13,414 research outputs found
Equation of state of metallic hydrogen from Coupled Electron-Ion Monte Carlo simulations
We present a study of hydrogen at pressures higher than molecular
dissociation using the Coupled Electron-Ion Monte Carlo method. These
calculations use the accurate Reptation Quantum Monte Carlo method to estimate
the electronic energy and pressure while doing a Monte Carlo simulation of the
protons. In addition to presenting simulation results for the equation of state
over a large region of phase space, we report the free energy obtained by
thermodynamic integration. We find very good agreement with DFT calculations
for pressures beyond 600 GPa and densities above . Both
thermodynamic as well as structural properties are accurately reproduced by DFT
calculations. This agreement gives a strong support to the different
approximations employed in DFT, specifically the approximate
exchange-correlation potential and the use of pseudopotentials for the range of
densities considered. We find disagreement with chemical models, which suggests
a reinvestigation of planetary models, previously constructed using the
Saumon-Chabrier-Van Horn equations of state.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Energy and economic analysis of a residential Solar Organic Rankine plant
To answer the actual energy, water, economic, social and environmental challenges, renewable, distributed power plants need to
be developed. Among renewables, solar tri-generative power plants can be a solution where there is big low temperature
heating/cooling demand and small electricity demand, like many residential and industrial utilities. In this case, solar thermal
plants can produce thermal energy with low cost and high efficiency. The higher temperature heat not needed by the user can be
exploited via Organic Rankine Cycle to produce electrical energy and desalinized water via reverse osmosis. The present paper
analyses, via TRNSYS simulation, a system composed of 50 m2
of CPC solar thermal collectors, 3 m3
of thermal storage, a
synthetic heat transfer fluid, 3 kWe ORC, 8 kWth absorber, 200 l/h direct reverse osmosis desalination device. The system is able
to produce power, heating/cooling and fresh water needs for a residential house. Although system’s components are well known
technologies, the integration to a efficient and economic working system is still a challenge. Global energy and economic
analyses have been performed. Low temperature heating/cooling terminals allow to increase not only the use of thermal energy
but also the ORCand absorber efficiency. ORC-Absorber configuration and relative fluids and temperatures are central.
Government support and/or cost reduction of 30% are necessary to have positive NPV and acceptable PBT and IR
Experimental tests to recover the photovoltaic power by battery system
The uncertainty and variability of the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) power plants within the power grid is an open issue. The
present study focuses on the use of batteries to overcome the limitations associated with the photovoltaic inverter operation,
trying to maximize the global energy produced. A set of switches, was placed between a few photovoltaic modules and a
commercial inverter, capable to change configuration of the plant dynamically. Such system stores the power that the inverter is
not able to let into the grid inside batteries. At the base of this optimization, there is the achievement of two main configurations
in which the batteries and the photovoltaic modules are electrically connected in an appropriate manner as a function of inverter
efficiency and thus solar radiation. A control board and the relative program, to change the configuration, was designed and
implemented, based on the value of the measured radiation, current, batteries voltage, and calculated inverter efficiency. Finally
from the cost and impact analysis we can say that, today the technology of lithium batteries, for this application, is still too
expensive in comparison with lead-acid batteries
4D Topological Mass by Gauging Spin
We propose a spin gauge field theory in which the curl of a Dirac fermion
current density plays the role of the pseudovector charge density. In this
field-theoretic model, spin interactions are mediated by a single scalar gauge
boson in its antisymmetric tensor formulation. We show that these long range
spin interactions induce a gauge invariant photon mass in the one-loop
effective action. The fermion loop generates a coupling between photons and the
spin gauge boson, which acquires thus charge. This coupling represents also an
induced, gauge invariant, topological mass for the photons, leading to the
Meissner effect. The one-loop effective equations of motion for the charged
spin gauge boson are the London equations. We propose thus spin gauge
interactions as an alternative, topological mechanism for superconductivity in
which no spontaneous symmetry breaking is involved.Comment: 4 pages, no figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1310.210
Monolithic zirconia and digital impression: case report
The aim of this study is to present a clinical case of a full arch prosthetic rehabilitation on natural teeth, combining both digital work-flow and monolithic zirconi
Geometry and topology of knotted ring polymers in an array of obstacles
We study knotted polymers in equilibrium with an array of obstacles which
models confinement in a gel or immersion in a melt. We find a crossover in both
the geometrical and the topological behavior of the polymer. When the polymers'
radius of gyration, , and that of the region containing the knot,
, are small compared to the distance b between the obstacles, the knot
is weakly localised and scales as in a good solvent with an amplitude
that depends on knot type. In an intermediate regime where ,
the geometry of the polymer becomes branched. When exceeds b, the
knot delocalises and becomes also branched. In this regime, is
independent of knot type. We discuss the implications of this behavior for gel
electrophoresis experiments on knotted DNA in weak fields.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Laser-controlled local magnetic field with semiconductor quantum rings
We analize theoretically the dynamics of N electrons localized in a
semiconductor quantum ring under a train of phase-locked infrared laser pulses.
The pulse sequence is designed to control the total angular momentum of the
electrons. The quantum ring can be put in states characterized by strong
currents. The local magnetic field created by these currents can be used for a
selective quantum control of single spins in semiconductor systems
Defective Behaviour of an 8T SRAM Cell with Open Defects
The defective behaviour of an 8T SRAM cell with open defects is analyzed. Full and resistive open defects have been considered in the electrical characterization of the defective cell. Due to the similarity between the classical 6T SRAM cell and the 8T cell, only defects affecting the read port transistors have been considered. In the work, it is shown how an open in a defective cell may influence the correct operation of a victim cell sharing the same read circuitry. Also, it is shown that the sequence of bits written on the defective cell prior to a read action can mask the presence of the defect. Different orders of critical resistance have been found depending on the location of the open defect. A 45nm technology has been used for the illustrative example presented in the wor
Inflammation, neurodegeneration and protein aggregation in the retina as ocular biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease in the 3xTg-AD mouse model
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. In the pathogenesis of AD a pivotal role is played by two neurotoxic proteins that aggregate and accumulate in the central nervous system: amyloid beta and hyper-phosphorylated tau. Accumulation of extracellular amyloid beta plaques and intracellular hyper-phosphorylated tau tangles, and consequent neuronal loss begins 10-15 years before any cognitive impairment. In addition to cognitive and behavioral deficits, sensorial abnormalities have been described in AD patients and in some AD transgenic mouse models. Retina can be considered a simple model of the brain, as some pathological changes and therapeutic strategies from the brain may be observed or applicable to the retina. Here we propose new retinal biomarkers that could anticipate the AD diagnosis and help the beginning and the follow-up of possible future treatments. We analyzed retinal tissue of triple-transgenic AD mouse model (3xTg-AD) for the presence of pathological hallmarks during disease progression. We found the presence of amyloid beta plaques, tau tangles, neurodegeneration, and astrogliosis in the retinal ganglion cell layer of 3xTg-AD mice, already at pre-symptomatic stage. Moreover, retinal microglia in pre-symptomatic mice showed a ramified, anti-inflammatory phenotype which, during disease progression, switches to a pro-inflammatory, less ramified one, becoming neurotoxic. We hypothesize retina as a window through which monitor AD-related neurodegeneration process
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