1,701 research outputs found
Mode-locking of incommensurate phase by quantum zero point energy in the Frenkel-Kontorova model
In this paper, it is shown that a configuration modulated system described by
the Frenkel-Kontorova model can be locked at an incommensurate phase when the
quantum zero point energy is taken into account. It is also found that the
specific heat for an incommensurate phase shows different parameter-dependence
in sliding phase and pinning phase. These findings provide a possible way for
experimentalists to verify the phase transition by breaking of analyticity.Comment: 6 pages in Europhys style, 3 eps figure
Prospective Surveillance of Multivariate Spatial Disease Data
Surveillance systems are often focused on more than one disease within a predefined area. On those occasions when outbreaks of disease are likely to be correlated, the use of multivariate surveillance techniques integrating information from multiple diseases allows us to improve the sensitivity and timeliness of outbreak detection. In this paper, we present an extension of the surveillance conditional predictive ordinate to monitor multivariate spatial disease data. The proposed surveillance technique, which is defined for each small area and time period as the conditional predictive distribution of those counts of disease higher than expected given the data observed up to the previous time period, alerts us to both small areas of increased disease incidence and the diseases causing the alarm within each area. We investigate its performance within the framework of Bayesian hierarchical Poisson models using a simulation study. An application to diseases of the respiratory system in South Carolina is finally presented. Keywords: disease surveillance; multiple diseases; Shared component model; conditional predictive ordinate
Oscillatory fracture path in thin elastic sheet
We report a novel mode of oscillatory crack propagation when a cutting tip is
driven through a thin brittle polymer film. The phenomenon is so robust that it
can easily be reproduced at hand (using CD packaging material for example).
Careful experiments show that the amplitude and wavelength of the oscillatory
crack path scale lineraly with the width of the cutting tip over a wide range
of lenghtscales but are independant of the width of thje sheet and the cutting
speed. A simple geometric model is presented, which provides a simple but
thorough interpretation of the oscillations.Comment: 6 pages, submitted to Comptes Rendus Academie des Sciences. Movies
available at http://www.lmm.jussieu.fr/platefractur
Ground state wavefunction of the quantum Frenkel-Kontorova model
The wavefunction of an incommensurate ground state for a one-dimensional
discrete sine-Gordon model -- the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model -- at zero
temperature is calculated by the quantum Monte Carlo method. It is found that
the ground state wavefunction crosses over from an extended state to a
localized state when the coupling constant exceeds a certain critical value.
So, although the quantum fluctuation has smeared out the breaking of
analyticity transition as observed in the classical case, the remnant of this
transition is still discernible in the quantum regime.Comment: 5 Europhys pages, 3 EPS figures, accepted for publication in
Europhys. Letter
Renormalization and Quantum Scaling of Frenkel-Kontorova Models
We generalise the classical Transition by Breaking of Analyticity for the
class of Frenkel-Kontorova models studied by Aubry and others to non-zero
Planck's constant and temperature. This analysis is based on the study of a
renormalization operator for the case of irrational mean spacing using
Feynman's functional integral approach. We show how existing classical results
extend to the quantum regime. In particular we extend MacKay's renormalization
approach for the classical statistical mechanics to deduce scaling of low
frequency effects and quantum effects. Our approach extends the phenomenon of
hierarchical melting studied by Vallet, Schilling and Aubry to the quantum
regime.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, submitted to J.Stat.Phy
Use of near-infrared spectroscopy during a vascular occlusion test to assess the microcirculatory response during fluid responsiveness
Sonocrystallisation of Lactose in an Aqueous System
Although research on sonocrystallisation of lactose has been reported in the literature (yield and crystal size), the effect of ultrasound variables on nucleation and growth rate of lactose have not been studied. In this study, lactose crystallisation with ultrasound was compared with mechanical agitation using the induction time method at 22 °C. Ultrasound had a significant effect in reducing induction times and narrowing the metastable zone width but had no effect on individual crystal growth rate or morphology. A rapid decrease in induction time was observed up to 0.46 Wg-1 power density. Sonication up to 3 min decreased the induction time, but no further reduction was observed beyond 3 min. It was not possible to generate the nucleation rates achieved by sonication using agitation alone. 1 min sonication at 0.46 Wg1 power density followed by continuous stirring was found to be the optimum under the experimental conditions tested
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