163 research outputs found
Landau-Khalatnikov two-fluid hydrodynamics of a trapped Bose gas
Starting from the quantum kinetic equation for the non-condensate atoms and
the generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the condensate, we derive the
two-fluid hydrodynamic equations of a trapped Bose gas at finite temperatures.
We follow the standard Chapman-Enskog procedure, starting from a solution of
the kinetic equation corresponding to the complete local equilibrium between
the condensate and the non-condensate components. Our hydrodynamic equations
are shown to reduce to a form identical to the well-known Landau-Khalatnikov
two-fluid equations, with hydrodynamic damping due to the deviation from local
equilibrium. The deviation from local equilibrium within the thermal cloud
gives rise to dissipation associated with shear viscosity and thermal
conduction. In addition, we show that effects due to the deviation from the
diffusive local equilibrium between the condensate and the non-condensate
(recently considered by Zaremba, Nikuni and Griffin) can be described by four
frequency-dependent second viscosity transport coefficients. We also derive
explicit formulas for all the transport coefficients. These results are used to
introduce two new characteristic relaxation times associated with hydrodynamic
damping. These relaxation times give the rate at which local equilibrium is
reached and hence determine whether one is in the two-fluid hydrodynamic
region.Comment: 26 pages, 3 postscript figures, submitted to PR
Variance fluctuations in nonstationary time series: a comparative study of music genres
An important problem in physics concerns the analysis of audio time series
generated by transduced acoustic phenomena. Here, we develop a new method to
quantify the scaling properties of the local variance of nonstationary time
series. We apply this technique to analyze audio signals obtained from selected
genres of music. We find quantitative differences in the correlation properties
of high art music, popular music, and dance music. We discuss the relevance of
these objective findings in relation to the subjective experience of music.Comment: 13 pages, 4 fig
The Tsunami’s CSR Effect: MNEs and Philanthropic Responses to the Disaster
This paper contributes to the literature on CSR and International Business by linking firm internationalization to corporate philanthropy. Considering the 2004 Tsunami disaster as a highly relevant case of an international societal issue, we analyze the characteristics of the corporate response to the disaster among Fortune Global 500 firms. We find that home region, degree of internationalization, firm size and profitability most strongly influenced the propensity of firms to donate as well as the value of their donations
Frequency and damping of hydrodynamic modes in a trapped Bose-condensed gas
Recently it was shown that the Landau-Khalatnikov two-fluid hydrodynamics
describes the collision-dominated region of a trapped Bose condensate
interacting with a thermal cloud. We use these equations to discuss the low
frequency hydrodynamic collective modes in a trapped Bose gas at finite
temperatures. We derive a variational expressions based on these equations for
both the frequency and damping of collective modes. A new feature is our use of
frequency-dependent transport coefficients, which produce a natural cutoff by
eliminating the collisionless low-density tail of the thermal cloud. Above the
superfluid transition, our expression for the damping in trapped inhomogeneous
gases is analogous to the result first obtained by Landau and Lifshitz for
uniform classical fluids. We also use the moment method to discuss the
crossover from the collisionless to the hydrodynamic region. Recent data for
the monopole-quadrupole mode in the hydrodynamic region of a trapped gas of
metastable He is discussed. We also present calculations for the damping of
the analogous monopole-quadrupole condensate mode in the superfluid
phase.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Determinants of flammability in savanna grass species
1. Tropical grasses fuel the majority of fires on Earth. In fire-prone landscapes, enhanced flammabil-ity may be adaptive for grasses via the maintenance of an open canopy and an increase in spa-tiotemporal opportunities for recruitment and regeneration. In addit ion, by burning intensely butbriefly, high flammability may protect resprouting buds from lethal temperatures. Despite thesepotential benefits of high flammability to fire-prone grasses, variation in flammability among grassspecies, and how trait differences underpin this variation, remains unknown.2. By burning leaves and plant parts, we experimentally determined how five plant traits (biomassquantity, biomass density, biomass moisture content, leaf surface-area-to-volume ratio and leaf effec-tive heat of combustion) combined to determine the three components of flammability (ignitability,sustainability and combustibility) at the leaf and plant scales in 25 grass species of fire-pr one SouthAfrican grasslands at a time of peak fire occurrence. The influence of evolutionary history onflammability was assessed based on a phylogeny built here for the study species.3. Grass speci es differed significantly in all components of flammability. Accounting for evolution-ary history helped to explain patterns in leaf-scale combustibility and sustainability. The five mea-sured plant traits predicted components of flammability, particularly leaf ignitability and plantcombustibility in which 70% and 58% of variation, respectively, could be explained by a combina-tion of the traits. Total above-ground biomass was a key drive r o f combustibility and sustainabi litywith high biomass species burning more intensely and for longer, and producing the highest pre-dicted fire spread rates. Moisture content was the main influence on ignitability, where speci es withhigher moisture conten ts took longer to ignite and once alight burnt at a slower rate. Bioma ss den-sity, leaf surface-area-to-volume ratio and leaf effective heat of combustion were weaker predictorsof flammability components.4. Synthesis. We demonstrate that grass flammability is predicted from easily measurable plant func-tional traits and is influenced by evolutionary history with some components showing phylogeneticsignal. Grasses are not homogenous fuels to fire. Rather, species differ in functional traits that inturn demonstrably influence flammability. This diver sity is consistent with the idea that flammabilitymay be an adaptive trait for grasses of fire-prone ecosystems
Structures and properties of solvated and unsolvated isopropyl functionalised calix[4]arenes
The tetra-iso-propyl ethers of calix[4]arene and p-t-butylcalix[4]arene have been isolated in the cone conformation, and structurally characterized as chloroform solvates. Thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the parent iso-propylcalix[4]arene solvate is significantly more stable than the p-t-butylcalix[4]arene analogue, retaining the solvent up to a temperature of of 125 °C. It was found that the calix[4]arene ether sublimes at atmospheric pressure, and solvent-free crystals appropriate for structure determination were produced at reduced pressure. The p-t-butylcalix[4]arene ether was also isolated without solvent in the lattice, but in this case the calixarene was crystallized from acetone, as sublimation did not produce crystals of sufficient quality
Performance and Simulation of the RICE detector
The RICE experiment (Radio Ice Cherenkov Experiment) at the South Pole,
co-deployed with the AMANDA experiment, seeks to detect ultra-high energy (UHE)
electron neutrinos interacting in cold polar ice. Such interactions produce
electromagnetic showers, which emit radio-frequency Cherenkov radiation. We
describe the experimental apparatus and the procedures used to measure the
neutrino flux.Comment: preprint, to be submitted to Astropart. Phy
New enzymes with potential for PET surface modification
This work describes newly isolated organisms and their potential to modify the surface of polyethylene terephthalate
(PET). Out of the different screening processes, four bacterial and five fungal strains were isolated. A PET model substrate was synthesized (bis (benzoyloxyethyl) terephthalate) and used in the screening
process, mimicking the polymer in its crucial properties and having the advantage of defined hydrolysis products. On this model substrate, extracellular enzyme preparations from the isolated microorganisms showed a maximum activity of 8.54 nkat/L. All enzyme preparations showed esterase activity on p-nitrophenyl-acetate while no activity was found on p-nitrophenyl decanoate or p-nitrophenyl palmitate. Increased hydrophilicity of PET fabrics after enzyme treatment was found based on rising height and water dissipation measurements
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