165 research outputs found
Observation of a One-Dimensional Spin-Orbit Gap in a Quantum Wire
Understanding the flow of spins in magnetic layered structures has enabled an
increase in data storage density in hard drives over the past decade of more
than two orders of magnitude1. Following this remarkable success, the field of
'spintronics' or spin-based electronics is moving beyond effects based on local
spin polarisation and is turning its attention to spin-orbit interaction (SOI)
effects, which hold promise for the production, detection and manipulation of
spin currents, allowing coherent transmission of information within a device.
While SOI-induced spin transport effects have been observed in two- and
three-dimensional samples, these have been subtle and elusive, often detected
only indirectly in electrical transport or else with more sophisticated
techniques. Here we present the first observation of a predicted 'spin-orbit
gap' in a one-dimensional sample, where counter-propagating spins, constituting
a spin current, are accompanied by a clear signal in the easily-measured linear
conductance of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, supplementary informatio
Beyond eruptive scenarios: assessing tephra fallout hazard from Neapolitan volcanoes
Assessment of volcanic hazards is necessary for risk mitigation. Typically, hazard assessment is based on one or a few, subjectively chosen representative eruptive scenarios, which use a specific combination
of eruptive sizes and intensities to represent a particular size class of eruption. While such eruptive scenarios use a range of representative members to capture a range of eruptive sizes and intensities in
order to reflect a wider size class, a scenario approach neglects to account for the intrinsic variability of volcanic eruptions, and implicitly assumes that inter-class size variability (i.e. size difference between different eruptive size classes) dominates over intra-class size variability (i.e. size difference within an
eruptive size class), the latter of which is treated as negligible. So far, no quantitative study has been undertaken to verify such an assumption. Here, we adopt a novel Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Analysis
(PVHA) strategy, which accounts for intrinsic eruptive variabilities, to quantify the tephra fallout hazard in the Campania area. We compare the results of the new probabilistic approach with the classical
scenario approach. The results allow for determining whether a simplified scenario approach can be considered valid, and for quantifying the bias which arises when full variability is not accounted for
Visualizing Poiseuille flow of hydrodynamic electrons
Hydrodynamics is a general description for the flow of a fluid, and is
expected to hold even for fundamental particles such as electrons when
inter-particle interactions dominate. While various aspects of electron
hydrodynamics were revealed in recent experiments, the fundamental spatial
structure of hydrodynamic electrons, the Poiseuille flow profile, has remained
elusive. In this work, we provide the first real-space imaging of Poiseuille
flow of an electronic fluid, as well as visualization of its evolution from
ballistic flow. Utilizing a scanning nanotube single electron transistor, we
image the Hall voltage of electronic flow through channels of high-mobility
graphene. We find that the profile of the Hall field across the channel is a
key physical quantity for distinguishing ballistic from hydrodynamic flow. We
image the transition from flat, ballistic field profiles at low temperature
into parabolic field profiles at elevated temperatures, which is the hallmark
of Poiseuille flow. The curvature of the imaged profiles is qualitatively
reproduced by Boltzmann calculations, which allow us to create a 'phase
diagram' that characterizes the electron flow regimes. Our results provide
long-sought, direct confirmation of Poiseuille flow in the solid state, and
enable a new approach for exploring the rich physics of interacting electrons
in real space
Possible earthquake trigger for 6th century mass wasting deposit at Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania)
Lake Ohrid shared by the Republics of Albania
and Macedonia is formed by a tectonically active graben within the south Balkans and suggested to be the oldest lake in Europe. Several studies have shown that the lake provides a valuable record of climatic and environmental changes and a distal tephrostratigraphic record of volcanic eruptions from Italy. Fault structures identified in seismic data demonstrate that sediments have also the potential to record tectonic activity in the region. Here, we provide an example of linking seismic and sedimentological information with tectonic activity and historical documents. Historical documents indicate that a major earthquake destroyed the city of Lychnidus (today: city of Ohrid) in the early 6th century AD. Multichannel
seismic profiles, parametric sediment echosounder profiles, and a 10.08m long sediment record from the western part of the lake indicate a 2m thick mass wasting deposit, which is tentatively correlated with this earthquake. The mass wasting deposit is chronologically well constrained, as it directly overlays the AD472/AD 512 tephra. Moreover, radiocarbon dates and cross correlation with other sediment sequences
with similar geochemical characteristics of the Holocene indicate that the mass wasting event took place prior to the onset of the Medieval Warm Period, and is attributed it to one of the known earthquakes in the region in the early 6th century AD
Sedimentological processes and environmental variability at Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania) between 640 ka and present day
Lake Ohrid (FYROM, Albania) is thought to be more than 1.2 million years old and hosts more than 200 endemic species. As a target of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), a successful deep drilling campaign was carried out within the scope of the Scientific Collaboration on Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid (SCOPSCO) project in 2013. Here, we present lithological, sedimentological, and (bio-)geochemical data from the upper 247.8 m of the overall 569 m long DEEP site sediment succession from the central part of the lake. According to an age model, which is based on nine tephra layers (1st order tie points), and on tuning of biogeochemical proxy data to orbital parameters (2nd order tie points) and to the global benthic isotope stack LR04 (3rd order tie points), respectively, the analyzed sediment sequence covers the last 640 ka
Assessing long-term tephra fallout hazard in southern Italy from Neapolitan volcanoes
Nowadays, modeling of tephra fallout hazard is coupled with probabilistic analysis that takes into account the natural variability of the volcanic phenomena in terms of eruption probability, eruption sizes, vent position, and meteorological conditions. In this framework, we present a prototypal methodology to carry out the long-term tephra fallout hazard assessment in southern Italy from the active Neapolitan volcanoes: Somma–Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, and Ischia.
The FALL3D model (v.8.0) has been used to run thousands of numerical simulations (1500 per eruption size class), considering the ECMWF ERA5 meteorological dataset over the last 30 years. The output in terms of tephra ground load has been processed within a new workflow for large-scale, high-resolution volcanic hazard assessment, relying on a Bayesian procedure, in order to provide the mean annual frequency with which the tephra load at the ground exceeds given critical thresholds at a target site within a 50-year exposure time. Our results are expressed in terms of absolute mean hazard maps considering different levels of aggregation, from the impact of each volcanic source and eruption size class to the quantification of the total hazard. This work provides, for the first time, a multi-volcano probabilistic hazard assessment posed by tephra fallout, comparable with those used for seismic phenomena and other natural disasters. This methodology can be applied to any other volcanic areas or over different exposure times, allowing researchers to account for the eruptive history of the target volcanoes that, when available, could include the occurrence of less frequent large eruptions, representing critical elements for risk evaluations.</p
Observation of a One-Dimensional Spin-Orbit Gap in a Quantum Wire
Understanding the flow of spins in magnetic layered structures has enabled an
increase in data storage density in hard drives over the past decade of more
than two orders of magnitude1. Following this remarkable success, the field of
'spintronics' or spin-based electronics is moving beyond effects based on local
spin polarisation and is turning its attention to spin-orbit interaction (SOI)
effects, which hold promise for the production, detection and manipulation of
spin currents, allowing coherent transmission of information within a device.
While SOI-induced spin transport effects have been observed in two- and
three-dimensional samples, these have been subtle and elusive, often detected
only indirectly in electrical transport or else with more sophisticated
techniques. Here we present the first observation of a predicted 'spin-orbit
gap' in a one-dimensional sample, where counter-propagating spins, constituting
a spin current, are accompanied by a clear signal in the easily-measured linear
conductance of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, supplementary informatio
Complex circular subsidence structures in tephra deposited on large blocks of ice: Varða tuff cone, Öræfajökull, Iceland
Several broadly circular structures up to 16 m in diameter, into which higher strata have sagged and locally collapsed, are present in a tephra outcrop on southwest Öræfajökull, southern Iceland. The tephra was sourced in a nearby basaltic tuff cone at Varða. The structures have not previously been described in tuff cones, and they probably formed by the melting out of large buried blocks of ice emplaced during a preceding jökulhlaup that may have been triggered by a subglacial eruption within the Öræfajökull ice cap. They are named ice-melt subsidence structures, and they are analogous to kettle holes that are commonly found in proglacial sandurs and some lahars sourced in ice-clad volcanoes. The internal structure is better exposed in the Varða examples because of an absence of fluvial infilling and reworking, and erosion of the outcrop to reveal the deeper geometry. The ice-melt subsidence structures at Varða are a proxy for buried ice. They are the only known evidence for a subglacial eruption and associated jökulhlaup that created the ice blocks. The recognition of such structures elsewhere will be useful in reconstructing more complete regional volcanic histories as well as for identifying ice-proximal settings during palaeoenvironmental investigations
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