1,263 research outputs found
The use of eigenfunction expansions in the general solution of three-dimensional crack problems
Eigenfunction expansion technique for three dimensional stress and displacement expressions in series form for infinite solids weakened by plane of discontinuity or crac
Dynamic nuclear polarization from current-induced electron spin polarization
Current-induced electron spin polarization is shown to produce nuclear
hyperpolarization through dynamic nuclear polarization. Saturated fields of
several millitesla are generated upon the application of electric field over a
timescale of a hundred seconds in InGaAs epilayers and measured using optical
Larmor magnetometry. The dependence on temperature, external magnetic field,
and applied voltage is investigated. We find an asymmetry in which the
saturation nuclear field depends on the relative alignment of the electrically
generated spin polarization and the external magnetic field, which we attribute
to an interplay between various electron spin dynamical processes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Effect of plate thickness on the bending stress distribution around through cracks
Theoretical study of plate thickness effect on bending stress distribution around slotted crack
An approximate three-dimensional theory of plates with application to crack problems
Approximative three dimensional solution for crack in elastic plate
Growth characteristics of a plane crack subjected to three-dimensional loading
The closed form expressions for the stress intensity factors due to concentrated forces applied to the surfaces of a half plane crack in an infinite body are used to generate solutions for distributed loads in this geometry. The stress intensity factors for uniformly distributed loads applied over a rectangular portion of the crack surface are given in closed form. An example of non-uniformly distributed loads which can be treated numerically is also included. In particular, combinations of normal and shear stresses on the crack which simulate the case of loading at an angle to the crack front are considered. The resulting stress intensity factors are combined with the strain energy density fracture criterion for the purpose of predicting the most likely direction of crack propagation. The critical value of the energy density factor can then be used for determining the allowable load on a specimen with a crack front not perpendicular to the tensile axis
Mechanical control of spin-orbit splitting in GaAs and InGaAs epilayers
Time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy as a function of pump-probe
distance, voltage and magnetic field is used to measure the momentum-dependent
spin splitting energies in GaAs and InGaAs epilayers. The strain of the samples
can be reproducibly controlled in the cryostat using three- and four-point
bending applied with a mechanical vise. We find that the magnitude of the spin
splitting increases linearly with applied tension and voltage. A strain-drift
diffusion model is used to relate the magnitude of the measured spin-orbit
splitting to the amount of strain in the sample.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Vitellogenesis as a biomarker for estrogenic contamination of the aquatic environment
A rapidly increasing number of chemicals, or their degradation products, are being recognized as possessing estrogenic activity, albeit usually weak. We have found that effluent from sewage treatment works contains a chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that induces vitellogenin synthesis in male fish maintained in the effluent, thus indicating that the effluent is estrogenic. The effect was extremely pronounced and occurred at all sewage treatment works tested. The nature of the chemical or chemicals causing the effect is presently not known. However, we have tested a number of chemicals known to be estrogenic to mammals and have shown that they are also estrogenic to fish; that is, no species specificity was apparent. Many of these weakly estrogenic chemicals are known to be present in effluents. Further, a mixture of different estrogenic chemicals was considerably more potent than each of the chemicals when tested individually, suggesting that enhanced effects could occur when fish are exposed simultaneously to various estrogenic chemicals (as is likely to occur in rivers receiving effluent). Subsequent work should determine whether exposure to these chemicals at the concentrations present in the environment leads to any deleterious physiological effects
The dicey dinner dilemma : asymmetry in predator-prey risk-taking, a broadly-applicable alternative to the life-dinner principle
RKH is grateful to both the University of St Andrews and the Perry Foundation for funding.Forty years ago, the ‘life‐dinner principle’ was proposed as an example of an asymmetry that may lead prey species to experience stronger selection than their predators, thus accounting for the high frequency with which prey escape alive from interaction with a predator. This principle remains an influential concept in the scientific literature, despite several works suggesting that the concept relies on many under‐appreciated assumptions and does not apply as generally as was initially proposed. Here, we present a novel model describing a very different asymmetry to that proposed in the life‐dinner principle, but one that could apply broadly. We argue that asymmetries between the relative costs and benefits to predators and prey of selecting a risky behaviour during an extended predator–prey encounter could lead to an enhanced likelihood of escape for the prey. Any resulting advantage to prey depends upon there being a behaviour or choice that introduces some inherent danger to both predator and prey if they adopt it, but which if the prey adopts the predator must match in order to have a chance of successful predation. We suggest that the circumstances indicated by our model could apply broadly across diverse taxa, including both risky spatial or behavioural choices.PostprintPeer reviewe
Spatial imaging of the spin Hall effect and current-induced polarization in two-dimensional electron gases
Spin-orbit coupling in semiconductors relates the spin of an electron to its
momentum and provides a pathway for electrically initializing and manipulating
electron spins for applications in spintronics and spin-based quantum
information processing. This coupling can be regulated with quantum confinement
in semiconductor heterostructures through band structure engineering. Here we
investigate the spin Hall effect and current-induced spin polarization in a
two-dimensional electron gas confined in (110) AlGaAs quantum wells using Kerr
rotation microscopy. In contrast to previous measurements, the spin Hall
profile exhibits complex structure, and the current-induced spin polarization
is out-of-plane. The experiments map the strong dependence of the
current-induced spin polarization to the crystal axis along which the electric
field is applied, reflecting the anisotropy of the spin-orbit interaction.
These results reveal opportunities for tuning a spin source using quantum
confinement and device engineering in non-magnetic materials.Comment: Accepted for publication (2005
- …