1,176 research outputs found
Thin film evolution equations from (evaporating) dewetting liquid layers to epitaxial growth
In the present contribution we review basic mathematical results for three
physical systems involving self-organising solid or liquid films at solid
surfaces. The films may undergo a structuring process by dewetting,
evaporation/condensation or epitaxial growth, respectively. We highlight
similarities and differences of the three systems based on the observation that
in certain limits all of them may be described using models of similar form,
i.e., time evolution equations for the film thickness profile. Those equations
represent gradient dynamics characterized by mobility functions and an
underlying energy functional.
Two basic steps of mathematical analysis are used to compare the different
system. First, we discuss the linear stability of homogeneous steady states,
i.e., flat films; and second the systematics of non-trivial steady states,
i.e., drop/hole states for dewetting films and quantum dot states in epitaxial
growth, respectively. Our aim is to illustrate that the underlying solution
structure might be very complex as in the case of epitaxial growth but can be
better understood when comparing to the much simpler results for the dewetting
liquid film. We furthermore show that the numerical continuation techniques
employed can shed some light on this structure in a more convenient way than
time-stepping methods.
Finally we discuss that the usage of the employed general formulation does
not only relate seemingly not related physical systems mathematically, but does
as well allow to discuss model extensions in a more unified way
Expected Sensitivity to Galactic/Solar Axions and Bosonic Super-WIMPs based on the Axio-electric Effect in Liquid Xenon Dark Matter Detectors
We present systematic case studies to investigate the sensitivity of axion
searches by liquid xenon detectors, using the axio-electric effect (analogue of
the photoelectric effect) on xenon atoms. Liquid xenon is widely considered to
be one of the best target media for detection of WIMPs (Weakly Interacting
Massive Particles which may form the galactic dark matter) using nuclear
recoils. Since these detectors also provide an extremely low radioactivity
environment for electron recoils, very weakly-interacting low-mass particles (<
100 keV/c^2), such as the hypothetical axion, could be detected as well - in
this case using the axio-electric effect. Future ton-scale liquid Xe detectors
will be limited in sensitivity only by irreducible neutrino background
(pp-chain solar neutrino and the double beta decay of 136Xe) in the mass range
between 1 and 100 keV/c^2. Assuming one ton-year of exposure, galactic axions
(as non-relativistic dark matter) could be detected if the axio-electric
coupling g_Ae is greater than 10^-14 at 1 keV/c^2 (or $10^-13 at 100 keV/c^2).
Below a few keV/c^2, and independent of the mass, a solar axion search would be
sensitive to a coupling g_Ae ~ 10^-12. This limit will set a stringent upper
bound on axion mass for the DFSV and KSVZ models for the mass ranges m_A < 0.1
eV/c^2 and < 10 eV/c^2, respectively. Vector-boson dark matter could also be
detected for a coupling constant alpha'/alpha > 10^-33 (for mass 1 keV/c^2) or
> 10^-27 (for mass 100 keV/c^2).Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure
Depinning of three-dimensional drops from wettability defects
Substrate defects crucially influence the onset of sliding drop motion under
lateral driving. A finite force is necessary to overcome the pinning influence
even of microscale heterogeneities. The depinning dynamics of three-dimensional
drops is studied for hydrophilic and hydrophobic wettability defects using a
long-wave evolution equation for the film thickness profile. It is found that
the nature of the depinning transition explains the experimentally observed
stick-slip motion.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, submitted to ep
Rayleigh and depinning instabilities of forced liquid ridges on heterogeneous substrates
Depinning of two-dimensional liquid ridges and three-dimensional drops on an
inclined substrate is studied within the lubrication approximation. The
structures are pinned to wetting heterogeneities arising from variations of the
strength of the short-range polar contribution to the disjoining pressure. The
case of a periodic array of hydrophobic stripes transverse to the slope is
studied in detail using a combination of direct numerical simulation and
branch-following techniques. Under appropriate conditions the ridges may either
depin and slide downslope as the slope is increased, or first breakup into
drops via a transverse instability, prior to depinning. The different
transition scenarios are examined together with the stability properties of the
different possible states of the system.Comment: Physics synopsis link:
http://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevE.83.01630
Development and Evaluation of qPCR Detection Method and Zn-MgO/Alginate Active Packaging for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes Contamination in Cold-Smoked Salmon
To answer to food industry requests to monitor the presence of L. monocytogenes in
cold-smoked salmon samples and to extend their shelf-life, a qPCR protocol for the detection of
L. monocytogenes, and an antibacterial active packaging reinforced with zinc magnesium oxide
nanoparticles (Zn-MgO NPs) were developed. The qPCR allowed the sensitive and easy detection
of L. monocytogenes in naturally contaminated samples, with specificity in full agreement with the
standard methods. The halo diusion study indicated a high antibacterial eciency of 1 mg/mL
Zn-MgO NPs against L. monocytogenes, while the flow cytometry showed only moderate cytotoxicity
of the nanoparticles towards mammalian cells at a concentration above 1 mg/mL. Thus, the novel
active packaging was developed by using 1 mg/mL of Zn-MgO NPs to reinforce the alginate film.
Cold-smoked salmon samples inoculated with L. monocytogenes and air-packed with the Zn-MgO
NPs-alginate nanobiocomposite film showed no bacterial proliferation at 4 C during 4 days. In the
same condition, L. monocytogenes growth in control contaminated samples packed with alginate
film alone. Our results suggest that Zn-MgO nanoparticles can extend the shelf-life of cold-smoked salmon samples
Characterization of the Hamamatsu R11410-10 3-Inch Photomultiplier Tube for Liquid Xenon Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments
To satisfy the requirements of the next generation of dark matter detectors
based on the dual phase TPC, Hamamatsu, in close collaboration with UCLA, has
developed the R11410-10 photomultipler tube. In this work, we present the
detailed tests performed on this device. High QE (>30%) accompanied by a low
dark count rate (50 Hz at 0.3 PE) and high gain (10^7) with good single PE
resolution have been observed. A comprehensive screening measurement campaign
is ongoing while the manufacturer quotes a radioactivity of 20 mBq/PMT. These
characteristics show the R11410-10 to be particularly suitable for the
forthcoming zero background liquid xenon detectors.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure
Photometry of GSC 762-110, a new triple-mode radially pulsating star
Stars pulsating in three radial modes are very rare; only three examples are
known in the Galaxy. These stars are very useful since their periods may be
measured very precisely, and this will constrain the global stellar parameters
and the models of the star's interior. The purpose of this paper is to present
a new example of the class of triple-mode radial pulsators. A search for
candidate multi-mode pulsators was carried out in public survey data.
Time-series photometry of one of the candidates, GSC 762-110, was performed.
GSC 762-110 was found to be a triple-mode radial pulsator, with a fundamental
period of 0.1945d and period ratios of 0.7641 and 0.8012. In addition two
non-radial modes were found, for which the amplitude has diminished
considerably over the last few years.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Unsupervised activity recognition for autonomous water drones
We propose an automatic system aimed at discovering relevant activities for aquatic drones employed in water monitoring applications. The methodology exploits unsupervised time series segmentation to pursue two main goals: i) to support on-line decision making of drones and operators, ii) to support off-line analysis of large datasets collected by drones. The main novelty of our approach consists of its unsupervised nature, which enables to analyze unlabeled data. We investigate different variants of the proposed approach and validate them using an annotated dataset having labels for activity \u201cupstream/downstream navigation\u201d. Obtained results are encouraging in terms of clustering purity and silhouette which reach values greater than 0.94 and 0.20, respectively, in the best models
Robust area coverage with connectivity maintenance
Robot swarms herald the ability to solve complex tasks using a large collection of simple devices. However, engineering a robotic swarm is far from trivial, with a major hurdle being the definition of the control laws leading to the desired globally coordinated behavior. Communication is a key element for coordination and it is considered one of the current most important challenges for swarm robotics. In this paper, we study the problem of maintaining robust swarm connectivity while performing a coverage task based on the Voronoi tessellation of an area of interest. We implement our methodology in a team of eight Khepera IV robots. With the assumptions that robots have a limited sensing and communication range - and cannot rely on centralized processing - we propose a tri-objective control law that outperforms other simpler strategies (e.g. a potential-based coverage) in terms of network connectivity, robustness to failure, and area coverage
Rupturing fungal cell walls for higher yield of polysaccharides: Acid treatment of the basidiomycete prior to extraction
The fungal cell wall of Agaricus bisporus powder was degraded by ethanol-acid treatment in order to improve the yield of the hot water extractions. Polysaccharides from multiple hot water extractions of treated and untreated mushroom were precipitated with ethanol and characterised separately. The treatment and the sequenced extractions changed the anomeric compositions, the molecular weights, and the sugar contents of the extracted polysaccharides. The total yield of the first extraction of treated A. bisporus increased by 46% with over 10 percentage points higher glucan content compared to untreated batch. Bioactivities were decreasing within the extraction batches and after the treatment. This was found to be connected to the amount of polysaccharides and the content of mannitol in the precipitates
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