Interactive cutting path analysis programs

The operation of numerically controlled machine tools is interactively simulated. Four programs were developed to graphically display the cutting paths for a Monarch lathe, Cintimatic mill, Strippit sheet metal punch, and the wiring path for a Standard wire wrap machine. These programs are run on a IMLAC PDS-ID graphic display system under the DOS-3 disk operating system. The cutting path analysis programs accept input via both paper tape and disk file

Transform-limited pulses are not optimal for resonant multiphoton transitions

Maximizing nonlinear light-matter interactions is a primary motive for compressing laser pulses to achieve ultrashort transform limited pulses. Here we show how, by appropriately shaping the pulses, resonant multiphoton transitions can be enhanced significantly beyond the level achieved by maximizing the pulse's peak intensity. We demonstrate the counterintuitive nature of this effect with an experiment in a resonant two-photon absorption, in which, by selectively removing certain spectral bands, the peak intensity of the pulse is reduced by a factor of 40, yet the absorption rate is doubled. Furthermore, by suitably designing the spectral phase of the pulse, we increase the absorption rate by a factor of 7.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Long-term material compatibility testing system

System includes procedure for hermetically sealing solid materials and fluids in glass ampoule and use of temperature-controlled facility containing sample holder, which permits sample containers to be retrieved safely and conveniently. Solid material and fluid are sealed within chemically-clean glass ampoule according to highly detailed procedure

A mean field description of jamming in non-cohesive frictionless particulate systems

A theory for kinetic arrest in isotropic systems of repulsive, radially-interacting particles is presented that predicts exponents for the scaling of various macroscopic quantities near the rigidity transition that are in agreement with simulations, including the non-trivial shear exponent. Both statics and dynamics are treated in a simplified, one-particle level description, and coupled via the assumption that kinetic arrest occurs on the boundary between mechanically stable and unstable regions of the static parameter diagram. This suggests the arrested states observed in simulations are at (or near) an elastic buckling transition. Some additional numerical evidence to confirm the scaling of microscopic quantities is also provided.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figs; additional clarification of different elastic moduli exponents, plus typo fix. To appear in PR

Second order equation of motion for electromagnetic radiation back-reaction

We take the viewpoint that the physically acceptable solutions of the Lorentz--Dirac equation for radiation back-reaction are actually determined by a second order equation of motion, the self-force being given as a function of spacetime location and velocity. We propose three different methods to obtain this self-force function. For two example systems, we determine the second order equation of motion exactly in the nonrelativistic regime via each of these three methods, the three methods leading to the same result. We reveal that, for both systems considered, back-reaction induces a damping proportional to velocity and, in addition, it decreases the effect of the external force.Comment: 13 page

Controlled biomineralization of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) by <i>Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense</i>

Results from a study of the chemical composition and micro-structural characteristics of bacterial magnetosomes extracted from the magnetotactic bacterial strain Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense are presented here. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with selected-area electron diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, biogenic magnetite particles isolated from mature cultures were analysed for variations in crystallinity and particle size, as well as chain character and length. The analysed crystals showed a narrow size range (∼14-67 nm) with an average diameter of 46±6.8 nm, cuboctahedral morphologies and typical Gamma type crystal size distributions. The magnetite particles exhibited a high chemical purity (exclusively Fe3O4) and the majority fall within the single-magnetic-domain range

Characterizing Circumgalactic Gas around Massive Ellipticals at z~0.4 - II. Physical Properties and Elemental Abundances

We present a systematic investigation of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) within projected distances d<160 kpc of luminous red galaxies (LRGs). The sample comprises 16 intermediate-redshift (z=0.21-0.55) LRGs of stellar mass M_star>1e11 M_sun. Combining far-ultraviolet Cosmic Origin Spectrograph spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope and optical echelle spectra from the ground enables a detailed ionization analysis based on resolved component structures of a suite of absorption transitions, including the full HI Lyman series and various ionic metal transitions. By comparing the relative abundances of different ions in individually-matched components, we show that cool gas (T~1e4 K) density and metallicity can vary by more than a factor of ten in in an LRG halo. Specifically, metal-poor absorbing components with <1/10 solar metallicity are seen in 50% of the LRG halos, while gas with solar and super-solar metallicity is also common. These results indicate a complex multiphase structure and poor chemical mixing in these quiescent halos. We calculate the total surface mass density of cool gas, \Sigma_cool, by applying the estimated ionization fraction corrections to the observed HI column densities. The radial profile of \Sigma_cool is best-described by a projected Einasto profile of slope \alpha=1 and scale radius r_s=48 kpc. We find that typical LRGs at z~0.4 contain cool gas mass of M_cool= (1-2) x1e10 M_sun at d<160 kpc (or as much as 4x1e10 M_sun at d<500 kpc), comparable to the cool CGM mass of star-forming galaxies. Furthermore, we show that high-ionization OVI and low-ionization absorption species exhibit distinct velocity profiles, highlighting their different physical origins. We discuss the implications of our findings for the origin and fate of cool gas in LRG halos.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS after a minor revision. 23 pages, 14 figures, and a 29-page Appendix with 27 additional figure

Sublattice identification in noncontact atomic force microscopy of the NaCl(001) surface

We compare the three-dimensional force field obtained from frequency-distance measurements above the NaCl(001) surface to atomistic calculations using various tip models. In the experiments, long-range forces cause a total attractive force even on the similarly charged site. Taking force differences between two sites minimizes the influence of such long-range forces. The magnitude of the measured force differences are by a factor of 6.5–10 smaller than the calculated forces. This is an indication that for the particular tip used in this experiment several atoms of the tip interact with the surface atoms at close tip-sample distances. The interaction of these additional atoms with the surface is small at the imaging distance, because symmetric images are obtained. The force distance characteristics resemble those of a negative tip apex ion which could be explained, e.g., by a neutral Si tip.Peer reviewe