A necklace of Wulff shapes

In a probabilistic model of a film over a disordered substrate, Monte-Carlo simulations show that the film hangs from peaks of the substrate. The film profile is well approximated by a necklace of Wulff shapes. Such a necklace can be obtained as the infimum of a collection of Wulff shapes resting on the substrate. When the random substrate is given by iid heights with exponential distribution, we prove estimates on the probability density of the resulting peaks, at small density

CARIN' about migrants through news? Linking migrant deservingness to traditional and digital media consumption

In recent years, public discourse and political actors have increasingly used a deservingness rhetoric to refer to the arrival and permanent settlement of migrant groups. However, scholars have drawn on the concept of deservingness without developing a clear theoretical framework for it. Following our recent work on the migrant deservingness framework, in the present study we use the CARIN criteria (Control, Attitude, Reciprocity, Identity, Need) to establish the extent to which host nationals in eight nations impose conditions towards accepting permanent settlement among migrants. Specifically, we examine the links of these deservingness perceptions with news media consumption in seven European countries and Colombia using online survey panel data (N = 12,142). Our findings indicate that consuming news via commercial television and in popular newspapers, in particular, is linked to greater conditionality regarding migrant settlement. Consuming public television or quality news sources is only weakly linked to (reduced) conditionality. We discuss these findings using the migrant deservingness framework

Metastable wetting

Consider a droplet of liquid on top of a grooved substrate. The wetting or not of a groove implies the crossing of a potential barrier as the interface has to distort, to hit the bottom of the groove. We start with computing the free energies of the dry and wet states in the context of a simple thermodynamical model before switching to a random microscopic version pertaining to the Solid-on-Solid (SOS) model. For some range in parameter space (Young angle, pressure difference, aspect ratio), the dry and wet states both share the same free energy, which means coexistence. We compute these coexistence lines together with the metastable regions. In the SOS case, we describe the dynamic transition between coexisting states in wetting. We show that the expected time to switch from one state to the other grows exponentially with the free energy barrier between the stable states and the saddle state, proportional to the groove's width. This random time appears to have an exponential-like distribution

Dynamics of Spreading of Chainlike Molecules with Asymmetric Surface Interactions

In this work we study the spreading dynamics of tiny liquid droplets on solid surfaces in the case where the ends of the molecules feel different interactions with respect to the surface. We consider a simple model of dimers and short chainlike molecules that cannot form chemical bonds with the surface. We use constant temperature Molecular Dynamics techniques to examine in detail the microscopic structure of the time dependent precursor film. We find that in some cases it can exhibit a high degree of local order that can persist even for flexible chains. Our model also reproduces the experimentally observed early and late-time spreading regimes where the radius of the film grows proportional to the square root of time. The ratios of the associated transport coefficients are in good overall agreement with experiments. Our density profiles are also in good agreement with measurements on the spreading of molecules on hydrophobic surfaces.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX with APS macros, 21 figures available by contacting [email protected], to appear in Phys. Rev.

Force-velocity relation and density profiles for biased diffusion in an adsorbed monolayer

In this paper, which completes our earlier short publication [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 511 (2000)], we study dynamics of a hard-core tracer particle (TP) performing a biased random walk in an adsorbed monolayer, composed of mobile hard-core particles undergoing continuous exchanges with a vapor phase. In terms of an approximate approach, based on the decoupling of the third-order correlation functions, we obtain the density profiles of the monolayer particles around the TP and derive the force-velocity relation, determining the TP terminal velocity, V_{tr}, as the function of the magnitude of external bias and other system's parameters. Asymptotic forms of the monolayer particles density profiles at large separations from the TP, and behavior of V_{tr} in the limit of small external bias are found explicitly.Comment: Latex, 31 pages, 3 figure

Spreading of a Macroscopic Lattice Gas

We present a simple mechanical model for dynamic wetting phenomena. Metallic balls spread along a periodically corrugated surface simulating molecules of liquid advancing along a solid substrate. A vertical stack of balls mimics a liquid droplet. Stochastic motion of the balls, driven by mechanical vibration of the corrugated surface, induces diffusional motion. Simple theoretical estimates are introduced and agree with the results of the analog experiments, with numerical simulation, and with experimental data for microscopic spreading dynamics.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 9 Postscript figures, to be published in Phy. Rev. E (September,1966

Dewetting, partial wetting and spreading of a two-dimensional monolayer on solid surface

We study the behavior of a semi-infinite monolayer, which is placed initially on a half of an infinite in both directions, ideal crystalline surface, and then evolves in time due to random motion of the monolayer particles. Particles dynamics is modeled as the Kawasaki particle-vacancy exchange process in the presence of long-range attractive particle-particle interactions. In terms of an analytically solvable mean-field-type approximation we calculate the mean displacement X(t) of the monolayer edge and discuss the conditions under which such a monolayer spreads (X(t) > 0), partially wets (X(t) = 0) or dewets from the solid surface (X(t) < 0).Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PRE (RC

Results from the project ‘Acceptance of CO2 capture and storage: economics, policy and technology (ACCSEPT)’

AbstractACCSEPT was a two-year research project (2005–2007) funded under the 6th research framework programme of the European Commission. The project leader was Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and the partners were Baker and McKenzie, the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge.There were three main focuses of the project: a Europe-wide survey of stakeholders and their opinions on CCS; stakeholder consultation through two workshops; and research into the economics, regulation, legal and social aspects of CCS. The project website is www.accsept.org, where all the outputs and related material can be found.This paper summarizes the conclusions of the work

Carbon Capture and Storage

Emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important long-lived anthropogenic greenhouse gas, can be reduced by Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS involves the integration of four elements: CO 2 capture, compression of the CO2 from a gas to a liquid or a denser gas, transportation of pressurized CO 2 from the point of capture to the storage location, and isolation from the atmosphere by storage in deep underground rock formations. Considering full life-cycle emissions, CCS technology can reduce 65–85% of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion from stationary sources, although greater reductions may be possible if low emission technologies are applied to activities beyond the plant boundary, such as fuel transportation. CCS is applicable to many stationary CO2 sources, including the power generation, refining, building materials, and the industrial sector. The recent emphasis on the use of CCS primarily to reduce emissions from coal-fired electricity production is too narrow a vision for CCS. Interest in CCS is growing rapidly around the world. Over the past decade there has been a remarkable increase in interest and investment in CCS. Whereas a decade ago, there was only one operating CCS project and little industry or government investment in R&D, and no financial incentives to promote CCS. In 2010, numerous projects of various sizes are active, including at least five large-scale full CCS projects. In 2015, it is expected that 15 large-scale, full-chain CCS projects will be running. Governments and industry have committed over USD 26 billion for R&D, scale-up and deployment. The technology for CCS is available today, but significant improvements are needed to support widespread deployment. Technology advances are needed primarily to reduce the cost of capture and increase confidence in storage security. Demonstration projects are needed to address issues of process integration between CO2 capture and product generation, for instance in power, cement and steel production, obtain cost and performance data, and for industry where capture is more mature to gain needed operational experience. Large-scale storage projects in saline aquifers are needed to address issues of site characterization and site selection, capacity assessment, risk management and monitoring. Successful experiences from five ongoing projects demonstrate that, at least on this limited scale, CCS can be safe and effective for reducing emissions. Five commercial-scale CCS projects are operational today with over 35 million tonnes of CO2 captured and stored since 1996. Observations from commercial storage projects, commercial enhanced oil recovery projects, engineered and natural analogues as well as theoretical considerations, models, and laboratory experiments suggest that appropriately selected and managed geological storage reservoirs are very likely to retain nearly all the injected CO2 for very long times, more than long enough to provide benefits for the intended purpose of CCS. Significant scale-up compared to existing CCS activities will be needed to achieve large reductions in CO2 emissions. A 5- to 10-fold scale-up in the size of individual projects is needed to capture and store emissions from a typical coal-fired power plant (500 to 1000 MW). A thousand fold scale-up in size of today’s CCS enterprise would be needed to reduce emissions by billions of tonnes per year (Gt/yr). The technical potential of CCS on a global level is promising, but on a regional level is differentiated. The primary technical limitation for CCS is storage capacity. Much more work needs to be done to realistically assess storage capacity on a worldwide, regional basis and sub-regional basis. Worldwide storage capacity estimation is improving but more experience is needed. Estimates for oil and gas reservoirs are about 1000 GtCO2, saline aquifers are estimated to have a capacity ranging from about 4000 to 23,000 GtCO2. However, there is still considerable debate about how much storage capacity actually exists, particularly in saline aquifers. Research, geological assessments and, most importantly, commercial-scale demonstration projects will be needed to improve confidence in capacity estimates. Costs and energy requirements for capture are high. Estimated costs for CCS vary widely, depending on the application (e.g. gas clean-up vs. electricity generation), the type of fuel, capture technology, and assumptions about the baseline technology. For example, with today’s technology, CCS would increase cost of generating electricity by 50–100%. In this case, capital costs and parasitic energy requirements of 15–30% are the major cost drivers. Research is underway to lower costs and energy requirements. Early demonstration projects are likely to cost more. The combination of high cost and low or absent incentives for large-scale deployment are a major factor limiting the widespread use of CCS. Due to high costs, CCS will not take place without strong incentives to limit CO2 emissions. Certainty about the policy and regulatory regimes will be crucial for obtaining access to capital to build these multi-billion dollar projects. Environmental risks of CCS appear manageable, but regulations are needed. Regulation needs to ensure due diligence over the lifecycle of the project, but should, most importantly, also govern site selection, operating guidelines, monitoring and closure of a storage facility. Experience so far has shown that local resistance to CO2 storage projects may appear and can lead to cancellation of planned CCS projects. Inhabitants of the areas around geological storage sites often have concerns about the safety and effectiveness of CCS. More CCS projects are needed to establish a convincing safety record. Early engagement of communities in project design and site selection as well as credible communication can help ease resistance. Environmental organisations sometimes see CCS as a distraction from a sustainable energy future. Social, economic, policy and political factors may limit deployment of CCS if not adequately addressed. Critical issues include ownership of underground pore space (primarily an issue in the US); long-term liability and stewardship; GHG accounting approaches and ve rification; and regulatory oversight regimes. Governments and the private sector are making significant progress on all of these issues. Government support to lower barriers for early deployments is needed to encourage private sector adoption. Developing countries will need support for technology access, lowering the cost of CCS, developing workforce capacity and training regulators for permitting, monitoring and oversight. CCS combined with biomass can lead to negative emissions . Such technologies are likely to be needed to achieve atmospheric stabilization of CO2 and may provide an additional incentive for CCS adoption

Rigorous Probabilistic Analysis of Equilibrium Crystal Shapes

The rigorous microscopic theory of equilibrium crystal shapes has made enormous progress during the last decade. We review here the main results which have been obtained, both in two and higher dimensions. In particular, we describe how the phenomenological Wulff and Winterbottom constructions can be derived from the microscopic description provided by the equilibrium statistical mechanics of lattice gases. We focus on the main conceptual issues and describe the central ideas of the existing approaches.Comment: To appear in the March 2000 special issue of Journal of Mathematical Physics on Probabilistic Methods in Statistical Physic