687 research outputs found
Supergiant Barocaloric Effects in Acetoxy Silicone Rubber over a Wide Temperature Range: Great Potential for Solid-state Cooling
Solid-state cooling based on caloric effects is considered a viable
alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration
systems. Regarding barocaloric materials, recent results show that elastomers
are promising candidates for cooling applications around room-temperature. In
the present paper, we report supergiant barocaloric effects observed in acetoxy
silicone rubber - a very popular, low-cost and environmentally friendly
elastomer. Huge values of adiabatic temperature change and reversible
isothermal entropy change were obtained upon moderate applied pressures and
relatively low strains. These huge barocaloric changes are associated both to
the polymer chains rearrangements induced by confined compression and to the
first-order structural transition. The results are comparable to the best
barocaloric materials reported so far, opening encouraging prospects for the
application of elastomers in near future solid-state cooling devices.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 table
Distinguishing between optical coherent states with imperfect detection
Several proposed techniques for distinguishing between optical coherent
states are analyzed under a physically realistic model of photodetection.
Quantum error probabilities are derived for the Kennedy receiver, the Dolinar
receiver and the unitary rotation scheme proposed by Sasaki and Hirota for
sub-unity detector efficiency. Monte carlo simulations are performed to assess
the effects of detector dark counts, dead time, signal processing bandwidth and
phase noise in the communication channel. The feedback strategy employed by the
Dolinar receiver is found to achieve the Helstrom bound for sub-unity detection
efficiency and to provide robustness to these other detector imperfections
making it more attractive for laboratory implementation than previously
believed
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Low density molecular gas in the galaxy
The distributions and physical conditions in molecular gas in the interstellar medium have been investigated in both the Galaxy and towards external galaxies. For example, Galactic plane surveys in the CO J =1-0 line with the Columbia 1.2-m telescope and with the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO) 14-m telescopes have been able to trace spiral arms more clearly than HI surveys have been able to reveal, and indicate that most of molecular mass is contained in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs). Extensive maps of the whole Milky Way showed two prominent features, the 4-kpc molecular ring and the Galactic center. The physical conditions in the Galaxy have been studied by comparing the intensity of CO J =1-0 line with those of other lines, e.g., 13CO J =1-0, higher J transitions of CO, and dense gas tracers such as HCO+, CS, and HCN.
Previous studies were however strongly biased towards regions where CO emission was known to be intense. The radial distribution of molecular hydrogen shows that most of the H2 gas which is indirectly traced by observations of its associated CO emission, originates from the inner Galaxy (Dame 1993). Extending outwards from a galacto-centric distance of ~7 kpc, the H2 mass surface density decreases dramatically, and HI dominates over H2 in the outer Galaxy. What are physical conditions of molecular gas where the CO emission is relatively weak, and can we really trace all of the molecular gas through obervations of CO? These kinds of problems have not been solved yet, but are addressed in our study
Carcinogen-induced Thyroid Proliferative Lesions in Wistar Hannover GALAS Rats with Thyroid Dysplasia
Incidences and morphological features of thyroid proliferative lesions induced by carcinogens in Wistar Hannover GALAS rats (GALAS rats) showing normal growth with or without thyroid dysplasia were examined. All thyroid tissue samples were obtained from our recently conducted study using male GALAS rats treated with 5 carcinogens according to the medium-term multiorgan carcinogenicity bioassay protocol (called DMBDD treatment). In the DMBDD-treated rats, thyroid dysplasia was found in 9 out of 114 rats. Follicular cell adenomas were found in 5 out of 9 rats with thyroid dysplasia and in 7 out of 105 rats without thyroid dysplasia. The incidence of adenoma was significantly increased in rats with thyroid dysplasia (55.6%) compared with that in rats without thyroid dysplasia (6.7%). Adenomas in rats with thyroid dysplasia were observed as single or multiple nodules, well demarcated and composed of variously sized vacuolated cells or unvacuolated cells. These histopathological features and staining profiles of luminal colloid for PAS and thyroglobulin, together with PCNA-positive cells, were fundamentally similar to those of rats without thyroid dysplasia. On the other hand, the luminal colloid in adenomas of rats with thyroid dysplasia had a tendency to be poorly stained for T4 compared with that of rats without thyroid dysplasia. From these findings, it appears that dysplastic thyroids of rats showing normal growth are more sensitive to carcinogens than normal thyroids. In addition, the morphological features of carcinogen-induced thyroid proliferative lesions in GALAS rats with thyroid dysplasia were fundamentally similar to those of rats without thyroid dysplasia, except for the vacuoles and T4 staining profile
Realization of a collective decoding of codeword states
This was also extended from the previous article quant-ph/9705043, especially
in a realization of the decoding process.Comment: 6 pages, RevTeX, 4 figures(EPS
The LAOG-Planet Imaging Surveys
With the development of high contrast imaging techniques and infrared
detectors, vast efforts have been devoted during the past decade to detect and
characterize lighter, cooler and closer companions to nearby stars, and
ultimately image new planetary systems. Complementary to other observing
techniques (radial velocity, transit, micro-lensing, pulsar-timing), this
approach has opened a new astrophysical window to study the physical properties
and the formation mechanisms of brown dwarfs and planets. I here will briefly
present the observing challenge, the different observing techniques, strategies
and samples of current exoplanet imaging searches that have been selected in
the context of the LAOG-Planet Imaging Surveys. I will finally describe the
most recent results that led to the discovery of giant planets probably formed
like the ones of our solar system, offering exciting and attractive
perspectives for the future generation of deep imaging instruments.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Invited talk of "Exoplanets and disks: their
formation and diversity" conference, 9-12 March 200
All-electron GW calculation based on the LAPW method: application to wurtzite ZnO
We present a new, all-electron implementation of the GW approximation and
apply it to wurtzite ZnO. Eigenfunctions computed in the local-density
approximation (LDA) by the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave
(LAPW) or the linearized muffin-tin-orbital (LMTO) method supply the input for
generating the Green function G and the screened Coulomb interaction W. A mixed
basis is used for the expansion of W, consisting of plane waves in the
interstitial region and augmented-wavefunction products in the
augmentation-sphere regions. The frequency-dependence of the dielectric
function is computed within the random-phase approximation (RPA), without a
plasmon-pole approximation. The Zn 3d orbitals are treated as valence states
within the LDA; both core and valence states are included in the self-energy
calculation. The calculated bandgap is smaller than experiment by about 1eV, in
contrast to previously reported GW results. Self-energy corrections are
orbital-dependent, and push down the deep O 2s and Zn 3d levels by about 1eV
relative to the LDA. The d level shifts closer to experiment but the size of
shift is underestimated, suggesting that the RPA overscreens localized states.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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