4,605 research outputs found
Early History Of ISNA
The International Symposia on Nonlinear Acoustics, now referred to as ISNA, have convened regularly since 1968, bringing together scientists and engineers to report and discuss the latest developments in this branch of nonlinear physics. The fact that this series of symposia is still going strong after more than four decades is testimony that nonlinear acoustics has established itself as a distinct, important, and vibrant field of research. In this paper we take a look back at the early years of ISNA to recall how it all began and trace the evolution of the symposia into their current form.Applied Research Laboratorie
Temporal trend in the transfer of Sellafield-derived 14C into different size fractions of the carbonate component of NE Irish Sea sediment
From 1994 onwards, 14C discharges from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant have been made largely to the Northeast Irish Sea. They represent the largest contributor to UK and European populations of the collective dose commitment derived from the entire nuclear industry discharges. Consequently, it is important to understand the long-term fate of 14C in the marine environment. Research undertaken in 2000 suggested that the carbonate component of Northeast Irish Sea sediments would increase in 14C activity as mollusc shells, which have become enriched in Sellafield-derived 14C, are broken down by physical processes including wave action and incorporated into intertidal and sub-tidal sediments. The current study, undertaken in 2011, tested this hypothesis. The results demonstrate significant increases in 14C enrichments found in whole mussel shells compared to those measured in 2000. Additionally, in 2000, there was an enrichment above ambient background within only the largest size fraction (>500 ÎŒm) of the intertidal inorganic sediment at Nethertown and Flimby (north of Sellafield). In comparison, the present study has demonstrated 14C enrichments above ambient background in most size fractions at sites up to 40 km north of Sellafield, confirming the hypothesis set out more than a decade ago
Approximating a Wavefunction as an Unconstrained Sum of Slater Determinants
The wavefunction for the multiparticle Schr\"odinger equation is a function
of many variables and satisfies an antisymmetry condition, so it is natural to
approximate it as a sum of Slater determinants. Many current methods do so, but
they impose additional structural constraints on the determinants, such as
orthogonality between orbitals or an excitation pattern. We present a method
without any such constraints, by which we hope to obtain much more efficient
expansions, and insight into the inherent structure of the wavefunction. We use
an integral formulation of the problem, a Green's function iteration, and a
fitting procedure based on the computational paradigm of separated
representations. The core procedure is the construction and solution of a
matrix-integral system derived from antisymmetric inner products involving the
potential operators. We show how to construct and solve this system with
computational complexity competitive with current methods.Comment: 30 page
DRAM:A three-dimensional analytical model for the mobilisation of root reinforcement in direct shear conditions
Roots can stabilise slopes against shallow landslides by mobilising their mechanical strength. Existing analytical models are highly simplified and typically focus on the ultimate limit state only, thus providing little insight into the underlying mechanism of reinforcement mobilisation. A new analytical model (âDRAMâ) was therefore developed to predict mechanical root reinforcement as a function of direct shear displacements. This model accounts for elasto-plastic root behaviour, three-dimensional root orientations, root failure through breakage or slippage, and a dynamically changing shear zone thickness. Comparison to two independent experimental direct shear data sets showed that the model was able to accurately predict the gradual mobilisation of root strength, the magnitude of peak root reinforcement, as well as the presence of significant root reinforcement at large shear displacements, associated with a relatively large quantity of roots slipping out of the surrounding soil. Because the newly developed model more closely resembles the underlying physics of the mobilisation of root reinforcement in direct shear while still being easy to use, it will be a useful tool for the engineering industry, in terms of quantifying root reinforcement distribution for limit analyses at the ultimate limit state, as well as for directing future research into the drivers of mechanical root reinforcement.</p
Quantum theory's last challenge
Quantum mechanics is now 100 years old and still going strong. Combining
general relativity with quantum mechanics is the last hurdle to be overcome in
the "quantum revolution".Comment: (9 pages, LaTex) This is the preprint version of an article that
appeared in the issue 6813 (volume 408) of Nature, as part of a 3-article
celebration of the 100th anniversary of Planck's solution of the
black-body-radiation proble
Enhancement of the Deuteron-Fusion Reactions in Metals and its Experimental Implications
Recent measurements of the reaction d(d,p)t in metallic environments at very
low energies performed by different experimental groups point to an enhanced
electron screening effect. However, the resulting screening energies differ
strongly for divers host metals and different experiments. Here, we present new
experimental results and investigations of interfering processes in the
irradiated targets. These measurements inside metals set special challenges and
pitfalls which make them and the data analysis particularly error-prone. There
are multi-parameter collateral effects which are crucial for the correct
interpretation of the observed experimental yields. They mainly originate from
target surface contaminations due to residual gases in the vacuum as well as
from inhomogeneities and instabilities in the deuteron density distribution in
the targets. In order to address these problems an improved differential
analysis method beyond the standard procedures has been implemented. Profound
scrutiny of the other experiments demonstrates that the observed unusual
changes in the reaction yields are mainly due to deuteron density dynamics
simulating the alleged screening energy values. The experimental results are
compared with different theoretical models of the electron screening in metals.
The Debye-H\"{u}ckel model that has been previously proposed to explain the
influence of the electron screening on both nuclear reactions and radioactive
decays could be clearly excluded.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, REVTeX4, 2-column format. Submitted to Phys.
Rev. C; accepte
On the tau-functions of the Degasperis-Procesi equation
The DP equation is investigated from the point of view of
determinant-pfaffian identities. The reciprocal link between the
Degasperis-Procesi (DP) equation and the pseudo 3-reduction of the
two-dimensional Toda system is used to construct the N-soliton solution of the
DP equation. The N-soliton solution of the DP equation is presented in the form
of pfaffian through a hodograph (reciprocal) transformation. The bilinear
equations, the identities between determinants and pfaffians, and the
-functions of the DP equation are obtained from the pseudo 3-reduction of
the two-dimensional Toda system.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and
Theoretical, to be publishe
Development of Stresses in Cohesionless Poured Sand
The pressure distribution beneath a conical sandpile, created by pouring sand
from a point source onto a rough rigid support, shows a pronounced minimum
below the apex (`the dip'). Recent work of the authors has attempted to explain
this phenomenon by invoking local rules for stress propagation that depend on
the local geometry, and hence on the construction history, of the medium. We
discuss the fundamental difference between such approaches, which lead to
hyperbolic differential equations, and elastoplastic models, for which the
equations are elliptic within any elastic zones present .... This displacement
field appears to be either ill-defined, or defined relative to a reference
state whose physical existence is in doubt. Insofar as their predictions depend
on physical factors unknown and outside experimental control, such
elastoplastic models predict that the observations should be intrinsically
irreproducible .... Our hyperbolic models are based instead on a physical
picture of the material, in which (a) the load is supported by a skeletal
network of force chains ("stress paths") whose geometry depends on construction
history; (b) this network is `fragile' or marginally stable, in a sense that we
define. .... We point out that our hyperbolic models can nonetheless be
reconciled with elastoplastic ideas by taking the limit of an extremely
anisotropic yield condition.Comment: 25 pages, latex RS.tex with rspublic.sty, 7 figures in Rsfig.ps.
Philosophical Transactions A, Royal Society, submitted 02/9
Comparing temporal patterns in body condition of ringed seals living within their core geographic range with those living at the edge
Ecological theory suggests that demographic responses by populations to environmental change vary depending on whether individuals inhabit central or peripheral regions within the speciesâ geographic range. Here, we tested this prediction by comparing a population of ringed seals Pusa hispida located at high latitudes as part of their core range (core) with a population located at the southern extremity of their range (peripheral). First, we compared the two regionsâ environmental trends in timing of sea-ice breakup and freeze-up, open-water duration and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We found that the core region shifted to progressively warmer conditions in the early 1990s; whereas, in the peripheral region, the warming trend shifted in 1999 to one with no warming trend but high inter-annual variability. Next, we examined how body condition, inferred from blubber depth, responded to temporal changes in sea-ice and climatic variables â variables that have been shown to influence ringed seal demography. Core seals displayed minimal seasonal changes in body condition; whereas peripheral seals displayed a 20â60% amplitude seasonal change in body condition with a phase shift to earlier initiation of fat accumulation and loss. Finally, we tested for interannual differences and found that both core and peripheral seals responded similarly with decreased body condition following more positive NAO. Environmental variables influenced body condition in opposite directions between the two regions with core seals declining in body condition with later spring breakup and shorter open-water duration, whereas peripheral seals showed opposite relationships. Seals living at the core likely benefit from an evolved match between adaptation and environmental variation resulting in dampened seasonal and interannual fluctuations in body condition. Knowledge of how different populations respond to environmental change depending on geographic location within a species range can assist in anticipating population specific responses to climate warming
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