3,708 research outputs found
How many electrons are needed to flip a local spin?
Considering the spin of a local magnetic atom as a quantum mechanical
operator, we illustrate the dynamics of a local spin interacting with a
ballistic electron represented by a wave packet. This approach improves the
semi-classical approximation and provides a complete quantum mechanical
understanding for spin transfer phenomena. Sending spin-polarized electrons
towards a local magnetic atom one after another, we estimate the minimum number
of electrons needed to flip a local spin.Comment: 3 figure
Loop Groups and Discrete KdV Equations
A study is presented of fully discretized lattice equations associated with
the KdV hierarchy. Loop group methods give a systematic way of constructing
discretizations of the equations in the hierarchy. The lattice KdV system of
Nijhoff et al. arises from the lowest order discretization of the trivial,
lowest order equation in the hierarchy, b_t=b_x. Two new discretizations are
also given, the lowest order discretization of the first nontrivial equation in
the hierarchy, and a "second order" discretization of b_t=b_x. The former,
which is given the name "full lattice KdV" has the (potential) KdV equation as
a standard continuum limit. For each discretization a Backlund transformation
is given and soliton content analyzed. The full lattice KdV system has, like
KdV itself, solitons of all speeds, whereas both other discretizations studied
have a limited range of speeds, being discretizations of an equation with
solutions only of a fixed speed.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, 1 figur
WKB formalism and a lower limit for the energy eigenstates of bound states for some potentials
In the present work the conditions appearing in the WKB approximation
formalism of quantum mechanics are analyzed. It is shown that, in general, a
careful definition of an approximation method requires the introduction of two
length parameters, one of them always considered in the text books on quantum
mechanics, whereas the second one is usually neglected. Afterwards we define a
particular family of potentials and prove, resorting to the aforementioned
length parameters, that we may find an energy which is a lower bound to the
ground energy of the system. The idea is applied to the case of a harmonic
oscillator and also to a particle freely falling in a homogeneous gravitational
field, and in both cases the consistency of our method is corroborated. This
approach, together with the Rayleigh--Ritz formalism, allows us to define an
energy interval in which the ground energy of any potential, belonging to our
family, must lie.Comment: Accepted in Modern Physics Letters
Polynomial Solutions of Shcrodinger Equation with the Generalized Woods Saxon Potential
The bound state energy eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions of
the generalized Woods Saxon potential are obtained in terms of the Jacobi
polynomials. Nikiforov Uvarov method is used in the calculations. It is shown
that the results are in a good agreement with the ones obtained before.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Equivalence Theorems for Pseudoscalar Coupling
By a unitary transformation a rigorous equivalence theorem is established for the pseudoscalar coupling of pseudoscalar mesons (neutral and charged) to a second-quantized nucleon field. By the transformation the linear pseudoscalar coupling is eliminated in favor of a nonlinear pseudovector coupling term together with other terms. Among these is a term corresponding to a variation of the effective rest mass of the nucleons with position through its dependence on the meson potentials. The question of the connection of the nonlinear pseudovector coupling with heuristic proposals that such a coupling may account for the saturation of nuclear forces and the independence of single nucleon motions in nuclei is briefly discussed. The new representation of the Hamiltonian may have particular value in constructing a strong coupling theory of pseudoscalar coupled meson fields. Some theorems on a class of unitary transformations of which the present transformation is an example are stated and proved in an appendix.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86126/1/PhysRev.87.1061-RKO.pd
On Dirac theory in the space with deformed Heisenberg algebra. Exact solutions
The Dirac equation has been studied in which the Dirac matrices
\hat{\boldmath\alpha}, \hat\beta have space factors, respectively and
, dependent on the particle's space coordinates. The function deforms
Heisenberg algebra for the coordinates and momenta operators, the function
being treated as a dependence of the particle mass on its position. The
properties of these functions in the transition to the Schr\"odinger equation
are discussed. The exact solution of the Dirac equation for the particle motion
in the Coulomnb field with a linear dependence of the function on the
distance to the force centre and the inverse dependence on for the
function has been found.Comment: 13 page
Control of cellular automata
We study the problem of master-slave synchronization and control of
totalistic cellular automata (CA) by putting a fraction of sites of the slave
equal to those of the master and finding the distance between both as a
function of this fraction. We present three control strategies that exploit
local information about the CA, mainly, the number of nonzero Boolean
derivatives. When no local information is used, we speak of synchronization. We
find the critical properties of control and discuss the best control strategy
compared with synchronization
Engaging families in physical activity research: a family-based focus group study
Abstract
Background
Family-based interventions present a much-needed opportunity to increase childrenâs physical activity levels. However, little is known about how best to engage parents and their children in physical activity research. This study aimed to engage with the whole family to understand how best to recruit for, and retain participation in, physical activity research.
Methods
Families (including a âtargetâ child aged between 8 and 11Â years, their parents, siblings, and others) were recruited through schools and community groups. Focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured approach (informed by a pilot session). Families were asked to order cards listing the possible benefits of, and the barriers to, being involved in physical activity research and other health promotion activities, highlighting the items they consider most relevant, and suggesting additional items. Duplicate content analysis was used to identify transcript themes and develop a coding frame.
Results
Eighty-two participants from 17 families participated, including 17 âtargetâ children (mean age 9.3â±â1.1 years, 61.1 % female), 32 other children and 33 adults (including parents, grandparents, and older siblings). Social, health and educational benefits were cited as being key incentives for involvement in physical activity research, with emphasis on children experiencing new things, developing character, and increasing social contact (particularly for shy children). Childrenâs enjoyment was also given priority. The provision of child care or financial reward was not considered sufficiently appealing. Increased time commitment or scheduling difficulties were quoted as the most pertinent barriers to involvement (especially for families with several children), but parents commented these could be overcome if the potential value for children was clear.
Conclusions
Lessons learned from this work may contribute to the development of effective recruitment and retention strategies for children and their families. Making the wide range of potential benefits clear to families, providing regular feedback, and carefully considering family structure, may prove useful in achieving desired research participation. This may subsequently assist in engaging families in interventions to increase physical activity in children
Recommended from our members
Incidence and public health burden of sunburn among beachgoers in the United States.
The beach environment creates many barriers to effective sun protection, putting beachgoers at risk for sunburn, a well-established risk factor for skin cancer. Our objective was to estimate incidence of sunburn among beachgoers and evaluate the relationship between sunburn incidence and sun-protective behaviors. A secondary analysis, of prospective cohorts at 12 locations within the U.S. from 2003 to 2009 (n = 75,614), were pooled to evaluate sunburn incidence 10-12 days after the beach visit. Behavioral and environmental conditions were cross-tabulated with sunburn incidence. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between new sunburn and sun-protective behaviors. Overall, 13.1% of beachgoers reported sunburn. Those aged 13-18 years (16.5%), whites (16.0%), and those at beach locations along the Eastern Seaboard (16.1%), had the highest incidence of sunburn. For those spending â„5 h in the sun, the use of multiple types of sun protection reduced odds of sunburn by 55% relative to those who used no sun protection (Odds Ratio = 0.45 (95% Confidence Interval:0.27-0.77)) after adjusting for skin type, age, and race. Acute health effects of sunburn tend to be mild and self-limiting, but potential long-term health consequences are more serious and costly. Efforts to encourage and support proper sun-protective behaviors, and increase access to shade, protective clothing, and sunscreen, can help prevent sunburn and reduce skin cancer risk among beachgoers
Berry phase in generalized chiral
We consider the generalized chiral on with a gauge field
coupled with different charges to both chiral components of a fermionic field.
Using the adiabatic approximation we calculate the Berry phase and the
corresponding connection and curvature for the vacuum and many
particle Fock states. We show that the nonvanishing vacuum Berry phase is
associated with a projective representation of the local gauge symmetry group
and contributes to the effective action of the model.Comment: LATEX file, 17 pages; extended version of a talk given at Int.
Colloquium on Group-Theoretical Methods in Physics, 15-20 July, 1996, Goslar,
German
- âŠ