435 research outputs found
Dynamical Heterogeneities and Cooperative Motion in Smectic Liquid Crystals
Using simulations of hard rods in smectic-A states, we find non-gaussian
diffusion and heterogeneous dynamics due to the equilibrium periodic smectic
density profiles, which give rise to permanent barriers for layer-to-layer
diffusion. This relaxation behavior is surprisingly similar to that of
non-equilibrium supercooled liquids, although there the particles are trapped
in transient (instead of permanent) cages. Interestingly, we also find
stringlike clusters of up to 10 inter-layer rods exhibiting dynamic
cooperativity in this equilibrium state.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Brambilla et al. Reply to a Comment by J. Reinhardt et al. on "Probing the equilibrium dynamics of colloidal hard spheres above the mode-coupling glass transition"
G. Brambilla et al. Reply to a Comment by J. Reinhardt et al. questioning the
existence of equilibrium dynamics above the critical volume fraction of
colloidal hard spheres predicted by mode coupling theory.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. Reply to a Comment by J. Reinhardt et
al. (see arXiv:1010.2891), which questions the existence of equilibrium
dynamics above the critical volume fraction of glassy colloidal hard spheres
predicted by mode coupling theor
Potential of MODIS EVI and surface temperature for directly estimating per-pixel ecosystem C fluxes
We tested the potential of estimating per-pixel gross primary production (GPP) directly from the MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and respiration directly from MODIS surface temperature (MOD11). Carbon flux data were obtained from 10 eddy covariance tower sites representing a wide range of North American vegetations. The correlation between across-site tower GPP and EVI was comparable (r = 0.77) to that between tower GPP and MOD17-GPP (r = 0.73), suggesting that EVI could be used to provide reasonably accurate direct estimates of GPP on a truly per-pixel basis. There was also a strong relationship (r2 = 0.67) between respiration and surface temperature of dense vegetation, suggesting that estimation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) may be possible with relatively simple pixel based models, at least for some vegetation types
Time Resolved Correlation measurements of temporally heterogeneous dynamics
Time Resolved Correlation (TRC) is a recently introduced light scattering
technique that allows to detect and quantify dynamic heterogeneities. The
technique is based on the analysis of the temporal evolution of the speckle
pattern generated by the light scattered by a sample, which is quantified by
, the degree of correlation between speckle images recorded at
time and . Heterogeneous dynamics results in significant
fluctuations of with time . We describe how to optimize TRC
measurements and how to detect and avoid possible artifacts. The statistical
properties of the fluctuations of are analyzed by studying their
variance, probability distribution function, and time autocorrelation function.
We show that these quantities are affected by a noise contribution due to the
finite number of detected speckles. We propose and demonstrate a method to
correct for the noise contribution, based on a extrapolation
scheme. Examples from both homogeneous and heterogeneous dynamics are provided.
Connections with recent numerical and analytical works on heterogeneous glassy
dynamics are briefly discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to PR
Aging in Dense Colloids as Diffusion in the Logarithm of Time
The far-from-equilibrium dynamics of glassy systems share important
phenomenological traits. A transition is generally observed from a
time-homogeneous dynamical regime to an aging regime where physical changes
occur intermittently and, on average, at a decreasing rate. It has been
suggested that a global change of the independent time variable to its
logarithm may render the aging dynamics homogeneous: for colloids, this entails
diffusion but on a logarithmic time scale. Our novel analysis of experimental
colloid data confirms that the mean square displacement grows linearly in time
at low densities and shows that it grows linearly in the logarithm of time at
high densities. Correspondingly, pairs of particles initially in close contact
survive as pairs with a probability which decays exponentially in either time
or its logarithm. The form of the Probability Density Function of the
displacements shows that long-ranged spatial correlations are very long-lived
in dense colloids. A phenomenological stochastic model is then introduced which
relies on the growth and collapse of strongly correlated clusters ("dynamic
heterogeneity"), and which reproduces the full spectrum of observed colloidal
behaviors depending on the form assumed for the probability that a cluster
collapses during a Monte Carlo update. In the limit where large clusters
dominate, the collapse rate is ~1/t, implying a homogeneous, log-Poissonian
process that qualitatively reproduces the experimental results for dense
colloids. Finally an analytical toy-model is discussed to elucidate the strong
dependence of the simulation results on the integrability (or lack thereof) of
the cluster collapse probability function.Comment: 6 pages, extensively revised, final version; for related work, see
http://www.physics.emory.edu/faculty/boettcher/ or
http://www.fysik.sdu.dk/staff/staff-vip/pas-personal.htm
Detecting Recent Crop Phenology Dynamics in Corn and Soybean Cropping Systems of Kentucky
Accurate phenological information is essential for monitoring crop development, predicting crop yield, and enhancing resilience to cope with climate change. This study employed a curve-change-based dynamic threshold approach on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series to detect the planting and harvesting dates for corn and soybean in Kentucky, a typical climatic transition zone, from 2000 to 2018. We compared satellite-based estimates with ground observations and performed trend analyses of crop phenological stages over the study period to analyze their relationships with climate change and crop yields. Our results showed that corn and soybean planting dates were delayed by 0.01 and 0.07 days/year, respectively. Corn harvesting dates were also delayed at a rate of 0.67 days/year, while advanced soybean harvesting occurred at a rate of 0.05 days/year. The growing season length has increased considerably at a rate of 0.66 days/year for corn and was shortened by 0.12 days/year for soybean. Sensitivity analysis showed that planting dates were more sensitive to the early season temperature, while harvesting dates were significantly correlated with temperature over the entire growing season. In terms of the changing climatic factors, only the increased summer precipitation was statistically related to the delayed corn harvesting dates in Kentucky. Further analysis showed that the increased corn yield was significantly correlated with the delayed harvesting dates (1.37 Bu/acre per day) and extended growing season length (1.67 Bu/acre per day). Our results suggested that seasonal climate change (e.g., summer precipitation) was the main factor influencing crop phenological trends, particularly corn harvesting in Kentucky over the study period. We also highlighted the critical role of changing crop phenology in constraining crop production, which needs further efforts for optimizing crop management practices
Random close packing of polydisperse hard spheres
We study jammed configurations of hard spheres as a function of compression
speed using an event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm. We find that during
the compression, the pressure follows closely the metastable liquid branch
until the system gets arrested into a glass state as the relaxation time
exceeds the compression speed. Further compression yields a jammed
configuration that can be regarded as the infinite pressure configuration of
that glass state. Consequently, we find that the density of jammed packings
varies from 0.638 to 0.658 for polydisperse hard spheres and from 0.635 to
0.645 for pure hard spheres upon decreasing the compression rate. This
demonstrates that the density at which the systems falls out of equilibrium
determines the density at which the system jams at infinite pressure. In
addition, we give accurate data for the jamming density as a function of
compression rate and size polydispersity.Comment: Four pages, three figure
Laboratory Tests of Low Density Astrophysical Equations of State
Clustering in low density nuclear matter has been investigated using the
NIMROD multi-detector at Texas A&M University. Thermal coalescence modes were
employed to extract densities, , and temperatures, , for evolving
systems formed in collisions of 47 MeV Ar + Sn,Sn
and Zn + Sn, Sn. The yields of , , He, and
He have been determined at = 0.002 to 0.032 nucleons/fm and
= 5 to 10 MeV. The experimentally derived equilibrium constants for
particle production are compared with those predicted by a number of
astrophysical equations of state. The data provide important new constraints on
the model calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Experimental Determination of In-Medium Cluster Binding Energies and Mott Points in Nuclear Matter
In medium binding energies and Mott points for , , He and
clusters in low density nuclear matter have been determined at specific
combinations of temperature and density in low density nuclear matter produced
in collisions of 47 MeV Ar and Zn projectiles with Sn
and Sn target nuclei. The experimentally derived values of the in
medium modified binding energies are in good agreement with recent theoretical
predictions based upon the implementation of Pauli blocking effects in a
quantum statistical approach.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
- …