4,700 research outputs found
Alternative Buffer-Layers for the Growth of SrBi2Ta2O9 on Silicon
In this work we investigate the influence of the use of YSZ and CeO2/YSZ as
insulators for Metal- Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor (MFIS) structures
made with SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT). We show that by using YSZ only the a-axis oriented
Pyrochlore phase could be obtained. On the other hand the use of a CeO2/YSZ
double-buffer layer gave a c-axis oriented SBT with no amorphous SiO2 inter-
diffusion layer. The characteristics of MFIS diodes were greatly improved by
the use of the double buffer. Using the same deposition conditions the memory
window could be increased from 0.3 V to 0.9 V. From the piezoelectric response,
nano-meter scale ferroelectric domains could be clearly identified in SBT thin
films.Comment: 5 pages, 9 figures, 13 refernece
Observation of the Higgs Boson of strong interaction via Compton scattering by the nucleon
It is shown that the Quark-Level Linear Model (QLLM) leads
to a prediction for the diamagnetic term of the polarizabilities of the nucleon
which is in excellent agreement with the experimental data. The bare mass of
the meson is predicted to be MeV and the two-photon
width keV. It is argued that the
mass predicted by the QLLM corresponds to the reaction, i.e. to a -channel pole of the reaction.
Large -angle Compton scattering experiments revealing effects of the
meson in the differential cross section are discussed. Arguments are presented
that these findings may be understood as an observation of the Higgs boson of
strong interaction while being part of the constituent quark.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Ultrasonic Phased Array Inspection Simulations of Welded Components at NASA
Comprehensive and accurate inspections of welded components have become of increasing importance as NASA develops new hardware such as Ares rocket segments for future exploration missions. Simulation and modeling will play an increased role in the future for nondestructive evaluation in order to better understand the physics of the inspection process and help explain the experimental results. It will also help to prove or disprove the feasibility for an inspection method or inspection scenario, help optimize inspections, and allow to a first approximation limits of detectability. This study presents simulation and experimental results for an ultrasonic phased array inspection of a critical welded structure important for NASA future exploration vehicles
Functional MRI in Patients with Band Heterotopia
Functional activation associated with a motor task (fist movements) was studied in three patients with band heterotopias by fMRI. In two patients, additional visual fMRI studies were performed using a flickering checkerboard stimulus. In all patients activation of the outer cortex and of the inner neuronal band could be found during performance of the motor task. Visual stimulation elicited a normal activation pattern without activation of the ectopic neuronal layer in one patient; in another patient activation extended toward the ventricular wall, i.e., along the route of embryonic neuronal migration. The potential participation of ectopic neuronal tissue in physiologic cerebral functions is of clinical impact in patients with neuronal heterotopias suffering from medically intractable seizures prior to epilepsy surgery
Ultrasonic Phased Array Inspection for an Isogrid Structural Element with Cracks
In this investigation, a T-shaped aluminum alloy isogrid stiffener element used in aerospace applications was inspected with ultrasonic phased array methods. The isogrid stiffener element had various crack configurations emanating from bolt holes. Computational simulation methods were used to mimic the experiments in order to help understand experimental results. The results of this study indicate that it is at least partly feasible to interrogate this type of geometry with the given flaw configurations using phased array ultrasonics. The simulation methods were critical in helping explain the experimental results and, with some limitation, can be used to predict inspection results
Rapid prototyped porous nickel-titanium scaffolds as bone substitutes
While calcium phosphate–based ceramics are currently the most widely used materials in bone repair, they generally lack tensile strength for initial load bearing. Bulk titanium is the gold standard of metallic implant materials, but does not match the mechanical properties of the surrounding bone, potentially leading to problems of fixation and bone resorption. As an alternative, nickel–titanium alloys possess a unique combination of mechanical properties including a relatively low elastic modulus, pseudoelasticity, and high damping capacity, matching the properties of bone better than any other metallic material. With the ultimate goal of fabricating porous implants for spinal, orthopedic and dental applications, nickel–titanium substrates were fabricated by means of selective laser melting. The response of human mesenchymal stromal cells to the nickel–titanium substrates was compared to mesenchymal stromal cells cultured on clinically used titanium. Selective laser melted titanium as well as surface-treated nickel–titanium and titanium served as controls. Mesenchymal stromal cells had similar proliferation rates when cultured on selective laser melted nickel–titanium, clinically used titanium, or controls. Osteogenic differentiation was similar for mesenchymal stromal cells cultured on the selected materials, as indicated by similar gene expression levels of bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin. Mesenchymal stromal cells seeded and cultured on porous three-dimensional selective laser melted nickel–titanium scaffolds homogeneously colonized the scaffold, and following osteogenic induction, filled the scaffold’s pore volume with extracellular matrix. The combination of bone-related mechanical properties of selective laser melted nickel–titanium with its cytocompatibility and support of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells highlights its potential as a superior bone substitute as compared to clinically used titanium
Turbulence and passive scalar transport in a free-slip surface
We consider the two-dimensional (2D) flow in a flat free-slip surface that
bounds a three-dimensional (3D) volume in which the flow is turbulent. The
equations of motion for the two-dimensional flow in the surface are neither
compressible nor incompressible but strongly influenced by the 3D flow
underneath the surface. The velocity correlation functions in the 2D surface
and in the 3D volume scale with the same exponents. In the viscous subrange the
amplitudes are the same, but in the inertial subrange the 2D one is reduced to
2/3 of the 3D amplitude. The surface flow is more strongly intermittent than
the 3D volume flow. Geometric scaling theory is used to derive a relation
between the scaling of the velocity field and the density fluctuations of a
passive scalar advected on the surface.Comment: 11 pages, 10 Postscript figure
Calibration and application of the Chemcatcher® passive sampler for monitoring acidic herbicides in the River Exe, UK catchment
Inflationary Perturbations: the Cosmological Schwinger Effect
This pedagogical review aims at presenting the fundamental aspects of the
theory of inflationary cosmological perturbations of quantum-mechanical origin.
The analogy with the well-known Schwinger effect is discussed in detail and a
systematic comparison of the two physical phenomena is carried out. In
particular, it is demonstrated that the two underlying formalisms differ only
up to an irrelevant canonical transformation. Hence, the basic physical
mechanisms at play are similar in both cases and can be reduced to the
quantization of a parametric oscillator leading to particle creation due to the
interaction with a classical source: pair production in vacuum is therefore
equivalent to the appearance of a growing mode for the cosmological
fluctuations. The only difference lies in the nature of the source: an electric
field in the case of the Schwinger effect and the gravitational field in the
case of inflationary perturbations. Although, in the laboratory, it is
notoriously difficult to produce an electric field such that pairs extracted
from the vacuum can be detected, the gravitational field in the early universe
can be strong enough to lead to observable effects that ultimately reveal
themselves as temperature fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background.
Finally, the question of how quantum cosmological perturbations can be
considered as classical is discussed at the end of the article.Comment: 49 pages, 6 figures, to appear in a LNP volume "Inflationary
Cosmology
Search for Heavy Neutral MSSM Higgs Bosons with CMS: Reach and Higgs-Mass Precision
The search for MSSM Higgs bosons will be an important goal at the LHC. We
analyze the search reach of the CMS experiment for the heavy neutral MSSM Higgs
bosons with an integrated luminosity of 30 or 60 fb^-1. This is done by
combining the latest results for the CMS experimental sensitivities based on
full simulation studies with state-of-the-art theoretical predictions of MSSM
Higgs-boson properties. The results are interpreted in MSSM benchmark scenarios
in terms of the parameters tan_beta and the Higgs-boson mass scale, M_A. We
study the dependence of the 5 sigma discovery contours in the M_A-tan_beta
plane on variations of the other supersymmetric parameters. The largest effects
arise from a change in the higgsino mass parameter mu, which enters both via
higher-order radiative corrections and via the kinematics of Higgs decays into
supersymmetric particles. While the variation of can shift the
prospective discovery reach (and correspondingly the ``LHC wedge'' region) by
about Delta tan_beta = 10, we find that the discovery reach is rather stable
with respect to the impact of other supersymmetric parameters. Within the
discovery region we analyze the accuracy with which the masses of the heavy
neutral Higgs bosons can be determined. We find that an accuracy of 1-4% should
be achievable, which could make it possible in favourable regions of the MSSM
parameter space to experimentally resolve the signals of the two heavy MSSM
Higgs bosons at the LHC.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
- …