1,693 research outputs found
Application and validation of the notch master curve in medium and high strength structural steels
This paper applies and validates the Notch master curve in two ferritic steels with medium (steel S460M) and high (steel S690Q) strength. The Notch master curve is an engineering tool that allows the fracture resistance of notched ferritic steels operating within their corresponding ductile-to-brittle transition zone to be estimated. It combines the Master curve and the Theory of critical distances in order to take into account the temperature and the notch effect respectively, assuming that both effects are independent. The results, derived from 168 fracture tests on notched specimens, demonstrate the capability of the Notch master curve for the prediction of the fracture resistance of medium and high strength ferritic steels operating within their ductile-to-brittle transition zone and containing notches
Dual superfluid-Bose glass critical point in two dimensions and the universal conductivity
We study the continuum version of the dual theory for a system of
two-dimensional, zero temperature, disordered bosons, interacting with short
range repulsion and at a commensurate density. The dual theory, which describes
vortices in the bosonic ground state, and has a form of 3D classical scalar
electrodynamics in random, correlated magnetic field, admits a new disordered
critical point within RG calculation at fixed dimension. The universal
conductivity and the critical exponents at the superfluid-Bose glass critical
point are calculated as series in fixed-point values of the dual coupling
constants, to the lowest non-trivial order: ,
and . The comparison with numerical results and experiments
is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex, some clarifications and references adde
Current forest carbon fixation fuels stream CO2 emissions
Stream CO2 emissions contribute significantly to atmospheric climate forcing. While there are strong indications that groundwater inputs sustain these emissions, the specific biogeochemical pathways and timescales involved in this lateral CO2 export are still obscure. Here, via an extensive radiocarbon (14C) characterisation of CO2 and DOC in stream water and its groundwater sources in an old-growth boreal forest, we demonstrate that the 14C-CO2 is consistently in tune with the current atmospheric 14C-CO2 level and shows little association with the 14C-DOC in the same waters. Our findings thus indicate that stream CO2 emissions act as a shortcut that returns CO2 recently fixed by the forest vegetation to the atmosphere. Our results expose a positive feedback mechanism within the C budget of forested catchments, where stream CO2 emissions will be highly sensitive to changes in forest C allocation patterns associated with climate and land-use changes
Finite temperature transport at the superconductor-insulator transition in disordered systems
I argue that the incoherent, zero-frequency limit of the universal crossover
function in the temperature-dependent conductivity at the
superconductor-insulator transition in disordered systems may be understood as
an analytic function of dimensionality of system d, with a simple pole at d=1.
Combining the exact result for the crossover function in d=1 with the recursion
relations in d=1+\epsilon, the leading term in the Laurent series in the small
parameter \epsilon for this quantity is computed for the systems of disordered
bosons with short-range and Coulomb interactions. The universal,
low-temperature, dc critical conductivity for the dirty boson system with
Coulomb interaction in d=2 is estimated to be 0.69 (2e)^2 /h, in relatively
good agreement with many experiments on thin films. The next order correction
is likely to somewhat increase the result, possibly bringing it closer to the
self-dual value.Comment: 9 pages, LaTex, no figure
Quantum-Phase Transitions of Interacting Bosons and the Supersolid Phase
We investigate the properties of strongly interacting bosons in two
dimensions at zero temperature using mean-field theory, a variational Ansatz
for the ground state wave function, and Monte Carlo methods. With on-site and
short-range interactions a rich phase diagram is obtained. Apart from the
homogeneous superfluid and Mott-insulating phases, inhomogeneous charge-density
wave phases appear, that are stabilized by the finite-range interaction.
Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates the existence of a supersolid phase, in
which both long-range order (related to the charge-density wave) and
off-diagonal long-range order coexist. We also obtain the critical exponents
for the various phase transitions.Comment: RevTex, 20 pages, 10 PostScript figures include
A Memetic Analysis of a Phrase by Beethoven: Calvinian Perspectives on Similarity and Lexicon-Abstraction
This article discusses some general issues arising from the study of similarity in music, both human-conducted and computer-aided, and then progresses to a consideration of similarity relationships between patterns in a phrase by Beethoven, from the first movement of the Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110 (1821), and various potential memetic precursors. This analysis is followed by a consideration of how the kinds of similarity identified in the Beethoven phrase might be understood in psychological/conceptual and then neurobiological terms, the latter by means of William Calvin’s Hexagonal Cloning Theory. This theory offers a mechanism for the operation of David Cope’s concept of the lexicon, conceived here as a museme allele-class. I conclude by attempting to correlate and map the various spaces within which memetic replication occurs
The "Clubs against Drugs" program in Stockholm, Sweden: two cross-sectional surveys examining drug use among staff at licensed premises
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study is to examine self-reported drug use among staff at licensed premises, types of drugs used, attitudes towards drugs, and observed drug use among guests. Results are presented from two measurement points (in 2001 and 2007/08). This study was carried out within the framework of the "Clubs against Drugs" program, which is a community-based multi-component intervention targeting licensed premises in Stockholm, Sweden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted, the first in 2001 and the second in 2007/08. Staff at licensed premises attending server training were asked to participate in the anonymous survey. A survey was administered in a classroom setting and consisted of four sections: 1) demographics, 2) respondents' own drug use experience, 3) respondents' attitudes towards drug use, and 4) observed drug use among guests at licensed premises.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data were collected from 446 staff in 2001 and 677 staff in 2007/08. The four most commonly used drugs among staff were cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, and ecstasy. The highest rates of drug use were reported by staff in the two youngest age groups, i.e., those younger than 25 and those between the ages of 25 and 29. In 2007/08 staff reported significantly lower rates of drug use than staff in 2001. Last year drug use for the sample in 2007/08 was 19% compared to 27% for the 2001 sample. While drug-using staff compared to non drug-using staff reported more observations of drug use among guests, they were less inclined to intervene. Overall, staff reported restrictive attitudes towards drugs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of life-time and last year drug use among staff at licensed premises is high compared to the general population in Sweden. Lower rates of self-reported drug use among staff were reported in 2007/08. The results of this study highlight that staff at licensed premises represent an important target population in club drug prevention programs.</p
The superconductor-insulator transition in 2D dirty boson systems
Universal properties of the zero temperature superconductor-insulator
transition in two-dimensional amorphous films are studied by extensive Monte
Carlo simulations of bosons in a disordered medium. We report results for both
short-range and long-range Coulomb interactions for several different points in
parameter space. In all cases we observe a transition from a superconducting
phase to an insulating Bose glass phase. {}From finite-size scaling of our
Monte Carlo data we determine the universal conductivity and the
critical exponents at the transition. The result for bosons with long-range Coulomb interaction is roughly consistent
with experiments reported so far. We also find for bosons with short-range interactions.Comment: Revtex 3.0, 54 pages, 17 figures included, UBCTP-93-01
Vortex dynamics in layered superconductors with correlated defects: influence of interlayer coupling
We report a detailed study of the vortex dynamics and vortex phase diagrams
of two amorphous Ta_0.3Ge_0.7/Ge multilayered films with intrinsic coplanar
defects, but different interlayer coupling. A pinned Bose-glass phase in the
more weakly coupled sample exists only below a cross-over field H* in striking
contrast to the strongly coupled film. Above H* the flux lines are thought to
break up into pancake vortices and the cross-over field is significantly
increased when the field is aligned along the extended defects. The two films
show different vortex creep excitations in the Bose-glass phase.Comment: zip file: 1 RevTex, 5 figures (png
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