888 research outputs found
High-resolution EPMA X-ray images of mother liquid inclusions in a Pd2Ga single crystal
During crystal growth from solution inclusions of different compositions were trapped at the rim of a Pd2Ga single crystal. Their fine-grained (< 5 mu m) internal structure demands special requirements for electron microprobe analysis, realized by low-voltage (5 keV) element mapping applying a step size of 0.138 mu m for each pixel. It can be shown, that these inclusions represent an isolated chemical system, and that crystallisation upon cooling follows the expected thermodynamic phase relations. Thus the final composition in the centre of the inclusion consists of a small-scale mixture of PdGa and Pd5Ga3 evolved out of a solid-solid decomposition of Pd5Ga4
Coarse Graining of Nonbonded Inter-particle Potentials Using Automatic Simplex Optimization to Fit Structural Properties
We implemented a coarse-graining procedure to construct mesoscopic models of
complex molecules. The final aim is to obtain better results on properties
depending on slow modes of the molecules. Therefore the number of particles
considered in molecular dynamics simulations is reduced while conserving as
many properties of the original substance as possible. We address the problem
of finding nonbonded interaction parameters which reproduce structural
properties from experiment or atomistic simulations. The approach consists of
optimizing automatically nonbonded parameters using the simplex algorithm to
fit structural properties like the radial distribution function as target
functions. Moreover, any mix of structural and thermodynamic properties can be
included in the target function. Different spherically symmetric inter-particle
potentials are discussed. Besides demonstrating the method for Lennard--Jones
liquids, it is applied to several more complex molecular liquids such as
diphenyl carbonate, tetrahydrofurane, and monomers of poly(isoprene).Comment: 24 pages, 3 tables, 14 figures submitted to the Journal of Chemical
Physics (JCP
Gluon Radiation and Coherent States in Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Collisions
We explore the correspondence between classical gluon radiation and quantum
radiation in a coherent state for gluons produced in ultrarelativistic nuclear
collisions. The expectation value of the invariant momentum distribution of
gluons in the coherent state is found to agree with the gluon number
distribution obtained classically from the solution of the Yang-Mills
equations. A criterion for the applicability of the coherent state formalism to
the problem of radiation in ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is
discussed. This criterion is found to be fulfilled for midrapidity gluons with
perturbative transverse momenta larger than about 1-2 GeV and produced in
collisions between valence partons.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX (with epsf, psfig style files
Superconductivity at 38 K in the iron arsenide (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2
The ternary iron arsenide BaFe2As2 becomes superconducting by hole doping,
which was achieved by partial substitution of the barium site with potassium.
We have discovered bulk superconductivity up to Tc = 38 K in (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2
with x = 0.4. The parent compound BaFe2As2 as well as KFe2As2 both crystallize
in the tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure, which consists of (FeAs)- iron
arsenide layers separated by barium or potassium ions. BaFe2As2 is a poor metal
and exhibits a SDW anomaly at 140 K. By substituting Ba2+ for K+ ions we have
introduced holes in the (FeAs)- layers, which suppress the SDW anomaly and
induce superconductivity. This scenario is very similar to the recently
discovered arsenide-oxide superconductors. The Tc of 38 K in (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2 is
the highest observed critical temperature in hole doped iron arsenide
superconductors so far. Therefore, we were able to expand this class of
superconductors by oxygen-free compounds with the ThCr2Si2-type structure. Our
results suggest, that superconductivity in these systems essentially evolves
from the (FeAs)- layers and may occur in other related compounds.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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Position-Dependent Dysfunction of Deep Brain Stimulation in Tourette Syndrome: Diagnostic Clues
Background: Detection of defective deep brain stimulation (DBS) contacts/electrodes is sometimes challenging.
Case Report: We report a patient with Tourette syndrome (TS), who presented with abrupt tic increase and mild generalized headache 9 years after DBS implantation. On the suspicion of a hardware defect, a fracture of the DBS electrode and extension lead was ruled out by radiography and standard implantable pulse generator readouts. Further investigation revealed position-dependent modifiable therapeutic impedances, suggesting an impaired contact of the extension lead/adaptor. After replacement normal impedances were recorded, and the patient fully recovered.
Discussion: In DBS dysfunction with inconspicuous hardware check, position-dependent defects might be suspected
Amygdala fMRI Signal as a Predictor of Reaction Time
Reaction times (RTs) are a valuable measure for assessing cognitive processes. However, RTs are susceptible to confounds and therefore variable. Exposure to threat, for example, speeds up or slows down responses. Distinct task types to some extent account for differential effects of threat on RTs. But also do inter-individual differences like trait anxiety. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated whether activation within the amygdala, a brain region closely linked to the processing of threat, may also function as a predictor of RTs, similar to trait anxiety scores. After threat conditioning by means of aversive electric shocks, 45 participants performed a choice RT task during alternating 30 s blocks in the presence of the threat conditioned stimulus [CS+] or of the safe control stimulus [CS-]. Trait anxiety was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and participants were median split into a high- and a low-anxiety subgroup. We tested three hypotheses: (1) RTs will be faster during the exposure to threat compared to the safe condition in individuals with high trait anxiety. (2) The amygdala fMRI signal will be higher in the threat condition compared to the safe condition. (3) Amygdala fMRI signal prior to a RT trial will be correlated with the corresponding RT. We found that, the high-anxious subgroup showed faster responses in the threat condition compared to the safe condition, while the low-anxious subgroup showed no significant difference in RTs in the threat condition compared to the safe condition. Though the fMRI analysis did not reveal an effect of condition on amygdala activity, we found a trial-by-trial correlation between blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal within the right amygdala prior to the CRT task and the subsequent RT. Taken together, the results of this study showed that exposure to threat modulates task performance. This modulation is influenced by personality trait. Additionally and most importantly, activation in the amygdala predicts behavior in a simple task that is performed during the exposure to threat. This finding is in line with “attentional capture by threat”—a model that includes the amygdala as a key brain region for the process that causes the response slowing
Classical Gluon Radiation in Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Collisions: Space-Time Structure, Instabilities, and Thermalization
We investigate the space-time structure of the classical gluon field produced
in an ultrarelativistic collision between color charges. The classical solution
which was computed previously in a perturbative approach is shown to become
unstable on account of the non-Abelian self-interaction neglected in the
perturbative solution scheme. The time scale for growth of the instabilities is
found to be of the order of the distance between the colliding color charges.
We argue that these instabilities will eventually lead to thermalization of
gluons produced in an ultrarelativistic collision between heavy nuclei. The
rate of thermalization is estimated to be of order , where is the
strong coupling constant and the transverse color charge density of an
ultrarelativistic nucleus.Comment: 11 pages, REVTeX, eps-, aps-, and psfig-style files, 7 figs., figs.
2-5 in gif-format, a uucompressed version of this paper including all figures
(ca. 2.2 Mb) is available at ftp://nt1.phys.columbia.edu/pub/stabil/stab.u
Guiding neutral atoms around curves with lithographically patterned current-carrying wires
Laser-cooled neutral atoms from a low-velocity atomic source are guided via a
magnetic field generated between two parallel wires on a glass substrate. The
atoms bend around three curves, each with a 15-cm radius of curvature, while
traveling along a 10-cm-long track. A maximum flux of 2*10^6 atoms/sec is
achieved with a current density of 3*10^4 A/cm^2 in the
100x100-micrometer-cross-section wires. The kinetic energy of the guided atoms
in one transverse dimension is measured to be 42 microKelvin.Comment: 9 page
Accurate matching and reconstruction of line features from ultra high resolution stereo aerial images
In this study, a new reconstruction approach is proposed for the line segments that are nearly-aligned(<= 10 degrees) with the epipolar line. The method manipulates the redundancy inherent in line pair-relations to generate artificial 3D point entities and utilize those entities during the estimation process to improve the height values of the reconstructed line segments. The best point entities for the reconstruction are selected based on a newly proposed weight function. To test the performance of the proposed approach, we selected three test patches over a built up area of the city of Vaihingen-Germany. Based on the results, the proposed approach produced highly promising reconstruction results for the line segments that are nearly-aligned with the epipolar line
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