Photometric and spectroscopic gamma-ray observations of solar transient phenomena using long duration balloons

A program currently in progress to conduct extended duration spectroscopic and photometric observation of solar X-ray phenomena from balloons is described. High photometric sensitivity to weak hard X-ray bursts is attained using a 600 sq cm array of phoswich scintillators. High spectral resolution for stronger bursts is available from an array of planar germanium detectors. These instruments are carried in a novel balloon gondola dssigned for the 15 to 20 day float durations available through using conventional zero pressure balloons in the radiation controlled (RACOON) mode

ANOPP Landing Gear Noise Prediction Comparisons to Model-scale Data

The NASA Aircraft NOise Prediction Program (ANOPP) includes two methods for computing the noise from landing gear: the "Fink" method and the "Guo" method. Both methods have been predominately validated and used to predict full-scale landing gear noise. The two methods are compared, and their ability to predict the noise for model-scale landing gear is investigated. Predictions are made using both the Fink and Guo methods and compared to measured acoustic data obtained for a high-fidelity, 6.3%-scale, Boeing 777 main landing gear. A process is developed by which full-scale predictions can be scaled to compare with model-scale data. The measurements were obtained in the NASA Langley Quiet Flow Facility for a range of Mach numbers at a large number of observer polar (flyover) and azimuthal (sideline) observer angles. Spectra and contours of the measured sound pressure levels as a function of polar and azimuthal angle characterize the directivity of landing gear noise. Comparisons of predicted noise spectra and contours from each ANOPP method are made. Both methods predict comparable amplitudes and trends for the flyover locations, but deviate at the sideline locations. Neither method fully captures the measured noise directivity. The availability of these measured data provides the opportunity to further understand and advance noise prediction capabilities, particularly for noise directivity

The RCSB Protein Data Bank: views of structural biology for basic and applied research and education.

The RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB, http://www.rcsb.org) provides access to 3D structures of biological macromolecules and is one of the leading resources in biology and biomedicine worldwide. Our efforts over the past 2 years focused on enabling a deeper understanding of structural biology and providing new structural views of biology that support both basic and applied research and education. Herein, we describe recently introduced data annotations including integration with external biological resources, such as gene and drug databases, new visualization tools and improved support for the mobile web. We also describe access to data files, web services and open access software components to enable software developers to more effectively mine the PDB archive and related annotations. Our efforts are aimed at expanding the role of 3D structure in understanding biology and medicine

Influence of extended dynamics on phase transitions in a driven lattice gas

Monte Carlo simulations and dynamical mean-field approximations are performed to study the phase transition in a driven lattice gas with nearest-neighbor exclusion on a square lattice. A slight extension of the microscopic dynamics with allowing the next-nearest-neighbor hops results in dramatic changes. Instead of the phase separation into high- and low-density regions in the stationary state the system exhibits a continuous transition belonging to the Ising universality class for any driving. The relevant features of phase diagram are reproduced by an improved mean-field analysis.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

High-Density Support Matrices: Key to the Deep Borehole Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Abstract Deep (4-5 km) boreholes are emerging as a safe, secure, environmentally sound and potentially cost-effective option for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes, including plutonium. One reason this option has not been widely accepted for spent fuel is because stacking the containers in a borehole could create load stresses threatening their integrity with potential for releasing highly mobile radionuclides like 129 I before the borehole is filled and sealed. This problem can be overcome by using novel high-density support matrices deployed as fine metal shot along with the containers. Temperature distributions in and around the disposal are modelled to show how decay heat from the fuel can melt the shot within weeks of disposal to give a dense liquid in which the containers are almost weightless. Finally, within a few decades, this liquid will cool and solidify, entombing the waste containers in a base metal sarcophagus sealed into the host rock

Effects of finite curvature on soliton dynamics in a chain of nonlinear oscillators

We consider a curved chain of nonlinear oscillators and show that the interplay of curvature and nonlinearity leads to a number of qualitative effects. In particular, the energy of nonlinear localized excitations centered on the bending decreases when curvature increases, i.e. bending manifests itself as a trap for excitations. Moreover, the potential of this trap is double-well, thus leading to a symmetry breaking phenomenon: a symmetric stationary state may become unstable and transform into an energetically favorable asymmetric stationary state. The essentials of symmetry breaking are examined analytically for a simplified model. We also demonstrate a threshold character of the scattering process, i.e. transmission, trapping, or reflection of the moving nonlinear excitation passing through the bending.Comment: 13 pages (LaTeX) with 10 figures (EPS

Retention of Two-Band Superconductivity in Highly Carbon-Doped MgB2

Tunneling data on MgB_{1.8}C_{0.2} show a reduction in the energy gap of the pi-bands by a factor of two from undoped MgB2 that is consistent with the Tc reduction, but inconsistent with the expectations of the dirty limit. Dirty-limit theory for undoped MgB2 predicts a single gap about three times larger than measured and a reduced Tc comparable to that measured. Our heavily-doped samples exhibit a uniform dispersion of C suggestive of significantly enhanced scattering, and we conclude that the retention of two-band superconductivity in these samples is caused by a selective suppression of interband scattering.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; added one figure, added one reference, minor changes to the text, manuscript accepted for publication as a Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communicatio

Density functional theory for nearest-neighbor exclusion lattice gasses in two and three dimensions

To speak about fundamental measure theory obliges to mention dimensional crossover. This feature, inherent to the systems themselves, was incorporated in the theory almost from the beginning. Although at first it was thought to be a consistency check for the theory, it rapidly became its fundamental pillar, thus becoming the only density functional theory which possesses such a property. It is straightforward that dimensional crossover connects, for instance, the parallel hard cube system (three-dimensional) with that of squares (two-dimensional) and rods (one-dimensional). We show here that there are many more connections which can be established in this way. Through them we deduce from the functional for parallel hard (hyper)cubes in the simple (hyper)cubic lattice the corresponding functionals for the nearest-neighbor exclusion lattice gases in the square, triangular, simple cubic, face-centered cubic, and body-centered cubic lattices. As an application, the bulk phase diagram for all these systems is obtained.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures; needs revtex

Making the invisible enemy visible.

Structural biology plays a crucial role in the fight against COVID-19, permitting us to ‘see’ and understand SARS-CoV-2. However, the macromolecular structures of SARS-CoV-2 proteins that were solved with great speed and urgency can contain errors that may hinder drug design. The Coronavirus Structural Task Force has been working behind the scenes to evaluate and improve these structures, making the results freely available at https://insidecorona.net/

Effect of Pressure on Tiny Antiferromagnetic Moment in the Heavy-Electron Compound URu_2Si_2

We have performed elastic neutron-scattering experiments on the heavy-electron compound URu_2Si_2 for pressure P up to 2.8 GPa. We have found that the antiferrmagnetic (100) Bragg reflection below T_m ~ 17.5 K is strongly enhanced by applying pressure. For P < 1.1 GPa, the staggered moment mu_o at 1.4 K increases linearly from ~ 0.017(3) mu_B to ~ 0.25(2) mu_B, while T_m increases slightly at a rate ~ 1 K/GPa, roughly following the transition temperature T_o determined from macroscopic anomalies. We have also observed a sharp phase transition at P_c ~ 1.5 GPa, above which a 3D-Ising type of antiferromagnetic phase (mu_o ~ 0.4 mu_B) appears with a slightly reduced lattice constant.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let