23,592 research outputs found
GIZMO: A New Class of Accurate, Mesh-Free Hydrodynamic Simulation Methods
We present two new Lagrangian methods for hydrodynamics, in a systematic
comparison with moving-mesh, SPH, and stationary (non-moving) grid methods. The
new methods are designed to simultaneously capture advantages of both
smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and grid-based/adaptive mesh refinement
(AMR) schemes. They are based on a kernel discretization of the volume coupled
to a high-order matrix gradient estimator and a Riemann solver acting over the
volume 'overlap.' We implement and test a parallel, second-order version of the
method with self-gravity & cosmological integration, in the code GIZMO: this
maintains exact mass, energy and momentum conservation; exhibits superior
angular momentum conservation compared to all other methods we study; does not
require 'artificial diffusion' terms; and allows the fluid elements to move
with the flow so resolution is automatically adaptive. We consider a large
suite of test problems, and find that on all problems the new methods appear
competitive with moving-mesh schemes, with some advantages (particularly in
angular momentum conservation), at the cost of enhanced noise. The new methods
have many advantages vs. SPH: proper convergence, good capturing of
fluid-mixing instabilities, dramatically reduced 'particle noise' & numerical
viscosity, more accurate sub-sonic flow evolution, & sharp shock-capturing.
Advantages vs. non-moving meshes include: automatic adaptivity, dramatically
reduced advection errors & numerical overmixing, velocity-independent errors,
accurate coupling to gravity, good angular momentum conservation and
elimination of 'grid alignment' effects. We can, for example, follow hundreds
of orbits of gaseous disks, while AMR and SPH methods break down in a few
orbits. However, fixed meshes minimize 'grid noise.' These differences are
important for a range of astrophysical problems.Comment: 57 pages, 33 figures. MNRAS. A public version of the GIZMO code,
user's guide, test problem setups, and movies are available at
http://www.tapir.caltech.edu/~phopkins/Site/GIZMO.htm
Phononics: Manipulating heat flow with electronic analogs and beyond
The form of energy termed heat that typically derives from lattice
vibrations, i.e. the phonons, is usually considered as waste energy and,
moreover, deleterious to information processing. However, with this colloquium,
we attempt to rebut this common view: By use of tailored models we demonstrate
that phonons can be manipulated like electrons and photons can, thus enabling
controlled heat transport. Moreover, we explain that phonons can be put to
beneficial use to carry and process information. In a first part we present
ways to control heat transport and how to process information for physical
systems which are driven by a temperature bias. Particularly, we put forward
the toolkit of familiar electronic analogs for exercising phononics; i.e.
phononic devices which act as thermal diodes, thermal transistors, thermal
logic gates and thermal memories, etc.. These concepts are then put to work to
transport, control and rectify heat in physical realistic nanosystems by
devising practical designs of hybrid nanostructures that permit the operation
of functional phononic devices and, as well, report first experimental
realizations. Next, we discuss yet richer possibilities to manipulate heat flow
by use of time varying thermal bath temperatures or various other external
fields. These give rise to a plenty of intriguing phononic nonequilibrium
phenomena as for example the directed shuttling of heat, a geometrical phase
induced heat pumping, or the phonon Hall effect, that all may find its way into
operation with electronic analogs.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, modified title and revised, accepted for
publication in Rev. Mod. Phy
Low-cost fermions in classical field simulations
We discuss the possible extension of the bosonic classical field theory
simulations to include fermions. This problem has been addressed in terms of
the inhomogeneous mean field approximation by Aarts and Smit. By performing a
stochastic integration of an equivalent set of equations we can extend the
original 1+1 dimensional calculations so that they become feasible in higher
dimensions. We test the scheme in 2 + 1 dimensions and discuss some classical
applications with fermions for the first time, such as the decay of oscillons.Comment: 13 pages, revtex
Computational Eulerian Hydrodynamics and Galilean Invariance
Eulerian hydrodynamical simulations are a powerful and popular tool for
modeling fluids in astrophysical systems. In this work, we critically examine
recent claims that these methods violate Galilean invariance of the Euler
equations. We demonstrate that Eulerian hydrodynamics methods do converge to a
Galilean-invariant solution, provided a well-defined convergent solution
exists. Specifically, we show that numerical diffusion, resulting from
diffusion-like terms in the discretized hydrodynamical equations solved by
Eulerian methods, accounts for the effects previously identified as evidence
for the Galilean non-invariance of these methods. These velocity-dependent
diffusive terms lead to different results for different bulk velocities when
the spatial resolution of the simulation is kept fixed, but their effect
becomes negligible as the resolution of the simulation is increased to obtain a
converged solution. In particular, we find that Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities
develop properly in realistic Eulerian calculations regardless of the bulk
velocity provided the problem is simulated with sufficient resolution (a factor
of 2-4 increase compared to the case without bulk flows for realistic
velocities). Our results reiterate that high-resolution Eulerian methods can
perform well and obtain a convergent solution, even in the presence of highly
supersonic bulk flows.Comment: Version accepted by MNRAS Oct 2, 2009. Figures degraded. For
high-resolution color figures and movies of the numerical simulations, please
visit
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~brant/Site/Computational_Eulerian_Hydrodynamics_and_Galilean_Invariance.htm
Flexible and stretchable circuit technologies for space applications
Flexible and stretchable circuit technologies offer reduced volume and weight, increased electrical performance, larger design freedom and improved interconnect reliability. All of these advantages are appealing for space applications. In this paper, two example technologies, the ultra-thin chip package (UTCP) and stretchable moulded interconnect (SMI), are described. The UTCP technology results in a 60 µm thick chip package, including the embedding of a 20 µm thick chip, laser or protolithic via definition to the chip contacts and application of fan out metallization. Imec’s stretchable interconnect technology is inspired by conventional rigid and flexible printed circuit board (PCB) technology. Stretchable interconnects are realized by copper meanders supported by a flexible material e.g. polyimide. Elastic materials, predominantly silicone rubbers, are used to embed the conductors and the components, thus serving as circuit carrier. The possible advantages of these technologies with respect to space applications are discussed
- …