815 research outputs found
Studies Of Electron Collisions With Polyatomic Molecules Using Distributed-memory Parallel Computers
Elastic electron scattering cross sections from 5-30 eV are reported for the molecules C2H4, C2H6, C 3H8, Si2H6, and GeH4, obtained using an implementation of the Schwinger multichannel method for distributed-memory parallel computer architectures. These results, obtained within the static-exchange approximation, are in generally good agreement with the available experimental data. These calculations demonstrate the potential of highly parallel computation in the study of collisions between low-energy electrons and polyatomic gases. The computational methodology discussed is also directly applicable to the calculation of elastic cross sections at higher levels of approximation (target polarization) and of electronic excitation cross sections. © 1991 American Institute of Physics.9485455546
C-Reactive Protein and B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Yield Either a Non-Significant or a Modest Incremental Value to Traditional Risk Factors in Predicting Long-Term Overall Mortality in Older Adults
Background:New biomarkers may aid in preventive and end-of-life decisions in older adults if they enhance the prognostic ability of traditional risk factors. We investigated whether C-reactive protein (CRP) and/or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) improve the ability to predict overall mortality among the elderly of the Bambuí, Brazil Study of Aging when added to traditional risk factors.Methods:From 1997 to 2007, 1,470 community-dwelling individuals (≥60 years) were followed-up. Death was ascertained by continuous verification of death certificates. We calculated hazard ratios per 1 standard deviation change (HR) of death for traditional risk factors only (old model), and traditional risk factors plus CRP and/or BNP (new models) and assessed calibration of the models. Subsequently, we compared c-statistic of each of the new models to the old one, and calculated integrated discriminative improvement (IDI) and net reclassification improvement (NRI).Results:544 (37.0%) participants died in a mean follow-up time of 9.0 years. CRP (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.17-1.40), BNP (HR 1.31 95% CI 1.19-1.45), and CRP plus BNP (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.15-1.38, and HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.16-1.42, respectively) were independent determinants of mortality. All models were well-calibrated. Discrimination was similar among the old (c-statistic 0.78 [0.78-0.81]) and new models (p=0.43 for CRP; p=0.57 for BNP; and p=0.31 for CRP plus BNP). Compared to the old model, CRP, BNP, and CRP plus BNP models led to an IDI of 0.009 (p<0.001), -0.005 (p<0.001) and -0.003 (p=0.84), and a NRI of 0.04 (p=0.24), 0.07 (p=0.08) and 0.06 (p=0.10), respectively.Conclusions:Despite being independent predictors of long-term risk of death, compared to traditional risk factors CRP and/or BNP led to either a modest or non-significant improvement in the ability of predicting all-cause mortality in older adults
Specific heat and magnetic measurements in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3 samples
We studied the magnetization as a function of temperature and magnetic field
in the compounds Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Ho0.5Ca0.5MnO3. It allowed
us to identify the ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and charge ordering phases
in each case. The intrinsic magnetic moments of Nd3+ and Ho3+ ions experienced
a short range order at low temperatures. We also did specific heat measurements
with applied magnetic fields between 0 and 9 T and temperatures between 2 and
300 K in all three samples. Close to the charge ordering and ferromagnetic
transition temperatures the specific heat curves showed peaks superposed to the
characteristic response of the lattice oscillations. Below 10 K the specific
heat measurements evidenced a Schottky-like anomaly for all samples. However,
we could not successfully fit the curves to either a two level nor a
distribution of two-level Schottky anomaly. Our results indicated that the peak
temperature of the Schottky anomaly was higher in the compounds with narrower
conduction band.Comment: submitted to PR
Planar Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of a Charged Particle in an External Electromagnetic Field
The supersymmetric quantum mechanics of a two-dimensional non-relativistic
particle subject to external magnetic and electric fields is studied in a
superfield formulation and with the typical non-minimal coupling of (2+1)
dimensions. Both the N=1 and N=2 cases are contemplated and the introduction of
the electric interaction is suitably analysed.Comment: V3-Improved by Referees' sugestions. REVTeX4 6 pages (twocolumn
option), no figures. V2-Minor changes. A previous version of this work was
presented by JAHN during the II Intern. Conf. on Fundamental Interactions,
June 2004, Pedra Azul-ES, Brazil. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Metal-insulator transitions in cyclotron resonance of periodic nanostructures due to avoided band crossings
A recently found metal-insulator transition in a model for cyclotron
resonance in a two-dimensional periodic potential is investigated by means of
spectral properties of the time evolution operator. The previously found
dynamical signatures of the transition are explained in terms of avoided band
crossings due to the change of the external electric field. The occurrence of a
cross-like transport is predicted and numerically confirmed
Unusual magnetic relaxation behavior in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3
We have carried out a systematic magnetic relaxation study, measured after
applying and switching off a 5 T magnetic field to polycrystalline samples of
La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The long time logarithmic relaxation rate
(LTLRR), decreased from 10 K to 150 K and increased from 150 K to 195 K in
La0.5Ca0.5MnO3. This change in behavior was found to be related to the complete
suppression of the antiferromagnetic phase above 150 K and in the presence of a
5 T magnetic field. At 195 K, the magnetization first decreased, and after a
few minutes increased slowly as a function of time. Moreover, between 200 K and
245 K, the magnetization increased throughout the measured time span. The
change in the slope of the curves, from negative to positive at about 200 K was
found to be related to the suppression of antiferromagnetic fluctuations in
small magnetic fields. A similar temperature dependence of the LTLRR was found
for the Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 sample. However, the temperature where the LTLRR reached
the minimum in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 was lower than that of La0.5Ca0.5MnO3. This
result agrees with the stronger ferromagnetic interactions that exist in
Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 in comparison to La0.5Ca0.5MnO3. The above measurements
suggested that the general temperature dependence of the LTLRR and the
underlying physics were mainly independent of the particular charge ordering
system considered. All relaxation curves could be fitted using a logarithmic
law at long times. This slow relaxation was attributed to the coexistence of
ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions between Mn ions, which
produced a distribution of energy barriers.Comment: Accepted to PRB as a regular article, 10 figures, Scheduled Issue: 01
June 200
Green manure in coffee systems in the region of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais: characteristics and kinetics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization.
The use of green manure may contribute to reduce soil erosion and increase the soil organic matter content and N availability in coffee plantations in the Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais, in Southeastern Brazil. The potential of four legumes (A. pintoi, C. mucunoides, S. aterrimum and S. guianensis)to produce above-ground
biomass, accumulate nutrients and mineralize N was studied in two coffee plantations of subsistence farmers under different climate conditions. The biomass production of C. mucunoides was influenced by the shade of the coffee plantation.C. mucunoides tended to mineralize more N than the other legumes due to the low polyphenol content and polyphenol/N ratio. In the first year, the crop establishment of A. pintoi in the area took longer than of the other legumes, resulting in lower biomass production and N2 fixation. In the long term, cellulose was the main
factor controlling N mineralization. The biochemical characteristics, nutrient accumulation and biomass production of the legumes were greatly influenced by
the altitude and position of the area relative to the sun
Enhancement of the upper critical field by nonmagnetic impurities in dirty two-gap superconductors
Quasiclassic Uzadel equations for two-band superconductors in the dirty limit
with the account of both intraband and interband scattering by nonmagnetic
impurities are derived for any anisotropic Fermi surface. From these equations
the Ginzburg-Landau equations, and the critical temperature are obtained.
An equation for the upper critical field, which determines both the temperature
dependence of and the orientational dependence of
as a function of the angle between and the c-axis is
obtained. It is shown that the shape of the curve essentially
depends on the ratio of the intraband electron diffusivities and ,
and can be very different from the standard one-gap dirty limit theory. In
particular, the value can considerably exceed ,
which can have important consequences for applications of . A scaling
relation is proposed which enables one to obtain the angular dependence of
from the equation for at . It is shown
that, depending on the relation between and , the ratio of the upper
critical field for and can both increase and decrease as the temperature decreases. Implications
of the obtained results for are discussed
On exact solutions for quintessential (inflationary) cosmological models with exponential potentials
We first study dark energy models with a minimally-coupled scalar field and
exponential potentials, admitting exact solutions for the cosmological
equations: actually, it turns out that for this class of potentials the
Einstein field equations exhibit alternative Lagrangians, and are completely
integrable and separable (i.e. it is possible to integrate the system
analytically, at least by quadratures). We analyze such solutions, especially
discussing when they are compatible with a late time quintessential expansion
of the universe. As a further issue, we discuss how such quintessential scalar
fields can be connected to the inflationary phase, building up, for this class
of potentials, a quintessential inflationary scenario: actually, it turns out
that the transition from inflation toward late-time exponential quintessential
tail admits a kination period, which is an indispensable ingredient of this
kind of theoretical models. All such considerations have also been done by
including radiation into the model.Comment: Revtex4, 10 figure
- …