Effective renormalized multi-body interactions of harmonically confined ultracold neutral bosons

We calculate the renormalized effective 2-, 3-, and 4-body interactions for N neutral ultracold bosons in the ground state of an isotropic harmonic trap, assuming 2-body interactions modeled with the combination of a zero-range and energy-dependent pseudopotential. We work to third-order in the scattering length a defined at zero collision energy, which is necessary to obtain both the leading-order effective 4-body interaction and consistently include finite-range corrections for realistic 2-body interactions. The leading-order, effective 3- and 4-body interaction energies are U3 = -(0.85576...)(a/l)^2 + 2.7921(1)(a/l)^3 + O[(a/l)^4] and U4 = +(2.43317...)(a/l)^3 + O[(a\l)^4], where w and l are the harmonic oscillator frequency and length, respectively, and energies are in units of hbar*w. The one-standard deviation error 0.0001 for the third-order coefficient in U3 is due to numerical uncertainty in estimating a slowly converging sum; the other two coefficients are either analytically or numerically exact. The effective 3- and 4-body interactions can play an important role in the dynamics of tightly confined and strongly correlated systems. We also performed numerical simulations for a finite-range boson-boson potential, and it was comparison to the zero-range predictions which revealed that finite-range effects must be taken into account for a realistic third-order treatment. In particular, we show that the energy-dependent pseudopotential accurately captures, through third order, the finite-range physics, and in combination with the multi-body effective interactions gives excellent agreement with the numerical simulations, validating our theoretical analysis and predictions.Comment: Updated introduction, correction of a few typos and sign error

N electrons in a quantum dot: Two-point Pade approximants

We present analytic estimates for the energy levels of N electrons (N = 2 - 5) in a two-dimensional parabolic quantum dot. A magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the confinement plane. The relevant scaled energy is shown to be a smooth function of the parameter \beta=(effective Rydberg/effective dot energy)^{1/6}. Two-point Pade approximants are obtained from the series expansions of the energy near the oscillator ($\beta\to 0$) and Wigner ($\beta\to\infty$) limits. The approximants are expected to work with an error not greater than 2.5% in the entire interval $0\le\beta < \infty$.Comment: 27 pages. LaTeX. 6 figures not include

Physics of Rheologically-Enhanced Propulsion: Different Strokes in Generalized Stokes

Shear-thinning is an important rheological property of many biological fluids, such as mucus, whereby the apparent viscosity of the fluid decreases with shear. Certain microscopic swimmers have been shown to progress more rapidly through shear-thinning fluids, but is this behavior generic to all microscopic swimmers, and what are the physics through which shear-thinning rheology affects a swimmer's propulsion? We examine swimmers employing prescribed stroke kinematics in two-dimensional, inertialess Carreau fluid: shear-thinning "Generalized Stokes" flow. Swimmers are modeled, using the method of femlets, by a set of immersed, regularized forces. The equations governing the fluid dynamics are then discretized over a body-fitted mesh and solved with the finite element method. We analyze the locomotion of three distinct classes of microswimmer: (1) conceptual swimmers comprising sliding spheres employing both one- and two-dimensional strokes, (2) slip-velocity envelope models of ciliates commonly referred to as "squirmers" and (3) monoflagellate pushers, such as sperm. We find that morphologically identical swimmers with different strokes may swim either faster or slower in shear-thinning fluids than in Newtonian fluids. We explain this kinematic sensitivity by considering differences in the viscosity of the fluid surrounding propulsive and payload elements of the swimmer, and using this insight suggest two reciprocal sliding sphere swimmers which violate Purcell's Scallop theorem in shear-thinning fluids. We also show that an increased flow decay rate arising from shear-thinning rheology is associated with a reduction in the swimming speed of slip-velocity squirmers. For sperm-like swimmers, a gradient of thick to thin fluid along the flagellum alters the force it exerts upon the fluid, flattening trajectories and increasing instantaneous swimming speed.Comment: 22 pages, 28 figure

Interplay between excitation kinetics and reaction-center dynamics in purple bacteria

Photosynthesis is arguably the fundamental process of Life, since it enables energy from the Sun to enter the food-chain on Earth. It is a remarkable non-equilibrium process in which photons are converted to many-body excitations which traverse a complex biomolecular membrane, getting captured and fueling chemical reactions within a reaction-center in order to produce nutrients. The precise nature of these dynamical processes -- which lie at the interface between quantum and classical behaviour, and involve both noise and coordination -- are still being explored. Here we focus on a striking recent empirical finding concerning an illumination-driven transition in the biomolecular membrane architecture of {\it Rsp. Photometricum} purple bacteria. Using stochastic realisations to describe a hopping rate model for excitation transfer, we show numerically and analytically that this surprising shift in preferred architectures can be traced to the interplay between the excitation kinetics and the reaction center dynamics. The net effect is that the bacteria profit from efficient metabolism at low illumination intensities while using dissipation to avoid an oversupply of energy at high illumination intensities.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in New Journal of Physic

Structural influence on atomic hopping and electronic states of Pd-based bulk metallic glasses

Atomic motion and electronic structures of Pd–Ni–Cu–P bulk metallic glasses were investigated using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance. The hopping rate of P atoms was determined by the stimulated echo technique. Significant hopping was observed in all alloys well below the glass transition temperature. Increasing the Cu content to above 25 at. % increases P hopping significantly, consistent with the previous finding that the openness of the structure increases with Cu content. In contrast, P hopping is not influenced by changes of local electronic states at P sites, induced by the substitution of Ni by Cu

Anisotropic nonlinear elasticity in a spherical bead pack: influence of the fabric anisotropy

Stress-strain measurements and ultrasound propagation experiments in glass bead packs have been simultaneously conducted to characterize the stress-induced anisotropy under uniaxial loading. These measurements, realized respectively with finite and incremental deformations of the granular assembly, are analyzed within the framework of the effective medium theory based on the Hertz-Mindlin contact theory. Our work shows that both compressional and shear wave velocities and consequently the incremental elastic moduli agree fairly well with the effective medium model by Johnson et al. [J. Appl. Mech. 65, 380 (1998)], but the anisotropic stress ratio resulting from finite deformation does not at all. As indicated by numerical simulations, the discrepancy may arise from the fact that the model doesn't properly allow the grains to relax from the affine motion approximation. Here we find that the interaction nature at the grain contact could also play a crucial role for the relevant prediction by the model; indeed, such discrepancy can be significantly reduced if the frictional resistance between grains is removed. Another main experimental finding is the influence of the inherent anisotropy of granular packs, realized by different protocols of the sample preparation. Our results reveal that compressional waves are more sensitive to the stress-induced anisotropy, whereas the shear waves are more sensitive to the fabric anisotropy, not being accounted in analytical effective medium models.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Efficiency of energy transfer in a light-harvesting system under quantum coherence

We investigate the role of quantum coherence in the efficiency of excitation transfer in a ring-hub arrangement of interacting two-level systems, mimicking a light-harvesting antenna connected to a reaction center as it is found in natural photosynthetic systems. By using a quantum jump approach, we demonstrate that in the presence of quantum coherent energy transfer and energetic disorder, the efficiency of excitation transfer from the antenna to the reaction center depends intimately on the quantum superposition properties of the initial state. In particular, we find that efficiency is sensitive to symmetric and asymmetric superposition of states in the basis of localized excitations, indicating that initial state properties can be used as a efficiency control parameter at low temperatures.Comment: Extended version of original paper. 7 pages, 2 figure

Deformation and fracture of a directionally solidified NiAl-28Cr-6Mo eutectic alloy

A directionally solidified alloy based on the NiAl-(Cr, Mo) eutectic was examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy to characterize the microstructure and room temperature deformation and fracture behavior. The microstructure consisted of a lamellar morphology with a group of zone axes (111) growth direction for both the NiAl and (Cr, Mo) phases. The interphase boundary between the eutectic phases was semicoherent and composed of a well-defined dislocation network. In addition, a fine array of coherent NiAl precipitates was dispersed throughout the (Cr, Mo) phase. The eutectic morphology was stable at 1300 K with only coarsening of the NiAl precipitates occurring after heat treatment for 1.8 ks (500 h). Fracture of the aligned eutectic is characterized primarily by a crack bridging/renucleation mechanism and is controlled by the strength of the semicoherent interface between the two phases. However, contributions to the toughness of the eutectic may arise from plastic deformation of the NiAl phase and the geometry associated with the fracture surface

Edge Excitations of the ν=2/3\nu = 2/3 Spin-Singlet Quantum Hall State

The spectrum of edge excitations is derived for the spin-unpolarized $\nu = 2$ and $\nu = 2/3$ FQHE. Numerical diagonalization of a system of six electrons on a disc confirms that the edge $\nu = 2/3$ spin-singlet FQHE state consists of oppositely directed spin and charge branches on the same physical edge. The highly correlated $\nu = 2/3$ singlet edge is shown to have the same spin branch as the $\nu = 2$ singlet edge, providing evidence that the same $SU(2)_{k = 1}$ Kac-Moody algebra describes all unmixed spin branches. The spin and charge branches of the singlet state at $\nu = 2/3$ are less coupled than the two branches of the spin-polarized state at the same filling factor, suggesting that the conductance along an edge may increase sharply across the polarized-unpolarized transition.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX using prb.sty, 2 short PostScript figure

Directional Solidification and Mechanical Properties of NiAl-NiAlTa Alloys

Directional solidification of eutectic alloys is a promising technique for producing in-situ composite materials exhibiting a balance of properties. Consequently, the microstructure, creep strength and fracture toughness of directionally solidified NiAl-NiAlTa alloys were investigated. Directional solidification was performed by containerless processing techniques to minimize alloy contamination. The eutectic composition was found to be NiAl-15.5 at% Ta and well-aligned microstructures were produced at this composition. A near-eutectic alloy of NiAl-14.5Ta was also investigated. Directional solidification of the near-eutectic composition resulted in microstructures consisting of NiAl dendrites surrounded by aligned eutectic regions. The off-eutectic alloy exhibited promising compressive creep strengths compared to other NiAl-based intermetallics, while preliminary testing indicated that the eutectic alloy was competitive with Ni-base single crystal superalloys. The room temperature toughness of these two-phase alloys was similar to that of polycrystalline NiAl even with the presence of the brittle Laves phase NiAlTa