3,331 research outputs found
Critical parameters for the partial coalescence of a droplet
The partial coalescence of a droplet onto a planar liquid/liquid interface is
investigated experimentally by tuning the viscosities of both liquids. The
problem mainly depends on four dimensionless parameters: the Bond number
(gravity vs. surface tension), the Ohnesorge numbers (viscosity in both fluids
vs. surface tension), and the density relative difference. The ratio between
the daughter droplet size and the mother droplet size is investigated as a
function of these dimensionless numbers. Global quantities such as the
available surface energy of the droplet has been measured during the
coalescence. The capillary waves propagation and damping are studied in detail.
The relation between these waves and the partial coalescence is discussed.
Additional viscous mechanisms are proposed in order to explain the asymmetric
role played by both viscosities.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Physical Review
A hermeneutic inquiry into user-created personas in different Namibian locales
Persona is a tool broadly used in technology design to support communicational interactions between designers and users. Different Persona types and methods have evolved mostly in the Global North, and been partially deployed in the Global South every so often in its original User-Centred Design methodology. We postulate persona conceptualizations are expected to differ across cultures. We demonstrate this with an exploratory-case study on user-created persona co-designed with four Namibian ethnic groups: ovaHerero, Ovambo, ovaHimba and Khoisan. We follow a hermeneutic inquiry approach to discern cultural nuances from diverse human conducts. Findings reveal diverse self-representations whereby for each ethnic group results emerge in unalike fashions, viewpoints, recounts and storylines. This paper ultimately argues User-Created Persona as a potentially valid approach for pursuing cross-cultural depictions of personas that communicate cultural features and user experiences paramount to designing acceptable and gratifying technologies in dissimilar locales
Intracellular mechanism of the action of inhibin on the secretion of follicular stimulating hormone and of luteinizing hormone induced by LH-RH in vitro
The FSH secretion-inhibiting action of inhibin in vitro under basal conditions and also in the presence of LH-RH is suppressed by the addition of MIX, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. In the presence of LH-RH, inhibin reduces significantly the intracellular level of cAMP in isolated pituitary cells. In contrast, the simultaneous addition of MIX and inhibin raises the cAMP level, and this stimulation is comparable to the increase observed when MIX is added alone. These observations suggest that one mode of action of inhibin could be mediated by a reduction in cAMP within the pituitary gonadotropic cell
A numerical approach to large deviations in continuous-time
We present an algorithm to evaluate the large deviation functions associated
to history-dependent observables. Instead of relying on a time discretisation
procedure to approximate the dynamics, we provide a direct continuous-time
algorithm, valuable for systems with multiple time scales, thus extending the
work of Giardin\`a, Kurchan and Peliti (PRL 96, 120603 (2006)).
The procedure is supplemented with a thermodynamic-integration scheme, which
improves its efficiency. We also show how the method can be used to probe large
deviation functions in systems with a dynamical phase transition -- revealed in
our context through the appearance of a non-analyticity in the large deviation
functions.Comment: Submitted to J. Stat. Mec
Temperature-induced crossovers in the static roughness of a one-dimensional interface
At finite temperature and in presence of disorder, a one-dimensional elastic
interface displays different scaling regimes at small and large lengthscales.
Using a replica approach and a Gaussian Variational Method (GVM), we explore
the consequences of a finite interface width on the small-lengthscale
fluctuations. We compute analytically the static roughness of the
interface as a function of the distance between two points on the
interface. We focus on the case of short-range elasticity and random-bond
disorder. We show that for a finite width two temperature regimes exist.
At low temperature, the expected thermal and random-manifold regimes,
respectively for small and large scales, connect via an intermediate `modified'
Larkin regime, that we determine. This regime ends at a temperature-independent
characteristic `Larkin' length. Above a certain `critical' temperature that we
identify, this intermediate regime disappears. The thermal and random-manifold
regimes connect at a single crossover lengthscale, that we compute. This is
also the expected behavior for zero width. Using a directed polymer
description, we also study via a second GVM procedure and generic scaling
arguments, a modified toy model that provides further insights on this
crossover. We discuss the relevance of the two GVM procedures for the roughness
at large lengthscale in those regimes. In particular we analyze the scaling of
the temperature-dependent prefactor in the roughness B(r)\sim T^{2
\text{\thorn}} r^{2 \zeta} and its corresponding exponent \text{\thorn}. We
briefly discuss the consequences of those results for the quasistatic creep law
of a driven interface, in connection with previous experimental and numerical
studies
Natural and projectively equivariant quantizations by means of Cartan Connections
The existence of a natural and projectively equivariant quantization in the
sense of Lecomte [20] was proved recently by M. Bordemann [4], using the
framework of Thomas-Whitehead connections. We give a new proof of existence
using the notion of Cartan projective connections and we obtain an explicit
formula in terms of these connections. Our method yields the existence of a
projectively equivariant quantization if and only if an \sl(m+1,\R)-equivariant
quantization exists in the flat situation in the sense of [18], thus solving
one of the problems left open by M. Bordemann.Comment: 13 page
Finite-temperature and finite-time scaling of the directed polymer free-energy with respect to its geometrical fluctuations
We study the fluctuations of the directed polymer in 1+1 dimensions in a
Gaussian random environment with a finite correlation length {\xi} and at
finite temperature. We address the correspondence between the geometrical
transverse fluctuations of the directed polymer, described by its roughness,
and the fluctuations of its free-energy, characterized by its two-point
correlator. Analytical arguments are provided in favor of a generic scaling law
between those quantities, at finite time, non-vanishing {\xi} and explicit
temperature dependence. Numerical results are in good agreement both for
simulations on the discrete directed polymer and on a continuous directed
polymer (with short-range correlated disorder). Applications to recent
experiments on liquid crystals are discussed
Optimization of Generalized Multichannel Quantum Defect reference functions for Feshbach resonance characterization
This work stresses the importance of the choice of the set of reference
functions in the Generalized Multichannel Quantum Defect Theory to analyze the
location and the width of Feshbach resonance occurring in collisional
cross-sections. This is illustrated on the photoassociation of cold rubidium
atom pairs, which is also modeled using the Mapped Fourier Grid Hamiltonian
method combined with an optical potential. The specificity of the present
example lies in a high density of quasi-bound states (closed channel)
interacting with a dissociation continuum (open channel). We demonstrate that
the optimization of the reference functions leads to quantum defects with a
weak energy dependence across the relevant energy threshold. The main result of
our paper is that the agreement between the both theoretical approaches is
achieved only if optimized reference functions are used.Comment: submitte to Journal of Physics
Rare event computation in deterministic chaotic systems using genealogical particle analysis
In this paper we address the use of rare event computation techniques to estimate small over-threshold probabilities of observables in deterministic dynamical systems. We demonstrate that genealogical particle analysis algorithms can be successfully applied to a toy model of atmospheric dynamics, the Lorenz '96 model. We furthermore use the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck system to illustrate a number of implementation issues. We also show how a time-dependent objective function based on the fluctuation path to a high threshold can greatly improve the performance of the estimator compared to a fixed-in-time objective function
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