Efficiency and spectrum of internal gamma-ray burst shocks

We present an analysis of the Internal Shock Model of GRBs, where gamma-rays are produced by internal shocks within a relativistic wind. We show that observed GRB characteristics impose stringent constraints on wind and source parameters. We find that a significant fraction, of order 20 %, of the wind kinetic energy can be converted to radiation, provided the distribution of Lorentz factors within the wind has a large variance and provided the minimum Lorentz factor is higher than 10^(2.5)L_(52)^(2/9), where L=10^(52)L_(52)erg/s is the wind luminosity. For a high, >10 %, efficiency wind, spectral energy breaks in the 0.1 to 1 MeV range are obtained for sources with dynamical time R/c < 1 ms, suggesting a possible explanation for the observed clustering of spectral break energies in this range. The lower limit to wind Lorenz factor and the upper limit, around (R/10^7 cm)^(-5/6) MeV to observed break energies are set by Thomson optical depth due to electron positron pairs produced by synchrotron photons. Natural consequences of the model are absence of bursts with peak emission energy significantly exceeding 1 MeV, and existence of low luminosity bursts with low, 1 keV to 10 keV, break energies.Comment: 10 pages, 5 ps-figures. Expanded discussion of magnetic field and electron energy fraction. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Comment on "Effects of spatial dispersion on electromagnetic surface modes and on modes associated with a gap between two half spaces"

Recently Bo E. Sernelius [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 71}, 235114 (2005)] investigated the effects of spatial dispersion on the thermal Casimir force between two metal half spaces. He claims that incorporating spatial dispersion results in a negligible contribution from the transverse electric mode at zero frequency as compared to the transverse magnetic mode. We demonstrate that this conclusion is not reliable because, when applied to the Casimir effect, the approximate description of spatial dispersion used is unjustified.Comment: 9 pages, minor corrections in accordance with the journal publication have been mad

Dynamic Fluctuation Phenomena in Double Membrane Films

Dynamics of double membrane films is investigated in the long-wavelength limit including the overdamped squeezing mode. We demonstrate that thermal fluctuations essentially modify the character of the mode due to its nonlinear coupling to the transversal shear hydrodynamic mode. The corresponding Green function acquires as a function of the frequency a cut along the imaginary semi-axis. Fluctuations lead to increasing the attenuation of the squeezing mode it becomes larger than the `bare' value.Comment: 7 pages, Revte

Title Stabilization of Membrane Pores by Packing

We present a model for pore stabilization in membranes without surface tension. Whereas an isolated pore is always unstable (since it either shrinks tending to re-seal or grows without bound til to membrane disintegration), it is shown that excluded volume interactions in a system of many pores can stabilize individual pores of a given size in a certain range of model parameters. For such a multipore membrane system, the distribution of pore size and associated pore lifetime are calculated within the mean field approximation. We predict that, above certain temperature when the effective line tension becomes negative, the membrane exhibits a dynamic sieve-like porous structure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Dynamics of nearly spherical vesicles in an external flow

We analytically derive an equation describing vesicle evolution in a fluid where some stationary flow is excited regarding that the vesicle shape is close to a sphere. A character of the evolution is governed by two dimensionless parameters, $S$ and $\Lambda$, depending on the vesicle excess area, viscosity contrast, membrane viscosity, strength of the flow, bending module, and ratio of the elongation and rotation components of the flow. We establish the ``phase diagram'' of the system on the $S-\Lambda$ plane: we find curves corresponding to the tank-treading to tumbling transition (described by the saddle-node bifurcation) and to the tank-treading to trembling transition (described by the Hopf bifurcation).Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Exploring the associations of culture with careers and the mediating role of HR practices:A conceptual model

Purpose: The conceptual framework developed in the present study aims to highlight the importance of human resource (HR) practices as a mediator between national culture and employees' careers. Design/methodology/approach: The approach taken is a literature review and the development of a conceptual model. Findings: The paper contributes to the literature by focusing on how culture via HR practices might influence career success. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, five propositions are developed regarding the impact of culture on career‐relevant HR practices, and how these practices are likely to influence employee career success. Research limitations/implications: Culture's effect should not be overstated. Looking at the propositions, it is possible that the influence of HR practices on career success is more pronounced than the direct effects of culture on career success. Future work is needed to measure and compare the relative strength of different associations as well as the possibility that other HR dimensions relevant to the study of career success may exist. Originality/value: At a general level, there is ample evidence of the impact of culture on the effectiveness of a variety of individual outcomes. The paper focused on the mediating role of HR practices as opposed to advancing hypotheses about direct relationships between culture and career success

Sound modes broadening for Fibonacci one dimensional quasicrystals

We investigate vibrational excitation broadening in one dimensional Fibonacci model of quasicrystals (QCs). The chain is constructed from particles with two masses following the Fibonacci inflation rule. The eigenmode spectrum depends crucially on the mass ratio. We calculate the eigenstates and eigenfunctions. All calculations performed self-consistently within the regular expansion over the three wave coupling constant. The approach can be extended to three dimensional systems. We find that in the intermediate range of mode coupling constants, three-wave broadening for the both types of systems (1D Fibonacci and 3D QCs) depends universally on frequency. Our general qualitative conclusion is that for a system with a non-simple elementary cell phonon spectrum broadening is always larger than for a system with a primitive cell (provided all other characteristics are the same).Comment: 2o pages, 15 figure