Chaos at Fifty

In 1963 Edward Lorenz revealed deterministic predictability to be an illusion and gave birth to a field that still thrives. This Feature Article discusses Lorenz's discovery and developments that followed from it.Comment: For an animated visualization of the Lorenz attractor, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu4RdmBVdp

Twin-spool turbopumps for ''low'' net positive suction pressure operations

Modified single-shaft turbopump incorporates inducer and main pump, each separately driven at different speeds through coaxial-shaft arrangement. Inducer operates at low speed for low net positive suction pressure, main pump operates at high speed to generate high pressure. This arrangement requires no external control for the inducer

Kink-antikink interactions in the double sine-Gordon equation and the problem of resonance frequencies

We studied the kink-antikink collision process for the "double sine-Gordon" (DSG) equation in 1+1 dimensions at different values of the potential parameter $R>0$. For small values of $R$ we discuss the problem of resonance frequencies. We give qualitative explanation of the frequency shift in comparison with the frequency of the discrete level in the potential well of isolated kink. We show that in this region of the parameter $R$ the effective long-range interaction between kink and antikink takes place.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures (eps

Magnetic Excitations of Stripes Near a Quantum Critical Point

We calculate the dynamical spin structure factor of spin waves for weakly coupled stripes. At low energy, the spin wave cone intensity is strongly peaked on the inner branches. As energy is increased, there is a saddlepoint followed by a square-shaped continuum rotated 45 degree from the low energy peaks. This is reminiscent of recent high energy neutron scattering data on the cuprates. The similarity at high energy between this semiclassical treatment and quantum fluctuations in spin ladders may be attributed to the proximity of a quantum critical point with a small critical exponent $\eta$.Comment: 4+ pages, 5 figures, published versio

A study of the applicability of nucleation theory to quasi-thermodynamic transitions of second and higher Ehrenfest-order

The applicability of classical nucleation theory to second (and higher) order thermodynamic transitions in the Ehrenfest sense has been investigated and expressions have been derived upon which the qualitative and quantitative success of the basic approach must ultimately depend. The expressions describe the effect of temperature undercooling, hydrostatic pressure, and tensile stress upon the critical parameters, the critical nucleus size, and critical free energy barrier, for nucleation in a thermodynamic transition of any general order. These expressions are then specialized for the case of first and second order transitions. The expressions for the case of undercooling are then used in conjunction with literature data to estimate values for the critical quantities in a system undergoing a pseudo-second order transition (the glass transition in polystyrene). Methods of estimating the interfacial energy gamma in systems undergoing a first and second order transition are also discussed

Magnetic Excitations of Stripes and Checkerboards in the Cuprates

We discuss the magnetic excitations of well-ordered stripe and checkerboard phases, including the high energy magnetic excitations of recent interest and possible connections to the "resonance peak" in cuprate superconductors. Using a suitably parametrized Heisenberg model and spin wave theory, we study a variety of magnetically ordered configurations, including vertical and diagonal site- and bond-centered stripes and simple checkerboards. We calculate the expected neutron scattering intensities as a function of energy and momentum. At zero frequency, the satellite peaks of even square-wave stripes are suppressed by as much as a factor of 34 below the intensity of the main incommensurate peaks. We further find that at low energy, spin wave cones may not always be resolvable experimentally. Rather, the intensity as a function of position around the cone depends strongly on the coupling across the stripe domain walls. At intermediate energy, we find a saddlepoint at $(\pi,\pi)$ for a range of couplings, and discuss its possible connection to the "resonance peak" observed in neutron scattering experiments on cuprate superconductors. At high energy, various structures are possible as a function of coupling strength and configuration, including a high energy square-shaped continuum originally attributed to the quantum excitations of spin ladders. On the other hand, we find that simple checkerboard patterns are inconsistent with experimental results from neutron scattering.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, for high-res figs, see http://physics.bu.edu/~yaodx/spinwave2/spinw2.htm

Andean icefields to Amazonian jungles: a radical new view of the late pleistocene of South America

Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Altlplano of the Central Andes was far more extensive than previously recognized, with all of the northern Altiplano being covered by a glacial icecap. Large paleolakes existed in the Altiplano, but their relationship with glacial episodes is unclear. One Altiplano paleolake filled the basin to the 4,100±m contour drained catastrophically through the Achocalla Valley of Bolivia approximately 45,000-40,000 years B.P. The catastrophic floodwaters flowed north and south upon reaching the lowlands of eastern Bolivia, scouring much of lowland Amazônia and depositing the Belterra Clay. Asymmetric ripplemarks on the Amazon Cone record the passing of the floodwaters into the Atlantic Ocean. The Belterra Clay dammed the eastern outlet of the Amazon drainage to an elevation of 260±m, resulting in the formation of a great freshwater lake, Lake Amazonas Lake Amazonas accumulated vast quantities of fine-grained sediments through deposition in basin-wide "birds's foot" deltas before it began draining eastward about 13,500 years B.P. Except for minor drainage system refinements, the Amazon Basin had assumed its current physical parameters by 6,000 years B.P. Paleolakes may have covered the Altiplano up to the 3,950±m contour in the early Holocene, desiccating to form the modern lakes and salares only in the late Holocene. The geological, biological and climatological ramifications of the Altiplano glaciation and paleolakes, the catastrophic flood and the formation, filling and draining of Lake Amazonas are enormous