A two-dimensional depth-averaged μ(I)-rheology for dense granular avalanches

Steady uniform granular chute flows are common in industry and provide an important test case for new theoretical models. This paper introduces depth-integrated viscous terms into the momentum-balance equations by extending the recent depth-averaged μ(I) -rheology for dense granular flows to two spatial dimensions, using the principle of material frame indifference or objectivity. Scaling the cross-slope coordinate on the width of the channel and the velocity on the one-dimensional steady uniform solution, we show that the steady two-dimensional downslope velocity profile is independent of scale. The only controlling parameters are the channel aspect ratio, the slope inclination angle and the frictional properties of the chute and the sidewalls. Solutions are constructed for both no-slip conditions and for a constant Coulomb friction at the walls. For narrow chutes, a pronounced parabolic-like depth-averaged downstream velocity profile develops. However, for very wide channels, the flow is almost uniform with narrow boundary layers close to the sidewalls. Both of these cases are in direct contrast to conventional inviscid avalanche models, which do not develop a cross-slope profile. Steady-state numerical solutions to the full three-dimensional μ(I) -rheology are computed using the finite element method. It is shown that these solutions are also independent of scale. For sufficiently shallow channels, the depth-averaged velocity profile computed from the full solution is in excellent agreement with the results of the depth-averaged theory. The full downstream velocity can be reconstructed from the depth-averaged theory by assuming a Bagnold-like velocity profile with depth. For wide chutes, this is very close to the results of the full three-dimensional calculation. For experimental validation, a laser profilometer and balance are used to determine the relationship between the total mass flux in the chute and the flow thickness for a range of slope angles and channel widths, and particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to record the corresponding surface velocity profiles. The measured values are in good quantitative agreement with reconstructed solutions to the new depth-averaged theory

Physics of Neutron Star Crusts

The physics of neutron star crusts is vast, involving many different research fields, from nuclear and condensed matter physics to general relativity. This review summarizes the progress, which has been achieved over the last few years, in modeling neutron star crusts, both at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The confrontation of these theoretical models with observations is also briefly discussed.Comment: 182 pages, published version available at <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2008-10

The onset of the anomalous J/ψ\psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN SPS

The $J/\psi$ suppression observed by the NA50 experiment is one of the most striking signatures for quark gluon plasma formation in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 AGeV. The $J/\psi$ production has been studied as a function of the centrality of the collision estimated via the forward energy EZDC released in a zero degree calorimeter (ZDC). The study of the correlation between the number of participant nucleons in the collisions, Npart, and EZDC allows to check whether the $J/\psi$ suppression pattern vs. EZDC is compatible with a sudden $J/\psi$ suppression mechanism expressed as a function of Npart

Scaling of charged particle multiplicity in Pb-Pb collisions at SPS energies

The charged particle multiplicity distribution $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ has been measured by the NA50 experiment in Pb--Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. Measurements were done at incident energies of 40 and 158 GeV per nucleon over a broad impact parameter range. The multiplicity distributions are studied as a function of centrality using the number of participating nucleons ($N_{part}$), or the number of binary nucleon--nucleon collisions ($N_{coll}$). Their values at midrapidity exhibit a power law scaling behaviour given by $N_{part}^{1.00}$ and $N_{coll}^{0.75}$ at 158 GeV. Compatible results are found for the scaling behaviour at 40 GeV. The width of the $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ distributions is larger at 158 than at 40 GeV/nucleon and decreases slightly with centrality at both energies. Our results are compared to similar studies performed by other experiments both at the CERN SPS and at RHIC.

S100A7 and the progression of breast cancer

The S100 gene family comprises more than 20 members whose protein sequences encompass at least one EF-hand Ca(2+ )binding motif. The expression of individual family members is not ubiquitous for all tissues and there appears to be an element of tissue-specific expression. Molecular analysis of breast tumors has revealed that several S100s, including S100A2, S100A4 and S100A7, exhibit altered expression levels during breast tumorigenesis and/or progression. Subsequent studies have started to describe a functional role for these S100 proteins as well as their mechanism of action and the biochemical pathways they modify. The present review outlines what is known about S100A7 in breast cancer and summarizes the need to better understand the importance of this protein in breast cancer

TrakEM2 Software for Neural Circuit Reconstruction

A key challenge in neuroscience is the expeditious reconstruction of neuronal circuits. For model systems such as Drosophila and C. elegans, the limiting step is no longer the acquisition of imagery but the extraction of the circuit from images. For this purpose, we designed a software application, TrakEM2, that addresses the systematic reconstruction of neuronal circuits from large electron microscopical and optical image volumes. We address the challenges of image volume composition from individual, deformed images; of the reconstruction of neuronal arbors and annotation of synapses with fast manual and semi-automatic methods; and the management of large collections of both images and annotations. The output is a neural circuit of 3d arbors and synapses, encoded in NeuroML and other formats, ready for analysis

Charmonia and Drell-Yan production in proton-nucleus collisions at the CERN SPS

Charmonium production in p-A collisions is a unique tool for the study of the interaction of bound ccbar in nuclear matter. It can provide details on the basic features of the resonance formation mechanism and, in particular, on its non-perturbative aspects. In this Letter, we present an experimental study of Charmonia and Drell-Yan production in proton-nucleus collisions at 450GeV/c. The results are analyzed in the framework of the Glauber model and lead to the values of the nuclear absorption cross-section sigma^abs_pA for j/psi and psi'. Then, we compare the J/psi absorption in proton-nucleus and sulphur-uranium interactions, using NA38 data. We obtain that, for the J/psi, omega^abs_pA and omega^abs_SU are compatible, showing that no sizeable additional suppression mechanism in present S-U collisions, and confirming that the anomalous J/psi suppression only sets in for Pb-Pb interactions

Strangeness measurements in NA50 experiment with Pb projectiles

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