490 research outputs found
Influence of Capillary Condensation on the Near-Critical Solvation Force
We argue that in a fluid, or magnet, confined by adsorbing walls which favour
liquid, or (+) phase, the solvation (Casimir) force in the vicinity of the
critical point is strongly influenced by capillary condensation which occurs
below the bulk critical temperature T_c. At T slightly below and above T_c, a
small bulk field h<0, which favours gas, or (-) phase, leads to residual
condensation and a solvation force which is much more attractive (at the same
large wall separation) than that found exactly at the critical point. Our
predictions are supported by results obtained from density-matrix
renormalization-group calculations in a two-dimensional Ising strip subject to
identical surface fields.Comment: 4 Pages, RevTeX, and 3 figures include
Casimir interactions in Ising strips with boundary fields: exact results
An exact statistical mechanical derivation is given of the critical Casimir
forces for Ising strips with arbitrary surface fields applied to edges. Our
results show that the strength as well as the sign of the force can be
controled by varying the temperature or the fields. An interpretation of the
results is given in terms of a linked cluster expansion. This suggests a
systematic approach for deriving the critical Casimir force which can be used
in more general models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Perturbative calculation of the scaled factorial moments in second-order quark-hadron phase transition within the Ginzburg-Landau description
The scaled factorial moments are studied for a second-order
quark-hadron phase transition within the Ginzburg-Landau description. The role
played by the ground state of the system under low temperature is emphasized.
After a local shift of the order parameter the fluctuations are around the
ground state, and a perturbative calculation for can be carried out.
Power scaling between 's is shown, and a universal scaling exponent
is given for the case with weak correlations and weak
self-interactions.Comment: 12 pages in RevTeX, 12 eps figure
Monte Carlo simulation results for critical Casimir forces
The confinement of critical fluctuations in soft media induces critical
Casimir forces acting on the confining surfaces. The temperature and geometry
dependences of such forces are characterized by universal scaling functions. A
novel approach is presented to determine them for films via Monte Carlo
simulations of lattice models. The method is based on an integration scheme of
free energy differences. Our results for the Ising and the XY universality
class compare favourably with corresponding experimental results for wetting
layers of classical binary liquid mixtures and of 4He, respectively.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
THEORY OF PHASE-LOCKING IN SMALL JOSEPHSON JUNCTION CELLS
Within the RSJ model, we performed a theoretical analysis of phase-locking in
elementary strongly coupled Josephson junction cells. For this purpose, we
developed a systematic method allowing the investigation of phase-locking in
cells with small but non-vanishing loop inductance.The voltages across the
junctions are found to be locked with very small phase difference for almost
all values of external flux. However, the general behavior of phase-locking is
found to be just contrary to that according to weak coupling. In case of strong
coupling there is nearly no influence of external magnetic flux on the phases,
but the locking-frequency becomes flux-dependent. The influence of parameter
splitting is considered as well as the effect of small capacitive shunting of
the junctions. Strongly coupled cells show synchronization even for large
parameter splitting. Finally, a study of the behavior under external microwave
radiation shows that the frequency locking-range becomes strongly
flux-dependent, whereas the locking frequency itself turns out to be
flux-independent.Comment: 26 pages, REVTEX, 9 PS figures appended in uuencoded form at the end,
submitted to Phys. Rev. B
Propulsion simulation for magnetically suspended wind tunnel models
The feasibility of simulating propulsion-induced aerodynamic effects on scaled aircraft models in wind tunnels employing Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems. The investigation concerned itself with techniques of generating exhaust jets of appropriate characteristics. The objectives were to: (1) define thrust and mass flow requirements of jets; (2) evaluate techniques for generating propulsive gas within volume limitations imposed by magnetically-suspended models; (3) conduct simple diagnostic experiments for techniques involving new concepts; and (4) recommend experiments for demonstration of propulsion simulation techniques. Various techniques of generating exhaust jets of appropriate characteristics were evaluated on scaled aircraft models in wind tunnels with MSBS. Four concepts of remotely-operated propulsion simulators were examined. Three conceptual designs involving innovative adaptation of convenient technologies (compressed gas cylinders, liquid, and solid propellants) were developed. The fourth innovative concept, namely, the laser-assisted thruster, which can potentially simulate both inlet and exhaust flows, was found to require very high power levels for small thrust levels
Fluctuations of the Casimir-like force between two membrane inclusions
Although Casimir forces are inseparable from their fluctuations, little is
known about these fluctuations in soft matter systems. We use the membrane
stress tensor to study the fluctuations of the membrane-mediated Casimir-like
force. This method enables us to recover the Casimir force between two
inclusions and to calculate its variance. We show that the Casimir force is
dominated by its fluctuations. Furthermore, when the distance d between the
inclusions is decreased from infinity, the variance of the Casimir force
decreases as -1/d^2. This distance dependence shares a common physical origin
with the Casimir force itself.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Crossover from Attractive to Repulsive Casimir Forces and Vice Versa
Systems described by an O(n) symmetrical Hamiltonian are considered
in a -dimensional film geometry at their bulk critical points. The critical
Casimir forces between the film's boundary planes , are
investigated as functions of film thickness for generic symmetry-preserving
boundary conditions . The
-dependent part of the reduced excess free energy per cross-sectional area
takes the scaling form when , where are scaling
fields associated with the variables , and is a surface
crossover exponent. Explicit two-loop renormalization group results for the
function at dimensions are
presented. These show that (i) the Casimir force can have either sign,
depending on and , and (ii) for appropriate
choices of the enhancements , crossovers from attraction to
repulsion and vice versa occur as increases.Comment: 4 RevTeX pages, 2 eps figures; minor misprints corrected and 3
references adde
Casimir effect for the scalar field under Robin boundary conditions: A functional integral approach
In this work we show how to define the action of a scalar field in a such a
way that Robin boundary condition is implemented dynamically, i.e., as a
consequence of the stationary action principle. We discuss the quantization of
that system via functional integration. Using this formalism, we derive an
expression for the Casimir energy of a massless scalar field under Robin
boundary conditions on a pair of parallel plates, characterized by constants
and . Some special cases are discussed; in particular, we show that
for some values of and the Casimir energy as a function of the
distance between the plates presents a minimum. We also discuss the
renormalization at one-loop order of the two-point Green function in the
theory submitted to Robin boundary condition on a plate.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. Version 2: contains a new section on the
renormalization of the two-point Green function in the presence of a flat
boundary. Accepted for publication in J. Phys.
Critical Casimir effect and wetting by helium mixtures
We have measured the contact angle of the interface of phase-separated
He-He mixtures against a sapphire window. We have found that this
angle is finite and does not tend to zero when the temperature approaches
, the temperature of the tri-critical point. On the contrary, it increases
with temperature. This behavior is a remarkable exception to what is generally
observed near critical points, i.e. "critical point wetting''. We propose that
it is a consequence of the "critical Casimir effect'' which leads to an
effective attraction of the He-He interface by the sapphire near
.Comment: submitted july 13 (2002), published march 20 (2003
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