Aoyama Gakuin University

About: Aoyama Gakuin University is a education organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Superconductivity & Thin film. The organization has 3494 authors who have published 6419 publications receiving 115648 citations. The organization is also known as: Aoyama gakuin daigaku.

Learning Simple and Complex Second Language Rules Under Implicit, Incidental, Rule-Search, and Instructed Conditions

Abstract: This study examines the generalizability of claims by Reber (1989, 1993) about the implicit learning of artificial grammars to the context of adult second language acquisition (SLA). In the field of SLA Krashen (1981, 1982, 1985, 1994) has made claims parallel to those of Reber regarding the differential effectiveness of conscious learning of rules and unconscious incidental acquisition of rules. Specifically addressed are Reber's and Krashen's claims that (a) implicit learning is more effective than explicit learning when the stimulus domain is complex, and (b) explicit learning of simple and complex stimulus domains is possible if the underlying rules are made salient. One hundred four adult learners of English as a second language were randomly assigned to implicit, incidental, rule-search, or instructed computerized training conditions. Speed and accuracy of judgments of novel tokens of easy and hard rule sentence types presented during training were used as dependent measures. Results do not support the first of Reber's and Krashen's claims but do support the second. Implicit learners do not outperform other learners on complex rules, but instructed learners outperform all others in learning simple rules. Analyses of the effect of sentence type and grammaticality on learning suggest a transfer-appropriate processing account of the relationship among consciousness, rule awareness, training, and transfer task performance.

The quiescent intracluster medium in the core of the Perseus cluster

Abstract: The Hitomi collaboration reports X-ray observations of the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies the brightest X-ray-emitting cluster in the sky. Such clusters typically consist of tens to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity and are studied as models of both small-scale cosmology and large-scale astrophysical processes. The data reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere, where gas velocities are quite low, with a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of about 164 kilometres per second at a distance of 3060 kiloparsecs from the central nucleus.

Composite domain walls in a multiferroic perovskite ferrite.

Abstract: In multiferroics ferroelectricity and magnetism are coupled, but the coupling is often rather weak. As is now shown for a perovskite oxide, composite domain walls can lead to a strong coupling of electricity and magnetism, highlighting the importance of domain walls for practical applications using multiferroics.

In-Orbit Performance of the Hard X-Ray Detector on Board Suzaku

Abstract: The in-orbit performance and calibration of the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) on board the X-ray astronomy satellite Suzaku are described. Its basic performances, including a wide energy bandpass of 10–600keV, energy resolutions of ∼ 4keV (FWHM) at 40keV and ∼ 11% at 511keV, and a high background rejection efficiency, have been confirmed by extensive in-orbit calibrations. The long-term gains of PIN-Si diodes have been stable within 1% for half a year, and those of scintillators have decreased by 5–20%. The residual non-X-ray background of the HXD is the lowest among past non-imaging hard X-ray instruments in energy ranges of 15–70 and 150–500keV. We provide accurate calibrations of energy responses, angular responses, timing accuracy of the HXD, and relative normalizations to the X-ray CCD cameras using multiple observations of the Crab Nebula.

Chiral magnetic soliton lattice on a chiral helimagnet.

Abstract: Using Lorenz microscopy and small-angle electron diffraction, we directly present that the chiral magnetic soliton lattice (CSL) continuously evolves from a chiral helimagnetic structure in small magnetic fields in ${\mathrm{Cr}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{NbS}}_{2}$. An incommensurate CSL undergoes a phase transition to a commensurate ferromagnetic state at the critical field strength. The period of a CSL, which exerts an effective potential for itinerant spins, is tuned by simply changing the field strength. Chiral magnetic orders observed do not exhibit any structural dislocation, indicating their high stability and robustness in ${\mathrm{Cr}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{NbS}}_{2}$.