5,426 research outputs found
Operational and research aspects of a radio-controlled model flight test program
The operational and research aspects of a subscale, radio-controlled model flight test program are presented. By using low-cost free-flying models, an approach was developed for obtaining research-quality vehicle performance and aerodynamic information. The advantages and limitations learned by applying this approach to a specific flight test program are described. The research quality of the data acquired shows that model flight testing is practical for obtaining consistent and repeatable flight data
Investigation of nanodispersion in polystyrene-montmorillonite nanocomposites by solid state NMR
Nanocomposites result from combinations of materials with vastly different properties in the nanometer scale. These materials exhibit many unique properties such as improved thermal stability, reduced flammability, and improved mechanical properties. Many of the properties associated with polymer–clay nanocomposites are a function of the extent of exfoliation of the individual clay sheets or the quality of the nanodispersion. This work demonstrates that solid-state NMR can be used to characterize, quantitatively, the nanodispersion of variously modified montmorillonite (MMT) clays in polystyrene (PS) matrices. The direct influence of the paramagnetic Fe3, embedded in the aluminosilicate layers of MMT, on polymer protons within about 1 nm from the clay surfaces creates relaxation sources, which, via spin diffusion, significantly shorten the overall proton longitudinal relaxation time (T1 H). Deoxygenated samples were used to avoid the particularly strong contribution to the T1 H of PS from paramagnetic molecular oxygen. We used T1 H as an indicator of the nanodispersion of the clay in PS. This approach correlated reasonably well with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data. A model for interpreting the saturation-recovery data is proposed such that two parameters relating to the dispersion can be extracted. The first parameter, f, is the fraction of the potentially available clay surface that has been transformed into polymer–clay interfaces. The second parameter is a relative measure of the homogeneity of the dispersion of these actual polymer–clay interfaces. Finally, a quick assay of T1 H is reported for samples equilibrated with atmospheric oxygen. Included are these samples as well as 28 PS/MMT nanocomposite samples prepared by extrusion. These measurements are related to the development of highthroughput characterization techniques. This approach gives qualitative indications about dispersion; however, the more time-consuming analysis, of a few deoxygenated samples from this latter set, offers significantly greater insight into the clay dispersion. A second, probably superior, rapid-analysis method, applicable to oxygen-containing samples, is also demonstrated that should yield a reasonable estimate of the f parameter. Thus, for PS/MMT nanocomposites, one has the choice of a less complete NMR assay of dispersion that is significantly faster than TEM analysis, versus a slower and more complete NMR analysis with sample times comparable to TEM, information rivaling that of TEM, and a substantial advantage that this is a bulk characterization method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.* J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3188–3213, 200
Solar Multi-Scale Convection and Rotation Gradients Studied in Shallow Spherical Shells
The differential rotation of the sun, as deduced from helioseismology,
exhibits a prominent radial shear layer near the top of the convection zone
wherein negative radial gradients of angular velocity are evident in the low-
and mid-latitude regions spanning the outer 5% of the solar radius.
Supergranulation and related scales of turbulent convection are likely to play
a significant role in the maintenance of such radial gradients, and may
influence dynamics on a global scale in ways that are not yet understood. To
investigate such dynamics, we have constructed a series of three-dimensional
numerical simulations of turbulent compressible convection within spherical
shells, dealing with shallow domains to make such modeling computationally
tractable. These simulations are the first models of solar convection in a
spherical geometry that can explicitly resolve both the largest dynamical
scales of the system (of order the solar radius) as well as smaller-scale
convective overturning motions comparable in size to solar supergranulation
(20--40 Mm). We find that convection within these simulations spans a large
range of horizontal scales, and that the radial angular velocity gradient in
these models is typically negative, especially in low- and mid-latitude
regions. Analyses of the angular momentum transport indicates that such
gradients are maintained by Reynolds stresses associated with the convection,
transporting angular momentum inward to balance the outward transport achieved
by viscous diffusion and large-scale flows in the meridional plane. We suggest
that similar mechanisms associated with smaller-scale convection in the sun may
contribute to the maintenance of the observed radial shear layer located
immediately below the solar photosphere.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures, ApJ in press. A preprint of paper with hi-res
figures can be found at
http://www-lcd.colorado.edu/~derosa/modelling/modelling.htm
QCD and the Chiral Critical Point
As an extension of , consider a theory with ``'' flavors, where the
current quark masses are held in a fixed ratio as the overall scale of the
quark masses is varied. At nonzero temperature and baryon density it is
expected that in the chiral limit the chiral phase transition is of first
order. Increasing the quark mass from zero, the chiral transition becomes more
weakly first order, and can end in a chiral critical point. We show that the
only massless field at the chiral critical point is a sigma meson, with the
universality class that of the Ising model. Present day lattice simulations
indicate that is (relatively) near to the chiral critical point.Comment: 7 pages + 2 figures, BNL-GGP-
Seabird Bycatch in Pelagic Longline Fisheries Is Grossly Underestimated when Using Only Haul Data
Hundreds of thousands of seabirds are killed each year as bycatch in longline fisheries. Seabirds are predominantly caught during line setting but bycatch is generally recorded during line hauling, many hours after birds are caught. Bird loss during this interval may lead to inaccurate bycatch information. In this 15 year study, seabird bycatch was recorded during both line setting and line hauling from four fishing regions: Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, Coral Sea and central Pacific Ocean. Over 43,000 albatrosses, petrels and skuas representing over 25 species were counted during line setting of which almost 6,000 seabirds attempted to take the bait. Bait-taking interactions were placed into one of four categories. (i) The majority (57%) of bait-taking attempts were “unsuccessful” involving seabirds that did not take the bait nor get caught or hooked. (ii) One-third of attempts were “successful” with seabirds removing the bait while not getting caught. (iii) One-hundred and seventy-six seabirds (3% of attempts) were observed being “caught” during line setting, with three albatross species – Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis), black-footed (P. nigripes) and black-browed (Thalassarche melanophrys)– dominating this category. However, of these, only 85 (48%) seabird carcasses were retrieved during line hauling. Most caught seabirds were hooked through the bill. (iv) The remainder of seabird-bait interactions (7%) was not clearly observed, but likely involved more “caught” seabirds. Bait taking attempts and percentage outcome (e.g. successful, caught) varied between seabird species and was not always related to species abundance around fishing vessels. Using only haul data to calculate seabird bycatch grossly underestimates actual bycatch levels, with the level of seabird bycatch from pelagic longline fishing possibly double what was previously thought
Transition between nuclear and quark-gluon descriptions of hadrons and light nuclei
We provide a perspective on studies aimed at observing the transition between
hadronic and quark-gluonic descriptions of reactions involving light nuclei. We
begin by summarizing the results for relatively simple reactions such as the
pion form factor and the neutral pion transition form factor as well as that
for the nucleon and end with exclusive photoreactions in our simplest nuclei. A
particular focus will be on reactions involving the deuteron. It is noted that
a firm understanding of these issues is essential for unraveling important
structure information from processes such as deeply virtual Compton scattering
as well as deeply virtual meson production. The connection to exotic phenomena
such as color transparency will be discussed. A number of outstanding
challenges will require new experiments at modern facilities on the horizon as
well as further theoretical developments.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Reports on Progress in Physic
Determination of CKM phases through rigid polygons of flavor SU(3) amplitudes
Some new methods for the extraction of CKM phases and using
flavor SU(3) symmetry have been suggested through the construction of rigid
polygons in the complex plane with sides equal to the decay amplitudes of B
mesons into two mesons belonging to the light (charmless) pseudoscalar octet.
These rigid polygons incorporate all the possible amplitude triangles and,
being overdetermined, also serve as consistency checks and in estimating the
rates of some decay modes. The same techniques also lead to numerous useful
amplitude triangles when octet-singlet mixing has been taken into account and
nearly physical are used.Comment: A few detailed explanations added, some rearrangement of sections and
a few minor changes in notation. 19 pages, 1 PostScript figure, uses
psfig.st
Decays of Baryons --- Quark Model versus Large-
We study nonleptonic decays of the orbitally excited, \su6 \rep{70}-plet
baryons in order to test the hypothesis that the successes of the
nonrelativistic quark model have a natural explanation in the large- limit
of QCD. By working in a Hartree approximation, we isolate a specific set of
operators that contribute to the observed s- and d-wave decays in leading order
in . We fit our results to the current experimental decay data, and make
predictions for a number of allowed but unobserved modes. Our tentative
conclusion is that there is more to the nonrelativistic quark model of baryons
than large-.Comment: LaTeX 49pp. (38 pp. landscape), PicTex, PrePicTex, PostPicTex
required for 3 figures, Harvard Preprint HUTP-94/A008. (Two additional
operators are included, but conclusions are unchanged.
Amorphous Systems in Athermal, Quasistatic Shear
We present results on a series of 2D atomistic computer simulations of
amorphous systems subjected to simple shear in the athermal, quasistatic limit.
The athermal quasistatic trajectories are shown to separate into smooth,
reversible elastic branches which are intermittently broken by discrete
catastrophic plastic events. The onset of a typical plastic event is studied
with precision, and it is shown that the mode of the system which is
responsible for the loss of stability has structure in real space which is
consistent with a quadrupolar source acting on an elastic matrix. The plastic
events themselves are shown to be composed of localized shear transformations
which organize into lines of slip which span the length of the simulation cell,
and a mechanism for the organization is discussed. Although within a single
event there are strong spatial correlations in the deformation, we find little
correlation from one event to the next, and these transient lines of slip are
not to be confounded with the persistent regions of localized shear --
so-called "shear bands" -- found in related studies. The slip lines gives rise
to particular scalings with system length of various measures of event size.
Strikingly, data obtained using three differing interaction potentials can be
brought into quantitative agreement after a simple rescaling, emphasizing the
insensitivity of the emergent plastic behavior in these disordered systems to
the precise details of the underlying interactions. The results should be
relevant to understanding plastic deformation in systems such as metallic
glasses well below their glass temperature, soft glassy systems (such as dense
emulsions), or compressed granular materials.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figure
A Note on the Integral Formulation of Einstein's Equations Induced on a Braneworld
We revisit the integral formulation (or Green's function approach) of
Einstein's equations in the context of braneworlds. The integral formulation
has been proposed independently by several authors in the past, based on the
assumption that it is possible to give a reinterpretation of the local metric
field in curved spacetimes as an integral expression involving sources and
boundary conditions. This allows one to separate source-generated and
source-free contributions to the metric field. As a consequence, an exact
meaning to Mach's Principle can be achieved in the sense that only
source-generated (matter fields) contributions to the metric are allowed for;
universes which do not obey this condition would be non-Machian. In this paper,
we revisit this idea concentrating on a Randall-Sundrum-type model with a
non-trivial cosmology on the brane. We argue that the role of the surface term
(the source-free contribution) in the braneworld scenario may be quite subtler
than in the 4D formulation. This may pose, for instance, an interesting issue
to the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in the General
Relativity and Gravitation Journa
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