Specific heats of quantum double-well systems

Specific heats of quantum systems with symmetric and asymmetric double-well potentials have been calculated. In numerical calculations of their specific heats, we have adopted the combined method which takes into account not only eigenvalues of $\epsilon_n$ for $0 \leq n \leq N_m$ obtained by the energy-matrix diagonalization but also their extrapolated ones for $N_m+1 \leq n < \infty$ ($N_m=20$ or 30). Calculated specific heats are shown to be rather different from counterparts of a harmonic oscillator. In particular, specific heats of symmetric double-well systems at very low temperatures have the Schottky-type anomaly, which is rooted to a small energy gap in low-lying two-level eigenstates induced by a tunneling through the potential barrier. The Schottky-type anomaly is removed when an asymmetry is introduced into the double-well potential. It has been pointed out that the specific-heat calculation of a double-well system reported by Feranchuk, Ulyanenkov and Kuz'min [Chem. Phys. 157, 61 (1991)] is misleading because the zeroth-order operator method they adopted neglects crucially important off-diagonal contributions.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures; Correted figure numbers (accepted in Phys. Rev. E

Low temperature metallic state induced by electrostatic carrier doping of SrTiO3_3

Transport properties of SrTiO$_3$-channel field-effect transistors with parylene organic gate insulator have been investigated. By applying gate voltage, the sheet resistance falls below $R_{\Box}$ $\sim$ 10 k$\Omega$ at low temperatures, with carrier mobility exceeding 1000 cm$^2$/Vs. The temperature dependence of the sheet resistance taken under constant gate voltage exhibits metallic behavior ($dR$/$dT$ $>$ 0). Our results demonstrate an insulator to metal transition in SrTiO$_3$ driven by electrostatic carrier density control.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Recombination kinetics of a dense electron-hole plasma in strontium titanate

We investigated the nanosecond-scale time decay of the blue-green light emitted by nominally pure SrTiO$_3$ following the absorption of an intense picosecond laser pulse generating a high density of electron-hole pairs. Two independent components are identified in the fluorescence signal that show a different dynamics with varying excitation intensity, and which can be respectively modeled as a bimolecular and unimolecolar process. An interpretation of the observed recombination kinetics in terms of interacting electron and hole polarons is proposed

Specific heat and entropy of NN-body nonextensive systems

We have studied finite $N$-body $D$-dimensional nonextensive ideal gases and harmonic oscillators, by using the maximum-entropy methods with the $q$- and normal averages ($q$: the entropic index). The validity range, specific heat and Tsallis entropy obtained by the two average methods are compared. Validity ranges of the $q$- and normal averages are $0 q_L$, respectively, where $q_U=1+(\eta DN)^{-1}$, $q_L=1-(\eta DN+1)^{-1}$ and $\eta=1/2$ ($\eta=1$) for ideal gases (harmonic oscillators). The energy and specific heat in the $q$- and normal averages coincide with those in the Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics, % independently of $q$, although this coincidence does not hold for the fluctuation of energy. The Tsallis entropy for $N |q-1| \gg 1$ obtained by the $q$-average is quite different from that derived by the normal average, despite a fairly good agreement of the two results for $|q-1 | \ll 1$. It has been pointed out that first-principles approaches previously proposed in the superstatistics yield $additive$ $N$-body entropy ($S^{(N)}= N S^{(1)}$) which is in contrast with the $nonadditive$ Tsallis entropy.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures: augmented the tex

Source mechanism of the magnitude 7.2 Grand Banks earthquake of November 1929: Double couple or submarine landslide?

We have examined P, S, and surface waves derived from seismograms that we collected for the 1929 Grand Banks, Canada, earthquake. This event is noteworthy for the sediment slide and turbidity current that broke the trans-Atlantic cables and for its destructive tsunami. Both the surface-wave magnitude, M_S, and the body-wave magnitude, m_B, calculated from these seismograms are 7.2. Fault mechanisms previously suggested for this event include a NW-SE-striking strike-slip mechanism and an approximately E-W-striking thrust mechanism. In addition, because of the presence of an extensive area of slump and turbidity current, there exists the possibility that sediment slumping could also be a primary causative factor of this event. We tested these fault models and a horizontal single-force (oriented N5°W) model representing a sediment slide against our data. Among these models, only the single-force model is consistent with the P-, S-, and surface-wave data. Our data, however, do not preclude fault models which were not tested. From the spectral data of Love waves at a 50-sec period, we estimated the magnitude of the single force to be about 1.4 × 10^(20) dynes. From this value, we estimated the total volume of sedimentary slumping to be about 5.5 × 10^(11) m^3, which is approximately 5 times larger than a recent estimate of volume from in situ measurements. The difference in estimates of overall volume is likely due to a combination of the inherent difficulty in estimating accurately the displaced sediments from in situ measurements, and of inadequacy of the seismic model; or perhaps because not only the slump but also a tectonic earthquake could have been the cause of this event and contributed significantly to the waveforms studied

VLBI Observations of Water Masers in the Circumstellar Envelope of IRC+60169

Water masers around an AGB star, IRC+60169, were observed at four epochs using the Japanese VLBI networks. The distribution of the maser features is limited in a thick-shell region, which has inner and outer expansion velocities of 7 km/s and 14 km/s at radii of 25 mas and 120 mas, respectively. The distribution of the red-shifted features exhibits a ring-like structure, the diameter of which is 30 mas, and corresponds to the inner radius of the maser shell. This implies that dense gas around the star obscures red-shifted emission. Although a position--radial velocity diagram for the maser features is consistent with a spherical shell model, the relative proper motions do not indicate an expansion motion of the shell. A remarkable property has been found that is a possible periodic change of the alignment pattern of water maser spots.Comment: 9 pages including 7 figures, to appear in PASJ, Vol. 54, No.

Cultural background modulates how we look at other persons' gaze

The current study investigated the role of cultural norms on the development of face-scanning. British and Japanese adults’ eye movements were recorded while they observed avatar faces moving their mouth, and then their eyes toward or away from the participants. British participants fixated more on the mouth, which contrasts with Japanese participants fixating mainly on the eyes. Moreover, eye fixations of British participants were less affected by the gaze shift of the avatar than Japanese participants, who shifted their fixation to the corresponding direction of the avatar’s gaze. Results are consistent with the Western cultural norms that value the maintenance of eye contact, and the Eastern cultural norms that require flexible use of eye contact and gaze aversion