EPJB Colloquium - Fulfillment of sum-rules and Goldstone modes in many body theories
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- Published on 15 February 2016
This EPJ B Colloquium article explores applications of the Self-Consistent Random Phase Approximation (SCRPA) approach to Fermi systems with a continuously broken symmetry. Correlations beyond those considered by standard Random Phase Approximation (RPA) are summed up, thereby correcting for the quasi-boson approximation in standard RPA.
EPJ B Highlight - Helping turn waste heat into electricity
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- Published on 03 February 2016
How the collective motion of electrons interacting with crystal atoms can be fine-tuned to harvest excess heat
At the atomic level, bismuth displays a number of quirky physical phenomena. A new study reveals a novel mechanism for controlling the energy transfer between electrons and the bismuth crystal lattice. Mastering this effect could, ultimately, help convert waste heat back into electricity, for example to improve the overall efficiency of solar cells. These findings have now been published in EPJ B by Piotr Chudzinski from Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
EPJ B Highlight - Exact formula now available for measuring scientific success
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- Published on 31 January 2016
Polish team has developed equations governing the growth of authors’ h-index using an agent-based model
Scientometrics research is the science of evaluating scientific performance. Physics methods designed to predict growth based on a scale-free network have rarely been applied to this field. Now, scientists in Poland have developed an analytical method using a previously developed agent-based model to predict the h-index, probably the most popular citation-based scientific measurement, using bibliometric data. They are the very first to succeed in developing an exact formula to calculate the number of external citations and self-citations for each paper written by an author. These findings have just been published in EPJ B by Barbara Żogała-Siudem from the Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, and colleagues. It opens the door to applying this growth analysis to social network users or citations from different scientific fields.
EPJ B Colloquium - Nanophononics: state of the art and perspectives
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- Published on 20 January 2016
Understanding vibrations in condensed matter, and in particular how to control these vibrations, is proving essential both at a fundamental level and for the development of a broad variety of technological applications. Intelligent design of the band structure and transport properties of phonons at the nanoscale, including their interactions with electrons and photons, has improved the efficiency of nanoelectronic systems and thermoelectric materials, permitted the exploration of quantum phenomena with micro- and nanoscale resonators, and provided new tools for spectroscopy and imaging.
EPJ B Highlight - Conductor turned insulator amid disorder
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- Published on 02 December 2015
Study analyses how disorder in the way atoms are connected in a material influences electric conductivity
Some materials that are inherently disordered display unusual conductivity, sometimes behaving like insulators and sometimes like conductors. Physicists have now analysed the conductivity in a special class of disordered materials. Martin Puschmann from the Technical University Chemnitz, Germany, and colleagues have demonstrated that electrons in the materials studied display a multifractal spatial structure at the transition between conductive and insulating behaviour. These findings have just been published by in EPJ B.
EPJ B Highlight - Trapping climate pollutant methane gas in porous carbon
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- Published on 01 December 2015
New adsorption of gas into porous carbon simulations are of interest to energy research and climate change mitigation
As talks of global warming are once again making headlines, scientists have renewed their efforts to understand how to best limit its effects. For example, sequestrating short-lived climate pollutants, such as methane and black carbon, yields much faster reductions in global warming compared to reductions in CO2. To do so, it is essential to have a better grasp of the nature of physico-chemical properties of gases interacting with porous carbon. Now, a team of chemical engineering researchers based in South Africa has established ways of accurately simulating methane adsorption and desorption in carbon with nanopores. These findings have been published by Matthew Lasich and Deresh Ramjugernath from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, in EPJ B. Alternative applications for such findings are relevant for future energy research, such as energy storage and the development of natural gas extraction methods.
EPJ B Colloquium: Hierarchy of scales in language dynamics
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- Published on 12 November 2015
Language is a collective phenomenon, shared by a group of speakers, and originating from interactions between individual group members. This dimension has captured the interest of statistical physicists who have applied their methods to study how languages change and differentiate themselves from one another over time.
EPJ B Highlight - Anti-clumping strategy for nanoparticles
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- Published on 16 October 2015
Scientists identify the factors involved in preventing nanoparticles used in industrial applications from aggregating
Nanoparticles are ubiquitous in industrial applications ranging from drug delivery and biomedical diagnostics to developing hydrophobic surfaces, lubricant additives and enhanced oil recovery solutions in petroleum fields. For such nanoparticles to be effective, they need to remain well dispersed into the fluid surrounding them. In a study published in EPJ B, Brazilian physicists identified the conditions that lead to instability of nanoparticles and producing aggregates. This happens when the electric force on their surface no longer balances by the sum of the attractive or repulsive forces between nanoparticles. These findings were recently published by Lucas de Lara from the Centre for Natural and Human Sciences, at the University Federal of ABC (UFABC) in Santo André, SP, Brazil and colleagues.
EPJB Colloquium: Modern temporal network theory
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- Published on 18 September 2015
The power of any kind of network approach lies in its ability to simplify a complex system so as to better understand its function as a whole. Sometimes it is beneficial, however, to include more information than is available in a simple graph of nodes and links. Adding information related to the timing of interactions can facilitate more accurate predictions, as well as a deeper mechanistic understanding.
EPJ B Highlight - Surfing over simulated ripples in graphene
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- Published on 17 September 2015
Scientists from India elucidate the theory governing the characteristics of curved or rippled graphene using a simulation model based on an optical lattice
The single-carbon-atom-thick material, graphene, featuring ripples is not easy to understand. Instead of creating such ripples physically, physicists investigating this kind of unusually shaped material rely on a quantum simulator. It is made up of an artificial lattice of light - called ultra-cold optical lattice - akin to eggs held in the cavities of an egg tray. This approach allowed a team of theoretical physicists from India to shed some light - literally and figuratively - on the properties of rippled graphene. These findings have just been published in EPJ B by Tridev Mishra and colleagues from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, in Pilani, India. Ultimately, this work could find applications in novel graphene-based sensors.
