4,507 research outputs found
Temperature equilibration in a fully ionized plasma: electron-ion mass ratio effects
Brown, Preston, and Singleton (BPS) produced an analytic calculation for
energy exchange processes for a weakly to moderately coupled plasma: the
electron-ion temperature equilibration rate and the charged particle stopping
power. These precise calculations are accurate to leading and next-to-leading
order in the plasma coupling parameter, and to all orders for two-body quantum
scattering within the plasma. Classical molecular dynamics can provide another
approach that can be rigorously implemented. It is therefore useful to compare
the predictions from these two methods, particularly since the former is
theoretically based and the latter numerically. An agreement would provide both
confidence in our theoretical machinery and in the reliability of the computer
simulations. The comparisons can be made cleanly in the purely classical
regime, thereby avoiding the arbitrariness associated with constructing
effective potentials to mock up quantum effects. We present here the classical
limit of the general result for the temperature equilibration rate presented in
BPS. We examine the validity of the m_electron/m_ion --> 0 limit used in BPS to
obtain a very simple analytic evaluation of the long-distance, collective
effects in the background plasma.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, small change in titl
A statistical model for the intrinsically broad superconducting to normal transition in quasi-two-dimensional crystalline organic metals
Although quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductors such as
-(BEDT-TTF)Cu(NCS) seem to be very clean systems, with apparent
quasiparticle mean-free paths of several thousand \AA, the superconducting
transition is intrinsically broad (e.g K wide for K).
We propose that this is due to the extreme anisotropy of these materials, which
greatly exacerbates the statistical effects of spatial variations in the
potential experienced by the quasiparticles. Using a statistical model, we are
able to account for the experimental observations. A parameter , which
characterises the spatial potential variations, may be derived from
Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation experiments. Using this value, we are able to
predict a transition width which is in good agreement with that observed in MHz
penetration-depth measurements on the same sample.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Condens. Matte
Hawking radiation, Unruh radiation and the equivalence principle
We compare the response function of an Unruh-DeWitt detector for different
space-times and different vacua and show that there is a {\it detailed}
violation of the equivalence principle. In particular comparing the response of
an accelerating detector to a detector at rest in a Schwarzschild space-time we
find that both detectors register thermal radiation, but for a given,
equivalent acceleration the fixed detector in the Schwarzschild space-time
measures a higher temperature. This allows one to locally distinguish the two
cases. As one approaches the horizon the two temperatures have the same limit
so that the equivalence principle is restored at the horizon.Comment: 9 pages. Added references and added discussion. To be published in
PR
Glueball Spin
The spin of a glueball is usually taken as coming from the spin (and possibly
the orbital angular momentum) of its constituent gluons. In light of the
difficulties in accounting for the spin of the proton from its constituent
quarks, the spin of glueballs is reexamined. The starting point is the
fundamental QCD field angular momentum operator written in terms of the
chromoelectric and chromomagnetic fields. First, we look at the restrictions
placed on the structure of glueballs from the requirement that the QCD field
angular momentum operator should satisfy the standard commutation
relationships. This can be compared to the electromagnetic charge/monopole
system, where the quantization of the field angular momentum places
restrictions (i.e. the Dirac condition) on the system. Second, we look at the
expectation value of this operator under some simplifying assumptions.Comment: 11 pages, 0 figures; added references and some discussio
Inadequacies in the conventional treatment of the radiation field of moving sources
There is a fundamental difference between the classical expression for the
retarded electromagnetic potential and the corresponding retarded solution of
the wave equation that governs the electromagnetic field. While the boundary
contribution to the retarded solution for the {\em potential} can always be
rendered equal to zero by means of a gauge transformation that preserves the
Lorenz condition, the boundary contribution to the retarded solution of the
wave equation governing the {\em field} may be neglected only if it diminishes
with distance faster than the contribution of the source density in the far
zone. In the case of a source whose distribution pattern both rotates and
travels faster than light {\em in vacuo}, as realized in recent experiments,
the boundary term in the retarded solution governing the field is by a factor
of the order of {\em larger} than the source term of this solution in
the limit that the distance of the boundary from the source tends to
infinity. This result is consistent with the prediction of the retarded
potential that part of the radiation field generated by a rotating superluminal
source decays as , instead of , a prediction that is
confirmed experimentally. More importantly, it pinpoints the reason why an
argument based on a solution of the wave equation governing the field in which
the boundary term is neglected (such as appears in the published literature)
misses the nonspherical decay of the field
Isotope effect in quasi-two-dimensional metal-organic antiferromagnets
Although the isotope effect in superconducting materials is well-documented,
changes in the magnetic properties of antiferromagnets due to isotopic
substitution are seldom discussed and remain poorly understood. This is perhaps
surprising given the possible link between the quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D)
antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases of the layered cuprates. Here we
report the experimental observation of shifts in the N\'{e}el temperature and
critical magnetic fields (; ) in a Q2D organic molecular antiferromagnets on
substitution of hydrogen for deuterium. These compounds are characterized by
strong hydrogen bonds through which the dominant superexchange is mediated. We
evaluate how the in-plane and inter-plane exchange energies evolve as the
hydrogens on different ligands are substituted, and suggest a possible
mechanism for this effect in terms of the relative exchange efficiency of
hydrogen and deuterium bonds
Small animal disease surveillance: respiratory disease 2017
This report focuses on surveillance for respiratory disease in companion animals. It begins with an analysis of data from 392 veterinary practices contributing to the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) between January and December 2017.
The following section describes canine respiratory coronavirus infections in dogs, presenting results from laboratory-confirmed cases across the country between January 2010 and December 2017. This is followed by an update on the temporal trends of three important syndromes in companion animals, namely gastroenteritis, pruritus and respiratory disease, from 2014 to 2017.
A fourth section presents a brief update on Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus in companion animals. The final section summarises some recent developments pertinent to companion animal health, namely eyeworm (Thelazzia callipaeda) infestations in dogs imported to the UK and canine influenza virus in the USA and Canada
Opening of DNA double strands by helicases. Active versus passive opening
Helicase opening of double-stranded nucleic acids may be "active" (the
helicase directly destabilizes the dsNA to promote opening) or "passive" (the
helicase binds ssNA available due to a thermal fluctuation which opens part of
the dsNA). We describe helicase opening of dsNA, based on helicases which bind
single NA strands and move towards the double-stranded region, using a discrete
``hopping'' model. The interaction between the helicase and the junction where
the double strand opens is characterized by an interaction potential. The form
of the potential determines whether the opening is active or passive. We
calculate the rate of passive opening for the helicase PcrA, and show that the
rate increases when the opening is active. Finally, we examine how to choose
the interaction potential to optimize the rate of strand separation. One
important result is our finding that active opening can increase the unwinding
rate by 7 fold compared to passive opening.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
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