Volt-per-Ångstrom terahertz fields from X-ray free-electron lasers

The electron linear accelerators driving modern X-ray free-electron lasers can emit intense, tunable, quasi-monochromatic terahertz (THz) transients with peak electric fields of V Å ⁻¹ and peak magnetic fields in excess of 10 T when a purpose-built, compact, superconducting THz undulator is implemented. New research avenues such as X-ray movies of THz-driven mode-selective chemistry come into reach by making dual use of the ultra-short GeV electron bunches, possible by a rather minor extension of the infrastructure

Quantification of CO2 generation in sedimentary basins through carbonate/clays reactions with uncertain thermodynamic parameters

We develop a methodological framework and mathematical formulation which yields estimates of the uncertainty associated with the amounts of CO2generated by Carbonate-Clays Reactions (CCR) in large-scale subsurface systems to assist characterization of the main features of this geochemical process. Our approach couples a one-dimensional compaction model, providing the dynamics of the evolution of porosity, temperature and pressure along the vertical direction, with a chemical model able to quantify the partial pressure of CO2resulting from minerals and pore water interaction. The modeling framework we propose allows (i) estimating the depth at which the source of gases is located and (ii) quantifying the amount of CO2generated, based on the mineralogy of the sediments involved in the basin formation process. A distinctive objective of the study is the quantification of the way the uncertainty affecting chemical equilibrium constants propagates to model outputs, i.e., the flux of CO2. These parameters are considered as key sources of uncertainty in our modeling approach because temperature and pressure distributions associated with deep burial depths typically fall outside the range of validity of commonly employed geochemical databases and typically used geochemical software. We also analyze the impact of the relative abundancy of primary phases in the sediments on the activation of CCR processes. As a test bed, we consider a computational study where pressure and temperature conditions are representative of those observed in real sedimentary formation. Our results are conducive to the probabilistic assessment of (i) the characteristic pressure and temperature at which CCR leads to generation of CO2in sedimentary systems, (ii) the order of magnitude of the CO2generation rate that can be associated with CCR processes

High-field high-repetition-rate sources for the coherent THz control of matter

Ultrashort flashes of THz light with low photon energies of a few meV, but strong electric or magnetic field transients have recently been employed to prepare various fascinating nonequilibrium states in matter. Here we present a new class of sources based on superradiant enhancement of radiation from relativistic electron bunches in a compact electron accelerator that we believe will revolutionize experiments in this field. Our prototype source generates high-field THz pulses at unprecedented quasicontinuous-wave repetition rates up to the MHz regime. We demonstrate parameters that exceed state-of-the-art laser-based sources by more than 2 orders of magnitude. The peak fields and the repetition rates are highly scalable and once fully operational this type of sources will routinely provide 1 MV/cm electric fields and 0.3 T magnetic fields at repetition rates of few 100 kHz. We benchmark the unique properties by performing a resonant coherent THz control experiment with few 10 fs resolution

PERSPECTIVAS DEL PROCESO DE GLOBALIZACIÓN Y SU INFLUENCIA SOBRE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS ECONÓMICOS, SOCIALES Y CULTURALES

El escenario internacional se encuentra en constante transformación debido a lo que se ha denominado el proceso de “globalización”. Este afecta las relaciones internaciones interestatales e influye en la vida cotidiana de los individuos. El Derecho Internacional y más específicamente el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos no es ajeno a este proceso. La investigación afirma que nos encontramos frente a una etapa de transnacionalización de los Derechos Humanos, que permite que los individuos cuenten con mayor protección en ámbitos supranacionales. También hace especial mención a los derechos Económicos Sociales y Culturales, analiza el debate sobre el pluralismo jurídico y la eficacia diferencial. En la metodología empleada se revisan fuentes documentales y se realiza un análisis de algunos derechos particulares previstos en el Pacto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales. Los planteamientos permiten afirmar que el proceso de globalización ha determinado la transnacionalización de los Derechos Humanos, surgiendo de dicho fenómeno consecuencias positivas y negativas en cuanto a su cumplimiento

Probabilistic modeling of field-scale CO2 generation by carbonate-clay reactions in sedimentary basins

This work explores a probabilistic modeling workflow and its implementation targeting CO2 generation rate and CO2 source location by the occurrence of carbonate-clay reactions (CCRs) in three-dimensional realistic sedimentary basins. We ground our study on the methodology proposed for a one-dimensional case study and a single CCR formulation by which includes a framework to account for thermodynamic parameter uncertainties. This methodology is here extended to a realistic three-dimensional sedimentary basin setting and transferred to encompass different types of CCRs, including two newly formulated CCRs which account for minerals typically observed in sedimentary environments. While testing the ability of the selected procedure to model diverse CCRs in three-dimensional realistic subsurface sedimentary systems, we quantitatively compare the impact of CCR formulation on the spatial distribution of CO2 source location, temperature and pressure compatible with CO2 gaseous generation, and CO2 generation rate in three-dimensional environments characterized by complex and non-uniform stratigraphy. The application of the procedure to various types of CCRs enables us to provide an insight into the impact of mineralogical composition on the activation temperature and pressure and the amount of CO2 released by the different CCR mechanisms. Finally, we show the implementation of the proposed probabilistic framework to define scenarios associated with various levels of probability to be used as the input and boundary conditions for CO2 migration and transport models in the subsurface

Computer simulation of p-phenyls with interaction potentials from ab-initio calculations

The potential energy surface (PES) of n-p-phenyls, with n from 2 to 5, has been obtained from ab initio calculations relevant to a few fragments into which the molecule can be decomposed. These PES have been fitted with a single Gay-Berne model that has been used in Monte Carlo NPT and Gibbs ensemble simulations. The results we obtain are in fairly, good agreement with experiment in the case of biphenyl, while only a low density fluid phase (gas) is obtained for p-terphenyl and longer molecules