184 research outputs found
Electron transport in waveguides with spatially modulated strengths of the Rashba and Dresselhaus terms of the spin-orbit interaction
We study electron transport through waveguides (WGs) in which the strengths
of the Rashba () and Dresselhaus () terms of the spin-orbit
interaction (SOI) vary in space. Subband mixing, due to lateral confinement, is
taken into account only between the two first subbands. For sufficiently narrow
WGs the transmission exhibits a square-like shape as a function of
or . Particular attention is paid to the case of equal SOI strengths,
, for which spin-flip processes are expected to decrease. The
transmission exhibits resonances as a function of the length of a SOI-free
region separating two regions with SOI present, that are most pronounced for
. The sign of strongly affects the spin-up and spin-down
transmissions. The results show that the main effect of subband mixing is to
shift the transmission resonances and to decrease the transmission from one
spin state to another. The effect of possible band offsets between regions that
have different SOI strengths and effective masses is also discussed
Convexity in partial cubes: the hull number
We prove that the combinatorial optimization problem of determining the hull
number of a partial cube is NP-complete. This makes partial cubes the minimal
graph class for which NP-completeness of this problem is known and improves
some earlier results in the literature.
On the other hand we provide a polynomial-time algorithm to determine the
hull number of planar partial cube quadrangulations.
Instances of the hull number problem for partial cubes described include
poset dimension and hitting sets for interiors of curves in the plane.
To obtain the above results, we investigate convexity in partial cubes and
characterize these graphs in terms of their lattice of convex subgraphs,
improving a theorem of Handa. Furthermore we provide a topological
representation theorem for planar partial cubes, generalizing a result of
Fukuda and Handa about rank three oriented matroids.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Unveiling Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters with INTEGRAL
Thanks to INTEGRAL's long exposures of the Galactic Plane, the two brightest
Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters, SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14, have been monitored and
studied in detail for the first time at hard-X/soft gamma rays.
This has produced a wealth of new scientific results, which we will review
here. Since SGR 1806-20 was particularly active during the last two years, more
than 300 short bursts have been observed with INTEGRAL. and their
characteristics have been studied with unprecedented sensitivity in the 15-200
keV range. A hardness-intensity anticorrelation within the bursts has been
discovered and the overall Number-Intensity distribution of the bursts has been
determined. In addition, a particularly active state, during which ~100 bursts
were emitted in ~10 minutes, has been observed on October 5 2004, indicating
that the source activity was rapidly increasing. This eventually led to the
Giant Flare of December 27th 2004, for which a possible soft gamma-ray (>80
keV) early afterglow has been detected.
The deep observations allowed us to discover the persistent emission in hard
X-rays (20-150 keV) from 1806-20 and 1900+14, the latter being in a quiescent
state, and to directly compare the spectral characteristics of all Magnetars
(two SGRs and three Anomalous X-ray Pulsars) detected with INTEGRAL.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Presented at the conference "Isolated Neutron
Stars: from the Surface to the Interior", London, UK, 24-28 April 200
The first multi-wavelength campaign of AXP 4U 0142+61 from radio to hard X-rays
For the first time a quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign has been
performed on an Anomalous X-ray Pulsar from the radio to the hard X-ray band.
4U 0142+61 was an INTEGRAL target for 1 Ms in July 2005. During these
observations it was also observed in the X-ray band with Swift and RXTE, in the
optical and NIR with Gemini North and in the radio with the WSRT. In this paper
we present the source-energy distribution. The spectral results obtained in the
individual wave bands do not connect smoothly; apparently components of
different origin contribute to the total spectrum. Remarkable is that the
INTEGRAL hard X-ray spectrum (power-law index 0.79 +/- 0.10) is now measured up
to an energy of ~230 keV with no indication of a spectral break. Extrapolation
of the INTEGRAL power-law spectrum to lower energies passes orders of magnitude
underneath the NIR and optical fluxes, as well as the low ~30 microJy (2 sigma)
upper limit in the radio band.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the proceedings of the
conference "Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface" (April
24-28, 2006, London, UK), eds. S. Zane, R. Turolla and D. Pag
MANAGING THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENCES IN NATIONAL CULTURE ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN MULTINATIONAL IT PROJECT TEAMS – A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE
How can management handle relationship problems arising from cultural differences in multinational IT project teams? This paper uses a social capital lens to better understand the negative impact of cultural differences in IT project teams. In contrast to many previous works we do not consider cultural differences as a whole but explore the role of the different national culture dimensions. This allows for a more detailed view on cultural differences in a team context and thus contributes to a better understanding about which dimensions of national culture drive relationship problems and which management measures can help to dampen the negative effects. Based on several exploratory cases (6 multinational IT projects in 4 companies, headquartered in Germany), the authors identify three patterns showing typical problems in team social relationships which arise from differences in particular dimensions of national culture. Pattern-specific as well as general management measures, employed to address the culture-driven negative effects, are identified as well
Recommended from our members
Effect of dimethylamine on the gas phase sulfuric acid concentration measured by Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Sulfuric acid is widely recognized as a very important substance driving atmospheric aerosol nucleation. Based on quantum chemical calculations it has been suggested that the quantitative detection of gas phase sulfuric acid (H2SO4) by use of Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (CIMS) could be biased in the presence of gas phase amines such as dimethylamine (DMA). An experiment (CLOUD7 campaign) was set up at the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber to investigate the quantitative detection of H2SO4 in the presence of dimethylamine by CIMS at atmospherically relevant concentrations. For the first time in the CLOUD experiment, the monomer sulfuric acid concentration was measured by a CIMS and by two CI-APi-TOF (Chemical Ionization-Atmospheric Pressure interface-Time Of Flight) mass spectrometers. In addition, neutral sulfuric acid clusters were measured with the CI-APi-TOFs. The CLOUD7 measurements show that in the presence of dimethylamine (<5 to 70 pptv) the sulfuric acid monomer measured by the CIMS represents only a fraction of the total H2SO4, contained in the monomer and the clusters that is available for particle growth. Although it was found that the addition of dimethylamine dramatically changes the H2SO4 cluster distribution compared to binary (H2SO4-H2O) conditions, the CIMS detection efficiency does not seem to depend substantially on whether an individual H2SO4 monomer is clustered with a DMA molecule. The experimental observations are supported by numerical simulations based on A Self-contained Atmospheric chemistry coDe coupled with a molecular process model (Sulfuric Acid Water NUCleation) operated in the kinetic limit
Stochastic thermodynamics of holonomic systems
International audienc
Energetic particle influence on the Earth's atmosphere
This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally
galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere
are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere
Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume
The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (rg =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness
- …