14,744 research outputs found
Simple models of the hydrofracture process
Hydrofracturing to recover natural gas and oil relies on the creation of a fracture network with pressurized water. We analyze the creation of the network in two ways. First, we assemble a collection of analytical estimates for pressure-driven crack motion in simple geometries, including crack speed as a function of length, energy dissipated by fluid viscosity and used to break rock, and the conditions under which a second crack will initiate while a first is running. We develop a pseudo-three-dimensional numerical model that couples fluid motion with solid mechanics and can generate branching crack structures not specified in advance. One of our main conclusions is that the typical spacing between fractures must be on the order of a meter, and this conclusion arises in two separate ways. First, it arises from analysis of gas production rates, given the diffusion constants for gas in the rock. Second, it arises from the number of fractures that should be generated given the scale of the affected region and the amounts of water pumped into the rock.Shell UTNational Science FoundationPhysic
On the threshold-width of graphs
The GG-width of a class of graphs GG is defined as follows. A graph G has
GG-width k if there are k independent sets N1,...,Nk in G such that G can be
embedded into a graph H in GG such that for every edge e in H which is not an
edge in G, there exists an i such that both endpoints of e are in Ni. For the
class TH of threshold graphs we show that TH-width is NP-complete and we
present fixed-parameter algorithms. We also show that for each k, graphs of
TH-width at most k are characterized by a finite collection of forbidden
induced subgraphs
Transformation Optics scheme for two-dimensional materials
Two dimensional optical materials, such as graphene can be characterized by a
surface conductivity. So far, the transformation optics schemes have focused on
three dimensional properties such as permittivity and permeability
. In this paper, we use a scheme for transforming surface currents to
highlight that the surface conductivity transforms in a way different from
and . We use this surface conductivity transformation to
demonstrate an example problem of reducing scattering of plasmon mode from
sharp protrusions in graphene
Photon Emission Rate Engineering using Graphene Nanodisc Cavities
In this work, we present a systematic study of the plasmon modes in a system
of vertically stacked pair of graphene discs. Quasistatic approximation is used
to model the eigenmodes of the system. Eigen-response theory is employed to
explain the spatial dependence of the coupling between the plasmon modes and a
quantum emitter. These results show a good match between the semi-analytical
calculation and full-wave simulations. Secondly, we have shown that it is
possible to engineer the decay rates of a quantum emitter placed inside and
near this cavity, using Fermi level tuning, via gate voltages and variation of
emitter location and polarization. We highlighted that by coupling to the
bright plasmon mode, the radiative efficiency of the emitter can be enhanced
compared to the single graphene disc case, whereas the dark plasmon mode
suppresses the radiative efficiency
Radiative and flavor-violating transitions of leptons from interactions with color-octet particles
It has been recently proposed that neutrino mass could originate from Yukawa
interactions of leptons with new colored particles. This raises the interesting
possibility of testing mass generation through copious production of those
particles at hadron colliders. A realistic assessment of it however should take
into account how large those interactions could be from available precision
results. In this work we make a systematic analysis to the flavor structure in
Yukawa couplings, provide a convenient parametrization to it, and investigate
the rare radiative and pure leptonic decays of the muon and tau leptons. For
general values of parameters the muon decays set stringent constraints on the
couplings, and all rare tau decays are far below the current experimental
sensitivity. However, there is room in parameter space in which the muon decays
could be significantly suppressed by destructive interference between colored
particles without generically reducing the couplings themselves. This is also
the region of parameters that is relevant to collider physics. We show that for
this part of parameter space some tau decays can reach or are close to the
current level of precision.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure
Investigating 1d and 1d/1d Modeling Using SWMM
Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive
Approximate gauge symmetry of composite vector bosons
It can be shown in a solvable field theory model that the couplings of the
composite vector bosons made of a fermion pair approach the gauge couplings in
the limit of strong binding. Although this phenomenon may appear accidental and
special to the vector boson made of a fermion pair, we extend it to the case of
bosons being constituents and find that the same phenomenon occurs in more an
intriguing way. The functional formalism not only facilitates computation but
also provides us with a better insight into the generating mechanism of
approximate gauge symmetry, in particular, how the strong binding and global
current conservation conspire to generate such an approximate symmetry. Remarks
are made on its possible relevance or irrelevance to electroweak and higher
symmetries.Comment: Correction of typos. The published versio
Quark-lepton mass unification at TeV scales
A scenario combining a model of early (TeV) unification of quarks and leptons
with the physics of large extra dimensions provides a natural mechanism linking
quark and lepton masses at TeV scale. This has been dubbed as early
quark-lepton mass unification by one of us (PQH) in one of the two models of
early quark-lepton unification, which are consistent with data, namely SU(4)_PS
\otimes SU(2)_L \otimes SU(2)_R \otimes SU(2)_H. In particular, it focused on
the issue of naturally light Dirac neutrino. The present paper will focus on
similar issues in the other model, namely SU(4)_PS \otimes SU(3)_L \otimes
SU(3)_H.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRD: The new version is in agreement with
the accepted manuscrip
- …