8,652 research outputs found
Conserving Approximations in Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory
In the present work we propose a theory for obtaining successively better
approximations to the linear response functions of time-dependent density or
current-density functional theory. The new technique is based on the
variational approach to many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) as developed
during the sixties and later expanded by us in the mid nineties. Due to this
feature the resulting response functions obey a large number of conservation
laws such as particle and momentum conservation and sum rules. The quality of
the obtained results is governed by the physical processes built in through
MBPT but also by the choice of variational expressions. We here present several
conserving response functions of different sophistication to be used in the
calculation of the optical response of solids and nano-scale systems.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, revised versio
Total energies from variational functionals of the Green function and the renormalized four-point vertex
We derive variational expressions for the grand potential or action in terms
of the many-body Green function which describes the propagation of
particles and the renormalized four-point vertex which describes the
scattering of two particles in many-body systems. The main ingredient of the
variational functionals is a term we denote as the -functional which plays
a role analogously to the usual -functional studied by Baym (G.Baym,
Phys.Rev. 127, 1391 (1962)) in connection with the conservation laws in
many-body systems. We show that any -derivable theory is also
-derivable and therefore respects the conservation laws. We further set
up a computational scheme to obtain accurate total energies from our
variational functionals without having to solve computationally expensive sets
of self-consistent equations. The input of the functional is an approximate
Green function and an approximate four-point vertex
obtained at a relatively low computational cost. The
variational property of the functional guarantees that the error in the total
energy is only of second order in deviations of the input Green function and
vertex from the self-consistent ones that make the functional stationary. The
functionals that we will consider for practical applications correspond to
infinite order summations of ladder and exchange diagrams and are therefore
particularly suited for applications to highly correlated systems. Their
practical evaluation is discussed in detail.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Physical Review B (accepted
A deconvolution map-making method for experiments with circular scanning strategies
Aims. To investigate the performance of a deconvolution map-making algorithm
for an experiment with a circular scanning strategy, specifically in this case
for the analysis of Planck data, and to quantify the effects of making maps
using simplified approximations to the true beams. Methods. We present an
implementation of a map-making algorithm which allows the combined treatment of
temperature and polarisation data, and removal of instrumental effects, such as
detector time constants and finite sampling intervals, as well as the
deconvolution of arbitrarily complex beams from the maps. This method may be
applied to any experiment with a circular scanning-strategy. Results.
Low-resolution experiments were used to demonstrate the ability of this method
to remove the effects of arbitrary beams from the maps and to demonstrate the
effects on the maps of ignoring beam asymmetries. Additionally, results are
presented of an analysis of a realistic full-scale simulated data-set for the
Planck LFI 30 GHz channel. Conclusions. Our method successfully removes the
effects of the beams from the maps, and although it is computationally
expensive, the analysis of the Planck LFI data should be feasible with this
approach.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepte
Time correlations in a confined magnetized free-electron gas
The time-dependent pair correlation functions for a degenerate ideal quantum
gas of charged particles in a uniform magnetic field are studied on the basis
of equilibrium statistics. In particular, the influence of a flat hard wall on
the correlations is investigated, both for a perpendicular and a parallel
orientation of the wall with respect to the field. The coherent and incoherent
parts of the time-dependent structure function in position space are determined
from an expansion in terms of the eigenfunctions of the one-particle
Hamiltonian. For the bulk of the system, the intermediate scattering function
and the dynamical structure factor are derived by taking successive Fourier
transforms. In the vicinity of the wall the time-dependent coherent structure
function is found to decay faster than in the bulk. For coinciding positions
near the wall the form of the structure function turns out to be independent of
the orientation of the wall. Numerical results are shown to corroborate these
findings.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Journal of Physics
Optimising the multiplex factor of the frequency domain multiplexed readout of the TES-based microcalorimeter imaging array for the X-IFU instrument on the Athena Xray observatory
Athena is a space-based X-ray observatory intended for exploration of the hot
and energetic universe. One of the science instruments on Athena will be the
X-ray Integrated Field Unit (X-IFU), which is a cryogenic X-ray spectrometer,
based on a large cryogenic imaging array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES) based
microcalorimeters operating at a temperature of 100mK. The imaging array
consists of 3800 pixels providing 2.5 eV spectral resolution, and covers a
field of view with a diameter of of 5 arc minutes. Multiplexed readout of the
cryogenic microcalorimeter array is essential to comply with the cooling power
and complexity constraints on a space craft. Frequency domain multiplexing has
been under development for the readout of TES-based detectors for this purpose,
not only for the X-IFU detector arrays but also for TES-based bolometer arrays
for the Safari instrument of the Japanese SPICA observatory. This paper
discusses the design considerations which are applicable to optimise the
multiplex factor within the boundary conditions as set by the space craft. More
specifically, the interplay between the science requirements such as pixel
dynamic range, pixel speed, and cross talk, and the space craft requirements
such as the power dissipation budget, available bandwidth, and electromagnetic
compatibility will be discussed
Waiting and Residence Times of Brownian Interface Fluctuations
We report on the residence times of capillary waves above a given height
and on the typical waiting time in between such fluctuations. The measurements
were made on phase separated colloid-polymer systems by laser scanning confocal
microscopy. Due to the Brownian character of the process, the stochastics vary
with the chosen measurement interval . In experiments, the discrete
scanning times are a practical cutoff and we are able to measure the waiting
time as a function of this cutoff. The measurement interval dependence of the
observed waiting and residence times turns out to be solely determined by the
time dependent height-height correlation function . We find excellent
agreement with the theory presented here along with the experiments.Comment: 5 figure
Rotation periods of late-type stars in the young open cluster IC 2602
We present the results of a monitoring campaign aimed at deriving rotation
periods for a representative sample of stars in the young (30 Myr) open cluster
IC 2602. Rotation periods were derived for 29 of 33 stars monitored. The
periods derived range from 0.2d (one of the shortest known rotation periods of
any single open cluster star) to about 10d (which is almost twice as long as
the longest period previously known for a cluster of this age). We are able to
confirm 8 previously known periods and derive 21 new ones, delineating the long
period end of the distribution. Despite our sensitivity to longer periods, we
do not detect any variables with periods longer than about 10d. The combination
of these data with those for IC 2391, an almost identical cluster, leads to the
following conclusions:
1) The fast rotators in a 30 Myr cluster are distributed across the entire
0.5 < B-V < 1.6 color range.
2) 6 stars in our sample are slow rotators, with periods longer than 6d.
3) The amplitude of variability depends on both the color and the period. The
dependence on the latter might be important in understanding the selection
effects in the currently available rotation period database and in planning
future observations.
4) The interpretation of these data in terms of theoretical models of
rotating stars suggests both that disk-interaction is the norm rather than the
exception in young stars and that disk-locking times range from zero to a few
Myr.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Electrochemical methods for speciation of trace elements in marine waters. Dynamic aspects
The contribution of electrochemical methods
to the knowledge of dynamic speciation of toxic trace elements in marine waters is critically reviewed. Due to the importance
of dynamic considerations in the interpretation of the electrochemical signal, the principles and recent developments of kinetic features in the interconversion of metal complex species will be presented. As dynamic electrochemical
methods, only stripping techniques (anodic stripping voltammetry and stripping chronopotentiometry) will be used because they are the most important for the
determination of trace elements. Competitive ligand ex- change-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry, which should be considered an equilibrium technique rather than a dynamic method, will be also discussed because the complexing parameters may be affected by some kinetic limitations if equilibrium before analysis is not attained and/or the flux of the adsorbed complex is in fluenced by the lability of the natural complexes in the water sample. For a correct data interpretation and system characterization the comparison of results obtained from different techniques seems essential in the articulation of a serious discussion of their meaning
Normal modes of a quasi-one-dimensional multi-chain complex plasma
We studied equally charged particles, suspended in a complex plasma, which
move in a plane and interact with a screened Coulomb potential (Yukawa type)
and with an additional external confining parabolic potential in one direction,
that makes the system quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D). The normal modes of the
system are studied in the presence of dissipation. We also investigated how a
perpendicular magnetic field couples the phonon modes with each other. Two
different ways of exciting the normal modes are discussed: 1) a uniform
excitation of the Q1D lattice, and 2) a local forced excitation of the system
in which one particle is driven by e.g. a laser. Our results are in very good
agreement with recent experimental findings on a finite single chain system
(Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 91}, 255003 (2003)). Predictions are made for the normal
modes of multi-chain structures in the presence of damping.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication on PR
- …