2,197 research outputs found
Burst avalanches in solvable models of fibrous materials
We review limiting models for fracture in bundles of fibers, with
statistically distributed thresholds for breakdown of individual fibers. During
the breakdown process, avalanches consisting of simultaneous rupture of several
fibers occur, and the distribution of the magnitude of
such avalanches is the central characteristics in our analysis. For a bundle of
parallel fibers two limiting models of load sharing are studied and contrasted:
the global model in which the load carried by a bursting fiber is equally
distributed among the surviving members, and the local model in which the
nearest surviving neighbors take up the load. For the global model we
investigate in particular the conditions on the threshold distribution which
would lead to anomalous behavior, i.e. deviations from the asymptotics
, known to be the generic behavior. For the local
model no universal power-law asymptotics exists, but we show for a particular
threshold distribution how the avalanche distribution can nevertheless be
explicitly calculated in the large-bundle limit.Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX, 3 Postscript figure
Bounds for the time to failure of hierarchical systems of fracture
For years limited Monte Carlo simulations have led to the suspicion that the
time to failure of hierarchically organized load-transfer models of fracture is
non-zero for sets of infinite size. This fact could have a profound
significance in engineering practice and also in geophysics. Here, we develop
an exact algebraic iterative method to compute the successive time intervals
for individual breaking in systems of height in terms of the information
calculated in the previous height . As a byproduct of this method,
rigorous lower and higher bounds for the time to failure of very large systems
are easily obtained. The asymptotic behavior of the resulting lower bound leads
to the evidence that the above mentioned suspicion is actually true.Comment: Final version. To appear in Phys. Rev. E, Feb 199
Parametric coupling between macroscopic quantum resonators
Time-dependent linear coupling between macroscopic quantum resonator modes
generates both a parametric amplification also known as a {}"squeezing
operation" and a beam splitter operation, analogous to quantum optical systems.
These operations, when applied properly, can robustly generate entanglement and
squeezing for the quantum resonator modes. Here, we present such coupling
schemes between a nanomechanical resonator and a superconducting electrical
resonator using applied microwave voltages as well as between two
superconducting lumped-element electrical resonators using a r.f.
SQUID-mediated tunable coupler. By calculating the logarithmic negativity of
the partially transposed density matrix, we quantitatively study the
entanglement generated at finite temperatures. We also show that
characterization of the nanomechanical resonator state after the quantum
operations can be achieved by detecting the electrical resonator only. Thus,
one of the electrical resonator modes can act as a probe to measure the
entanglement of the coupled systems and the degree of squeezing for the other
resonator mode.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitte
Research Note:<br>Derivation of temperature lapse rates in semi-arid south-eastern Arizona
International audienceEcological and hydrological modelling at the regional scale requires distributed information on weather variables, and temperature is important among these. In an area of basin and range topography with a wide range of elevations, such as south-eastern Arizona, measurements are usually available only at a relatively small number of locations and elevations, and temperatures elsewhere must be estimated from atmospheric lapse rate. This paper derives the lapse rates to estimate maximum, minimum and mean daily temperatures from elevation. Lapse rates were calculated using air temperatures at 2 m collected during 2002 at 18 locations across south-eastern Arizona, with elevations from 779 to 2512 m. The lapse rate predicted for the minimum temperature was lower than the mean environmental lapse rate (MELR), i.e. 6 K km?1, whereas those predicted for the mean and maximum daily temperature were very similar to the MELR. Lapse rates were also derived from radiosonde data at 00 and 12 UTC (5 pm and 5 am local time, respectively). The lapse rates calculated from radiosonde data were greater than those from the 2 m measurements, presumably because the effect of the surface was less. Given temperatures measured at Tucson airport, temperatures at the other sites were predicted using the different estimates of lapse rates. The best predictions of temperatures used the locally predicted lapse rates. In the case of maximum and mean temperature, using the MELR also resulted in accurate predictions. Keywords: near surface lapse rates, semi-arid climate, mean minimum and maximum temperatures, basin and range topograph
Failure Probabilities and Tough-Brittle Crossover of Heterogeneous Materials with Continuous Disorder
The failure probabilities or the strength distributions of heterogeneous 1D
systems with continuous local strength distribution and local load sharing have
been studied using a simple, exact, recursive method. The fracture behavior
depends on the local bond-strength distribution, the system size, and the
applied stress, and crossovers occur as system size or stress changes. In the
brittle region, systems with continuous disorders have a failure probability of
the modified-Gumbel form, similar to that for systems with percolation
disorder. The modified-Gumbel form is of special significance in weak-stress
situations. This new recursive method has also been generalized to calculate
exactly the failure probabilities under various boundary conditions, thereby
illustrating the important effect of surfaces in the fracture process.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, 7 figure
Scaling in the time-dependent failure of a fiber bundle with local load sharing
We study the scaling behaviors of a time-dependent fiber-bundle model with
local load sharing. Upon approaching the complete failure of the bundle, the
breaking rate of fibers diverges according to ,
where is the lifetime of the bundle, and is a quite
universal scaling exponent. The average lifetime of the bundle scales
with the system size as , where depends on the
distribution of individual fiber as well as the breakdown rule.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.
Subharmonic bifurcation cascade of pattern oscillations caused by winding number increasing entrainment
Convection structures in binary fluid mixtures are investigated for positive
Soret coupling in the driving regime where solutal and thermal contributions to
the buoyancy forces compete. Bifurcation properties of stable and unstable
stationary square, roll, and crossroll (CR) structures and the oscillatory
competition between rolls and squares are determined numerically as a function
of fluid parameters. A novel type of subharmonic bifurcation cascade (SC) where
the oscillation period grows in integer steps as is found
and elucidated to be an entrainment process.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Cloning and expression of a mammalian peptide chain release factor with sequence similarity to tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases
The termination of protein synthesis is encoded by in-frame nonsense (stop) codons. Most organisms use three nonsense codons: UGA, UAG, and UAA. In contrast to sense codons, which are decoded by specific tRNAs, nonsense codons are decoded by proteins called release factors (RFs). Here we report the cloning of a mammalian RF cDNA by the use of monoclonal antibodies specific for rabbit RF. Functional studies showed that, when expressed in Escherichia coli, the protein encoded by this cDNA has in vitro biochemical characteristics similar to those of previously characterized mammalian RFs. DNA sequencing of this eukaryotic RF cDNA revealed a remarkable sequence similarity to bacterial and mitochondrial tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases, with the greatest similarity confined to the synthetase active site, and no obvious similarity to bacterial RFs
The Wicked Machinery of Government: Malta and the Problems of Continuity under the New Model Administration
This is a study focused on the early years of British rule in Malta (1800-1813). It explores the application to the island of the ânew modelâ of colonial government, one based on direct rule from London mediated by the continuation of existing laws and institutions. Systemic deficiencies are identified. These tended to undermine the effectiveness of direct British rule. This study also reveals, in the context of legal and constitutional continuity, unresolved tensions between modernity and tradition. The political stability of the island was damaged and the possibility of continued British possession was threatened
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