figure
Prominent bulk pinning effect in the MgB_2 superconductor
We report the magnetic-field dependence of the irreversible magnetization of
the recently discovered binary superconductor MgB. For the temperature
region of , the contribution of the bulk pinning to the
magnetization overwhelms that of the surface pinning. This was evident from the
fact that the magnetization curves, , were well described by the
critical-state model without considering the surface pinning effect. It was
also found that the curves at various temperatures scaled when the field
and the magnetization were normalized by the characteristic scaling factors
and , respectively. This feature suggests that the
pinning mechanism determining the hysteresis in is unique below .Comment: 4pages and 4 figures. Phys. Rev. B (accepted
Substitution for Cu in the electron-doped infinite-layer superconductor Sr0.9La0.1CuO2, Ni reduces Tc much faster than Zn
We report on the effect of substitution for Cu on Tc of electron-doped
infinite-layer superconductors Sr0.9La0.1Cu1-xRxO2, R = Zn and Ni. We found
that Tc was nearly constant until x = 0.03 for R = Zn, while superconductivity
was nearly suppressed for x = 0.02 with dTc/dx = 20 K/% for R = Ni. This
behavior is very similar to that of conventional superconductors. These
findings are discussed in terms of the superconducting gap symmetry in the
cuprate superconductors including another electron-doped superconductor,
(Nd,Ce)2CuO4-y.Comment: 5 pages and 2 EPS figures, [email protected] for material reques
Fluctuation Study of the Specific Heat of MgB2
The specific heat of polycrystalline MgB has been measured with
high resolution ac calorimetry from 5 to 45 K at constant magnetic fields. The
excess specific heat above T is discussed in terms of Gaussian
fluctuations and suggests that MgB is a bulk superconductor with
Ginzburg-Landau coherence length \AA . The transition-width
broadening in field is treated in terms of lowest-Landau-level (LLL)
fluctuations. That analysis requires that \AA . The underestimate
of the coherence length in field, along with deviations from 3D LLL
predictions, suggest that there is an influence from the anisotropy of B
between the c-axis and the a-b plane.Comment: Phys. Rev. B 66, 134515 (2002
`In pursuit of the Nazi mind?' the deployment of psychoanalysis in the allied struggle against Germany
This paper discusses how psychoanalytic ideas were brought to bear in the Allied struggle against the Third Reich and explores some of the claims that were made about this endeavour. It shows how a variety of studies of Fascist psychopathology, centred on the concept of superego, were mobilized in military intelligence, post-war planning and policy recommendations for ‘denazification’. Freud's ideas were sometimes championed by particular army doctors and government planners; at other times they were combined with, or displaced by, competing, psychiatric and psychological forms of treatment and diverse studies of the Fascist ‘personality’. This is illustrated through a discussion of the treatment and interpretation of the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, Rudolf Hess, after his arrival in Britain in 1941
- …