1,412 research outputs found
Long period polytype boundaries in silicon carbide
A significant gap in our understanding of polytypism exists, caused partly by the lack of experimental data on the spatial distribution of polytype coalescence and knowledge of the regions between adjoining polytypes. Few observations, Takei & Francombe (1967) apart, of the relative location of different polytypes have been reported. A phenomenological description of the boundaries, exact position of one-dimensional disorder (1DD) and long period polytypes (LPP’s) has been made possible by synchrotron X-ray diffraction topography (XRDT)
Anomalous scaling of fermions and order parameter fluctuations at quantum criticality
We analyze the quantum phase transition between a semimetal and a superfluid
in a model of attractively interacting fermions with a linear dispersion. The
quantum critical properties of this model cannot be treated by the Hertz-Millis
approach since integrating out the fermions leads to a singular Landau-Ginzburg
order parameter functional. We therefore derive and solve coupled
renormalization group equations for the fermionic degrees of freedom and the
bosonic order parameter fluctuations. In two spatial dimensions, fermions and
bosons acquire anomalous scaling dimensions at the quantum critical point,
associated with non-Fermi liquid behavior and non-Gaussian order parameter
fluctuations.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, highlighted differences to Gross-Neveu model,
updated version as publishe
Fingerprint-enhanced capacitive-piezoelectric flexible sensing skin to discriminate static and dynamic tactile stimuli
nspired by the structure and functions of the human skin, a highly sensitive capacitive‐piezoelectric flexible sensing skin with fingerprint‐like patterns to detect and discriminate between spatiotemporal tactile stimuli including static and dynamic pressures and textures is presented. The capacitive‐piezoelectric tandem sensing structure is embedded in the phalange of a 3D‐printed robotic hand, and a tempotron classifier system is used for tactile exploration. The dynamic tactile sensor, interfaced with an extended gate configuration to a common source metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), exhibits a sensitivity of 2.28 kPa−1. The capacitive sensing structure has nonlinear characteristics with sensitivity varying from 0.25 kPa−1 in the low‐pressure range (<100 Pa) to 0.002 kPa−1 in high pressure (≈2.5 kPa). The output from the presented sensor under a closed‐loop tactile scan, carried out with an industrial robotic arm, is used as latency‐coded spike trains in a spiking neural network (SNN) tempotron classifier system. With the capability of performing a real‐time binary naturalistic texture classification with a maximum accuracy of 99.45%, the presented bioinspired skin finds applications in robotics, prosthesis, wearable sensors, and medical devices
Thermodynamics of the Coma Cluster Outskirts
We present results from a large mosaic of Suzaku observations of the Coma
Cluster, the nearest and X-ray brightest hot, dynamically active, non-cool core
system, focusing on the thermodynamic properties of the ICM on large scales.
For azimuths not aligned with an infalling subcluster towards the southwest,
our measured temperature and X-ray brightness profiles exhibit broadly
consistent radial trends, with the temperature decreasing from about 8.5 keV at
the cluster center to about 2 keV at a radius of 2 Mpc, which is the edge of
our detection limit. The SW merger significantly boosts the surface brightness,
allowing us to detect X-ray emission out to ~2.2 Mpc along this direction.
Apart from the southwestern infalling subcluster, the surface brightness
profiles show multiple edges around radii of 30-40 arcmin. The azimuthally
averaged temperature profile, as well as the deprojected density and pressure
profiles, all show a sharp drop consistent with an outward propagating shock
front located at 40 arcmin, corresponding to the outermost edge of the giant
radio halo observed at 352 MHz with the WSRT. The shock front may be powering
this radio emission. A clear entropy excess inside of r_500 reflects the
violent merging events linked with these morphological features. Beyond r_500,
the entropy profiles of the Coma Cluster along the relatively relaxed
directions are consistent with the power-law behavior expected from simple
models of gravitational large-scale structure formation. The pressure is also
in agreement at these radii with the expected values measured from SZ data from
the Planck satellite. However, due to the large uncertainties associated with
the Coma Cluster measurements, we cannot yet exclude an entropy flattening in
this system consistent with that seen in more relaxed cool core clusters.Comment: submitted to ApJ; revised after first referee repor
Studying the WHIM with Gamma Ray Bursts
We assess the possibility to detect and characterize the physical state of
the missing baryons at low redshift by analyzing the X-ray absorption spectra
of the Gamma Ray Burst [GRB] afterglows, measured by a micro calorimeters-based
detector with 3 eV resolution and 1000 cm2 effective area and capable of fast
re-pointing, similar to that on board of the recently proposed X-ray satellites
EDGE and XENIA. For this purpose we have analyzed mock absorption spectra
extracted from different hydrodynamical simulations used to model the
properties of the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium [WHIM]. These models predict
the correct abundance of OVI absorption lines observed in UV and satisfy
current X-ray constraints. According to these models space missions like EDGE
and XENIA should be able to detect about 60 WHIM absorbers per year through the
OVII line. About 45 % of these have at least two more detectable lines in
addition to OVII that can be used to determine the density and the temperature
of the gas. Systematic errors in the estimates of the gas density and
temperature can be corrected for in a robust, largely model-independent
fashion. The analysis of the GRB absorption spectra collected in three years
would also allow to measure the cosmic mass density of the WHIM with about 15 %
accuracy, although this estimate depends on the WHIM model. Our results suggest
that GRBs represent a valid, if not preferable, alternative to Active Galactic
Nuclei to study the WHIM in absorption. The analysis of the absorption spectra
nicely complements the study of the WHIM in emission that the spectrometer
proposed for EDGE and XENIA would be able to carry out thanks to its high
sensitivity and large field of view.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication by Ap
Large-scale Motions in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster
By combining large-scale mosaics of ROSAT PSPC, XMM-Newton, and Suzaku X-ray
observations, we present evidence for large-scale motions in the intracluster
medium of the nearby, X-ray bright Perseus Cluster. These motions are suggested
by several alternating and interleaved X-ray bright, low-temperature,
low-entropy arcs located along the east-west axis, at radii ranging from ~10
kpc to over a Mpc. Thermodynamic features qualitatively similar to these have
previously been observed in the centers of cool core clusters, and were
successfully modeled as a consequence of the gas sloshing/swirling motions
induced by minor mergers. Our observations indicate that such sloshing/swirling
can extend out to larger radii than previously thought, on scales approaching
the virial radius.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
K-Shell Photoabsorption Studies of the Carbon Isonuclear Sequence
K-shell photoabsorption cross sections for the isonuclear C I - C IV ions
have been computed using the R-matrix method. Above the K-shell threshold, the
present results are in good agreement with the independent-particle results of
Reilman & Manson (1979). Below threshold, we also compute the strong 1s -> np
absorption resonances with the inclusion of important spectator Auger
broadening effects. For the lowest 1s -> 2p, 3p resonances, comparisons to
available C II, C III, and C IV experimental results show good agreement in
general for the resonance strengths and positions, but unexplained
discrepancies exist. Our results also provide detailed information on the C I
K-shell photoabsorption cross section including the strong resonance features,
since very limited laboratory experimental data exist. The resultant R-matrix
cross sections are then used to model the Chandra X-ray absorption spectrum of
the blazar Mkn 421
Preparation of distilled and purified continuous variable entangled states
The distribution of entangled states of light over long distances is a major
challenge in the field of quantum information. Optical losses, phase diffusion
and mixing with thermal states lead to decoherence and destroy the
non-classical states after some finite transmission-line length. Quantum
repeater protocols, which combine quantum memory, entanglement distillation and
entanglement swapping, were proposed to overcome this problem. Here we report
on the experimental demonstration of entanglement distillation in the
continuous-variable regime. Entangled states were first disturbed by random
phase fluctuations and then distilled and purified using interference on beam
splitters and homodyne detection. Measurements of covariance matrices clearly
indicate a regained strength of entanglement and purity of the distilled
states. In contrast to previous demonstrations of entanglement distillation in
the complementary discrete-variable regime, our scheme achieved the actual
preparation of the distilled states, which might therefore be used to improve
the quality of downstream applications such as quantum teleportation
Studying the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium in Emission
We assess the possibility to detect the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM)
in emission and to characterize its physical conditions and spatial
distribution through spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, in the framework of
the recently proposed DIOS, EDGE, Xenia, and ORIGIN missions, all of which are
equipped with microcalorimeter-based detectors. For this purpose we analyze a
large set of mock emission spectra, extracted from a cosmological
hydrodynamical simulation. These mock X-ray spectra are searched for emission
features showing both the OVII K alpha triplet and OVIII Ly alpha line, which
constitute a typical signature of the warm hot gas. Our analysis shows that 1
Ms long exposures and energy resolution of 2.5 eV will allow us to detect about
400 such features per deg^2 with a significance >5 sigma and reveals that these
emission systems are typically associated with density ~100 above the mean. The
temperature can be estimated from the line ratio with a precision of ~20%. The
combined effect of contamination from other lines, variation in the level of
the continuum, and degradation of the energy resolution reduces these
estimates. Yet, with an energy resolution of 7 eV and all these effects taken
into account, one still expects about 160 detections per deg^2. These line
systems are sufficient to trace the spatial distribution of the line-emitting
gas, which constitute an additional information, independent from line
statistics, to constrain the poorly known cosmic chemical enrichment history
and the stellar feedback processes.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, ApJ in press; revised version according to
revie
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