2,491 research outputs found
Energy storage and retrieval: the secondary battery route
Harnessing sunlight for the production of electrical energy is an engrossing prospect. The crucial concept underlying the success of solar power stations is energy storage and its retrieval on demand which can be most effectively achieved with storage batteries. This article highlights the chemistry of existing and emerging battery technologies
The lead discrepancy in intrinsically s-process enriched post-AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds
Context: Our understanding of the s-process nucleosynthesis in asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars is incomplete. AGB models predict, for example, large
overabundances of lead (Pb) compared to other s-process elements in metal-poor
low-mass AGB stars. This is indeed observed in some extrinsically enhanced
metal-poor stars, but not in all. An extensive study of intrinsically s-process
enriched objects is essential for improving our knowledge of the AGB third
dredge-up and associated s-process nucleosynthesis. Aims: We compare the
spectral abundance analysis of the SMC post-AGB star J004441.04-732136.4 with
state-of-the-art AGB model predictions with a main focus on Pb. The low S/N in
the Pb line region made the result of our previous study inconclusive. We
acquired additional data covering the region of the strongest Pb line. Methods:
By carefully complementing re-reduced previous data, with newly acquired UVES
optical spectra, we improve the S/N of the spectrum around the strongest Pb
line. Therefore, an upper limit for the Pb abundance is estimated from a merged
weighted mean spectrum using synthetic spectral modeling. We then compare the
abundance results from the combined spectra to predictions of tailored AGB
evolutionary models from two independent evolution codes. In addition, we
determine upper limits for Pb abundances for three previously studied LMC
post-AGB objects. Results: Although theoretical predictions for
J004441.04-732136.4 match the s-process distribution up to tungsten (W), the
predicted very high Pb abundance is clearly not detected. The three additional
LMC post-AGB stars show a similar lack of a very high Pb abundance. Conclusion:
From our study, we conclude that none of these low-mass, low-metallicity
post-AGB stars of the LMC and SMC are strong Pb producers. This conflicts with
current theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Uncertainties in stellar evolution models: convective overshoot
In spite of the great effort made in the last decades to improve our
understanding of stellar evolution, significant uncertainties remain due to our
poor knowledge of some complex physical processes that require an empirical
calibration, such as the efficiency of the interior mixing related to
convective overshoot. Here we review the impact of convective overshoot on the
evolution of stars during the main Hydrogen and Helium burning phases.Comment: Proc. of the workshop "Asteroseismology of stellar populations in the
Milky Way" (Sesto, 22-26 July 2013), Astrophysics and Space Science
Proceedings, (eds. A. Miglio, L. Girardi, P. Eggenberger, J. Montalban
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Analysis of Rayleigh-Taylor Instability: Statistics on Rising Bubbles and Falling Spikes
The analysis of coherent structures in Rayleigh-Taylor simulations is a challenging task as the lack of a precise definition of these structures is compounded by the massive size of the datasets. In an earlier work, we used techniques from image analysis to count these coherent structures in two high-resolution simulations, one a large-eddy simulation with 30 terabytes of analysis data, and the other a direct numerical simulation with 80 terabytes of analysis data. Our analysis indicated that there were four distinct regimes in the process of the mixing of the two fluids, starting from the initial linear stage, followed by the non-linear stage with weak turbulence, the mixing transition stage, and the final stage of strong turbulence. In this paper, we extend our earlier work to focus on only the rising bubbles and the falling spikes. We first consider different ways in which we can constrain the bubble and spike definitions and then extract various statistics on them. Our results on the rising bubble and falling spike counts again show that there are four regimes in the process of fluid mixing, each characterized by an integer-valued slope. Further, the average bubble heights and spike depths are related to similar results obtained using a threshold-based definition. Finally, the ratio of the rising bubbles to all bubbles is very similar in character to the ratio of the falling spikes to all spikes, with near constant values over part of the simulation
Observation of direct and indirect magnetoelectricity in lead free ferroelectric (Na 0.5Bi 0.5TiO 3)-magnetostrictive (CoFe 2O 4) particulate composite
A particulate composite consisting of 65 mol. % Na 0.5Bi 0.5TiO 3 and 35 mol. % CoFe 2O 4 was synthesized, and it's structure, microstructure, ferroelectric, magnetostrictive, magnetic, and direct/indirect magnetoelectric properties were studied. The composite showed different magnetization behaviour under electrically poled and un-poled conditions. The percentage change in magnetization as a result of poling is approximately -15% at 500 Oe magnetic field. Magnetostriction measurements displayed a value of λ 11 = -57 × 10 -6 and piezomagnetic coefficient δλ 11/δH = 0.022 × 10 -6 kOe -1 at 2.2 kOe for the composite. The maximum magnetoelectric output varied from 1350 mV/cm to 2000 mV/cm with change in the electrical poling condition
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Analysis of Rayleigh-Taylor Instability Part I: Bubble and Spike Count
The use of high-performance computers to simulate hydrodynamic instabilities has resulted in the generation of massive amounts of data. One aspect of the analysis of this data involves the identification and characterization of coherent structures known as ''bubbles'' and ''spikes''. This can be a challenge as there is no precise definition of these structures, and the large size of the data, as well as its distributed nature, precludes any extensive experimentation with different definitions and analysis algorithms. In this report, we describe the use of image processing techniques to identify and count bubbles and spikes in the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which occurs when an initially perturbed interface between a heavier fluid and a lighter fluid is allowed to grow under the influence of gravity. We analyze data from two simulations, one a large-eddy simulation with 30 terabytes of analysis data, and the other a direct numerical simulation with 80 terabytes of analysis data. We consider different techniques to first convert the three-dimensional data to two dimensions and then count the structures of interest in the two-dimensional data. Our analysis of the bubble and spike counts over time indicates that there are four distinct regimes in the process of the mixing of the two fluids, starting from the initial linear stage, followed by the non-linear stage with weak turbulence, the mixing transition stage, and the final stage of strong turbulence. We also show that our results are relatively insensitive to the parameters used in our algorithms
Theory of Light Emission in Sonoluminescence as Thermal Radiation
Based on the model proposed by Hilgenfeldt {\it at al.} [Nature {\bf 398},
401 (1999)], we present here a comprehensive theory of thermal radiation in
single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). We first invoke the generalized
Kirchhoff's law to obtain the thermal emissivity from the absorption
cross-section of a multilayered sphere (MLS). A sonoluminescing bubble, whose
internal structure is determined from hydrodynamic simulations, is then
modelled as a MLS and in turn the thermal radiation is evaluated. Numerical
results obtained from simulations for argon bubbles show that our theory
successfully captures the major features observed in SBSL experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 20 figure
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