512 research outputs found
Continuity in Georg Lukács theory of literary realism
This thesis attempts to show that Georg Lukacs' Marxist
theory of realism is best understood, not as a self sufficient
body of theory, but in the context of his pre-
Marxist theory of literature and his ,role in the Communist
movement, A comparison of the theory expounded in "Die
Seele and die Fonaen" and "Die Theorie des Romans" with
the main positions of "Geschichte und Kiassenbewusstsein"
reveals that it was remarkably easy for Lukacs to accommodate his literary theory within the newly-acquired philosophy.
An examination of Lukacs' career shows that his move to
Marxism was motivated by a search for the practical
instrument to implement the ideal which was the mainspring
behind both his own life and, in his theory, all great
literature, namely, the classical ideal of harmony. The
resulting change in emphasis from aesthetics to political
action led, in the thirties, to the attempt to synthesize
both in a cultural campaign. Political pressure,
combined with the genuine belief that the excesses of
Stalinism were the acceptable price of resistance to the overriding threat of fascism, resulted in the employment of a
rigid determinism, deplored ill others, which was incompatible with the core of his understanding of literary realism.
The creation of realism was, however, for both the pre-
Marxist and the Marxist Lukacs, ultimately inexplicable in
materialist terms
Reversible Band Gap Engineering in Carbon Nanotubes by Radial Deformation
We present a systematic analysis of the effect of radial deformation on the
atomic and electronic structure of zigzag and armchair single wall carbon
nanotubes using the first principle plane wave method. The nanotubes were
deformed by applying a radial strain, which distorts the circular cross section
to an elliptical one. The atomic structure of the nanotubes under this strain
are fully optimized, and the electronic structure is calculated
self-consistently to determine the response of individual bands to the radial
deformation. The band gap of the insulating tube is closed and eventually an
insulator-metal transition sets in by the radial strain which is in the elastic
range. Using this property a multiple quantum well structure with tunable and
reversible electronic structure is formed on an individual nanotube and its
band-lineup is determined from first-principles. The elastic energy due to the
radial deformation and elastic constants are calculated and compared with
classical theories.Comment: To be appear in Phys. Rev. B, Apr 15, 200
Pentagonal nanowires: a first-principles study of atomic and electronic structure
We performed an extensive first-principles study of nanowires in various
pentagonal structures by using pseudopotential plane wave method within the
density functional theory. Our results show that nanowires of different types
of elements, such as alkali, simple, transition and noble metals and inert gas
atoms, have a stable structure made from staggered pentagons with a linear
chain perpendicular to the planes of the pentagons and passing through their
centers. This structure exhibits bond angles close to those in the icosahedral
structure. However, silicon is found to be energetically more favorable in the
eclipsed pentagonal structure. These quasi one dimensional pentagonal nanowires
have higher cohesive energies than many other one dimensional structures and
hence may be realized experimentally. The effect of magnetic state are examined
by spin-polarized calculations. The origin of the stability are discussed by
examining optimized structural parameters, charge density and electronic band
structure, and by using analysis based on the empirical Lennard-Jones type
interaction. Electronic band structure of pentagonal wires of different
elements are discussed and their effects on quantum ballistic conductance are
mentioned. It is found that the pentagonal wire of silicon exhibits metallic
band structure.Comment: 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Against all odds? Forming the planet of the HD196885 binary
HD196885Ab is the most "extreme" planet-in-a-binary discovered to date, whose
orbit places it at the limit for orbital stability. The presence of a planet in
such a highly perturbed region poses a clear challenge to planet-formation
scenarios. We investigate this issue by focusing on the planet-formation stage
that is arguably the most sensitive to binary perturbations: the mutual
accretion of kilometre-sized planetesimals. To this effect we numerically
estimate the impact velocities amongst a population of circumprimary
planetesimals. We find that most of the circumprimary disc is strongly hostile
to planetesimal accretion, especially the region around 2.6AU (the planet's
location) where binary perturbations induce planetesimal-shattering of
more than 1km/s. Possible solutions to the paradox of having a planet in such
accretion-hostile regions are 1) that initial planetesimals were very big, at
least 250km, 2) that the binary had an initial orbit at least twice the present
one, and was later compacted due to early stellar encounters, 3) that
planetesimals did not grow by mutual impacts but by sweeping of dust (the
"snowball" growth mode identified by Xie et al., 2010b), or 4) that HD196885Ab
was formed not by core-accretion but by the concurent disc instability
mechanism. All of these 4 scenarios remain however highly conjectural.Comment: accepted for publication by Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical
Astronomy (Special issue on EXOPLANETS
Measurement of the branching fraction for
We have studied the leptonic decay of the resonance into tau
pairs using the CLEO II detector. A clean sample of tau pair events is
identified via events containing two charged particles where exactly one of the
particles is an identified electron. We find . The result is consistent with
expectations from lepton universality.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, two Postscript figures available upon request, CLNS
94/1297, CLEO 94-20 (submitted to Physics Letters B
Magnetic Field Generation in Stars
Enormous progress has been made on observing stellar magnetism in stars from
the main sequence through to compact objects. Recent data have thrown into
sharper relief the vexed question of the origin of stellar magnetic fields,
which remains one of the main unanswered questions in astrophysics. In this
chapter we review recent work in this area of research. In particular, we look
at the fossil field hypothesis which links magnetism in compact stars to
magnetism in main sequence and pre-main sequence stars and we consider why its
feasibility has now been questioned particularly in the context of highly
magnetic white dwarfs. We also review the fossil versus dynamo debate in the
context of neutron stars and the roles played by key physical processes such as
buoyancy, helicity, and superfluid turbulence,in the generation and stability
of neutron star fields.
Independent information on the internal magnetic field of neutron stars will
come from future gravitational wave detections. Thus we maybe at the dawn of a
new era of exciting discoveries in compact star magnetism driven by the opening
of a new, non-electromagnetic observational window.
We also review recent advances in the theory and computation of
magnetohydrodynamic turbulence as it applies to stellar magnetism and dynamo
theory. These advances offer insight into the action of stellar dynamos as well
as processes whichcontrol the diffusive magnetic flux transport in stars.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures. Invited review chapter on on magnetic field
generation in stars to appear in Space Science Reviews, Springe
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