9,999 research outputs found
Rate theory for correlated processes: Double-jumps in adatom diffusion
We study the rate of activated motion over multiple barriers, in particular
the correlated double-jump of an adatom diffusing on a missing-row
reconstructed Platinum (110) surface. We develop a Transition Path Theory,
showing that the activation energy is given by the minimum-energy trajectory
which succeeds in the double-jump. We explicitly calculate this trajectory
within an effective-medium molecular dynamics simulation. A cusp in the
acceptance region leads to a sqrt{T} prefactor for the activated rate of
double-jumps. Theory and numerical results agree
Neutron scattering study of spin ordering and stripe pinning in superconducting LaSrCuO
The relationships among charge order, spin fluctuations, and
superconductivity in underdoped cuprates remain controversial. We use neutron
scattering techniques to study these phenomena in
LaSrCuO, a superconductor with a transition temperature
of ~K. At , we find incommensurate spin fluctuations with a
quasielastic energy spectrum and no sign of a gap within the energy range from
0.2 to 15 meV. A weak elastic magnetic component grows below ~K,
consistent with results from local probes. Regarding the atomic lattice, we
have discovered unexpectedly strong fluctuations of the CuO octahedra about
Cu-O bonds, which are associated with inequivalent O sites within the CuO
planes. Furthermore, we observed a weak elastic superlattice peak
that implies a reduced lattice symmetry. The presence of inequivalent O sites
rationalizes various pieces of evidence for charge stripe order in underdoped
\lsco. The coexistence of superconductivity with quasi-static spin-stripe order
suggests the presence of intertwined orders; however, the rotation of the
stripe orientation away from the Cu-O bonds might be connected with evidence
for a finite gap at the nodal points of the superconducting gap function.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures; accepted versio
Simulations of energetic beam deposition: from picoseconds to seconds
We present a new method for simulating crystal growth by energetic beam
deposition. The method combines a Kinetic Monte-Carlo simulation for the
thermal surface diffusion with a small scale molecular dynamics simulation of
every single deposition event. We have implemented the method using the
effective medium theory as a model potential for the atomic interactions, and
present simulations for Ag/Ag(111) and Pt/Pt(111) for incoming energies up to
35 eV. The method is capable of following the growth of several monolayers at
realistic growth rates of 1 monolayer per second, correctly accounting for both
energy-induced atomic mobility and thermal surface diffusion. We find that the
energy influences island and step densities and can induce layer-by-layer
growth. We find an optimal energy for layer-by-layer growth (25 eV for Ag),
which correlates with where the net impact-induced downward interlayer
transport is at a maximum. A high step density is needed for energy induced
layer-by-layer growth, hence the effect dies away at increased temperatures,
where thermal surface diffusion reduces the step density. As part of the
development of the method, we present molecular dynamics simulations of single
atom-surface collisions on flat parts of the surface and near straight steps,
we identify microscopic mechanisms by which the energy influences the growth,
and we discuss the nature of the energy-induced atomic mobility
Sound velocity and absorption measurements under high pressure using picosecond ultrasonics in diamond anvil cell. Application to the stability study of AlPdMn
We report an innovative high pressure method combining the diamond anvil cell
device with the technique of picosecond ultrasonics. Such an approach allows to
accurately measure sound velocity and attenuation of solids and liquids under
pressure of tens of GPa, overcoming all the drawbacks of traditional
techniques. The power of this new experimental technique is demonstrated in
studies of lattice dynamics, stability domain and relaxation process in a
metallic sample, a perfect single-grain AlPdMn quasicrystal, and rare gas, neon
and argon. Application to the study of defect-induced lattice stability in
AlPdMn up to 30 GPa is proposed. The present work has potential for application
in areas ranging from fundamental problems in physics of solid and liquid
state, which in turn could be beneficial for various other scientific fields as
Earth and planetary science or material research
Distinct nature of static and dynamic magnetic stripes in cuprate superconductors
We present detailed neutron scattering studies of the static and dynamic
stripes in an optimally doped high-temperature superconductor,
LaCuO. We find that the dynamic stripes do not disperse towards the
static stripes in the limit of vanishing energy transfer. We conclude that the
dynamic stripes observed in neutron scattering experiments are not the
Goldstone modes associated with the broken symmetry of the simultaneously
observed static stripes, but rather that the signals originate from different
domains in the sample. These domains may be related by structural twinning, or
may be entirely different phases, where the static stripes in one phase are
pinned versions of the dynamic stripes in the other. Our results explain
earlier observations of unusual dispersions in underdoped
LaSrCuO () and LaBaCuO ().
Our findings are relevant for all compounds exhibiting magnetic stripes, and
may thus be a vital part in unveiling the nature of high temperature
superconductivity
Phase diagram and critical exponents of a Potts gauge glass
The two-dimensional q-state Potts model is subjected to a Z_q symmetric
disorder that allows for the existence of a Nishimori line. At q=2, this model
coincides with the +/- J random-bond Ising model. For q>2, apart from the usual
pure and zero-temperature fixed points, the ferro/paramagnetic phase boundary
is controlled by two critical fixed points: a weak disorder point, whose
universality class is that of the ferromagnetic bond-disordered Potts model,
and a strong disorder point which generalizes the usual Nishimori point. We
numerically study the case q=3, tracing out the phase diagram and precisely
determining the critical exponents. The universality class of the Nishimori
point is inconsistent with percolation on Potts clusters.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, 3 figures, v2: 1 reference adde
The BaBar Event Building and Level-3 Trigger Farm Upgrade
The BaBar experiment is the particle detector at the PEP-II B-factory
facility at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. During the summer shutdown
2002 the BaBar Event Building and Level-3 trigger farm were upgraded from 60
Sun Ultra-5 machines and 100MBit/s Ethernet to 50 Dual-CPU 1.4GHz Pentium-III
systems with Gigabit Ethernet. Combined with an upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet on
the source side and a major feature extraction software speedup, this pushes
the performance of the BaBar event builder and L3 filter to 5.5kHz at current
background levels, almost three times the original design rate of 2kHz. For our
specific application the new farm provides 8.5 times the CPU power of the old
system.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 4 pages, 1 eps figure, PSN MOGT00
Logarithmic observables in critical percolation
Although it has long been known that the proper quantum field theory
description of critical percolation involves a logarithmic conformal field
theory (LCFT), no direct consequence of this has been observed so far.
Representing critical bond percolation as the Q = 1 limit of the Q-state Potts
model, and analyzing the underlying S_Q symmetry of the Potts spins, we
identify a class of simple observables whose two-point functions scale
logarithmically for Q = 1. The logarithm originates from the mixing of the
energy operator with a logarithmic partner that we identify as the field that
creates two propagating clusters. In d=2 dimensions this agrees with general
LCFT results, and in particular the universal prefactor of the logarithm can be
computed exactly. We confirm its numerical value by extensive Monte-Carlo
simulations.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. V2: as publishe
Mechanical properties and formation mechanisms of a wire of single gold atoms
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) supplemented with a force sensor is
used to study the mechanical properties of a novel metallic nanostructure: a
freely suspended chain of single gold atoms. We find that the bond strength of
the nanowire is about twice that of a bulk metallic bond. We perform ab initio
calculations of the force at chain fracture and compare quantitatively with
experimental measurements. The observed mechanical failure and nanoelastic
processes involved during atomic wire fabrication are investigated using
molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and we find that the total effective
stiffness of the nanostructure is strongly affected by the detailed local
atomic arrangement at the chain bases.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages with 3 figure
Loop Model with Generalized Fugacity in Three Dimensions
A statistical model of loops on the three-dimensional lattice is proposed and
is investigated. It is O(n)-type but has loop fugacity that depends on global
three-dimensional shapes of loops in a particular fashion. It is shown that,
despite this non-locality and the dimensionality, a layer-to-layer transfer
matrix can be constructed as a product of local vertex weights for infinitely
many points in the parameter space. Using this transfer matrix, the site
entropy is estimated numerically in the fully packed limit.Comment: 16pages, 4 eps figures, (v2) typos and Table 3 corrected. Refs added,
(v3) an error in an explanation of fig.2 corrected. Refs added. (v4) Changes
in the presentatio
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