2,385 research outputs found
Active clearance control system for a turbomachine
An axial compressor is provided with a cooling air manifold surrounding a portion of the shroud, and means for bleeding air from the compressor to the manifold for selectively flowing it in a modulating manner axially along the outer side of the stator/shroud to cool and shrink it during steady state operating conditions so as to obtain minimum shroud/rotor clearance conditions. Provision is also made to selectively divert the flow of cooling air from the manifold during transient periods of operation so as to alter the thermal growth or shrink rate of the stator/shroud and result in adequate clearance with the compressor rotor
Real feelings for virtual people: emotional attachments and interpersonal attraction in video games
Factors which may affect how people become attracted to virtual characters were explored in an online survey of players of a recent video role-playing game. Seventy-four participants (33 male) completed a series of questionnaires assessing their personality, motivations for game play, and feelings towards the ten non-player characters (NPCs) with whom they had potentially experienced extensive interactions within the game world. Results suggest that people form real and authentic emotional attachments to virtual characters, and that these arise from a complex blend of the playersâ personality and motivation, and the virtual charactersâ levels of physical attraction, friendliness (or hostility) and general usefulness within the game context. Implications of these findings, and suggestions for future research, are discussed
Energy dependence on fractional charge for strongly interacting subsystems
The energies of a pair of strongly-interacting subsystems with arbitrary
noninteger charges are examined from closed and open system perspectives. An
ensemble representation of the charge dependence is derived, valid at all
interaction strengths. Transforming from resonance-state ionicity to ensemble
charge dependence imposes physical constraints on the occupation numbers in the
strong-interaction limit. For open systems, the chemical potential is evaluated
using microscopic and thermodynamic models, leading to a novel correlation
between ground-state charge and an electronic temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs.; as accepted (Phys. Rev. Lett.
Sub-millimeter images of a dusty Kuiper belt around eta Corvi
We present sub-millimeter and mid-infrared images of the circumstellar disk
around the nearby F2V star eta Corvi. The disk is resolved at 850um with a size
of ~100AU. At 450um the emission is found to be extended at all position
angles, with significant elongation along a position angle of 130+-10deg; at
the highest resolution (9.3") this emission is resolved into two peaks which
are to within the uncertainties offset symmetrically from the star at 100AU
projected separation. Modeling the appearance of emission from a narrow ring in
the sub-mm images shows the observed structure cannot be caused by an edge-on
or face-on axisymmetric ring; the observations are consistent with a ring of
radius 150+-20AU seen at 45+-25deg inclination. More face-on orientations are
possible if the dust distribution includes two clumps similar to Vega; we show
how such a clumpy structure could arise from the migration over 25Myr of a
Neptune mass planet from 80-105AU. The inner 100AU of the system appears
relatively empty of sub-mm emitting dust, indicating that this region may have
been cleared by the formation of planets, but the disk emission spectrum shows
that IRAS detected an additional hot component with a characteristic
temperature of 370+-60K (implying a distance of 1-2AU). At 11.9um we found the
emission to be unresolved with no background sources which could be
contaminating the fluxes measured by IRAS. The age of this star is estimated to
be ~1Gyr. It is very unusual for such an old main sequence star to exhibit
significant mid-IR emission. The proximity of this source makes it a perfect
candidate for further study from optical to mm wavelengths to determine the
distribution of its dust.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures. Scheduled for publication in ApJ 10 February
2005 issu
Microsolvation of heavy halides
The fundamental question of how intermolecular interactions lead to the stabilization of heavy halides (Brâ, Iâ, Atâ) microsolvated with up to six explicit water molecules is addressed here. An exhaustive exploration of the potential energy surfaces using a random search algorithm followed by optimization of molecular geometries using pseudopotentials and at the full four component relativistic levels of theory, affords a good number of structures with high probabilities of occurrence, highlighting the important role of local minima to reproduce experimentally measured properties. Sequential hydration enthalpies for astatide are reported here for the first time in the scientific literature. Closed shell (ionic, long range) as well as intermediate character interactions (contributions from closed shell and covalent) are at play stabilizing the clusters. The ability of water molecules to either donate or to accept electron density dictates the nature and strength of the corresponding hydrogen bonds in solvation shells. Binding energies and molecular geometries are shown to be more sensitive to electron correlation than to relativistic effects
Phonons in graphene with point defects
The phonon density of states (DOS) of graphene with different types of point
defects (carbon isotopes, substitution atoms, vacancies) is considered. Using a
solvable model which is based on the harmonic approximation and the assumption
that the elastic forces act only between nearest neighboring ions we calculate
corrections to graphene DOS dependent on type and concentration of defects. In
particular the correction due to isotopic dimers is determined. It is shown
that a relatively small concentration of defects may lead to significant and
specific changes in the DOS, especially at low frequencies, near the Van Hove
points and in the vicinity of the K-points of the Brillouin zone. In some cases
defects generate one or several narrow gaps near the critical points of the
phonon DOS as well as resonance states in the Brillouin zone regular points.
All types of defects are characterized by the appearance of one or more
additional Van Hove peaks near the (Dirac) K points and their singular
contribution may be comparable with the effect of electron-phonon interaction.
Besides, for low frequencies and near the critical points the relative change
in density of states may be many times higher than the concentration of
defects.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
The Shape and Scale of Galactic Rotation from Cepheid Kinematics
A catalog of Cepheid variables is used to probe the kinematics of the
Galactic disk. Radial velocities are measured for eight distant Cepheids toward
l = 300; these new Cepheids provide a particularly good constraint on the
distance to the Galactic center, R_0. We model the disk with both an
axisymmetric rotation curve and one with a weak elliptical component, and find
evidence for an ellipticity of 0.043 +/- 0.016 near the Sun. Using these
models, we derive R_0 = 7.66 +/- 0.32 kpc and v_circ = 237 +/- 12 km/s. The
distance to the Galactic center agrees well with recent determinations from the
distribution of RR Lyrae variables, and disfavors most models with large
ellipticities at the solar orbit.Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX, 10 figure
Non-Gaussian CMBR angular power spectra
In this paper we show how the prediction of CMBR angular power spectra
in non-Gaussian theories is affected by a cosmic covariance problem, that is
correlations impart features on any observed spectrum
which are absent from the average spectrum. Therefore the average
spectrum is rendered a bad observational prediction, and two new prediction
strategies, better adjusted to these theories, are proposed. In one we search
for hidden random indices conditional to which the theory is released from the
correlations. Contact with experiment can then be made in the form of the
conditional power spectra plus the random index distribution. In another
approach we apply to the problem a principal component analysis. We discuss the
effect of correlations on the predictivity of non-Gaussian theories. We finish
by showing how correlations may be crucial in delineating the borderline
between predictions made by non-Gaussian and Gaussian theories. In fact, in
some particular theories, correlations may act as powerful non-Gaussianity
indicators
An Empirical Charge Transfer Potential with Correct Dissociation Limits
The empirical valence bond (EVB) method [J. Chem. Phys. 52, 1262 (1970)] has
always embodied charge transfer processes. The mechanism of that behavior is
examined here and recast for use as a new empirical potential energy surface
for large-scale simulations. A two-state model is explored. The main features
of the model are: (1) Explicit decomposition of the total system electron
density is invoked; (2) The charge is defined through the density decomposition
into constituent contributions; (3) The charge transfer behavior is controlled
through the resonance energy matrix elements which cannot be ignored; and (4) A
reference-state approach, similar in spirit to the EVB method, is used to
define the resonance state energy contributions in terms of "knowable"
quantities. With equal validity, the new potential energy can be expressed as a
nonthermal ensemble average with a nonlinear but analytical charge dependence
in the occupation number. Dissociation to neutral species for a gas-phase
process is preserved. A variant of constrained search density functional theory
is advocated as the preferred way to define an energy for a given charge.Comment: Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. 11/12/03. 14 pages, 8 figure
Charge Transfer in Partition Theory
The recently proposed Partition Theory (PT) [J.Phys.Chem.A 111, 2229 (2007)]
is illustrated on a simple one-dimensional model of a heteronuclear diatomic
molecule. It is shown that a sharp definition for the charge of molecular
fragments emerges from PT, and that the ensuing population analysis can be used
to study how charge redistributes during dissociation and the implications of
that redistribution for the dipole moment. Interpreting small differences
between the isolated parts' ionization potentials as due to environmental
inhomogeneities, we gain insight into how electron localization takes place in
H2+ as the molecule dissociates. Furthermore, by studying the preservation of
the shapes of the parts as different parameters of the model are varied, we
address the issue of transferability of the parts. We find good transferability
within the chemically meaningful parameter regime, raising hopes that PT will
prove useful in chemical applications.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure
- âŠ