Thermal radiation processes

We discuss the different physical processes that are important to understand the thermal X-ray emission and absorption spectra of the diffuse gas in clusters of galaxies and the warm-hot intergalactic medium. The ionisation balance, line and continuum emission and absorption properties are reviewed and several practical examples are given that illustrate the most important diagnostic features in the X-ray spectra.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 9; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeke

Non-thermal emission processes in massive binaries

In this paper, I present a general discussion of several astrophysical processes likely to play a role in the production of non-thermal emission in massive stars, with emphasis on massive binaries. Even though the discussion will start in the radio domain where the non-thermal emission was first detected, the census of physical processes involved in the non-thermal emission from massive stars shows that many spectral domains are concerned, from the radio to the very high energies. First, the theoretical aspects of the non-thermal emission from early-type stars will be addressed. The main topics that will be discussed are respectively the physics of individual stellar winds and their interaction in binary systems, the acceleration of relativistic electrons, the magnetic field of massive stars, and finally the non-thermal emission processes relevant to the case of massive stars. Second, this general qualitative discussion will be followed by a more quantitative one, devoted to the most probable scenario where non-thermal radio emitters are massive binaries. I will show how several stellar, wind and orbital parameters can be combined in order to make some semi-quantitative predictions on the high-energy counterpart to the non-thermal emission detected in the radio domain. These theoretical considerations will be followed by a census of results obtained so far, and related to this topic... (see paper for full abstract)Comment: 47 pages, 5 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, in pres

Non-thermal processes in coronae and beyond

This contribution summarizes the splinter session "Non-thermal processes in coronae and beyond" held at the Cool Stars 17 workshop in Barcelona in 2012. It covers new developments in high energy non-thermal effects in the Earth's exosphere, solar and stellar flares, the diffuse emission in star forming regions and reviews the state and the challenges of the underlying atomic databases.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the Cool Stars 17 worksho

Thermal exchange effects on steel thixoforming processes

Steel thixoforging is an innovative semi-solid forming process. It allows the manufacturing of complex parts and minimises the forming load. This work aims to identify and characterise the main feature zones of a thixoforging part. The material flow and the forging load are dependent on the thixoforging speed, the tool temperature and the initial temperature of the slug. The data are obtained for C38 thixoforging steel. A specific extrusion tool was designed that integrates the heating of the tool and the slug. This tool was set up on a high-speed hydraulic press. This work highlights the effects of heat exchange on the microstructure, the internal flow and the mechanical characteristics of thixoforging material. These heat exchanges depend primarily on the working speed and tool temperature. The internal flow is composed of three distinct zones. Among them, only semisolid zone is observed during working. The microstructures of thixoforming C38 steel consist of ferrite, pearlite and bainite

Optical Microvariability in Quasars: Spectral Variability

We present a method that we developed to discern where the optical microvariability (OM) in quasars originates: in the accretion disk (related to thermal processes) or in the jet (related to non-thermal processes). Analyzing nearly simultaneous observations in three different optical bands of continuum emission, we are able to determine the origin of several isolated OM events. In particular, our method indicates that from nine events reported by Ramirez et al. (2009), three of them are consistent with a thermal origin, three to non-thermal, and three cannot be discerned. The implications for the emission models of OM are briefly discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Dissipative Particle Dynamics with energy conservation

Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) does not conserve energy and this precludes its use in the study of thermal processes in complex fluids. We present here a generalization of DPD that incorporates an internal energy and a temperature variable for each particle. The dissipation induced by the dissipative forces between particles is invested in raising the internal energy of the particles. Thermal conduction occurs by means of (inverse) temperature differences. The model can be viewed as a simplified solver of the fluctuating hydrodynamic equations and opens up the possibility of studying thermal processes in complex fluids with a mesoscopic simulation technique.Comment: 5 page

Fresnel transmission coefficients for thermal phonons at solid interfaces

Interfaces play an essential role in phonon-mediated heat conduction in solids, impacting applications ranging from thermoelectric waste heat recovery to heat dissipation in electronics. From a microscopic perspective, interfacial phonon transport is described by transmission and reflection coefficients, analogous to the well-known Fresnel coefficients for light. However, these coefficients have never been directly measured, and thermal transport processes at interfaces remain poorly understood despite considerable effort. Here, we report the first measurements of the Fresnel transmission coefficients for thermal phonons at a metal-semiconductor interface using ab-initio phonon transport modeling and a thermal characterization technique, time-domain thermoreflectance. Our measurements show that interfaces act as thermal phonon filters that transmit primarily low frequency phonons, leading to these phonons being the dominant energy carriers across the interface despite the larger density of states of high frequency phonons. Our work realizes the long-standing goal of directly measuring thermal phonon transmission coefficients and demonstrates a general route to study microscopic processes governing interfacial heat conduction