The effect of sheared diamagnetic flow on turbulent structures generated by the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima equation

The generation of electrostatic drift wave turbulence is modelled by the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima equation. The equilibrium density gradient n0=n0(x) is chosen so that dn0 /dx is nonzero and spatially variable (i.e., v*e is sheared). It is shown that this sheared diamagnetic flow leads to localized turbulence which is concentrated at max(grad n0), with a large dv*e/dx inhibiting the spread of the turbulence in the x direction. Coherent structures form which propagate with the local v*e in the y direction. Movement in the x direction is accompanied by a change in their amplitudes. When the numerical code is initialized with a single wave, the plasma behaviour is dominated by the initial mode and its harmonics

Peculiar Velocities of Nonlinear Structure: Voids in McVittie Spacetime

As a study of peculiar velocities of nonlinear structure, we analyze the model of a relativistic thin-shell void in the expanding universe. (1) Adopting McVittie (MV) spacetime as a background universe, we investigate the dynamics of an uncompensated void with negative MV mass. Although the motion itself is quite different from that of a compensated void, as shown by Haines & Harris (1993), the present peculiar velocities are not affected by MV mass. (2) We discuss how precisely the formula in the linear perturbation theory applies to nonlinear relativistic voids, using the results in (1) as well as the previous results for the homogeneous background (Sakai, Maeda, & Sato 1993). (3) We re-examine the effect of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Contrary to the results of Pim & Lake (1986, 1988), we find that the effect is negligible. We show that their results are due to inappropriate initial conditions. Our results (1)-(3) suggest that the formula in the linear perturbation theory is approximately valid even for nonlinear voids.Comment: 12 pages, aastex, 4 ps figures separate, Fig.2 added, to appear in Ap

Thermodynamic aspects of materials' hardness: prediction of novel superhard high-pressure phases

In the present work we have proposed the method that allows one to easily estimate hardness and bulk modulus of known or hypothetical solid phases from the data on Gibbs energy of atomization of the elements and corresponding covalent radii. It has been shown that hardness and bulk moduli of compounds strongly correlate with their thermodynamic and structural properties. The proposed method may be used for a large number of compounds with various types of chemical bonding and structures; moreover, the temperature dependence of hardness may be calculated, that has been performed for diamond and cubic boron nitride. The correctness of this approach has been shown for the recently synthesized superhard diamond-like BC5. It has been predicted that the hypothetical forms of B2O3, diamond-like boron, BCx and COx, which could be synthesized at high pressures and temperatures, should have extreme hardness

Radiative Contributions to the Effective Action of Self-Interacting Scalar Field on a Manifold with Boundary

The effect of quantum corrections to a conformally invariant field theory for a self-interacting scalar field on a curved manifold with boundary is considered. The analysis is most easily performed in a space of constant curvature the boundary of which is characterised by constant extrinsic curvature. An extension of the spherical formulation in the presence of a boundary is attained through use of the method of images. Contrary to the consolidated vanishing effect in maximally symmetric space-times the contribution of the massless "tadpole" diagram no longer vanishes in dimensional regularisation. As a result, conformal invariance is broken due to boundary-related vacuum contributions. The evaluation of one-loop contributions to the two-point function suggests an extension, in the presence of matter couplings, of the simultaneous volume and boundary renormalisation in the effective action.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. Additional references and minor elucidating remarks added. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Jet Deflection via Cross winds: Laboratory Astrophysical Studies

We present new data from High Energy Density (HED) laboratory experiments designed to explore the interaction of a heavy hypersonic radiative jet with a cross wind. The jets are generated with the MAGPIE pulsed power machine where converging conical plasma flows are produced from a cylindrically symmetric array of inclined wires. Radiative hypersonic jets emerge from the convergence point. The cross wind is generated by ablation of a plastic foil via soft-X-rays from the plasma convergence region. Our experiments show that the jets are deflected by the action of the cross wind with the angle of deflection dependent on the proximity of the foil. Shocks within the jet beam are apparent in the data. Analysis of the data shows that the interaction of the jet and cross wind is collisional and therefore in the hydro-dynamic regime. MHD plasma code simulations of the experiments are able to recover the deflection behaviour seen in the experiments. We consider the astrophysical relevance of these experiments applying published models of jet deflection developed for AGN and YSOs. Fitting the observed jet deflections to quadratic trajectories predicted by these models allows us to recover a set of plasma parameters consistent with the data. We also present results of 3-D numerical simulations of jet deflection using a new astrophysical Adaptive Mesh Refinement code. These simulations show highly structured shocks occurring within the beam similar to what was observed in the experimentsComment: Submitted to ApJ. For a version with figures go to http://web.pas.rochester.edu/~afrank/labastro/CW/Jet-Wind-Frank.pd

Development of a new humanized mouse model to study acute inflammatory arthritis

BACKGROUND: Substantial advances have been generated in understanding the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Current murine models of RA-like disease have provided great insights into the molecular mechanism of inflammatory arthritis due to the use of genetically deficient or transgenic mice. However, these studies are limited by differences that exist between human and murine immune systems. Thus, the development of an animal model that utilizes human immune cells, will afford the opportunity to study their function in the initiation and propagation of inflammatory arthritis. METHODS: One to two-day old irradiated NOD-scid IL2rγ(null) (NSG) mice were reconstituted with human CD34+ cord blood stem cells. Leukocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry and circulating antibodies were determined by ELISA. Arthritis was induced by injecting complete Freund’s adjuvant into knee or ankle joints. Mice were also treated with the TNF inhibitor, Etanercept, or PBS and joints were analyzed histologically. RESULTS: Humanized mice were established with high reconstitution rates and were able to spontaneously produce human immunoglobulins as well as specific IgG in response to immunization. Intraperitoneal injection of thioglycolate or injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant into joints resulted in migration of human immune cells to the injected sites. Arthritic humanized mice treated with Etanercept had markedly less inflammation, which was associated with decreased total numbers of human CD45+ cells, including human lymphocytes and neutrophils. CONCLUSIONS: The humanized mouse model is a new model to study inflammatory arthritis disease using human leukocytes without rejection of engrafted tissue. Future studies may adapt this system to incorporate RA patient cord blood and develop a chimeric animal model of inflammatory arthritis using genetically predisposed immune cells

Using passenger personas to design technological innovation for the rail industry

Research with end users can contribute to the design of technologies such as intelligent transport systems. However, it is important to use methods that can facilitate the uptake of research outcomes by the industry. This paper presents the use of passenger personas as part of the process of developing new technologies for the rail industry in the UK. Personas represent archetypal users and can facilitate the understanding of user behaviours, needs, motivations, characteristics and limitations. We aggregated existing knowledge and complemented it with bespoke data collection to understand passengers’ perceptions about the rail system. The study design focused on current user experiences and also where technology can improve these experiences. A set of four personas was produced in order to illustrate who the users of the train systems are as well as their characteristics. This knowledge informed the requirements of innovative technologies that can enhance user experiences during rail travel

The reduction, verification and interpretation of MAGSAT magnetic data over Canada

Consideration is being given to representing the magnetic field in the area 40 deg N to 83 deg N by means of functions in spherical coordinates. A solution to Laplace's equation for the magnetic potential over a restricted area was found, and programming and testing are currently being carried out. Magnetic anomaly modelling is proceeding. The program SPHERE, which was adapted to function correctly on the Cyber computer, is now operational, for deriving gravity and magnetic models in a spherical coordinate system

X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection

We study the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode in slab geometry in two dimensions. We show that, in the strongly driven regime (large Delta'), a collapse of the X-point occurs once the island width exceeds a certain critical value ~1/Delta'. A current sheet is formed and the reconnection is exponential in time with a growth rate ~eta^1/2, where eta is the resistivity. If the aspect ratio of the current sheet is sufficiently large, the sheet can itself become tearing-mode unstable, giving rise to secondary islands, which then coalesce with the original island. The saturated state depends on the value of Delta'. For small Delta', the saturation amplitude is ~Delta' and quantitatively agrees with the theoretical prediction. If Delta' is large enough for the X-point collapse to have occured, the saturation amplitude increases noticeably and becomes independent of Delta'.Comment: revtex4, 4 pages, 18 figure