2,567 research outputs found
Splash control of drop impacts with geometric targets
Drop impacts on solid and liquid surfaces exhibit complex dynamics due to the
competition of inertial, viscous, and capillary forces. After impact, a liquid
lamella develops and expands radially, and under certain conditions, the outer
rim breaks up into an irregular arrangement of filaments and secondary
droplets. We show experimentally that the lamella expansion and subsequent
break up of the outer rim can be controlled by length scales that are of
comparable dimension to the impacting drop diameter. Under identical impact
parameters, ie. fluid properties and impact velocity, we observe unique
splashing dynamics by varying the target cross-sectional geometry. These
behaviors include: (i) geometrically-shaped lamellae and (ii) a transition in
splashing stability, from regular to irregular splashing. We propose that
regular splashes are controlled by the azimuthal perturbations imposed by the
target cross-sectional geometry and that irregular splashes are governed by the
fastest-growing unstable Plateau-Rayleigh mode
Precision Cultural Practices for Commercial Vegetable Production (Bulletin #836)
The objectives of this bulletin are to present a summary of research on precision cultural practices by the LSU AgCenter, to explain and discuss the advantages of these cultural practices, and to recommend practices that should help commercial vegetable growers.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/agcenter_bulletins/1010/thumbnail.jp
"Marginal pinching" in soap films
We discuss the behaviour of a thin soap film facing a frame element: the
pressure in the Plateau border around the frame is lower than the film
pressure, and the film thins out over a certain distance lambda(t), due to the
formation of a well-localized pinched region of thickness h(t) and extension
w(t). We construct a hydrodynamic theory for this thinning process, assuming a
constant surface tension: Marangoni effects are probably important only at late
stages, where instabilitites set in. We find lambda(t) ~ t^{1/4}, and for the
pinch dimensions h(t) ~ t^{-1/2}$ and w(t) ~ t^{-1/4}. These results may play a
useful role for the discussion of later instabilitites leading to a global film
thinning and drainage, as first discussed by K. Mysels under the name
``marginal regeneration''.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, VII: The MIRI Detectors
The MIRI Si:As IBC detector arrays extend the heritage technology from the
Spitzer IRAC arrays to a 1024 x 1024 pixel format. We provide a short
discussion of the principles of operation, design, and performance of the
individual MIRI detectors, in support of a description of their operation in
arrays provided in an accompanying paper (Ressler et al. (2015)). We then
describe modeling of their response. We find that electron diffusion is an
important component of their performance, although it was omitted in previous
models. Our new model will let us optimize the bias voltage while avoiding
avalanche gain. It also predicts the fraction of the IR-active layer that is
depleted (and thus contributes to the quantum efficiency) as signal is
accumulated on the array amplifier. Another set of models accurately predicts
the nonlinearity of the detector-amplifier unit and has guided determination of
the corrections for nonlinearity. Finally, we discuss how diffraction at the
interpixel gaps and total internal reflection can produce the extended
cross-like artifacts around images with these arrays at short wavelengths, ~ 5
microns. The modeling of the behavior of these devices is helping optimize how
we operate them and also providing inputs to the development of the data
pipeline
Services within a busy period of an M/M/1 queue and Dyck paths
We analyze the service times of customers in a stable M/M/1 queue in
equilibrium depending on their position in a busy period. We give the law of
the service of a customer at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle of the
busy period. It enables as a by-product to prove that the process of instants
of beginning of services is not Poisson. We then proceed to a more precise
analysis. We consider a family of polynomial generating series associated with
Dyck paths of length 2n and we show that they provide the correlation function
of the successive services in a busy period with (n+1) customers
Vehicle/engine integration
VEHICLE/ENGINE Integration Issues are explored for orbit transfer vehicles (OTV's). The impact of space basing and aeroassist on VEHICLE/ENGINE integration is discussed. The AOTV structure and thermal protection subsystem weights were scaled as the vehicle length and surface was changed. It is concluded that for increased allowable payload lengths in a ground-based system, lower length-to-diameter (L/D) is as important as higher mixture ration (MR) in the range of mid L/D ATOV's. Scenario validity, geometry constraints, throttle levels, reliability, and servicing are discussed in the context of engine design and engine/vehicle integration
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Optical Transient Associated with GRB970508
We report on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the optical
transient (OT) discovered in the error box of the gamma-ray burst GRB970508.
The object was imaged on 1997 June 2 with the Space Telescope Imaging
Spectrograph (STIS) and Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer
(NICMOS). The observations reveal a point-like source with R = 23.1 +- 0.2 and
H = 20.6 +- 0.3, in agreement with the power-law temporal decay seen in
ground-based monitoring. Unlike the case of GRB970228, no nebulosity is
detected surrounding the OT of GRB970508. We set very conservative upper limits
of R ~ 24.5 and H ~ 22.2 on the brightness of any underlying extended source.
If this subtends a substantial fraction of an arcsecond, then the R band limit
is ~25.5. In combination with Keck spectra that show Mg I absorption and [O II]
emission at a redshift of z = 0.835, our observations suggest that the OT is
located in a star-forming galaxy with total luminosity one order of magnitude
lower than the knee of the galaxy luminosity function, L*. Such galaxies are
now thought to harbor the majority of star formation at z ~ 1; therefore, these
observations may provide support for a link between GRBs and star formation.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 2 Postscript figures, to appear in The Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Revisiting the theoretical DBV (V777 Her) instability strip: the MLT theory of convection
We reexamine the theoretical instability domain of pulsating DB white dwarfs
(DBV or V777 Her variables). We performed an extensive -mode nonadiabatic
pulsation analysis of DB evolutionary models considering a wide range of
stellar masses, for which the complete evolutionary stages of their progenitors
from the ZAMS, through the thermally pulsing AGB and born-again phases, the
domain of the PG1159 stars, the hot phase of DO white dwarfs, and then the DB
white dwarf stage have been considered. We explicitly account for the evolution
of the chemical abundance distribution due to time-dependent chemical diffusion
processes. We examine the impact of the different prescriptions of the MLT
theory of convection and the effects of small amounts of H in the almost
He-pure atmospheres of DB stars on the precise location of the theoretical blue
edge of the DBV instability strip.Comment: Proceedings, 16th European White Dwarf Workshop, Barcelona, 200
A comparative analysis of the observed white dwarf cooling sequence from globular clusters
We report our study of features at the observed red end of the white dwarf
cooling sequences for three Galactic globular clusters: NGC\,6397, 47\,Tucanae
and M\,4. We use deep colour-magnitude diagrams constructed from archival
Hubble Space Telescope (ACS) to systematically investigate the blue turn at
faint magnitudes and the age determinations for each cluster. We find that the
age difference between NGC\,6397 and 47\,Tuc is 1.98\,Gyr,
consistent with the picture that metal-rich halo clusters were formed later
than metal-poor halo clusters. We self-consistently include the effect of
metallicity on the progenitor age and the initial-to-final mass relation. In
contrast with previous investigations that invoked a single white dwarf mass
for each cluster, the data shows a spread of white dwarf masses that better
reproduce the shape and location of the blue turn. This effect alone, however,
does not completely reproduce the observational data - the blue turn retains
some mystery. In this context, we discuss several other potential problems in
the models. These include possible partial mixing of H and He in the atmosphere
of white dwarf stars, the lack of a good physical description of the
collision-induced absorption process and uncertainties in the opacities at low
temperatures. The latter are already known to be significant in the description
of the cool main sequence. Additionally, we find that the present day local
mass function of NGC\,6397 is consistent with a top-heavy type, while 47\,Tuc
presents a bottom-heavy profile.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (16 pages, 19 figures
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