Phase diagram of the three-band half-filled Cu-O two-leg ladder

We determine the phase diagram of the half-filled two-leg ladder both at weak and strong coupling, taking into account the Cu d(x)(2)-y(2) and the O p(x) and p(y) orbitals. At weak coupling, renormalization group flows are interpreted with the use of bosonization. Two different models with and without outer oxygen orbitals are examined. For physical parameters, and in the absence of the outer oxygen orbitals, the D-Mott phase arises; a dimerized phase appears when the outer oxygen atoms are included. We show that the circulating current phase that preserves translational symmetry does not appear at weak coupling. In the opposite strong-coupling atomic limit the model is purely electrostatic and the ground states may be found by simple energy minimization. The phase diagram so obtained is compared to the weak-coupling one.

Movement and figurality: The circulation diagram and the history of the architectural plan

Knowledge of the plan competes with self-consciousness of experience. The less we are able to understand our spatio-visual experience by the abstract coordinates of the plan, the more we are thrust back into a lived experience of the building in duration. This formula, frequently unacknowledged, has been one of the main precepts of the experientialist modernism which arises out of the picturesque and which stands in critique of classical idealism. One of the paths to critique this formula is by showing that the attention to the experience of the spaces in duration is predicated on obscuring, complicating and weakening the apprehension of the plan as a figure. Another development in the practice of modern planning has been architects using a kind of over-drawing where human circulation diagrams or 'movement lines' are drawn expressively across the orthographic plane; thus representing the lived experience of buildings. We will show that these two issues are linked; the plan's weak figure and the privilege this supposes for durational experience has a corollary - experience itself demands to be visible in the plan, and this is one origin of the present fascination with 'diagramming'. In this paper we explore the practice of architectural planning and its theoretical underpinnings in an attempt to show the viability of a history of architectural planning methods.

Improving novice analyst performance in modeling the sequence diagram in systems analysis: A cognitive complexity approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

Improving Novice Analyst Performance in Modeling the Sequence Diagram in Systems Analysis: A Cognitive Complexity Approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

Phase diagram of the bosonic double-exchange model

The phase diagram of the simplest approximation to double-exchange systems, the bosonic double-exchange model with antiferromagnetic (AFM) superexchange coupling, is fully worked out by means of Monte Carlo simulations, large-N expansions, and variational mean-field calculations. We find a rich phase diagram, with no first-order phase transitions. The most surprising finding is the existence of a segmentlike ordered phase at low temperature for intermediate AFM coupling which cannot be detected in neutron-scattering experiments. This is signaled by a maximum (a cusp) in the specific heat. Below the phase transition, only short-range ordering would be found in neutron scattering. Researchers looking for a quantum critical point in manganites should be wary of this possibility. Finite-size scaling estimates of critical exponents are presented, although large scaling corrections are present in the reachable lattice sizes.

Phase diagram and influence of defects in the double perovskites

The phase diagram of the double perovskites of the type Sr_(2-x)La_(x)FeMoO_(6) is analyzed, with and without disorder due to antisites. In addition to an homogeneous half metallic ferrimagnetic phase in the absence of doping and disorder, we find antiferromagnetic phases at large dopings, and other ferrimagnetic phases with lower saturation magnetization, in the presence of disorder.

Monte Carlo determination of the phase diagram of the double-exchange model

We study the phase diagram of the double exchange model, with antiferromagnetic interactions, in a cubic lattice both at zero and finite temperature. There is a rich variety of magnetic phases, combined with regions where phase separation takes place. We identify phases, intrinsic to the cubic lattice, which are stable for realistic values of the interactions and dopings. Some of these phases break chiral symmetry, leading to unusual features.