1,166 research outputs found
High-resolution x-ray study of the nematic - smectic-A and smectic-A - smectic-C transitions in 8barS5-aerosil gels
The effects of dispersed aerosil nanoparticles on two of the phase
transitions of the thermotropic liquid crystal material
4-n-pentylphenylthiol-4'-n-octyloxybenzoate 8barS5 have been studied using
high-resolution x-ray diffraction techniques. The aerosils hydrogen bond
together to form a gel which imposes a weak quenched disorder on the liquid
crystal. The smectic-A fluctuations are well characterized by a two-component
line shape representing thermal and random-field contributions. An elaboration
on this line shape is required to describe the fluctuations in the smectic-C
phase; specifically the effect of the tilt on the wave-vector dependence of the
thermal fluctuations must be explicitly taken into account. Both the magnitude
and the temperature dependence of the smectic-C tilt order parameter are
observed to be unaffected by the disorder. This may be a consequence of the
large bare smectic correlation length in the direction of modulation for this
transition. These results show that the understanding developed for the nematic
to smectic-A transition for octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) and octyloxycyanobiphenyl
(8OCB) liquid crystals with quenched disorder can be extended to quite
different materials and transitions.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
The one dimensional Hydrogen atom revisited
The one dimensional Schroedinger hydrogen atom is an interesting mathematical
and physical problem to study bound states, eigenfunctions and quantum
degeneracy issues. This 1D physical system gave rise to some intriguing
controversy over more than four decades. Presently, still no definite consensus
seems to have been reached. We reanalyzed this apparently controversial
problem, approaching it from a Fourier transform representation method combined
with some fundamental (basic) ideas found in self-adjoint extensions of
symmetric operators. In disagreement with some previous claims, we found that
the complete Balmer energy spectrum is obtained together with an odd parity set
of eigenfunctions. Closed form solutions in both coordinate and momentum spaces
were obtained. No twofold degeneracy was observed as predicted by the
degeneracy theorem in one dimension, though it does not necessarily have to
hold for potentials with singularities. No ground state with infinite energy
exists since the corresponding eigenfunction does not satisfy the Schroedinger
equation at the origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Physics, July
28th, 200
The influence of ortho- and para-diphenoloxidase substrates on pigment formation in black yeast-like fungi
Dothideaceous black yeast-like fungi (BYF) are known to synthesise
DHN-melanin that is inhibited by the systemic fungicide tricyclazole. The
final step of the DHN melanin pathway is the conjoining of 1,8-DHN molecules
to form the melanin polymer. There are several candidate enzymes for this
step, including phenoloxidases such as tyrosinase and laccases, peroxidases,
and perhaps also catalases. We analysed the type polyphenoloxidases that are
involved in biosynthesis of BYF melanins. For that purpose we used substrates
of o-diphenoloxidases (EC 1.10.3.1.): 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvic acid,
L-β-phenyllactic acid, tyrosine, pyrocatechol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine
and homogentisic acid, as well as substrates of p-diphenoloxidases (EC
1.10.3.2.): syringaldazine, resorcinol, p-phenylenediamine, phloroglucinol,
guaiacol and pyrogallic acid. Fourteen strains of black yeasts originating
from different natural biotopes were investigated. The tested strains could be
divided into four groups based on their ability to produce dark pigments when
cultivated on aromatic substrates of o- and on p-diphenoloxidases. It was
established that syringaldazine, pyrogallic acid and 4-hydrophenyl-pyruvic
acid, β-phenyllactic acid optimally promote melanin biosynthesis. Average
intensity of pigmentation of all strains studied was minimal when guaiacol was
used as a substrate. The present investigation indicates that the melanisation
process may involve more enzymes and more substrates than those commonly
recognised. Black yeasts are likely to contain a multipotent
polyphenoloxidase
One particle spectral weight of the three dimensional single band Hubbard model
Dynamic properties of the three-dimensional single-band Hubbard model are
studied using Quantum Monte Carlo combined with the maximum entropy technique.
At half-filling, there is a clear gap in the density of states and well-defined
quasiparticle peaks at the top (bottom) of the lower (upper) Hubbard band. We
find an antiferromagnetically induced weight above the naive Fermi momentum.
Upon hole doping, the chemical potential moves to the top of the lower band
where a robust peak is observed. Results are compared with spin-density-wave
(SDW) mean-field and self consistent Born approximation results, and also with
the infinite dimensional Hubbard model, and experimental photoemission (PES)
for three dimensional transition-metal oxides.Comment: 11 pages, REVTeX, 16 figures included using psfig.sty. Ref.30
correcte
Performance of prototypes for the ALICE electromagnetic calorimeter
The performance of prototypes for the ALICE electromagnetic sampling
calorimeter has been studied in test beam measurements at FNAL and CERN. A
array of final design modules showed an energy resolution of about
11% / 1.7 % with a uniformity of the response
to electrons of 1% and a good linearity in the energy range from 10 to 100 GeV.
The electromagnetic shower position resolution was found to be described by 1.5
mm 5.3 mm /. For an electron identification
efficiency of 90% a hadron rejection factor of was obtained.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Perspectives on multiscale modelling and experiments to accelerate materials development for fusion
Prediction of material performance in fusion reactor environments relies on computational modelling, and will continue to do so until the first generation of fusion power plants come on line and allow long-term behaviour to be observed. In the meantime, the modelling is supported by experiments that attempt to replicate some aspects of the eventual operational conditions. In 2019, a group of leading experts met under the umbrella of the IEA to discuss the current position and ongoing challenges in modelling of fusion materials and how advanced experimental characterisation is aiding model improvement. This review draws from the discussions held during that workshop. Topics covering modelling of irradiation-induced defect production and fundamental properties, gas behaviour, clustering and segregation, defect evolution and interactions are discussed, as well as new and novel multiscale simulation approaches, and the latest efforts to link modelling to experiments through advanced observation and characterisation techniques.MRG, SLD, and DRM acknowledge funding by the RCUK Energy Programme [grant number EP/T012250/1]. Part of this work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROFusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 and 2019–2020 under grant Agreement No. 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. JRT acknowledges funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) through grant DE-SC0017899. ZB, LY,BDW, and SJZ acknowledge funding through the US DOE Fusion Energy Sciences grant DE-SC0006661ZB, LY and BDW also were partially supported from the US DOE Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research through the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) project on Plasma-Surface Interactions. JMa acknowledges support from the US-DOEs Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (US-DOE), project DE-SC0019157. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the US Department of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. YO and YZ were supported as part of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under contract number DE-AC05-00OR22725. TS and TT are supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 19K05338
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
Heavy Quarks and Heavy Quarkonia as Tests of Thermalization
We present here a brief summary of new results on heavy quarks and heavy
quarkonia from the PHENIX experiment as presented at the "Quark Gluon Plasma
Thermalization" Workshop in Vienna, Austria in August 2005, directly following
the International Quark Matter Conference in Hungary.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization Workshop
(Vienna August 2005) Proceeding
Proximity effect at superconducting Sn-Bi2Se3 interface
We have investigated the conductance spectra of Sn-Bi2Se3 interface junctions
down to 250 mK and in different magnetic fields. A number of conductance
anomalies were observed below the superconducting transition temperature of Sn,
including a small gap different from that of Sn, and a zero-bias conductance
peak growing up at lower temperatures. We discussed the possible origins of the
smaller gap and the zero-bias conductance peak. These phenomena support that a
proximity-effect-induced chiral superconducting phase is formed at the
interface between the superconducting Sn and the strong spin-orbit coupling
material Bi2Se3.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Centrality Dependence of the High p_T Charged Hadron Suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV
PHENIX has measured the centrality dependence of charged hadron p_T spectra
from central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV. The truncated mean p_T
decreases with centrality for p_T > 2 GeV/c, indicating an apparent reduction
of the contribution from hard scattering to high p_T hadron production. For
central collisions the yield at high p_T is shown to be suppressed compared to
binary nucleon-nucleon collision scaling of p+p data. This suppression is
monotonically increasing with centrality, but most of the change occurs below
30% centrality, i.e. for collisions with less than about 140 participating
nucleons. The observed p_T and centrality dependence is consistent with the
particle production predicted by models including hard scattering and
subsequent energy loss of the scattered partons in the dense matter created in
the collisions.Comment: 7 pages text, LaTeX, 6 figures, 2 tables, 307 authors, resubmitted to
Phys. Lett. B. Revised to address referee concerns. Plain text data tables
for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications
are publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/run/phenix/papers.htm
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