1,792 research outputs found
The asymptotic quasi-stationary states of the two-dimensional magnetically confined plasma and of the planetary atmosphere
We derive the differential equation governing the asymptotic quasi-stationary
states of the two dimensional plasma immersed in a strong confining magnetic
field and of the planetary atmosphere. These two systems are related by the
property that there is an intrinsic constant length: the Larmor radius and
respectively the Rossby radius and a condensate of the vorticity field in the
unperturbed state related to the cyclotronic gyration and respectively to the
Coriolis frequency. Although the closest physical model is the
Charney-Hasegawa-Mima (CHM) equation, our model is more general and is related
to the system consisting of a discrete set of point-like vortices interacting
in plane by a short range potential. A field-theoretical formalism is developed
for describing the continuous version of this system. The action functional can
be written in the Bogomolnyi form (emphasizing the role of Self-Duality of the
asymptotic states) but the minimum energy is no more topological and the
asymptotic structures appear to be non-stationary, which is a major difference
with respect to traditional topological vortex solutions. Versions of this
field theory are discussed and we find arguments in favor of a particular form
of the equation. We comment upon the significant difference between the CHM
fluid/plasma and the Euler fluid and respectively the Abelian-Higgs vortex
models.Comment: Latex 126 pages, 7 eps figures included. Discussion on various forms
of the equatio
Charge Ordering and Ferroelectricity in Half-doped Manganites
By means of density-functional simulations for half-doped manganites, such as
pseudocubic Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and bilayer PrCa2Mn2O7, we discuss the occurrence of
ferroelectricity and we explore its crucial relation to the crystal structure
and to peculiar charge/spin/orbital ordering effects. In pseudocubic
Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3, ferroelectricity is induced in the Zener polaron type
structure, where Mn ions are dimerized. In marked contrast, in bilayer
PrCa2Mn2O7, it is the displacements of apical oxygens bonded to either Mn3+ or
Mn4+ ions that play a key role in the rising of ferroelectricity. Importantly,
local dipoles due to apical oxygens are also intimately linked to charge and
orbital ordering patterns in MnO2 planes, which in turn contribute to
polarization. Finally, an important outcome of our work consists in proposing
Born effective charges as a valid mean to quantify charge disproportionation
effects, in terms of anisotropy and size of electronic clouds around Mn ions.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted for publicatio
On the investigations of galaxy redshift periodicity
In this article we present a historical review of study of the redshift
periodicity of galaxies, starting from the first works performed in the
seventies of the twentieth century until the present day. We discuss the
observational data and methods used, showing in which cases the discretization
of redshifts was observed. We conclude that galaxy redshift periodisation is an
effect which can really exist. We also discussed the redshift discretization in
two different structures: the Local Group of galaxies and the Hercules
Supercluster. Contrary to the previous studies we consider all galaxies which
can be regarded as a structure member disregarding the accuracy of velocity
measurements. We applied the power spectrum analysis using the Hann function
for weighting, together with the jackknife error estimator. In both the
structures we found weak effects of redshift periodisation.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Part. and Nucl. Lett. 200
Application of Advanced Hightemperature Superconductors for Fusion Plasma Experimental Devices
Structural comparison of the free and DNA-bound forms of the purine repressor DNA-binding domain
AbstractBackground: The purine repressor (PurR) regulates genes that encode enzymes for purine biosynthesis. PurR has a two domain structure with an N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD) and a C-terminal corepressor-binding domain (CBD). The three-dimensional structure of a ternary complex of PurR bound to both corepressor and a specific DNA sequence has recently been determined by X-ray crystallography.Results We have determined the solution structure of the PurR DBD by NMR. It contains three helices, with the first and second helices forming a helix-turn-helix motif. The tertiary structure of the three helices is very similar to that of the corresponding region in the ternary complex. The structure of the hinge helical region, however, which makes specific base contacts in the minor groove of DNA, is disordered in the DNA-free form.Conclusion The stable formation of PurR hinge helices requires PurR dimerization, which brings the hinge regions proximal to each other. The dimerization of the hinge helices is likely to be controled by the CBD dimerization interface, but is induced by specific-DNA binding
Can dark matter be a Bose-Einstein condensate?
We consider the possibility that the dark matter, which is required to
explain the dynamics of the neutral hydrogen clouds at large distances from the
galactic center, could be in the form of a Bose-Einstein condensate. To study
the condensate we use the non-relativistic Gross-Pitaevskii equation. By
introducing the Madelung representation of the wave function, we formulate the
dynamics of the system in terms of the continuity equation and of the
hydrodynamic Euler equations. Hence dark matter can be described as a
non-relativistic, Newtonian Bose-Einstein gravitational condensate gas, whose
density and pressure are related by a barotropic equation of state. In the case
of a condensate with quartic non-linearity, the equation of state is polytropic
with index . To test the validity of the model we fit the Newtonian
tangential velocity equation of the model with a sample of rotation curves of
low surface brightness and dwarf galaxies, respectively. We find a very good
agreement between the theoretical rotation curves and the observational data
for the low surface brightness galaxies. The deflection of photons passing
through the dark matter halos is also analyzed, and the bending angle of light
is computed. The bending angle obtained for the Bose-Einstein condensate is
larger than that predicted by standard general relativistic and dark matter
models. Therefore the study of the light deflection by galaxies and the
gravitational lensing could discriminate between the Bose-Einstein condensate
dark matter model and other dark matter models.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP, references
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Evolution of spectral function in a doped Mott insulator : surface vs. bulk contributions
We study the evolution of the spectral function with progressive hole doping
in a Mott insulator, with = 0.0 - 0.5. The spectral
features indicate a bulk-to-surface metal-insulator transition in this system.
Doping dependent changes in the bulk electronic structure are shown to be
incompatible with existing theoretical predictions. An empirical description
based on the single parameter, , is shown to describe consistently the
spectral evolution.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
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