2,190 research outputs found
Origins of anomalous electronic structures of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide
On the basis of first-principles calculations, we report that a novel
interfacial atomic structure occurs between graphene and the surface of silicon
carbide, destroying the Dirac point of graphene and opening a substantial
energy gap there. In the calculated atomic structures, a quasi-periodic
domain pattern emerges out of a larger commensurate
periodic interfacial reconstruction,
resolving a long standing experimental controversy on the periodicity of the
interfacial superstructures. Our theoretical energy spectrum shows a gap and
midgap states at the Dirac point of graphene, which are in excellent agreement
with the recently-observed anomalous angle-resolved photoemission spectra.
Beyond solving unexplained issues of epitaxial graphene, our atomistic study
may provide a way to engineer the energy gaps of graphene on substrates.Comment: Additional references added; published version; 4 pages, 4 figure
Modeling the climate impact of Southern Hemisphere ozone depletion:the importance of the ozone dataset
The ozone hole is an important driver of recent Southern Hemisphere (SH) climate change, and capturing these changes is a goal of climate modeling. Most climate models are driven by off-line ozone data sets. Previous studies have shown that there is a substantial range in estimates of SH ozone depletion, but the implications of this range have not been examined systematically. We use a climate model to evaluate the difference between using the ozone forcing (Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC)) used by many Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) models and one at the upper end of the observed depletion estimates (Binary Database of Profiles (BDBP)). In the stratosphere, we find that austral spring/summer polar cap cooling, geopotential height decreases, and zonal wind increases in the BDBP simulations are all doubled compared to the SPARC simulations, while tropospheric responses are 20–100% larger. These results are important for studies attempting to diagnose the climate fingerprints of ozone depletion
Half-Metallic Graphene Nanoribbons
Electrical current can be completely spin polarized in a class of materials
known as half-metals, as a result of the coexistence of metallic nature for
electrons with one spin orientation and insulating for electrons with the
other. Such asymmetric electronic states for the different spins have been
predicted for some ferromagnetic metals - for example, the Heusler compounds-
and were first observed in a manganese perovskite. In view of the potential for
use of this property in realizing spin-based electronics, substantial efforts
have been made to search for half-metallic materials. However, organic
materials have hardly been investigated in this context even though
carbon-based nanostructures hold significant promise for future electronic
device. Here we predict half-metallicity in nanometre-scale graphene ribbons by
using first-principles calculations. We show that this phenomenon is realizable
if in-plane homogeneous electric fields are applied across the zigzag-shaped
edges of the graphene nanoribbons, and that their magnetic property can be
controlled by the external electric fields. The results are not only of
scientific interests in the interplay between electric fields and electronic
spin degree of freedom in solids but may also open a new path to explore
spintronics at nanometre scale, based on graphene
Combined anthocyanins and bromelain supplement improves endothelial function and skeletal muscle oxygenation status in adults: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised crossover clinical trial
Anthocyanins and bromelain have gained significant attention due to their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. Both have been shown to improve endothelial function, blood pressure (BP) and oxygen utility capacity in humans; however, the combination of these two and the impacts on endothelial function, BP, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and oxygen utility capacity have not been previously investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of a combined anthocyanins and bromelain supplement (BE) on endothelial function, BP, TAC, oxygen utility capacity and fatigability in healthy adults. Healthy adults (n 18, age 24 (SD 4) years) received BE or placebo in a randomised crossover design. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), BP, TAC, resting heart rate, oxygen utility capacity and fatigability were measured pre- and post-BE and placebo intake. The BE group showed significantly increased FMD, reduced systolic BP and improved oxygen utility capacity compared with the placebo group (P \u3c 0·05). Tissue saturation and oxygenated Hb significantly increased following BE intake, while deoxygenated Hb significantly decreased (P \u3c 0·05) during exercise. Additionally, TAC was significantly increased following BE intake (P \u3c 0·05). There were no significant differences for resting heart rate, diastolic BP or fatigability index. These results suggest that BE intake is an effective nutritional therapy for improving endothelial function, BP, TAC and oxygen utility capacity, which may be beneficial to support vascular health in humans
Acute mitochondrial antioxidant intake improves endothelial function, antioxidant enzyme activity, and exercise tolerance in patients with peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a manifestation of atherosclerosis in the leg arteries, which causes claudication. This may be in part due to vascular mitochondrial dysfunction and excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. A mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant (MitoQ) has been shown to improve vascular mitochondrial function that, in turn, led to improved vascular function in older adults and animal models. However, the roles of vascular mitochondria in vascular function including endothelial function and arterial stiffness in patients with PAD are unknown; therefore, with the use of acute MitoQ intake, this study examined the roles of vascular mitochondria in endothelial function, arterial stiffness, exercise tolerance, and skeletal muscle function in patients with PAD. Eleven patients with PAD received either MitoQ or placebo in a randomized crossover design. At each visit, blood samples, brachial and popliteal artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), peripheral and central pulse-wave velocity (PWV), blood pressure (BP), maximal walking capacity, time to claudication (COT), and oxygen utility capacity were measured pre- and-post-MitoQ and placebo. There were significant group by time interactions (P \u3c 0.05) for brachial and popliteal FMD that both increased by Δ2.6 and Δ3.3%, respectively, and increases superoxide dismutase (Δ0.03 U/mL), maximal walking time (Δ73.8 s), maximal walking distance (Δ49.3 m), and COT (Δ44.2 s). There were no changes in resting heart rate, BP, malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, PWV, or oxygen utility capacity (P \u3e 0.05). MitoQ intake may be an effective strategy for targeting the vascular mitochondrial environment, which may be useful for restoring endothelial function, leg pain, and walking time in patients with PAD
Creation and evolution of magnetic helicity
Projecting a non-Abelian SU(2) vacuum gauge field - a pure gauge constructed
from the group element U - onto a fixed (electromagnetic) direction in isospace
gives rise to a nontrivial magnetic field, with nonvanishing magnetic helicity,
which coincides with the winding number of U. Although the helicity is not
conserved under Maxwell (vacuum) evolution, it retains one-half its initial
value at infinite time.Comment: Clarifying remarks and references added; 12 pages, 1 figure using
BoxedEPSF, REVTeX macros; submitted to Phys Rev D; email to
[email protected]
Holographic chiral magnetic spiral
We study the ground state of baryonic/axial matter at zero temperature
chiral-symmetry broken phase under a large magnetic field, in the framework of
holographic QCD by Sakai-Sugimoto. Our study is motivated by a recent proposal
of chiral magnetic spiral phase that has been argued to be favored against
previously studied phase of homogeneous distribution of axial/baryonic currents
in terms of meson super-currents dictated by triangle anomalies in QCD. Our
results provide an existence proof of chiral magnetic spiral in strong coupling
regime via holography, at least for large axial chemical potentials, whereas we
don't find the phenomenon in the case of purely baryonic chemical potential.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figure
Diffusion in an Expanding Plasma using AdS/CFT
We consider the diffusion of a non-relativistic heavy quark of fixed mass M,
in a one-dimensionally expanding and strongly coupled plasma using the AdS/CFT
duality. The Green's function constructed around a static string embedded in a
background with a moving horizon, is identified with the noise correlation
function in a Langevin approach. The (electric) noise decorrelation is of order
1/T(\tau) while the velocity de-correlation is of order MD(\tau)/T(\tau). For
MD>1, the diffusion regime is segregated and the energy loss is Langevin-like.
The time dependent diffusion constant D(\tau) asymptotes its adiabatic limit
2/\pi\sqrt{\lambda} T(\tau) when \tau/\tau_0=(1/3\eta_0\tau_0)^3 where \eta_0
is the drag coefficient at the initial proper time \tau_0.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, minor corrections, version to appear in JHE
Holographic DC conductivities from the open string metric
We study the DC conductivities of various holographic models using the open
string metric (OSM), which is an effective metric geometrizing density and
electromagnetic field effect. We propose a new way to compute the nonlinear
conductivity using OSM. As far as the final conductivity formula is concerned,
it is equivalent to the Karch-O'Bannon's real-action method. However, it yields
a geometrical insight and technical simplifications. Especially, a real-action
condition is interpreted as a regular geometry condition of OSM. As
applications of the OSM method, we study several holographic models on the
quantum Hall effect and strange metal. By comparing a Lifshitz background and
the Light-Cone AdS, we show how an extra parameter can change the temperature
scaling behavior of conductivity. Finally we discuss how OSM can be used to
study other transport coefficients, such as diffusion constant, and effective
temperature induced by the effective world volume horizon.Comment: 33 page
Direct observation of localized defect states in semiconductor nanotube junctions
Scanning tunneling microscopy of semiconductor-semiconductor carbon nanotube junctions with different band gaps was studied. Characteristic features of the wave functions at different energy levels were exhibited in the atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy. The experimental observations in terms of the pentagon-heptagon defects in the junction were interpreted.open888
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