Rotor aeroelastic stability coupled with helicopter body motion

A 5.5-foot-diameter, soft-in-plane, hingeless-rotor system was tested on a gimbal which allowed the helicopter rigid-body pitch and roll motions. Coupled rotor/airframe aeroelastic stability boundaries were explored and the modal damping ratios were measured. The time histories were correlated with analysis with excellent agreement. The effects of forward speed and some rotor design parameters on the coupled rotor/airframe stability were explored both by model and analysis. Some physical insights into the coupled stability phenomenon are suggested

A Remark on Boundary Effects in Static Vacuum Initial Data sets

Let (M, g) be an asymptotically flat static vacuum initial data set with non-empty compact boundary. We prove that (M, g) is isometric to a spacelike slice of a Schwarzschild spacetime under the mere assumption that the boundary of (M, g) has zero mean curvature, hence generalizing a classic result of Bunting and Masood-ul-Alam. In the case that the boundary has constant positive mean curvature and satisfies a stability condition, we derive an upper bound of the ADM mass of (M, g) in terms of the area and mean curvature of the boundary. Our discussion is motivated by Bartnik's quasi-local mass definition.Comment: 10 pages, to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Critical points of Wang-Yau quasi-local energy

In this paper, we prove the following theorem regarding the Wang-Yau quasi-local energy of a spacelike two-surface in a spacetime: Let $\Sigma$ be a boundary component of some compact, time-symmetric, spacelike hypersurface $\Omega$ in a time-oriented spacetime $N$ satisfying the dominant energy condition. Suppose the induced metric on $\Sigma$ has positive Gaussian curvature and all boundary components of $\Omega$ have positive mean curvature. Suppose $H \le H_0$ where $H$ is the mean curvature of $\Sigma$ in $\Omega$ and $H_0$ is the mean curvature of $\Sigma$ when isometrically embedded in $R^3$. If $\Omega$ is not isometric to a domain in $R^3$, then 1. the Brown-York mass of $\Sigma$ in $\Omega$ is a strict local minimum of the Wang-Yau quasi-local energy of $\Sigma$, 2. on a small perturbation $\tilde{\Sigma}$ of $\Sigma$ in $N$, there exists a critical point of the Wang-Yau quasi-local energy of $\tilde{\Sigma}$.Comment: substantially revised, main theorem replaced, Section 3 adde

Optical guiding in meter-scale plasma waveguides

We demonstrate a new highly tunable technique for generating meter-scale low density plasma waveguides. Such guides can enable electron acceleration to tens of GeV in a single stage. Plasma waveguides are imprinted in hydrogen gas by optical field ionization induced by two time-separated Bessel beam pulses: The first pulse, a J_0 beam, generates the core of the waveguide, while the delayed second pulse, here a J_8 or J_16 beam, generates the waveguide cladding. We demonstrate guiding of intense laser pulses over hundreds of Rayleigh lengths with on axis plasma densities as low as N_e0=5x10^16 cm^-3

Initial operation of a solar heating and cooling system in a full-scale solar building test facility

The Solar Building Test Facility (SBTF) was constructed to advance the technology for heating and cooling of office buildings with solar energy. Its purposes are to (1) test system components which include high-performing collectors, (2) test the performance of a complete solar heating and cooling system, (3) investigate component interactions, and (4) investigate durability, maintenance and reliability of components. The SBTF consists of a 50,000 square foot office building modified to accept solar heated water for operation of an absorption air conditioner and for the baseboard heating system. A 12,666 square foot solar collector field with a 30,000 gallon storage tank provides the solar heated water. A description of the system and the collectors selected is printed along with the objectives, test approach, expected system performance, and some preliminary results

Landau parameters for isospin asymmetric nuclear matter based on a relativistic model of composite and finite extension nucleons

We study the properties of cold asymmetric nuclear matter at high density, applying the quark meson coupling model with excluded volume corrections in the framework of the Landau theory of relativistic Fermi liquids. We discuss the role of the finite spatial extension of composite baryons on dynamical and statistical properties such as the Landau parameters, the compressibility, and the symmetry energy. We have also calculated the low lying collective eigenfrequencies arising from the collisionless quasiparticle transport equation, considering both unstable and stable modes. An overall analysis of the excluded volume correlations on the collective properties is performed.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure

Shock Waves and Cosmological Matrix Models

We find the shock wave solutions in a class of cosmological backgrounds with a null singularity, each of these backgrounds admits a matrix description. A shock wave solution breaks all supersymmetry meanwhile indicates that the interaction between two static D0-branes cancel, thus provides basic evidence for the matrix description. The probe action of a D0-brane in the background of another suggests that the usual perturbative expansion of matrix model breaks down.Comment: 10 pages, harvmav, v2: some comments on instability added, v3: version to appear in JHE