234 research outputs found
A corresponding states approach to Small-Angle-Scattering for polydisperse ionic colloidal fluids
Approximate scattering functions for polydisperse ionic colloidal fluids are
obtained by a corresponding states approach. This assumes that all pair
correlation functions of a polydisperse fluid are
conformal to those of an appropriate monodisperse binary fluid (reference
system) and can be generated from them by scaling transformations. The
correspondence law extends to ionic fluids a {\it scaling approximation} (SA)
successfully proposed for nonionic colloids in a recent paper. For the
primitive model of charged hard spheres in a continuum solvent, the partial
structure factors of the monodisperse binary reference system are evaluated by
solving the Orstein-Zernike (OZ) integral equations coupled with an approximate
closure. The SA is first tested within the mean spherical approximation (MSA)
closure, which allows analytical solutions. The results are found in good
overall agreement with exact MSA predictions up to relevant polidispersity. The
SA is shown to be an improvement over the ``decoupling approximation'' extended
to the ionic case. The simplicity of the SA scheme allows its application also
when the OZ equations can be solved only numerically. An example is then given
by using the hypernetted chain (HNC) closure. Shortcomings of the SA approach,
its possible use in the analysis of experimental scattering data and other
related points are also briefly addressed.Comment: 29 pages, 7 postscript figures (included), Latex 3.0, uses aps.sty,
to appear in Phys. Rev. E (1999
Decoherence times of universal two-qubit gates in the presence of broad-band noise
The controlled generation of entangled states of two quantum bits is a
fundamental step toward the implementation of a quantum information processor.
In nano-devices this operation is counteracted by the solid-state environment,
characterized by a broadband and non-monotonic power spectrum, often 1/f at low
frequencies. For single-qubit gates, incoherent processes due to fluctuations
acting on different time scales result in peculiar short- and long-time
behavior. Markovian noise gives rise to exponential decay with relaxation and
decoherence times, T1 and T2, simply related to the symmetry of the
qubit-environment coupling Hamiltonian. Noise with the 1/f power spectrum at
low frequencies is instead responsible for defocusing processes and algebraic
short-time behavior. In this paper, we identify the relevant decoherence times
of an entangling operation due to the different decoherence channels
originating from solid-state noise. Entanglement is quantified by concurrence,
which we evaluate in an analytic form employing a multi-stage approach. The
'optimal' operating conditions of reduced sensitivity to noise sources are
identified. We apply this analysis to a superconducting \sqrt{i-SWAP} gate for
experimental noise spectra.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figure
Challenges and prospects of automated disassembly of fuel cells for a circular economy
The hydrogen economy is driven by the growing share of renewable energy and electrification of the transportation sector. The essential components of a hydrogen economy are fuel cells and electrolysis systems. The scarcity of the resources to build these components and the negative environmental impact of their mining requires a circular economy. Concerning disassembly, economical, ergonomic, and safety reasons make a higher degree of automation necessary.
Our work outlines the challenges and prospects on automated disassembly of fuel cell stacks. This is carried out by summarizing the state-of-the-art approaches in disassembly and conducting manual non-/destructive disassembly experiments of end-of-life fuel cell stacks. Based on that, a chemical and mechanical analysis of the fuel cell components is performed. From this, an automation potential for the disassembly processes is derived and possible disassembly process routes are modeled. Moreover, recommendations are given regarding disassembly system requirements using a morphological box
Testing "microscopic" theories of glass-forming liquids
We assess the validity of "microscopic" approaches of glass-forming liquids
based on the sole k nowledge of the static pair density correlations. To do so
we apply them to a benchmark provided by two liquid models that share very
similar static pair density correlation functions while disp laying distinct
temperature evolutions of their relaxation times. We find that the approaches
are unsuccessful in describing the difference in the dynamical behavior of the
two models. Our study is not exhausti ve, and we have not tested the effect of
adding corrections by including for instance three-body density correlations.
Yet, our results appear strong enough to challenge the claim that the slowd own
of relaxation in glass-forming liquids, for which it is well established that
the changes of the static structure factor with temperature are small, can be
explained by "microscopic" appr oaches only requiring the static pair density
correlations as nontrivial input.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figs; Accepted to EPJE Special Issue on The Physics of
Glasses. Arxiv version contains an addendum to the appendix which does not
appear in published versio
Independent Ion Migration in Suspensions of Strongly Interacting Charged Colloidal Spheres
We report on sytematic measurements of the low frequency conductivity in
aequous supensions of highly charged colloidal spheres. System preparation in a
closed tubing system results in precisely controlled number densities between
1E16/m3 and 1E19/m^3 (packing fractions between 1E-7 and 1E-2) and electrolyte
concentrations between 1E-7 and 1E-3 mol/l. Due to long ranged Coulomb
repulsion some of the systems show a pronounced fluid or crystalline order.
Under deionized conditions we find s to depend linearily on the packing
fraction with no detectable influence of the phase transitions. Further at
constant packing fraction s increases sublinearily with increasing number of
dissociable surface groups N. As a function of c the conductivity shows
pronounced differences depending on the kind of electrolyte used. We propose a
simple yet powerful model based on independent migration of all species present
and additivity of the respective conductivity contributions. It takes account
of small ion macro-ion interactions in terms of an effectivly transported
charge. The model successfully describes our qualitatively complex experimental
observations. It further facilitates quantitative estimates of conductivity
over a wide range of particle and experimental parameters.Comment: 32 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, Accepted by Physical Review
Aspects of the dynamics of colloidal suspensions: Further results of the mode-coupling theory of structural relaxation
Results of the idealized mode-coupling theory for the structural relaxation
in suspensions of hard-sphere colloidal particles are presented and discussed
with regard to recent light scattering experiments. The structural relaxation
becomes non-diffusive for long times, contrary to the expectation based on the
de Gennes narrowing concept. A semi-quantitative connection of the wave vector
dependences of the relaxation times and amplitudes of the final
-relaxation explains the approximate scaling observed by Segr{\`e} and
Pusey [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 77}, 771 (1996)]. Asymptotic expansions lead to a
qualitative understanding of density dependences in generalized Stokes-Einstein
relations. This relation is also generalized to non-zero frequencies thereby
yielding support for a reasoning by Mason and Weitz [Phys. Rev. Lett {\bf 74},
1250 (1995)]. The dynamics transient to the structural relaxation is discussed
with models incorporating short-time diffusion and hydrodynamic interactions
for short times.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev.
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