1,362 research outputs found
National Transonic Facility: A review of the operational plan
The proposed National Transonic Facility (NTF) operational plan is reviewed. The NTF will provide an aerodynamic test capability significantly exceeding that of other transonic regime wind tunnels now available. A limited number of academic research program that might use the NTF are suggested. It is concluded that the NTF operational plan is useful for management, technical, instrumentation, and model building techniques available in the specialized field of aerodynamic analysis and simulation. It is also suggested that NASA hold an annual conference to discuss wind tunnel research results and to report on developments that will further improve the utilization and cost effectiveness of the NTF and other wind tunnels
Triphilic ionic-liquid mixtures: fluorinated and non-fluorinated aprotic ionic-liquid mixtures
We present here the possibility of forming triphilic mixtures from alkyl- and fluoroalkylimidazolium ionic liquids, thus, macroscopically homogeneous mixtures for which instead of the often observed two domainspolar and nonpolarthree stable microphases are present: polar, lipophilic, and fluorous ones. The fluorinated side chains of the cations indeed self-associate and form domains that are segregated from those of the polar and alkyl domains. To enable miscibility, despite the generally preferred macroscopic separation between fluorous and alkyl moieties, the importance of strong hydrogen bonding is shown. As the long-range structure in the alkyl and fluoroalkyl domains is dependent on the composition of the liquid, we propose that the heterogeneous, triphilic structure can be easily tuned by the molar ratio of the components. We believe that further development may allow the design of switchable, smart liquids that change their properties in a predictable way according to their composition or even their environment
An investigation of ozone and planetary boundary layer dynamics over the complex topography of Grenoble combining measurements and modeling
International audienceThis paper concerns an evaluation of ozone (O3) and planetary boundary layer (PBL) dynamics over the complex topography of the Grenoble region through a combination of measurements and mesoscale model (METPHOMOD) predictions for three days, during July 1999. The measurements of O3 and PBL structure were obtained with a Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system, situated 20 km south of Grenoble at Vif (310 m a.s.l.). The combined lidar observations and model calculations are in good agreement with atmospheric measurements obtained with an instrumented aircraft (METAIR). Ozone fluxes were calculated using lidar measurements of ozone vertical profiles concentrations and the horizontal wind speeds measured with a Radar Doppler wind profiler (DEGREANE). The ozone flux patterns indicate that the diurnal cycle of ozone production is controlled by local thermal winds. The convective PBL maximum height was some 2700 m above the land surface while the nighttime residual ozone layer was generally found between 1200 and 2200 m. Finally we evaluate the magnitude of the ozone processes at different altitudes in order to estimate the photochemical ozone production due to the primary pollutants emissions of Grenoble city and the regional network of automobile traffic
Beta-delayed deuteron emission from 11Li: decay of the halo
The deuteron-emission channel in the beta-decay of the halo-nucleus 11Li was
measured at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF by implanting post-accelerated 11Li
ions into a segmented silicon detector. The events of interest were identified
by correlating the decays of 11Li with those of the daughter nuclei. This
method allowed the energy spectrum of the emitted deuterons to be extracted,
free from contributions from other channels, and a precise value for the
branching ratio B_d = 1.30(13) x 10-4 to be deduced for E(c.m.) > 200 keV. The
results provide the first unambiguous experimental evidence that the decay
takes place essentially in the halo of 11Li, and that it proceeds mainly to the
9Li + d continuum, opening up a new means to study of the halo wave function of
11Li.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Interplay between unconventional superconductivity and heavy-fermion quantum criticality: CeCuSi versus YbRhSi
In this paper the low-temperature properties of two isostructural canonical
heavy-fermion compounds are contrasted with regards to the interplay between
antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum criticality and superconductivity. For
CeCuSi, fully-gapped d-wave superconductivity forms in the vicinity of
an itinerant three-dimensional heavy-fermion spin-density-wave (SDW) quantum
critical point (QCP). Inelastic neutron scattering results highlight that both
quantum critical SDW fluctuations as well as Mott-type fluctuations of local
magnetic moments contribute to the formation of Cooper pairs in CeCuSi.
In YbRhSi, superconductivity appears to be suppressed at
mK by AF order ( = 70 mK). Ultra-low temperature measurements reveal a
hybrid order between nuclear and 4f-electronic spins, which is dominated by the
Yb-derived nuclear spins, to develop at slightly above 2 mK. The hybrid
order turns out to strongly compete with the primary 4f-electronic order and to
push the material towards its QCP. Apparently, this paves the way for
heavy-fermion superconductivity to form at = 2 mK. Like the pressure -
induced QCP in CeRhIn, the magnetic field - induced one in YbRhSi
is of the local Kondo-destroying variety which corresponds to a Mott-type
transition at zero temperature. Therefore, these materials form the link
between the large family of about fifty low- unconventional heavy - fermion
superconductors and other families of unconventional superconductors with
higher s, notably the doped Mott insulators of the cuprates, organic
charge-transfer salts and some of the Fe-based superconductors. Our study
suggests that heavy-fermion superconductivity near an AF QCP is a robust
phenomenon.Comment: 30 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in Philosophical
Magazin
Nonlinear thermoelectric response of quantum dots: renormalized dual fermions out of equilibrium
The thermoelectric transport properties of nanostructured devices continue to
attract attention from theorists and experimentalist alike as the spatial
confinement allows for a controlled approach to transport properties of
correlated matter. Most of the existing work, however, focuses on
thermoelectric transport in the linear regime despite the fact that the
nonlinear conductance of correlated quantum dots has been studied in some
detail throughout the last decade. Here, we review our recent work on the
effect of particle-hole asymmetry on the nonlinear transport properties in the
vicinity of the strong coupling limit of Kondo-correlated quantum dots and
extend the underlying method, a renormalized superperturbation theory on the
Keldysh contour, to the thermal conductance in the nonlinear regime. We
determine the charge, energy, and heat current through the nanostructure and
study the nonlinear transport coefficients, the entropy production, and the
fate of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the non-thermal steady-state. Our approach
is based on a renormalized perturbation theory in terms of dual fermions around
the particle-hole symmetric strong-coupling limit.Comment: chapter contributed to 'New Materials for Thermoelectric
Applications: Theory and Experiment' Springer Series: NATO Science for Peace
and Security Series - B: Physics and Biophysics, Veljko Zlatic (Editor), Alex
Hewson (Editor). ISBN: 978-9400749863 (2012
Systematic comparison of ISOLDE-SC yields with calculated in-target production rates
Recently, a series of dedicated inverse-kinematics experiments performed at
GSI, Darmstadt, has brought an important progress in our understanding of
proton and heavy-ion induced reactions at relativistic energies. The nuclear
reaction code ABRABLA that has been developed and benchmarked against the
results of these experiments has been used to calculate nuclide production
cross sections at different energies and with different targets and beams.
These calculations are used to estimate nuclide production rates by protons in
thick targets, taking into account the energy loss and the attenuation of the
proton beam in the target, as well as the low-energy fission induced by the
secondary neutrons. The results are compared to the yields of isotopes of
various elements obtained from different targets at CERN-ISOLDE with 600 MeV
protons, and the overall extraction efficiencies are deduced. The dependence of
these extraction efficiencies on the nuclide half-life is found to follow a
simple pattern in many different cases. A simple function is proposed to
parameterize this behavior in a way that quantifies the essential properties of
the extraction efficiency for the element and the target - ion-source system in
question.Comment: 46 pages, 49 figures, background information on
http://www-w2k.gsi.de/charms
Subthreshold antiproton production in proton-carbon reactions
Data from KEK on subthreshold antiproton as well as on pi(+-) and K(+-)
production in proton-nucleus reactions are described at projectile energies
between 3.5 and 12.0 GeV. We use a model which considers a hadron-nucleus
reaction as an incoherent sum over collisions of the projectile with a varying
number of target nucleons. It samples complete events and allows thus for the
simultaneous consideration of all particle species measured. The overall
reproduction of the data is quite satisfactory. It is shown that the
contributions from the interaction of the projectile with groups of several
target nucleons are decisive for the description of subthreshold production.
Since the collective features of subthreshold production become especially
significant far below the threshold, the results are extrapolated down to COSY
energies. It is concluded that an antiproton measurement at ANKE-COSY should be
feasible, if the high background of other particles can be efficiently
suppressed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, gzipped tar file, submitted to J. Phys. G v2:
Modification of text due to demands of referee
Convergence towards a European strategic culture? A constructivist framework for explaining changing norms.
The article contributes to the debate about the emergence of a European strategic culture to underpin a European Security and Defence Policy. Noting both conceptual and empirical weaknesses in the literature, the article disaggregates the concept of strategic culture and focuses on four types of norms concerning the means and ends for the use of force. The study argues that national strategic cultures are less resistant to change than commonly thought and that they have been subject to three types of learning pressures since 1989: changing threat perceptions, institutional socialization, and mediatized crisis learning. The combined effect of these mechanisms would be a process of convergence with regard to strategic norms prevalent in current EU countries. If the outlined hypotheses can be substantiated by further research the implications for ESDP are positive, especially if the EU acts cautiously in those cases which involve norms that are not yet sufficiently shared across countries
Photoluminescent diamond nanoparticles for cell labeling: study of the uptake mechanism in mammalian cells
Diamond nanoparticles (nanodiamonds) have been recently proposed as new
labels for cellular imaging. For small nanodiamonds (size <40 nm) resonant
laser scattering and Raman scattering cross-sections are too small to allow
single nanoparticle observation. Nanodiamonds can however be rendered
photoluminescent with a perfect photostability at room temperature. Such a
remarkable property allows easier single-particle tracking over long
time-scales. In this work we use photoluminescent nanodiamonds of size <50 nm
for intracellular labeling and investigate the mechanism of their uptake by
living cells . By blocking selectively different uptake processes we show that
nanodiamonds enter cells mainly by endocytosis and converging data indicate
that it is clathrin mediated. We also examine nanodiamonds intracellular
localization in endocytic vesicles using immunofluorescence and transmission
electron microscopy. We find a high degree of colocalization between vesicles
and the biggest nanoparticles or aggregates, while the smallest particles
appear free in the cytosol. Our results pave the way for the use of
photoluminescent nanodiamonds in targeted intracellular labeling or biomolecule
deliver
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