77 research outputs found
Quantum Phase Transitions and the Extended Coupled Cluster Method
We discuss the application of an extended version of the coupled cluster
method to systems exhibiting a quantum phase transition. We use the lattice
O(4) non-linear sigma model in (1+1)- and (3+1)-dimensions as an example. We
show how simple predictions get modified, leading to the absence of a phase
transition in (1+1) dimensions, and strong indications for a phase transition
in (3+1) dimensions
The formation of peptide-like molecules on interstellar dust grains
Molecules with an amide functional group resemble peptide bonds, the
molecular bridges that connect amino acids, and may thus be relevant in
processes that lead to the formation of life. In this study, the solid state
formation of some of the smallest amides is investigated in the laboratory. To
this end, CH:HNCO ice mixtures at 20 K are irradiated with far-UV
photons, where the radiation is used as a tool to produce the radicals required
for the formation of the amides. Products are identified and investigated with
infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.
The laboratory data show that NHCHO, CHNCO, NHC(O)NH,
CHC(O)NH and CHNH can simultaneously be formed. The
NHCO radical is found to be key in the formation of larger amides. In
parallel, ALMA observations towards the low-mass protostar IRAS 16293-2422B are
analysed in search of CHNHCHO (N-methylformamide) and
CHC(O)NH (acetamide). CHC(O)NH is tentatively detected
towards IRAS 16293-2422B at an abundance comparable with those found towards
high-mass sources. The combined laboratory and observational data indicates
that NHCHO and CHC(O)NH are chemically linked and form in the
ice mantles of interstellar dust grains. A solid-state reaction network for the
formation of these amides is proposed.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The formation of CO through consumption of gas-phase CO on vacuum-UV irradiated water ice
[Abridged] Observations of protoplanetary disks suggest that they are
depleted in gas-phase CO. It has been posed that gas-phase CO is chemically
consumed and converted into less volatile species through gas-grain processes.
Observations of interstellar ices reveal a CO component within HO ice
suggesting co-formation. The aim of this work is to experimentally verify the
interaction of gas-phase CO with solid-state OH radicals above the sublimation
temperature of CO. Amorphous solid water (ASW) is deposited at 15 K and
followed by vacuum-UV (VUV) irradiation to dissociate HO and create OH
radicals. Gas-phase CO is simultaneously admitted and only adsorbs with a short
residence time on the ASW. Products in the solid state are studied with
infrared spectroscopy and once released into the gas phase with mass
spectrometry. Results show that gas-phase CO is converted into CO, with an
efficiency of 7-27%, when interacting with VUV irradiated ASW. Between 40 and
90 K, CO production is constant, above 90 K, O production takes over.
In the temperature range of 40-60 K, the CO remains in the solid state,
while at temperatures 70 K the formed CO is released into the gas
phase. We conclude that gas-phase CO reacts with solid-state OH radicals above
its sublimation temperature. This gas-phase CO and solid-state OH radical
interaction could explain the observed CO embedded in water-rich ices. It
may also contribute to the observed lack of gas-phase CO in planet-forming
disks, as previously suggested. Our experiments indicate a lower water ice
dissociation efficiency than originally adopted in model descriptions of
planet-forming disks and molecular clouds. Incorporation of the reduced water
ice dissociation and increased binding energy of CO on a water ice surfaces in
these models would allow investigation of this gas-grain interaction to its
full extend.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The Extended Coupled Cluster Treatment of Correlations in Quantum Magnets
The spin-half XXZ model on the linear chain and the square lattice are
examined with the extended coupled cluster method (ECCM) of quantum many-body
theory. We are able to describe both the Ising-Heisenberg phase and the
XY-Heisenberg phase, starting from known wave functions in the Ising limit and
at the phase transition point between the XY-Heisenberg and ferromagnetic
phases, respectively, and by systematically incorporating correlations on top
of them. The ECCM yields good numerical results via a diagrammatic approach,
which makes the numerical implementation of higher-order truncation schemes
feasible. In particular, the best non-extrapolated coupled cluster result for
the sublattice magnetization is obtained, which indicates the employment of an
improved wave function. Furthermore, the ECCM finds the expected qualitatively
different behaviours of the linear chain and the square lattice cases.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, and 15 figure
Explicitly Covariant Light-Front Dynamics and Relativistic Few-Body Systems
The wave function of a composite system is defined in relativity on a
space-time surface. In the explicitly covariant light-front dynamics, reviewed
in the present article, the wave functions are defined on the plane \omega \cd
x=0, where is an arbitrary four-vector with . The
standard non-covariant approach is recovered as a particular case for . Using the light-front plane is of crucial importance, while the
explicit covariance gives strong advantages emphasized through all the review.
The properties of the relativistic few-body wave functions are discussed in
detail and are illustrated by examples in a solvable model. The
three-dimensional graph technique for the calculation of amplitudes in the
covariant light-front perturbation theory is presented.
The structure of the electromagnetic amplitudes is studied. We investigate
the ambiguities which arise in any approximate light-front calculations, and
which lead to a non-physical dependence of the electromagnetic amplitude on the
orientation of the light-front plane. The elastic and transition form factors
free from these ambiguities are found for spin 0, 1/2 and 1 systems.
The formalism is applied to the calculation of the relativistic wave
functions of two-nucleon systems (deuteron, scattering state), with particular
attention to the role of their new components in the deuteron elastic and
electrodisintegration form factors and to their connection with meson exchange
currents. Straigthforward applications to the pion and nucleon form factors and
the transition are also made.Comment: latex.tar.gz file, 162 pages, 42 figures, to be published in Physics
Reports (next issues
The Generalized Gell-Mann--Low Theorem for Relativistic Bound States
The recently established generalized Gell-Mann--Low theorem is applied in
lowest perturbative order to bound-state calculations in a simple scalar field
theory with cubic couplings. The approach via the generalized Gell-Mann--Low
Theorem retains, while being fully relativistic, many of the desirable features
of the quantum mechanical approaches to bound states. In particular, no
abnormal or unphysical solutions are found in the model under consideration.
Both the non-relativistic and one-body limits are straightforward and
consistent. The results for the spectrum are compared to those of the
Bethe-Salpeter equation (in the ladder approximation) and related equations.Comment: 24 pages, 6 pspicture diagrams, 4 postscript figure
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