360,417 research outputs found
The BCS-BEC Crossover
This chapter presents the crossover from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)
state of weakly-correlated pairs of fermions to the Bose-Einstein condensation
(BEC) of diatomic molecules in the atomic Fermi gas. Our aim is to provide a
pedagogical review of the BCS-BEC crossover, with an emphasis on the basic
concepts, particularly those that are not generally known or are difficult to
find in the literature. We shall not attempt to give an exhaustive survey of
current research in the limited space here; where possible, we will direct the
reader to more extensive reviews.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. This article will be published as Chapter 9 in
"Quantum gas experiments - exploring many-body states", edited by P. Torma
and K. Sengstock, Imperial College Press, London, to be published 201
Late Medieval Roof Bosses in the Churches of Devon
Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictionsSusan Andrew
LATE MEDIEVAL ROOF BOSSES IN THE CHURCHES OF DEVON
Abstract
The extensive survival of late medieval bosses in the roofs of many parish churches in Devon has long been recognised. These carvings escaped the widespread destruction of images during the Reformation through their relative inaccessibility, and yet most have never before been recorded; nor has systematic study been made of their design, their positioning within a sacred space, or the ways in which they may have been viewed and used by a largely illiterate audience. This thesis rectifies this oversight in its detailed documentation and photography of figural roof bosses and contextual information from 121 churches across the county, appended as a gazetteer, and in its thorough analysis, which considers the varied interactions between the people of the parish and their carvings.
The thesis reviews the literature on roof bosses in Britain, particularly the work of C.J.P. Cave whose studies have hitherto dominated the field, before considering materiality and method, namely the properties of oak, the dating of the timber, the carvers and the carving process, and the surface finish and visibility of roof bosses. The social, religious, and decorative context is then discussed, especially the role of ecclesiastical authorities in the life of the parish church and its people, and the motivation of patrons, clergy and laity in the decoration of their parish church. An exploration of motifs carved on roof bosses follows, with these motifs linked to other images within the parish church, the cathedral and the wider world, to the words of the sermon and the confessional, and to scriptural texts and popular literature. Medieval understandings of vision are considered, as are the circumstances in which roof bosses may have been seen and used. The thesis argues, in particular, that many bosses may have served as mnemonic devices and aids to prayer in a penitential process which sought to cure the soul of sin. The thesis concludes with case studies of six parish churches from across Devon which confirm that these carvings should be recognised as a significant resource for our understanding of the late medieval parish church and its people in the Diocese of Exeter and beyond
We would see Jesus
Historical series, 10. Jn 12:20-33. Preached during Lent, 1997, Hodgeville Lutheran parish
Late medieval churchwardens' accounts and parish government : looking beyond London and Bristol
This contribution reviews a number of contested issues in the historiography of the late medieval English parish. In contrast to views expressed by Clive Burgess in a recent article in this journal, it is argued that the reliability of churchwardens’ accounts cannot be judged in a general manner, but depends on the specific questions historians want answered. While offering reliable insights into ordinary financial transactions made by churchwardens on behalf of their parishes, they are utterly inadequate for a histoire totale of local religious life. Closer examination of the function, context and compilation of the records suggests that quantitative analysis is not only possible, but an essential prerequisite for informed discussion of parish regimes. The complexity of local communities and the desirability of comparative perspectives call for a plurality of approaches. Finally, the pivotal role of churchwardens within the varying (religious, political and administrative) configurations of the ‘whole body of the parish’ is reasserted
Three-body correlations in a two-dimensional SU(3) Fermi gas
We consider a three-component Fermi gas that has SU(3) symmetry and is
confined to two dimensions (2D). For realistic cold atomic gas experiments, we
show that the phase diagram of the quasi-2D system can be characterized using
two 2D scattering parameters: the scattering length and the effective range.
Unlike the case in 3D, we argue that three-body bound states (trimers) in the
quasi-2D system can be stable against three-body losses. Using a low-density
expansion coupled with a variational approach, we investigate the fate of such
trimers in the many-body system as the attractive interactions are decreased
(or, conversely, as the density of particles is increased). We find that
remnants of trimers can persist in the form of strong three-body correlations
in the weak-coupling (high-density) limit.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Aerodynamic investigations of ventilated brake discs.
The heat dissipation and performance of a ventilated brake disc strongly depends
on the aerodynamic characteristics of the flow through the rotor passages. The
aim of this investigation was to provide an improved understanding of ventilated
brake rotor flow phenomena, with a view to improving heat dissipation, as well
as providing a measurement data set for validation of computational fluid
dynamics methods. The flow fields at the exit of four different brake rotor
geometries, rotated in free air, were measured using a five-hole pressure probe
and a hot-wire anemometry system. The principal measurements were taken using
two-component hot-wire techniques and were used to determine mean and unsteady
flow characteristics at the exit of the brake rotors. Using phase-locked data
processing, it was possible to reveal the spatial and temporal flow variation
within individual rotor passages. The effects of disc geometry and rotational
speed on the mean flow, passage turbulence intensity, and mass flow were
determined. The rotor exit jet and wake flow were clearly observed as
characterized by the passage geometry as well as definite regions of high and
low turbulence. The aerodynamic flow characteristics were found to be reasonably
independent of rotational speed but highly dependent upon rotor geometry
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