Nylon-6/rubber blends: 8. Influence of the molecular weight of the matrix on the impact behaviour

Blends of nylon-6 with polybutadiene were prepared with comparable morphology and different molecular weights of the matrix. These specimens were tested using the notched Izod impact test and the notched tensile impact test. An increase in molecular weight resulted in a shift of the brittle-to-tough transition temperature of 40°C to lower temperatures. In the notched tensile impact tests, especially in the high-speed region, pronounced differences between blends with different molecular weights of the matrix were observed

The LHCb Upgrade

The LHCb detector has been designed to study CP violation and other rare phenomena in B-meson decays up to a luminosity of $\sim 5.10^{32}\rm cm^{-2}s^{-1}$. This paper will describe what is limiting LHCb to exploit the much higher luminosities available at the LHC, and what are the baseline modifications which will remedy these limitations. The aim of SuperLHCb is to increase the yields in hadronic B-decay channels by about a factor twenty compared to LHCb, while for channels with leptons in the final state a factor ten increase in statistics is envisaged.Comment: Flavor Physics & CP Violation Conference, Bled, 200

Observational Signatures of Lyman Alpha Emission from Early Galaxy Formation

The next generation of telescopes aim to directly observe the first generation of galaxies that initiated the reionization process in our Universe. The Lyman Alpha (Lya) emission line is robustly predicted to be the most prominent intrinsic spectral feature of these galaxies, making it an ideal target to search for and study high-redshift galaxies. I briefly discuss why Lya emitting galaxies (LAEs) provide a good probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). I argue that if we wish to fully exploit LAEs as a probe of the EoR, it is important to understand what drives their observed redshift evolution after reionization is completed. One important uncertainty in interpreting existing LAE observations relates to the impact of the ionized IGM on Lya photons emitted by galaxies, which is strongly connected to the effects of scattering through HI in galactic outflows. Scattering through galactic outflows can also modify the Lya spectral line shape such that > 5% of the emitted Lya radiation is transmitted directly to the observer, even through a fully neutral IGM. Finally, I discuss what is required --observationally and theoretically-- to resolve the uncertainties that affect existing interpretations of data on LAEs.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; conference proceedings from "Cosmic Radiation Fields: Sources in the early Universe", 2010, Hamburg, German

Expert judgment versus public opinion : evidence from the Eurovision Song Contest

For centuries, there have been discussions as to whether only experts can judge the quality of cultural output, or whether the taste of the public also has merit. This paper tries to resolve that question empirically, using national finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. We show that experts are better judges of quality: the outcome of finals judged by experts is less sensitive to factors unrelated to quality than the outcome of finals judged by public opinion. Yet, experts are not perfect: their judgment does still depend on such factors. This is also the case in the European finals of the contest

Polyamide-rubber blends: micrscopic studies of the deformation zone

The morphology of injection moulded samples of polyamide—polybutadiene blends (85.15) with an average particle size of 0.3 μm was studied. The samples were fractured in a notched tensile test at crosshead speeds of 10−4 and 1 ms −1 and the structure of the deformation zone was studied using various techniques: polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy on stained cut samples and carbon replicas, and selected area electron diffraction transmission electron microscopy. The deformation zone of samples tested at 10−4 ms−1 was found to consist of two layers. Far from the fracture surface a layer was observed with more or less round cavities and with cavities in the rubber particles, while near the fracture surface a layer with strongly deformed cavities (length/diameter ratio of 5–10) could be seen. In the samples tested at 1 ms−1 the deformation zone was found to have three layers. In addition to the two previous layers an extra layer next to the fracture plane was found. This layer was 2–3 μm thick with round rubber particles and no orientation of the matrix material. This indicates that, at the high deformation speed of the test, relaxation in the melt took place, suggesting that the material around the crack tip was molten during fracture.\u

Phase Separation and Self-Assembly in a Fluid of Mickey Mouse Particles

Recent developments in the synthesis of colloidal particles allow for control over shape and inter-particle interaction. One example, among others, is the so-called "Mickey Mouse" (MM) particle for which the self-assembly properties have been previously studied yielding a stable cluster phase together with elongated, tube-like structures. Here, we investigate under which conditions a fluid of Mickey Mouse particles can yield phase separation and how the self-assembly behaviour affects the gas-liquid coexistence. We vary the distance between the repulsive and the attractive lobes (bond length), and the interaction range, and follow the evolution of the gas-liquid (GL) coexistence curve. We find that upon increasing the bond length distance the binodal line shifts to lower temperatures, and that the interaction range controls the transition between phase separation and self-assembly of clusters. Upon further reduction of the interaction range and temperature, the clusters assume an increasingly ordered tube-like shape, ultimately matching the one previously reported in literature. These results are of interest when designing particle shape and particle-particle interaction for self-assembly processes

Very Massive Stars in High-Redshift Galaxies

A significant fraction of Lyman Alpha (Lya) emitting galaxies (LAEs) at z> 5.7 have rest-frame equivalent widths (EW) greater than ~100 Angstrom. However only a small fraction of the Lya flux produced by a galaxy is transmitted through the IGM, which implies intrinsic Lya EWs that are in excess of the maximum allowed for a population-II stellar population having a Salpeter mass function. In this paper we study characteristics of the sources powering Lya emission in high redshift galaxies. We propose a simple model for Lya emitters in which galaxies undergo a burst of very massive star formation that results in a large intrinsic EW, followed by a phase of population-II star formation with a lower EW. We confront this model with a range of high redshift observations and find that the model is able to simultaneously describe the following eight properties of the high redshift galaxy population with plausible values for parameters like the efficiency and duration of star formation: i-iv) the UV and Lya luminosity functions of LAEs at z=5.7 and 6.5, v-vi) the mean and variance of the EW distribution of Lya selected galaxies at z=5.7, vii) the EW distribution of i-drop galaxies at z~6, and viii) the observed correlation of stellar age with EW. Our modeling suggests that the observed anomalously large intrinsic equivalent widths require a burst of very massive star formation lasting no more than a few to ten percent of the galaxies star forming lifetime. This very massive star formation may indicate the presence of population-III star formation in a few per cent of i-drop galaxies, and in about half of the Lya selected galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS in press, comments by referee included, references added+update

Samaritan vs rotten kid: Another look

We set up a two-stage game with sequential moves by one altruistic agent and n selfish agents. The rotten kid theorem states that the altruist can only reach her first best when the selfish agents move before the altruist. The Samaritan's dilemma, on the other hand, states that the altruist can only reach her first best when she moves before the selfish agents. We find that in general, the altruist can reach her first best when she moves first, if and only if a selfish agent's action marginally only affects his own payoff. The altruist can reach her first best when she moves last if and only if there is just one commodity involved. When the altruist cannot reach her first best when she moves last, the outcome is not Pareto efficient either.