8,011 research outputs found
Enhancement of mobilities in a pinned multidomain crystal
Mobility properties inside and around degenerate domains of an elastic
lattice partially pinned on a square array of traps are explored by means of a
fully controllable model system of macroscopic particles. We focus on the
different configurations obtained for filling ratios equal to 1 or 2 when the
pinning strength is lowered. These theoretically expected but never observed
configurations are degenerated, which implies the existence of a multidomain
crystal. We show that the distinction between trapped and untrapped particles
that is made in the case of strong pinning is not relevant for such a weaker
pinning. Indeed, one ought to distinguish between particles inside or around
the domains associated to positional degeneracies. The possible consequences on
the depinning dynamics of the lattice are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures Version 2 : longer versio
Geometric depolarization in patterns formed by backscattered light
We formulate a framework for the depolarization of linearly polarized
backscattered light based on the concept of geometric phase, {\it i.e} Berry's
phase. The predictions of this theory are applied to the patterns formed by
backscattered light between crossed or parallel polarizers. This theory should
be particularly adapted to the situation in which polarized light is scattered
many times but predominantly in the forward direction. We apply these ideas to
the patterns which we obtained experimentally with backscattered polarized
light from a colloidal suspension.Comment: 3 pages and 3 figure
On the origin of variable structures in the winds of hot luminous stars
Examination of the temporal variability properties of several strong optical
recombination lines in a large sample of Galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars reveals
possible trends, especially in the more homogeneous WC than the diverse WN
subtypes, of increasing wind variability with cooler subtypes. This could imply
that a serious contender for the driver of the variations is stochastic,
magnetic subsurface convection associated with the 170 kK partial-ionization
zone of iron, which should occupy a deeper and larger zone of greater mass in
cooler WR subtypes. This empirical evidence suggests that the heretofore
proposed ubiquitous driver of wind variability, radiative instabilities, may
not be the only mechanism playing a role in the stochastic multiple
small-scaled structures seen in the winds of hot luminous stars. In addition to
small-scale stochastic behaviour, subsurface convection guided by a global
magnetic field with localized emerging loops may also be at the origin of the
large-scale corotating interaction regions as seen frequently in O stars and
occasionally in the winds of their descendant WR stars.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures and 2 tables. Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society 201
Kinetic modelling of runaway electron avalanches in tokamak plasmas
Runaway electrons (REs) can be generated in tokamak plasmas if the
accelerating force from the toroidal electric field exceeds the collisional
drag force due to Coulomb collisions with the background plasma. In ITER,
disruptions are expected to generate REs mainly through knock-on collisions,
where enough momentum can be transferred from existing runaways to slow
electrons to transport the latter beyond a critical momentum, setting off an
avalanche of REs. Since knock-on runaways are usually scattered off with a
significant perpendicular component of the momentum with respect to the local
magnetic field direction, these particles are highly magnetized. Consequently,
the momentum dynamics require a full 3-D kinetic description, since these
electrons are highly sensitive to the magnetic non-uniformity of a toroidal
configuration. A bounce-averaged knock-on source term is derived. The
generation of REs from the combined effect of Dreicer mechanism and knock-on
collision process is studied with the code LUKE, a solver of the 3-D linearized
bounce-averaged relativistic electron Fokker-Planck equation, through the
calculation of the response of the electron distribution function to a constant
parallel electric field. This work shows that the avalanche effect can be
important even in non-disruptive scenarios. RE formation through knock-on
collisions is found to be strongly reduced when taking place off the magnetic
axis, since trapped electrons cannot contribute to the RE population. The
relative importance of the avalanche mechanism is investigated as a function of
the key parameters for RE formation; the plasma temperature and the electric
field strength. In agreement with theoretical predictions, the simulations show
that in low temperature and E-field knock-on collisions are the dominant source
of REs and can play a significant role for RE generation, including in
non-disruptive scenarios.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure
Acute Malnutrition and Under-5 Mortality, Northeastern Part of India.
We assessed the prevalence of childhood acute malnutrition and under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in Darbhanga district, India, using a two-stage 49-cluster household survey. A total of 1379 households comprising 8473 people were interviewed. During a 90-day recall period, U5MR was 0.5 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.2-1.4] per 10 000 per day. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition among 1405 children aged 6-59 months was 15.4% (NCHS) and 19.4% (2006 WHO references). This survey suggests that in Darbhanga district, the population is in a borderline food crisis with few food resources. Appropriate strategies should be developed to improve the overall nutritional and health status of children
Experimental study of granular surface flows via a fast camera: a continuous description
Depth averaged conservation equations are written for granular surface flows.
Their application to the study of steady surface flows in a rotating drum
allows to find experimentally the constitutive relations needed to close these
equations from measurements of the velocity profile in the flowing layer at the
center of the drum and from the flowing layer thickness and the static/flowing
boundary profiles. The velocity varies linearly with depth, with a gradient
independent of both the flowing layer thickness and the static/flowing boundary
local slope. The first two closure relations relating the flow rate and the
momentum flux to the flowing layer thickness and the slope are then deduced.
Measurements of the profile of the flowing layer thickness and the
static/flowing boundary in the whole drum explicitly give the last relation
concerning the force acting on the flowing layer. Finally, these closure
relations are compared to existing continuous models of surface flows.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. FLuid
Existence of conformal metrics with constant -curvature
Given a compact four dimensional manifold, we prove existence of conformal
metrics with constant -curvature under generic assumptions. The problem
amounts to solving a fourth-order nonlinear elliptic equation with variational
structure. Since the corresponding Euler functional is in general unbounded
from above and from below, we employ topological methods and minimax schemes,
jointly with a compactness result by the second author.Comment: 36 pages, revised version. To appear in Annals of Mathematic
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