4,570 research outputs found
On Dirac-like Monopoles in a Lorentz- and CPT-violating Electrodynamics
We study magnetic monopoles in a Lorentz- and CPT-odd electrodynamical
framework in (3+1) dimensions. This is the standard Maxwell model extended by
means of a Chern-Simons-like term, (
constant), which respects gauge invariance but violates both Lorentz and CPT
symmetries (as a consequence, duality is also lost). Our main interest concerns
the analysis of the model in the presence of Dirac monopoles, so that the
Bianchi identity no longer holds, which naively yields the non-conservation of
electric charge. Since gauge symmetry is respected, the issue of charge
conservation is more involved. Actually, the inconsistency may be circumvented,
if we assume that the appearance of a monopole induces an extra electric
current. The reduction of the model to (2+1) dimensions in the presence of both
the magnetic sources and Lorentz-violating terms is presented. There, a
quantization condition involving the scalar remnant of , say, the mass
parameter, is obtained. We also point out that the breaking of duality may be
associated with an asymmetry between electric and magnetic sources in this
background, so that the electromagnetic force experienced by a magnetic pole is
supplemented by an extra term proportional to , whenever compared to the
one acting on an electric charge.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, typed in te
Berry phases and zero-modes in toroidal topological insulator
An effective Hamiltonian describing the surface states of a toroidal
topological insulator is obtained, and it is shown to support both bound-states
and charged zero-modes. Actually, the spin connection induced by the toroidal
curvature can be viewed as an position-dependent effective vector potential,
which ultimately yields the zero-modes whose wave-functions harmonically
oscillate around the toroidal surface. In addition, two distinct Berry phases
are predicted to take place by the virtue of the toroidal topology.Comment: New version, accepted for publication in EPJB, 6 pages, 1 figur
Topological insulator particles as optically induced oscillators: towards dynamical force measurements and optical rheology
We report the first experimental study upon the optical trapping and
manipulation of topological insulator (TI) particles. By virtue of the unique
TI properties, which have a conducting surface and an insulating bulk, the
particles present a peculiar behaviour in the presence of a single laser beam
optical tweezers: they oscillate in a plane perpendicular to the direction of
the laser propagation, as a result of the competition between radiation
pressure and gradient forces. In other words, TI particles behave as optically
induced oscillators, allowing dynamical measurements with unprecedented
simplicity and purely optical control. Actually, optical rheology of soft
matter interfaces and biological membranes, as well as dynamical force
measurements in macromolecules and biopolymers, may be quoted as feasible
possibilities for the near future.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Correspondence and requests for Supplementary
Material should be addressed to [email protected]
Bloch-like oscillations in a one-dimensional lattice with long-range correlated disorder
We study the dynamics of an electron subjected to a uniform electric field
within a tight-binding model with long-range-correlated diagonal disorder. The
random distribution of site energies is assumed to have a power spectrum with . Moura and Lyra [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf
81}, 3735 (1998)] predicted that this model supports a phase of delocalized
states at the band center, separated from localized states by two mobility
edges, provided . We find clear signatures of Bloch-like
oscillations of an initial Gaussian wave packet between the two mobility edges
and determine the bandwidth of extended states, in perfect agreement with the
zero-field prediction.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
How hole defects modify vortex dynamics in ferromagnetic nanodisks
Defects introduced in ferromagnetic nanodisks may deeply affect the structure
and dynamics of stable vortex-like magnetization. Here, analytical techniques
are used for studying, among other dynamical aspects, how a small cylindrical
cavity modify the oscillatory modes of the vortex. For instance, we have
realized that if the vortex is nucleated out from the hole its gyrotropic
frequencies are shifted below. Modifications become even more pronounced when
the vortex core is partially or completely captured by the hole. In these
cases, the gyrovector can be partially or completely suppressed, so that the
associated frequencies increase considerably, say, from some times to several
powers. Possible relevance of our results for understanding other aspects of
vortex dynamics in the presence of cavities and/or structural defects are also
discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 4 page
Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Brazilian Patients Wearing Three Types of Lower Dentures: Psychosocial and Clinical Aspects
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health-related Quality of Life (QoL) of patients with edentulous lower jaws rehabilitated with conventional or implant-supported dentures. In the quest for greater QoL, especially among the elderly, it is important to evaluate how the use of dentures impacts physical and emotional well-being. Brazilian health care policy makers should be informed of the advantages of rehabilitation with implant-supported dentures. A cohort of 78 edentulous seniors was divided into three groups of 26 according to denture type: Conventional (CD), Implant-Supported Overdenture (IOD) and Fixed-Implant Prosthesis (FIP). To evaluate QoL, clinical and sociodemographic information was collected and the OHIP-20 questionnaire was administered, using a 5-point frequency scale, including a “don’t know” option. Chewing and pronunciation were less impacted in FIP and IOD than in CD (p=0.013 and p=0.027, respectively), while patients in the CD group reported more adaptation difficulties (p=0.006) and more frequent avoidance of hard-to-chew foods (p=0.032). The majority reported no interference of dentures with appearance and social life, regardless of denture type. Depending on the patient’s biological and financial circumstances, implant-supported dentures is the form of rehabilitation of edentulism providing the greatest improvement in QoL. The reported limitations and difficulties had no significant impact on satisfaction and QoL
Graphene as an electronic membrane
Experiments are finally revealing intricate facts about graphene which go
beyond the ideal picture of relativistic Dirac fermions in pristine two
dimensional (2D) space, two years after its first isolation. While observations
of rippling added another dimension to the richness of the physics of graphene,
scanning single electron transistor images displayed prevalent charge
inhomogeneity. The importance of understanding these non-ideal aspects cannot
be overstated both from the fundamental research interest since graphene is a
unique arena for their interplay, and from the device applications interest
since the quality control is a key to applications. We investigate the membrane
aspect of graphene and its impact on the electronic properties. We show that
curvature generates spatially varying electrochemical potential. Further we
show that the charge inhomogeneity in turn stabilizes ripple formation.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures. Updated version with new results about the
re-hybridization of the electronic orbitals due to rippling of the graphene
sheet. The re-hybridization adds the next-to-nearest neighbor hopping effect
discussed in the previous version. New reference to recent STM experiments
that give support to our theor
On topological spin excitations on a rigid torus
We study Heisenberg model of classical spins lying on the toroidal support,
whose internal and external radii are and , respectively. The isotropic
regime is characterized by a fractional soliton solution. Whenever the torus
size is very large, , its charge equals unity and the soliton
effectively lies on an infinite cylinder. However, for R=0 the spherical
geometry is recovered and we obtain that configuration and energy of a soliton
lying on a sphere. Vortex-like configurations are also supported: in a ring
torus () such excitations present no core where energy could blow up. At
the limit we are effectively describing it on an infinite
cylinder, where the spins appear to be practically parallel to each other,
yielding no net energy. On the other hand, in a horn torus () a singular
core takes place, while for (spindle torus) two such singularities
appear. If is further diminished until vanish we recover vortex
configuration on a sphere.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
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