A non-variational approach to nonlinear stability in stellar dynamics applied to the King model

In previous work by Y. Guo and G. Rein, nonlinear stability of equilibria in stellar dynamics, i.e., of steady states of the Vlasov-Poisson system, was accessed by variational techniques. Here we propose a different, non-variational technique and use it to prove nonlinear stability of the King model against a class of spherically symmetric, dynamically accessible perturbations. This model is very important in astrophysics and was out of reach of the previous techniques

A systematic algorithm development for image processing feature extraction in automatic visual inspection : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in the Department of Production Technology, Massey University

Image processing techniques applied to modern quality control are described together with the development of feature extraction algorithms for automatic visual inspection. A real-time image processing hardware system already available in the Department of Production Technology is described and has been tested systematically for establishing an optimal threshold function. This systematic testing has been concerned with edge strength and system noise information. With the a priori information of system signal and noise, non-linear threshold functions have been established for real time edge detection. The performance of adaptive thresholding is described and the usefulness of this nonlinear approach is demonstrated from results using machined test samples. Examination and comparisons of thresholding techniques applied to several edge detection operators are presented. It is concluded that, the Roberts' operator with a non-linear thresholding function has the advantages of being simple, fast, accurate and cost effective in automatic visual inspection

Measurement-induced nonlocality over two-sided projective measurements

Measurement-induced nonlocality (MiN), introduced by Luo and Fu [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106(2011)120401], is a kind of quantum correlation that beyond entanglement and even beyond quantum discord. Recently, we extended MiN to infinite-dimensional bipartite system [arXiv:1107.0355]. MiN is defined over one-sided projective measurements. In this letter we introduce a measurement-induced nonlocality over two-sided projective measurements. The nullity of this two-sided MiN is characterized, a formula for calculating two-sided MiN for pure states is proposed, and a lower bound of (two-sided) MiN for maximally entangled mixed states is given. In addition, we find that (two-sided) MiN is not continuous. The two-sided geometric measure of quantum discord (GMQD) is introduced in [Phys. Lett. A 376(2012)320--324]. We extend it to infinite-dimensional system and then compare it with the two-sided MiN. Both finite- and infinite-dimensional cases are considered.Comment: 12 page

Systematic {\it ab initio} study of the magnetic and electronic properties of all 3d transition metal linear and zigzag nanowires

It is found that all the zigzag chains except the nonmagnetic (NM) Ni and antiferromagnetic (AF) Fe chains which form a twisted two-legger ladder, look like a corner-sharing triangle ribbon, and have a lower total energy than the corresponding linear chains. All the 3d transition metals in both linear and zigzag structures have a stable or metastable ferromagnetic (FM) state. The electronic spin-polarization at the Fermi level in the FM Sc, V, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni linear chains is close to 90% or above. In the zigzag structure, the AF state is more stable than the FM state only in the Cr chain. It is found that the shape anisotropy energy may be comparable to the electronic one and always prefers the axial magnetization in both the linear and zigzag structures. In the zigzag chains, there is also a pronounced shape anisotropy in the plane perpendicular to the chain axis. Remarkably, the axial magnetic anisotropy in the FM Ni linear chain is gigantic, being ~12 meV/atom. Interestingly, there is a spin-reorientation transition in the FM Fe and Co linear chains when the chains are compressed or elongated. Large orbital magnetic moment is found in the FM Fe, Co and Ni linear chains

Baryon electric dipole moments from strong CP violation

The electric dipole form factors and moments of the ground state baryons are calculated in chiral perturbation theory at next-to-leading order. We show that the baryon electric dipole form factors at this order depend only on two combinations of low-energy constants. We also derive various relations that are free of unknown low-energy constants. We use recent lattice QCD data to calculate all baryon EDMs. In particular, we find d_n = -2.9\pm 0.9 and d_p = 1.1\pm 1.1 in units of 10^{-16} e \theta_0 cm. Finite volume corrections to the moments are also worked out. We show that for a precision extraction from lattice QCD data, the next-to-leading order terms have to be accounted for.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, to appear in JHE

An {\it ab initio} study of the magnetic and electronic properties of Fe, Co, and Ni nanowires on Cu(001) surface

Magnetism at the nanoscale has been a very active research area in the past decades, because of its novel fundamental physics and exciting potential applications. We have recently performed an {\it ab intio} study of the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of all 3$d$ transition metal (TM) freestanding atomic chains and found that Fe and Ni nanowires have a giant magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE), indicating that these nanowires would have applications in high density magnetic data storages. In this paper, we perform density functional calculations for the Fe, Co and Ni linear atomic chains on Cu(001) surface within the generalized gradient approximation, in order to investigate how the substrates would affect the magnetic properties of the nanowires. We find that Fe, Co and Ni linear chains on Cu(001) surface still have a stable or metastable ferromagnetic state. When spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is included, the spin magnetic moments remain almost unchanged, due to the weakness of SOC in 3$d$ TM chains, whilst significant orbital magnetic moments appear and also are direction-dependent. Finally, we find that the MAE for Fe, and Co remains large, i.e., being not much affected by the presence of Cu substrate.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure