283 research outputs found
Generalized Stacking Fault Energy Surfaces and Dislocation Properties of Silicon: A First-Principles Theoretical Study
The generalized stacking fault (GSF) energy surfaces have received
considerable attention due to their close relation to the mechanical properties
of solids. We present a detailed study of the GSF energy surfaces of silicon
within the framework of density functional theory. We have calculated the GSF
energy surfaces for the shuffle and glide set of the (111) plane, and that of
the (100) plane of silicon, paying particular attention to the effects of the
relaxation of atomic coordinates. Based on the calculated GSF energy surfaces
and the Peierls-Nabarro model, we obtain estimates for the dislocation
profiles, core energies, Peierls energies, and the corresponding stresses for
various planar dislocations of silicon.Comment: 9 figures (not included; send requests to [email protected]
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Looking Ahead to the Next Steps
Pressure has been building for the conclusion of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Getting the deal done is important, but the TPP is not just another free trade agreement (FTA). It represents the chance to set a trade agenda for the future across a wide range of topics for countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This means that the agreement should not be settled in haste. More importantly, it also means that key decisions need to be reached about broader issues related to the institutional structure of the TPP. These decisions must be made now, before the deal is closed, on issues such as how to create the TPP as a living agreement, the formation of a TPP Secretariat, and the clarification of entry conditions for future members such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These choices must be made deliberately and carefully even while officials are struggling with reaching closure on the most highly sensitive issues still remaining in the agreement. It will not be easy, but wise decisions are necessary now to ensure the long-term success of the TPP
The H-Dibaryon and the Hard Core
The H dibaryon, a single, triply magic bag containing two up, two down and
two strange quarks, has long been sought after in a variety of experiments. Its
creation has been attempted in , proton and most recently in relativistic
heavy ion induced reactions. We concentrate on the latter, but our conclusions
are more generally applicable. The two baryons coalescing to form the single
dibaryon, likely in the case of heavy ions, must penetrate
the short range repulsive barrier which is expected to exist between them. We
find that this barrier can profoundly affect the probability of producing the H
state, should it actually exist.Comment: 9 pages including 4 figure
A Direct Comparison between the use of Double Gray and Multiwavelength Radiative Transfer in a General Circulation Model with and without Radiatively Active Clouds
Inhomogeneous cloud formation and wavelength-dependent phenomena are expected
to shape hot Jupiter atmospheres. We present a General Circulation Model (GCM)
with multiwavelength "picket fence" radiative transfer and radiatively active,
temperature dependent clouds, and compare the results to a double gray routine.
The double gray method inherently fails to model polychromatic effects in hot
Jupiter atmospheres, while picket fence captures these non-gray aspects and
performs well compared to fully wavelength-dependent methods. We compare both
methods with radiatively active clouds and cloud-free models, assessing the
limitations of the double gray method. Although there are broad similarities,
the picket fence models have larger day-night side temperature differences,
non-isothermal upper atmospheres, and multiwavelength effects in the presence
of radiatively active clouds. We model the well-known hot Jupiters HD 189733 b
and HD 209458 b. For the hotter HD 209458 b, the picket fence method prevents
clouds from thermostating dayside temperatures, resulting in hotter upper
atmospheres and the dissipation of dayside clouds. Differences in the
temperature structures are then associated with nuanced differences in the
circulation patterns and clouds. Models of the cooler HD 189733 b have global
cloud coverage, regardless of radiative transfer scheme, whereas there are
larger differences in the models of HD 209458 b, particularly in the extent of
the partial cloud coverage on its dayside. This results in minor changes to the
thermal and reflected light phase curves of HD 189733 b, but more significant
differences for the picket fence and double gray versions of HD 209458 b.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 31 page
Atomistic Studies of Defect Nucleation during Nanoindentation of Au (001)
Atomistic studies are carried out to investigate the formation and evolution
of defects during nanoindentation of a gold crystal. The results in this
theoretical study complement the experimental investigations [J. D. Kiely and
J. E. Houston, Phys. Rev. B, v57, 12588 (1998)] extremely well. The defects are
produced by a three step mechanism involving nucleation, glide and reaction of
Shockley partials on the {111} slip planes noncoplanar with the indented
surface. We have observed that slip is in the directions along which the
resolved shear stress has reached the critical value of approximately 2 GPa.
The first yield occurs when the shear stresses reach this critical value on all
the {111} planes involved in the formation of the defect. The phenomenon of
strain hardening is observed due to the sessile stair-rods produced by the
zipping of the partials. The dislocation locks produced during the second yield
give rise to permanent deformation after retraction.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Physical Review
A Complex Regulatory Network Coordinating Cell Cycles During C. elegans Development Is Revealed by a Genome-Wide RNAi Screen
The development and homeostasis of multicellular animals requires precise coordination of cell division and differentiation. We performed a genome-wide RNA interference screen in Caenorhabditis elegans to reveal the components of a regulatory network that promotes developmentally programmed cell-cycle quiescence. The 107 identified genes are predicted to constitute regulatory networks that are conserved among higher animals because almost half of the genes are represented by clear human orthologs. Using a series of mutant backgrounds to assess their genetic activities, the RNA interference clones displaying similar properties were clustered to establish potential regulatory relationships within the network. This approach uncovered four distinct genetic pathways controlling cell-cycle entry during intestinal organogenesis. The enhanced phenotypes observed for animals carrying compound mutations attest to the collaboration between distinct mechanisms to ensure strict developmental regulation of cell cycles. Moreover, we characterized ubc-25, a gene encoding an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme whose human ortholog, UBE2Q2, is deregulated in several cancers. Our genetic analyses suggested that ubc-25 acts in a linear pathway with cul-1/Cul1, in parallel to pathways employing cki-1/p27 and lin-35/pRb to promote cell-cycle quiescence. Further investigation of the potential regulatory mechanism demonstrated that ubc-25 activity negatively regulates CYE-1/cyclin E protein abundance in vivo. Together, our results show that the ubc-25-mediated pathway acts within a complex network that integrates the actions of multiple molecular mechanisms to control cell cycles during development
Effects of crack tip geometry on dislocation emission and cleavage: A possible path to enhanced ductility
We present a systematic study of the effect of crack blunting on subsequent
crack propagation and dislocation emission. We show that the stress intensity
factor required to propagate the crack is increased as the crack is blunted by
up to thirteen atomic layers, but only by a relatively modest amount for a
crack with a sharp 60 corner. The effect of the blunting is far less
than would be expected from a smoothly blunted crack; the sharp corners
preserve the stress concentration, reducing the effect of the blunting.
However, for some material parameters blunting changes the preferred
deformation mode from brittle cleavage to dislocation emission. In such
materials, the absorption of preexisting dislocations by the crack tip can
cause the crack tip to be locally arrested, causing a significant increase in
the microscopic toughness of the crack tip. Continuum plasticity models have
shown that even a moderate increase in the microscopic toughness can lead to an
increase in the macroscopic fracture toughness of the material by several
orders of magnitude. We thus propose an atomic-scale mechanism at the crack
tip, that ultimately may lead to a high fracture toughness in some materials
where a sharp crack would seem to be able to propagate in a brittle manner.
Results for blunt cracks loaded in mode II are also presented.Comment: 12 pages, REVTeX using epsfig.sty. 13 PostScript figures. Final
version to appear in Phys. Rev. B. Main changes: Discussion slightly
shortened, one figure remove
Microsurgical anatomy of the arterial compartment of the cavernous sinus: analysis of 24 cavernous sinus
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