Two-component model for the chemical evolution of the Galactic disk

In the present paper, we introduce a two-component model of the Galactic disk to investigate its chemical evolution. The formation of the thick and thin disks occur in two main accretion episodes with both infall rates to be Gaussian. Both the pre-thin and post-thin scenarios for the formation of the Galactic disk are considered. The best-fitting is obtained through $\chi^2$-test between the models and the new observed metallicity distribution function of G dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood (Hou et al 1998). Our results show that post-thin disk scenario for the formation of the Galactic disk should be preferred. Still, other comparison between model predictions and observations are given.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Momentum Distribution of Near-Zero-Energy Photoelectrons in the Strong-Field Tunneling Ionization in the Long Wavelength Limit

We investigate the ionization dynamics of Argon atoms irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser of a wavelength up to 3100 nm, addressing the momentum distribution of the photoelectrons with near-zero-energy. We find a surprising accumulation in the momentum distribution corresponding to meV energy and a \textquotedblleft V"-like structure at the slightly larger transverse momenta. Semiclassical simulations indicate the crucial role of the Coulomb attraction between the escaping electron and the remaining ion at extremely large distance. Tracing back classical trajectories, we find the tunneling electrons born in a certain window of the field phase and transverse velocity are responsible for the striking accumulation. Our theoretical results are consistent with recent meV-resolved high-precision measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Exposure to hazardous volatile organic compounds, PM 10 and CO while walking along streets in urban Guangzhou, China

Toxic air pollutants in street canyons are important issues concerning public health especially in some large Asian cities like Guangzhou. In 1998 <18% of Guangzhou citizens used public transportation modes, with a majority commuting on foot (42%) or by bicycle (22%). Of the pedestrians, 57% were either senior citizens or students. In the present study, we measured toxic air pollutants while walking along urban streets in Guangzhou to evaluate pedestrian exposure. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected with sorbent tubes, and PM 10 and CO were measured simultaneously with portable analyzers. Our results showed that pedestrian exposure to PM 10 (with an average of 303 μg m -3 for all samples) and some toxic VOCs (for example, benzene) was relatively high. Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were found to be the most abundant VOCs, and 71% of the samples had benzene levels higher than 30 μg m -3. Benzene, PM 10 and CO in walk-only streets were significantly lower (p<0.05) than in traffic streets, and the differences in exposure levels between new urban streets and old urban streets were highly significant (p<0.01). Pedestrian exposure to toxic VOCs and PM 10 was higher than those reported in other public transportation modes (bus and subway). The good correlations between BTEX, PM 10 and CO in the streets indicated that automotive emission might be their major source. Our study also showed that the risk to pedestrians due to air pollution was misinterpreted by the reported air quality index based on measurement of SO 2, NO x and PM 10 in the government monitoring stations. An urban roadside monitoring station might be needed by air quality monitoring networks in large Asian cities like Guangzhou, in order to survey exposure to air toxics in urban roadside microenvironments. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

NMR Search for the Spin Nematic State in LaFeAsO Single Crystal

We report a 75-As single crystal NMR investigation of LaFeAsO, the parent phase of a pnictide high Tc superconductor. We demonstrate that spin dynamics develop a strong two-fold anisotropy within each orthorhombic domain below the tetragonal-orthorhombic structural phase transition at T[TO]~156 K. This intermediate state with a dynamical breaking of the rotational symmetry freezes progressively into a spin density wave (SDW) below T[SDW]~142 K. Our findings are consistent with the presence of a spin nematic state below T[TO] with an incipient magnetic order.Comment: Revised manuscript accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Contributions of biomass/biofuel burning to organic aerosols and particulate matter in Tanzania, East Africa, based on analyses of ionic species, organic and elemental carbon, levoglucosan and mannosan

Atmospheric aerosol samples of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were collected at a rural site in Tanzania, East Africa, in 2011 during wet and dry seasons and were analysed for carbonaceous components, levoglucosan, mannosan and water-soluble inorganic ions. The contributions of biomass/biofuel burning to the organic carbon (OC) and particulate matter (PM) mass were estimated to be 46&ndash;52% and 87&ndash;13%, respectively. The mean mass concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were 28 ± 6 μg m⁻³ and 47 ± 8 μg m⁻³ in wet season, and 39 ± 10 μg m⁻³ and 61 ± 19 μg m⁻³ in dry season, respectively. Total carbon (TC) accounted for 16&ndash;19% of the PM_2.5 mass and 13&ndash;15% of the PM₁₀ mass. On average, 86 to 89% of TC in PM_2.5 and 87 to 90% of TC in PM₁₀ was OC, of which 67&ndash;72% and 63% was found to be water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively. We found that concentrations of levoglucosan and mannosan (specific organic tracers of pyrolysis of cellulose) well correlated with non-sea-salt potassium (nss-K⁺) (<i>r</i>² = 0.56&ndash;0.75), OC (<i>r</i>² = 0.75&ndash;0.96) and WSOC (<i>r</i>² = 0.52&ndash;0.78). The K⁺ / OC ratios varied from 0.06 to 0.36 in PM_2.5 and from 0.03 to 0.36 in PM₁₀ with slightly higher ratios in dry season. Mean percent ratios of levoglucosan and mannosan to OC were found to be 3&ndash;4% for PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ in both seasons. We found lower levoglucosan / K⁺ ratios and higher K⁺ / EC (elemental carbon) ratios in the biomass-burning aerosols from Tanzania than those reported from other regions. This feature is consistent with the high levels of potassium reported in the soils of Morogoro, Tanzania, suggesting an importance of direct emission of potassium by soil resuspension although K⁺ is present mostly in fine particles. It is also likely that biomass burning of vegetation of Tanzania emits high levels of potassium that may be enriched in plant tissues. The present study demonstrates that emissions from mixed biomass- and biofuel-burning activities largely influence the air quality in Tanzania

Progressive Collapse Resistance of Precast Concrete Beam-Column Sub-assemblages with High-Performance Dry Connections

Due to its relatively lower integrity, precast concrete structures are considered to be more vulnerable to progressive collapse than cast-in-place concrete structures. However, to date, majority of existing studies on progressive collapse focused on cast-in-place concrete structures, little attentions were paid to precast concrete structures. Among existing precast concrete structures, unbonded post-tensioning precast concrete structure is one of innovation dry connection structural systems, which no casting at the connections on site. Its excellent seismic performance was recognized by many studies, while studies on its progressive collapse resistance were very few. To fill this knowledge gaps, in this paper, eight half-scaled unbonded post-tensioning precast concrete beam-column sub-assemblages with different connection configurations were tested through pushdown tests to investigate their capacities and resistance mechanisms to prevent progressive collapse. The test results demonstrated various behaviors of beam-column sub-assemblages with different connection types. It was found that, as the longitudinal reinforcements were discontinuous across the beam-column joint region in the beams, flexural action observed in the cast-in-place concrete frames was not mobilized for the specimens with purely unbonded post-tensioning connections. When the specimens installed top-seat angles at the beam-column interfaces, considerable flexural action capacity could be mobilized for load resistance. Moreover, it was found that the failure modes of the specimens are distinctly different to that of conventional reinforced concrete frames or precast concrete frames with cast-in-place joints. The characteristic of compressive arch action and tensile catenary action in tested specimens is quite different to that of conventional reinforced concrete frames