2,127 research outputs found
Micro-plasticity and intermittent dislocation activity in a simplified micro structural model
Here we present a model to study the micro-plastic regime of a stress-strain
curve. In this model an explicit dislocation population represents the mobile
dislocation content and an internal shear-stress field represents a mean-field
description of the immobile dislocation content. The mobile dislocations are
constrained to a simple dipolar mat geometry and modelled via a dislocation
dynamics algorithm, whilst the shear-stress field is chosen to be a sinusoidal
function of distance along the mat direction. The latter, defined by a periodic
length and a shear-stress amplitude, represents a pre-existing micro-structure.
These model parameters, along with the mobile dislocation density, are found to
admit a diversity of micro-plastic behaviour involving intermittent plasticity
in the form of a scale-free avalanche phenomenon, with an exponent for the
strain burst magnitude distribution similar to those seen in experiment and
more complex dislocation dynamics simulations.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, to appear in "Modelling and Simulation in
Materials Science and Engineering
MRI visualization of Staphyloccocus aureus-induced infective endocarditis in mice
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe and often fatal disease, lacking a fast and reliable diagnostic procedure. The purpose of this study was to establish a mouse model of Staphylococcus aureus-induced IE and to develop a MRI technology to characterize and diagnose IE. To establish the mouse model of hematogenous IE, aortic valve damage was induced by placing a permanent catheter into right carotid artery. 24 h after surgery, mice were injected intravenously with either iron particle-labeled or unlabeled S. aureus (strain 6850). To distinguish the effect of IE from mere tissue injury or recruited macrophages, subgroups of mice received sham surgery prior to infection (n = 17), received surgery without infection (n = 8), or obtained additionally injection of free iron particles to label macrophages (n = 17). Cardiac MRI was performed 48 h after surgery using a self-gated ultra-short echo time (UTE) sequence (TR/TE, 5/0.31 ms; in-plane/slice, 0.125/1 mm; duration, 12:08 min) to obtain high-resolution, artifact-free cinematographic images of the valves. After MRI, valves were either homogenized and plated on blood agar plates for determination of bacterial titers, or sectioned and stained for histology. In the animal model, both severity of the disease and mortality increased with bacterial numbers. Infection with 105 S. aureus bacteria reliably caused endocarditis with vegetations on the valves. Cinematographic UTE MRI visualised the aortic valve over the cardiac cycle and allowed for detection of bacterial vegetations, while mere tissue trauma or labeled macrophages were not detected. Iron labeling of S. aureus was not required for detection. MRI results were consistent with histology and microbial assessment. These data showed that S. aureus-induced IE in mice can be detected by MRI. The established mouse model allows for investigation of the pathophysiology of IE, testing of novel drugs and may serve for the development of a clinical diagnostic strategy
Magnetic properties of (VO)_2P_2O_7: two-plane structure and spin-phonon interactions
Detailed experiments on single-crystal (VO)_2P_2O_7 continue to reveal new
and unexpected features. We show that a model composed of two, independent
planes of spin chains with frustrated magnetic coupling is consistent with
nuclear magnetic resonance and inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The
pivotal role of PO_4 groups in mediating intrachain exchange interactions
explains both the presence of two chain types and their extreme sensitivity to
certain lattice vibrations, which results in the strong magnetoelastic coupling
observed by light scattering. We compute the respective modifications of the
spin and phonon dynamics due to this coupling, and illustrate their observable
consequences on the phonon frequencies, magnon dispersions, static
susceptibility and specific heat.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Inverse procedure for measuring piezoelectric material parameters using a single multi-electrode sample
An inverse measurement procedure for the determination of a full set of piezoelectric material parameters using a single sample is presented.
The basis for the measurement procedure is a measurement of the frequency-dependent impedance of the sample.
To yield sufficient sensitivity of this measurement with respect to all material parameters (mechanical, electrical, and coupling parameters), an optimal electrode configuration for the sample is determined before the inverse measurement procedure is realised using a novel topology optimisation approach.
After initial estimates for the material parameters are provided by analytical expressions, a sensitivity-based, staged, local optimisation procedure yields material parameters for the sample by fitting the impedance of a finite element simulation model to the measured electrical impedance. Results for different absorption models as well as for different piezoelectric materials (hard, soft, and lead-free piezoceramics) are included.</p
Circuit theory of multiple Andreev reflections in diffusive SNS junctions: the incoherent case
The incoherent regime of Multiple Andreev Reflections (MAR) is studied in
long diffusive SNS junctions at applied voltages larger than the Thouless
energy. Incoherent MAR is treated as a transport problem in energy space by
means of a circuit theory for an equivalent electrical network. The current
through NS interfaces is explained in terms of diffusion flows of electrons and
holes through tunnel and Andreev resistors. These resistors in diffusive
junctions play roles analogous to the normal and Andreev reflection
coefficients in OTBK theory for ballistic junctions. The theory is applied to
the subharmonic gap structure (SGS); simple analytical results are obtained for
the distribution function and current spectral density for the limiting cases
of resistive and transparent NS interfaces. In the general case, the exact
solution is found in terms of chain-fractions, and the current is calculated
numerically. SGS shows qualitatively different behavior for even and odd
subharmonic numbers, and the maximum slopes of the differential resistance
correspond to the gap subharmonics. The influence of inelastic scattering on
the subgap anomalies of the differential resistance is analyzed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, title and text revised, to appear in PR
A novel method for the absolute fluorescence yield measurement by AIRFLY
One of the goals of the AIRFLY (AIR FLuorescence Yield) experiment is to
measure the absolute fluorescence yield induced by electrons in air to better
than 10% precision. We introduce a new technique for measurement of the
absolute fluorescence yield of the 337 nm line that has the advantage of
reducing the systematic uncertainty due to the detector calibration. The
principle is to compare the measured fluorescence yield to a well known process
- the Cerenkov emission. Preliminary measurements taken in the BFT (Beam Test
Facility) in Frascati, Italy with 350 MeV electrons are presented. Beam tests
in the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator at the Argonne National Laboratory, USA
with 14 MeV electrons have also shown that this technique can be applied at
lower energies.Comment: presented at the 5th Fluorescence Workshop, El Escorial - Madrid,
Spain, 16 - 20 September 200
Determination of the Jet Energy Scale at the Collider Detector at Fermilab
A precise determination of the energy scale of jets at the Collider Detector
at Fermilab at the Tevatron collider is described. Jets are used in
many analyses to estimate the energies of partons resulting from the underlying
physics process. Several correction factors are developed to estimate the
original parton energy from the observed jet energy in the calorimeter. The jet
energy response is compared between data and Monte Carlo simulation for various
physics processes, and systematic uncertainties on the jet energy scale are
determined. For jets with transverse momenta above 50 GeV the jet energy scale
is determined with a 3% systematic uncertainty
Temperature and Humidity Dependence of Air Fluorescence Yield measured by AIRFLY
The fluorescence detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays requires a
detailed knowledge of the fluorescence light emission from nitrogen molecules
over a wide range of atmospheric parameters, corresponding to altitudes typical
of the cosmic ray shower development in the atmosphere. We have studied the
temperature and humidity dependence of the fluorescence light spectrum excited
by MeV electrons in air. Results for the 313.6 nm, 337.1 nm, 353.7 nm and 391.4
nm bands are reported in this paper. We found that the temperature and humidity
dependence of the quenching process changes the fluorescence yield by a
sizeable amount (up to 20%) and its effect must be included for a precise
estimation of the energy of ultra high energy cosmic rays.Comment: presented at the 5th Fluorescence Workshop, El Escorial - Madrid,
Spain, 16 - 20 September 2007, to appear in Nuclear Instruments and Methods
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