810 research outputs found
Approximate treatment of electron Coulomb distortion in quasielastic (e,e') reactions
In this paper we address the adequacy of various approximate methods of
including Coulomb distortion effects in (e,e') reactions by comparing to an
exact treatment using Dirac-Coulomb distorted waves. In particular, we examine
approximate methods and analyses of (e,e') reactions developed by Traini et al.
using a high energy approximation of the distorted waves and phase shifts due
to Lenz and Rosenfelder. This approximation has been used in the separation of
longitudinal and transverse structure functions in a number of (e,e')
experiments including the newly published 208Pb(e,e') data from Saclay. We find
that the assumptions used by Traini and others are not valid for typical (e,e')
experiments on medium and heavy nuclei, and hence the extracted structure
functions based on this formalism are not reliable. We describe an improved
approximation which is also based on the high energy approximation of Lenz and
Rosenfelder and the analyses of Knoll and compare our results to the Saclay
data. At each step of our analyses we compare our approximate results to the
exact distorted wave results and can therefore quantify the errors made by our
approximations. We find that for light nuclei, we can get an excellent
treatment of Coulomb distortion effects on (e,e') reactions just by using a
good approximation to the distorted waves, but for medium and heavy nuclei
simple additional ad hoc factors need to be included. We describe an explicit
procedure for using our approximate analyses to extract so-called longitudinal
and transverse structure functions from (e,e') reactions in the quasielastic
region.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, 16 reference
Renormalization in Self-Consistent Approximation schemes at Finite Temperature III: Global Symmetries
We investigate the symmetry properties for Baym's -derivable schemes.
We show that in general the solutions of the dynamical equations of motion,
derived from approximations of the -functional, do not fulfill the
Ward-Takahashi identities of the symmetry of the underlying classical action,
although the conservation laws for the expectation values of the corresponding
Noether currents are fulfilled exactly for the approximation. Further we prove
that one can define an effective action functional in terms of the
self-consistent propagators which is invariant under the operation of the same
symmetry group representation as the classical action. The requirements for
this theorem to hold true are the same as for perturbative approximations: The
symmetry has to be realized linearly on the fields and it must be free of
anomalies, i.e., there should exist a symmetry conserving regularization
scheme. In addition, if the theory is renormalizable in Dyson's narrow sense,
it can be renormalized with counter terms which do not violate the symmetry.Comment: 32 papges, 3 figures, uses ReVTeX 4, V2: Added one more reference,
V3: Corrected some typos, added two more sections about the large-N expansio
Magnetic excitations in SrCu2O3: a Raman scattering study
We investigated temperature dependent Raman spectra of the one-dimensional
spin-ladder compound SrCu2O3. At low temperatures a two-magnon peak is
identified at 3160+/-10 cm^(-1) and its temperature dependence analyzed in
terms of a thermal expansion model. We find that the two-magnon peak position
must include a cyclic ring exchange of J_cycl/J_perp=0.09-0.25 with a coupling
constant along the rungs of J_perp approx. 1215 cm^(-1) (1750 K) in order to be
consistent with other experiments and theoretical results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Tailoring the atomic structure of graphene nanoribbons by STM lithography
The practical realization of nano-scale electronics faces two major
challenges: the precise engineering of the building blocks and their assembly
into functional circuits. In spite of the exceptional electronic properties of
carbon nanotubes only basic demonstration-devices have been realized by
time-consuming processes. This is mainly due to the lack of selective growth
and reliable assembly processes for nanotubes. However, graphene offers an
attractive alternative. Here we report the patterning of graphene nanoribbons
(GNRs) and bent junctions with nanometer precision, well-defined widths and
predetermined crystallographic orientations allowing us to fully engineer their
electronic structure using scanning tunneling microscope (STM) lithography. The
atomic structure and electronic properties of the ribbons have been
investigated by STM and tunneling spectroscopy measurements. Opening of
confinement gaps up to 0.5 eV, allowing room temperature operation of GNR-based
devices, is reported. This method avoids the difficulties of assembling
nano-scale components and allows the realization of complete integrated
circuits, operating as room temperature ballistic electronic devices.Comment: 8 pages text, 5 figures, Nature Nanotechnology, in pres
Magnetic Raman Scattering in Two-Dimensional Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnets: Spectral Shape Anomaly and Magnetostrictive Effects
We calculate the Raman spectrum of the two-dimensional (2D) spin-1/2
Heisenberg antiferromagnet by exact diagonalization and quantum Monte Carlo
techniques on clusters of up to 144 sites and, on a 16-site cluster, by
considering the phonon-magnon interaction which leads to random fluctuations of
the exchange integral. Results are in good agreement with experiments on
various high-T_c precursors, such as La_2CuO_4 and YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.2}. In
particular, our calculations reproduce the broad lineshape of the two-magnon
peak, the asymmetry about its maximum, the existence of spectral weight at high
energies, and the observation of nominally forbidden A_{1g} scattering.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX, 1 postscript figur
The Braincase of the Basal Sauropod Dinosaur Spinophorosaurus and 3D Reconstructions of the Cranial Endocast and Inner Ear
Background:
Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk on land, and, as a result, the evolution of their remarkable adaptations has been of great interest. The braincase is of particular interest because it houses the brain and inner ear. However, only a few studies of these structures in sauropods are available to date. Because of the phylogenetic position of Spinophorosaurus nigerensis as a basal eusauropod, the braincase has the potential to provide key evidence on the evolutionary transition relative to other dinosaurs.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
The only known braincase of Spinophorosaurus (‘Argiles de l'Irhazer’, Irhazer Group; Agadez region, Niger) differs significantly from those of the Jurassic sauropods examined, except potentially for Atlasaurus imelakei (Tilougguit Formation, Morocco). The basisphenoids of Spinophorosaurus and Atlasaurus bear basipterygoid processes that are comparable in being directed strongly caudally. The Spinophorosaurus specimen was CT scanned, and 3D renderings of the cranial endocast and inner-ear system were generated. The endocast resembles that of most other sauropods in having well-marked pontine and cerebral flexures, a large and oblong pituitary fossa, and in having the brain structure obscured by the former existence of relatively thick meninges and dural venous sinuses. The labyrinth is characterized by long and proportionally slender semicircular canals. This condition recalls, in particular, that of the basal non-sauropod sauropodomorph Massospondylus and the basal titanosauriform Giraffatitan.
Conclusions/Significance:
Spinophorosaurus has a moderately derived paleoneuroanatomical pattern. In contrast to what might be expected early within a lineage leading to plant-eating graviportal quadrupeds, Spinophorosaurus and other (but not all) sauropodomorphs show no reduction of the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear. This character-state is possibly a primitive retention in Spinophorosaurus, but due the scarcity of data it remains unclear whether it is also the case in the various later sauropods in which it is present or whether it has developed homoplastically in these taxa. Any interpretations remain tentative pending the more comprehensive quantitative analysis underway, but the size and morphology of the labyrinth of sauropodomorphs may be related to neck length and mobility, among other factors.The sojourns of Dr. Knoll in the Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin) were partly funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through a sponsorship of renewed research stay in Germany and by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 “Capacities” Program through a Synthesys grant (http://www.synthesys.info/). Dr. Knoll is currently supported by the Ramón y Cajal Program. This is a contribution to the research project CGL2009-12143, from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Madrid), conducted by Dr. Knoll (PI), Dr. Witmer, and Dr. Schwarz-Wings. Dr. Witmer and Dr. Ridgely acknowledge funding support from the United States National Science Foundation (IBN-9601174, IBN-0343744, IOB-0517257) and the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Ohio Supercomputing Center also provided support.Peer reviewe
Tunneling decay in a magnetic field
We provide a semiclassical theory of tunneling decay in a magnetic field and
a three-dimensional potential of a general form. Because of broken
time-reversal symmetry, the standard WKB technique has to be modified. The
decay rate is found from the analysis of the set of the particle Hamiltonian
trajectories in complex phase space and time. In a magnetic field, the
tunneling particle comes out from the barrier with a finite velocity and behind
the boundary of the classically allowed region. The exit location is obtained
by matching the decaying and outgoing WKB waves at a caustic in complex
configuration space. Different branches of the WKB wave function match on the
switching surface in real space, where the slope of the wave function sharply
changes. The theory is not limited to tunneling from potential wells which are
parabolic near the minimum. For parabolic wells, we provide a bounce-type
formulation in a magnetic field. The theory is applied to specific models which
are relevant to tunneling from correlated two-dimensional electron systems in a
magnetic field parallel to the electron layer.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
Interaction of the quantized electromagnetic field with atoms in the presence of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies
A general theory of the interaction of the quantized electromagnetic field
with atoms in the presence of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies of
given Kramers--Kronig consistent permittivities is developed. It is based on a
source-quantity representation of the electromagnetic field, in which the
electromagnetic-field operators are expressed in terms of a continuous set of
fundamental bosonic fields via the Green tensor of the classical problem.
Introducing scalar and vector potentials, the formalism is extended in order to
include in the theory the interaction of the quantized electromagnetic field
with additional atoms. Both the minimal-coupling scheme and the
multipolar-coupling scheme are considered. The theory replaces the standard
concept of mode decomposition which fails for complex permittivities. It
enables us to treat the effects of dispersion and absorption in a consistent
way and to give a unified approach to the atom-field interaction, without any
restriction to a particular interaction regime in a particular frequency range.
All relevant information about the dielectric bodies such as form and intrinsic
dispersion and absorption is contained in the Green tensor. The application of
the theory to the spontaneous decay of an excited atom in the presence of
dispersing and absorbing bodies is addressed.Comment: Paper presented at the International Conference on Quantum Optics and
VIII Seminar on Quantum Optics, Raubichi, Belarus, May 28-31, 2000, 14 pages,
LaTeX2e, no figure
Nacre tablet thickness records formation temperature in modern and fossil shells
Nacre, the iridescent outer lining of pearls and inner lining of many mollusk shells, is composed of periodic, parallel, organic sheets alternating with aragonite (CaCO_3) tablet layers. Nacre tablet thickness (TT) generates both nacre's iridescence and its remarkable resistance to fracture. Despite extensive studies on how nacre forms, the mechanisms controlling TT remain unknown, even though they determine the most conspicuous of nacre's characteristics, visible even to the naked eye.
Thermodynamics predicts that temperature (T) will affect both physical and chemical components of biomineralized skeletons. The chemical composition of biominerals is well-established to record environmental parameters, and has therefore been extensively used in paleoclimate studies. The physical structure, however, has been hypothesized but never directly demonstrated to depend on the environment. Here we observe that the physical TT in nacre from modern and fossil shallow-water shells of the bivalves Pinna and Atrina correlates with T as measured by the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer. Based on the observed TT vs. T correlation, we anticipate that TT will be used as a paleothermometer, useful to estimate paleotemperature in shallow-water paleoenvironments. Here we successfully test the proposed new nacre TT thermometer on two Jurassic Pinna shells. The increase of TT with T is consistent with greater aragonite growth rate at higher T, and with greater metabolic rate at higher T. Thus, it reveals a complex, T-dependent biophysical mechanism for nacre formation
Functional diversity of marine ecosystems after the Late Permian mass extinction event
Article can be accessed from http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v7/n3/full/ngeo2079.htmlThe Late Permian mass extinction event was the most severe such crisis of the past 500 million years and occurred during an episode of global warming. It is assumed to have had significant ecological impact, but its effects on marine ecosystem functioning are unknown and the patterns of marine recovery are debated. We analysed the fossil occurrences of all known Permian-Triassic benthic marine genera and assigned each to a functional group based on their inferred life habit. We show that despite the selective extinction of 62-74% of marine genera there was no significant loss of functional diversity at the global scale, and only one novel mode of life originated in the extinction aftermath. Early Triassic marine ecosystems were not as ecologically depauperate as widely assumed, which explains the absence of a Cambrian-style Triassic radiation in higher taxa. Functional diversity was, however, significantly reduced in particular regions and habitats, such as tropical reefs, and at these scales recovery varied spatially and temporally, probably driven by migration of surviving groups. Marine ecosystems did not return to their pre-extinction state, however, and radiation of previously subordinate groups such as motile, epifaunal grazers led to greater functional evenness by the Middle Triassic
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