12,078 research outputs found
Anomalous diffusion at percolation threshold in high dimensions on 10^18 sites
Using an inverse of the standard linear congruential random number generator,
large randomly occupied lattices can be visited by a random walker without
having to determine the occupation status of every lattice site in advance. In
seven dimensions, at the percolation threshold with L^7 sites and L < 420, we
confirm the expected time-dependence of the end-to-end distance (including the
corrections to the asymptotic behavior).Comment: 8 pages including figures, presentation improved, for
Int.J.Mod.Phys.
Liquid cryogenic lubricant
Fluorinated polyethers are suitable lubricants for rolling-element bearings in cryogenic systems. Lubrication effectiveness is comparable to that of super-refined mineral oil lubricants operating at room temperature
Weak lensing evidence for a filament between A222/A223
We present a weak lensing analysis and comparison to optical and X-ray maps
of the close pair of massive clusters A222/223. Indications for a filamentary
connection between the clusters are found and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Proc. IAU Colloquium 195: Outskirts
of Galaxy Clusters - Intense Life in the Suburbs. Version with higher
resolution available at
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dietrich/torino_proc.ps.g
Coupling between static friction force and torque for a tripod
If a body is resting on a flat surface, the maximal static friction force
before motion sets in is reduced if an external torque is also applied. The
coupling between the static friction force and static friction torque is
nontrivial as our studies for a tripod lying on horizontal flat surface show.
In this article we report on a series of experiments we performed on a tripod
and compare these with analytical and numerical solutions. It turns out that
the coupling between force and torque reveals information about the microscopic
properties at the onset to sliding.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, revte
Wetting on a spherical wall: influence of liquid-gas interfacial properties
We study the equilibrium of a liquid film on an attractive spherical
substrate for an intermolecular interaction model exhibiting both fluid-fluid
and fluid-wall long-range forces. We first reexamine the wetting properties of
the model in the zero-curvature limit, i.e., for a planar wall, using an
effective interfacial Hamiltonian approach in the framework of the well known
sharp-kink approximation (SKA). We obtain very good agreement with a mean-field
density functional theory (DFT), fully justifying the use of SKA in this limit.
We then turn our attention to substrates of finite curvature and appropriately
modify the so-called soft-interface approximation (SIA) originally formulated
by Napi\'orkowski and Dietrich [Phys. Rev. B 34, 6469 (1986)] for critical
wetting on a planar wall. A detailed asymptotic analysis of SIA confirms the
SKA functional form for the film growth. However, it turns out that the
agreement between SKA and our DFT is only qualitative. We then show that the
quantitative discrepancy between the two is due to the overestimation of the
liquid-gas surface tension within SKA. On the other hand, by relaxing the
assumption of a sharp interface, with, e.g., a simple smoothing of the density
profile there, markedly improves the predictive capability of the theory,
making it quantitative and showing that the liquid-gas surface tension plays a
crucial role when describing wetting on a curved substrate. In addition, we
show that in contrast to SKA, SIA predicts the expected mean-field critical
exponent of the liquid-gas surface tension
Coupling between static friction force and torque
We show that the static friction force which must be overcome to render a
sticking contact sliding is reduced if an external torque is also exerted. As a
test system we study a planar disk lying on horizontal flat surface. We perform
experiments and compare with analytical results to find that the coupling
between static friction force and torque is nontrivial: It is not determined by
the Coulomb friction laws alone, instead it depends on the microscopic details
of friction. Hence, we conclude that the macroscopic experiment presented here
reveals details about the microscopic processes lying behind friction.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, revte
Frictional coupling between sliding and spinning motion
We show that the friction force and torque, acting at a dry contact of two
objects moving and rotating relative to each other, are inherently coupled. As
a simple test system, a sliding and spinning disk on a horizontal flat surface
is considered. We calculate, and also measure, how the disk is slowing down,
and find that it always stops its sliding and spinning motion at the same
moment. We discuss the impact of this coupling between friction force and
torque on the physics of granular materials.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; submitte
Ultraviolet and optical properties of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies
Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are remarkable for their extreme
continuum and emission line properties which are not well understood. New
results bearing on the spectroscopic characteristics of these objects are
presented here, with the aim of establishing their typical ultraviolet and
optical spectral behavior. We employ HST observations of 22 NLS1s, which
represent a substantial improvement over previous work in terms of data quality
and sample size. High signal-to-noise NLS1 composite spectra are constructed,
allowing accurate measurements of the continuum shape and the strengths,
ratios, and widths for lines, including weak features which are barely
identifiable in other Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) composites. We find that the
NLS1 sources have redder UV-blue continua than those typically measured in
other quasars and Seyferts. Objects with UV line absorption show redder
spectra, suggesting that dust is important in modifying the continuum shapes.
The data also permit a detailed investigation of the previously proposed link
between NLS1s and z >~ 4 quasars. Direct comparison of their composite spectra,
as well as a Principal Component Analysis, suggest that high-z QSOs do not show
a strong preference toward NLS1 behavior.Comment: 23 pages (incl. 9 figures, 4 tables), to appear in The Publications
of the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi
Strong interactions in air showers
We study the role new gauge interactions in extensions of the standard model
play in air showers initiated by ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. Hadron-hadron
events remain dominated by quantum chromodynamics, while projectiles and/or
targets from beyond the standard model permit us to see qualitative differences
arising due to the new interactions.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in JCA
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