1,221 research outputs found
Charge-density-wave order parameter of the Falicov-Kimball model in infinite dimensions
In the large-U limit, the Falicov-Kimball model maps onto an effective Ising
model, with an order parameter described by a BCS-like mean-field theory in
infinite dimensions. In the small-U limit, van Dongen and Vollhardt showed that
the order parameter assumes a strange non-BCS-like shape with a sharp reduction
near T approx T_c/2. Here we numerically investigate the crossover between
these two regimes and qualitatively determine the order parameter for a variety
of different values of U. We find the overall behavior of the order parameter
as a function of temperature to be quite anomalous.Comment: (5 pages, 3 figures, typeset with ReVTeX4
Analysis of linearized inverse problems in ultrasound transmission imaging
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the linearized inverse problem during the iterativesolution process of the ill-posed nonlinear inverse problem of image reconstruction for ultra-sound transmission imaging. We show that the conjugate gradient applied to normal equation(CGNE) method gives more reliable solutions for linearized systems than Tikhonov regular-ization methods. The linearized systems are more sensitive when treated by CGNE than byTikhonov regularization methods. The Tikhonov regularization is less effective at the be-ginning of the outer-loop iteration, where the nonlinearity is dominating while the conjugategradient for the linearized system stops earlier. Only when the linear approximation is goodenough to describe the whole system, Tikhonov regularization can fully play its role and giveslightly better reconstruction results as compared to CGNE in a very noisy case
Kinetic Anomalies in Addition-Aggregation Processes
We investigate irreversible aggregation in which monomer-monomer,
monomer-cluster, and cluster-cluster reactions occur with constant but distinct
rates K_{MM}, K_{MC}, and K_{CC}, respectively. The dynamics crucially depends
on the ratio gamma=K_{CC}/K_{MC} and secondarily on epsilon=K_{MM}/K_{MC}. For
epsilon=0 and gamma<2, there is conventional scaling in the long-time limit,
with a single mass scale that grows linearly in time. For gamma >= 2, there is
unusual behavior in which the concentration of clusters of mass k, c_k decays
as a stretched exponential in time within a boundary layer k<k* propto
t^{1-2/gamma} (k* propto ln t for gamma=2), while c_k propto t^{-2} in the bulk
region k>k*. When epsilon>0, analogous behaviors emerge for gamma<2 and gamma
>= 2.Comment: 6 pages, 2 column revtex4 format, for submission to J. Phys.
Phase separation and the segregation principle in the infinite-U spinless Falicov-Kimball model
The simplest statistical-mechanical model of crystalline formation (or alloy
formation) that includes electronic degrees of freedom is solved exactly in the
limit of large spatial dimensions and infinite interaction strength. The
solutions contain both second-order phase transitions and first-order phase
transitions (that involve phase-separation or segregation) which are likely to
illustrate the basic physics behind the static charge-stripe ordering in
cuprate systems. In addition, we find the spinodal-decomposition temperature
satisfies an approximate scaling law.Comment: 19 pages and 10 figure
Nontrivial Polydispersity Exponents in Aggregation Models
We consider the scaling solutions of Smoluchowski's equation of irreversible
aggregation, for a non gelling collision kernel. The scaling mass distribution
f(s) diverges as s^{-tau} when s->0. tau is non trivial and could, until now,
only be computed by numerical simulations. We develop here new general methods
to obtain exact bounds and good approximations of . For the specific
kernel KdD(x,y)=(x^{1/D}+y^{1/D})^d, describing a mean-field model of particles
moving in d dimensions and aggregating with conservation of ``mass'' s=R^D (R
is the particle radius), perturbative and nonperturbative expansions are
derived.
For a general kernel, we find exact inequalities for tau and develop a
variational approximation which is used to carry out the first systematic study
of tau(d,D) for KdD. The agreement is excellent both with the expansions we
derived and with existing numerical values. Finally, we discuss a possible
application to 2d decaying turbulence.Comment: 16 pages (multicol.sty), 6 eps figures (uses epsfig), Minor
corrections. Notations improved, as published in Phys. Rev. E 55, 546
Virtual reality training for endoscopic surgery: voluntary or obligatory?
INTRODUCTION: Virtual reality (VR) simulators have been developed to train basic endoscopic surgical skills outside of the operating room. An important issue is how to create optimal conditions for integration of these types of simulators into the surgical training curriculum. The willingness of surgical residents to train these skills on a voluntary basis was surveyed. METHODS: Twenty-one surgical residents were given unrestricted access to a VR simulator for a period of four months. After this period, a competitive element was introduced to enhance individual training time spent on the simulator. The overall end-scores for individual residents were announced periodically to the full surgical department, and the winner was awarded a prize. RESULTS: In the first four months of study, only two of the 21 residents (10%) trained on the simulator, for a total time span of 163 minutes. After introducing the competitive element the number of trainees increased to seven residents (33%). The amount of training time spent on the simulator increased to 738 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Free unlimited access to a VR simulator for training basic endoscopic skills, without any form of obligation or assessment, did not motivate surgical residents to use the simulator. Introducing a competitive element for enhancing training time had only a marginal effect. The acquisition of expensive devices to train basic psychomotor skills for endoscopic surgery is probably only effective when it is an integrated and mandatory part of the surgical curriculu
Amniotic fluid deficiency and congenital abnormalities both influence fluctuating asymmetry in developing limbs of human deceased fetuses
Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), as an indirect measure of developmental instability (DI), has been intensively studied for associations with stress and fitness. Patterns, however, appear heterogeneous and the underlying causes remain largely unknown. One aspect that has received relatively little attention in the literature is the consequence of direct mechanical effects on asymmetries. The crucial prerequisite for FA to reflect DI is that environmental conditions on both sides should be identical. This condition may be violated during early human development if amniotic fluid volume is deficient, as the resulting mechanical pressures may increase asymmetries. Indeed, we showed that limb bones of deceased human fetuses exhibited increased asymmetry, when there was not sufficient amniotic fluid (and, thus, space) in the uterine cavity. As amniotic fluid deficiency is known to cause substantial asymmetries and abnormal limb development, these subtle asymmetries are probably at least in part caused by the mechanical pressures. On the other hand, deficiencies in amniotic fluid volume are known to be associated with other congenital abnormalities that may disturb DI. More specifically, urogenital abnormalities can directly affect/reduce amniotic fluid volume. We disentangled the direct mechanical effects on FA from the indirect effects of urogenital abnormalities, the latter presumably representing DI. We discovered that both factors contributed significantly to the increase in FA. However, the direct mechanical effect of uterine pressure, albeit statistically significant, appeared less important than the effects of urogenital abnormalities, with an effect size only two-third as large. We, thus, conclude that correcting for the relevant direct factors allowed for a representative test of the association between DI and stress, and confirmed that fetuses form a suitable model system to increase our understanding in patterns of FA and symmetry development.Research Fund of the University of Antwerp, mobility grant from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)
Mechanism of CDW-SDW Transition in One Dimension
The phase transition between charge- and spin-density-wave (CDW, SDW) phases
is studied in the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model at half-filling. We
discuss whether the transition can be described by the Gaussian and the
spin-gap transitions under charge-spin separation, or by a direct CDW-SDW
transition. We determine these phase boundaries by level crossings of
excitation spectra which are identified according to discrete symmetries of
wave functions. We conclude that the Gaussian and the spin-gap transitions take
place separately from weak- to intermediate-coupling region. This means that
the third phase exists between the CDW and the SDW states. Our results are also
consistent with those of the strong-coupling perturbative expansion and of the
direct evaluation of order parameters.Comment: 5 pages(REVTeX), 5 figures(EPS), 1 table, also available from
http://wwwsoc.nacsis.ac.jp/jps/jpsj/1999/p68a/p68a42/p68a42h/p68a42h.htm
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