1,067 research outputs found
Near-optimum design of the InP homojunction solar cell
Using a fairly comprehensive model, researchers have done a parametric variation study of the InP n+p homojunction solar cell for AMO, 25 C operation. The results of this study are presented. These results indicate that an efficiency of about 25 percent should be realistically possible in a shallow homojunction InP solar cell with near-optimum design
Hydrodynamically enforced entropic trapping of Brownian particles
We study the transport of Brownian particles through a corrugated channel
caused by a force field containing curl-free (scalar potential) and
divergence-free (vector potential) parts. We develop a generalized Fick-Jacobs
approach leading to an effective one-dimensional description involving the
potential of mean force. As an application, the interplay of a pressure-driven
flow and an oppositely oriented constant bias is considered. We show that for
certain parameters, the particle diffusion is significantly suppressed via the
property of hyrodynamically enforced entropic particle trapping.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, in press with Physical Review Letter
Giant enhancement of hydrodynamically enforced entropic trapping in thin channels
Using our generalized Fick-Jacobs approach [Martens et al., PRL 110, 010601
(2013); Martens et al., Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Topics 222, 2453-2463 (2013)] and
extensive Brownian dynamics simulations, we study particle transport through
three-dimensional periodic channels of different height. Directed motion is
caused by the interplay of constant bias acting along the channel axis and a
pressure-driven flow. The tremendous change of the flow profile shape in
channel direction with the channel height is reflected in a crucial dependence
of the mean particle velocity and the effective diffusion coefficient on the
channel height. In particular, we observe a giant suppression of the effective
diffusivity in thin channels; four orders of magnitude compared to the bulk
value.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Zigzag transitions and nonequilibrium pattern formation in colloidal chains
Paramagnetic colloidal particles that are optically trapped in a linear array
can form a zigzag pattern when an external magnetic field induces repulsive
interparticle interactions. When the traps are abruptly turned off, the
particles form a nonequilibrium expanding pattern with a zigzag symmetry, even
when the strength of the magnetic interaction is weaker than that required to
break the linear symmetry of the equilibrium state. We show that the transition
to the equilibrium zigzag state is always potentially possible for purely
harmonic traps. For anharmonic traps that have a finite height, the equilibrium
zigzag state becomes unstable above a critical anharmonicity. A normal mode
analysis of the equilibrium line configuration demonstrates that increasing the
magnetic field leads to a hardening and softening of the spring constants in
the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively. The mode that first
becomes unstable is the mode with the zigzag symmetry, which explains the
symmetry of nonequilibrium patterns. Our analytically tractable models help to
give further insight into the way that the interplay of such factors as the
length of the chain, hydrodynamic interactions, thermal fluctuations affect the
formation and evolution of the experimentally observed nonequilibrium patterns.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures; to appear in the Journal of Chemical Physic
Quasi-deterministic transport of Brownian particles in an oscillating periodic potential
We consider overdamped Brownian dynamics in a periodic potential with
temporally oscillating amplitude. We analyze the transport which shows
effective diffusion enhanced by the oscillations and derive approximate
expressions for the diffusion coefficient. Furthermore we analyze the effect of
the oscillating potential on the transport if additionally a constant force is
applied. We show the existence of synchronization regimes at which the
deterministic dynamics is in resonance with the potential oscillations giving
rise to transport with extremely low dispersion. We distinguish slow and fast
oscillatory driving and give analytical expressions for the mean velocity and
effective diffusion.Comment: submitted: Feb 12th, 201
Two candidate brown dwarf companions around core helium-burning stars
Hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B (sdBs) are evolved, core helium-burning
objects. The formation of those objects is puzzling, because the progenitor
star has to lose almost its entire hydrogen envelope in the red-giant phase.
Binary interactions have been invoked, but single sdBs exist as well. We report
the discovery of two close hot subdwarf binaries with small radial velocity
amplitudes. Follow-up photometry revealed reflection effects originating from
cool irradiated companions, but no eclipses. The lower mass limits for the
companions of CPD-64481 () and PHL\,457
() are significantly below the stellar mass limit. Hence
they could be brown dwarfs unless the inclination is unfavourable. Two very
similar systems have already been reported. The probability that none of them
is a brown dwarf is very small, 0.02%. Hence we provide further evidence that
substellar companions with masses that low are able to eject a common envelope
and form an sdB star. Furthermore, we find that the properties of the observed
sample of hot subdwarfs in reflection effect binaries is consistent with a
scenario where single sdBs can still be formed via common envelope events, but
their low-mass substellar companions do not survive.Comment: accepted to A&
The MUCHFUSS photometric campaign
Hot subdwarfs (sdO/Bs) are the helium-burning cores of red giants, which lost
almost all of their hydrogen envelopes. This mass loss is often triggered by
common envelope interactions with close stellar or even substellar companions.
Cool companions like late-type stars or brown dwarfs are detectable via
characteristic light curve variations like reflection effects and often also
eclipses. To search for such objects we obtained multi-band light curves of 26
close sdO/B binary candidates from the MUCHFUSS project with the BUSCA
instrument. We discovered a new eclipsing reflection effect system
(~d) with a low-mass M dwarf companion ().
Three more reflection effect binaries found in the course of the campaign were
already published, two of them are eclipsing systems, in one system only
showing the reflection effect but no eclipses the sdB primary is found to be
pulsating. Amongst the targets without reflection effect a new long-period sdB
pulsator was discovered and irregular light variations were found in two sdO
stars. The found light variations allowed us to constrain the fraction of
reflection effect binaries and the substellar companion fraction around sdB
stars. The minimum fraction of reflection effect systems amongst the close sdB
binaries might be greater than 15\% and the fraction of close substellar
companions in sdB binaries might be as high as . This would result in a
close substellar companion fraction to sdB stars of about 3\%. This fraction is
much higher than the fraction of brown dwarfs around possible progenitor
systems, which are solar-type stars with substellar companions around 1 AU, as
well as close binary white dwarfs with brown dwarf companions. This might be a
hint that common envelope interactions with substellar objects are
preferentially followed by a hot subdwarf phase.Comment: accepted for A&
Self-organized escape of oscillator chains in nonlinear potentials
We present the noise free escape of a chain of linearly interacting units
from a metastable state over a cubic on-site potential barrier. The underlying
dynamics is conservative and purely deterministic. The mutual interplay between
nonlinearity and harmonic interactions causes an initially uniform lattice
state to become unstable, leading to an energy redistribution with strong
localization. As a result a spontaneously emerging localized mode grows into a
critical nucleus. By surpassing this transition state, the nonlinear chain
manages a self-organized, deterministic barrier crossing. Most strikingly,
these noise-free, collective nonlinear escape events proceed generally by far
faster than transitions assisted by thermal noise when the ratio between the
average energy supplied per unit in the chain and the potential barrier energy
assumes small values
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