Potential Energy Surface for H_2 Dissociation over Pd(100)

The potential energy surface (PES) of dissociative adsorption of H_2 on Pd(100) is investigated using density functional theory and the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. Several dissociation pathways are identified which have a vanishing energy barrier. A pronounced dependence of the potential energy on ``cartwheel'' rotations of the molecular axis is found. The calculated PES shows no indication of the presence of a precursor state in front of the surface. Both results indicate that steering effects determine the observed decrease of the sticking coefficient at low energies of the H_2 molecules. We show that the topology of the PES is related to the dependence of the covalent H(s)-Pd(d) interactions on the orientation of the H_2 molecule.Comment: RevTeX, 8 pages, 5 figures in uufiles forma

The role of sign in students' modeling of scalar equations

We describe students revising the mathematical form of physics equations to match the physical situation they are describing, even though their revision violates physical laws. In an unfamiliar air resistance problem, a majority of students in a sophomore level mechanics class at some point wrote Newton's Second Law as F = -ma; they were using this form to ensure that the sign of the force pointed in a direction consistent with the chosen coordinate system while assuming that some variables have only positive value. We use one student's detailed explanation to suggest that students' issues with variables are context-dependent, and that much of their reasoning is useful for productive instruction.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to be published in The Physics Teache

Few-body physics in effective field theory

Effective Field Theory (EFT) provides a powerful framework that exploits a separation of scales in physical systems to perform systematically improvable, model-independent calculations. Particularly interesting are few-body systems with short-range interactions and large two-body scattering length. Such systems display remarkable universal features. In systems with more than two particles, a three-body force with limit cycle behavior is required for consistent renormalization already at leading order. We will review this EFT and some of its applications in the physics of cold atoms and nuclear physics. In particular, we will discuss the possibility of an infrared limit cycle in QCD. Recent extensions of the EFT approach to the four-body system and N-boson droplets in two spatial dimensions will also be addressed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of the INT Workshop on "Nuclear Forces and the Quantum Many-Body Problem", Oct. 200

A bacteriological study of the method of pasteurizing and homogenizing the ice cream mix.

In continuing the work being carried out at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station on the bacteriology of ice cream, 1, 2, a study has been made of the method of pasteurizing and homogenizing the ice cream mix. This method is at present of some commercial importance and apparently its use is increasing. It enables the factory operators to prepare the mixes at their convenience instead of shortly before freezing and thus seems to offer certain advantages insofar as the operation of the plant is concerned. I t was the object of the work herein reported to study the method from the standpoint of its value in the production of ice cream of a high sanitary quality

Changes in the Acetylmethylcarbinol plus Diacetyl content of butter

In unsalted butter made from sweet cream with butter culture there was commonly a striking production of acetylmethylcarbinol plus diacetyl when the butter was held at a temperature permitting activity of the butter culture organisms. Under these conditions also the pH of the butter markedly decreased. The production of the carbinol plus diacetyl varied widely with different lots of butter held under the same conditions. The largest production occurred at the higher holding temperatures and in samples which developed the lowest pH values. Occasionally the amount of the carbinol plus diacetyl decreased during the first few days of holding; this decrease was sometimes followed by an increase. A striking production of the carbinol plus diacetyl was sometimes followed by a decrease. In salted butter no conspicuous production of acetylmethylcarbinol plus diacetyl occurred even when but little salt was added, and significant changes in the pH did not take place. The production of acetylmethylcarbinol plus diacetyl in unsalted butter was usually greater with a large addition of butter culture to the cream than with a small addition, and, in some cases, it was conspicuously increased by adding citric acid-fermenting streptococci along with the usual butter culture

Surface pressure measurements at two tips of a model helicopter rotor in hover

Surface pressures were measured near the tip of a hovering single-bladed model helicopter rotor with two tip shapes. The rotor had a constant-chord, untwisted blade with a square, flat tip which could be modified to a body-of-revolution tip. Pressure measurements were made on the blade surface along the chordwise direction at six radial stations outboard of the 94 percent blade radius. Data for each blade tip configuration were taken at blade collective pitch angles of 0, 6.18 and 11.4 degrees at a Reynolds number of 736,000 and a Mach number of 0.25 both based on tip speed. Chordwise pressure distributions and constant surface pressure contours are presented and discussed

The Formation of Large Galactic Disks: Revival or Survival?

Using the deepest and the most complete set of observations of distant galaxies, we investigate how extended disks could have formed. Observations include spatially-resolved kinematics, detailed morphologies and photometry from UV to mid-IR. Six billion years ago, half of the present-day spiral progenitors had anomalous kinematics and morphologies, as well as relatively high gas fractions. We argue that gas-rich major mergers, i.e., fusions between gas-rich disk galaxies of similar mass, can be the likeliest driver for such strong peculiarities. This suggests a new channel of disk formation, e.g. many disks could be reformed after gas-rich mergers. This is found to be in perfect agreement with predictions from the state-of-the-art LCDM semi-empirical models: due to our sensitivity in detecting mergers at all phases, from pairs to relaxed post-mergers, we find a more accurate merger rate. The scenario can be finally confronted to properties of nearby galaxies, including M31 and galaxies showing ultra-faint, gigantic structures in their haloes.Comment: Proceedings of the annual meeting of the French Astronomical Society, 2011, 6 pages, 1 Figur

Microjansky sources at 1.4 GHz

We present a deep 1.4 GHz survey made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), having a background RMS of 9 microJy near the image phase centre, up to 25 microJy at the edge of a 50' field of view. Over 770 radio sources brighter than 45 microJy have been catalogued in the field. The differential source counts in the deep field provide tentative support for the growing evidence that the microjansky radio population exhibits significantly higher clustering than found at higher flux density cutoffs. The optical identification rate on CCD images is approximately 50% to R=22.5, and the optical counterparts of the faintest radio sources appear to be mainly single galaxies close to this optical magnitude limit.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ Letters 4 May 199

Comparing the Host Galaxies of Type Ia, Type II and Type Ibc Supernovae

We compare the host galaxies of 902 supernovae, including SNe Ia, SNe II and SNe Ibc, which are selected by cross-matching the Asiago Supernova Catalog with the SDSS Data Release 7. We further selected 213 galaxies by requiring the light fraction of spectral observations $>$15%, which could represent well the global properties of the galaxies. Among them, 135 galaxies appear on the Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagram, which allows us to compare the hosts in terms of star-forming, AGNs (including composites, LINERs and Seyfert 2s) and "Absorp" (their related emission-lines are weak or non-existence) galaxies. The diagrams related to parameters D$_n$(4000), H$\delta_A$, stellar masses, SFRs and specific SFRs for the SNe hosts show that almost all SNe II and most of SNe Ibc occur in SF galaxies, which have a wide range of stellar mass and low D$_n$(4000). The SNe Ia hosts as SF galaxies follow similar trends. A significant fraction of SNe Ia occurs in AGNs and Absorp galaxies, which are massive and have high D$_n$(4000). The stellar population analysis from spectral synthesis fitting shows that the hosts of SNe II have a younger stellar population than hosts of SNe Ia. These results are compared with those of the 689 comparison galaxies where the SDSS fiber captures less than 15% of the total light. These comparison galaxies appear biased towards higher 12+log(O/H) ($\sim$0.1dex) at a given stellar mass. Therefore, we believe the aperture effect should be kept in mind when the properties of the hosts for different types of SNe are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure