568 research outputs found
Hydrodynamic theory of freezing: Nucleation and polycrystalline growth
Structural aspects of crystal nucleation in undercooled liquids are explored
using a nonlinear hydrodynamic theory of crystallization proposed recently [G.
I. Toth et al., J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 26, 055001 (2014)], which is based on
combining fluctuating hydrodynamics with the phase-field crystal theory. We
show that in this hydrodynamic approach not only homogeneous and heterogeneous
nucleation processes are accessible, but also growth front nucleation, which
leads to the formation of new (differently oriented) grains at the solid-liquid
front in highly undercooled systems. Formation of dislocations at the
solid-liquid interface and interference of density waves ahead of the
crystallization front are responsible for the appearance of the new
orientations at the growth front that lead to spherulite-like nanostructures
Controlled Irradiative Formation of Penitentes
Spike-shaped structures are produced by light-driven ablation in very
different contexts. Penitentes 1-4 m high are common on Andean glaciers, where
their formation changes glacier dynamics and hydrology. Laser ablation can
produce cones 10-100 microns high with a variety of proposed applications in
materials science. We report the first laboratory generation of
centimeter-scale snow and ice penitentes. Systematically varying conditions
allows identification of the essential parameters controlling the formation of
ablation structures. We demonstrate that penitente initiation and coarsening
requires cold temperatures, so that ablation leads to sublimation rather than
melting. Once penitentes have formed, further growth of height can occur by
melting. The penitentes intially appear as small structures (3 mm high) and
grow by coarsening to 1-5 cm high. Our results are an important step towards
understanding and controlling ablation morphologies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Coupled-Oscillator Associative Memory Array Operation for Pattern Recognition
Operation of the array of coupled oscillators underlying the associative memory function is demonstrated for various interconnection schemes (cross-connect, star phase keying and star frequency keying) and various physical implementation of oscillators (van der Pol, phase-locked loop, spin torque). The speed of synchronization of oscillators and the evolution of the degree of matching is studied as a function of device parameters. The dependence of errors in association on the number of the memorized patterns and the distance between the test and the memorized pattern is determined for Palm, Furber and Hopfield association algorithms
Rare occult macular dystrophy with a pathogenic variant in the RP1L1 gene in a patient of Swiss descent
Purpose: We report a first case of bilateral occult macular dystrophy (OMD) with a c.133C>T (p.Arg45Trp) pathogenic variant in the retinitis pigmentosa 1-like 1 (RP1L1) gene in a patient of Caucasian Swiss decent. Observations: A 34-year-old man presented with decreased visual acuity known since childhood. Fundus examination of both eyes revealed no pathology other than mildly increased granularity of the foveal retinal pigment epithelium. The full-field electroretinogram (ffERG) presented with normal findings while the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) showed severely reduced amplitudes of the foveal response. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed foveal outer retinal atrophy. Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging demonstrated near-normal findings with minimal mottling at the posterior pole. The genetic analysis revealed a heterozygous pathogenic variant (c.133C>T, p.Arg45Trp) in the RP1L1 gene. Conclusion and importance: Our present case suggests that OMD shows a wide range of clinical presentations with a variety of ophthalmological findings, age of disease onset, visual acuity, and genetic diversity
Vortex Plastic Motion in Twinned Superconductors
We present simulations, without electrodynamical assumptions, of
, and , in hard superconductors, for a variety
of twin-boundary pinning potential parameters, and for a range of values of the
density and strength of the pinning sites. We numerically solve the overdamped
equations of motion of up to 10^4 flux-gradient-driven vortices which can be
temporarily trapped at pinning centers. These simulations relate
macroscopic measurements (e.g., M(H), ``flame'' shaped profiles) with
the underlying microscopic pinning landscape and the plastic dynamics of
individual vortices
Dynamics of the magnetic flux trapped in fractal clusters of normal phase in a superconductor
The influence of geometry and morphology of superconducting structure on
critical currents and magnetic flux trapping in percolative type-II
superconductor is considered. The superconductor contains the clusters of a
normal phase, which act as pinning centers. It is found that such clusters have
significant fractal properties. The main features of these clusters are studied
in detail: the cluster statistics is analyzed; the fractal dimension of their
boundary is estimated; the distribution of critical currents is obtained, and
its peculiarities are explored. It is examined thoroughly how the finite
resolution capacity of the cluster geometrical size measurement affects the
estimated value of fractal dimension. The effect of fractal properties of the
normal phase clusters on the electric field arising from magnetic flux motion
is investigated in the case of an exponential distribution of cluster areas.
The voltage-current characteristics of superconductors in the resistive state
for an arbitrary fractal dimension are obtained. It is revealed that the
fractality of the boundaries of the normal phase clusters intensifies the
magnetic flux trapping and thereby raises the critical current of a
superconductor.Comment: revtex, 16 pages with 1 table and 5 figures; text and figures are
improved; more detailed version with geometric probability analisys of the
distribution of entry points into weak links over the perimeter of a normal
phase clusters and one additional figure is published in Phys.Rev.B;
alternative e-mail of author is [email protected]
Photoproduction of Long-Lived Holes and Electronic Processes in Intrinsic Electric Fields Seen through Photoinduced Absorption and Dichroism in Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12} Garnets
Long-lived photoinduced absorption and dichroism in the
Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12} garnets with x < 0.06 were examined versus
temperature and pumping intensity. Unusual features of the kinetics of
photoinduced phenomena are indicative of the underlying electronic processes.
The comparison with the case of Ca_3Mn_2Ge_3O_{12}, explored earlier by the
authors, permits one to finally establish the main common mechanisms of
photoinduced absorption and dichroism caused by random electric fields of
photoproduced charges (hole polarons). The rate of their diffusion and
relaxation through recombination is strongly influenced by the same fields,
whose large statistical straggling is responsible for a broad continuous set of
relaxation components (observed in the relaxation time range from 1 to about
1000 min). For Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12}, the time and temperature dependences
of photoinduced absorption and dichroism bear a strong imprint of structure
imperfection increasing with x.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure
Appendix I: Tethyan Paleocene-Eocene Larger Foraminifera Biostratigraphy: Shallow Benthic Zones (SBZ)
Thermomagnetic history effects in SmMnGe
The intermetallic compound SmMnGe, displaying multiple magnetic phase
transitions, is being investigated in detail for its magnetization behavior
near the 145 K first order ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition
occuring on cooling, in particular for thermomagnetic history effects in the
magnetization data. The most unusual finding is that the thermomagnetic
irreversibility, [= M(T)-M(T)] at 135 K is higher in
intermediate magnetic field strengths. By studying the response of the sample
(i.e., thermomagnetic irreversibility and thermal hysteresis) to different
histories of application of magnetic field and temperature, we demonstrate how
the supercooling and superheating of the metastable magnetic phases across the
first order transition at 145 K contribute to overall thermomagnetic
irreversibility.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physical Review
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