Dissociation of hydrogen molecules on the clean and hydrogen-preadsorbed Be(0001) surface

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the potential energy surfaces and dissociation processes for hydrogen molecules on the clean and hydrogen-preadsorbed Be(0001) surfaces. It is found that the most energetically favored dissociation channel for H2 molecules on the clean Be surface is at the surface top site, with the minimum energy barrier of 0.75 eV. It is further found that after dissociation, hydrogen atoms do not like to cluster with each other, as well as to penetrate into subsurface sites. For the hydrogen-preadsorbed Be(0001) surface, the smallest dissociation energy barrier for H2 molecules is found to be 0.50 eV, which is smaller than the dissociation energy barrier on a clean Be(0001) surface. The critical dependence of the dissociation energy barriers for H2 molecules on their horizontal distances from the preadsorbed hydrogen atom is revealed. Our studies well describe the adsorption behaviors of hydrogen on the Be(0001) surface.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Adsorption and diffusion of H2O molecule on the Be(0001) surface: A density-functional theory study

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the adsorption behavior of a single molecular H$_{2}$O on the Be(0001) surface. We find that the favored molecular adsorption site is the top site with an adsorption energy of about 0.3 eV, together with the detailed electronic structure analysis, suggesting a weak binding strength of the H$_{2}$O/Be(0001) surface. The adsorption interaction is mainly contributed by the overlapping between the $s$ and $p_{z}$ states of the top-layer Be atom and the molecular orbitals 1$b_{1}$ and 3$a_{1}$ of H$_{2}$O. The activation energy for H$_{2}$O diffusion on the surface is about 0.3 eV. Meanwhile, our study indicates that no dissociation state exists for the H$_{2}$O/Be(0001) surface.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Bifurcations in nonlinear models of fluid-conveying pipes supported at both ends

Stationary bifurcations in several nonlinear models of fluid conveying pipes fixed at both ends are analyzed with the use of Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction and singularity theory. Influence of gravitational force, curvature and vertical elastic support on various properties of bifurcating solutions are investigated. In particular the conditions for occurrence of supercritical and subcritical bifurcations are presented for the models of Holmes, Thurman and Mote, and Paidoussis.Comment: to appear in Journal of Fluids and Structures; 6 figure

Amplification of MHD waves in swirling astrophysical flows

Recently it was found that helical magnetized flows efficiently amplify Alfv\'en waves (Rogava et al. 2003, A&A, v.399, p.421). This robust and manifold nonmodal effect was found to involve regimes of transient algebraic growth (for purely ejectional flows), and exponential instabilities of both usual and parametric nature. However the study was made in the incompressible limit and an important question remained open - whether this amplification is inherent to swirling MHD flows per se and what is the degree of its dependence on the incompressibility condition. In this paper, in order to clear up this important question, we consider full compressible spectrum of MHD modes: Alfv\'en waves (AW), slow magnetosonic waves (SMW) and fast magnetosonic waves (FMW). We find that helical flows inseparably blend these waves with each other and make them unstable, creating the efficient energy transfer from the mean flow to the waves. The possible role of these instabilities for the onset of the MHD turbulence, self-heating of the flow and the overall dynamics of astrophysical flows are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication (18.03.2003) in the "Astronomy and Astrophysics

Birhythmicity, Synchronization, and Turbulence in an Oscillatory System with Nonlocal Inertial Coupling

We consider a model where a population of diffusively coupled limit-cycle oscillators, described by the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, interacts nonlocally via an inertial field. For sufficiently high intensity of nonlocal inertial coupling, the system exhibits birhythmicity with two oscillation modes at largely different frequencies. Stability of uniform oscillations in the birhythmic region is analyzed by means of the phase dynamics approximation. Numerical simulations show that, depending on its parameters, the system has irregular intermittent regimes with local bursts of synchronization or desynchronization.Comment: 21 pages, many figures. Paper accepted on Physica

A method to discern complexity in two-dimensional patterns generated by coupled map lattices

Complex patterns generated by the time evolution of a one-dimensional digitalized coupled map lattice are quantitatively analyzed. A method for discerning complexity among the different patterns is implemented. The quantitative results indicate two zones in parameter space where the dynamics shows the most complex patterns. These zones are located on the two edges of an absorbent region where the system displays spatio-temporal intermittency.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures; some information about the authors: http://add.unizar.es/public/100_16613/index.htm

Dynamics of elastically strained islands in presence of an anisotropic surface energy

The equilibrium solutions and coarsening dynamics of strained semi-conductor islands are investigated analytically and numerically. We develop an analytical model to study the effect of surface energy anisotropy on the dynamics coarsening of islands. We propose a simple model to explain the effect of this anisotropy on the coarsening time. We find that the anisotropy slows down the coarsening. This effect is rationalised using a quasi-analytical description of the island profile

Argentina

After decades of being a marginal player in the GATT trade negotiations, Argentina decided to participate actively in the Uruguay Round. This chapter measures the imbalance between the concessions given and received and concludes that the value of the first are far more important than the second. I discusss the economic consequence of this imbalance, and the prospects that the outcome of the Doha Round can be more balanced outcome for Argentina.Argentina, GATT, Uruguay Round, Reciprocity, Intellectual Property

Clorindo Testa, 1923-2013

It is with regret and sadness that docomomo Argentina informs the international docomomo community that architect Clorindo Testa passed away on April 11 2013. Testa was an architect and urban planner but also a painter whose artistic sensitivity has been always present in the way he conceived architecture