28,739 research outputs found
All-optical switching in a two-channel waveguide with cubic-quintic nonlinearity
We consider dynamics of spatial beams in a dual-channel waveguide with
competing cubic and quintic (CQ) nonlinearities. Gradually increasing the power
in the input channel, we identify four different regimes of the pulses coupling
into the cross channel, which alternate three times between full pass and full
stop, thus suggesting three realizations of switching between the channels. As
in the case of the Kerr (solely cubic) nonlinearity, the first two regimes are
the linear one, and one dominated by the self-focusing nonlinearity, with the
beam which, respectively, periodically couples between the channels, or stays
in the input channel. Further increase of the power reveals two novel
transmission regimes, one characterized by balance between the competing
nonlinearities, which again allows full coupling between the channels, and a
final regime dominated by the self-defocusing quintic nonlinearity. In the
latter case, the situation resembles that known for a self-repulsive
Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a double-well potential, which is
characterized by strong symmetry breaking; accordingly, the beam again abides
in the input channel, contrary to an intuitive expectation that the
self-defocusing nonlinearity would push it into the cross channel. The
numerical results are qualitatively explained by a simple analytical model
based on the variational approximation.Comment: Journal of Physics B (in press
Feedback local optimality principle applied to rocket vertical landing VTVL
Vertical landing is becoming popular in the last fifteen years, a technology known under the acronym VTVL, Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing [1,2]. The interest in such landing technology is dictated by possible cost reductions [3,4], that impose spaceship’s recycling. The rockets are not generally de- signed to perform landing operations, rather their design is aimed at takeoff operations, guaranteeing a very high forward acceleration to gain the velocity needed to escape the gravitational force. In this paper a new control method based on Feedback Local Optimality Principle, named FLOP is applied to the rocket landing problem. The FLOP belongs to a special class of optimal controllers, developed by the mechatronic and vehicle dynamics lab of Sapienza, named Variational Feedback Controllers - VFC, that are part of an ongoing research and are recently applied in different field: nonlinear system [5], marine and terrestrial autonomous vehicles [6,7,8], multi agents interactions and vibration control [9, 10]. The paper is devoted to show the robustness of the nonlinear controlled system, comparing the performances with the LQR, one of the most acknowledged methods in optimal control
Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure on the Superconductivity in NaxCoO2.yH2O
The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the superconducting transition
temperature of Na{0.35}CoO{2}.yH{2}O was investigated by ac susceptibility
measurements up to 1.6 GPa. The pressure coefficient of T{c} is negative and
the dependence T{c}(p) is nonlinear over the pressure range investigated. The
magnitude of the average dlnT{c}/dp=-0.07 GPa^{-1} is comparable to the
pressure coefficient of electron-doped high-T{c} copper oxide superconductors
with a similar value of T{c}. Our results provide support to the assumption of
two-dimensional superconductivity in Na{0.35}CoO{2}.yH{2}O, which is similar to
the cuprate systems, and suggest that intercalation of larger molecules may
lead to an enhancement of T{c}.Comment: Revised Manuscrip
Superconductivity in pure and electron doped MgB2: Transport properties and pressure effects
The normal state and superconducting properties of MgB2 and Mg1-xAlxB2 are
discussed based on structural, transport, and high pressure experiments. The
positive Seebeck coefficient and its linear temperature dependence for Tc<T<160
K provide evidence that the low-temperature transport in MgB2 is due to
hole-like metallic carriers. Structural and transport data show the important
role of defects as indicated by the correlation of Tc, the residual resistance
ratio, and the microstrain extracted from x-ray spectra. The decrease of Tc
with hydrostatic pressure is well explained by the strong-coupling BCS theory.
The large scatter of the pressure coefficients of Tc for different MgB2
samples, however, cannot be explained within this theory. We speculate that
pressure may increase the defect density, particularly in samples with large
initial defect concentration.Comment: Presented at NATO Advanced Research Workshop "New Trends in
Superconductivity", Yalta (Ukraine) 16-20 September, 200
Magnetoelectricity and Magnetostriction due to the Rare Earth Moment in TmAl(BO)
The magnetic properties, the magnetostriction, and the magnetoelectric effect
in the d-electron free rare-earth aluminum borate TmAl(BO) are
investigated between room temperature and 2 K. The magnetic susceptibility
reveals a strong anisotropy with the hexagonal c-axis as the hard magnetic
axis. Magnetostriction measurements show a large effect of an in-plane field
reducing both, the a- and c-axis lattice parameters. The magnetoelectric
polarization change in a- and c-directions reaches up to 300 C/m at 70
kOe with the field applied along the a-axis. The magnetoelectric polarization
is proportional to the lattice contraction in magnetic field. The results of
this investigation prove the existence of a significant coupling between the
rare earth magnetic moment and the lattice in Al(BO) compounds
( = rare earth). They further show that the rare earth moment itself will
generate a large magnetoelectric effect which makes it easier to study and to
understand the origin of the magnetoelectric interaction in this class of
materials.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Simulating Star Formation and Feedback in Galactic Disk Models
We use a high-resolution grid-based hydrodynamics method to simulate the
multi-phase interstellar medium in a Milky Way-size quiescent disk galaxy. The
models are global and three-dimensional, and include a treatment of star
formation and feedback. We examine the formation of gravitational instabilities
and show that a form of the Toomre instability criterion can successfully
predict where star formation will occur. Two common prescriptions for star
formation are investigated. The first is based on cosmological simulations and
has a relatively low threshold for star formation, but also enforces a
comparatively low efficiency. The second only permits star formation above a
number density of 1000 cm^-3 but adopts a high efficiency. We show that both
methods can reproduce the observed slope of the relationship between star
formation and gas surface density (although at too high a rate for our adopted
parameters). A run which includes feedback from type II supernovae is
successful at driving gas out of the plane, most of which falls back onto the
disk. This feedback also substantially reduces the star formation rate.
Finally, we examine the density and pressure distribution of the ISM, and show
that there is a rough pressure equilibrium in the disk, but with a wide range
of pressures at a given location (and even wider for the case including
feedbackComment: 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Journa
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