621 research outputs found
Topological constraints in the reconnection of vortex braids
We study the relaxation of a topologically nontrivial vortex braid with zero net helicity in a barotropic fluid. The aim is to investigate the extent to which the topology of the vorticity field—characterized by braided vorticity field lines—determines the dynamics, particularly the asymptotic behavior under vortex reconnection in evolution at high Reynolds numbers (25 000). Analogous to the evolution of braided magnetic fields in plasma, we find that the relaxation of our vortex braid leads to a simplification of the topology into large-scale regions of opposite swirl, consistent with an inverse cascade of the helicity. The change of topology is facilitated by a cascade of vortex reconnection events. During this process, the existence of regions of positive and negative kinetic helicities imposes a lower bound for the kinetic energy. For the enstrophy, we derive analytically a lower bound given by the presence of unsigned kinetic helicity, which we confirm in our numerical experiments
Braided magnetic fields:equilibria, relaxation and heating
We examine the dynamics of magnetic flux tubes containing non-trivial field
line braiding (or linkage), using mathematical and computational modelling, in
the context of testable predictions for the laboratory and their significance
for solar coronal heating. We investigate the existence of braided force-free
equilibria, and demonstrate that for a field anchored at perfectly-conducting
plates, these equilibria exist and contain current sheets whose thickness
scales inversely with the braid complexity - as measured for example by the
topological entropy. By contrast, for a periodic domain braided exact
equilibria typically do not exist, while approximate equilibria contain thin
current sheets. In the presence of resistivity, reconnection is triggered at
the current sheets and a turbulent relaxation ensues. We finish by discussing
the properties of the turbulent relaxation and the existence of constraints
that may mean that the final state is not the linear force-free field predicted
by Taylor's hypothesis.Comment: To appear in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusio
Ultrasonic spectroscopy of sessile droplets coupled to optomechanical sensors
We describe a system for interrogating the acoustic properties of
sub-nanoliter liquid samples within an open microfluidics platform. Sessile
droplets were deposited onto integrated optomechanical sensors, which possess
ambient-medium-noise-limited sensitivity and can thus passively sense the
thermally driven acoustic spectrum of the droplets. The droplet acoustic
breathing modes manifest as resonant features in the thermomechanical noise
spectrum of the sensor, in some cases hybridized with the sensor's own
vibrational modes. Excellent agreement is found between experimental
observations and theoretical predictions, over the entire ~ 0 - 40 MHz
operating range of our sensors. With suitable control over droplet size and
morphology, this technique has the potential for precision acoustic sensing of
small-volume biological and chemical samples
Vortex line topology during vortex tube reconnection
This paper addresses reconnection of vortex tubes, with particular focus on
the topology of the vortex lines (field lines of the vorticity). This analysis
of vortex line topology reveals previously undiscovered features of the
reconnection process, such as the generation of many small flux rings, formed
when reconnection occurs in multiple locations in the vortex sheet between the
tubes. Consideration of three-dimensional reconnection principles leads to a
robust measurement of the reconnection rate, even once instabilities break the
symmetry. It also allows us to identify internal reconnection of vortex lines
within the individual vortex tubes. Finally, the introduction of a third vortex
tube is shown to render the vortex reconnection process fully
three-dimensional, leading to a fundamental change in the topological structure
of the process. An additional interesting feature is the generation of
vorticity null points.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Fluid
Pattern formation and selection in quasi-static fracture
Fracture in quasi-statically driven systems is studied by means of a discrete
spring-block model. Developed from close comparison with desiccation
experiments, it describes crack formation induced by friction on a substrate.
The model produces cellular, hierarchical patterns of cracks, characterized by
a mean fragment size linear in the layer thickness, in agreement with
experiments. The selection of a stationary fragment size is explained by
exploiting the correlations prior to cracking. A scaling behavior associated
with the thickness and substrate coupling, derived and confirmed by
simulations, suggests why patterns have similar morphology despite their
disparity in scales.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, two-column, 5 PS figures include
Scheduling science on television: A comparative analysis of the representations of science in 11 European countries
While science-in-the-media is a useful vehicle for understanding the media, few scholars have used it that way: instead, they look at science-in-the-media as a way of understanding science-in-the-media and often end up attributing characteristics to science-in-the-media that are simply characteristics of the media, rather than of the science they see there. This point of view was argued by Jane Gregory and Steve Miller in 1998 in Science in Public. Science, they concluded, is not a special case in the mass media, understanding science-in-the-media is mostly about understanding the media (Gregory and Miller, 1998: 105). More than a decade later, research that looks for patterns or even determinants of science-in-the-media, be it in press or electronic media, is still very rare. There is interest in explaining the media’s selection of science content from a media perspective. Instead, the search for, and analysis of, several kinds of distortions in media representations of science have been leading topics of science-in-the-media research since its beginning in the USA at the end of the 1960s and remain influential today (see Lewenstein, 1994; Weigold, 2001; Kohring, 2005 for summaries). Only a relatively small amount of research has been conducted seeking to identify factors relevant to understanding how science is treated by the mass media in general and by television in particular. The current study addresses the lack of research in this area. Our research seeks to explore which constraints national media systems place on the volume and structure of science programming in television. In simpler terms, the main question this study is trying to address is why science-in-TV in Europe appears as it does. We seek to link research focussing on the detailed analysis of science representations on television (Silverstone, 1984; Collins, 1987; Hornig, 1990; Leon, 2008), and media research focussing on the historical genesis and current political regulation of national media systems (see for instance Hallin and Mancini, 2004; Napoli, 2004; Open Society Institute, 2005, 2008). The former studies provide deeper insights into the selection and reconstruction of scientific subject matters, which reflect and – at the same time – reinforce popular images of science. But their studies do not give much attention to production constraints or other relevant factors which could provide an insight into why media treat science as they do. The latter scholars inter alia shed light on distinct media policies in Europe which significantly influence national channel patterns. However, they do not refer to clearly defined content categories but to fairly rough distinctions such as information versus entertainment or fictional versus factual. Accordingly, we know more about historical roots and current practices of media regulation across Europe than we do about the effects of these different regimes on the provision of specific content in European societies
Determination of strain rate dependent through-thickness tensile properties of textile reinforced thermoplastic composites using L-shaped beam specimens
Jet Substructure at the Tevatron and LHC: New results, new tools, new benchmarks
In this report we review recent theoretical progress and the latest
experimental results in jet substructure from the Tevatron and the LHC. We
review the status of and outlook for calculation and simulation tools for
studying jet substructure. Following up on the report of the Boost 2010
workshop, we present a new set of benchmark comparisons of substructure
techniques, focusing on the set of variables and grooming methods that are
collectively known as "top taggers". To facilitate further exploration, we have
attempted to collect, harmonise, and publish software implementations of these
techniques.Comment: 53 pages, 17 figures. L. Asquith, S. Rappoccio, C. K. Vermilion,
editors; v2: minor edits from journal revision
A Formalism for the Systematic Treatment of Rapidity Logarithms in Quantum Field Theory
Many observables in QCD rely upon the resummation of perturbation theory to
retain predictive power. Resummation follows after one factorizes the cross
section into the rele- vant modes. The class of observables which are sensitive
to soft recoil effects are particularly challenging to factorize and resum
since they involve rapidity logarithms. In this paper we will present a
formalism which allows one to factorize and resum the perturbative series for
such observables in a systematic fashion through the notion of a "rapidity
renormalization group". That is, a Collin-Soper like equation is realized as a
renormalization group equation, but has a more universal applicability to
observables beyond the traditional transverse momentum dependent parton
distribution functions (TMDPDFs) and the Sudakov form factor. This formalism
has the feature that it allows one to track the (non-standard) scheme
dependence which is inherent in any scenario where one performs a resummation
of rapidity divergences. We present a pedagogical introduction to the formalism
by applying it to the well-known massive Sudakov form factor. The formalism is
then used to study observables of current interest. A factorization theorem for
the transverse momentum distribution of Higgs production is presented along
with the result for the resummed cross section at NLL. Our formalism allows one
to define gauge invariant TMDPDFs which are independent of both the hard
scattering amplitude and the soft function, i.e. they are uni- versal. We
present details of the factorization and resummation of the jet broadening
cross section including a renormalization in pT space. We furthermore show how
to regulate and renormalize exclusive processes which are plagued by endpoint
singularities in such a way as to allow for a consistent resummation.Comment: Typos in Appendix C corrected, as well as a typo in eq. 5.6
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