3,185 research outputs found
Exact Casimir Interaction Between Semitransparent Spheres and Cylinders
A multiple scattering formulation is used to calculate the force, arising
from fluctuating scalar fields, between distinct bodies described by
-function potentials, so-called semitransparent bodies. (In the limit
of strong coupling, a semitransparent boundary becomes a Dirichlet one.) We
obtain expressions for the Casimir energies between disjoint parallel
semitransparent cylinders and between disjoint semitransparent spheres. In the
limit of weak coupling, we derive power series expansions for the energy, which
can be exactly summed, so that explicit, very simple, closed-form expressions
are obtained in both cases. The proximity force theorem holds when the objects
are almost touching, but is subject to large corrections as the bodies are
moved further apart.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures; expanded discussion of previous work and
additional references added, minor typos correcte
Change of a Weibel-type to an Alfv\'enic shock in pair plasma by upstream waves
We examine with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations how a parallel shock in
pair plasma reacts to upstream waves, which are driven by escaping downstream
particles. Initially, the shock is sustained in the two-dimensional simulation
by a magnetic filamentation (beam-Weibel) instability. Escaping particles drive
an electrostatic beam instability upstream. Modifications of the upstream
plasma by these waves hardly affect the shock. In time, a decreasing density
and increasing temperature of the escaping particles quench the beam
instability. A larger thermal energy along than perpendicular to the magnetic
field destabilizes the pair-Alfv\'en mode. In the rest frame of the upstream
plasma, the group velocity of the growing pair-Alfv\'en waves is below that of
the shock and the latter catches up with the waves. Accumulating pair-Alfv\'en
waves gradually change the shock in the two-dimensional simulation from a
Weibel-type shock into an Alfv\'enic shock with a Mach number that is about 6
for our initial conditions.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma
Science and RE teachers' perspectives on the purpose of RE on the secondary school curriculum in England
Renewed interest in curriculum in English schooling over the past decade has emanated from a particular focus on the place and role of knowledge in the classroom. Significant changes in policy and examination specifications have led to changes in religious education (RE). However, little is known about teachers' perspectives on the purpose of RE. We asked teachers of science and RE what they understood as the purpose of RE on the school curriculum. Data from 10 focus groups and a survey with 276 secondary teachers demonstrated that many secondary teachers of science have a different understanding to RE teachers of the purpose of RE on the school curriculum. Findings also show a lack of consensus from RE teachers on the purpose of RE, suggesting the impact of the knowledge turn in RE is not as strong as the Ofsted Research Review implies. Findings are significant as little is known about how knowledge works across disciplinary boundaries in schools. If students are to come to a full understanding of how knowledge works, teachers need to have some understanding of how knowledge is being constructed and utilised in other curriculum subjects. Knowledge of the intended purpose of RE is important for respectful co-existence of subjects on the curriculum and essential when RE is declining as a subject in secondary schools
Shaping concepts of technology : what concepts and how to shape them?
Philosophy of technology is a discipline that has much to offer for technology education. Insights into the real nature of technology and its relationship with science and society can help technology educators to build a subject that helps pupils get a good concept of technology and to learn to understand and use concepts in technology. Here the way science educators have gained from the philosophy of science, for example in the idea of the way pupils learn concepts by reconstructing pre-concepts that they picked up from daily-life experiences. Research has shown that the learning of concepts and the learning of process skills have to be connected
Design and development of a low temperature, inductance based high frequency ac susceptometer
We report on the development of an induction based low temperature high
frequency ac susceptometer capable of measuring at frequencies up to 3.5 MHz
and at temperatures between 2 K and 300 K. Careful balancing of the detection
coils and calibration have allowed a sample magnetic moment resolution of
at 1 MHz. We will discuss the design and
characterization of the susceptometer, and explain the calibration process. We
also include some example measurements on the spin ice material CdErS
and iron oxide based nanoparticles to illustrate functionality
Powers of Hamilton cycles in pseudorandom graphs
We study the appearance of powers of Hamilton cycles in pseudorandom graphs,
using the following comparatively weak pseudorandomness notion. A graph is
-pseudorandom if for all disjoint and with and we have
. We prove that for all there is an
such that an -pseudorandom graph on
vertices with minimum degree at least contains the square of a
Hamilton cycle. In particular, this implies that -graphs with
contain the square of a Hamilton cycle, and thus
a triangle factor if is a multiple of . This improves on a result of
Krivelevich, Sudakov and Szab\'o [Triangle factors in sparse pseudo-random
graphs, Combinatorica 24 (2004), no. 3, 403--426].
We also extend our result to higher powers of Hamilton cycles and establish
corresponding counting versions.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur
Normal Ordering for Deformed Boson Operators and Operator-valued Deformed Stirling Numbers
The normal ordering formulae for powers of the boson number operator
are extended to deformed bosons. It is found that for the `M-type'
deformed bosons, which satisfy , the
extension involves a set of deformed Stirling numbers which replace the
Stirling numbers occurring in the conventional case. On the other hand, the
deformed Stirling numbers which have to be introduced in the case of the
`P-type' deformed bosons, which satisfy , are found to depend on the operator . This distinction
between the two types of deformed bosons is in harmony with earlier
observations made in the context of a study of the extended
Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff formula.Comment: 14 pages, Latex fil
Weak charge form factor and radius of 208Pb through parity violation in electron scattering
We use distorted wave electron scattering calculations to extract the weak
charge form factor F_W(q), the weak charge radius R_W, and the point neutron
radius R_n, of 208Pb from the PREX parity violating asymmetry measurement. The
form factor is the Fourier transform of the weak charge density at the average
momentum transfer q=0.475 fm. We find F_W(q) =0.204 \pm 0.028 (exp) \pm
0.001 (model). We use the Helm model to infer the weak radius from F_W(q). We
find R_W= 5.826 \pm 0.181 (exp) \pm 0.027 (model) fm. Here the exp error
includes PREX statistical and systematic errors, while the model error
describes the uncertainty in R_W from uncertainties in the surface thickness
\sigma of the weak charge density. The weak radius is larger than the charge
radius, implying a "weak charge skin" where the surface region is relatively
enriched in weak charges compared to (electromagnetic) charges. We extract the
point neutron radius R_n=5.751 \pm 0.175 (exp) \pm 0.026 (model) \pm 0.005
(strange) fm$, from R_W. Here there is only a very small error (strange) from
possible strange quark contributions. We find R_n to be slightly smaller than
R_W because of the nucleon's size. Finally, we find a neutron skin thickness of
R_n-R_p=0.302\pm 0.175 (exp) \pm 0.026 (model) \pm 0.005 (strange) fm, where
R_p is the point proton radius.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, published in Phys Rev. C. Only one change in this
version: we have added one author, also to metadat
A Mentoring Guide for Female Faculty in Engineering
One widely accepted method for increasing the chances of success of female engineering and science students and faculty alike is to provide access to female role models and mentors. In this article we offer to new female faculty, and to those who would mentor them, an annotated list of text and electronic resources that address most of the most important challenges facing new female faculty in science and engineering
Statistical Properties of the Final State in One-dimensional Ballistic Aggregation
We investigate the long time behaviour of the one-dimensional ballistic
aggregation model that represents a sticky gas of N particles with random
initial positions and velocities, moving deterministically, and forming
aggregates when they collide. We obtain a closed formula for the stationary
measure of the system which allows us to analyze some remarkable features of
the final `fan' state. In particular, we identify universal properties which
are independent of the initial position and velocity distributions of the
particles. We study cluster distributions and derive exact results for extreme
value statistics (because of correlations these distributions do not belong to
the Gumbel-Frechet-Weibull universality classes). We also derive the energy
distribution in the final state. This model generates dynamically many
different scales and can be viewed as one of the simplest exactly solvable
model of N-body dissipative dynamics.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures include
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