907 research outputs found
Electron heating mechanisms in dual frequency capacitive discharges
We discuss electron heating mechanisms in the sheath regions of dual-frequency capacitive discharges, with the twin aims of identifying the dominant mechanisms and supplying closed-form expressions from which the heating power can be estimated. We show that the heating effect produced by either Ohmic or collisionless heating is much larger when the discharge is excited by a superposition of currents at two frequencies than if either current had acted alone. This coupling effect occurs because the lower frequency current, while not directly heating the electrons to any great extent, strongly affects the spatial structure of the discharge in the sheath regions
Revisiting the reaction of dicarbonyls in aerosol proxy solutions containing ammonia: the case of butenedial
Reactions in aqueous solutions containing dicarbonyls
(especially the α-dicarbonyls methylglyoxal, glyoxal, and biacetyl)
and reduced nitrogen (NHx) have been studied extensively. It has been
proposed that accretion reactions from dicarbonyls and NHx could be a
source of particulate matter and brown carbon in the atmosphere and
therefore have direct implications for human health and climate. Other
dicarbonyls, such as the 1,4-unsaturated dialdehyde butenedial, are also
produced from the atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds,
especially aromatics and furans, but their aqueous-phase reactions with
NHx have not been characterized. In this work, we determine a
pH-dependent mechanism of butenedial reactions in aqueous solutions with
NHx that is compared to α-dicarbonyls, in particular the
dialdehyde glyoxal. Similar to glyoxal, butenedial is strongly hydrated in
aqueous solutions. Butenedial reaction with NHx also produces
nitrogen-containing rings and leads to accretion reactions that form brown
carbon. Despite glyoxal and butenedial both being dialdehydes, butenedial is
observed to have three significant differences in its chemical behavior: (1)Â as previously shown, butenedial does not substantially form acetal
oligomers, (2)Â the butenedial/OHâ reaction leads to light-absorbing
compounds, and (3)Â the butenedial/NHx reaction is fast and first order
in the dialdehyde. Building off of a complementary study on butenedial
gas-particle partitioning, we suggest that the behavior of other reactive
dialdehydes and dicarbonyls may not always be adequately predicted by
α-dicarbonyls, even though their dominant functionalities are
closely related. The carbon skeleton (e.g., its hydrophobicity, length, and
bond structure) also governs the fate and climate-relevant properties of
dicarbonyls in the atmosphere. If other dicarbonyls behave like butenedial,
their reaction with NHx could constitute a regional source of brown
carbon to the atmosphere.</p
Index
The interest in relativistic beam-plasma instabilities has been greatly rejuvenated over the past two decades by novel concepts in laboratory and space plasmas. Recent advances in this long-standing field are here reviewed from both theoretical and numerical points of view. The primary focus is on the two-dimensional spectrum of unstable electromagnetic waves growing within relativistic, unmagnetized, and uniform electron beam-plasma systems. Although the goal is to provide a unified picture of all instability classes at play, emphasis is put on the potentially dominant waves propagating obliquely to the beam direction, which have received little attention over the years. First, the basic derivation of the general dielectric function of a kinetic relativistic plasma is recalled. Next, an overview of two-dimensional unstable spectra associated with various beam-plasma distribution functions is given. Both cold-fluid and kinetic linear theory results are reported, the latter being based on waterbag and MaxwellâJĂŒttner model distributions. The main properties of the competing modes (developing parallel, transverse, and oblique to the beam) are given, and their respective region of dominance in the system parameter space is explained. Later sections address particle-in-cell numerical simulations and the nonlinear evolution of multidimensional beam-plasma systems. The elementary structures generated by the various instability classes are first discussed in the case of reduced-geometry systems. Validation of linear theory is then illustrated in detail for large-scale systems, as is the multistaged character of the nonlinear phase. Finally, a collection of closely related beam-plasma problems involving additional physical effects is presented, and worthwhile directions of future research are outlined.Original Publication: Antoine Bret, Laurent Gremillet and Mark Eric Dieckmann, Multidimensional electron beam-plasma instabilities in the relativistic regime, 2010, Physics of Plasmas, (17), 12, 120501-1-120501-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3514586 Copyright: American Institute of Physics http://www.aip.org/</p
Reaching Inward Not Outward: Marketing via the Internet at the UK 2010 General Election
The Internet has been to date used as a space for simple promotion by political parties; websites present an opportunity for the delivery of non-mediated communication directly to the online audience and nothing more. However, new patterns in usage during campaigns, particularly that of Barack Obama, aided by the technological innovations that fall under the umbrella of Web 2.0, offer new models of online political communication. Through an analysis of the websites and linked online presences of six parties that stood across the UK at the 2010 General Election, we find a dual strategy for Internet campaigning emerging. The persuasive traditions of electioneering remain a feature; however, the key emergent function is one of internal marketing to party supporters and activists. Large sections of party websites are being dedicated to harnessing supporters and converting them to being donators, promoters, and campaigners both online and offline. This suggests that the Internet is increasingly embedded within election communication and online communication strategies are becoming a feature of most of the parties' marketing communication mix. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
Radio-frequency discharges in Oxygen. Part 1: Modeling
In this series of three papers we present results from a combined
experimental and theoretical effort to quantitatively describe capacitively
coupled radio-frequency discharges in oxygen. The particle-in-cell Monte-Carlo
model on which the theoretical description is based will be described in the
present paper. It treats space charge fields and transport processes on an
equal footing with the most important plasma-chemical reactions. For given
external voltage and pressure, the model determines the electric potential
within the discharge and the distribution functions for electrons, negatively
charged atomic oxygen, and positively charged molecular oxygen. Previously used
scattering and reaction cross section data are critically assessed and in some
cases modified. To validate our model, we compare the densities in the bulk of
the discharge with experimental data and find good agreement, indicating that
essential aspects of an oxygen discharge are captured.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
A photoisomerizable muscarinic antagonist. Studies of binding and of conductance relaxations in frog heart.
Current Flow and Pair Creation at Low Altitude in Rotation Powered Pulsars' Force-Free Magnetospheres: Space-Charge Limited Flow
(shortened) We report the results of an investigation of particle
acceleration and electron-positron plasma generation at low altitude in the
polar magnetic flux tubes of Rotation Powered Pulsars, when the stellar surface
is free to emit whatever charges and currents are demanded by the force-free
magnetosphere. We observe novel behavior. a) When the current density is less
than the Goldreich-Julian (GJ) value (0<j/j_{GJ}<1), space charge limited
acceleration of the current carrying beam is mild, with the full GJ charge
density being comprised of the charge density of the beam, co-existing with a
cloud of electrically trapped particles with the same sign of charge as the
beam. The voltage drops are on the order of mc^2/e, and pair creation is
absent. b) When the current density exceeds the GJ value (j/j_{GJ}>1), the
system develops high voltage drops, causing emission of gamma rays and intense
bursts of pair creation. The bursts exhibit limit cycle behavior, with
characteristic time scales somewhat longer than the relativistic fly-by time
over distances comparable to the polar cap diameter (microseconds). c) In
return current regions, where j/j_{GJ}<0, the system develops similar bursts of
pair creation. In cases b) and c), the intermittently generated pairs allow the
system to simultaneously carry the magnetospherically prescribed currents and
adjust the charge density and average electric field to force-free conditions.
We also elucidate the conditions for pair creating beam flow to be steady,
finding that such steady flows can occupy only a small fraction of the current
density parameter space of the force-free magnetospheric model. The generic
polar flow dynamics and pair creation is strongly time dependent. The model has
an essential difference from almost all previous quantitative studies, in that
we sought the accelerating voltage as a function of the applied current.Comment: 35 pages, 29 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Added new
appendix, several minor changes in the tex
Ligand-binding propeties of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in mouse neuroblastoma cells
Generation of ultra-short light pulses by a rapidly ionizing thin foil
A thin and dense plasma layer is created when a sufficiently strong laser
pulse impinges on a solid target. The nonlinearity introduced by the
time-dependent electron density leads to the generation of harmonics. The pulse
duration of the harmonic radiation is related to the risetime of the electron
density and thus can be affected by the shape of the incident pulse and its
peak field strength. Results are presented from numerical
particle-in-cell-simulations of an intense laser pulse interacting with a thin
foil target. An analytical model which shows how the harmonics are created is
introduced. The proposed scheme might be a promising way towards the generation
of attosecond pulses.
PACS number(s): 52.40.Nk, 52.50.Jm, 52.65.RrComment: Second Revised Version, 13 pages (REVTeX), 3 figures in ps-format,
submitted for publication to Physical Review E, WWW:
http://www.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/tqe
3H-n.m.r. studies of multiple conformations and dynamic processes in complexes of folate and methotrexate with Lactobacillus casei dihydrofolate reductase
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