10,059 research outputs found
Why Two Renormalization Groups are Better than One
The advantages of using more than one renormalization group (RG) in problems
with more than one important length scale are discussed. It is shown that: i)
using different RG's can lead to complementary information, i.e. what is very
difficult to calculate with an RG based on one flow parameter may be much more
accessible using another; ii) using more than one RG requires less physical
input in order to describe via RG methods the theory as a function of its
parameters; iii) using more than one RG allows one to solve problems with more
than one diverging length scale. The above points are illustrated concretely in
the context of both particle physics and statistical physics using the
techniques of environmentally friendly renormalization. Specifically, finite
temperature theory, an Ising-type system in a film geometry, an
Ising-type system in a transverse magnetic field, the QCD coupling constant at
finite temperature and the crossover between bulk and surface critical
behaviour in a semi-infinite geometry are considered.Comment: 17 pages LaTex; to be published in the Proceedings of RG '96, Dubn
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Estimating drizzle drop size and precipitation rate using two-colour lidar measurements
A method to estimate the size and liquid water content of drizzle drops using lidar measurements at two wavelengths is described. The method exploits the differential absorption of infrared light by liquid water at 905 nm and 1.5 μm, which leads to a different backscatter cross section for water drops larger than ≈50 μm. The ratio of backscatter measured from drizzle samples below cloud base at these two wavelengths (the colour ratio) provides a measure of the median volume drop diameter D0. This is a strong effect: for D0=200 μm, a colour ratio of ≈6 dB is predicted. Once D0 is known, the measured backscatter at 905 nm can be used to calculate the liquid water content (LWC) and other moments of the drizzle drop distribution.
The method is applied to observations of drizzle falling from stratocumulus and stratus clouds. High resolution (32 s, 36 m) profiles of D0, LWC and precipitation rate R are derived. The main sources of error in the technique are the need to assume a value for the dispersion parameter μ in the drop size spectrum (leading to at most a 35% error in R) and the influence of aerosol returns on the retrieval (≈10% error in R for the cases considered here). Radar reflectivities are also computed from the lidar data, and compared to independent measurements from a colocated cloud radar, offering independent validation of the derived drop size distributions
Gamble mode: Resonance contact mode in atomic force microscopy
Active noise reduction has been accomplished in atomic force microscopy by applying a high frequency, low amplitude vibration to the cantilever while it is in contact with a surface. The applied excitation (>~ 200 kHz; ~ 1 nm) is acoustically coupled to the tip and dampens the resonance Q factors of the system. The applied frequency is well above the bandwidth of the acquisition system (50 kHz). We call this mode "gamble mode" or "resonance contact.
Two-Loop Crossover Scaling Functions of the O(N) Model
Using Environmentally Friendly Renormalization, we present an analytic
calculation of the series for the renormalization constants that describe the
equation of state for the model in the whole critical region. The
solution of the beta-function equation, for the running coupling to order two
loops, exhibits crossover between the strong coupling fixed point, associated
with the Goldstone modes, and the Wilson-Fisher fixed point. The Wilson
functions , and , and thus the
effective critical exponents associated with renormalization of the transverse
vertex functions, also exhibit non-trivial crossover between these fixed
points.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, version to appears in IJMPL
Noise reduction in atomic force microscopy: Resonance contact mode
Noise reduction has been accomplished in atomic force microscopy by applying a high frequency, low amplitude vibration to the cantilever while it is in contact with a surface. The applied excitation (>~200 kHz; ~1 nm) is acoustically coupled to the tip and dampens the resonance Q factors of the system. The applied frequency is well above the bandwidth of the acquisition system (50 kHz). We call this mode "resonance contact" mode. The nonlinear behavior of the tip–sample interaction allows the high frequency excitation to effectively broaden the frequency response of the system resonances
Pre-settlement coral-reef fish larvae respond to magnetic field changes during the day.
Observations of coral-reef fish larvae have revealed remarkably consistent orientation behaviour while swimming offshore, requiring large-scale orientation cues. However, the mechanisms underlying this behaviour are still being investigated. One potential large-scale cue for orientation is the Earth's geomagnetic field. Here, we examined the effect of magnetic field manipulations on the orientation behaviour of coral-reef fish during the pelagic larval phase. In the absence of visual cues, individual larvae responded to a 90 deg shift of the horizontal component of the magnetic field within a Helmholtz coil with a comparable shift in orientation, demonstrating that they use a magnetic compass for orientation. Our findings suggest that geomagnetic field information guides swimming behaviour of larval fish in the pre-settlement phase. The ability to use large-scale sensory cues allows location-independent orientation of swimming, a behaviour that influences dispersal and connectivity of fish populations, which has important ecological implications for anthropogenic development of marine areas
An Analytic Equation of State for Ising-like Models
Using an Environmentally Friendly Renormalization we derive, from an
underlying field theory representation, a formal expression for the equation of
state, , that exhibits all desired asymptotic and analyticity
properties in the three limits , and . The only
necessary inputs are the Wilson functions , and
, associated with a renormalization of the transverse vertex
functions. These Wilson functions exhibit a crossover between the Wilson-Fisher
fixed point and the fixed point that controls the coexistence curve.
Restricting to the case N=1, we derive a one-loop equation of state for naturally parameterized by a ratio of non-linear scaling fields. For
we show that a non-parameterized analytic form can be deduced. Various
asymptotic amplitudes are calculated directly from the equation of state in all
three asymptotic limits of interest and comparison made with known results. By
positing a scaling form for the equation of state inspired by the one-loop
result, but adjusted to fit the known values of the critical exponents, we
obtain better agreement with known asymptotic amplitudes.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
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