Solar energy conversion

If solar energy is to become a practical alternative to fossil fuels, we must have efficient ways to convert photons into electricity, fuel, and heat. The need for better conversion technologies is a driving force behind many recent developments in biology, materials, and especially nanoscience

Probing and modelling the localized self-mixing in a GaN/AlGaN field-effect terahertz detector

In a GaN/AlGaN field-effect terahertz detector, the directional photocurrent is mapped in the two-dimensional space of the gate voltage and the drain/source bias. It is found that not only the magnitude, but also the polarity, of the photocurrent can be tuned. A quasistatic self-mixing model taking into account the localized terahertz field provides a quantitative description of the detector characteristics. Strongly localized self-mixing is confirmed. It is therefore important to engineer the spatial distribution of the terahertz field and its coupling to the field-effect channel on the sub-micron scale.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, submitted to AP

QUAGMIRE v1.3: a quasi-geostrophic model for investigating rotating fluids experiments

QUAGMIRE is a quasi-geostrophic numerical model for performing fast, high-resolution simulations of multi-layer rotating annulus laboratory experiments on a desktop personal computer. The model uses a hybrid finite-difference/spectral approach to numerically integrate the coupled nonlinear partial differential equations of motion in cylindrical geometry in each layer. Version 1.3 implements the special case of two fluid layers of equal resting depths. The flow is forced either by a differentially rotating lid, or by relaxation to specified streamfunction or potential vorticity fields, or both. Dissipation is achieved through Ekman layer pumping and suction at the horizontal boundaries, including the internal interface. The effects of weak interfacial tension are included, as well as the linear topographic beta-effect and the quadratic centripetal beta-effect. Stochastic forcing may optionally be activated, to represent approximately the effects of random unresolved features. A leapfrog time stepping scheme is used, with a Robert filter. Flows simulated by the model agree well with those observed in the corresponding laboratory experiments

Geometric Phase, Hannay's Angle, and an Exact Action Variable

Canonical structure of a generalized time-periodic harmonic oscillator is studied by finding the exact action variable (invariant). Hannay's angle is defined if closed curves of constant action variables return to the same curves in phase space after a time evolution. The condition for the existence of Hannay's angle turns out to be identical to that for the existence of a complete set of (quasi)periodic wave functions. Hannay's angle is calculated, and it is shown that Berry's relation of semiclassical origin on geometric phase and Hannay's angle is exact for the cases considered.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (revised version

Lifetime Adherence to Physical Activity Recommendations and Fall Occurrence in Community-dwelling Older Adults: a Retrospective Cohort Study

Falling is a major health concern for community-dwelling older adults. Regular physical activity has been proposed to prevent falls. The aim of this study was to assess whether the achievement of the 2004 UK Department of Health physical activity recommendations over a lifetime had a protective effect against falling in older people. 313 community-dwelling older adults completed a questionnaire about lifetime physical activity and fall occurrence. There were significantly fewer falls in those who had led an active lifestyle compared to those who had not (χ2Yates=4.568, p=0.033), with a lower relative risk of fall occurrence for the active respondents (RR=0.671) compared to the inactive (RR=1.210). Of those who were sufficiently active in their early adulthood, the decade where there was the biggest decrease in remaining active enough was in the 60s. It is concluded that an active lifestyle may have decreased the likelihood of having a fall in older ag

Stable fourfold configurations for small vacancy clusters in silicon from ab initio calculations

Using density-functional-theory calculations, we have identified new stable configurations for tri-, tetra-, and penta-vacancies in silicon. These new configurations consist of combinations of a ring-hexavacancy with three, two, or one interstitial atoms, respectively, such that all atoms remain fourfold. As a result, their formation energies are lower by 0.6, 1.0, and 0.6 eV, respectively, than the ``part of a hexagonal ring'' configurations, believed up to now to be the lowest-energy states