Non-Relativistic Limit of Dirac Equations in Gravitational Field and Quantum Effects of Gravity

Based on unified theory of electromagnetic interactions and gravitational interactions, the non-relativistic limit of the equation of motion of a charged Dirac particle in gravitational field is studied. From the Schrodinger equation obtained from this non-relativistic limit, we could see that the classical Newtonian gravitational potential appears as a part of the potential in the Schrodinger equation, which can explain the gravitational phase effects found in COW experiments. And because of this Newtonian gravitational potential, a quantum particle in earth's gravitational field may form a gravitationally bound quantized state, which had already been detected in experiments. Three different kinds of phase effects related to gravitational interactions are discussed in this paper, and these phase effects should be observable in some astrophysical processes. Besides, there exists direct coupling between gravitomagnetic field and quantum spin, radiation caused by this coupling can be used to directly determine the gravitomagnetic field on the surface of a star.Comment: 12 pages, no figur

Ecological thresholds and large carnivores conservation: Implications for the Amur tiger and leopard in China

The ecological threshold concept describes how changes in one or more factors at thresholds can result in a large shift in the state of an ecosystem. This concept focuses attention on limiting factors that affect the tolerance of systems or organisms and changes in them. Accumulating empirical evidence for the existence of ecological thresholds has created favorable conditions for practical application to wildlife conservation. Applying the concept has the potential to enhance conservation of two large carnivores, Amur tiger and leopard, and the knowledge gained could guide the construction of a proposed national park. In this review, ecological thresholds that result from considering a paradigm of bottom-up control were evaluated for their potential to contribute to the conservation of Amur tiger and leopard. Our review highlights that large carnivores, as top predators, are potentially affected by ecological thresholds arising from changes in climate (or weather), habitat, vegetation, prey, competitors, and anthropogenic disturbances. What's more, interactions between factors and context dependence need to be considered in threshold research and conservation practice, because they may amplify the response of ecosystems or organisms to changes in specific drivers. Application of the threshold concept leads to a more thorough evaluation of conservation needs, and could be used to guide future Amur tiger and leopard research and conservation in China. Such application may inform the conservation of other large carnivores worldwide

Thermodynamics with density and temperature dependent particle masses and properties of bulk strange quark matter and strangelets

Thermodynamic formulas for investigating systems with density and/or temperature dependent particle masses are generally derived from the fundamental derivation equality of thermodynamics. Various problems in the previous treatments are discussed and modified. Properties of strange quark matter in bulk and strangelets at both zero and finite temperature are then calculated based on the new thermodynamic formulas with a new quark mass scaling, which indicates that low mass strangelets near beta equilibrium are multi-quark states with an anti-strange quark, such as the pentaquark (u^2d^2\bar{s}) for baryon nmber 1 and the octaquark (u^4d^3\bar{s}) for dibaryon etc.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, Revtex4 styl

^{59}Co NMR evidence for charge ordering below T_{CO}\sim 51 K in Na_{0.5}CoO_2

The CoO$_{2}$ layers in sodium-cobaltates Na$_{x}$CoO$_{2}$ may be viewed as a spin $S=1/2$ triangular-lattice doped with charge carriers. The underlying physics of the cobaltates is very similar to that of the high $T_{c}$ cuprates. We will present unequivocal $^{59}$Co NMR evidence that below $T_{CO}\sim51 K$, the insulating ground state of the itinerant antiferromagnet Na$_{0.5}$CoO$_{2}$ ($T_{N}\sim 86 K$) is induced by charge ordering.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 (2008), in press. 4 figure

High Sensitivity Hot-wire based Wind Velocity Sensor using Co-doped Fiber and Fiber Bragg Grating for use in mining applications

In this paper, a mathematical model of the temperature distribution in a fiber-optic version of the familiar 'hot-wire' wind velocity sensor has been established and a practical sensor device realized and investigated for use in coal mining applications. The relationship between the dynamic measurement range, the sensitivity, the sensor probe surface heat transfer coefficient and the wind speed (in the region where the sensor probe is located) has been investigated. The veracity of the predicted performance of the fiber-optic hot-wire mathematical model has then been verified by experiment. The sensitivity of the sensor probe to wind velocity was measured across several wind velocity ranges to be ∼1500pm per unit m/s wind velocity (in the range of 0 - 0.5 m/s), ∼330pm per unit m/s in the range 0.5 - 2 m/s and ∼50pm per unit m/s in the range of 2.0 - 4.5 m/s

Incommensurate Phase of a Triangular Frustrated Heisenberg Model Studied via Schwinger-Boson Mean-Field Theory

We study a triangular frustrated antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with nearest-neighbor interaction $J_{1}$ and third-nearest-neighbor interactions $J_{3}$ by means of Schwinger-boson mean-field theory. It is shown that an incommensurate phase exists in a finite region in the parameter space for an antiferromagnetic $J_{3}$ while $J_{1}$ can be either positive or negtaive. A detailed solution is presented to disclose the main features of this incommensurate phase. A gapless dispersion of quasiparticles leads to the intrinsic $T^{2}$-law of specific heat. The local magnetization is significantly reduced by quantum fluctuations (for S=1 case, a local magnetization is estimated as $m= \approx0.6223$). The magnetic susceptibility is linear in temperature at low temperatures. We address possible relevance of these results to the low-temperature properties of NiGa$_{2}$S$_{4}$. From a careful analysis of the incommensurate spin wave vector, the interaction parameters for NiGa$_{2}$S$_{4}$ are estimated as, $J_{1}\approx-3.8755$K and $J_{3}\approx14.0628$K, in order to account for the experimental data.Comment: 9pages, 3figure