12,681 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of the classical spin-ice model with nearest neighbour interactions using the Wang-Landau algorithm
In this article we study the classical nearest-neighbour spin-ice model
(nnSI) by means of Monte Carlo simulations, using the Wang-Landau algorithm.
The nnSI describes several of the salient features of the spin-ice materials.
Despite its simplicity it exhibits a remarkably rich behaviour. The model has
been studied using a variety of techniques, thus it serves as an ideal
benchmark to test the capabilities of the Wang Landau algorithm in magnetically
frustrated systems. We study in detail the residual entropy of the nnSI and, by
introducing an applied magnetic field in two different crystallographic
directions ([111] and [100],) we explore the physics of the kagome-ice phase,
the transition to full polarisation, and the three dimensional Kasteleyn
transition. In the latter case, we discuss how additional constraints can be
added to the Hamiltonian, by taking into account a selective choice of states
in the partition function and, then, show how this choice leads to the
realization of the ideal Kasteleyn transition in the system.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
The Unevolved Main Sequence of Nearby Field Stars and the Open Cluster Distance Scale
The slope and zero-point of the unevolved main sequence as a function of
metallicity are investigated using a homogeneous catalog of nearby field stars
with absolute magnitudes defined with revised Hipparcos parallaxes, Tycho-2
photometry, and precise metallicities from high-dispersion spectroscopy.
(B-V)-temperature relations are derived from 1746 stars between [Fe/H] = -0.5
and +0.6 and 372 stars within 0.05 dex of solar abundance; for T_e = 5770 K,
the solar color is B-V= 0.652 +/- 0.002 (s.e.m.). From over 500 cool dwarfs
between [Fe/H] = -0.5 and +0.5, Delta(B-V)/Delta[Fe/H] at fixed M_V = 0.213 +/-
0.005, with a very weak dependence upon the adopted main sequence slope with
B-V at a given [Fe/H]. At Hyades metallicity this translates into Delta
M_V/Delta[Fe/H] at fixed B-V = 0.98 +/- 0.02, midway between the range of
values empirically derived from smaller and/or less homogeneous samples and
model isochrones. From field stars of similar metallicity, the Hyades ([Fe/H] =
+0.13) with no reddening has (m-M)_0 = 3.33 +/- 0.02 and M67, with E(B-V) =
0.041, A_V = 3.1E(B-V), and [Fe/H] = 0.00, has (m-M)_0 = 9.71 +/- 0.02 (s.e.m),
where the errors quoted refer to internal errors alone. At the extreme end of
the age and metallicity scale, with E(B-V) = 0.125 +/- 0.025 and [Fe/H] = +0.39
+/- 0.06, comparison of the fiducial relation for NGC 6791 to 19 field stars
with (B-V) above 0.90 and [Fe/H] = +0.25 or higher, adjusted to the metallicity
of NGC 6791, leads to (m-M)_0 = 13.07 +/- 0.09, internal and systematic errors
included.Comment: 32 pages, 8 eps figures, latex; accepted for PAS
Tiling groupoids and Bratteli diagrams
Let T be an aperiodic and repetitive tiling of R^d with finite local
complexity. Let O be its tiling space with canonical transversal X. The tiling
equivalence relation R_X is the set of pairs of tilings in X which are
translates of each others, with a certain (etale) topology. In this paper R_X
is reconstructed as a generalized "tail equivalence" on a Bratteli diagram,
with its standard AF-relation as a subequivalence relation.
Using a generalization of the Anderson-Putnam complex, O is identified with
the inverse limit of a sequence of finite CW-complexes. A Bratteli diagram B is
built from this sequence, and its set of infinite paths dB is homeomorphic to
X. The diagram B is endowed with a horizontal structure: additional edges that
encode the adjacencies of patches in T. This allows to define an etale
equivalence relation R_B on dB which is homeomorphic to R_X, and contains the
AF-relation of "tail equivalence".Comment: 34 pages, 4 figure
Constraints on cosmic-ray efficiency in the supernova remnant RCW 86 using multi-wavelength observations
Several young supernova remnants (SNRs) have recently been detected in the
high-energy and very-high-energy gamma-ray domains. As exemplified by RX
J1713.7-3946, the nature of this emission has been hotly debated, and direct
evidence for the efficient acceleration of cosmic-ray protons at the SNR shocks
still remains elusive. We analyzed more than 40 months of data acquired by the
Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in the
HE domain, and gathered all of the relevant multi-wavelength (from radio to VHE
gamma-rays) information about the broadband nonthermal emission from RCW 86.
For this purpose, we re-analyzed the archival X-ray data from the ASCA/Gas
Imaging Spectrometer (GIS), the XMM-Newton/EPIC-MOS, and the RXTE/Proportional
Counter Array (PCA). Beyond the expected Galactic diffuse background, no
significant gamma-ray emission in the direction of RCW 86 is detected in any of
the 0.1-1, 1-10 and 10-100 GeV Fermi-LAT maps. In the hadronic scenario, the
derived HE upper limits together with the HESS measurements in the VHE domain
can only be accommodated by a spectral index Gamma <= 1.8, i.e. a value
in-between the standard (test-particle) index and the asymptotic limit of
theoretical particle spectra in the case of strongly modified shocks. The
interpretation of the gamma-ray emission by inverse Compton scattering of high
energy electrons reproduces the multi-wavelength data using a reasonable value
for the average magnetic field of 15-25 muG. For these two scenarios, we
assessed the level of acceleration efficiency. We discuss these results in the
light of existing estimates of the magnetic field strength, the effective
density and the acceleration efficiency in RCW 86.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 10 pages and 4 figure
Tourism, nightlife and planning: challenges and opportunities for community liveability in La Barceloneta
In La Barceloneta, one of the beachfront quarters of the city of Barcelona, the rapid expansion of mainly illegal short-term rental apartments for tourists and noise problems related to alcohol-fuelled nightlife consumption, are challenging community liveability and peaceful urban coexistence between different social groups. Similar to other cases worldwide, the rapid expansion of touristification on the urban and socio-economic fabric of the city has become an increasing source of dispute and residents' contestation. By taking a diachronical critical review, the first part of this paper examines the role of urban planning developed in La Barceloneta during the period 1950–2016 and how it transformed the area into a leisure-oriented and tourist-oriented quarter. The second part of the paper is based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork that was conducted to capture the range of different voices, stories and discourses produced and reproduced by different actors affected and/or involved in the recent touristification of La Barceloneta. Findings obtained confirm that current urban policy and planning are clearly insufficient to tackle and address negative community-based impacts aforementioned. Hence, the final section highlights the urgent need for the development and implementation of new, community-based urban planning with the aim of ensuring community liveability and peaceful urban coexistence between different social groups in La Barceloneta
Asymptotic Energy Dependence of Hadronic Total Cross Sections from Lattice QCD
The nonperturbative approach to soft high-energy hadron-hadron scattering,
based on the analytic continuation of Wilson-loop correlation functions from
Euclidean to Minkowskian theory, allows to investigate the asymptotic energy
dependence of hadron-hadron total cross sections in lattice QCD. In this paper
we will show, using best fits of the lattice data with proper functional forms
satisfying unitarity and other physical constraints, how indications emerge in
favor of a universal asymptotic high-energy behavior of the kind B log^2 s for
hadronic total cross sections.Comment: Revised and extended version; 29 pages, 4 figure
Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics
Artificial photosynthesis, mimicking nature in its efforts to store solar energy, has received considerable attention from the research community. Most of these attempts target the production of H2 as a fuel and our group recently demonstrated solar-to-hydrogen conversion at 12.3% efficiency. Here, in an effort to take this approach closer to real photosynthesis, which is based on the conversion of CO2, we demonstrate the efficient reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide driven solely by simulated sunlight using water as the electron source. Employing series-connected perovskite photovoltaics and high-performance catalyst electrodes, we reach a solar-to-CO efficiency exceeding 6.5%, which represents a new benchmark in sunlight-driven CO2 conversion. Considering hydrogen as a secondary product, an efficiency exceeding 7% is observed. Furthermore, this study represents one of the first demonstrations of extended, stable operation of perovskite photovoltaics, whose large open-circuit voltage is shown to be particularly suited for this process
Wilson-loop formalism for Reggeon exchange in soft high-energy scattering
We derive a nonperturbative expression for the non-vacuum,
qqbar-Reggeon-exchange contribution to the meson-meson elastic scattering
amplitude at high energy and low momentum transfer, in the framework of QCD.
Describing the mesons in terms of colourless qqbar dipoles, the problem is
reduced to the two-fermion-exchange contribution to the dipole-dipole
scattering amplitudes, which is expressed as a path integral, over the
trajectories of the exchanged fermions, of the expectation value of a certain
Wilson loop. We also show how the resulting expression can be reconstructed
from a corresponding quantity in the Euclidean theory, by means of analytic
continuation. Finally, we make contact with previous work on Reggeon exchange
in the gauge/gravity duality approach.Comment: A few misprints in the expressions for the relevant Wilson loops have
been corrected. 55 pages, 7 figure
Comment on "Quantum Phase Slips and Transport in Ultrathin Superconducting Wires"
In a recent Letter (Phys. Rev. Lett.78, 1552 (1997) ), Zaikin, Golubev, van
Otterlo, and Zimanyi criticized the phenomenological time-dependent
Ginzburg-Laudau model which I used to study the quantum phase-slippage rate for
superconducting wires. They claimed that they developed a "microscopic" model,
made qualitative improvement on my overestimate of the tunnelling barrier due
to electromagnetic field. In this comment, I want to point out that, i), ZGVZ's
result on EM barrier is expected in my paper; ii), their work is also
phenomenological; iii), their renormalization scheme is fundamentally flawed;
iv), they underestimated the barrier for ultrathin wires; v), their comparison
with experiments is incorrect.Comment: Substantial changes made. Zaikin et al's main result was expected
from my work. They underestimated tunneling barrier for ultrathin wires by
one order of magnitude in the exponen
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