1,012 research outputs found
Thermal roughening of {001} surfaces
Within the framework of a solid-on-solid model that incorporates nearest- (epsilon) and next-nearest-neighbor (delta) interactions we have determined the free energy of the high-symmetry steps on a (001) surface of a cubic crystal. We have found a simple expression that allows one to determine the thermal roughening temperature TR of a (001) surface (2e¿(epsilon/2+delta)/kbTR¿e¿(epsilon+2delta)/kbTR+2e¿(epsilon+delta)/kbTR=1). In a more refined analysis we have explicitly included step-edge overhangs. This results in a slightly lower thermal roughening temperature. Our results are also applicable to the two-dimensional Ising spin system
Symmetrized mean-field description of magnetic instabilities in k-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)]_2 Y salts
We present a novel and convenient mean-field method, and apply it to study
the metallic/antiferromagnetic interface of k-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)]_2 Y organic
superconductors (BEDT_TTF is bis-ethylen-dithio-tetrathiafulvalene, Y=Cl, Br).
The method, which fully exploits the crystal symmetry, allows one to obtain the
mean-field solution of the 2D Hubbard model for very large lattices, up to
6x10^5 sites, yielding a reliable description of the phase boundary in a wide
region of the parameter space. The metal/antiferromagnet transtion appears to
be second order, except for a narrow region of the parameter space, where the
transition is very sharp and possibly first order. The cohexistence of metallic
and antiferromagnetic properties is only observed for the transient state in
the case of smooth second order transitions. The relevance of the present
resaults to the complex experimental behavior of centrosymmetric k-phase
BEDT-TTF salts is discussed.Comment: 9 pages in PS format, 7 figures (included in PS), 1 tabl
Forensic Accounting: Should It Be A Required Course For Accounting Majors?
Most of the general public and hopefully students of accounting are aware of the attention grabbing frauds of the 21st Century, including Enron and Worldcom. Fraud and deceit are prevalent in our everyday lives, including activities of small business people when there are shareholder disputes and among individuals in matrimonial disputes. Forensic accountants are important to assist exposing the existence of fraud, but its role goes beyond dealing with fraud and includes applying investigative techniques to assist businesses and individuals to reveal the underlying financial facts or true value in various situations. Since Forensic Accounting is the fastest growing arena in the accounting profession, the authors believe that consideration should be given to its inclusion as a required course in the accounting curriculum
Asymptotics of 4d spin foam models
We study the asymptotic properties of four-simplex amplitudes for various
four-dimensional spin foam models. We investigate the semi-classical limit of
the Ooguri, Euclidean and Lorentzian EPRL models using coherent states for the
boundary data. For some classes of geometrical boundary data, the asymptotic
formulae are given, in all three cases, by simple functions of the Regge action
for the four-simplex geometry.Comment: 10 pages, Proceedings for the 2nd Corfu summer school and workshop on
quantum gravity and quantum geometry, talk given by Winston J. Fairbair
Data Combinations Accounting for LISA Spacecraft Motion
LISA is an array of three spacecraft in an approximately equilateral triangle
configuration which will be used as a low-frequency gravitational wave
detector. We present here new generalizations of the Michelson- and Sagnac-type
time-delay interferometry data combinations. These combinations cancel laser
phase noise in the presence of different up and down propagation delays in each
arm of the array, and slowly varying systematic motion of the spacecraft. The
gravitational wave sensitivities of these generalized combinations are the same
as previously computed for the stationary cases, although the combinations are
now more complicated. We introduce a diagrammatic representation to illustrate
that these combinations are actually synthesized equal-arm interferometers.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Electronic Structure of Carbon Nanotube Ropes
We present a tight binding theory to analyze the motion of electrons between
carbon nanotubes bundled into a carbon nanotube rope. The theory is developed
starting from a description of the propagating Bloch waves on ideal tubes, and
the effects of intertube motion are treated perturbatively in this basis.
Expressions for the interwall tunneling amplitudes between states on
neighboring tubes are derived which show the dependence on chiral angles and
intratube crystal momenta. We find that conservation of crystal momentum along
the tube direction suppresses interwall coherence in a carbon nanorope
containing tubes with random chiralities. Numerical calculations are presented
which indicate that electronic states in a rope are localized in the transverse
direction with a coherence length corresponding to a tube diameter.Comment: 15 pages, 10 eps figure
Flow termination signaling in the centralized pre-congestion notification architecture
Pre-congestion notification (PCN) protects inelastic traffic by using feedback on network link loads on and acting upon this accordingly. These actions comprise to admission control and termination of flows. Two PCN architectures have been defined by IETF: the centralized and decentralized PCN architecture. The decentralized PCN architecture has received much attention in the literature whereas the centralized PCN architecture has not. In the decentralized architecture, feedback is sent from the egress nodes to ingress nodes, which then take and apply decisions regarding admission of new flows and/or termination of ongoing flows. Signaling occurs only between ingress and egress nodes. In the centralized architecture these decisions are made at a central node, which requires proper signaling for action and information exchange between the central node and the egress and ingress nodes. This signaling has been suggested by other authors, but is not fully defined yet. Our contribution is twofold. We define signaling in the centralized PCN architecture focussing on flow termination, which completes the definition of the signaling in the centralized PCN architecture. Secondly, we run extensive simulations showing that the proposed signaling works well and that the performances of the centralized PCN and the decentralized PCN architectures are similar. Hence, it is expected that results from existing research on the effectiveness of decentralized PCN are also valid when the centralized PCN architecture is used
Clinical aspects of glucocorticoid sensitivity
Recent studies demonstrate that primary (hereditary) abnormalities in the glucocorticoid receptor gene make 6.6% of the normal population relatively 'hypersensitive' to glucocorticoids, while 2.3% are relatively 'resistant.' These abnormalities might explain why some individuals develop severe adverse effects during low dose glucocorticoid therapy, while others do not develop side effects even during long-term therapy with a much higher dose. Awareness of this heterogeneity in glucocorticoid sensitivity in the normal population might eventually allow the prediction of a 'safe' dose of glucocorticoid in individual patients. 'Resistance' to the beneficial clinical effects of glucocorticoid therapy in part of the patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis and asthma is probably rarely related to generalized primary (hereditary) glucocorticoid resistance. In the majority of patients this 'resistance' seems to be acquired and localized to the sites of inflammation, where it reflects high local cytokine production, which interferes with glucocorticoid action. Recognition of localized, acquired glucocorticoid resistance is of great importance indicating as alternative drug therapy with other immune-modulating drugs like cyclosporin and methotrexate. Chronic high dose glucocorticoid treatment in such patients is ineffective in alleviating symptomatology, while generalized side effects occur, reflecting the patient's normal systemic sensitivity to these drugs
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