2,785 research outputs found
Are we overusing IVF?
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Comment on "X-ray resonant scattering studies of orbital and charge ordering in Pr1-xCaxMnO3"
In a recent published paper [Phys. Rev. B 64, 195133 (2001)], Zimmermann et
al. present a systematic x-ray scattering study of charge and orbital ordering
phenomena in the Pr1-xCaxMnO3 series with x= 0.25, 0.4 and 0.5. They propose
that for Ca concentrations x=0.4 and 0.5, the appearance of (0, k+1/2, 0)
reflections are originated by the orbital ordering of the eg electrons in the
a-b plane while the (0, 2k+1, 0) reflections are due to the charge ordering
among the Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions. Moreover, for small Ca concentrations (x<0.3),
the orbital ordering is only considered and it occurs at (0, k, 0) reflections.
A rigorous analysis of all these resonance reflections will show the inadequacy
of the charge-orbital model proposed to explain the experimental results. In
addition, this charge-orbital model is highly inconsistent with the electronic
balance. On the contrary, these reflections can be easily understood as arising
from the anisotropy of charge distribution induced by the presence of local
distortions, i.e. due to a structural phase transition.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures.To be published Phys. Rev.
LowâFe(III) Greenalite Was a Primary Mineral From Neoarchean Oceans
Banded iron formations (BIFs) represent chemical precipitation from Earthâs early oceans and therefore contain insights into ancient marine biogeochemistry. However, BIFs have undergone multiple episodes of alteration, making it difficult to assess the primary mineral assemblage. Nanoscale mineral inclusions from 2.5Â billion year old BIFs and ferruginous cherts provide new evidence that iron silicates were primary minerals deposited from the Neoarchean ocean, contrasting sharply with current models for BIF inception. Here we used multiscale imaging and spectroscopic techniques to characterize the best preserved examples of these inclusions. Our integrated results demonstrate that these early minerals were lowâFe(III) greenalite. We present potential pathways in which lowâFe(III) greenalite could have formed through changes in saturation state and/or iron oxidation and reduction. Future constraints for ancient ocean chemistry and early lifeâs activities should include lowâFe(III) greenalite as a primary mineral in the Neoarchean ocean.Plain Language SummaryChemical precipitates from Earthâs early oceans hold clues to ancient seawater chemistry and biological activities, but we first need to understand what the original minerals were in ancient marine deposits. We characterized nanoscale mineral inclusions from 2.5 billion year old banded iron formations and determined that the primary minerals were ironârich silicate minerals dominated by reduced iron, challenging current hypotheses for banded iron formation centered on iron oxides. Our results suggest that our planet at this time had a very reducing ocean and further enable us to present several biogeochemical mineral formation hypotheses that can now be tested to better understand the activities of early life on ancient Earth.Key PointsNeoarchean nanoparticle silicate inclusions appear to be the earliest iron mineral preserved in cherts from Australia and South AfricaOur multiscale analyses indicate that the particles are greenalite that are dominantly Fe(II) with have low and variable Fe(III) contentWe present four (bio)geochemical hypotheses that could produce lowâFe(III) greenalitePeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143747/1/grl57046_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143747/2/grl57046.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143747/3/grl57046-sup-0001-2017GL076311-SI.pd
Polarization Dependence of Anomalous X-ray Scattering in Orbital Ordered Manganites
In order to determine types of the orbital ordering in manganites, we study
theoretically the polarization dependence of the anomalous X-ray scattering
which is caused by the anisotropy of the scattering factor. The general
formulae of the scattering intensity in the experimental optical system is
derived and the atomic scattering factor is calculated in the microscopic
electronic model. By using the results, the X-ray scattering intensity in
several types of the orbital ordering is numerically calculated as a function
of azimuthal and analyzer angles.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Monopole operators in three-dimensional N=4 SYM and mirror symmetry
We study non-abelian monopole operators in the infrared limit of
three-dimensional SU(N_c) and N=4 SU(2) gauge theories. Using large N_f
expansion and operator-state isomorphism of the resulting superconformal field
theories, we construct monopole operators which are (anti-)chiral primaries and
compute their charges under the global symmetries. Predictions of
three-dimensional mirror symmetry for the quantum numbers of these monopole
operators are verified.Comment: 23 pages, LaTex; v2: section 3.4 modified, section 3.5 extended,
references adde
What lies beneath? The role of informal and hidden networks in the management of crises
Crisis management research traditionally focuses on the role of formal communication networks in the escalation and management of organisational crises. Here, we consider instead informal and unobservable networks. The paper explores how hidden informal exchanges can impact upon organisational decision-making and performance, particularly around inter-agency working, as knowledge distributed across organisations and shared between organisations is often shared through informal means and not captured effectively through the formal decision-making processes. Early warnings and weak signals about potential risks and crises are therefore often missed. We consider the implications of these dynamics in terms of crisis avoidance and crisis management
Relative contributions of lattice distortion and orbital ordering to resonant x-ray scattering in manganites
We investigated the origin of the energy splitting observed in the resonant
x-ray scattering (RXS) in manganites. Using thin film samples with controlled
lattice parameters and orbital states at a fixed orbital filling, we estimated
that the contribution of the interatomic Coulomb interaction relative to the
Jahn-Teller mechanism is insignificant and at most 0.27. This indicates that
RXS probes mainly Jahn-Teller distortion in manganites.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Models of Individual Blue Stragglers
This chapter describes the current state of models of individual blue
stragglers. Stellar collisions, binary mergers (or coalescence), and partial or
ongoing mass transfer have all been studied in some detail. The products of
stellar collisions retain memory of their parent stars and are not fully mixed.
Very high initial rotation rates must be reduced by an unknown process to allow
the stars to collapse to the main sequence. The more massive collision products
have shorter lifetimes than normal stars of the same mass, while products
between low mass stars are long-lived and look very much like normal stars of
their mass. Mass transfer can result in a merger, or can produce another binary
system with a blue straggler and the remnant of the original primary. The
products of binary mass transfer cover a larger portion of the colour-magnitude
diagram than collision products for two reasons: there are more possible
configurations which produce blue stragglers, and there are differing
contributions to the blended light of the system. The effects of rotation may
be substantial in both collision and merger products, and could result in
significant mixing unless angular momentum is lost shortly after the formation
event. Surface abundances may provide ways to distinguish between the formation
mechanisms, but care must be taking to model the various mixing mechanisms
properly before drawing strong conclusions. Avenues for future work are
outlined.Comment: Chapter 12, in Ecology of Blue Straggler Stars, H.M.J. Boffin, G.
Carraro & G. Beccari (Eds), Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springe
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