On the Groundstate of Yang-Mills Quantum Mechanics

A systematic method to calculate the low energy spectrum of SU(2) Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with high precision is given and applied to obtain the energies of the groundstate and the first few excited states.Comment: 4 pages REVTEX twocolumn, no figures; important calculational mistake corrected which considerably changes the conclusions; references adde

Phonons from neutron powder diffraction

The spherically averaged structure function \soq obtained from pulsed neutron powder diffraction contains both elastic and inelastic scattering via an integral over energy. The Fourier transformation of \soq to real space, as is done in the pair density function (PDF) analysis, regularizes the data, i.e. it accentuates the diffuse scattering. We present a technique which enables the extraction of off-center phonon information from powder diffraction experiments by comparing the experimental PDF with theoretical calculations based on standard interatomic potentials and the crystal symmetry. This procedure (dynamics from powder diffraction(DPD)) has been successfully implemented for two systems, a simple metal, fcc Ni, and an ionic crystal, CaF$_{2}$. Although computationally intensive, this data analysis allows for a phonon based modeling of the PDF, and additionally provides off-center phonon information from powder neutron diffraction

Reply to "Comment on 'Dynamic Peierls-Nabarro equations for elastically isotropic crystals' "

The Comment by Markenscoff that criticizes a recent dynamic extension of the Peierls-Nabarro equation [Y.-P. Pellegrini, Phys. Rev. B 81, 024101 (2010)] is refuted by means of simple examples that illustrate the interest of using an approach based on generalized functions to compute dynamic stress fields.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

The angular disclination

Similarly to the angular dislocation introduced by Yoffe, the angular disclination is a basic configuration that is suitable for generating polygonal loops by superposition. The displacements in an unbounded elastic material are given and the generation of closed loops discussed. La disclinaison angulaire est une configuration fondamentale la plus facile à construire des disclinaisons en polygone, tout comme dans le cas de la dislocation angulaire introduite par Yoffe. Nous donnons ici les déplacements dans un milieu élastique infini et discutons la méthode de construction des disclinaisons en polygone.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42686/1/10659_2004_Article_BF00041129.pd

Gross tumour volume delineation in anal cancer on T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRI - Reproducibility between radiologists and radiation oncologists and impact of reader experience level and DWI image quality

Abstract Purpose To assess how gross tumour volume (GTV) delineation in anal cancer is affected by interobserver variations between radiologists and radiation oncologists, expertise level, and use of T2-weighted MRI (T2W-MRI) vs. diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and to explore effects of DWI quality. Methods and materials We retrospectively analyzed the MRIs (T2W-MRI and b800-DWI) of 25 anal cancer patients. Four readers (Senior and Junior Radiologist; Senior and Junior Radiation Oncologist) independently delineated GTVs, first on T2W-MRI only and then on DWI (with reference to T2W-MRI). Maximum Tumour Diameter (MTD) was calculated from each GTV. Mean GTVs/MTDs were compared between readers and between T2W-MRI vs. DWI. Interobserver agreement was calculated as Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) and Hausdorff Distance (HD). DWI image quality was assessed using a 5-point artefact scale. Results Interobserver agreement between radiologists vs. radiation oncologists and between junior vs. senior readers was good–excellent, with similar agreement for T2W-MRI and DWI (e.g. ICCs 0.72–0.94 for T2W-MRI and 0.68–0.89 for DWI). There was a trend towards smaller GTVs on DWI, but only for the radiologists (P = 0.03–0.07). Moderate-severe DWI-artefacts were observed in 11/25 (44%) cases. Agreement tended to be lower in these cases. Conclusion Overall interobserver agreement for anal cancer GTV delineation on MRI is good for both radiologists and radiation oncologists, regardless of experience level. Use of DWI did not improve agreement. DWI artefacts affecting GTV delineation occurred in almost half of the patients, which may severely limit the use of DWI for radiotherapy planning if no steps are undertaken to avoid them

Breathing Current Domains in Globally Coupled Electrochemical Systems: A Comparison with a Semiconductor Model

Spatio-temporal bifurcations and complex dynamics in globally coupled intrinsically bistable electrochemical systems with an S-shaped current-voltage characteristic under galvanostatic control are studied theoretically on a one-dimensional domain. The results are compared with the dynamics and the bifurcation scenarios occurring in a closely related model which describes pattern formation in semiconductors. Under galvanostatic control both systems are unstable with respect to the formation of stationary large amplitude current domains. The current domains as well as the homogeneous steady state exhibit oscillatory instabilities for slow dynamics of the potential drop across the double layer, or across the semiconductor device, respectively. The interplay of the different instabilities leads to complex spatio-temporal behavior. We find breathing current domains and chaotic spatio-temporal dynamics in the electrochemical system. Comparing these findings with the results obtained earlier for the semiconductor system, we outline bifurcation scenarios leading to complex dynamics in globally coupled bistable systems with subcritical spatial bifurcations.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, 70 references, RevTex4 accepted by PRE http://pre.aps.or

The gauge theory of dislocations: static solutions of screw and edge dislocations

We investigate the T(3)-gauge theory of static dislocations in continuous solids. We use the most general linear constitutive relations bilinear in the elastic distortion tensor and dislocation density tensor for the force and pseudomoment stresses of an isotropic solid. The constitutive relations contain six material parameters. In this theory both the force and pseudomoment stresses are asymmetric. The theory possesses four characteristic lengths l1, l2, l3 and l4 which are given explicitely. We first derive the three-dimensional Green tensor of the master equation for the force stresses in the translational gauge theory of dislocations. We then investigate the situation of generalized plane strain (anti-plane strain and plane strain). Using the stress function method, we find modified stress functions for screw and edge dislocations. The solution of the screw dislocation is given in terms of one independent length l1=l4. For the problem of an edge dislocation, only two characteristic lengths l2 and l3 arise with one of them being the same l2=l1 as for the screw dislocation. Thus, this theory possesses only two independent lengths for generalized plane strain. If the two lengths l2 and l3 of an edge dislocation are equal, we obtain an edge dislocation which is the gauge theoretical version of a modified Volterra edge dislocation. In the case of symmetric stresses we recover well known results obtained earlier.Comment: 33 pages, 17 figure