386 research outputs found
Synthesis of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride films on nickel foils by molecular beam epitaxy
Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered two-dimensional material with
properties that make it promising as a dielectric in various applications. We
report the growth of h-BN films on Ni foils from elemental B and N using
molecular beam epitaxy. The presence of crystalline h-BN over the entire
substrate is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy is used
to examine the morphology and continuity of the synthesized films. A scanning
electron microscopy study of films obtained using shorter depositions offers
insight into the nucleation and growth behavior of h-BN on the Ni substrate.
The morphology of h-BN was found to evolve from dendritic, star-shaped islands
to larger, smooth triangular ones with increasing growth temperature
The MICADO first light imager for ELT: its astrometric performance
We report on our ongoing efforts to ensure that the MICADO NIR imager reaches
differential absolute (often abbreviated: relative) astrometric performance
limited by the SNR of typical observations. The exceptional 39m diameter
collecting area in combination with a powerful multi-conjugate adaptive optics
system (called MAORY) brings the nominal centroiding error, which scales as
FWHM/SNR, down to a few 10 uas. Here we show that an exceptional effort is
needed to provide a system which delivers adequate and calibrateable
astrometric performance over the full field of view (up to 53 arcsec diameter).Comment: 5 pages, submitted to SPIE 2018 Astronomical Telescopes +
Instrumentatio
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WRFâTEB: implementation and evaluation of the coupled Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Town Energy Balance (TEB) model
Urban land surface processes need to be represented to inform future urbanâclimate and buildingâenergy projections. Here, the single layer urban canopy model Town Energy Balance (TEB) is coupled to the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to create WRFâTEB. The coupling method is described generically, implemented into software, and the issue of scientific reproducibility is addressed by releasing all code and data with a Singularity image. The coupling is implemented modularly and verified by an integration test. Results show no detectable errors in the coupling. Separately, a meteorological evaluation is undertaken using observations from Toulouse, France. The latter evaluation, during an urban canopy layer heat island episode, shows reasonable ability to estimate turbulent heat flux densities and other meteorological quantities. We conclude that new model couplings should make use of integration tests as meteorological evaluations by themselves are insufficient, given that errors are difficult to attribute because of the interplay between observational errors and multiple parameterization schemes (e.g. radiation, microphysics, boundary layer)
Bringing LTL Model Checking to Biologists
The BioModelAnalyzer (BMA) is a web based tool for the development of discrete models of biological systems. Through a graphical user interface, it allows rapid development of complex models of gene and protein interaction networks and stability analysis without requiring users to be proficient computer programmers. Whilst stability is a useful specification for testing many systems, testing temporal specifications in BMA presently requires the user to perform simulations. Here we describe the LTL module, which includes a graphical and natural language interfaces to testing LTL queries. The graphical interface allows for graphical construction of the queries and presents results visually in keeping with the current style of BMA. The Natural language interface complements the graphical interface by allowing a gentler introduction to formal logic and exposing educational resources
Synthesis of quasi-free-standing bilayer graphene nanoribbons on SiC surfaces
Scaling graphene down to nanoribbons is a promising route for the implementation of this material into devices. Quantum confinement of charge carriers in such nanostructures, combined with the electric field-induced break of symmetry in AB-stacked bilayer graphene, leads to a band gap wider than that obtained solely by this symmetry breaking. Consequently, the possibility of fabricating AB-stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbons with high precision is very attractive for the purposes of applied and basic science. Here we show a method, which includes a straightforward air annealing, for the preparation of quasi-free-standing AB-bilayer nanoribbons with different widths on SiC(0001). Furthermore, the experiments reveal that the degree of disorder at the edges increases with the width, indicating that the narrower nanoribbons are more ordered in their edge termination. In general, the reported approach is a viable route towards the large-scale fabrication of bilayer graphene nanostructures with tailored dimensions and properties for specific applications
Anisotropic exchange interaction of localized conduction-band electrons in semiconductor structures
The spin-orbit interaction in semiconductors is shown to result in an
anisotropic contribution into the exchange Hamiltonian of a pair of localized
conduction-band electrons. The anisotropic exchange interaction exists in
semiconductor structures which are not symmetric with respect to spatial
inversion, for instance in bulk zinc-blend semiconductors. The interaction has
both symmetric and antisymmetric parts with respect to permutation of spin
components. The antisymmetric (Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya) interaction is the
strongest one. It contributes significantly into spin relaxation of localized
electrons; in particular, it governs low-temperature spin relaxation in n-GaAs
with the donor concentration near 10^16cm-3. The interaction must be allowed
for in designing spintronic devices, especially spin-based quantum computers,
where it may be a major source of decoherence and errors
Within-group behavioral variation promotes biased task performance and the emergence of a defensive caste in a social spider
The social spider Anelosimus studiosus exhibits a behavioral polymorphism where colony members express either a passive, tolerant behavioral tendency (social) or an aggressive, intolerant behavioral tendency (asocial). Here we test whether asocial individuals act as colony defenders by deflecting the suite of foreign (i.e., heterospecific) spider species that commonly exploit multi-female colonies. We (1) determined whether the phenotypic composition of colonies is associated with foreign spider abundance, (2) tested whether heterospecific spider abundance and diversity affect colony survival in the field, and (3) performed staged encounters between groups of A. studiosus and their colony-level predator Agelenopsis emertoni (A. emertoni)to determine whether asocial females exhibit more defensive behavior. We found that larger colonies harbor more foreign spiders, and the number of asocial colony members was negatively associated with foreign spider abundance. Additionally, colony persistence was negatively associated with the abundance and diversity of foreign spiders within colonies. In encounters with a colony-level predator, asocial females were more likely to exhibit escalatory behavior, and this might explain the negative association between the frequency of asocial females and the presence of foreign spider associates. Together, our results indicate that foreign spiders are detrimental to colony survival, and that asocial females play a defensive role in multi-female colonies
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