561 research outputs found
Towards unified understanding of conductance of stretched monatomic contacts
When monatomic contacts are stretched, their conductance behaves in
qualitatively different ways depending on their constituent atomic elements.
Under a single assumption of resonance formation, we show that various
conductance behavior can be understood in a unified way in terms of the
response of the resonance to stretching. This analysis clarifies the crucial
roles played by the number of valence electrons, charge neutrality, and orbital
shapes.Comment: 2 figure
A jump-growth model for predator-prey dynamics: derivation and application to marine ecosystems
This paper investigates the dynamics of biomass in a marine ecosystem. A
stochastic process is defined in which organisms undergo jumps in body size as
they catch and eat smaller organisms. Using a systematic expansion of the
master equation, we derive a deterministic equation for the macroscopic
dynamics, which we call the deterministic jump-growth equation, and a linear
Fokker-Planck equation for the stochastic fluctuations. The McKendrick--von
Foerster equation, used in previous studies, is shown to be a first-order
approximation, appropriate in equilibrium systems where predators are much
larger than their prey. The model has a power-law steady state consistent with
the approximate constancy of mass density in logarithmic intervals of body mass
often observed in marine ecosystems. The behaviours of the stochastic process,
the deterministic jump-growth equation and the McKendrick--von Foerster
equation are compared using numerical methods. The numerical analysis shows two
classes of attractors: steady states and travelling waves.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures. Final version as published. Only minor change
Exponential Decay of Correlations Implies Area Law
We prove that a finite correlation length, i.e. exponential decay of
correlations, implies an area law for the entanglement entropy of quantum
states defined on a line. The entropy bound is exponential in the correlation
length of the state, thus reproducing as a particular case Hastings proof of an
area law for groundstates of 1D gapped Hamiltonians.
As a consequence, we show that 1D quantum states with exponential decay of
correlations have an efficient classical approximate description as a matrix
product state of polynomial bond dimension, thus giving an equivalence between
injective matrix product states and states with a finite correlation length.
The result can be seen as a rigorous justification, in one dimension, of the
intuition that states with exponential decay of correlations, usually
associated with non-critical phases of matter, are simple to describe. It also
has implications for quantum computing: It shows that unless a pure state
quantum computation involves states with long-range correlations, decaying at
most algebraically with the distance, it can be efficiently simulated
classically.
The proof relies on several previous tools from quantum information theory -
including entanglement distillation protocols achieving the hashing bound,
properties of single-shot smooth entropies, and the quantum substate theorem -
and also on some newly developed ones. In particular we derive a new bound on
correlations established by local random measurements, and we give a
generalization to the max-entropy of a result of Hastings concerning the
saturation of mutual information in multiparticle systems. The proof can also
be interpreted as providing a limitation on the phenomenon of data hiding in
quantum states.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures; v2 minor corrections; v3 published versio
Standard Model Matrix Elements for Neutral B-Meson Mixing and Associated Decay Constants
We present results of quenched lattice calculations of the matrix elements
relevant for B_d-\bar B_d and B_s-\bar B_s mixing in the Standard Model.
Results for the corresponding SU(3)-breaking ratios, which can be used to
constrain or determine |V_{td}|, are also given. The calculations are performed
at two values of the lattice spacing, corresponding to \beta = 6.0 and \beta =
6.2, with quarks described by a mean-field-improved Sheikholeslami-Wohlert
action. As a by-product, we obtain the leptonic decay constants of B and D
mesons. We also present matrix elements relevant for D^0-\bar D^0 mixing. Our
results are summarized in the Introduction.Comment: 27 pages (RevTeX), 26 figures, version published in Phys. Rev. D:
improved estimate of the systematic error associated with the uncertainty on
the strange quark mass and other small improvements to analysis (results
change only slightly); correction of typos and minor changes to text; RevTeX
formattin
Unitarity bounds on low scale quantum gravity
We study the unitarity of models with low scale quantum gravity both in four
dimensions and in models with a large extra-dimensional volume. We find that
models with low scale quantum gravity have problems with unitarity below the
scale at which gravity becomes strong. An important consequence of our work is
that their first signal at the Large Hadron Collider would not be of a
gravitational nature such as graviton emission or small black holes, but rather
linked to the mechanism which fixes the unitarity problem. We also study models
with scalar fields with non minimal couplings to the Ricci scalar. We consider
the strength of gravity in these models and study the consequences for
inflation models with non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We show that a
single scalar field with a large non-minimal coupling can lower the Planck mass
in the TeV region. In that model, it is possible to lower the scale at which
gravity becomes strong down to 14 TeV without violating unitarity below that
scale.Comment: 15 page
Asteroseismology of red giants & galactic archaeology
Red-giant stars are low- to intermediate-mass (~M)
stars that have exhausted hydrogen in the core. These extended, cool and hence
red stars are key targets for stellar evolution studies as well as galactic
studies for several reasons: a) many stars go through a red-giant phase; b) red
giants are intrinsically bright; c) large stellar internal structure changes as
well as changes in surface chemical abundances take place over relatively short
time; d) red-giant stars exhibit global intrinsic oscillations. Due to their
large number and intrinsic brightness it is possible to observe many of these
stars up to large distances. Furthermore, the global intrinsic oscillations
provide a means to discern red-giant stars in the pre-helium core burning from
the ones in the helium core burning phase and provide an estimate of stellar
ages, a key ingredient for galactic studies. In this lecture I will first
discuss some physical phenomena that play a role in red-giant stars and several
phases of red-giant evolution. Then, I will provide some details about
asteroseismology -- the study of the internal structure of stars through their
intrinsic oscillations -- of red-giant stars. I will conclude by discussing
galactic archaeology -- the study of the formation and evolution of the Milky
Way by reconstructing its past from its current constituents -- and the role
red-giant stars can play in that.Comment: Lecture presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in
Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars
and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta,
Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201
"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire
Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, âeverybody-has-his-reasonsâ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work
From thermal rectifiers to thermoelectric devices
We discuss thermal rectification and thermoelectric energy conversion from
the perspective of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical systems
theory. After preliminary considerations on the dynamical foundations of the
phenomenological Fourier law in classical and quantum mechanics, we illustrate
ways to control the phononic heat flow and design thermal diodes. Finally, we
consider the coupled transport of heat and charge and discuss several general
mechanisms for optimizing the figure of merit of thermoelectric efficiency.Comment: 42 pages, 22 figures, review paper, to appear in the Springer Lecture
Notes in Physics volume "Thermal transport in low dimensions: from
statistical physics to nanoscale heat transfer" (S. Lepri ed.
Shrinking a large dataset to identify variables associated with increased risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in Western Kenya
Large datasets are often not amenable to analysis using traditional single-step approaches. Here, our general objective was to apply imputation techniques, principal component analysis (PCA), elastic net and generalized linear models to a large dataset in a systematic approach to extract the most meaningful predictors for a health outcome. We extracted predictors for Plasmodium falciparum infection, from a large covariate dataset while facing limited numbers of observations, using data from the People, Animals, and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project to demonstrate these techniques: data collected from 415 homesteads in western Kenya, contained over 1500 variables that describe the health, environment, and social factors of the humans, livestock, and the homesteads in which they reside. The wide, sparse dataset was simplified to 42 predictors of P. falciparum malaria infection and wealth rankings were produced for all homesteads. The 42 predictors make biological sense and are supported by previous studies. This systematic data-mining approach we used would make many large datasets more manageable and informative for decision-making processes and health policy prioritization
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
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