Phase diagram of polymer blends in confined geometry

Within self-consistent field theory we study the phase behavior of a symmetrical binary AB polymer blend confined into a thin film. The film surfaces interact with the monomers via short range potentials. One surface attracts the A component and the corresponding semi-infinite system exhibits a first order wetting transition. The surface interaction of the opposite surface is varied as to study the crossover from capillary condensation for symmetric surface fields to the interface localization/delocalization transition for antisymmetric surface fields. In the former case the phase diagram has a single critical point close to the bulk critical point. In the latter case the phase diagram exhibits two critical points which correspond to the prewetting critical points of the semi-infinite system. Only below a triple point there is a single two phase coexistence region. The crossover between these qualitatively different limiting behaviors occurs gradually, however, the critical temperature and the critical composition exhibit a non-monotonic dependence on the surface field. The dependence of the phase behavior for antisymmetric boundaries is studied as a function of the film thickness and the strength of the surface interactions. Upon reducing the film thickness or decreasing the strength of the surface interactions we can change the order of the interface localization/delocalization transition from first to second. The role of fluctuations is explored via Monte Carlo simulations of a coarse grained lattice model. Close to the (prewetting) critical points we observe 2D Ising critical behavior. At lower temperatures capillary waves of the AB interface lead to a pronounced dependence of the effective interface potential on the lateral system size.Comment: submitted to the Journal of Molecular Liquids and Condensed Matter Physic

Studying the infrared region in Landau gauge QCD

We report on the progress we made in studying the infrared behavior of the ghost and gluon dressing functions in Landau gauge. Related to this we also investigate a running coupling given in terms of those functions and compare our results to those coming from the Dyson-Schwinger approach. We present first numerical results for the SU(3) ghost-ghost-gluon vertex renormalization constant. In addition the spectrum of low-lying eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Faddeev-Popov operator is determined. The saturation of the ghost propagator in terms of those eigenvalues and eigenmodes is discussed at lower momenta.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at Lattice 2005 (Topology and Confinement

The influence of Gribov copies on the gluon and ghost propagator

The dependence of the gluon and ghost propagator in pure SU(3) gauge theory on the choice of Gribov copies in Landau gauge is studied. Simulations were performed on several lattice sizes at $\beta$=5.8, 6.0 and 6.2. In the infrared region the ghost propagator turns out to depend on the choice, while the impact on the gluon propagator is not resolvable. Also the eigenvalue distribution of the Faddeev-Popov operator is sensitive to Gribov copies.Comment: Talk presented at Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum VI, Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy, September 21-25, 2004, 3 pages, 2 figure

The core helium flash revisited: II. Two and three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations

We study turbulent convection during the core helium flash close to its peak by comparing the results of two and three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. We use a multidimensional Eulerian hydrodynamics code based on state-of-the-art numerical techniques to simulate the evolution of the helium core of a $1.25 M_{\odot}$ Pop I star. Our three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the evolution of a star during the peak of the core helium flash do not show any explosive behavior. The convective flow patterns developing in the three-dimensional models are structurally different from those of the corresponding two-dimensional models, and the typical convective velocities are smaller than those found in their two-dimensional counterparts. Three-dimensional models also tend to agree better with the predictions of mixing length theory. Our hydrodynamic simulations show the presence of turbulent entrainment that results in a growth of the convection zone on a dynamic time scale. Contrary to mixing length theory, the outer part of the convection zone is characterized by a sub-adiabatic temperature gradient.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure

The Aoki phase for N_f=2 Wilson fermions revisited

We report on a numerical reinvestigation of the Aoki phase in full lattice QCD with two flavors of unimproved Wilson fermions. For zero temperature the Aoki phase can be confirmed at inverse coupling $\beta=4.0$ and $\beta=4.3$, but not at $\beta=4.6$ and $\beta=5.0$. At non-zero temperature the Aoki phase was found to exist also at $\beta=4.6$.Comment: 3 pages LaTex, 5 figures. Parallel talk at Lattice2003(Theory

Rotational States of Magnetic Molecules

We study a magnetic molecule that exhibits spin tunneling and is free to rotate about its anisotropy axis. Exact low-energy eigenstates of the molecule that are superpositions of spin and rotational states are obtained. We show that parameter $\alpha = 2(\hbar S)^2/(I\Delta)$ determines the ground state of the molecule. Here $\hbar S$ is the spin, $I$ is the moment of inertia, and $\Delta$ is the tunnel splitting. The magnetic moment of the molecule is zero at $\alpha \alpha_c$. At $\alpha \to \infty$ the spin of the molecule localizes in one of the directions along the anisotropy axis.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

N/P GaAs concentrator solar cells with an improved grid and bushbar contact design

The major requirements for a solar cell used in space applications are high efficiency at AMO irradiance and resistance to high energy radiation. Gallium arsenide, with a band gap of 1.43 eV, is one of the most efficient sunlight to electricity converters (25%) when the the simple diode model is used to calculate efficiencies at AMO irradiance, GaAs solar cells are more radiation resistant than silicon solar cells and the N/P GaAs device has been reported to be more radiation resistant than similar P/N solar cells. This higher resistance is probably due to the fact that only 37% of the current is generated in the top N layer of the N/P cell compared to 69% in the top layer of a P/N solar cell. This top layer of the cell is most affected by radiation. It has also been theoretically calculated that the optimized N/P device will prove to have a higher efficiency than a similar P/N device. The use of a GaP window layer on a GaAs solar cell will avoid many of the inherent problems normally associated with a GaAlAs window while still proving good passivation of the GaAs surface. An optimized circular grid design for solar cell concentrators has been shown which incorporates a multi-layer metallization scheme. This multi-layer design allows for a greater current carrying capacity for a unit area of shading, which results in a better output efficiency