24,663 research outputs found
Giant electrocaloric effect around T
We use molecular dynamics with a first-principles-based shell model potential
to study the electrocaloric effect (ECE) in lithium niobate, LiNbO, and
find a giant electrocaloric effect along a line passing through the
ferroelectric transition. With applied electric field, a line of maximum ECE
passes through the zero field ferroelectric transition, continuing along a
Widom line at high temperatures with increasing field, and along the
instability that leads to homogeneous ferroelectric switching below with
an applied field antiparallel to the spontaneous polarization. This line is
defined as the minimum in the inverse capacitance under applied electric field.
We investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and applied electric field
on the ECE. The behavior we observe in LiNbO should generally apply to
ferroelectrics; we therefore suggest that the operating temperature for
refrigeration and energy scavenging applications should be above the
ferroelectric transition region to obtain large electrocaloric response. We
find a relationship among , the Widom line and homogeneous switching that
should be universal among ferroelectrics, relaxors, multiferroics, and the same
behavior should be found under applied magnetic fields in ferromagnets.Comment: 5 page
Time evolution of the Partridge-Barton Model
The time evolution of the Partridge-Barton model in the presence of the
pleiotropic constraint and deleterious somatic mutations is exactly solved for
arbitrary fecundity in the context of a matricial formalism. Analytical
expressions for the time dependence of the mean survival probabilities are
derived. Using the fact that the asymptotic behavior for large time is
controlled by the largest matrix eigenvalue, we obtain the steady state values
for the mean survival probabilities and the Malthusian growth exponent. The
mean age of the population exhibits a power law decayment. Some Monte
Carlo simulations were also performed and they corroborated our theoretical
results.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 1 postscript figure, published in Phys. Rev. E 61,
5664 (2000
‘The show must go on!’ Fieldwork, mental health and wellbeing in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Fieldwork is central to the identity, culture and history of academic Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES). However, in this paper we recognise that, for many academic staff, fieldtrips can be a profoundly challenging “ordeal,” ill‐conducive to wellness or effective pedagogic practice. Drawing on research with 39 UK university‐based GEES academics who self‐identify as having a mental health condition, we explore how mental health intersects with spaces and expectations of fieldwork in Higher Education. We particularly focus on their accounts of undertaking undergraduate residential fieldtrips and give voice to these largely undisclosed experiences. Their narratives run counter to normative, romanticised celebrations of fieldwork within GEES disciplines. We particularly highlight recurrent experiences of avoiding fieldwork, fieldwork‐as‐ ordeal, and “coping” with fieldwork, and suggest that commonplace anxieties within the neoliberal academy – about performance, productivity, fitness‐to‐work, self‐presentation, scrutiny and fear‐of‐falling‐behind – are felt particularly intensely during fieldwork. In spite of considerable work to make fieldwork more accessible to students, we find that field‐based teaching is experienced as a focal site of distress, anxiety and ordeal for many GEES academics with common mental health conditions. We conclude with prompts for reflection about how fieldwork could be otherwise
The diffuse X-ray background spectrum from 3 to 50keV
The spectrum of the extragalactic diffuse X-ray background was measured with the GSFC cosmic X-ray experiment on HEAO-1 for regions of the sky away from known point sources and more than 20 deg from the galactic plane. A total exposure of 80 sq m-sec-sr is available at present. Free-free emission from an optically thin plasma of 40 plus or minus 5 keV provides an excellent description of the observed spectrum from 3 to 50 keV. This spectral shape is confirmed by measurements from 5 separate layers of three independent detectors. With an estimated absolute precision of about 10 percent, the intensity of the emission at 10 keV is 3.2 keV/keV-sq cm-sec-sr, a value consistent with the average of previously reported spectra. No other spectral features, such as iron line emission, are evident. This spectrum is not typical of known extragalactic objects. A uniform hot intergalactic medium of approximately 36 percent of the closure density of the universe would produce such a flux, although non-uniform models indicating less total matter are probably more realistic
Comments on Anomaly Cancellations by Pole Subtractions and Ghost Instabilities with Gravity
We investigate some aspects of anomaly cancellation realized by the
subtraction of an anomaly pole, stressing on some of its properties in
superspace. In a local formulation these subtractions can be described in terms
of a physical scalar, an axion and related ghosts. They appear to be necessary
for the unitarization of the theory in the ultraviolet, but they may generate
an infrared instability of the corresponding effective action, signalled by
ghost condensation. In particular the subtraction of the superanomaly multiplet
by a pole in superspace is of dubious significance, due to the different nature
of the chiral and conformal anomalies. In turn, this may set more stringent
constraints on the coupling of supersymmetric theories to gravity.Comment: 18 pages. Revised version. To appear in "Classical and Quantum
Gravity
Observations of the transient X-ray source 4U0115+63
Results of HEAO-2 pointed observations and Ariel 5 All Sky Monitor observations of the X-ray transient 4U0115+63 are presented. The transient source pulses with a period of 3.6136 s + or - .0004 s, has a hard spectrum typical of an X-ray binary pulsar, and has a broad iron line emission feature. A discussion of the transient behavior is given and inferences are made concerning the nature of the X-ray source based on the pointed data
Comment on ``Evidence for Narrow Baryon Resonances in Inelastic pp Scattering''
Compton scattering data are sensitive to the existence of low-mass resonances
reported by Tatischeff et al. We show that such states, with their reported
properties, are excluded by previous Compton scattering experiments.Comment: One page, submitted to PR
Flux through a hole from a shaken granular medium
We have measured the flux of grains from a hole in the bottom of a shaken
container of grains. We find that the peak velocity of the vibration, vmax,
controls the flux, i.e., the flux is nearly independent of the frequency and
acceleration amplitude for a given value of vmax. The flux decreases with
increasing peak velocity and then becomes almost constant for the largest
values of vmax. The data at low peak velocity can be quantitatively described
by a simple model, but the crossover to nearly constant flux at larger peak
velocity suggests a regime in which the granular density near the container
bottom is independent of the energy input to the system.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. to appear in Physical Review
The role of angular momentum in the construction of electromagnetic multipolar fields
Multipolar solutions of Maxwell's equations are used in many practical
applications and are essential for the understanding of light-matter
interactions at the fundamental level. Unlike the set of plane wave solutions
of electromagnetic fields, the multipolar solutions do not share a standard
derivation or notation. As a result, expressions originating from different
derivations can be difficult to compare. Some of the derivations of the
multipolar solutions do not explicitly show their relation to the angular
momentum operators, thus hiding important properties of these solutions. In
this article, the relation between two of the most common derivations of this
set of solutions is explicitly shown and their relation to the angular momentum
operators is exposed.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
Measuring fast electron spectra and laser absorption in relativistic laser-solid interactions using differential bremsstrahlung photon detectors
A photon detector suitable for the measurement of bremsstrahlung spectra
generated in relativistically-intense laser-solid interactions is described.
The Monte Carlo techniques used to back-out the fast electron spectrum and
laser energy absorbed into fast electrons are detailed. A
relativistically-intense laser-solid experiment using frequency doubled laser
light is used to demonstrate the effective operation of the detector. The
experimental data was interpreted using the 3-spatial-dimension Monte Carlo
code MCNPX (Pelowitz 2008), and the fast electron temperature found to be 125
keV
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