205 research outputs found
The issues of weed infestation with environmentally hazardous plants and methods of their control
The authors analyze expansion of segetal and ruderal vegetation on agricultural lands in Leningrad and Tomsk oblasts, typical for the European and Asian parts of Russia. The spreading conditions, composition of species, biological features and ecological requirements of the most aggressive species are identified. Some effective ways of weed control are suggested
Maximally-localized Wannier Functions in Antiferromagnetic MnO within the FLAPW Formalism
We have calculated the maximally-localized Wannier functions of MnO in its
antiferromagnetic (AFM) rhombohedral unit cell, which contains two formula
units. Electron Bloch functions are obtained with the linearized augmented
plane-wave method within both the LSD and the LSD+U schemes. The thirteen
uppermost occupied spin-up bands correspond in a pure ionic scheme to the five
Mn 3d orbitals at the Mn_1 (spin-up) site, and the four O 2s/2p orbitals at
each of the O_1 and O_2 sites. Maximal localization identifies uniquely four
Wannier functions for each O, which are trigonally-distorted sp^3-like
orbitals. They display a weak covalent bonding between O 2s/2p states and
minority-spin d states of Mn_2, which is absent in a fully ionic picture. This
bonding is the fingerprint of the interaction responsible for the AFM ordering,
and its strength depends on the one-electron scheme being used. The five Mn
Wannier functions are centered on the Mn_1 site, and are atomic orbitals
modified by the crystal field. They are not uniquely defined by the criterion
of maximal localization and we choose them as the linear combinations which
diagonalize the r^2 operator, so that they display the D_3d symmetry of the
Mn_1 site.Comment: 11 pages, 6 PostScript figures. Uses Revtex4. Hi-res figures
available from the author
First-principles study of (BiScO3){1-x}-(PbTiO3){x} piezoelectric alloys
We report a first-principles study of a class of (BiScO3)_{1-x}-(PbTiO3)_x
(BS-PT) alloys recently proposed by Eitel et al. as promising materials for
piezoelectric actuator applications. We show that (i) BS-PT displays very large
structural distortions and polarizations at the morphotropic phase boundary
(MPB) (we obtain a c/a of ~1.05-1.08 and P_tet of ~1.1 C/m^2); (ii) the
ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of BS-PT are dominated by the onset
of hybridization between Bi/Pb-6p and O-2p orbitals, a mechanism that is
enhanced upon substitution of Pb by Bi; and (iii) the piezoelectric responses
of BS-PT and Pb(Zr_{1-x}Ti_x)O3 (PZT) at the MPB are comparable, at least as
far as the computed values of the piezoelectric coefficient d_15 are concerned.
While our results are generally consistent with experiment, they also suggest
that certain intrinsic properties of BS-PT may be even better than has been
indicated by experiments to date. We also discuss results for PZT that
demonstrate the prominent role played by Pb displacements in its piezoelectric
properties.Comment: 6 pages, with 3 postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX and epsf
macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/ji_bi/index.htm
Ab initio phonon dispersion curves and interatomic force constants of barium titanate
The phonon dispersion curves of cubic BaTiO_3 have been computed within a
first-principles approach and the results compared to the experimental data.
The curves obtained are very similar to those reported for KNbO_3 by Yu and
Krakauer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 4067 (1995)]. They reveal that correlated atomic
displacements along chains are at the origin of the ferroelectric
instability. A simplified model illustrates that spontaneous collective
displacements will occur when a dozen of aligned atoms are coupled. The
longitudinal interatomic force constant between nearest neighbour Ti and O
atoms is relatively weak in comparison to that between Ti atoms in adjacent
cells. The small coupling between Ti and O displacements seems however
necessary to reproduce a ferroelectric instability.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Surface Screening Charge and Effective Charge
The charge on an atom at a metallic surface in an electric field is defined
as the field-derivative of the force on the atom, and this is consistent with
definitions of effective charge and screening charge. This charge can be found
from the shift in the potential outside the surface when the atoms are moved.
This is used to study forces and screening on surface atoms of Ag(001)
c -- Xe as a function of external field. It is found that at low
positive (outward) fields, the Xe with a negative effective charge of -0.093
is pushed into the surface. At a field of 2.3 V \AA the charge
changes sign, and for fields greater than 4.1 V \AA the Xe experiences
an outward force. Field desorption and the Eigler switch are discussed in terms
of these results.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTex (accepted by PRL
The physics of dynamical atomic charges: the case of ABO3 compounds
Based on recent first-principles computations in perovskite compounds,
especially BaTiO3, we examine the significance of the Born effective charge
concept and contrast it with other atomic charge definitions, either static
(Mulliken, Bader...) or dynamical (Callen, Szigeti...). It is shown that static
and dynamical charges are not driven by the same underlying parameters. A
unified treatment of dynamical charges in periodic solids and large clusters is
proposed. The origin of the difference between static and dynamical charges is
discussed in terms of local polarizability and delocalized transfers of charge:
local models succeed in reproducing anomalous effective charges thanks to large
atomic polarizabilities but, in ABO3 compounds, ab initio calculations favor
the physical picture based upon transfer of charges. Various results concerning
barium and strontium titanates are presented. The origin of anomalous Born
effective charges is discussed thanks to a band-by-band decomposition which
allows to identify the displacement of the Wannier center of separated bands
induced by an atomic displacement. The sensitivity of the Born effective
charges to microscopic and macroscopic strains is examined. Finally, we
estimate the spontaneous polarization in the four phases of barium titanate.Comment: 25 pages, 6 Figures, 10 Tables, LaTe
Electronic dielectric constants of insulators by the polarization method
We discuss a non-perturbative, technically straightforward, easy-to-use, and
computationally affordable method, based on polarization theory, for the
calculation of the electronic dielectric constant of insulating solids at the
first principles level. We apply the method to GaAs, AlAs, InN, SiC, ZnO, GaN,
AlN, BeO, LiF, PbTiO, and CaTiO. The predicted \einf's agree well
with those given by Density Functional Perturbation Theory (the reference
theoretical treatment), and they are generally within less than 10 % of
experiment.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, 2 ps figure
Born Effective Charges of Barium Titanate: band by band decomposition and sensitivity to structural features
The Born effective charge tensors of Barium Titanate have been calculated for
each of its 4 phases. Large effective charges of Ti and O, also predicted by
shell model calculations and made plausible by a simplified model, reflect the
partial covalent character of the chemical bond. A band by band decomposition
confirms that orbital hybridization is not restricted to Ti and O atoms but
also involves Ba which appears more covalent than generally assumed. Our
calculations reveal a strong dependence of the effective charges on the atomic
positions contrasting with a relative insensitivity on isotropic volume
changes.Comment: 13 page
Ab initio Hartree-Fock Born effective charges of LiH, LiF, LiCl, NaF, and NaCl
We use the Berry-phase-based theory of macroscopic polarization of dielectric
crystals formulated in terms of Wannier functions, and state-of-the-art
Gaussian basis functions, to obtain benchmark ab initio Hartree-Fock values of
the Born effective charges of ionic compounds LiH, LiF, LiCl, NaF, and NaCl. We
find excellent agreement with the experimental values for all the compounds
except LiCl and NaCl, for which the disagreement with the experiments is close
to 10% and 16%, respectively. This may imply the importance of many-body
effects in those systems.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex, 2 figures (included), to appear in Phys. Rev. B
April 15, 200
Mirroring everyday clinical practice in clinical trial design: a new concept to improve the external validity of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials in the pharmacological treatment of major depression
Background: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials constitute the gold standard in clinical research when testing the efficacy of new psychopharmacological interventions in the treatment of major depression. However, the blinded use of placebo has been found to influence clinical trial outcomes and may bias patient
selection.
Discussion: To improve clinical trial design in major depression so as to reflect clinical practice more closely we propose to present patients with a balanced view of the benefits of study participation irrespective of their assignment to placebo or active treatment. In addition every participant should be given the option to finally
receive the active medication. A research agenda is outlined to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes on the efficacy of the drug to be evaluated and on the demographic and clinical characteristics of the enrollment fraction with regard to its representativeness of the eligible population.
Summary: We propose a list of measures to be taken to improve the external validity of double-blind, placebocontrolled trials in major depression. The recommended changes to clinical trial design may also be relevant for other psychiatric as well as medical disorders in which expectations regarding treatment outcome may affect the
outcome itself
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