12,710 research outputs found
Spatially resolved spectroscopy of monolayer graphene on SiO2
We have carried out scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on
exfoliated monolayer graphene on SiO to probe the correlation between its
electronic and structural properties. Maps of the local density of states are
characterized by electron and hole puddles that arise due to long range
intravalley scattering from intrinsic ripples in graphene and random charged
impurities. At low energy, we observe short range intervalley scattering which
we attribute to lattice defects. Our results demonstrate that the electronic
properties of graphene are influenced by intrinsic ripples, defects and the
underlying SiO substrate.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, extended versio
Quantisation of 2D-gravity with Weyl and area-preserving diffeomorphism invariances
The constraint structure of 2D-gravity with the Weyl and area-preserving
diffeomorphism invariances is analysed in the ADM formulation. It is found that
when the area-preserving diffeomorphism constraints are kept, the usual
conformal gauge does not exist, whereas there is the possibility to choose the
so-called ``quasi-light-cone'' gauge, in which besides the area-preserving
diffeomorphism invariance, the reduced Lagrangian also possesses the SL(2,R)
residual symmetry. The string-like approach is applied to quantise this model,
but a fictitious non-zero central charge in the Virasoro algebra appears. When
a set of gauge-independent SL(2,R) current-like fields is introduced instead of
the string-like variables, a consistent quantum theory is obtained.Comment: 14 pages, Latex fil
Certifying and removing disparate impact
What does it mean for an algorithm to be biased? In U.S. law, unintentional
bias is encoded via disparate impact, which occurs when a selection process has
widely different outcomes for different groups, even as it appears to be
neutral. This legal determination hinges on a definition of a protected class
(ethnicity, gender, religious practice) and an explicit description of the
process.
When the process is implemented using computers, determining disparate impact
(and hence bias) is harder. It might not be possible to disclose the process.
In addition, even if the process is open, it might be hard to elucidate in a
legal setting how the algorithm makes its decisions. Instead of requiring
access to the algorithm, we propose making inferences based on the data the
algorithm uses.
We make four contributions to this problem. First, we link the legal notion
of disparate impact to a measure of classification accuracy that while known,
has received relatively little attention. Second, we propose a test for
disparate impact based on analyzing the information leakage of the protected
class from the other data attributes. Third, we describe methods by which data
might be made unbiased. Finally, we present empirical evidence supporting the
effectiveness of our test for disparate impact and our approach for both
masking bias and preserving relevant information in the data. Interestingly,
our approach resembles some actual selection practices that have recently
received legal scrutiny.Comment: Extended version of paper accepted at 2015 ACM SIGKDD Conference on
Knowledge Discovery and Data Minin
Quantum Manifestation of Elastic Constants in Nanostructures
Generally, there are two distinct effects in modifying the properties of
low-dimensional nanostructures: surface effect (SS) due to increased
surface-volume ratio and quantum size effect (QSE) due to quantum confinement
in reduced dimension. The SS has been widely shown to affect the elastic
constants and mechanical properties of nanostructures. Here, using Pb nanofilm
and graphene nanoribbon as model systems, we demonstrate the QSE on the elastic
constants of nanostructures by first-principles calculations. We show that
generally QSE is dominant in affecting the elastic constants of metallic
nanostructures while SS is more pronounced in semiconductor and insulator
nanostructures. Our findings have broad implications in quantum aspects of
nanomechanics
Descriptions of membrane mechanics from microscopic and effective two-dimensional perspectives
Mechanics of fluid membranes may be described in terms of the concepts of
mechanical deformations and stresses, or in terms of mechanical free-energy
functions. In this paper, each of the two descriptions is developed by viewing
a membrane from two perspectives: a microscopic perspective, in which the
membrane appears as a thin layer of finite thickness and with highly
inhomogeneous material and force distributions in its transverse direction, and
an effective, two-dimensional perspective, in which the membrane is treated as
an infinitely thin surface, with effective material and mechanical properties.
A connection between these two perspectives is then established. Moreover, the
functional dependence of the variation in the mechanical free energy of the
membrane on its mechanical deformations is first studied in the microscopic
perspective. The result is then used to examine to what extent different,
effective mechanical stresses and forces can be derived from a given, effective
functional of the mechanical free energy.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures, minor change
Duality Symmetry in Momentum Frame
Siegel's action is generalized to the D=2(p+1) (p even) dimensional
space-time. The investigation of self-duality of chiral p-forms is extended to
the momentum frame, using Siegel's action of chiral bosons in two space-time
dimensions and its generalization in higher dimensions as examples. The whole
procedure of investigation is realized in the momentum space which relates to
the configuration space through the Fourier transformation of fields. These
actions correspond to non-local Lagrangians in the momentum frame. The
self-duality of them with respect to dualization of chiral fields is uncovered.
The relationship between two self-dual tensors in momentum space, whose similar
form appears in configuration space, plays an important role in the
calculation, that is, its application realizes solving algebraically an
integral equation.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Solution to the twin image problem in holography
While the invention of holography by Dennis Gabor truly constitutes an
ingenious concept, it has ever since been troubled by the so called twin image
problem limiting the information that can be obtained from a holographic
record. Due to symmetry reasons there are always two images appearing in the
reconstruction process. Thus, the reconstructed object is obscured by its
unwanted out of focus twin image. Especially for emission electron as well as
for x- and gamma-ray holography, where the source-object distances are small,
the reconstructed images of atoms are very close to their twin images from
which they can hardly be distinguished. In some particular instances only,
experimental efforts could remove the twin images. More recently, numerical
methods to diminish the effect of the twin image have been proposed but are
limited to purely absorbing objects failing to account for phase shifts caused
by the object. Here we show a universal method to reconstruct a hologram
completely free of twin images disturbance while no assumptions about the
object need to be imposed. Both, amplitude and true phase distributions are
retrieved without distortion
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