967 research outputs found

    The Van der Waals interaction of the hydrogen molecule - an exact local energy density functional

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    We verify that the van der Waals interaction and hence all dispersion interactions for the hydrogen molecule given by: W"= -{A/R^6}-{B/R^8}-{C/R^10}- ..., in which R is the internuclear separation, are exactly soluble. The constants A=6.4990267..., B=124.3990835 ... and C=1135.2140398... (in Hartree units) first obtained approximately by Pauling and Beach (PB) [1] using a linear variational method, can be shown to be obtainable to any desired accuracy via our exact solution. In addition we shall show that a local energy density functional can be obtained, whose variational solution rederives the exact solution for this problem. This demonstrates explicitly that a static local density functional theory exists for this system. We conclude with remarks about generalising the method to other hydrogenic systems and also to helium.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures and 28 reference

    Aspects of electrostatics in a weak gravitational field

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    Several features of electrostatics of point charged particles in a weak, homogeneous, gravitational field are discussed using the Rindler metric to model the gravitational field. Some previously known results are obtained by simpler and more transparent procedures and are interpreted in an intuitive manner. Specifically: (i) We show that the electrostatic potential of a charge at rest in the Rindler frame is expressible as A_0=(q/l) where l is the affine parameter distance along the null geodesic from the charge to the field point. (ii) We obtain the sum of the electrostatic forces exerted by one charge on another in the Rindler frame and discuss its interpretation. (iii) We show how a purely electrostatic term in the Rindler frame appears as a radiation term in the inertial frame. (In part, this arises because charges at rest in a weak gravitational field possess additional weight due to their electrostatic energy. This weight is proportional to the acceleration and falls inversely with distance -- which are the usual characteristics of a radiation field.) (iv) We also interpret the origin of the radiation reaction term by extending our approach to include a slowly varying acceleration. Many of these results might have possible extensions for the case of electrostatics in an arbitrary static geometry. [Abridged Abstract]Comment: 26 pages; accepted for publication in Gen.Rel.Gra

    Minimising the limitations of using dietary analysis to assess foodweb changes by combining multiple techniques

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    Dietary studies of marine predators offer an immediate signal of foodweb changes occurring at lower trophic levels, and therefore are often used to assess the ecosystem status of marine systems. Conventionally, these studies are based on morphological analysis of prey remains in stomach contents, involving invasive and destructive techniques to collect samples. More recently, the number of dietary studies based on less invasive biochemical and molecular approaches has dramatically increased. However, all three methods, morphological, biochemical and molecular, have well-documented limitations for resolving taxonomy, temporal variation or biomass composition. In this study, we minimise these limitations by considering multiple techniques in combination. As a case study, we report the target prey species and diet composition of a marine predator that has been used to assess annual change in managed fishing areas for several decades, the macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus. We use biochemical (stable isotope) and molecular (DNA) analysis of faecal samples collected across the different phases of a single breeding season, and compare the resolved diet to a 26-year dataset of stomach contents collected from a closely located colony (0.25 km apart) that exploits identical foraging grounds. Molecular analysis increased the known target prey species for this highly monitored population by 31%, including a fish species of commercial importance. Biochemical analysis detected subtle changes in the proportion of fish and krill in the diet, demonstrating promising opportunities for using a combined molecular and biochemical method to assess inter-annual foodweb changes at lower trophic levels. The combined approach offers a less invasive sampling methodology, compared to morphological analysis, and provides more information regarding prey species diversity and the overall trophic signature of the diet. Further studies are required to examine the feasibility of using this approach for long-term dietary studies of different marine predator species

    Covariant derivative expansion of Yang-Mills effective action at high temperatures

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    Integrating out fast varying quantum fluctuations about Yang--Mills fields A_i and A_4, we arrive at the effective action for those fields at high temperatures. Assuming that the fields A_i and A_4 are slowly varying but that the amplitude of A_4 is arbitrary, we find a non-trivial effective gauge invariant action both in the electric and magnetic sectors. Our results can be used for studying correlation functions at high temperatures beyond the dimensional reduction approximation, as well as for estimating quantum weights of classical static configurations such as dyons.Comment: Minor changes. References added. Paper accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

    Event-by-Event Fluctuations in Particle Multiplicities and Transverse Energy Produced in 158.A GeV Pb+Pb collisions

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    Event-by-event fluctuations in the multiplicities of charged particles and photons, and the total transverse energy in 158⋅A\cdot A GeV Pb+Pb collisions are studied for a wide range of centralities. For narrow centrality bins the multiplicity and transverse energy distributions are found to be near perfect Gaussians. The effect of detector acceptance on the multiplicity fluctuations has been studied and demonstrated to follow statistical considerations. The centrality dependence of the charged particle multiplicity fluctuations in the measured data has been found to agree reasonably well with those obtained from a participant model. However for photons the multiplicity fluctuations has been found to be lower compared to those obtained from a participant model. The multiplicity and transverse energy fluctuations have also been compared to those obtained from the VENUS event generator.Comment: To appear in Physical Review C; changes : more detailed discussion on errors and few figures modifie

    Exploring bodily sensations experienced during flow states in professional national hunt jockeys: a connecting analysis

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    Previous research has suggested that distinct bodily sensations are experienced by athletes during flow states, and could represent a sport-specific characteristic of this phenomenon. This study aimed to enrich understanding about bodily sensations and flow states in sport by exploring this experience in national hunt jockeys. The interspecies nature of horse-rider partnerships accentuates the importance of bodily awareness in equestrian sports. Therefore, horse racing provided a fertile context in which to investigate bodily sensations experienced during flow states in sport. In-depth, semi-structured interviews exploring the experience of flow in horse racing were undertaken with 10 professional national hunt jockeys (M age = 28.1 years). Data were interpreted iteratively using inductive categorising/thematic and connecting analyses. Present findings suggested that flow states in jockeys produce an idiosyncratic and multifaceted sensory experience, and indicated that altered physical perceptions during flow were not restricted to kinaesthetic properties. Jockeys explained that distinct bodily sensations were experienced during flow states, and described alterations in their perceptions of kinaesthetic ‘feel’, balance, arousal and strength of touch. Each of these bodily sensations was discussed in relation to sensory information received from the horse, and a connecting analysis enlightened the factors underlying the realisation of these unique bodily sensations that accompanied flow states. Findings are discussed with respect to the existing literature on flow in sport and recommendations for future research are outlined. Further, possible considerations regarding the inclusion of bodily sensations as a characteristic of the flow experience in sport are outlined
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