8,765 research outputs found
Nernst effect in semi-metals: the meritorious heaviness of electrons
We present a study of electric, thermal and thermoelectric transport in
elemental Bismuth, which presents a Nernst coefficient much larger than what
was found in correlated metals. We argue that this is due to the combination of
an exceptionally low carrier density with a very long electronic
mean-free-path. The low thermomagnetic figure of merit is traced to the
lightness of electrons. Heavy-electron semi-metals, which keep a metallic
behavior in presence of a magnetic field, emerge as promising candidates for
thermomagnetic cooling at low temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, including 4 figure
Dark-bright mixing of interband transitions in symmetric semiconductor quantum dots
In photoluminescence spectra of symmetric [111] grown GaAs/AlGaAs quantum
dots in longitudinal magnetic fields applied along the growth axis we observe
in addition to the expected bright states also nominally dark transitions for
both charged and neutral excitons. We uncover a strongly non-monotonous, sign
changing field dependence of the bright neutral exciton splitting resulting
from the interplay between exchange and Zeeman effects. Our theory shows
quantitatively that these surprising experimental results are due to
magnetic-field-induced \pm 3/2 heavy-hole mixing, an inherent property of
systems with C_3v point-group symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Mixed state geometric phases, entangled systems, and local unitary transformations
The geometric phase for a pure quantal state undergoing an arbitrary
evolution is a ``memory'' of the geometry of the path in the projective Hilbert
space of the system. We find that Uhlmann's geometric phase for a mixed quantal
state undergoing unitary evolution not only depends on the geometry of the path
of the system alone but also on a constrained bi-local unitary evolution of the
purified entangled state. We analyze this in general, illustrate it for the
qubit case, and propose an experiment to test this effect. We also show that
the mixed state geometric phase proposed recently in the context of
interferometry requires uni-local transformations and is therefore essentially
a property of the system alone.Comment: minor changes, journal reference adde
Generalization of geometric phase to completely positive maps
We generalize the notion of relative phase to completely positive maps with
known unitary representation, based on interferometry. Parallel transport
conditions that define the geometric phase for such maps are introduced. The
interference effect is embodied in a set of interference patterns defined by
flipping the environment state in one of the two paths. We show for the qubit
that this structure gives rise to interesting additional information about the
geometry of the evolution defined by the CP map.Comment: Minor revision. 2 authors added. 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTex
Anharmonic vs. relaxational sound damping in glasses: II. Vitreous silica
The temperature dependence of the frequency dispersion in the sound velocity
and damping of vitreous silica is reanalyzed. Thermally activated relaxation
accounts for the sound attenuation observed above 10 K at sonic and ultrasonic
frequencies. Its extrapolation to the hypersonic regime reveals that the
anharmonic coupling to the thermal bath becomes important in
Brillouin-scattering measurements. At 35 GHz and room temperature, the damping
due to this anharmonicity is found to be nearly twice that produced by
thermally activated relaxation. The analysis also reveals a sizeable velocity
increase with temperature which is not related with sound dispersion. This
suggests that silica experiences a gradual structural change that already
starts well below room temperature.Comment: 13 pages with 8 figure
'The difference in determinants of Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium in a sample of young Australian women.'
BACKGROUND Differences in the determinants of Chlamydia trachomatis ('chlamydia') and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) genital infection in women are not well understood. METHODS A cohort study of 16 to 25 year old Australian women recruited from primary health care clinics, aimed to determine chlamydia and MG prevalence and incidence. Vaginal swabs collected at recruitment were used to measure chlamydia and MG prevalence, organism-load and chlamydia-serovar a cross-sectional analysis undertaken on the baseline results is presented here. RESULTS Of 1116 participants, chlamydia prevalence was 4.9% (95% CI: 2.9, 7.0) (n = 55) and MG prevalence was 2.4% (95% CI: 1.5, 3.3) (n = 27). Differences in the determinants were found - chlamydia not MG, was associated with younger age [AOR:0.9 (95% CI: 0.8, 1.0)] and recent antibiotic use [AOR:0.4 (95% CI: 0.2, 1.0)], and MG not chlamydia was associated with symptoms [AOR:2.1 (95% CI: 1.1, 4.0)]. Having two or more partners in last 12 months was more strongly associated with chlamydia [AOR:6.4 (95% CI: 3.6, 11.3)] than MG [AOR:2.2 (95% CI: 1.0, 4.6)] but unprotected sex with three or more partners was less strongly associated with chlamydia [AOR:3.1 (95%CI: 1.0, 9.5)] than MG [AOR:16.6 (95%CI: 2.0, 138.0)]. Median organism load for MG was 100 times lower (5.7 Ă 104/swab) than chlamydia (5.6 Ă 10â¶/swab) (p < 0.01) and not associated with age or symptoms for chlamydia or MG. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate significant chlamydia and MG prevalence in Australian women, and suggest that the differences in strengths of association between numbers of sexual partners and unprotected sex and chlamydia and MG might be due to differences in the transmission dynamics between these infections.This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, as part of a National Chlamydia Pilot program that is currently running to test the effectiveness of a number of models for chlamydia testing in Australia. This project will assist in developing possible recommendations for a National Chlamydia Program. The analysis of MG was funded by the National Health and Research Council (research grant number 509144)
Determination of the freeze-out temperature by the isospin thermometer
The high-resolution spectrometer FRS at GSI Darmstadt provides the full
isotopic and kinematical identification of fragmentation residues in
relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Recent measurements of the isotopic
distribution of heavy projectile fragments led to a very surprising new
physical finding: the residue production does not lose the memory of the N/Z of
the projectile ending up in a universal de-excitation corridor; an ordering of
the residues in relation to the neutron excess of the projectile has been
observed. These unexpected features can be interpreted as a new manifestation
of multifragmentation. We have found that at the last stage of the reaction the
temperature of the big clusters subjected to evaporation is limited to a
universal value. The thermometer to measure this limiting temperature is the
neutron excess of the residues.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, corrected some misprints in the abstract, to be
published in "Yadernaya Fizika" as a proceeding of the "VII International
School Seminar on Heavy-Ion Phyics", Dubna (Russia), May 27 - June 1, 200
Isobutyl acetate: electronic state spectroscopy by high-resolution vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption, He(I) photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations
The high-resolution vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectrum of isobutyl acetate, C6H12O2, is presented here and was measured over the energy range 4.3â10.8 eV (290â115 nm). Valence and Rydberg transitions with their associated vibronic series have been observed in the photoabsorption spectrum and are assigned in accordance with new ab initio calculations of the vertical excitation energies and oscillator strengths. The measured photoabsorption cross sections have been used to calculate the photolysis lifetime of this ester in the Earthâs upper atmosphere (20â50 km). Calculations have also been carried out to determine the ionization energies and fine structure of the lowest ionic state of isobutyl acetate and are compared with a photoelectron spectrum (from 9.5 to 16.7 eV), recorded for the first time. Vibrational structure is observed in the first photoelectron band of this molecule
Educatorsâ perspectives about how older hospital patients can engage in a falls prevention education programme: a qualitative process evaluation
Objectives - Falls are the most frequent adverse event reported in hospitals. Patient and staff education delivered by trained educators significantly reduced falls and injurious falls in an older rehabilitation population. The purpose of the study was to explore the educatorsâ perspectives of delivering the education and to conceptualise how the programme worked to prevent falls among older patients who received the education. Design - A qualitative exploratory study. Methods - Data were gathered from three sources: conducting a focus group and an interview (n=10 educators), written educator notes and reflective researcher field notes based on interactions with the educators during the primary study. The educators delivered the programme on eight rehabilitation wards for periods of between 10 and 40â
weeks. They provided older patients with individualised education to engage in falls prevention and provided staff with education to support patient actions. Data were thematically analysed and presented using a conceptual framework. Results - Falls prevention education led to mutual understanding between staff and patients which assisted patients to engage in falls prevention behaviours. Mutual understanding was derived from the following observations: the educators perceived that they could facilitate an effective three-way interaction between staff actions, patient actions and the ward environment which led to behaviour change on the wards. This included engaging with staff and patients, and assisting them to reconcile differing perspectives about falls prevention behaviours. Conclusions - Individualised falls prevention education effectively provides patients who receive it with the capability and motivation to develop and undertake behavioural strategies that reduce their falls, if supported by staff and the ward environment
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