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In memoriam, Heinz Isler - shell builder and structural artist, 26 July 1926 - 20 June 2009
Ultra-fast X-ray particle velocimetry measurements within an abrasive water jet
Ultra-fast X-ray velocimetry measurements were taken to measure velocities and spatial positions of individual abrasive particles within the solid-liquid-gaseous three-phase flow of a high-pressure injection method-based abrasive water jet (AWJ). A synchrotron X-ray source provided sufficient photon flux to take double-frame images of the AWJ with an inter-frame time interval of 5ÎŒs. Abrasive particles with a Sauter mean diameter of 265.5ÎŒm were detected by a scintillator optically coupled to a gated image intensifier and a high-speed camera running at a frame rate of 11,250Hz. A commercially available particle tracking velocimetry software was used to process the acquired images and evaluate the spatial positions and velocities of abrasive particles as a function of water pressure and abrasive mass flow. The acquired data show a Gaussian radial distribution of abrasive particles within the AWJ and an almost uniform mean axial velocity, irrespective of water jet velocity and abrasive flow rates. These results are useful to validate theoretical models for the momentum/energy transfer in AWJ, to provide input for abrasion/erosion models, to further understand and advance the AWJ process, and to develop new process opportunities such as AWJ millin
Asymmetric Thermal Lineshape Broadening in a Gapped 3-Dimensional Antiferromagnet - Evidence for Strong Correlations at Finite Temperature
It is widely believed that magnetic excitations become increasingly
incoherent as temperature is raised due to random collisions which limit their
lifetime. This picture is based on spin-wave calculations for gapless magnets
in 2 and 3 dimensions and is observed experimentally as a symmetric Lorentzian
broadening in energy. Here, we investigate a three-dimensional dimer
antiferromagnet and find unexpectedly that the broadening is asymmetric -
indicating that far from thermal decoherence, the excitations behave
collectively like a strongly correlated gas. This result suggests that a
temperature activated coherent state of quasi-particles is not confined to
special cases like the highly dimerized spin-1/2 chain but is found generally
in dimerized antiferromagnets of all dimensionalities and perhaps gapped
magnets in general
Continuous monitoring reveals multiple controls on ecosystem metabolism in a suburban stream
1. Primary production and respiration in streams, collectively referred to as stream ecosystem metabolism, are fundamental processes that determine trophic structure, biomass and nutrient cycling. Few studies have used highâfrequency measurements of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) over extended periods to characterise the factors that control stream ecosystem metabolism at hourly, daily, seasonal and annual scales.
2. We measured ecosystem metabolism at 5âmin intervals for 23âmonths in Shepherd Creek, a small suburban stream in Cincinnati, Ohio (U.S.A.).
3. Daily GPP was best predicted by a model containing light and its synergistic interaction with water temperature. Water temperature alone was not significantly related to daily GPP, rather high temperatures enhanced the capacity of autotrophs to use available light.
4. The relationship between GPP and light was further explored using photosynthesisâirradiance curves (PâI curves). Light saturation of GPP was evident throughout the winter and spring and the PâI curve frequently exhibited strong counterclockwise hysteresis. Hysteresis occurred when water temperatures were greater in the afternoon than in the morning, although light was similar, further suggesting that light availability interacts synergistically with water temperature.
5. Storm flows strongly depressed GPP in the spring while desiccation arrested aquatic GPP and ER in late summer and autumn.
6. Ecosystem respiration was best predicted by GPP, water temperature and the rate of water exchange between the surface channel and transient storage zones. We estimate that c. 70% of newly fixed carbon was immediately respired by autotrophs and closely associated heterotrophs.
7. Interannual, seasonal, daily and hourly variability in ecosystem metabolism was attributable to a combination of light availability, water temperature, storm flow dynamics and desiccation. Human activities affect all these factors in urban and suburban streams, suggesting stream ecosystem processes are likely to respond in complex ways to changing land use and climate
Hybrid reflections from multiple x-ray scattering in epitaxial oxide films
E.H.S. and D.G.S. acknowledge support by the National Science Foundation (NSF) MRSEC program (DMR-1420620).In numerous symmetric Ξ-2Ξ scans of phase-pure epitaxial complex oxide thin films grown on single-crystal substrates, we observe x-ray diffraction peaks that correspond to neither the film nor the substrate crystal structure. These peaks are the result of multiple, sequential diffraction events that occur from both the film and the substrate. The occurrence of so-called "hybrid" reflections, while described in the literature, is not widely reported within the complex oxide thin-film community. We describe a simple method to predict and identify peaks resulting from hybrid reflections and show examples from epitaxial complex oxide films belonging to three distinct structural types.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
The Enigmatic Young Object: Walker 90/V590 Monocerotis
We assess the evolutionary status of the intriguing object Walker 90/V590
Mon, which is located about 20 arcminutes northwest of the Cone Nebula near the
center of the open cluster NGC 2264. This object, according to its most recent
optical spectral type determination (B7), which we confirmed, is at least 3
magnitudes too faint in V for the cluster distance, but it shows the classical
signs of a young pre-main sequence object, such as highly variable Halpha
emission, Mg II emission, IR excess, UV continuum, and optical variability. We
analyzed a collection of archival and original data on Walker 90, covering 45
years including photometry, imaging, and spectroscopic data ranging from
ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths. According to star formation
processes, it is expected that, as this object clears its primordial
surroundings, it should become optically brighter, show a weakening of its IR
excess and present decreasing line emissions. This behavior is supported by our
observations and analysis, but timescales are expected to be longer than the
one observed here. Based on photometric data secured in 2007, we find Walker 90
at its brightest recorded optical magnitude. We document an evolution in
spectral type over the past five decades (from A2/A3 to currently B7 and as
early as B4), along with a decrease in the near-infrared K fluxes. From
near-infrared images secured in 2004, Walker 90 appears as a point source
placing an upper limit of 0.1 arcsec for its diameter. We conclude that many
observational features are explained if W90 is a flared disk system, surrounded
by an inclined optically thick accretion disk.Comment: 13 pages, 19 figure
Urban Stream Burial Increases Watershed-Scale Nitrate Export
Nitrogen (N) uptake in streams is an important ecosystem service that reduces nutrient loading to downstream ecosystems. Here we synthesize studies that investigated the effects of urban stream burial on N-uptake in two metropolitan areas and use simulation modeling to scale our measurements to the broader watershed scale. We report that nitrate travels on average 18 times farther downstream in buried than in open streams before being removed from the water column, indicating that burial substantially reduces N uptake in streams. Simulation modeling suggests that as burial expands throughout a river network, N uptake rates increase in the remaining open reaches which somewhat offsets reduced N uptake in buried reaches. This is particularly true at low levels of stream burial. At higher levels of stream burial, however, open reaches become rare and cumulative N uptake across all open reaches in the watershed rapidly declines. As a result, watershed-scale N export increases slowly at low levels of stream burial, after which increases in export become more pronounced. Stream burial in the lower, more urbanized portions of the watershed had a greater effect on N export than an equivalent amount of stream burial in the upper watershed. We suggest that stream daylighting (i.e., uncovering buried streams) can increase watershed-scale N retention
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