5,263 research outputs found
Aharonov-Bohm interferences from local deformations in graphene
One of the most interesting aspects of graphene is the tied relation between
structural and electronic properties. The observation of ripples in the
graphene samples both free standing and on a substrate has given rise to a very
active investigation around the membrane-like properties of graphene and the
origin of the ripples remains as one of the most interesting open problems in
the system. The interplay of structural and electronic properties is
successfully described by the modelling of curvature and elastic deformations
by fictitious gauge fields that have become an ex- perimental reality after the
suggestion that Landau levels can form associated to strain in graphene and the
subsequent experimental confirmation. Here we propose a device to detect
microstresses in graphene based on a scanning-tunneling-microscopy setup able
to measure Aharonov-Bohm inter- ferences at the nanometer scale. The
interferences to be observed in the local density of states are created by the
fictitious magnetic field associated to elastic deformations of the sample.Comment: Some bugs fixe
Gaps in the cloud cover? Comparing extinction measures in spiral disks
Dust in galaxies can be mapped by either the FIR/sub-mm emission, the optical
or infrared reddening of starlight, or the extinction of a known background
source. We compare two dust extinction measurements for a set of fifteen
sections in thirteen nearby galaxies, to determine the scale of the dusty ISM
responsible for disk opacity: one using stellar reddening and the other a known
background source. In our earlier papers, we presented extinction measurements
of 29 galaxies, based on calibrated counts of distant background objects
identified though foreground disks in HST/WFPC2 images. For the 13 galaxies
that overlap with the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS), we now
compare these results with those obtained from an I-L color map. Our goal is to
determine whether or not a detected distant galaxy indicates a gap in the dusty
ISM, and hence to better understand the nature and geometry of the disk
extinction.
We find that distant galaxies are predominantly in low-extinction sections
marked by the color maps, indicating that their number depends both on the
cloud cover of {\it Spitzer}-resolved dust structures --mostly the spiral
arms--and a diffuse, unresolved underlying disk. We note that our infrared
color map (E[I-L]) underestimates the overall dust presence in these disks
severely, because it implicitly assumes the presence of a dust screen in front
of the stellar distribution.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A
The nonlinear Schroedinger equation for the delta-comb potential: quasi-classical chaos and bifurcations of periodic stationary solutions
The nonlinear Schroedinger equation is studied for a periodic sequence of
delta-potentials (a delta-comb) or narrow Gaussian potentials. For the
delta-comb the time-independent nonlinear Schroedinger equation can be solved
analytically in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions and thus provides useful
insight into the features of nonlinear stationary states of periodic
potentials. Phenomena well-known from classical chaos are found, such as a
bifurcation of periodic stationary states and a transition to spatial chaos.
The relation of new features of nonlinear Bloch bands, such as looped and
period doubled bands, are analyzed in detail. An analytic expression for the
critical nonlinearity for the emergence of looped bands is derived. The results
for the delta-comb are generalized to a more realistic potential consisting of
a periodic sequence of narrow Gaussian peaks and the dynamical stability of
periodic solutions in a Gaussian comb is discussed.Comment: Enhanced and revised version, to appear in J. Nonlin. Math. Phy
New insights into the classification and nomenclature of cortical GABAergic interneurons.
A systematic classification and accepted nomenclature of neuron types is much needed but is currently lacking. This article describes a possible taxonomical solution for classifying GABAergic interneurons of the cerebral cortex based on a novel, web-based interactive system that allows experts to classify neurons with pre-determined criteria. Using Bayesian analysis and clustering algorithms on the resulting data, we investigated the suitability of several anatomical terms and neuron names for cortical GABAergic interneurons. Moreover, we show that supervised classification models could automatically categorize interneurons in agreement with experts' assignments. These results demonstrate a practical and objective approach to the naming, characterization and classification of neurons based on community consensus
Wigner's Dynamical Transition State Theory in Phase Space: Classical and Quantum
A quantum version of transition state theory based on a quantum normal form
(QNF) expansion about a saddle-centre-...-centre equilibrium point is
presented. A general algorithm is provided which allows one to explictly
compute QNF to any desired order. This leads to an efficient procedure to
compute quantum reaction rates and the associated Gamov-Siegert resonances. In
the classical limit the QNF reduces to the classical normal form which leads to
the recently developed phase space realisation of Wigner's transition state
theory. It is shown that the phase space structures that govern the classical
reaction d ynamicsform a skeleton for the quantum scattering and resonance
wavefunctions which can also be computed from the QNF. Several examples are
worked out explicitly to illustrate the efficiency of the procedure presented.Comment: 132 pages, 31 figures, corrected version, Nonlinearity, 21 (2008)
R1-R11
Calibrating Extinction-Free Star Formation Rate Diagnostics with 33GHz Free-Free Emission in NGC6946
Abridged: Using free-free emission measured in the Ka-band (26-40GHz) for 10
star-forming regions in the nearby galaxy NGC6946, including its starbursting
nucleus, we compare a number of SFR diagnostics that are typically considered
to be unaffected by interstellar extinction: i.e., non-thermal radio (i.e.,
1.4GHz), total infrared (IR; 8-1000um), and warm dust (i.e., 24um) emission,
along with the hybrid (obscured + unobscured) indicators of H\alpha+24um and
UV+IR. The 33GHz free-free emission is assumed to provide the most accurate
measure of the current SFR. Among the extranuclear star-forming regions, the
24um, H\alpha+24um and UV+IR SFR calibrations are in good agreement with the
33GHz free-free SFRs. However, each of the SFR calibrations relying on some
form of dust emission overestimate the nuclear SFR by a factor of ~2. This is
more likely the result of excess dust heating through an accumulation of
non-ionizing stars associated with an extended episode of star formation in the
nucleus rather than increased competition for ionizing photons by dust. SFR
calibrations using the non-thermal radio continuum yield values which only
agree with the free-free SFRs for the nucleus, and underestimate the SFRs from
the extranuclear star-forming regions by a factor of ~2. This result likely
arises from the CR electrons decaying within the starburst region with
negligible escape compared to the young extranuclear star-forming regions.
Finally, we find that the SFRs estimated using the total 33GHz emission agree
well with the free-free SFRs due to the large thermal fractions present at
these frequencies even when local diffuse backgrounds are not removed. Thus,
rest-frame 33GHz observations may act as a reliable method to measure the SFRs
of galaxies at increasingly high redshift without the need of ancillary radio
data to account for the non-thermal emission.Comment: 18 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
Measurement of the Crab Nebula spectrum over three decades in energy with the MAGIC telescopes
The MAGIC stereoscopic system collected 69 hours of Crab Nebula data between
October 2009 and April 2011. Analysis of this data sample using the latest
improvements in the MAGIC stereoscopic software provided an unprecedented
precision of spectral and night-by-night light curve determination at gamma
rays. We derived a differential spectrum with a single instrument from 50 GeV
up to almost 30 TeV with 5 bins per energy decade. At low energies, MAGIC
results, combined with Fermi-LAT data, show a flat and broad Inverse Compton
peak. The overall fit to the data between 1 GeV and 30 TeV is not well
described by a log-parabola function. We find that a modified log-parabola
function with an exponent of 2.5 instead of 2 provides a good description of
the data (). Using systematic uncertainties of red the MAGIC and
Fermi-LAT measurements we determine the position of the Inverse Compton peak to
be at (53 3stat + 31syst -13syst) GeV, which is the most precise
estimation up to date and is dominated by the systematic effects. There is no
hint of the integral flux variability on daily scales at energies above 300 GeV
when systematic uncertainties are included in the flux measurement. We consider
three state- of-the-art theoretical models to describe the overall spectral
energy distribution of the Crab Nebula. The constant B-field model cannot
satisfactorily reproduce the VHE spectral measurements presented in this work,
having particular difficulty reproducing the broadness of the observed IC peak.
Most probably this implies that the assumption of the homogeneity of the
magnetic field inside the nebula is incorrect. On the other hand, the
time-dependent 1D spectral model provides a good fit of the new VHE results
when considering a 80 {\mu}G magnetic field. However, it fails to match the
data when including the morphology of the nebula at lower wavelengths.Comment: accepted by JHEAp, 9 pages, 6 figure
Quark-model study of few-baryon systems
We review the application of non-relativistic constituent quark models to
study one, two and three non-strange baryon systems. We present results for the
baryon spectra, potentials and observables of the NN, N,
and NN systems, and also for the binding energies of three
non-strange baryon systems. We make emphasis on observable effects related to
quark antisymmetry and its interplay with quark dynamics.Comment: 82 pages, 36 figures, 18 tables. Accepted for publication in Reports
on Progress in Physic
Ears of the Armadillo: Global Health Research and Neglected Diseases in Texas
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have\ud
been recently identified as significant public\ud
health problems in Texas and elsewhere in\ud
the American South. A one-day forum on the\ud
landscape of research and development and\ud
the hidden burden of NTDs in Texas\ud
explored the next steps to coordinate advocacy,\ud
public health, and research into a\ud
cogent health policy framework for the\ud
American NTDs. It also highlighted how\ud
U.S.-funded global health research can serve\ud
to combat these health disparities in the\ud
United States, in addition to benefiting\ud
communities abroad
Measurement of event shapes in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
Inclusive event-shape variables have been measured in the current region of
the Breit frame for neutral current deep inelastic ep scattering using an
integrated luminosity of 45.0 pb^-1 collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA.
The variables studied included thrust, jet broadening and invariant jet mass.
The kinematic range covered was 10 < Q^2 < 20,480 GeV^2 and 6.10^-4 < x < 0.6,
where Q^2 is the virtuality of the exchanged boson and x is the Bjorken
variable. The Q dependence of the shape variables has been used in conjunction
with NLO perturbative calculations and the Dokshitzer-Webber non-perturbative
corrections (`power corrections') to investigate the validity of this approach.Comment: 7+25 pages, 6 figure
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