604 research outputs found
Theoretical Evaluations of the Fission Cross Section of the 77 eV Isomer of 235-U
We have developed models of the fission barrier (barrier heights and
transition state spectra) that reproduce reasonably well the measured fission
cross section of U from neutron energy of 1 keV to 2 MeV. From these
models we have calculated the fission cross section of the 77 eV isomer of
U over the same energy range. We find that the ratio of the isomer
cross section to that of the ground state lies between about 0.45 and 0.55 at
low neutron energies. The cross sections become approximately equal above 1
MeV. The ratio of the neutron capture cross section to the fission cross
section for the isomer is predicted to be about a factor of 3 larger for the
isomer than for the ground state of U at keV neutron energies. We have
also calculated the cross section for the population of the isomer by inelastic
neutron scattering form the U ground state. We find that the isomer is
strongly populated, and for the cross section
leading to the population of the isomer is of the order of 0.5 barn. Thus,
neutron reaction network calculations involving the uranium isotopes in a high
neutron fluence are likely to be affected by the 77 eV isomer of U.
With these same models the fission cross sections of U and U
can be reproduced approximately using only minor adjustments to the barrier
heights. With the significant lowering of the outer barrier that is expected
for the outer barrier the general behavior of the fission cross section of
Pu can also be reproduced.Comment: 17 pages including 8 figure
Polymers pushing Polymers: Polymer Mixtures in Thermodynamic Equilibrium with a Pore
We investigate polymer partitioning from polymer mixtures into nanometer size
cavities by formulating an equation of state for a binary polymer mixture
assuming that only one (smaller) of the two polymer components can penetrate
the cavity. Deriving the partitioning equilibrium equations and solving them
numerically allows us to introduce the concept of "polymers-pushing-polymers"
for the action of non-penetrating polymers on the partitioning of the
penetrating polymers. Polymer partitioning into a pore even within a very
simple model of a binary polymer mixture is shown to depend in a complicated
way on the composition of the polymer mixture and/or the pore-penetration
penalty. This can lead to enhanced as well as diminished partitioning, due to
two separate energy scales that we analyse in detail.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Simulating Turbulence Using the Astrophysical Discontinuous Galerkin Code TENET
In astrophysics, the two main methods traditionally in use for solving the
Euler equations of ideal fluid dynamics are smoothed particle hydrodynamics and
finite volume discretization on a stationary mesh. However, the goal to
efficiently make use of future exascale machines with their ever higher degree
of parallel concurrency motivates the search for more efficient and more
accurate techniques for computing hydrodynamics. Discontinuous Galerkin (DG)
methods represent a promising class of methods in this regard, as they can be
straightforwardly extended to arbitrarily high order while requiring only small
stencils. Especially for applications involving comparatively smooth problems,
higher-order approaches promise significant gains in computational speed for
reaching a desired target accuracy. Here, we introduce our new astrophysical DG
code TENET designed for applications in cosmology, and discuss our first
results for 3D simulations of subsonic turbulence. We show that our new DG
implementation provides accurate results for subsonic turbulence, at
considerably reduced computational cost compared with traditional finite volume
methods. In particular, we find that DG needs about 1.8 times fewer degrees of
freedom to achieve the same accuracy and at the same time is more than 1.5
times faster, confirming its substantial promise for astrophysical
applications.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Proceedings of the SPPEXA
symposium, Lecture Notes in Computational Science and Engineering (LNCSE),
Springe
Climate change refugia for the flora and fauna of England
A variety of evidence suggests that species have, in the past, been able to withstand the effects of climatic change in localised environments known as refugia, where specific environmental conditions acted as a buffer against broader-scale climatic changes.
Therefore, an important question for conservation is whether refugia might exist under current and future anthropogenic climate change. If there are areas that are likely to remain relatively climatically stable and so enable species to persist despite climate change making surrounding areas unsuitable, identifying and protecting these places will be an important part of future conservation strategies.
This report is part of a project that is investigating this question. The report was commissioned to identify the characteristics of potential refugia, to investigate evidence for the existence of contemporary refugia by analysing patterns of local persistence and disappearance of over 1000 species across a range of taxa, and to identify sites in England with the potential to function as refugia for different taxonomic groups at a range of spatial scales
Recommended from our members
Industrial demand side management status report: Synopsis
Industrial demand side management (DSM) programs, though not as developed or widely implemented as residential and commercial programs, hold the promise of significant energy savings-savings that will benefit industrial firms, utilities and the environment. This paper is a synopsis of a larger research report, Industrial Demand Side Management. A Status Report, prepared for the US Department of Energy. The report provides an overview of and rationale for DSM programs. Benefits and barriers are described, and data from the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey are used to estimate potential electricity savings from industrial energy efficiency measures. Overcoming difficulties to effective program implementation is worthwhile, since rough estimates indicate a substantial potential for electricity savings. The report categorizes types of DSM programs, presents several examples of each type, and explores elements of successful programs. Two in-depth case studies (of Boise Cascade and of Eli Lilly and Company) illustrate two types of effective DSM programs. Interviews with staff from state public utility commissions indicate the current thinking about the status and future of industrial DSM programs. Finally, the research report also includes a comprehensive bibliography, a description of technical assistance programs, and an example of a methodology for evaluating potential or actual savings from projects
Granular fluid thermostatted by a bath of elastic hard spheres
The homogeneous steady state of a fluid of inelastic hard spheres immersed in
a bath of elastic hard spheres kept at equilibrium is analyzed by means of the
first Sonine approximation to the (spatially homogeneous) Enskog--Boltzmann
equation. The temperature of the granular fluid relative to the bath
temperature and the kurtosis of the granular distribution function are obtained
as functions of the coefficient of restitution, the mass ratio, and a
dimensionless parameter measuring the cooling rate relative to the
friction constant. Comparison with recent results obtained from an iterative
numerical solution of the Enskog--Boltzmann equation [Biben et al., Physica A
310, 308 (202)] shows an excellent agreement. Several limiting cases are also
considered. In particular, when the granular particles are much heavier than
the bath particles (but have a comparable size and number density), it is shown
that the bath acts as a white noise external driving. In the general case, the
Sonine approximation predicts the lack of a steady state if the control
parameter is larger than a certain critical value that
depends on the coefficient of restitution and the mass ratio. However, this
phenomenon appears outside the expected domain of applicability of the
approximation.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; minor changes; to be published in Phys. Rev.
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section
ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum
pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7
TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are
based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi
Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and
Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times
the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls
faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the
branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06
+/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for
anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are
statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final
states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and
missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a
center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to
an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two
complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a
specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic
edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of
dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states
including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and
missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the
standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to
the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a
region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric
extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector
efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM
physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of isolated photon production in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV
Isolated photon production is measured in proton-proton and lead-lead
collisions at nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 2.76 TeV in the
pseudorapidity range |eta|<1.44 and transverse energies ET between 20 and 80
GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measured ET spectra are found to be
in good agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions. The
ratio of PbPb to pp isolated photon ET-differential yields, scaled by the
number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions, is consistent with unity for
all PbPb reaction centralities.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
- …