70,589 research outputs found
Patterned Geometries and Hydrodynamics at the Vortex Bose Glass Transition
Patterned irradiation of cuprate superconductors with columnar defects allows
a new generation of experiments which can probe the properties of vortex
liquids by confining them to controlled geometries. Here we show that an
analysis of such experiments that combines an inhomogeneous Bose glass scaling
theory with the hydrodynamic description of viscous flow of vortex liquids can
be used to infer the critical behavior near the Bose glass transition. The
shear viscosity is predicted to diverge as at the Bose glass
transition, with the dynamical critical exponent.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Structure and dynamics of topological defects in a glassy liquid on a negatively curved manifold
We study the low-temperature regime of an atomic liquid on the hyperbolic
plane by means of molecular dynamics simulation and we compare the results to a
continuum theory of defects in a negatively curved hexagonal background. In
agreement with the theory and previous results on positively curved (spherical)
surfaces, we find that the atomic configurations consist of isolated defect
structures, dubbed "grain boundary scars", that form around an irreducible
density of curvature-induced disclinations in an otherwise hexagonal
background. We investigate the structure and the dynamics of these grain
boundary scars
Folding of the triangular lattice in a discrete three-dimensional space: Crumpling transitions in the negative-bending-rigidity regime
Folding of the triangular lattice in a discrete three-dimensional space is
studied numerically. Such ``discrete folding'' was introduced by Bowick and
co-workers as a simplified version of the polymerized membrane in thermal
equilibrium. According to their cluster-variation method (CVM) analysis, there
appear various types of phases as the bending rigidity K changes in the range
-infty < K < infty. In this paper, we investigate the K<0 regime, for which the
CVM analysis with the single-hexagon-cluster approximation predicts two types
of (crumpling) transitions of both continuous and discontinuous characters. We
diagonalized the transfer matrix for the strip widths up to L=26 with the aid
of the density-matrix renormalization group. Thereby, we found that
discontinuous transitions occur successively at K=-0.76(1) and -0.32(1).
Actually, these transitions are accompanied with distinct hysteresis effects.
On the contrary, the latent-heat releases are suppressed considerably as
Q=0.03(2) and 0.04(2) for respective transitions. These results indicate that
the singularity of crumpling transition can turn into a weak-first-order type
by appreciating the fluctuations beyond a meanfield level
Strain engineered graphene using a nanostructured substrate: II Pseudo-magnetic fields
The strain induced pseudo-magnetic field in supported graphene deposited on
top of a nanostructured substrate is investigated by using atomistic
simulations. Step, elongated trench, one dimensional barrier, spherical
bubbles, Gaussian bump and Gaussian depression are considered as support
structures for graphene. From the obtained optimum configurations we found very
strong induced pseudo-magnetic fields which can reach up to 1000\,T due
to the strain-induced deformations in the supported graphene. Different
magnetic confinements with controllable geometries are found by tuning the
pattern of the substrate. The resulting induced magnetic fields for graphene on
top of a step, barrier and trench are calculated. In contrast to the step and
trench the middle part of graphene on top of a barrier has zero pseudo-magnetic
field. This study provides a theoretical background for designing magnetic
structures in graphene by nanostructuring substrates. We found that altering
the radial symmetry of the deformation, changes the six-fold symmetry of the
induced pseudo-magnetic field.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, To appear in Phys. Rev.
Localization transitions in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics
We study the localization transitions which arise in both one and two
dimensions when quantum mechanical particles described by a random
Schr\"odinger equation are subjected to a constant imaginary vector potential.
A path-integral formulation relates the transition to flux lines depinned from
columnar defects by a transverse magnetic field in superconductors. The theory
predicts that the transverse Meissner effect is accompanied by stretched
exponential relaxation of the field into the bulk and a diverging penetration
depth at the transition.Comment: 4 pages (latex) with 3 figures (epsf) embedded in the text using the
style file epsf.st
Extracting Spooky-activation-at-a-distance from Considerations of Entanglement
Following an early claim by Nelson & McEvoy \cite{Nelson:McEvoy:2007}
suggesting that word associations can display `spooky action at a distance
behaviour', a serious investigation of the potentially quantum nature of such
associations is currently underway. This paper presents a simple quantum model
of a word association system. It is shown that a quantum model of word
entanglement can recover aspects of both the Spreading Activation equation and
the Spooky-activation-at-a-distance equation, both of which are used to model
the activation level of words in human memory.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures; To appear in Proceedings of the Third Quantum
Interaction Symposium, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, vol 5494,
Springer, 200
Optical fiber coupling method and apparatus
Systems are described for coupling a pair of optical fibers to pass light between them, which enables a coupler to be easily made, and with simple equipment, while closely controlling the characteristics of the coupler. One method includes mounting a pair of optical fibers on a block having a large hole therein, so the fibers extend across the hole while lying adjacent and parallel to one another. The fibers are immersed in an etchant to reduce the thickness of cladding around the fiber core. The fibers are joined together by applying a liquid polymer so the polymer-air interface moves along the length of the fibers to bring the fibers together in a zipper-like manner, and to progressively lay a thin coating of the polymer on the fibers
Agenda for Change: views and experiences from estates and facilities staff
Purpose – Agenda for Change is the biggest reform of staff pay in the UK National Health Service NHS) since it began in 1948. As well as introducing a standardised pay structure; it also aims to improve recruitment, retention and staff morale. The aim of this study is to look in-depth at the experiences and opinions of a range of estates and facilities staff surrounding Agenda for Change during the implementation period. Design/methodology/approach – Focus groups were used as the primary method of data collection in an attempt to tap into the views and opinions of staff working at operational positions in a wide range of trusts. Findings – One of the most important and common themes, which reoccurred throughout the focus groups, was the view that the Agenda for Change framework was designed around the needs of nursing staff. Therefore, the framework did not adequately cater for the needs of estates and facilities staff. Specific concerns related to this included; the role or contribution of estates and facilities staff during patient care was not fairly reflected; trade qualifications were not recognised, particularly in comparison to academic qualifications; members of the job matching panels did not have the appropriate knowledge to make decisions surrounding estates and facilities jobs; nurses were more likely to make progress through the bands than estates and facilities staff.</p
Translational Correlations in the Vortex Array at the Surface of a Type-II Superconductor
We discuss the statistical mechanics of magnetic flux lines in a
finite-thickness slab of type-II superconductor. The long wavelength properties
of a flux-line liquid in a slab geometry are described by a hydrodynamic free
energy that incorporates the boundary conditions on the flux lines at the
sample's surface as a surface contribution to the free energy. Bulk and surface
weak disorder are modeled via Gaussian impurity potentials. This free energy is
used to evaluate the two-dimensional structure factor of the flux-line tips at
the sample surface. We find that surface interaction always dominates in
determining the decay of translational correlations in the asymptotic
long-wavelength limit. On the other hand, such large length scales have not
been probed by the decoration experiments. Our results indicate that the
translational correlations extracted from the analysis of the Bitter patterns
are indeed representative of behavior of flux lines in the bulk.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figure (not included), harvmac.tex macro needed (e-mail
requests to [email protected] SU-CM-92-01
Design and implementation of a medium speed communications interface and protocol for a low cost, refreshed display computer
The design and implementation of hardware and software systems involved in using a 40,000 bit/second communication line as the connecting link between an IMLAC PDS 1-D display computer and a Univac 1108 computer system were described. The IMLAC consists of two independent processors sharing a common memory. The display processor generates the deflection and beam control currents as it interprets a program contained in the memory; the minicomputer has a general instruction set and is responsible for starting and stopping the display processor and for communicating with the outside world through the keyboard, teletype, light pen, and communication line. The processing time associated with each data byte was minimized by designing the input and output processes as finite state machines which automatically sequence from each state to the next. Several tests of the communication link and the IMLAC software were made using a special low capacity computer grade cable between the IMLAC and the Univac
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