1,382 research outputs found
Effects of different needles and substrates on CuInS2 deposited by electrostatic spray deposition
Copper indium disulphide (CuInS2) thin films were deposited using the electrostatic spray deposition method. The effects of applied voltage and solution flow rate on the aerosol cone shape, film composition, surface morphology and current conversion were investigated. The effect of aluminium substrates and transparent fluorine doped tin oxide (SnO2:F) coated glass substrates on the properties of as-deposited CuInS2 films were analysed. An oxidation process occurs during the deposition onto the metallic substrates which forms an insulating layer between the photoactive film and substrate. The effects of two different spray needles on the properties of the as-deposited films were also studied. The results reveal that the use of a stainless steel needle results in contamination of the film due to the transfer of metal impurities through the spray whilst this is not seen for the glass needle. The films were characterised using a number of different analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford back-scattering and secondary ion mass spectroscopy and opto-electronic measurements
Vacancy-assisted domain-growth in asymmetric binary alloys: a Monte Carlo study
A Monte Carlo simulation study of the vacancy-assisted domain-growth in
asymmetric binary alloys is presented. The system is modeled using a
three-state ABV Hamiltonian which includes an asymmetry term, not considered in
previous works. Our simulated system is a stoichiometric two-dimensional binary
alloy with a single vacancy which evolves according to the vacancy-atom
exchange mechanism. We obtain that, compared to the symmetric case, the
ordering process slows down dramatically. Concerning the asymptotic behavior it
is algebraic and characterized by the Allen-Cahn growth exponent x=1/2. The
late stages of the evolution are preceded by a transient regime strongly
affected by both the temperature and the degree of asymmetry of the alloy. The
results are discussed and compared to those obtained for the symmetric case.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Source Dimensions in Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Collisions
Recent experiments on pion correlations, interpreted as interferometric
measurements of the collision zone, are compared with models that distinguish a
prehadronic phase and a hadronic phase. The models include prehadronic
longitudinal expansion, conversion to hadrons in local kinetic equilibrium, and
rescattering of the produced hadrons. We find that the longitudinal and outward
radii are surprisingly sensitive to the algorithm used for two-body collisions.
The longitudinal radius measured in collisions of 200 GeV/u sulfur nuclei on a
heavy target requires the existence of a prehadronic phase which converts to
the hadronic phase at densities around 0.8-1.0 GeV/fm. The transverse radii
cannot be reproduced without introducing more complex dynamics into the
transverse expansion.Comment: RevTeX 3.0, 28 pages, 6 figures, not included, revised version, major
change is an additional discussion of the classical two-body collision
algorithm, a (compressed) postscript file of the complete paper including
figures can be obtained from Authors or via anonymous ftp at
ftp://ftp_int.phys.washington.edu/pub/herrmann/pisource.ps.
Null Deformed Domain Wall
We study null 1/4 BPS deformations of flat domain wall solutions (NDDW) in
N=2, d=5 gauged supergravity with hypermultiplets and vector multiplets
coupled. These are uncharged time-dependent configurations and contain as
special case, 1/2 supersymmetric flat domain walls (DW), as well as 1/2 BPS
null solutions of the ungauged supergravity. Combining our analysis with the
classification method initiated by Gauntlett et al., we prove that all the
possible deformations of the DW have origin in the hypermultiplet sector or/and
are null. Here, we classify all the null deformations: we show that they
naturally organize themselves into "gauging" (v-deformation) and "non gauging"
(u-deformation). They have different properties: only in presence of
v-deformation is the solution supported by a time-dependent scalar potential.
Furthermore we show that the number of possible deformations equals the number
of matter multiplets coupled. We discuss the general procedure for constructing
explicit solutions, stressing the crucial role taken by the integrability
conditions of the scalars as spacetime functions. Two analytical solutions are
presented. Finally, we comment on the holographic applications of the NDDW, in
relation to the recently proposed time-dependent AdS/CFT.Comment: 38 pages; minor changes, references added; text revised, minor
changes, final version published in JHE
High speed synchrotron X-ray imaging studies of the ultrasound shockwave and enhanced flow during metal solidification processes
The highly dynamic behaviour of ultrasonic bubble implosion in liquid metal, the multiphase liquid metal flow containing bubbles and particles, and the interaction between ultrasonic waves and semisolid phases during solidification of metal were studied in situ using the complementary ultrafast and high speed synchrotron X-ray imaging facilities housed respectively at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, US, and Diamond Light Source, UK. Real-time ultrafast X-ray imaging of 135,780 frames per second (fps) revealed that ultrasonic bubble implosion in a liquid Bi-8 wt. %Zn alloy can occur in a single wave period (30 kHz), and the effective region affected by the shockwave at implosion was 3.5 times the original bubble diameter. Furthermore, ultrasound bubbles in liquid metal move faster than the primary particles, and the velocity of bubbles is 70 ~ 100% higher than that of the primary particles present in the same locations close to the sonotrode. Ultrasound waves can very effectively create a strong swirling flow in a semisolid melt in less than one second. The energetic flow can detach solid particles from the liquid-solid interface and redistribute them back into the bulk liquid very effectively
A stochastic model for heart rate fluctuations
Normal human heart rate shows complex fluctuations in time, which is natural,
since heart rate is controlled by a large number of different feedback control
loops. These unpredictable fluctuations have been shown to display fractal
dynamics, long-term correlations, and 1/f noise. These characterizations are
statistical and they have been widely studied and used, but much less is known
about the detailed time evolution (dynamics) of the heart rate control
mechanism. Here we show that a simple one-dimensional Langevin-type stochastic
difference equation can accurately model the heart rate fluctuations in a time
scale from minutes to hours. The model consists of a deterministic nonlinear
part and a stochastic part typical to Gaussian noise, and both parts can be
directly determined from the measured heart rate data. Studies of 27 healthy
subjects reveal that in most cases the deterministic part has a form typically
seen in bistable systems: there are two stable fixed points and one unstable
one.Comment: 8 pages in PDF, Revtex style. Added more dat
Dark Matter Direct Detection Signals inferred from a Cosmological N-body Simulation with Baryons
We extract at redshift z=0 a Milky Way sized object including gas, stars and
dark matter (DM) from a recent, high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation
with baryons. Its resolution is sufficient to witness the formation of a
rotating disk and bulge at the center of the halo potential. The phase-space
structure of the central galactic halo reveals the presence of a dark disk
component, that is co-rotating with the stellar disk. At the Earth's location,
it contributes to around 25% of the total DM local density, whose value is
rho_DM ~ 0.37 GeV/cm^3. The velocity distributions also show strong deviations
from pure Gaussian and Maxwellian distributions, with a sharper drop of the
high velocity tail.
We give a detailed study of the impact of these features on the predictions
for DM signals in direct detection experiments. In particular, the question of
whether the modulation signal observed by DAMA is or is not excluded by limits
set by other experiments (CDMS, XENON and CRESST...) is re-analyzed and
compared to the case of a standard Maxwellian halo, in both the elastic and the
inelastic scattering scenarios. We find that the compatibility between DAMA and
the other experiments is improved. In the elastic scenario, the DAMA modulation
signal is slightly enhanced in the so-called channeling region, as a result of
several effects. For the inelastic scenario, the improvement of the fit is
mainly attributable to the departure from a Maxwellian distribution at high
velocity.Comment: 39 page
Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: The Search Continues
Gravitationally bound supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) are thought to
be a natural product of galactic mergers and growth of the large scale
structure in the universe. They however remain observationally elusive, thus
raising a question about characteristic observational signatures associated
with these systems. In this conference proceeding I discuss current theoretical
understanding and latest advances and prospects in observational searches for
SBHBs.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of 2014 Sant Cugat
Forum on Astrophysics. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ed.
C.Sopuerta (Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Massive binary black holes in galactic nuclei and their path to coalescence
Massive binary black holes form at the centre of galaxies that experience a
merger episode. They are expected to coalesce into a larger black hole,
following the emission of gravitational waves. Coalescing massive binary black
holes are among the loudest sources of gravitational waves in the Universe, and
the detection of these events is at the frontier of contemporary astrophysics.
Understanding the black hole binary formation path and dynamics in galaxy
mergers is therefore mandatory. A key question poses: during a merger, will the
black holes descend over time on closer orbits, form a Keplerian binary and
coalesce shortly after? Here we review progress on the fate of black holes in
both major and minor mergers of galaxies, either gas-free or gas-rich, in
smooth and clumpy circum-nuclear discs after a galactic merger, and in
circum-binary discs present on the smallest scales inside the relic nucleus.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. To appear in hard
cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of Accretion onto
Black Holes" (Springer Publisher
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