Single particle potentials of asymmetric nuclear matter in different spin-isospin channels

We investigate the neutron and proton single particle (s.p.) potentials of asymmetric nuclear matter and their isospin dependence in various spin-isospin ST channels within the framework of the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach. It is shown that in symmetric nuclear matter, the s.p. potentials in both the isospin-singlet T=0 channel and isospin-triplet T=1 channel are essentially attractive, and the magnitudes in the two different channels are roughly the same. In neutron-rich nuclear matter, the isospin-splitting of the proton and neutron s.p. potentials turns out to be mainly determined by the isospin-singlet T=0 channel contribution which becomes more attractive for the proton and more repulsive for the neutron at higher asymmetries.     

Application of the Wiener–Hopf method for describing the propagation of sound in cylindrical and rectangular channels with an impedance jump in the presence of a flow

Exact solutions to problems of the propagation of acoustic modes in lined channels with an impedance jump in the presence of a uniform flow are constructed. Two problems that can be solved by the Wiener- Hopf method—the propagation of acoustic modes in an infinite cylindrical channel with a transverse impedance jump and the propagation of acoustic modes in a rectangular channel with an impedance jump on one of its walls—are considered. On the channel walls, the Ingard–Myers boundary conditions are imposed and, as an additional boundary condition in the vicinity of the junction of the linings, the condition expressing the finiteness of the acoustic energy. Analytical expressions for the amplitudes of the transmitted and reflected fields are obtained.     

Can correlations drive a band insulator metallic?

We analyze the effects of the on-site Coulomb repulsion U on a band insulator using dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). We find the surprising result that the gap is suppressed to zero at a critical Uc1 and remains zero within a metallic phase. At a larger Uc2 there is a second transition from the metal to a Mott insulator, in which the gap increases with increasing U. These results are qualitatively different from Hartree-Fock theory which gives a monotonically decreasing but nonzero insulating gap for all finite U.     

On the “nonclassical many-valuedness” of the universe

Two problems connected with Dirac quantization of relativistic cosmological models are considered. The difficulties with this approach have been the lack of physical interpretation of the spinor wave functions and the difficulty in extracting the spinor square root with a variable mass term in the classical Hamiltonian. It is suggested here that the spinor wave functions may be connected with the temporal irreversibility of physical processes in the universe. The analytical difficulty of extracting the spinor square root suggests a modification of the classical theory, in analogy with the theory of the Dirac electron in an electromagnetic field.     

Is it possible to intervene in the EPRB correlations?

The effect of a quasi-periodic shutter inserted between the source and one of the detectors in a correlated-photon type EPRB experiment is studied. It is shown that the time and polarization correlations are expected to disappear because an intermediate quantized field system is introduced by the shutter between the source field and the detector.     

Imitation of non-contact mode while scanning in the presence of an electric double layer?

Non-contact atomic force microscopy (NCAFM) minimizes the physical interaction between the AFM tip and the surface of interest. Several recent studies have reported observation of single atom defects using this technique. The repulsive force is presumably the primary interatomic force (cf. our paper on pseudo-non-contact mode in this issue) responsible for the reported atomic resolution in these studies. The combination of these factors, minimal tip–sample deformation and repulsive force interaction, are responsible for the observation of the single atom defects. In the present study, we show that similar resolution can be achieved utilizing the same two factors but which employs scanning in a surfactant. The method decreases the tip–sample interaction by eliminating the attractive forces between the tip and sample. The surfactant solution induces an electrical double-layer (EDL) on the surface of the tip and sample. This EDL creates additional repulsion that is distributed over a large area, and hence does not contribute noticeably to the image contrast during scanning. However, it does compensate for the high pressures normally experienced by the tip in the absence of surfactant. In addition, the presence of the EDL enhances tip stability during the image scan. This method has been tested on surfaces of such minerals as mica, chlorite, and anhydrite.     

Do the seagull terms really survive for the electric polarizability of the nucleon?

The seagull terms for the electric polarizability of the nucleon are shown indeed to vanish, if one introduces fluctuations around the Skyrmion configuration, and the origin of the electric polarizability cannot after all be attributed to the seagull terms in the Skyrme model.     

Bias-dependent bandwidth of the conductance in the presence of electron–phonon interaction

We study the electronic transport in the presence of electron–phonon interaction (EPI) for a molecular electronic device. Instead of mean field approximation (MFA), the related phonon correlation function is conducted with the Langreth theorem (LT). We present formal expressions for the bandwidth of the electron’s spectral function in the central region of the devices, such as quantum dot (QD), or single molecular transistor (SMT). Our results show that the out-tunneling rate depends on the energy, bias voltage and the phonon field. Besides, the predicted conductance map, behaving as a function of bias voltage and the gate voltage, gets blurred at the high bias voltage region. These EPI effects are consistent with the experimental observations in the EPI transport experiment.     

On the presence of spectral shortcut in the energy budget of an asymmetric jet–wake flow in a forward-curved centrifugal turbomachine as deduced from SPIV measurements

Viscous dissipation and its contribution to turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget are investigated in the asymmetric jet–wake flow of a forward-curved centrifugal turbomachine. Single-plane three-dimensional turbulent data are obtained using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV). Viscous dissipation is indirectly estimated from subgrid-scale (SGS) dissipation (SGS energy flux) by filtering velocity field using a top-hat filter. The filter scale should be within the inertial sub-range and this is ensured by spectral analysis of the measured field. Reduction of turbulent energy flux for smaller filter scales plus underestimation of viscous dissipation as compared with other TKE terms both suggest the presence of spectral shortcut. This bypass energy transfer (from intermediate scales towards dissipative scales) works in parallel with direct SGS energy transfer and affects the classical energy cascade. Analysis of TKE budget in the rotor exit region shows significant radial/circumferential variations in the contributing terms. These variations are mainly due to jet–wake–volute interactions, circumferential asymmetry of volute area and expansion of flow toward the fan outlet.     

Structurally asymmetric d.c. SQUID’s in the presence of coupling energy inhomogeneity of the junctions studied by means of the reduced two-junction interferometer model

The effects of structural asymmetries and of inhomogeneities in the junction parameters on the electrodynamic response of conventional d.c. SQUIDs are studied both analytically and numerically. By a first-order perturbative expansion with respect to the parameter and to the deviation parameters describing structural asymmetry and inhomogeneity, we write the reduced dynamical equation for the average superconducting phase difference of a conventional d.c. SQUID. As in homogeneous and symmetric SQUIDs, the resulting dynamical equation is seen to be similar to that of a single junction with an unconventional current-phase relation characterized by a second harmonic contribution; in addition, a cosine term appears as a consequence of superconducting coupling inhomogeneity. By means of the reduced dynamical equation, the I-V characteristics in the presence of an external rf field and the critical current of the device are studied in the absence of noise.     

Can EMMA solve the puzzle of the knee?

The knee is a change in the slope of the cosmic ray spectrum at approximate energy of 3 PeV. There are multiple competing models for the knee giving conflicting predictions about this change for different masses of the primary particle. Accurate mass measurements of cosmic rays spectra around 3 PeV would be able to exclude some of these models. Cosmic-ray experiment EMMA uses a new method for studying the composition of cosmic rays at the knee area. It is able to determine the multiplicity, the lateral distribution, and the arrival direction of incoming muons produced early in the shower evolution on an event-by-event basis and deduce from these measurements the mass and the energy of the primary particle. EMMA is situated at the depth of 75 m in the Pyhäsalmi mine, Finland. This rock overburden, which corresponds to 210 m of water equivalent, gives EMMA a cut-off energy of 50 GeV for vertical muons. Since the simulations using different air-shower models give similar predictions for the lateral distribution of these high energy muons, we are confident that EMMA should yield a reliable and an air-shower model independent data on the composition of cosmic rays around the knee region.     

Can the CMB reveal the topology of the universe?

This article summarizes recent progress in the development of tools to study the topology of the universe with the cosmic microwave background. The different signatures of the topology and observational constraints are described. The ability of future experiments to reveal the topological structure of our universe is then discussed. To cite this article: J.P. Uzan, A. Riazuelo, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

Does color-magnetic interaction induce short-range diquark correlations in the proton?

Color-magnetic interaction with a smearing function found from the fit to the - splitting is strong enough to support a bound state of a single pair. We present some piloting calculations in order to illustrate the eigenenergy dependence on the cutoff parameter for different choices of the smearing function. In the threequark system the spin-spin interaction can lead to the existence of the short-range correlations in each¹ S _o qq subsystem, thereby providing the dynamical mechanism for the quark-diquark picture of the proton.     

Do the extended states in random dimer chains survive under perturbations?

We study the delocalization properties of the resonant extended states in the random dimer model (RDM) with various perturbations added. The divergent localization length ξ is found to display a power-law decay ξ ∝ W^α as a function of the disorder W in the dimer or the background energies, with an exponent α around 2 depending on the location of the resonant state. For randomness in the dimer structure the exponent becomes α_p = 1 and for the case of an applied electric field it reaches higher values α_e > 2. These effects on the resonant states are discussed in connection with the electronic transport properties of realistic disordered systems.     

Can the breaking of time-reversal symmetry remove degeneracies in quantum mechanics?

Reduction of spatial symmetry can remove the degeneracy of energy levels in quantum mechanics. The break of time-reversal symmetry by inclusion of a dissipative environment can have a similar effect. The corresponding time-evolution of position and momentum fluctuations can be described by a nonlinear differential equation that can lead to bifurcations and, thus, splitting of energy levels.     

Pair-vibrational states in the presence of neutron–proton pairing

Pair vibrations are studied for a Hamiltonian with neutron–neutron, proton–proton and neutron–proton pairing. The spectrum is found to be rich in strongly correlated, low-lying excited states. Changing the ratio of diagonal to off-diagonal pairing matrix elements is found to have a large impact on the excited-state spectrum. The variational configuration interaction (VCI) method, used to calculate the excitation spectrum, is found to be in very good agreement with exact solutions for systems with large degeneracies having equal T=0$T=0$ and T=1$T=1$ pairing strengths.     

New trends in the development of “active correlations” technique

With reaching extremely high intensities of heavy-ion beams, new requirements for the detection system of the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS) will definitely be set. One of the challenges is how to apply the “active correlations” method [1–6] to suppress beam associated background products without significant losses in the whole long-term experiment efficiency value. Different scenarios and equations for the development of a method according to this requirement are under consideration in the present paper.     

Low frequency ultrasonic-assisted hydrolysis of starch in the presence of α-amylase

Hydrolysis of starch is an important process in the food industry and in the production of bioethanol or smaller carbohydrate molecules that can be used as starting blocks for chemical synthesis. Such hydrolysis can be enhanced by lowering the pH, heating the reaction mixture or catalyzing the reaction with enzymes. This study reports the effect of sonication on the reaction rate of starch hydrolysis at different temperatures, in the presence or absence of alpha-amylase. Starch Azure, a commercially available potato starch covalently linked with Remazol Brilliant Blue, has been chosen since its hydrolysis releases a blue dye, which concentration can be monitored by UV Vis spectroscopy. Ultrasounds, regardless of experimental conditions, provide the highest reaction rate for such hydrolysis.