A Discrete-to-Continuum Model of Weakly Interacting Incommensurate Two-Dimensional Lattices

In this paper we propose a continuum variational model for a two-dimensional deformable lattice of atoms interacting with a two-dimensional rigid lattice. The two lattices have slightly different lattice parameters and there is a small relative rotation between them. This is a prototypical example of a three-dimensional system consisting of a graphene sheet suspended over a substrate. The continuum model recovers both qualitatively and quantitatively the behavior observed in the corresponding discrete model. The continuum model predicts that the deformable lattice develops a network of domain walls characterized by large shearing, stretching, and bending deformation that accommodate the misalignment and/or mismatch between the deformable and rigid lattices. Two integer-valued parameters that can be identified with the components of a Burgers vector, describe the mismatch between the lattices and determine the geometry and the detail of deformation associated with the domain walls

Monte Carlo Estimation of the Density of the Sum of Dependent Random Variables

We study an unbiased estimator for the density of a sum of random variables that are simulated from a computer model. A numerical study on examples with copula dependence is conducted where the proposed estimator performs favourably in terms of variance compared to other unbiased estimators. We provide applications and extensions to the estimation of marginal densities in Bayesian statistics and to the estimation of the density of sums of random variables under Gaussian copula dependence

Ultraviolet light emission from Si in a scanning tunneling microscope

Ultraviolet and visible radiation is observed from the contacts of a scanning tunneling microscope with Si(100) and (111) wafers. This luminescence relies on the presence of hot electrons in silicon, which are supplied, at positive bias on n- and p-type samples, through the injection from the tip, or, at negative bias on p-samples, by Zener tunneling. Measured spectra reveal a contribution of direct optical transitions in Si bulk. The necessary holes well below the valence band edge are injected from the tip or generated by Auger processes

Strongly coupled large-angle stimulated Raman scattering of short laser pulses in plasma-filled capillaries

Strongly coupled large-angle stimulated Raman scattering (LA SRS) of a short intense laser pulse proceeds in a plane plasma-filled capillary differently than in a plasma with open boundaries. Oblique mirror reflections off capillary walls partly suppress the lateral convection of scattered radiation and increase the growth rate of the instability: the convective gain of the LA SRS falls with an angle much slower than in an unbounded plasma and even for the near-forward SRS can be close to that of the direct backscatter. The long-term evolution of LA SRS in the interior of the capillary is dominated by quasi-one-dimensional leaky modes, whose damping is related to the transmission of electromagnetic waves through capillary walls.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; to be submitted to Physics of Plasma

Report on the Workshop on Refugee and Asylum Policy in Practice in Europe and North America

Western nations have struggled to accomplish the dual goals of refugee and asylum policies: (1) identifying and protecting Convention refugees as well as those fleeing civil conflict; and (2) controlling for abuse. The Workshop on Refugee and Asylum Policy in Practice in Europe and North America was organized to facilitate a transatlantic dialogue to explore just how well these asylum systems are balancing the dual goals. The workshop exa!llined key elements of the U.S. and European asylum systems: decision making on claims, deterrence of abuse, independent review, return of rejected asylum seekers, scope of the refugee concept, social rights and employment, international cooperation, and data and evaluation. The Workshop was convened by the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) of Georgetown University and the Center for the Study of Immigration, Integration and Citizenship Policies (CEPIC) of the Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique, with the support of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. It was held on July 1-3, 1999, at Oxford University. Workshop participants included government officials, scholars, and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) actively involved in analyzing and implementing refugee and asylum policies. This report outlines the major points of discussion and the areas of consensus at the Workshop, and emphasizes the issues in need of further analysis and agreement. Through this report, the Workshop seeks to encourage further discussion on refugee and asylum policies in practice in order to clarify, develop, and improve the existing mechanisms for protection

The Formation and Role of Vortices in Protoplanetary Disks

We carry out a two-dimensional, compressible, simulation of a disk, including dust particles, to study the formation and role of vortices in protoplanetary disks. We find that anticyclonic vortices can form out of an initial random perturbation of the vorticity field. Vortices have a typical decay time of the order of 50 orbital periods (for a viscosity parameter alpha=0.0001 and a disk aspect ratio of H/r = 0.15). If vorticity is continuously generated at a constant rate in the flow (e.g. by convection), then a large vortex can form and be sustained (due to the merger of vortices). We find that dust concentrates in the cores of vortices within a few orbital periods, when the drag parameter is of the order of the orbital frequency. Also, the radial drift of the dust induces a significant increase in the surface density of dust particles in the inner region of the disk. Thus, vortices may represent the preferred location for planetesimal formation in protoplanetary disks. We show that it is very difficult for vortex mergers to sustain a relatively coherent outward flux of angular momentum.Comment: Sumitted to the Astrophysical Journal, October 20, 199

Study of the triangular lattice tV model near x=1/3

We study extended Hubbard model on a triangular lattice near doping $x=1/3$, which may be relevant for the recently discovered superconductor Na$_x$CoO$_2 \cdot y$H$_2$O. By generalizing this model to $N$ fermionic species, we formulate a meanfield description in the limit of large $N$. In meanfield, we find two possible phases: a renormalized Fermi liquid and a \rt3rt3 charge density wave state. The transition between the two phases is driven by increasing the nearest neighbor repulsion and is found to be first order for doping $x=1/3$, but occurs close to the point of the local instability of the uniform liquid. We also study fluctuations about the uniform meanfield state in a systematic 1/N expansion, focusing on the residual interaction of quasiparticles and possible superconducting instabilities due to this interaction. Upon moving towards the CDW instability, the increasing charge fluctuations favor a particular $f$-wave triplet state. (This state was recently discussed by Tanakaet al, cond-mat/0311266). We also report a direct Gutzwiller wavefunction study of the spin-1/2 model.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure