11,399 research outputs found
Two-sided asymmetric subduction; implications for tectonomagmatic and metallogenic evolution of the Lut Block, Eastern Iran
West directed subduction zones show common characteristics, such as low structural elevation, deep trench, steep slab and a
conjugate back-arc basin that are opposite to those of the east directed subduction zones. The tectonomagmatic and
metallogenic setting of the Lut Block is still a matter of debate and several hypotheses have been put forward. Despite some
authors denying the influence of the operation of Benioff planes, the majority propose that it occurred beneath the Afghan
Block, while others consider that oceanic lithosphere was dragged under the Lut Block. Cu-Au porphyry deposits seem to
occur in an island arc geotectonic setting during the middle Eocene while Mo-bearing deposits are coincident with the
crustal thickening during Oligocene. We introduce new trace element and isotope geochemical data for granitoids and
structural evidences testifying the two-sided asymmetric subduction beneath both Afghan and Lut Blocks, with different
rates of consumption of oceanic lithosphere
The Apheis project: Air Pollution and Health—A European Information System
At a time when the Health Effects Institute, Centers for Disease Control, and Environmental Protection Agency are creating an Environmental Public Health Tracking Program on Air Pollution Effects in the USA, it seemed useful to share the experience acquired since 1999 by the Apheis project (Air Pollution and Health—A European Information System), which has tracked the effects of air pollution on health in 26 European cities and continues to do so as the new Aphekom project. In particular, this paper first describes the continuing impact of air pollution on health in Europe, how the Apheis project came to be and evolved, what its main objectives and achievements have been, and how the project benefited its participants. The paper then summarizes the main learnings of the Apheis project
Analytical results on quantum interference and magnetoconductance for strongly localized electrons in a magnetic field: Exact summation of forward-scattering paths
We study quantum interference effects on the transition strength for strongly
localized electrons hopping on 2D square and 3D cubic lattices in the presence
of a magnetic field B. These effects arise from the interference between phase
factors associated with different electron paths connecting two distinct sites.
For electrons confined on a square lattice, with and without disorder, we
obtain closed-form expressions for the tunneling probability, which determines
the conductivity, between two arbitrary sites by exactly summing the
corresponding phase factors of all forward-scattering paths connecting them. An
analytic field-dependent expression, valid in any dimension, for the
magnetoconductance (MC) is derived. A positive MC is clearly observed when
turning on the magnetic field. In 2D, when the strength of B reaches a certain
value, which is inversely proportional to twice the hopping length, the MC is
increased by a factor of two compared to that at zero field. We also
investigate transport on the much less-studied and experimentally important 3D
cubic lattice case, where it is shown how the interference patterns and the
small-field behavior of the MC vary according to the orientation of B. The
effect on the low-flux MC due to the randomness of the angles between the
hopping direction and the orientation of B is also examined analytically.Comment: 24 pages, RevTeX, 8 figures include
Spin superfluidity and spin-orbit gauge symmetry fixing
The Hamiltonian describing 2D electron gas, in a spin-orbit active medium,
can be cast into a consistent non-Abelian gauge field theory leading to a
proper definition of the spin current. The generally advocated gauge symmetric
version of the theory results in current densities that are gauge covariant, a
fact that poses severe concerns on their physical nature. We show that in fact
the problem demands gauge fixing, leaving no room to ambiguity in the
definition of physical spin currents. Gauge fixing also allows for polarized
edge excitations not present in the gauge symmetric case. The scenario here is
analogous to that of superconductivity gauge theory. We develop a variational
formulation that accounts for the constraints between U(1) physical fields and
SU(2) gauge fields and show that gauge fixing renders a physical matter and
radiation currents and derive the particular consequences for the Rashba SO
interaction.Comment: to appear in EP
Chiral molecular films as electron polarizers and polarization modulators
Recent experiments on electron scattering through molecular films have shown
that chiral molecules can be efficient sources of polarized electrons even in
the absence of heavy nuclei as source of a strong spin-orbit interaction. We
show that self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of chiral molecules are strong
electron polarizers due to the high density effect of the monolayers and
explicitly compute the scattering amplitude off a helical molecular model of
carbon atoms. Longitudinal polarization is shown to be the signature of chiral
scattering. For elastic scattering, we find that at least double scattering
events must take place for longitudinal polarization to arise. We predict
energy windows for strong polarization, determined by the energy dependences of
spin-orbit strength and multiple scattering probability. An incoherent
mechanism for polarization amplification is proposed, that increases the
polarization linearly with the number of helix turns, consistent with recent
experiments on DNA SAMs.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 figure
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