High yield fusion in a Staged Z-pinch

We simulate fusion in a Z-pinch; where the load is a xenon-plasma liner imploding onto a deuterium-tritium plasma target and the driver is a 2 MJ, 17 MA, 95 ns risetime pulser. The implosion system is modeled using the dynamic, 2-1/2 D, radiation-MHD code, MACH2. During implosion a shock forms in the Xe liner, transporting current and energy radially inward. After collision with the DT, a secondary shock forms pre-heating the DT to several hundred eV. Adiabatic compression leads subsequently to a fusion burn, as the target is surrounded by a flux-compressed, intense, azimuthal-magnetic field. The intense-magnetic field confines fusion $\alpha$-particles, providing an additional source of ion heating that leads to target ignition. The target remains stable up to the time of ignition. Predictions are for a neutron yield of $3.0\times 10^{19}$ and a thermonuclear energy of 84 MJ, that is, 42 times greater than the initial, capacitor-stored energy

Large deviations for a damped telegraph process

In this paper we consider a slight generalization of the damped telegraph process in Di Crescenzo and Martinucci (2010). We prove a large deviation principle for this process and an asymptotic result for its level crossing probabilities (as the level goes to infinity). Finally we compare our results with the analogous well-known results for the standard telegraph process

Chaos and Universality in a Four-Dimensional Spin Glass

We present a finite size scaling analysis of Monte Carlo simulation results on a four dimensional Ising spin glass. We study chaos with both coupling and temperature perturbations, and find the same chaos exponent in each case. Chaos is investigated both at the critical temperature and below where it seems to be more efficient (larger exponent). Dimension four seems to be above the critical dimension where chaos with temperature is no more present in the critical region. Our results are consistent with the Gaussian and bimodal coupling distributions being in the same universality class.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 postscript figures. Latex with revtex macro

Evidences Against Temperature Chaos in Mean Field and Realistic Spin Glasses

We discuss temperature chaos in mean field and realistic 3D spin glasses. Our numerical simulations show no trace of a temperature chaotic behavior for the system sizes considered. We discuss the experimental and theoretical implications of these findings.Comment: 4 pages in aps format. 6 .ps figures. It is better to print the paper in colou

Fractal Droplets in Two Dimensional Spin Glasses

The two-dimensional Edwards-Anderson model with Gaussian bond distribution is investigated at T=0 with a numerical method. Droplet excitations are directly observed. It turns out that the averaged volume of droplets is proportional to l^D with D = 1.80(2) where l is the spanning length of droplets, revealing their fractal nature. The exponent characterizing the l dependence of the droplet excitation energy is estimated to be -0.42(4), clearly different from the stiffness exponent for domain wall excitations.Comment: 4 pages 4 figure

Realism about the Wave Function

A century after the discovery of quantum mechanics, the meaning of quantum mechanics still remains elusive. This is largely due to the puzzling nature of the wave function, the central object in quantum mechanics. If we are realists about quantum mechanics, how should we understand the wave function? What does it represent? What is its physical meaning? Answering these questions would improve our understanding of what it means to be a realist about quantum mechanics. In this survey article, I review and compare several realist interpretations of the wave function. They fall into three categories: ontological interpretations, nomological interpretations, and the \emph{sui generis} interpretation. For simplicity, I will focus on non-relativistic quantum mechanics.Comment: Penultimate version for Philosophy Compas

Spin glasses and algorithm benchmarks: A one-dimensional view

Spin glasses are paradigmatic models that deliver concepts relevant for a variety of systems. However, rigorous analytical results are difficult to obtain for spin-glass models, in particular for realistic short-range models. Therefore large-scale numerical simulations are the tool of choice. Concepts and algorithms derived from the study of spin glasses have been applied to diverse fields in computer science and physics. In this work a one-dimensional long-range spin-glass model with power-law interactions is discussed. The model has the advantage over conventional systems in that by tuning the power-law exponent of the interactions the effective space dimension can be changed thus effectively allowing the study of large high-dimensional spin-glass systems to address questions as diverse as the existence of an Almeida-Thouless line, ultrametricity and chaos in short range spin glasses. Furthermore, because the range of interactions can be changed, the model is a formidable test-bed for optimization algorithms.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures (two in crappy quality due to archive restrictions). Proceedings of the International Workshop on Statistical-Mechanical Informatics 2007, Kyoto (Japan) September 16-19, 200

ZnO:Co Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor or Hybrid Nanostructure for Spintronics?

We have studied the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic defects in the magnetic and electrical transport properties of Co-doped ZnO thin films. X ray absorption measurements show that Co substitute Zn in the ZnO structure and it is in the 2+ oxidation state. Magnetization (M) measurements show that doped samples are mainly paramagnetic. From M vs. H loops measured at 5 K we found that the values of the orbital L and spin S numbers are between 1 and 1.3 for L and S = 3/2, in agreement with the representative values for isolated Co 2+. The obtained negative values of the Curie-Weiss temperatures indicate the existence of antiferromagnetic interactions between transition metal atoms.Comment: To be published in Journal of Materials Scienc

Phase-coherence threshold and vortex-glass state in diluted Josephson-junction arrays in a magnetic field

We study numerically the interplay of phase coherence and vortex-glass state in two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays with average rational values of flux quantum per plaquette $f$ and random dilution of junctions. For $f=1/2$, we find evidence of a phase coherence threshold value $x_s$, below the percolation concentration of diluted junctions $x_p$, where the superconducting transition vanishes. For $x_s < x < x_p$ the array behaves as a zero-temperature vortex glass with nonzero linear resistance at finite temperatures. The zero-temperature critical currents are insensitive to variations in $f$ in the vortex glass region while they are strongly $f$ dependent in the phase coherent region.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.