947 research outputs found
Hydrodynamics of flagellated microswimmers near free-slip interfaces
The hydrodynamics of a flagellated microorganism is investigated when
swimming close to a planar free-slip surface by means of numerical solu- tions
of the Stokes equations obtained via a Boundary Element Method. Depending on
the initial condition, the swimmer can either escape from the free-slip surface
or collide with the boundary. Interestingly, the mi- croorganism does not
exhibit a stable orbit. Independently of escape or attraction to the interface,
close to a free-slip surface, the swimmer fol- lows a counter-clockwise
trajectory, in agreement with experimental find- ings, [15]. The hydrodynamics
is indeed modified by the free-surface. In fact, when the same swimmer moves
close to a no-slip wall, a set of initial conditions exists which result in
stable orbits. Moreover when moving close to a free-slip or a no-slip boundary
the swimmer assumes a different orientation with respect to its trajectory.
Taken together, these results contribute to shed light on the hydrodynamical
behaviour of microorgan- isms close to liquid-air interfaces which are relevant
for the formation of interfacial biofilms of aerobic bacteria
Multi-mode TES bolometer optimization for the LSPE-SWIPE instrument
In this paper we explore the possibility of using transition edge sensor
(TES) detectors in multi-mode configuration in the focal plane of the Short
Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer (SWIPE) of the
balloon-borne polarimeter Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE) for the
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization. This study is motivated by the
fact that maximizing the sensitivity of TES bolometers, under the augmented
background due to the multi-mode design, requires a non trivial choice of
detector parameters. We evaluate the best parameter combination taking into
account scanning strategy, noise constraints, saturation power and operating
temperature of the cryostat during the flight.Comment: in Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 05 January 201
New supersymmetric AdS4 type II vacua
Building on our recent results on dynamic SU(3)xSU(3) structures we present a
set of sufficient conditions for supersymmetric AdS4xM6 backgrounds of type
IIA/IIB supergravity. These conditions ensure that the background solves,
besides the supersymmetry equations, all the equations of motion of type II
supergravity. The conditions state that the internal manifold is locally a
codimension-one foliation such that the five dimensional leaves admit a
Sasaki-Einstein structure. In type IIA the supersymmetry is N=2, and the total
six-dimensional internal space is locally an S^2 bundle over a four-dimensional
Kaehler-Einstein base; in IIB the internal space is the direct product of a
circle and a five-dimensional squashed Sasaki-Einstein manifold. Given any
five-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold we construct the corresponding
families of type IIA/IIB vacua. The precise profiles of all the fields are
determined at the solution and depend on whether one is in IIA or in IIB. In
particular the background does not contain any sources, all fluxes (including
the Romans mass in IIA) are generally non-zero, and the dilaton and warp factor
are non-constant.Comment: 19 pages; clarifications added, version to appear in JHE
A computer aided approach for river styles-inspired characterization of large basins: The Magdalena river (Colombia)
This paper addresses the geomorphic characterization and classification of large rivers in a framework of scarce information. This is inspired by the River Styles Framework with some modifications that make the process more straightforward and accessible to practitioners and more applicable to large basins, while reducing the subjective, expert-based inputs, as the process is now more systematic. To this aim, it utilizes innovative criteria and some computer-aided procedures and tools based on GIS, Excel and Python. This approach sheds light on the character and the behavior of rivers, which is key to informing planning, management and restoration. The application to the Magdalena River (Colombia) illustrates the characterization and classification process and the type of results, which ultimately highlight the great geomorphic diversity of that river. The process is applicable to many other rivers worldwide
Modeling the iron oxides and oxyhydroxides for the prediction of environmentally sensitive phase transformations
Iron oxides and oxyhydroxides are challenging to model computationally as
competing phases may differ in formation energies by only several kJ/mol, they
undergo magnetization transitions with temperature, their structures may
contain partially occupied sites or long-range ordering of vacancies, and some
loose structures require proper description of weak interactions such as
hydrogen bonding and dispersive forces. If structures and transformations are
to be reliably predicted under different chemical conditions, each of these
challenges must be overcome simultaneously, while preserving a high level of
numerical accuracy and physical sophistication. Here we present comparative
studies of structure, magnetization, and elasticity properties of iron oxides
and oxyhydroxides using density functional theory calculations with plane-wave
and locally-confined-atomic-orbital basis sets, which are implemented in VASP
and SIESTA packages, respectively. We have selected hematite, maghemite,
goethite, lepidocrocite, and magnetite as model systems from a total of 13
known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides; and use same convergence criteria and
almost equivalent settings in order to make consistent comparisons. Our results
show both basis sets can reproduce the energetic stability and magnetic
ordering, and are in agreement with experimental observations. There are
advantages to choosing one basis set over the other, depending on the intended
focus. In our case, we find the method using PW basis set most appropriate, and
combine our results to construct the first phase diagram of iron oxides and
oxyhydroxides in the space of competing chemical potentials, generated entirely
from first principlesComment: 46 pages - Accepted for publication in PRB (19 journal pages),
January 201
Generalized structures of N=1 vacua
We characterize N=1 vacua of type II theories in terms of generalized complex
structure on the internal manifold M. The structure group of T(M) + T*(M) being
SU(3) x SU(3) implies the existence of two pure spinors Phi_1 and Phi_2. The
conditions for preserving N=1 supersymmetry turn out to be simple
generalizations of equations that have appeared in the context of N=2 and
topological strings. They are (d + H wedge) Phi_1=0 and (d + H wedge) Phi_2 =
F_RR. The equation for the first pure spinor implies that the internal space is
a twisted generalized Calabi-Yau manifold of a hybrid complex-symplectic type,
while the RR-fields serve as an integrability defect for the second.Comment: 21 pages. v2, v3: minor changes and correction
From ten to four and back again: how to generalize the geometry
We discuss the four-dimensional N=1 effective approach in the study of warped
type II flux compactifications with SU(3)x SU(3)-structure to AdS_4 or flat
Minkowski space-time. The non-trivial warping makes it natural to use a
supergravity formulation invariant under local complexified Weyl
transformations. We obtain the classical superpotential from a standard
argument involving domain walls and generalized calibrations and show how the
resulting F-flatness and D-flatness equations exactly reproduce the full
ten-dimensional supersymmetry equations. Furthermore, we consider the effect of
non-perturbative corrections to this superpotential arising from gaugino
condensation or Euclidean D-brane instantons. For the latter we derive the
supersymmetry conditions in N=1 flux vacua in full generality. We find that the
non-perturbative corrections induce a quantum deformation of the internal
generalized geometry. Smeared instantons allow to understand KKLT-like AdS
vacua from a ten-dimensional point of view. On the other hand, non-smeared
instantons in IIB warped Calabi-Yau compactifications 'destabilize' the
Calabi-Yau complex structure into a genuine generalized complex one. This
deformation gives a geometrical explanation of the non-trivial superpotential
for mobile D3-branes induced by the non-perturbative corrections.Comment: LaTeX, 47 pages, v2, references, hyperref added, v3, correcting small
inaccuracies in eqs. (2.6a) and (5.16
Frame-like Geometry of Double Field Theory
We relate two formulations of the recently constructed double field theory to
a frame-like geometrical formalism developed by Siegel. A self-contained
presentation of this formalism is given, including a discussion of the
constraints and its solutions, and of the resulting Riemann tensor, Ricci
tensor and curvature scalar. This curvature scalar can be used to define an
action, and it is shown that this action is equivalent to that of double field
theory.Comment: 35 pages, v2: minor corrections, to appear in J. Phys.
Effective actions and N=1 vacuum conditions from SU(3) x SU(3) compactifications
We consider compactifications of type II string theory on general SU(3) x
SU(3) structure backgrounds allowing for a very large set of fluxes, possibly
nongeometric ones. We study the effective 4d low energy theory which is a
gauged N=2 supergravity, and discuss how its data are obtained from the
formalism of the generalized geometry on T+T*. In particular we relate
Hitchin's special Kaehler metrics on the spaces of even and odd pure spinors to
the metric on the supergravity moduli space of internal metric and B-field
fluctuations. We derive the N=1 vacuum conditions from this N=2 effective
action, as well as from its N=1 truncation. We prove a direct correspondence
between these conditions and an integrated version of the pure spinor equations
characterizing the N=1 backgrounds at the ten dimensional level.Comment: 54 pages. v2, v3: minor change
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