55 research outputs found
Exact two-particle eigenstates in partially reduced QED
We consider a reformulation of QED in which covariant Green functions are
used to solve for the electromagnetic field in terms of the fermion fields. It
is shown that exact few-fermion eigenstates of the resulting Hamiltonian can be
obtained in the canonical equal-time formalism for the case where there are no
free photons. These eigenstates lead to two- and three-body Dirac-like
equations with electromagnetic interactions. Perturbative and some numerical
solutions of the two-body equations are presented for positronium and
muonium-like systems, for various strengths of the coupling.Comment: 33 pages, LaTex 2.09, 4 figures in EPS forma
Present day challenges in understanding the geomagnetic hazard to national power grids
Power grids and pipeline networks at all latitudes are known to be at risk from the natural hazard of geomagnetically induced currents. At a recent workshop in South Africa, UK and South African scientists and engineers discussed the current understanding of this hazard, as it affects major power systems in Europe and Africa. They also summarised, to better inform the public and industry, what can be said with some certainty about the hazard and what research is yet required to develop useful tools for geomagnetic hazard mitigation
Statistical mechanics of RNA folding: a lattice approach
We propose a lattice model for RNA based on a self-interacting two-tolerant
trail. Self-avoidance and elements of tertiary structure are taken into
account. We investigate a simple version of the model in which the native state
of RNA consists of just one hairpin. Using exact arguments and Monte Carlo
simulations we determine the phase diagram for this case. We show that the
denaturation transition is first order and can either occur directly or through
an intermediate molten phase.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
Relativistic Calculation of the Meson Spectrum: a Fully Covariant Treatment Versus Standard Treatments
A large number of treatments of the meson spectrum have been tried that
consider mesons as quark - anti quark bound states. Recently, we used
relativistic quantum "constraint" mechanics to introduce a fully covariant
treatment defined by two coupled Dirac equations. For field-theoretic
interactions, this procedure functions as a "quantum mechanical transform of
Bethe-Salpeter equation". Here, we test its spectral fits against those
provided by an assortment of models: Wisconsin model, Iowa State model,
Brayshaw model, and the popular semi-relativistic treatment of Godfrey and
Isgur. We find that the fit provided by the two-body Dirac model for the entire
meson spectrum competes with the best fits to partial spectra provided by the
others and does so with the smallest number of interaction functions without
additional cutoff parameters necessary to make other approaches numerically
tractable. We discuss the distinguishing features of our model that may account
for the relative overall success of its fits. Note especially that in our
approach for QCD, the resulting pion mass and associated Goldstone behavior
depend sensitively on the preservation of relativistic couplings that are
crucial for its success when solved nonperturbatively for the analogous
two-body bound-states of QED.Comment: 75 pages, 6 figures, revised content
Majorana solutions to the two-electron problem
A review of the known different methods and results devised to study the
two-electron atom problem, appeared in the early years of quantum mechanics, is
given, with particular reference to the calculations of the ground state energy
of helium. This is supplemented by several, unpublished results obtained around
the same years by Ettore Majorana, which results did not convey in his
published papers on the argument, and thus remained unknown until now.
Particularly interesting, even for current research in atomic and nuclear
physics, is a general variant of the variational method, developed by Majorana
in order to take directly into account, already in the trial wavefunction, the
action of the full Hamiltonian operator of a given quantum system. Moreover,
notable calculations specialized to the study of the two-electron problem show
the introduction of the remarkable concept of an effective nuclear charge
different for the two electrons (thus generalizing previous known results), and
an application of the perturbative method, where the atomic number Z was
treated effectively as a continuous variable, contributions to the ground state
energy of an atom with given Z coming also from any other Z. Instead,
contributions relevant mainly for pedagogical reasons count simple broad range
estimates of the helium ionization potential, obtained by suitable choices for
the wavefunction, as well as a simple alternative to Hylleraas' method, which
led Majorana to first order calculations comparable in accuracy with well-known
order 11 results derived, in turn, by Hylleraas.Comment: amsart, 20 pages, no figure
Stripes and holes in a two-dimensional model of spinless fermions and hardcore bosons
We consider a Hubbard-like model of strongly-interacting spinless fermions
and hardcore bosons on a square lattice, such that nearest neighbor occupation
is forbidden. Stripes (lines of holes across the lattice forming antiphase
walls between ordered domains) are a favorable way to dope this system below
half-filling. The problem of a single stripe can be mapped to a spin-1/2 chain,
which allows understanding of its elementary excitations and calculation of the
stripe's effective mass for transverse vibrations. Using Lanczos exact
diagonalization, we investigate the excitation gap and dispersion of a hole on
a stripe, and the interaction of two holes. We also study the interaction of
two, three, and four stripes, finding that they repel, and the interaction
energy decays with stripe separation as if they are hardcore particles moving
in one (transverse) direction. To determine the stability of an array of
stripes against phase separation into particle-rich phase and hole-rich liquid,
we evaluate the liquid's equation of state, finding the stripe-array is not
stable for bosons but is possibly stable for fermions.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure
Cohort Profile: Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium.
Development Psychopathology in context: famil
Nitrogen budgets for Boro rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields in Bangladesh
Nitrogen (N) budgets are a valuable tool for improving N efficiency because they assess the size and interactions of various N pools, as well as their gains from the atmosphere and losses to the environment. To understand the impact of changes in management practice upon a farming system, it is necessary to increase the complexity of the N budgets to include N flows. Therefore, a project was undertaken in lowland irrigated systems of Bangladesh to study the N budgets of Boro rice grown under ecological and conventional farming systems in four locations (Dhamrai, Daulatpur, Gabtali and Shibgonj) in Bangladesh in 2007 and 2008. The N budget focuses on the total-N inputs and losses of the entire system. The budgets were negative for both farming systems in both years. Overall, ecological farming system produced a less negative balance in both years (−6 to −36 kg N ha−1 in 2007 and −76 to −160 kg N ha−1 in 2008) than the conventional farming system (−28 to −80 kg N ha−1 in 2007 and −91 to −157 kg N ha−1 in 2008). Nitrogen balance studies highlighted losses of mineral N (26–53 kg N ha−1) which accumulated prior to irrigation and also losses due to N removal (13–28 kg N ha−1) by weeds. Beneficial impacts of ecological farming on N balances were observed due to the elimination of fertiliser N loss (30–133 kg N ha−1). The difference between conventional and ecological management reflects the high losses of fertiliser N under conventional management. These fertiliser N losses reflect the low agronomic efficiency of N fertiliser. An understanding of various N losses and their consequences is important to provide a basis for developing efficient N management strategies in boro rice. These N budgets can be used to improve or design new technologies that tackle soil fertility management problems and also can help improve the financial performance of the farmers. Soil N budgets will continue to challenge agricultural scientists by slowly revealing fundamental principles. By understanding these principles and the factors influencing them, basic and applied scientists will have a stronger foundation for improving N use efficiency and concurrently reducing N losses to the environment
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