On the kinetic equation approach to pair production by time-dependent electric field

We investigate the quantum kinetic approach to pair production from vacuum by time-dependent electric field. Equivalence between this approach and the more familiar S-matrix approach is explicitly established for both scalar and fermion cases. For the particular case of a constant electric field exact solution for kinetic equations is provided and the accuracy of low-density approximation is estimated.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Determination of Ethanol Content in Fuels with Phononic Crystal Sensor

Introduction. In-line analysis of ethanol content in gasoline blends is currently one of the urgent needs of fuel industry. Developing safe and secure approaches is critical for real applications. A phononic crystal sensor have been introduced as an innovative approach to high performance gasoline sensing. Distinguishing feature of proposed sensor is the absence of any electrical contact with analysed gasoline blend, which allows the use of sensors directly in pipelines without the risk of explosion in an emergency.Aim. Investigation of the possibilities of using phononic sensor structures to determine the ethanol content in liquid hydrocarbons.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. For measurement, substances of ordinary gasoline and gasoline 63–80 with ethanol concentrations in the range of 1–10 % by volume in increments of 2 % were prepared. The phononic crystal sensor was designed as a stainless steel plate with cylindrical holes and a resonant cavity, formed as a running across the wave propagation path slit between two lattices.Results. In-line analysis of measuring the concentration of ethanol in alcohol-containing fuels on a phononic crystal structure with a resonant cavity was carried out. Using the Agilent4395A admittance meter, the transmission spectra of longitudinal acoustic waves through the gasoline-filled sensor structure with were obtained. The non-linear correlation between the composition and the speed of sound of the blend is presented in the article is due to the ability to reduce the speed of sound of the mixture with an increase in ethanol concentration in the range of 0–10 % by volume.Conclusion. A measurement structure on the basis of phononic crystal was created. The measurements of various gasoline-ethanol mixtures show that the sensor has significant sensitivity (0.91 kHz/ms−1 ) with quality factor of 200) to distinguish between regular fuels, gasoline based blends and the presence of additives in standard fuels. The sensor has prospects for in-line analyzes the composition of liquid hydrocarbons.Introduction. In-line analysis of ethanol content in gasoline blends is currently one of the urgent needs of fuel industry. Developing safe and secure approaches is critical for real applications. A phononic crystal sensor have been introduced as an innovative approach to high performance gasoline sensing. Distinguishing feature of proposed sensor is the absence of any electrical contact with analysed gasoline blend, which allows the use of sensors directly in pipelines without the risk of explosion in an emergency.Aim. Investigation of the possibilities of using phononic sensor structures to determine the ethanol content in liquid hydrocarbons.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. For measurement, substances of ordinary gasoline and gasoline 63–80 with ethanol concentrations in the range of 1–10 % by volume in increments of 2 % were prepared. The phononic crystal sensor was designed as a stainless steel plate with cylindrical holes and a resonant cavity, formed as a running across the wave propagation path slit between two lattices.Results. In-line analysis of measuring the concentration of ethanol in alcohol-containing fuels on a phononic crystal structure with a resonant cavity was carried out. Using the Agilent4395A admittance meter, the transmission spectra of longitudinal acoustic waves through the gasoline-filled sensor structure with were obtained. The non-linear correlation between the composition and the speed of sound of the blend is presented in the article is due to the ability to reduce the speed of sound of the mixture with an increase in ethanol concentration in the range of 0–10 % by volume.Conclusion. A measurement structure on the basis of phononic crystal was created. The measurements of various gasoline-ethanol mixtures show that the sensor has significant sensitivity (0.91 kHz/ms−1 ) with quality factor of 200) to distinguish between regular fuels, gasoline based blends and the presence of additives in standard fuels. The sensor has prospects for in-line analyzes the composition of liquid hydrocarbons

Guided random walk calculation of energies and <\sq {r^2} > values of the 1Σg^1\Sigma_g state of H_2 in a magnetic field

Energies and spatial observables for the $^1\Sigma_g$ state of the hydrogen molecule in magnetic fields parallel to the proton-proton axis are calculated with a guided random walk Feynman-Kac algorithm. We demonstrate that the accuracy of the results and the simplicity of the method may prove it a viable alternative to large basis set expansions for small molecules in applied fields.Comment: 10 pages, no figure

An improvement of the Berry--Esseen inequality with applications to Poisson and mixed Poisson random sums

By a modification of the method that was applied in (Korolev and Shevtsova, 2009), here the inequalities $$\rho(F_n,\Phi)\le\frac{0.335789(\beta^3+0.425)}{\sqrt{n}}$$ and $$\rho(F_n,\Phi)\le \frac{0.3051(\beta^3+1)}{\sqrt{n}}$$ are proved for the uniform distance $\rho(F_n,\Phi)$ between the standard normal distribution function $\Phi$ and the distribution function $F_n$ of the normalized sum of an arbitrary number $n\ge1$ of independent identically distributed random variables with zero mean, unit variance and finite third absolute moment $\beta^3$. The first of these inequalities sharpens the best known version of the classical Berry--Esseen inequality since $0.335789(\beta^3+0.425)\le0.335789(1+0.425)\beta^3<0.4785\beta^3$ by virtue of the condition $\beta^3\ge1$, and 0.4785 is the best known upper estimate of the absolute constant in the classical Berry--Esseen inequality. The second inequality is applied to lowering the upper estimate of the absolute constant in the analog of the Berry--Esseen inequality for Poisson random sums to 0.3051 which is strictly less than the least possible value of the absolute constant in the classical Berry--Esseen inequality. As a corollary, the estimates of the rate of convergence in limit theorems for compound mixed Poisson distributions are refined.Comment: 33 page

Velocity and processivity of helicase unwinding of double-stranded nucleic acids

Helicases are molecular motors which unwind double-stranded nucleic acids (dsNA) in cells. Many helicases move with directional bias on single-stranded (ss) nucleic acids, and couple their directional translocation to strand separation. A model of the coupling between translocation and unwinding uses an interaction potential to represent passive and active helicase mechanisms. A passive helicase must wait for thermal fluctuations to open dsNA base pairs before it can advance and inhibit NA closing. An active helicase directly destabilizes dsNA base pairs, accelerating the opening rate. Here we extend this model to include helicase unbinding from the nucleic-acid strand. The helicase processivity depends on the form of the interaction potential. A passive helicase has a mean attachment time which does not change between ss translocation and ds unwinding, while an active helicase in general shows a decrease in attachment time during unwinding relative to ss translocation. In addition, we describe how helicase unwinding velocity and processivity vary if the base-pair binding free energy is changed.Comment: To appear in special issue on molecular motors, Journal of Physics - Condensed Matte

A calculation model for the heat capacity of beef with different moisture during freezing taking into account free water crystallization

The paper proposes a model for the process of free moisture crystallization in beef within the framework of the Debye concept with establishment of dependencies of model parameters on the initial moisture content. Model adequacy was validated by comparison of the calculation results with the results of the experiments on determination of values of heat capacity and phase transition enthalpy in beef with different initial moisture obtained by the differential scanning calorimetry method. It is shown that the end of free water phase transition in beef with initial moisture in a range of 37% to 80% occurs at a temperature of 243 К. Calculation dependencies of parameters of the model used for calculation of beef heat capacity are presented

Effects of the current financial and economic crisis on the rural landscape as well as the agri-food sector in Europe and Central Asia

This paper reviews the expected effects of the current financial crisis and subsequent recession on the rural landscape, in particular the agri-food sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) on the basis of the structure of the rural economy and of different organisations and institutions. Empirical evidence suggests that the crisis has hit the ECA region the hardest. Agriculture contributes about 9% to gross domestic product (GDP) for the ECA region as a whole with 16% of the population being employed in the agricultural sector. As far as the impact of the financial crisis on the agri-food sector is concerned, there are a few interconnected issues: (1) reduction in income elastic food demand and commodity price decline, (2) loss of employment and earnings of rural people working in urban centres, implying also costly labour reallocation, (3) rising rural poverty originating mainly from lack of opportunities in the non-farm sector and a sizable decline of international remittances, (4) tightening of agricultural credit markets, and the (5) collapse of sectoral government support programs and social safety-net measures in many countries. The paper reveals how the crisis hit farming and broader agri-business differently in general and in the ECA sub-regions

Photon Filamentation in Resonant Media with High Fresnel Numbers

The phenomenon of turbulent photon filamentation occurs in lasers and other active optical media at high Fresnel numbers. A description of this phenomenon is suggested. The solutions to evolution equations are presented in the form of a bunch of filaments chaotically distributed in space and having different radii. The probability distribution of patterns is defined characterizing the probabilistic weight of different filaments. The most probable filament radius and filament number are found, being in good agreement with experiment.Comment: Revtex file, 5 pages. Reference to the English edition of the journal is give