20,678 research outputs found
Review of simulating four classes of window materials for daylighting with non-standard BSDF using the simulation program Radiance
This review describes the currently available simulation models for window
material to calculate daylighting with the program "Radiance". The review is
based on four abstract and general classes of window materials, depending on
their scattering and redirecting properties (bidirectional scatter distribution
function, BSDF). It lists potential and limits of the older models and includes
the most recent additions to the software. All models are demonstrated using an
exemplary indoor scene and two typical sky conditions. It is intended as
clarification for applying window material models in project work or teaching.
The underlying algorithmic problems apply to all lighting simulation programs,
so the scenarios of materials and skies are applicable to other lighting
programs
Lattice thermal conductivity of graphene nanostructures
Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics is used to investigate the heat current
due to the atomic lattice vibrations in graphene nanoribbons and nanorings
under a thermal gradient. We consider a wide range of temperature, nanoribbon
widths up to 6nm and the effect of moderate edge disorder. We find that narrow
graphene nanorings can efficiently suppress the lattice thermal conductivity at
low temperatures (~100K), as compared to nanoribbons of the same width.
Remarkably, rough edges do not appear to have a large impact on lattice energy
transport through graphene nanorings while nanoribbons seem more affected by
imperfections. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the effects of
hydrogen-saturated edges can be neglected in these graphene nanostructures
Decay Rate Distributions of Disordered Slabs and Application to Random Lasers
We compute the distribution of the decay rates (also referred to as residues)
of the eigenstates of a disordered slab from a numerical model. From the
results of the numerical simulations, we are able to find simple analytical
formulae that describe those results well. This is possible for samples both in
the diffusive and in the localised regime. As example of a possible
application, we investigate the lasing threshold of random lasers.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
A Godunov Method for Multidimensional Radiation Magnetohydrodynamics based on a variable Eddington tensor
We describe a numerical algorithm to integrate the equations of radiation
magnetohydrodynamics in multidimensions using Godunov methods. This algorithm
solves the radiation moment equations in the mixed frame, without invoking any
diffusion-like approximations. The moment equations are closed using a variable
Eddington tensor whose components are calculated from a formal solution of the
transfer equation at a large number of angles using the method of short
characteristics. We use a comprehensive test suite to verify the algorithm,
including convergence tests of radiation-modified linear acoustic and
magnetosonic waves, the structure of radiation modified shocks, and
two-dimensional tests of photon bubble instability and the ablation of dense
clouds by an intense radiation field. These tests cover a very wide range of
regimes, including both optically thick and thin flows, and ratios of the
radiation to gas pressure of at least 10^{-4} to 10^{4}. Across most of the
parameter space, we find the method is accurate. However, the tests also reveal
there are regimes where the method needs improvement, for example when both the
radiation pressure and absorption opacity are very large. We suggest
modifications to the algorithm that will improve accuracy in this case. We
discuss the advantages of this method over those based on flux-limited
diffusion. In particular, we find the method is not only substantially more
accurate, but often no more expensive than the diffusion approximation for our
intended applications.Comment: 42 pages, 22 figures, 2 tables, accepted by ApJ
Spin-polarized Quantum Transport in Mesoscopic Conductors: Computational Concepts and Physical Phenomena
Mesoscopic conductors are electronic systems of sizes in between nano- and
micrometers, and often of reduced dimensionality. In the phase-coherent regime
at low temperatures, the conductance of these devices is governed by quantum
interference effects, such as the Aharonov-Bohm effect and conductance
fluctuations as prominent examples. While first measurements of quantum charge
transport date back to the 1980s, spin phenomena in mesoscopic transport have
moved only recently into the focus of attention, as one branch of the field of
spintronics. The interplay between quantum coherence with confinement-,
disorder- or interaction-effects gives rise to a variety of unexpected spin
phenomena in mesoscopic conductors and allows moreover to control and engineer
the spin of the charge carriers: spin interference is often the basis for
spin-valves, -filters, -switches or -pumps. Their underlying mechanisms may
gain relevance on the way to possible future semiconductor-based spin devices.
A quantitative theoretical understanding of spin-dependent mesoscopic
transport calls for developing efficient and flexible numerical algorithms,
including matrix-reordering techniques within Green function approaches, which
we will explain, review and employ.Comment: To appear in the Encyclopedia of Complexity and System Scienc
The Current Ability to Test Theories of Gravity with Black Hole Shadows
Our Galactic Center, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), is believed to harbour a
supermassive black hole (BH), as suggested by observations tracking individual
orbiting stars. Upcoming sub-millimetre very-long-baseline-interferometry
(VLBI) images of Sgr A* carried out by the Event-Horizon-Telescope
Collaboration (EHTC) are expected to provide critical evidence for the
existence of this supermassive BH. We assess our present ability to use EHTC
images to determine if they correspond to a Kerr BH as predicted by Einstein's
theory of general relativity (GR) or to a BH in alternative theories of
gravity. To this end, we perform general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamical
(GRMHD) simulations and use general-relativistic radiative transfer (GRRT)
calculations to generate synthetic shadow images of a magnetised accretion flow
onto a Kerr BH. In addition, and for the first time, we perform GRMHD
simulations and GRRT calculations for a dilaton BH, which we take as a
representative solution of an alternative theory of gravity. Adopting the VLBI
configuration from the 2017 EHTC campaign, we find that it could be extremely
difficult to distinguish between BHs from different theories of gravity, thus
highlighting that great caution is needed when interpreting BH images as tests
of GR.Comment: Published in Nature Astronomy on 16.04.18 (including supplementary
information); simulations at https://blackholecam.org/telling_bhs_apart
Multi-Particle Collision Dynamics -- a Particle-Based Mesoscale Simulation Approach to the Hydrodynamics of Complex Fluids
In this review, we describe and analyze a mesoscale simulation method for
fluid flow, which was introduced by Malevanets and Kapral in 1999, and is now
called multi-particle collision dynamics (MPC) or stochastic rotation dynamics
(SRD). The method consists of alternating streaming and collision steps in an
ensemble of point particles. The multi-particle collisions are performed by
grouping particles in collision cells, and mass, momentum, and energy are
locally conserved. This simulation technique captures both full hydrodynamic
interactions and thermal fluctuations. The first part of the review begins with
a description of several widely used MPC algorithms and then discusses
important features of the original SRD algorithm and frequently used
variations. Two complementary approaches for deriving the hydrodynamic
equations and evaluating the transport coefficients are reviewed. It is then
shown how MPC algorithms can be generalized to model non-ideal fluids, and
binary mixtures with a consolute point. The importance of angular-momentum
conservation for systems like phase-separated liquids with different
viscosities is discussed. The second part of the review describes a number of
recent applications of MPC algorithms to study colloid and polymer dynamics,
the behavior of vesicles and cells in hydrodynamic flows, and the dynamics of
viscoelastic fluids
- …