He-3 cooling systems for space

The development of a space-compatible He(3) refrigerator would provide a significant improvement in several areas of research in the 0.3 to 1 K temperature range. There are several methods of achieving these temperatures on Earth: He(3) refrigeration, dilution refrigeration, and adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration. The progress of adapting He(3) refrigeration for use in space is described. Various cycles and possible embodiments of He(3) refrigerators are described. Also included is an analysis of the liquid confinement and liquid-vapor phase-separation system. A possible configuration is then analyzed. Finally, the results of ground-based experiments will be discussed

Losses in fountain-effect pumps

Three loss mechanisms in fountain-effect pumps are identified and analyzed. Two of these mechanisms reduce the mechano-caloric effect, by reducing the mass transferred per unit heat input. The first loss mechanism of these losses is the result of normal fluid leakage through the pump. The second loss mechanism is the result of the finite separation between the porous plug and the heater. The third loss mechanism reduces the thermomechanical effect. It results from the Gorter-Mellink interaction within the porous plug. All three of these loss mechanisms are shown to reduce pump efficiency. They are then applied to an example to illustrate the relative significance of the three mechanisms

Passive storage technologies

Advances in storage technology and how passive techniques could be applied to the storage of propellants at the space station are described. The devices considered are passive orbital disconnect struts, cooled shield optimization, liftweight shields and catalytic converters

Design considerations for a HE-3 refrigerator for space applications

The low temperature provided by He-3 refrigerators (0.3 to 3 K) have useful space applications. However, the low temperatures and the low surface tension of He-3 require special design considerations. The considerations include the need for small pores to contain the liquid in a matrix; the effects of bubble nucleation and growth; and the effects of the thermal conductivity within the matrix. These design considerations are discussed and a possible confinement system is analyzed

Superfluid Helium On-Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) operatons

The in-flight tests and the operational sequences of the Superfluid Helium On-Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) experiment are outlined. These tests include the transfer of superfluid helium at a variety of rates, the transfer into cold and warm receivers, the operation of an extravehicular activity coupling, and tests of a liquid acquisition device. A variety of different types of instrumentation will be required for these tests. These include pressure sensors and liquid flow meters that must operate in liquid helium, accurate thermometry, two types of quantity gauges, and liquid-vapor sensors

Cold atom dynamics in a quantum optical lattice potential

We study a generalized cold atom Bose Hubbard model, where the periodic optical potential is formed by a cavity field with quantum properties. On the one hand the common coupling of all atoms to the same mode introduces cavity mediated long range atom-atom interactions and on the other hand atomic backaction on the field introduces atom-field entanglement. This modifies the properties of the associated quantum phase transitions and allows for new correlated atom-field states including superposition of different atomic quantum phases. After deriving an approximative Hamiltonian including the new long range interaction terms we exhibit central physical phenomena at generic configurations of few atoms in few wells. We find strong modifications of population fluctuations and next-nearest neighbor correlations near the phase transition point.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, corrected typo

Dynamical instability and loss of p-band bosons in optical lattices

We study how the bosonic atoms on the excited p-band of an optical lattice are coupled to the lowest s-band and the 2nd excited d-band. We find that in some parameter regimes the atom-atom interactions can cause a dynamical instability of the p-band atoms towards decay to the s- and d-bands. Furthermore, even when dynamical instability is not expected s- and d-bands can become substantially populated.Comment: 7 figures, minor changes to the earlier versio

Formation and Stability of Cellular Carbon Foam Structures:An {\em Ab Initio} Study

We use ab initio density functional calculations to study the formation and structural as well as thermal stability of cellular foam-like carbon nanostructures. These systems with a mixed $sp^2/sp^3$ bonding character may be viewed as bundles of carbon nanotubes fused to a rigid contiguous 3D honeycomb structure that can be compressed more easily by reducing the symmetry of the honeycombs. The foam may accommodate the same type of defects as graphene, and its surface may be be stabilized by terminating caps. We postulate that the foam may form under non-equilibrium conditions near grain boundaries of a carbon-saturated metal surface

Dirac electrons in a Kronig-Penney potential: dispersion relation and transmission periodic in the strength of the barriers

The transmission T and conductance G through one or multiple one-dimensional, delta-function barriers of two-dimensional fermions with a linear energy spectrum are studied. T and G are periodic functions of the strength P of the delta-function barrier V(x,y) / hbar v_F = P delta(x). The dispersion relation of a Kronig-Penney (KP) model of a superlattice is also a periodic function of P and causes collimation of an incident electron beam for P = 2 pi n and n integer. For a KP superlattice with alternating sign of the height of the barriers the Dirac point becomes a Dirac line for P = (n + 1/2) pi.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Number statistics of molecules formed from ultra-cold atoms

We calculate the number statistics of a single-mode molecular field excited by photoassociation or via a Feshbach resonance from an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), a normal atomic Fermi gas and a Fermi system with pair correlations (BCS state). We find that the molecule formation from a BEC is a collective process that leads for short times to a coherent molecular state in the quantum optical sense. Atoms in a normal Fermi gas, on the other hand, are converted into molecules independently of each other and result for short times in a molecular state analogous to that of a classical chaotic light source. The BCS situation is intermediate between the two and goes from producing an incoherent to a coherent molecular field with increasing gap parameter.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure