Hierarchical meta-porous materials as sound absorbers

The absorption of sound has great significance in many scientific and engineering applications, from room acoustics to noise mitigation. In this context, porous materials have emerged as a viable solution towards high absorption performance and lightweight designs. However, their performance is somehow limited in the low frequency regime. Inspired by the concept of recursive patterns over multiple length scales typical of many natural materials, here, we propose a hierarchical organization of multilayered porous media and investigate their performance in terms of sound absorption. Two types of designs are investigated: a hierarchical periodic and a hierarchical gradient. In both cases it is found that the introduction of multiple levels of hierarchy allows to simultaneously (i) increase the level of absorption compared to the corresponding bulk block of porous material, along with (ii) a reduction of the quantity of porous material required. Both the cases of normal and oblique incidences are examined. The methodological approach is based on the transfer matrix method, optimization algorithms (metaheuristic Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure), and finite element calculations. An excellent agreement is found between the analytical and the numerical simulations

Polarization Effects in Superdeformed Nuclei

A detailed theoretical investigation of polarization effects in superdeformed nuclei is performed. In the pure harmonic oscillator potential it is shown that when one particle (or hole) with the mass single-particle quadrupole moment q_{nu} is added to a superdeformed core, the change of the electric quadrupole moment can be parameterized as q_{eff}=e(bq_{nu}+a), and analytical expressions are derived for the two parameters, $a$ and $b$. Simple numerical expressions for q_{eff}(q_\nu}) are obtained in the more realistic modified oscillator model. It is also shown that quadrupole moments of nuclei with up to 10 particles removed from the superdeformed core of 152Dy can be well described by simply subtracting effective quadrupole moments of the active single-particle states from the quadrupole moment of the core. Tools are given for estimating the quadrupole moment for possible configurations in the superdeformed A 150-region.Comment: 28 pages including 9 figure

Superdeformation in 198^{198}Po

The $^{174}$Yb($^{29}$Si,5n) reaction at 148 MeV with thin targets was used to populate high-angular momentum states in $^{198}$Po. Resulting $\gamma$ rays were observed with Gammasphere. A weakly-populated superdeformed band of 10 $\gamma$-ray transitions was found and has been assigned to $^{198}$Po. This is the first observation of a SD band in the $A \approx 190$ region in a nucleus with $Z > 83$. The ${\cal J}^{(2)}$ of the new band is very similar to those of the yrast SD bands in $^{194}$Hg and $^{196}$Pb. The intensity profile suggests that this band is populated through states close to where the SD band crosses the yrast line and the angular momentum at which the fission process dominates.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 2 figs. available on request, submitted to Phys. Rev. C. (Rapid Communications

Spin-rotor Interpretation of Identical Bands and Quantized Alignment in Superdeformed A ≈\approx 190 Nuclei

The ``identical'' bands in superdeformed mercury, thallium, and lead nuclei are interpreted as examples of orbital angular momentum rotors with the weak spin-orbit coupling of pseudo-$SU(3)$ symmetries and supersymmetries.Comment: 15 pages, revtex 3.0, 7 figures available upon request from [email protected]

Deducing the \u3csup\u3e237\u3c/sup\u3eU(\u3cem\u3en,f\u3c/em\u3e) Cross Section Using the Surrogate Ratio Method

We have deduced the cross section for 237U(n, f) over an equivalent neutron energy range from 0 to 20 MeV using the surrogate ratio method. A 55 MeV4He beam from the 88 inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was used to induce fission in the following reactions: 238U(α, αf) and 236U(α, αf). The 238U reaction was a surrogate for 237U(n, f), and the 236U reaction was used as a surrogate for 235U(n, f). Scattered α particles were detected in a fully depleted segmented silicon telescope array over an angle range of 35° to 60° with respect to the beam axis. The fission fragments were detected in a third independent silicon detector located at backward angles between 106° and 131°

Quasiparticle excitations in superdeformed Hg192

For the first time, two excited superdeformed (SD) bands have been observed in the double closed shell superdeformed nucleus Hg192. One of the SD bands exhibits a pronounced peak in the dynamic moment of inertia which is interpreted as a crossing between two excited SD configurations involving the N=7 intruder and the [512]5/2 orbitals. This is only the second occurrence of such a crossing in a SD nucleus around A=190. The second excited SD band has near identical transition energies to an excited SD band in Hg191

High-\u3cem\u3eK\u3c/em\u3e Multi-quasiparticle States and Rotational Bands in \u3csup\u3e255\u3c/sup\u3e\u3csub\u3e103\u3c/sub\u3eLr.

Two isomeric states have been identified in 255Lr. The decay of the isomers populates rotational structures. Comparison with macroscopic-microscopic calculations suggests that the lowest observed sequence is built upon the [624]9/2+ Nilsson state. However, microscopic cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (CRHB) calculations do not reproduce the moment of inertia within typical accuracy. This is a clear challenge to theories describing the heaviest elements