1,354 research outputs found
Liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei
In a finite temperature Thomas-Fermi framework, we calculate density
distributions of hot nuclei enclosed in a freeze-out volume of few times the
normal nuclear volume and then construct the caloric curve, with and without
inclusion of radial collective flow. In both cases, the calculated specific
heats show a peaked structure signalling a liquid-gas phase transition.
Without flow, the caloric curve indicates a continuous phase transition whereas
with inclusion of flow, the transition is very sharp. In the latter case, the
nucleus undergoes a shape change to a bubble from a diffuse sphere at the
transition temperature.Comment: Proc. of 6th Int. Conf. on N-N Collisions (Gatlinburg); Nuclear
Physics A (in press
Magnetic ordering of Mn sublattice, dense Kondo lattice behavior of Ce in (RPd3)8Mn (R = La, Ce)
We have synthesized two new interstitial compounds (RPd3)8Mn (R = La and Ce).
The Mn ions present in "dilute" concentration of just 3 molar percent form a
sublattice with an unusually large Mn-Mn near neighbor distance of ~ 85 nm.
While the existence of (RPd3)8M (where M is a p-block element) is already
documented in the literature, the present work reports for the first time the
formation of this phase with M being a 3d element. In (LaPd3)8Mn, the Mn
sub-lattice orders antiferromagnetically as inferred from the peaks in
low-field magnetization at 48 K and 23 K. The latter peak progressively shifts
towards lower temperatures in increasing magnetic field and disappears below
1.8 K in a field of ~ 8 kOe. On the other hand in (CePd3)8Mn the Mn sublattice
undergoes a ferromagnetic transition around 35 K. The Ce ions form a dense
Kondo-lattice and are in a paramagnetic state at least down to 1.5 K. A
strongly correlated electronic ground state arising from Kondo effect is
inferred from the large extrapolated value of C/T = 275 mJ/Ce-mol K^2 at T = 0
K. In contrast, the interstitial alloys RPd3Mnx (x = 0.03 and 0.06), also
synthesized for the first time, have a spin glass ground state due to the
random distribution of the Mn ions over the available "1b" sites in the parent
RPd3 crystal lattice.Comment: 18 figures and 20 pages of text documen
Percolation in random environment
We consider bond percolation on the square lattice with perfectly correlated
random probabilities. According to scaling considerations, mapping to a random
walk problem and the results of Monte Carlo simulations the critical behavior
of the system with varying degree of disorder is governed by new, random fixed
points with anisotropic scaling properties. For weaker disorder both the
magnetization and the anisotropy exponents are non-universal, whereas for
strong enough disorder the system scales into an {\it infinite randomness fixed
point} in which the critical exponents are exactly known.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Spin Reduction Transition in Spin-3/2 Random Heisenberg Chains
Random spin-3/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains are investigated using an
asymptotically exact renormalization group. Randomness is found to induce a
quantum phase transition between two random-singlet phases. In the strong
randomness phase the effective spins at low energies are S_eff=3/2, while in
the weak randomness phase the effective spins are S_eff=1/2. Separating them is
a quantum critical point near which there is a non-trivial mixture of S=1/2,
S=1, and S=3/2 effective spins at low temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Typos correcte
Griffiths Effects in Random Heisenberg Antiferromagnetic S=1 Chains
I consider the effects of enforced dimerization on random Heisenberg
antiferromagnetic S=1 chains. I argue for the existence of novel Griffiths
phases characterized by {\em two independent dynamical exponents} that vary
continuously in these phases; one of the exponents controls the density of
spin-1/2 degrees of freedom in the low-energy effective Hamiltonian, while the
other controls the corresponding density of spin-1 degrees of freedom.
Moreover, in one of these Griffiths phases, the system has very different low
temperature behavior in two different parts of the phase which are separated
from each other by a sharply defined crossover line; on one side of this
crossover line, the system `looks' like a S=1 chain at low energies, while on
the other side, it is best thought of as a chain. A strong-disorder RG
analysis makes it possible to analytically obtain detailed information about
the low temperature behavior of physical observables such as the susceptibility
and the specific heat, as well as identify an experimentally accessible
signature of this novel crossover.Comment: 16 pages, two-column PRB format; 5 figure
Spin-3/2 random quantum antiferromagnetic chains
We use a modified perturbative renormalization group approach to study the
random quantum antiferromagnetic spin-3/2 chain. We find that in the case of
rectangular distributions there is a quantum Griffiths phase and we obtain the
dynamical critical exponent as a function of disorder. Only in the case of
extreme disorder, characterized by a power law distribution of exchange
couplings, we find evidence that a random singlet phase could be reached. We
discuss the differences between our results and those obtained by other
approaches.Comment: 4 page
Universality of the thermodynamic Casimir effect
Recently a nonuniversal character of the leading spatial behavior of the
thermodynamic Casimir force has been reported [X. S. Chen and V. Dohm, Phys.
Rev. E {\bf 66}, 016102 (2002)]. We reconsider the arguments leading to this
observation and show that there is no such leading nonuniversal term in systems
with short-ranged interactions if one treats properly the effects generated by
a sharp momentum cutoff in the Fourier transform of the interaction potential.
We also conclude that lattice and continuum models then produce results in
mutual agreement independent of the cutoff scheme, contrary to the
aforementioned report. All results are consistent with the {\em universal}
character of the Casimir force in systems with short-ranged interactions. The
effects due to dispersion forces are discussed for systems with periodic or
realistic boundary conditions. In contrast to systems with short-ranged
interactions, for one observes leading finite-size contributions
governed by power laws in due to the subleading long-ranged character of
the interaction, where is the finite system size and is the
correlation length.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev. E 68 (2003
Reversible Pressure-Induced Amorphization in Solid C70 : Raman and Photoluminescence Study
We have studied single crystals of by Raman scattering and
photoluminescence in the pressure range from 0 to 31.1 GPa. The Raman spectrum
at 31.1 GPa shows only a broad band similar to that of the amorphous carbon
without any trace of the Raman lines of . After releasing the pressure
from 31.1 GPa, the Raman and the photoluminescence spectra of the recovered
sample are that of the starting crystal. These results indicate that
the molecules are stable upto 31.1 GPa and the amorphous carbon high
pressure phase is reversible, in sharp contrast to the results on solid
. A qualitative explaination is suggested in terms of inter- versus
intra-molecular interactions.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., 12 pages, RevTeX (preprint format), 3
figures available upon reques
Egalitarian despots: hierarchy steepness, reciprocity and the grooming-trade model in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Biological-markets theory models the action of natural selection as a marketplace in which animals are viewed as traders with commodities to offer and exchange. Studies of female Old World monkeys have suggested that grooming might be employed as a commodity to be reciprocated or traded for alternative services, yet previous tests of this grooming-trade model in wild adult male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have yielded mixed results. Here we provide the strongest test of the model to date for male chimpanzees: we use data drawn from two social groups (communities) of chimpanzees from different populations, and give explicit consideration to variation in dominance hierarchy steepness as such variation results in differing conditions for biological markets. First, analysis of data from published accounts of other chimpanzee communities, together with our own data, showed that hierarchy steepness varied considerably within and across communities and that the number of adult males in a community aged 20-30 years predicted hierarchy steepness. The two communities in which we tested predictions of the grooming-trade model lay at opposite extremes of this distribution. Second, in accord with the grooming-trade model, we found evidence that male chimpanzees trade grooming for agonistic support where hierarchies are steep (despotic) and consequent effective support is a rank-related commodity, but not where hierarchies are shallow (egalitarian). However, we also found that grooming was reciprocated regardless of hierarchy steepness. Our findings also hint at the possibility of agonistic competition, or at least exclusion, in relation to grooming opportunities compromising the free market envisioned by Biological Markets theory. Our results build on previous findings across chimpanzee communities to emphasise the importance of reciprocal grooming exchanges among adult male chimpanzees, which can be understood in a biological markets framework if grooming by or with particular individuals is a valuable commodity
Determining the thermal histories of Apollo 15 mare basalts using diffusion modelling in olivine
Mare basalts collected at the Apollo 15 landing site can be classified into two groups. Based on differing whole-rock major element chemistry, these groups are the quartz-normative basalt suite and the olivine-normative basalt suite. In this study we use modelling of Fe-Mg interdiffusion in zoned olivine crystals to investigate the magmatic environments in which the zonation was formed, be that within the lunar crust or during cooling within a surficial lava flow, helping to understand the thermal histories of the two basalt suites. Interdiffusion of Fe-Mg in olivine was modelled in 29 crystals in total, from six olivine-normative basalt thin sections and from three quartz-normative basalt thin sections. We used a dynamic diffusion model that includes terms for both crystal growth and intracrystalline diffusion during magma cooling. Calculated diffusion timescales range from 5 to 24 days for quartz-normative samples, and 6 to 91 days for olivine-normative samples. Similarities in diffusion timescales point to both suites experiencing similar thermal histories and eruptive processes. The diffusion timescales are short (between 5 and 91 days), and compositional zonation is dominated by crystal growth, which indicates that the diffusion most likely took place during cooling and solidification within lava flows at the lunar surface. We used a simple conductive cooling model to link our calculated diffusion timescales with possible lava flow thicknesses, and from this we estimate that Apollo 15 lava flows are a minimum of 3–6 m thick. This calculation is consistent with flow thickness estimates from photographs of lava flows exposed in the walls of Hadley Rille at the Apollo 15 landing site. Our study demonstrates that diffusion modelling is a valuable method of obtaining information about lunar magmatic environments recorded by individual crystals within mare basalt samples
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