2,989 research outputs found
The quenching of compressible edge states around antidots
We provide a systematic quantitative description of the edge state structure
around a quantum antidot in the integer quantum Hall regime. The calculations
for spinless electrons within the Hartree approximation reveal that the widely
used Chklovskii et al. electrostatic description greatly overestimates the
widths of the compressible strips; the difference between these approaches
diminishes as the size of the antidot increases. By including spin effects
within density functional theory in the local spin-density approximation, we
demonstrate that the exchange interaction can suppress the formation of
compressible strips and lead to a spatial separation between the spin-up and
spin-down states. As the magnetic field increases, the outermost compressible
strip, related to spin-down states starts to form. However, in striking
contrast to quantum wires, the innermost compressible strip (due to spin-up
states) never develops for antidots.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Assembly and analysis of fragmentation data for liquid propellant vessels
Fragmentation data was assembled and analyzed for exploding liquid propellant vessels. These data were to be retrieved from reports of tests and accidents, including measurements or estimates of blast yield, etc. A significant amount of data was retrieved from a series of tests conducted for measurement of blast and fireball effects of liquid propellant explosions (Project PYRO), a few well-documented accident reports, and a series of tests to determine auto-ignition properties of mixing liquid propellants. The data were reduced and fitted to various statistical functions. Comparisons were made with methods of prediction for blast yield, initial fragment velocities, and fragment range. Reasonably good correlation was achieved. Methods presented in the report allow prediction of fragment patterns, given type and quantity of propellant, type of accident, and time of propellant mixing
Voltage-Controlled Surface Magnetization of Itinerant Ferromagnet Ni_(1-x)Cu_x
We argue that surface magnetization of a metallic ferromagnet can be turned
on and off isothermally by an applied voltage. For this, the material's
electron subsystem must be close enough to the boundary between para- and
ferromagnetic regions on the electron density scale. For the 3d series, the
boundary is between Ni and Cu, which makes their alloy a primary candidate.
Using Ginzburg-Landau functional, which we build from Ni_(1-x)Cu_x empirical
properties, ab-initio parameters of Ni and Cu, and orbital-free LSDA, we show
that the proposed effect is experimentally observable.Comment: 4 pages; 2 figures; submitted to PRL February 16th 2008; transferred
to PRB June 21st 2008; published July 15th 200
Screened hybrid functional applied to 3d^0-->3d^8 transition-metal perovskites LaMO3 (M=Sc-Cu): influence of the exchange mixing parameter on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties
We assess the performance of the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) screened
hybrid density functional scheme applied to the perovskite family LaMO3
(M=Sc-Cu) and discuss the role of the mixing parameter alpha (which determines
the fraction of exact Hartree-Fock exchange included in the density functional
theory (DFT) exchange-correlation functional) on the structural, electronic,
and magnetic properties. The physical complexity of this class of compounds,
manifested by the largely varying electronic characters
(band/Mott-Hubbard/charge-transfer insulators and metals), magnetic orderings,
structural distortions (cooperative Jahn-Teller like instabilities), as well as
by the strong competition between localization/delocalization effects
associated with the gradual filling of the t_2g and e_g orbitals, symbolize a
critical and challenging case for theory. Our results indicates that HSE is
able to provide a consistent picture of the complex physical scenario
encountered across the LaMO3 series and significantly improve the standard DFT
description. The only exceptions are the correlated paramagnetic metals LaNiO3
and LaCuO3, which are found to be treated better within DFT. By fitting the
ground state properties with respect to alpha we have constructed a set of
'optimum' values of alpha from LaScO3 to LaCuO3: it is found that the 'optimum'
mixing parameter decreases with increasing filling of the d manifold (LaScO3:
0.25; LaTiO3 & LaVO3: 0.10-0.15; LaCrO3, LaMnO3, and LaFeO3: 0.15; LaCoO3:
0.05; LaNiO3 & LaCuO3: 0). This trend can be nicely correlated with the
modulation of the screening and dielectric properties across the LaMO3 series,
thus providing a physical justification to the empirical fitting procedure.Comment: 32 pages, 29 figure
Magnetosubband and edge state structure in cleaved-edge overgrown quantum wires
We provide a systematic quantitative description of the structure of edge
states and magnetosubband evolution in hard wall quantum wires in the integer
quantum Hall regime. Our calculations are based on the self-consistent Green's
function technique where the electron- and spin interactions are included
within the density functional theory in the local spin density approximation.
We analyze the evolution of the magnetosubband structure as magnetic field
varies and show that it exhibits different features as compared to the case of
a smooth confinement. In particularly, in the hard-wall wire a deep and narrow
triangular potential well (of the width of magnetic length ) is formed in
the vicinity of the wire boundary. The wave functions are strongly localized in
this well which leads to the increase of the electron density near the edges.
Because of the presence of this well, the subbands start to depopulate from the
central region of the wire and remain pinned in the well region until they are
eventually pushed up by increasing magnetic field. We also demonstrate that the
spin polarization of electron density as a function of magnetic field shows a
pronounced double-loop pattern that can be related to the successive
depopulation of the magnetosubbands. In contrast to the case of a smooth
confinement, in hard-wall wires the compressible strips do not form in the
vicinity of wire boundaries and spatial spin separation between spin-up and
spin-down states near edges is absent.Comment: 9 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The computational neurology of movement under active inference
We propose a computational neurology of movement based on the convergence of theoretical neurobiology and clinical neurology. A significant development in the former is the idea that we can frame brain function as a process of (active) inference, in which the nervous system makes predictions about its sensory data. These predictions depend upon an implicit predictive (generative) model used by the brain. This means neural dynamics can be framed as generating actions to ensure sensations are consistent with these predictions-and adjusting predictions when they are not. We illustrate the significance of this formulation for clinical neurology through simulating a clinical examination of the motor system; i.e. an upper limb coordination task. Specifically, we show how tendon reflexes emerge naturally under the right kind of generative model. Through simulated perturbations, pertaining to prior probabilities of this model's variables, we illustrate the emergence of hyperreflexia and pendular reflexes, reminiscent of neurological lesions in the corticospinal tract and cerebellum. We then turn to the computational lesions causing hypokinesia and deficits of coordination. This in silico lesion-deficit analysis provides an opportunity to revisit classic neurological dichotomies (e.g. pyramidal versus extrapyramidal systems) from the perspective of modern approaches to theoretical neurobiology-and our understanding of the neurocomputational architecture of movement control based on first principles
Children with developmental coordination disorder have less variable motor unit firing rate characteristics across contractions compared to typically developing children
Introduction: Understanding the nuances of neuromuscular control is crucial in unravelling the complexities of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), which has been associated with differences in skeletal muscle activity, implying that children with DCD employ distinct strategies for muscle control. However, force generation and control are dependent on both recruitment of motor units and their firing rates and these fine details of motor function have yet to be studied in DCD. The purpose of this study was therefore to compare motor unit characteristics in a small muscle of the hand during low level, handgrip contractions in typically developing (TD) children and children with DCD. Methods: Eighteen children (9 TD vs. 9 DCD) completed a series of manual handgrip contractions at 10 ± 5% of their maximum voluntary contraction. High density surface electromyography was used to record excitation of the first dorsal interosseus muscle. Recorded signals were subsequently decomposed into individual motor unit action potential trains. Motor unit characteristics (firing rate, inter-pulse interval, and action potential amplitude) were analysed for contractions that had a coefficient variation of <10%. Results and Discussion: This study found few differences in average motor unit characteristics (number of motor units: TD 20.24 ± 9.73, DCD 27.32 ± 14.00; firing rate: TD 7.74 ± 2.16 p.p.s., DCD 7.86 ± 2.39 p.p.s.; inter-pulse interval: TD 199.72 ± 84.24 ms, DCD 207.12 ± 103 ms) when force steadiness was controlled for, despite the DCD group being significantly older (10.89 ± 0.78 years) than the TD group (9.44 ± 1.67 years). However, differences were found in the variability of motor unit firing statistics, with the children with DCD surprisingly showing less variability across contractions (standard deviation of coefficient of variation of inter-pulse interval: TD 0.38 ± 0.12, DCD 0.28 ± 0.11). This may suggest a more fixed strategy to stabilise force between contractions used by children with DCD. However, as variability of motor unit firing has not been considered in previous studies of children further work is required to better understand the role of variability in motor unit firing during manual grasping tasks, in all children
Hysteresis and spin phase transitions in quantum wires in the integer quantum Hall regime
We demonstrate that a split-gate quantum wire in the integer quantum Hall
regime can exhibit electronic transport hysteresis for up- and down-sweeps of a
magnetic field. This behavior is shown to be due to phase spin transitions
between two different ground states with and without spatial spin polarization
in the vicinity of the wire boundary. The observed effect has a many-body
origin arising from an interplay between a confining potential, Coulomb
interactions and the exchange interaction. We also demonstrate and explain why
the hysteretic behavior is absent for steep and smooth confining potentials and
is present only for a limited range of intermediate confinement slopes.Comment: submitted to PR
Exchange and correlation near the nucleus in density functional theory
The near nucleus behavior of the exchange-correlation potential in Hohenberg-Kohn-Sham density functional theory is investigated. It is
shown that near the nucleus the linear term of of the spherically
averaged exchange-correlation potential is nonzero, and that
it arises purely from the difference between the kinetic energy density at the
nucleus of the interacting system and the noninteracting Kohn-Sham system. An
analytical expression for the linear term is derived. Similar results for the
exchange and correlation potentials are also
obtained separately. It is further pointed out that the linear term in
arising mainly from is rather small, and
therefore has a nearly quadratic structure near the nucleus.
Implications of the results for the construction of the Kohn-Sham system are
discussed with examples.Comment: 10 page
Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory for Trapped Strongly-Interacting Fermionic Atoms
The dynamics of strongly interacting trapped dilute Fermi gases (dilute in
the sense that the range of interatomic potential is small compared with
inter-particle spacing) is investigated in a single-equation approach to the
time-dependent density-functional theory. Our results are in good agreement
with recent experimental data in the BCS-BEC crossover regime. It is also shown
that the calculated corrections to the hydrodynamic approximation may be
important even for systems with a rather large number of atoms.Comment: Resubmitted to PRA in response to referee's comments. Abstract is
changed. Added new figure
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