10,441 research outputs found
Phase transitions in a gas of anyons
We continue our numerical Monte Carlo simulation of a gas of closed loops on
a 3 dimensional lattice, however now in the presence of a topological term
added to the action corresponding to the total linking number between the
loops. We compute the linking number using certain notions from knot theory.
Adding the topological term converts the particles into anyons. Using the
correspondence that the model is an effective theory that describes the
2+1-dimensional Abelian Higgs model in the asymptotic strong coupling regime,
the topological linking number simply corresponds to the addition to the action
of the Chern-Simons term. We find the following new results. The system
continues to exhibit a phase transition as a function of the anyon mass as it
becomes small \cite{mnp}, although the phases do not change the manifestation
of the symmetry. The Chern-Simons term has no effect on the Wilson loop, but it
does affect the {\rm '}t Hooft loop. For a given configuration it adds the
linking number of the 't Hooft loop with all of the dynamical vortex loops to
the action. We find that both the Wilson loop and the 't Hooft loop exhibit a
perimeter law even though there are no massless particles in the theory, which
is unexpected.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Sample preparation for nanoanalytical electron microscopy using the FIB lift-out method and low energy ion milling
Thinning specimens to electron transparency for electron microscopy analysis can be done by conventional (2 - 4 kV) argon ion milling or focused ion beam (FIB) lift-out techniques. Both these methods tend to leave ''mottling'' visible on thin specimen areas, and this is believed to be surface damage caused by ion implantation and amorphisation. A low energy (250 - 500 V) Argon ion polish has been shown to greatly improve specimen quality for crystalline silicon samples. Here we investigate the preparation of technologically important materials for nanoanalysis using conventional and lift-out methods followed by a low energy polish in a GentleMill™ low energy ion mill. We use a low energy, low angle (6 - 8°) ion beam to remove the surface damage from previous processing steps. We assess this method for the preparation of technologically important materials, such as steel, silicon and GaAs. For these materials the ability to create specimens from specific sites, and to be able to image and analyse these specimens with the full resolution and sensitivity of the STEM, allows a significant increase of the power and flexibility of nanoanalytical electron microscopy
Factors deterring and prompting the decision to attempt suicide on the railway networks: findings from 353 online surveys and 34 semi-structured interviews
Background
There is a suicide on the British railways every 36 hours. However, the reasons why people choose to die by train are not well understood.
Aims
To explore factors influencing and discouraging the decision to attempt suicide on the railway networks.
Method
We conducted an online survey and qualitative interviews with individuals who had contemplated or attempted suicide by train.
Results
A total of 353 survey responders had considered and 23 had attempted suicide at rail locations (including railways and metro/underground); a third of these cases were impulsive. The most frequently reported motivations for contemplating or attempting suicide were perceptions of quick and certain lethality (54 and 37%, respectively) and easy access to rail settings (33 and 38%, respectively). The main factor discouraging people from rail suicide was its wider impact, especially on train drivers (19%). In qualitative interviews (N = 34) the desire to avoid intervention from others was also a common motivating factor for attempting suicide on the railway networks.
Conclusions
People attempt suicide by train because railway settings are easy to access and because of an inaccurate perception of certain and quick lethality. Tackling exaggerated perceptions of lethality may help reduce suicides by train
Larval development of the carrion-breeding flesh fly, Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) tibialis Macquart (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), at constant temperatures
Larvae of Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) tibialis Macquart were raised on chicken liver under six different constant temperatures. Maximum survival indicated an optimal developmental temperature of near 20°C, while trends in mortality, larval length and larval mass implied that the thermal window for successful development lay between 15°C and 30°C. Using a recently described method to estimate a simple thermal summation model, it was found that the timing of the end of the feeding phase could be estimated by a developmental zero (D0) of 5.2°C (S.E. = 1.21) and a thermal summation constant (K) of 106.4 d°C (S.E. = 8.31) and of the end of the wandering phase by D0 = 4.1°C (S.E. = 0.39) and K = 126.7 d°C (S.E. = 3.28). Published development times at constant temperatures were compiled for 19 other species of flesh flies, and the developmental constants were calculated for six species for which sufficient data were accumulated
Field theoretic description of the abelian and non-abelian Josephson effect
We formulate the Josephson effect in a field theoretic language which affords
a straightforward generalization to the non-abelian case. Our formalism
interprets Josephson tunneling as the excitation of pseudo-Goldstone bosons. We
demonstrate the formalism through the consideration of a single junction
separating two regions with a purely non-abelian order parameter and a sandwich
of three regions where the central region is in a distinct phase. Applications
to various non-abelian symmetry breaking systems in particle and condensed
matter physics are given.Comment: 10 pages no figure
Jacobi structures revisited
Jacobi algebroids, that is graded Lie brackets on the Grassmann algebra
associated with a vector bundle which satisfy a property similar to that of the
Jacobi brackets, are introduced. They turn out to be equivalent to generalized
Lie algebroids in the sense of Iglesias and Marrero and can be viewed also as
odd Jacobi brackets on the supermanifolds associated with the vector bundles.
Jacobi bialgebroids are defined in the same manner. A lifting procedure of
elements of this Grassmann algebra to multivector fields on the total space of
the vector bundle which preserves the corresponding brackets is developed. This
gives the possibility of associating canonically a Lie algebroid with any local
Lie algebra in the sense of Kirillov.Comment: 20 page
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