Crucial Dependence of ``Precarious'' and ``Autonomous'' phi^4s Upon the Normal-ordering Mass

Using the Gaussian wave-functional approach with the normal-ordering renormalization prescription, we show that for the (3+1)-dimensional massive lambda phi^4 theory, ``precarious'' and ``autonomous'' phi^4s can exist if and only if the normal-ordering mass is equal to the classical masses at the symmetrc and asymmetric vacua, respectively.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, Revtex file, accepted for publication in Mod. Phys. Lett.

Mind The Gap

We discuss an optimisation criterion for the exact renormalisation group based on the inverse effective propagator, which displays a gap. We show that a simple extremisation of the gap stabilises the flow, leading to better convergence of approximate solutions towards the physical theory. This improves the reliability of truncations, most relevant for any high precision computation. These ideas are closely linked to the removal of a spurious scheme dependence and a minimum sensitivity condition. The issue of predictive power and a link to the Polchinski RG are discussed as well. We illustrate our findings by computing critical exponents for the Ising universality class.Comment: 6 pages, Talk presented at 2nd Conference on Exact Renormalization Group (ERG2000), Rome, Italy, 18-22 Sep 200

Volcanism by melt-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and possible consequences of melting for admittance ratios on Venus

A large number of volcanic features exist on Venus, ranging from tens of thousands of small domes to large shields and coronae. It is difficult to reconcile all these with an explanation involving deep mantle plumes, since a number of separate arguments lead to the conclusion that deep mantle plumes reaching the base of the lithosphere must exceed a certain size. In addition, the fraction of basal heating in Venus' mantle may be significantly lower than in Earth's mantle reducing the number of strong plumes from the core-mantle boundary. In three-dimensional convection simulations with mainly internal heating, weak, distributed upwellings are usually observed. We present an alternative mechanism for such volcanism, originally proposed for the Earth and for Venus, involving Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities driven by melt buoyancy, occurring spontaneously in partially or incipiently molten regions

Spin-Excitation Mechanisms in Skyrme-Force Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock

We investigate the role of odd-odd (with respect to time inversion) couplings in the Skyrme force on collisions of light nuclei, employing a fully three-dimensional numerical treatment without any symmetry restrictions and with modern Skyrme functionals. We demonstrate the necessity of these couplings to suppress spurious spin excitations owing to the spin-orbit force in free translational motion of a nucleus but show that in a collision situation there is a strong spin excitation even in spin-saturated systems which persists in the departing fragments. The energy loss is considerably increased by the odd-odd terms

A lattice test of alternative interpretations of ``triviality'' in (λΦ4)4(\lambda \Phi^4)_4 theory

There are two physically different interpretations of ``triviality'' in $(\lambda\Phi^4)_4$ theories. The conventional description predicts a second-order phase transition and that the Higgs mass $m_h$ must vanish in the continuum limit if $v$, the physical v.e.v, is held fixed. An alternative interpretation, based on the effective potential obtained in ``triviality-compatible'' approximations (in which the shifted `Higgs' field $h(x)\equiv \Phi(x)-$ is governed by an effective quadratic Hamiltonian) predicts a phase transition that is very weakly first-order and that $m_h$ and $v$ are both finite, cutoff-independent quantities. To test these two alternatives, we have numerically computed the effective potential on the lattice. Three different methods were used to determine the critical bare mass for the chosen bare coupling value. All give excellent agreement with the literature value. Two different methods for obtaining the effective potential were used, as a control on the results. Our lattice data are fitted very well by the predictions of the unconventional picture, but poorly by the conventional picture.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 2 eps figures (acknowledgements added in the replaced version

The unrestricted Skyrme-tensor time-dependent Hartree-Fock and its application to the nuclear response from spherical to triaxial nuclei

The nuclear time-dependent Hartree-Fock model formulated in the three-dimensional space,based on the full Skyrme energy density functional and complemented with the tensor force,is presented for the first time. Full self-consistency is achieved by the model. The application to the isovector giant dipole resonance is discussed in the linear limit, ranging from spherical nuclei (16O, 120Sn) to systems displaying axial or triaxial deformation (24Mg, 28Si, 178Os, 190W, 238U). Particular attention is paid to the spin-dependent terms from the central sector of the functional, recently included together with the tensor. They turn out to be capable of producing a qualitative change on the strength distribution in this channel. The effect on the deformation properties is also discussed. The quantitative effects on the linear response are small and, overall, the giant dipole energy remains unaffected. Calculations are compared to predictions from the (quasi)-particle random phase approximation and experimental data where available, finding good agreement

Fabrication of free-standing ordered fluorescent polymer nanofibres by electrospinning

The authors are grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for financial support.We demonstrate a static fabrication approach to make free-standing ordered arrays of fluorescent nanofibres through control of the transverse electrospinning field. The alignment and the density of the nanofibre arrays are optimised by careful design of both the source and collector electrode geometries which can control the transverse electric field over the full path of the jet. In doing so, we fabricate suspended fluorescent nanofibres with an aspect ratio of 10(4), and with a substantially increased density and order parameter (by a factor of similar to 10 compared to random deposition). Electrostatic modelling suggests that the field distribution of the component is the main contribution to the ordering between the plates. This method offers increased efficiency for the creation of ordered fibres collected over a small area and the characterisation of their photoluminescent properties.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Density distributions of superheavy nuclei

We employed the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock model to investigate the density distributions and their dependence on nuclear shapes and isospins in the superheavy mass region. Different Skyrme forces were used for the calculations with a special comparison to the experimental data in $^{208}$Pb. The ground-state deformations, nuclear radii, neutron skin thicknesses and $\alpha$-decay energies were also calculated. Density distributions were discussed with the calculations of single-particle wavefunctions and shell fillings. Calculations show that deformations have considerable effects on the density distributions, with a detailed discussion on the $^{292}$120 nucleus. Earlier predictions of remarkably low central density are not supported when deformation is allowed for.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

The impact of air pollutant and methane emission controls on tropospheric ozone and radiative forcing: CTM calculations for the period 1990-2030

To explore the relationship between tropospheric ozone and radiative forcing with changing emissions, we compiled two sets of global scenarios for the emissions of the ozone precursors methane (CH₄), carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) up to the year 2030 and implemented them in two global Chemistry Transport Models. The 'Current Legislation' (CLE) scenario reflects the current perspectives of individual countries on future economic development and takes the anticipated effects of presently decided emission control legislation in the individual countries into account. In addition, we developed a 'Maximum technically Feasible Reduction' (MFR) scenario that outlines the scope for emission reductions offered by full implementation of the presently available emission control technologies, while maintaining the projected levels of anthropogenic activities. Whereas the resulting projections of methane emissions lie within the range suggested by other greenhouse gas projections, the recent pollution control legislation of many Asian countries, requiring introduction of catalytic converters for vehicles, leads to significantly lower growth in emissions of the air pollutants NO_x, NMVOC and CO than was suggested by the widely used and more pessimistic IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) SRES (Special Report on Emission Scenarios) scenarios (Nakicenovic et al., 2000), which made Business-as-Usual assumptions regarding emission control technology. With the TM3 and STOCHEM models we performed several long-term integrations (1990-2030) to assess global, hemispheric and regional changes in CH₄, CO, hydroxyl radicals, ozone and the radiative climate forcings resulting from these two emission scenarios. Both models reproduce broadly the observed trends in CO, and CH₄ concentrations from 1990 to 2002. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> For the 'current legislation' case, both models indicate an increase of the annual average ozone levels in the Northern Hemisphere by 5ppbv, and up to 15ppbv over the Indian sub-continent, comparing the 2020s (2020-2030) with the 1990s (1990-2000). The corresponding higher ozone and methane burdens in the atmosphere increase radiative forcing by approximately 0.2 Wm^-2. Full application of today's emissions control technologies, however, would bring down ozone below the levels experienced in the 1990s and would reduce the radiative forcing of ozone and methane to approximately -0.1 Wm^-2. This can be compared to the 0.14-0.47 Wm^-2 increase of methane and ozone radiative forcings associated with the SRES scenarios. While methane reductions lead to lower ozone burdens and to less radiative forcing, further reductions of the air pollutants NO_x and NMVOC result in lower ozone, but at the same time increase the lifetime of methane. Control of methane emissions appears an efficient option to reduce tropospheric ozone as well as radiative forcing