36,823 research outputs found
Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics Studies on Energetics and Kinetics for Electro-Active Polymers: PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE)
We use first principles methods to study static and dynamical mechanical
properties of the ferroelectric polymer Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and
its copolymer with trifluoro ethylene (TrFE). We use density functional theory
[within the generalized gradient approximation (DFT-GGA)] to calculate
structures and energetics for various crystalline phases for PVDF and
P(VDF-TrFE). We find that the lowest energy phase for PVDF is a non-polar
crystal with a combination of trans (T) and gauche (G) bonds; in the case of
the copolymer the role of the extra (bulkier) F atoms is to stabilize T bonds.
This leads to the higher crystallinity and piezoelectricity observed
experimentally. Using the MSXX first principles-based force field (FF) with
molecular dynamics (MD), we find that the energy barrier necessary to nucleate
a kink (gauche pairs separated by trans bonds) in an all-T crystal is much
lower (14.9 kcal/mol) in P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer than in PVDF (24.8 kcal/mol).
This correlates with the observation that the polar phase of the copolymer
exhibits a solid-solid a transition to a non-polar phase under heating while
PVDF directly melts. We also studied the mobility of an interface between a
polar and non-polar phases under uniaxial stress; we find a lower threshold
stress and a higher mobility in the copolymer as compared with PVDF. Finally,
considering plastic deformation under applied shear, we find that the chains
for P(VDF-TrFE) have a very low resistance to sliding, particularly along the
chain direction. The atomistic characterization of these "unit mechanisms"
provides essential input to mesoscopic or macroscopic models of electro-active
polymers.Comment: 15 pages 9 figures Electro-active polyme
Remote spectral imaging with simultaneous extraction of 3D topography for historical wall paintings
PRISMS (Portable Remote Imaging System for Multispectral Scanning) is designed for in situ, simultaneous high resolution spectral and 3D topographic imaging of wall paintings and other large surfaces. In particular, it can image at transverse resolutions of tens of microns remotely from distances of tens of metres, making high resolution imaging possible from a fixed position on the ground for areas at heights that is difficult to access. The spectral imaging system is fully automated giving 3D topographic mapping at millimetre accuracy as a by-product of the image focusing process. PRISMS is the first imaging device capable of both 3D mapping and spectral imaging simultaneously without additional distance measuring devices. Examples from applications of PRISMS to wall paintings at a UNESCO site in the Gobi desert are presented to demonstrate the potential of the instrument for large scale 3D spectral imaging, revealing faded writing and material identification
Non-volatile resistive switching in dielectric superconductor YBCO
We report on the reversible, nonvolatile and polarity dependent resistive
switching between superconductor and insulator states at the interfaces of a
Au/YBaCuO (YBCO)/Au system. We show that the
superconducting state of YBCO in regions near the electrodes can be reversibly
removed and restored. The possible origin of the switching effect may be the
migration of oxygen or metallic ions along the grain boundaries that control
the intergrain superconducting coupling. Four-wire bulk resistance measurements
reveal that the migration is not restricted to interfaces and produce
significant bulk effects.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, corresponding author: C. Acha ([email protected]
Forty-Four Pass Fibre Optic Loop for Improving the Sensitivity of Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors
A forty-four pass fibre optic surface plasmon resonance sensor that enhances
detection sensitivity according to the number of passes is demonstrated for the
first time. The technique employs a fibre optic recirculation loop that passes
the detection spot forty- four times, thus enhancing sensitivity by a factor of
forty-four. Presently, the total number of passes is limited by the onset of
lasing action of the recirculation loop. This technique offers a significant
sensitivity improvement for various types of plasmon resonance sensors that may
be used in chemical and biomolecule detections.Comment: Submitted for publication; patent disclosure submitte
Dirac-Schr\"odinger equation for quark-antiquark bound states and derivation of its interaction kerne
The four-dimensional Dirac-Schr\"odinger equation satisfied by
quark-antiquark bound states is derived from Quantum Chromodynamics. Different
from the Bethe-Salpeter equation, the equation derived is a kind of first-order
differential equations of Schr\"odinger-type in the position space. Especially,
the interaction kernel in the equation is given by two different closed
expressions. One expression which contains only a few types of Green's
functions is derived with the aid of the equations of motion satisfied by some
kinds of Green's functions. Another expression which is represented in terms of
the quark, antiquark and gluon propagators and some kinds of proper vertices is
derived by means of the technique of irreducible decomposition of Green's
functions. The kernel derived not only can easily be calculated by the
perturbation method, but also provides a suitable basis for nonperturbative
investigations. Furthermore, it is shown that the four-dimensinal
Dirac-Schr\"odinger equation and its kernel can directly be reduced to rigorous
three-dimensional forms in the equal-time Lorentz frame and the
Dirac-Schr\"odinger equation can be reduced to an equivalent
Pauli-Schr\"odinger equation which is represented in the Pauli spinor space. To
show the applicability of the closed expressions derived and to demonstrate the
equivalence between the two different expressions of the kernel, the t-channel
and s-channel one gluon exchange kernels are chosen as an example to show how
they are derived from the closed expressions. In addition, the connection of
the Dirac-Schr\"odinger equation with the Bethe-Salpeter equation is discussed
Geometry and topology of two kinds of extreme Reissner-Nordstrm-anti-de Sitter black holes
Different geometrical and topological properties have been shown for two
kinds of extreme Reissner-Nordstrm-anti-de Sitter black holes. The
relationship between the geometrical properties and the intrinsic
thermodynamical properties has been made explicit.Comment: Latex, 12 pages, 4 figure
In-Plane Conductivity Anisotropy in Underdoped Cuprates in the Spin-Charge Gauge Approach
Applying the recently developed spin-charge gauge theory for the pseudogap
phase in cuprates, we propose a self-consistent explanation of several peculiar
features of the far-infrared in-plane AC conductivity, including a broad peak
as a function of frequency and significant anisotropy at low temperatures,
along with a similar temperature-dependent in-plane anisotropy of DC
conductivity in lightly doped cuprates. The anisotropy of the metal-insulator
crossover scale is considered to be responsible for these phenomena. The
obtained results are in good agreement with experiments. An explicit proposal
is made to further check the theory.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Reply to "Comment on 'Fano resonance for Anderson Impurity Systems' "
In a recent Comment, Kolf et al. (cond-mat/0503669) state that our analysis
of the Fano resonance for Anderson impurity systems [Luo et al., Phys. Rev.
Lett 92, 256602 (2004)] is incorrect. Here we want to point out that their
comments are not based on firm physical results and their criticisms are
unjustified and invalid.Comment: 1 page, 1 figure, to appear in PR
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