743 research outputs found
The effects of macroscopic inhomogeneities on the magneto transport properties of the electron gas in two dimensions
In experiments on electron transport the macroscopic inhomogeneities in the
sample play a fundamental role. In this paper and a subsequent one we introduce
and develop a general formalism that captures the principal features of sample
inhomogeneities (density gradients, contact misalignments) in the magneto
resistance data taken from low mobility heterostructures. We present detailed
assessments and experimental investigations of the different regimes of
physical interest, notably the regime of semiclassical transport at weak
magnetic fields, the plateau-plateau transitions as well as the
plateau-insulator transition that generally occurs at much stronger values of
the external field only.
It is shown that the semiclassical regime at weak fields plays an integral
role in the general understanding of the experiments on the quantum Hall
regime. The results of this paper clearly indicate that the plateau-plateau
transitions, unlike the the plateau-insulator transition, are fundamentally
affected by the presence of sample inhomogeneities. We propose a universal
scaling result for the magneto resistance parameters. This result facilitates,
amongst many other things, a detailed understanding of the difficulties
associated with the experimental methodology of H.P. Wei et.al in extracting
the quantum critical behavior of the electron gas from the transport
measurements conducted on the plateau-plateau transitions.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure
Plasma scale length effects on protons generated in ultra-intense laserâplasmas
The energy spectra of protons generated by ultra-intense (1020 W cmâ2) laser interactions with a preformed plasma of scale length measured by shadowgraphy are presented. The effects of the preformed plasma on the proton beam temperature and the number of protons are evaluated. Two-dimensional EPOCH particle-in-cell code simulations of the proton spectra are found to be in agreement with measurements over a range of experimental parameter
Sudden switch of generalized Lieb-Robinson velocity in a transverse field Ising spin chain
The Lieb-Robinson theorem states that the speed at which the correlations
between two distant nodes in a spin network can be built through local
interactions has an upper bound, which is called the Lieb-Robinson velocity.
Our central aim is to demonstrate how to observe the Lieb-Robinson velocity in
an Ising spin chain with a strong transverse field. We adopt and compare four
correlation measures for characterizing different types of correlations, which
include correlation function, mutual information, quantum discord, and
entanglement of formation. We prove that one of correlation functions shows a
special behavior depending on the parity of the spin number. All the
information-theoretical correlation measures demonstrate the existence of the
Lieb-Robinson velocity. In particular, we find that there is a sudden switch of
the Lieb-Robinson speed with the increasing of the number of spin
Structural response of Caribbean dry forests to hurricane winds: a case study from Guanica Forest, Puerto Rico
Tropical dry forests in the Caribbean have an uniquely short, shrubby structure with a high proportion of multiple-stemmed trees compared to dry forests elsewhere in the Neotropics. Previous studies have shown that this structure can arise without the loss of main stems from cutting, grazing, or other human intervention. The Caribbean has a high frequency of hurricanes, so wind may also influence forest stature. Furthermore, these forests also tend to grow on soils with low amounts of available phosphorus, which may also influence structure. The objective of this study was to assess the role of high winds in structuring dry forest, and to determine whether soil nutrient pools influence forest response following hurricane disturbance.
Methods: Over 2000 stems in five plots were sampled for hurricane effects within 1 week after Hurricane Georges impacted field sites in 1998. Sprout initiation, growth, and mortality were analysed for 1407 stems for 2 years after the hurricane. Soil nutrient pools were measured at the base of 456 stems to assess association between nutrients and sprout dynamics.
Results: Direct effects of the hurricane were minimal, with stem mortality at \u3c 2% and structural damage to stems at 13%, although damage was biased toward stems of larger diameter. Sprouting response was high . over 10 times as many trees had sprouts after the hurricane as before. The number of sprouts on a stem also increased significantly. Sprouting was common on stems that only suffered defoliation or had no visible effects from the hurricane. Sprout survival after 2 years was also high (\u3e 86%). Soil nutrient pools had little effect on forest response as a whole, but phosphorus supply did influence sprout dynamics on four of the more common tree species. Main Conclusions: Hurricanes are able to influence Caribbean tropical dry forest structure by reducing average stem diameter and basal area and generating significant sprouting responses. New sprouts, with ongoing survival, will maintain the high frequency of multi-stemmed trees found in this region. Sprouting is not limited to damaged stems, indicating that trees are responding to other aspects of high winds, such as short-term gravitational displacement or sway. Soil nutrients play a secondary role in sprouting dynamics of a subset of species. The short, shrubby forest structure common to the Caribbean can arise naturally as a response to hurricane winds
Has the Universe always expanded ?
We consider a cosmological setting for which the currently expanding era is
preceded by a contracting phase, that is, we assume the Universe experienced at
least one bounce. We show that scalar hydrodynamic perturbations lead to a
singular behavior of the Bardeen potential and/or its derivatives (i.e. the
curvature) for whatever Universe model for which the last bounce epoch can be
smoothly and causally joined to the radiation dominated era. Such a Universe
would be filled with non-linear perturbations long before nucleosynthesis, and
would thus be incompatible with observations. We therefore conclude that no
observable bounce could possibly have taken place in the early universe if
Einstein gravity together with hydrodynamical fluids is to describe its
evolution, and hence, under these conditions, that the Universe has always
expanded.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX-ReVTeX, no figures, submitted to PR
On the Progenitors of Core-Collapse Supernovae
Theory holds that a star born with an initial mass between about 8 and 140
times the mass of the Sun will end its life through the catastrophic
gravitational collapse of its iron core to a neutron star or black hole. This
core collapse process is thought to usually be accompanied by the ejection of
the star's envelope as a supernova. This established theory is now being tested
observationally, with over three dozen core-collapse supernovae having had the
properties of their progenitor stars directly measured through the examination
of high-resolution images taken prior to the explosion. Here I review what has
been learned from these studies and briefly examine the potential impact on
stellar evolution theory, the existence of "failed supernovae", and our
understanding of the core-collapse explosion mechanism.Comment: 7 Pages, invited review accepted for publication by Astrophysics and
Space Science (special HEDLA 2010 issue
Primordial perturbations in a non singular bouncing universe model
We construct a simple non singular cosmological model in which the currently
observed expansion phase was preceded by a contraction. This is achieved, in
the framework of pure general relativity, by means of a radiation fluid and a
free scalar field having negative energy. We calculate the power spectrum of
the scalar perturbations that are produced in such a bouncing model and find
that, under the assumption of initial vacuum state for the quantum field
associated with the hydrodynamical perturbation, this leads to a spectral index
n=-1. The matching conditions applying to this bouncing model are derived and
shown to be different from those in the case of a sharp transition. We find
that if our bounce transition can be smoothly connected to a slowly contracting
phase, then the resulting power spectrum will be scale invariant.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX 4, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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