A Non-Crossing Approximation for the Study of Intersite Correlations

We develop a Non-Crossing Approximation (NCA) for the effective cluster problem of the recently developed Dynamical Cluster Approximation (DCA). The DCA technique includes short-ranged correlations by mapping the lattice problem onto a self-consistently embedded periodic cluster of size $N_c$. It is a fully causal and systematic approximation to the full lattice problem, with corrections ${\cal{O}}(1/N_c)$ in two dimensions. The NCA we develop is a systematic approximation with corrections ${\cal{O}}(1/N_c^3)$. The method will be discussed in detail and results for the one-particle properties of the Hubbard model are shown. Near half filling, the spectra display pronounced features including a pseudogap and non-Fermi-liquid behavior due to short-ranged antiferromagnetic correlations.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, EPJB styl

Optical waveguide sensors

An overview of the field of optical waveguide sensors is presented. Some emphasis is laid on the development of a single scheme under which the diversity of sensor principles can be arranged. First three types of sensors are distinguished: intrinsic, extrinsic and active. Next, two steps are distinguished in the sensing process: the physical alteration of the waveguide (via geometrical and/or materials effects) and the effect thereof on the guided light (changing phase and/or amplitude of the light modes). The diversity and common features of the field of optical waveguide sensors are demonstrated with the help of many examples.\ud \u

Tracing the development of dust around evolved stars: The case of 47 Tuc

We observed mid-infrared (7.5-22 mum) spectra of AGB stars in the globular cluster 47 Tuc with the Spitzer telescope and find significant dust features of various types. Comparison of the characteristics of the dust spectra with the location of the stars in a logP-K-diagram shows that dust mineralogy and position on the AGB are related. A 13 mum feature is seen in spectra of low luminosity AGB stars. More luminous AGB stars show a broad feature at 11.5 mum. The spectra of the most luminous stars are dominated by the amorphous silicate bending vibration centered at 9.7 mum. For 47 Tuc AGB stars, we conclude that early on the AGB dust consisting primarily of Mg-, Al- and Fe oxides is formed. With further AGB evolution amorphous silicates become the dominant species.Comment: 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

The Dynamics of Silica Melts under High Pressure: Mode-Coupling Theory Results

The high-pressure dynamics of a computer-modeled silica melt is studied in the framework of the mode-coupling theory of the glass transition (MCT) using static-structure input from molecular-dynamics (MD) computer simulation. The theory reproduces the experimentally known viscosity minimum (diffusivity maximum) as a function of density or pressure and explains it in terms of a corresponding minimum in its critical temperature. This minimum arises from a gradual change in the equilibrium static structure which shifts from being dominated by tetrahedral ordering to showing the cageing known from high-density liquids. The theory is in qualitative agreement with computer simulation results.Comment: Presented at ESF EW Glassy Liquids under Pressure, to be published in Journal of Physic

Light scattering from mesoscopic objects in diffusive media

The diffuse intensity propagating in turbid media is sensitive to the presence of any kind of object embedded in the medium, e.g. obstacles or defects. The long-ranged effects of isolated objects can be described by a stationary diffusion equation, the effect of any single object being parametrized in terms of a multipole expansion. An absorbing object is chiefly characterized by a negative charge, while the leading effect of a non-absorbing object is due to its dipole moment. The associated intrinsic characteristics of the object (capacitance $Q$ or effective radius $R_{\rm eff}$, polarizability $P$) can be evaluated within the diffusion approximation for large enough objects. The situation of mesoscopic objects, with a size comparable to the mean free path, requires a more careful treatment, for which the appropriate framework is radiative transfer theory. This formalism is worked out in detail for spheres and cylinders of the following kinds: totally absorbing (black), transparent, and totally reflecting.Comment: 31 pages, 2 tables, 7 figures. To appear in Eur. J. Phys.

Thermodynamic description of a dynamical glassy transition

For the dynamical glassy transition in the $p$-spin mean field spin glass model a thermodynamic description is given. The often considered marginal states are not the relevant ones for this purpose. This leads to consider a cooling experiment on exponential timescales, where lower states are accessed. The very slow configurational modes are at quasi-equilibrium at an effective temperature. A system independent law is derived that expresses their contribution to the specific heat. $t/t_w$-scaling in the aging regime of two-time quantities is explained.Comment: 5 pages revte