2,544 research outputs found
Naturschutzforschung am Auerhuhn in der Schweiz: eine Übersicht
The Western Capercaille Tetrao urogallus is a large forest grouse with narrow habitat preferences and large home ranges. As Capercaille populations are declining in most of their central European range and the species has been shown to be an umbrella for high species richness, a profound knowledge of the species' ecology is essential for the conservation of the charismatic bird
Depth dependent spin dynamics of canonical spin glass films: A low-energy muon spin rotation study
We have performed depth dependent muon spin rotation/relaxation studies of
the dynamics of single layer films of {\it Au}Fe and {\it Cu}Mn spin glasses as
a function of thickness and of its behavior as a function of distance from the
vacuum interface (5-70 nm). A significant reduction in the muon spin relaxation
rate as a function of temperature with respect to the bulk material is observed
when the muons are stopped near (5-10 nm) the surface of the sample. A similar
reduction is observed for the whole sample if the thickness is reduced to e.g.
20 nm and less. This reflects an increased impurity spin dynamics (incomplete
freezing) close to the surface although the freezing temperature is only
modestly affected by the dimensional reduction
Direct observation of non-local effects in a superconductor
We have used the technique of low energy muon spin rotation to measure the
local magnetic field profile B(z) beneath the surface of a lead film maintained
in the Meissner state (z depth from the surface, z <= 200 nm). The data
unambiguously show that B(z) clearly deviates from an exponential law and
represent the first direct, model independent proof for a non-local response in
a superconductor.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Predicate Abstraction for Linked Data Structures
We present Alias Refinement Types (ART), a new approach to the verification
of correctness properties of linked data structures. While there are many
techniques for checking that a heap-manipulating program adheres to its
specification, they often require that the programmer annotate the behavior of
each procedure, for example, in the form of loop invariants and pre- and
post-conditions. Predicate abstraction would be an attractive abstract domain
for performing invariant inference, existing techniques are not able to reason
about the heap with enough precision to verify functional properties of data
structure manipulating programs. In this paper, we propose a technique that
lifts predicate abstraction to the heap by factoring the analysis of data
structures into two orthogonal components: (1) Alias Types, which reason about
the physical shape of heap structures, and (2) Refinement Types, which use
simple predicates from an SMT decidable theory to capture the logical or
semantic properties of the structures. We prove ART sound by translating types
into separation logic assertions, thus translating typing derivations in ART
into separation logic proofs. We evaluate ART by implementing a tool that
performs type inference for an imperative language, and empirically show, using
a suite of data-structure benchmarks, that ART requires only 21% of the
annotations needed by other state-of-the-art verification techniques
Long Term Consequences of the Fontan Procedure and How to Manage Them
In 1971, Fontan and Baudet described a surgical technique for successful palliation of patients with tricuspid atresia. Subsequently, this technique has been applied to treat most forms of functional single ventricles and has become the current standard of care for long-term palliation of all patients with single ventricle congenital heart disease. Since 1971, the Fontan procedure has undergone several variations. These patients require lifelong management including a thorough knowledge of their anatomic substrate, hemodynamic status, management of rhythm and ventricular function along with multi organ evaluation. As these patients enter middle age, there is increasing awareness regarding the long-term complications and mortality. This review highlights the long-term outcomes of the Fontan procedure and management of late sequelae
Testing of photogrammetry for differentiation of soil organic carbon and biochar in sandy substrates
Landforms in different environmental ecosystems are formed
through selective erosion and transport mechanisms by wind and water. To
understand their development, biochemical composition, and effect on
neighbouring ecosystems, it is essential to better understand the forming
processes and to be able to monitor the behaviour and transport of particles
through the landscape. Conventional methods to track and differentiate
between organic and inorganic particles usually involve extensive sampling
campaigns that disturb the processes themselves. Therefore, this study aimed
to prove that the method of photogrammetry, which is non-contact and
non-invasive, is able to quantify erosion rates and can also be used to
differentiate between organic and inorganic material. To prove this concept,
a bottom-up experimental rainfall simulation set-up was conducted with sieved
sand substrates of very narrow particle size distribution and biochar under
highly controlled conditions. By using two-dimensional index and reflectance
maps of the surface computed with the software Pix4D, the erosion of biochar
was estimated and compared to the actual erosion amount that was transported
along the plot. The results show that photogrammetry has the potential to
distinguish between a sandy substrate and biochar. An approximate decrease of
5 % in biochar on the plot surfaces was detected in three out of four
rainfall experiments within the first 30 s. After these 30 s, the quality
of detection was significantly reduced due to shadow effects, which were
falsely classified as biochar as well. For future investigations on this
topic, it will be necessary to improve the lighting of the plot and the
post-processing of the images to reduce the error caused by shadows.
Additional approaches that should be taken into account for further test
experiments are the full exclusion of external light, which means working in
the dark, and the use of hyperspectral cameras to detect different carbon
types.</p
Observation of non-exponential magnetic penetration profiles in the Meissner state - A manifestation of non-local effects in superconductors
Implanting fully polarized low energy muons on the nanometer scale beneath
the surface of a superconductor in the Meissner state enabled us to probe the
evanescent magnetic field profile B(z)(0<z<=200nm measured from the surface).
All the investigated samples [Nb: kappa \simeq 0.7(2), Pb: kappa \simeq 0.6(1),
Ta: kappa \simeq 0.5(2)] show clear deviations from the simple exponential B(z)
expected in the London limit, thus revealing the non-local response of these
superconductors. From a quantitative analysis within the Pippard and BCS models
the London penetration depth lambda_L is extracted. In the case of Pb also the
clean limit coherence length xi0 is obtained. Furthermore we find that the
temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth follows closely the
two-fluid expectation 1/lambda^2 \propto 1-(T/T_c)^4. While B(z) for Nb and Pb
are rather well described within the Pippard and BCS models, for Ta this is
only true to a lesser degree. We attribute this discrepancy to the fact that
the superfluid density is decreased by approaching the surface on a length
scale xi0. This effect, which is not taken self-consistently into account in
the mentioned models, should be more pronounced in the lowest kappa regime
consistently with our findings.Comment: accepted in PRB 14 pages, 17 figure
First-Principles Calculations of Hyperfine Interactions in La_2CuO_4
We present the results of first-principles cluster calculations of the
electronic structure of La_2CuO_4. Several clusters containing up to nine
copper atoms embedded in a background potential were investigated.
Spin-polarized calculations were performed both at the Hartree-Fock level and
with density functional methods with generalized gradient corrections to the
local density approximation. The distinct results for the electronic structure
obtained with these two methods are discussed. The dependence of the
electric-field gradients at the Cu and the O sites on the cluster size is
studied and the results are compared to experiments. The magnetic hyperfine
coupling parameters are carefully examined. Special attention is given to a
quantitative determination of on-site and transferred hyperfine fields. We
provide a detailed analysis that compares the hyperfine fields obtained for
various cluster sizes with results from additional calculations of spin states
with different multiplicities. From this we conclude that hyperfine couplings
are mainly transferred from nearest neighbor Cu^{2+} ions and that
contributions from further distant neighbors are marginal. The mechanisms
giving rise to transfer of spin density are worked out. Assuming conventional
values for the spin-orbit coupling, the total calculated hyperfine interaction
parameters are compared to informations from experiments.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure
Direct observation of the oxygen isotope effect on the in-plane magnetic field penetration depth in optimally doped YBaCuO
We report the first direct observation of the oxygen-isotope
(O/O) effect on the in-plane penetration depth in
a nearly optimally doped YBaCuO film using the novel
low-energy muon-spin rotation technique. Spin polarized low energy muons are
implanted in the film at a known depth beneath the surface and precess in
the local magnetic field . This feature allows us to measure directly the
profile of the magnetic field inside the superconducting film in the
Meissner state and to make a model independent determination of .
A substantial isotope shift % at 4 K is
observed, implying that the in-plane effective supercarrier mass
is oxygen-isotope dependent with .Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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Laser Plasma instability reduction by coherence disruption
The saturation levels of stimulated scattering of intense laser light in plasmas and techniques to reduce these levels are of great interest. A simple model is used to highlight the dependence of the reflectivity on the coherence length for the density fluctuations producing the scattering. Sometimes the coherence lengths can be determined nonlinearly. For NIF hohlraum plasmas, a reduction in the coherence lengths might be engineered in several ways. Finally, electron trapping in ion sound waves is briefly examined as a potentially important effect for the saturation of stimulated Brillouin scattering
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