Structural trends from a consistent set of single-crystal data of REFeAsO (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Tb)

A new crystal growth technique for single-crystals of REFeAsO (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Tb) using NaI/KI as flux is presented. Crystals with a size up to 300 $\mu$m were isolated for single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. Lattice parameters were determined by LeBail fits of X-ray powder data against LaB6 standard. A consistent set of structural data is obtained and interpreted in a hard-sphere model. Effective radii for the rare-earth metal atoms for REFeAsO are deduced. The relation of the intra- and inter-plane distances of the arsenic atoms is identified as limiter of the phase formation, and its influence on Tc is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, fig. 6 changed to numerical plot, minor changes to the text, accepted for publication in PR

Anisotropic electrical resistivity of LaFeAsO: evidence for electronic nematicity

Single crystals of LaFeAsO were successfully grown out of KI flux. Temperature dependent electrical resistivity was measured with current flow along the basal plane, \rho_perpend(T), as well as with current flow along the crystallographic c-axis, \rho_parallel(T), the latter one utilizing electron beam lithography and argon ion beam milling. The anisotropy ratio was found to lie between \rho_parallel/\rho_perpend = 20 - 200. The measurement of \rho_perpend(T) was performed with current flow along the tetragonal [1 0 0] direction and along the [1 1 0] direction and revealed a clear in-plane anisotropy already at T \leq 175 K. This is significantly above the orthorhombic distortion at T_0 = 147 K and indicates the formation of an electron nematic phase. Magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity give evidence for a change of the magnetic structure of the iron atoms from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic arrangement along the c-axis at T^\ast = 11 K.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, minor change

Dimensionless scaling of heat-release-induced planar shock waves in near-critical CO2

We performed highly resolved one-dimensional fully compressible Navier-Stokes simulations of heat-release-induced compression waves in near-critical CO2. The computational setup, inspired by the experimental setup of Miura et al., Phys. Rev. E, 2006, is composed of a closed inviscid (one-dimensional) duct with adiabatic hard ends filled with CO2 at three supercritical pressures. The corresponding initial temperature values are taken along the pseudo-boiling line. Thermodynamic and transport properties of CO2 in near-critical conditions are modeled via the Peng-Robinson equation of state and Chung's Method. A heat source is applied at a distance from one end, with heat release intensities spanning the range 10^3-10^11 W/m^2, generating isentropic compression waves for values < 10^9 W/m^2. For higher heat-release rates such compressions are coalescent with distinct shock-like features (e.g. non-isentropicity and propagation Mach numbers measurably greater than unity) and a non-uniform post-shock state is present due to the strong thermodynamic nonlinearities. The resulting compression wave intensities have been collapsed via the thermal expansion coefficient, highly variable in near-critical fluids, used as one of the scaling parameters for the reference energy. The proposed scaling applies to isentropic thermoacoustic waves as well as shock waves up to shock strength 2. Long-term time integration reveals resonance behavior of the compression waves, raising the mean pressure and temperature at every resonance cycle. When the heat injection is halted, expansion waves are generated, which counteract the compression waves leaving conduction as the only thermal relaxation process. In the long term evolution, the decay in amplitude of the resonating waves observed in the experiments is qualitatively reproduced by using isothermal boundary conditions.Comment: As submitted to AIAA SciTech 2017, available at http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2017-008

Thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the liquid-gas critical point

We study the thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the liquid-gas critical point. Specifically, we perform a numerical investigation of the acoustic responses in a near-critical fluid to thermal perturbations based on the same setup of a recent ultrasensitive interferometry measurement in CO2 [Y. Miura et al. Phys. Rev. E 74, 010101(R) (2006)]. The numerical results agree well with the experimental data. New features regarding the reflection pattern of thermo-acoustic waves near the critical point under pulse perturbations are revealed by the proper inclusion of the critically diverging bulk viscosity.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by PRE (Rapid Communication

Data management study, volume 5. Appendix K - Contractor data package data management /DM/ Final report

Contractor data management system for Voyager projec

Doubly connected minimal surfaces and extremal harmonic mappings

The concept of a conformal deformation has two natural extensions: quasiconformal and harmonic mappings. Both classes do not preserve the conformal type of the domain, however they cannot change it in an arbitrary way. Doubly connected domains are where one first observes nontrivial conformal invariants. Herbert Groetzsch and Johannes C. C. Nitsche addressed this issue for quasiconformal and harmonic mappings, respectively. Combining these concepts we obtain sharp estimates for quasiconformal harmonic mappings between doubly connected domains. We then apply our results to the Cauchy problem for minimal surfaces, also known as the Bjorling problem. Specifically, we obtain a sharp estimate of the modulus of a doubly connected minimal surface that evolves from its inner boundary with a given initial slope.Comment: 35 pages, 2 figures. Minor edits, references adde

Single session and repeated anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex increases reflective thinking but not working memory updating performance

Background Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has shown to have effects on different domains of cognition yet there is a gap in the literature regarding effects on reflective thinking performance. Objective The current study investigated if single session and repeated anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC induces effects on judgment and decision-making performance and whether these are linked to working memory (updating) performance or cognitive inhibition. Methods Participants received anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC once (plus sham tDCS in a second session) or twice (24 h apart). In the third group participants received a single session of sham stimulation only. Cognitive characteristic measures were administered pre-stimulation (thinking disposition, impulsivity, cognitive ability). Experimental tasks included two versions of the Cognitive Reflection Test (numeric vs verbal-CRT), a set of incongruent base-rate vignettes, and two working memory tests (Sternberg task and n-back task). Forty-eight participants (mean age = 26.08 ± 0.54 years; 27 females) were recruited. Results Single sessions of tDCS were associated with an increase in reflective thinking performance compared to the sham conditions, with stimulation improving scores on incongruent base rate tasks as well as marginally improving numeric CRT scores (compared to sham), but not thinking tasks without a numeric component (verbal-CRT). Repeated anodal stimulation only improved numeric CRT scores. tDCS did not increase working memory (updating) performance. These findings could not be explained by a practice effect or a priori differences in cognitive characteristics or impulsivity across the experimental groups. Conclusion The current results demonstrate the involvement of the right DLPFC in reflective thinking performance which cannot be explained by working memory (updating) performance or general cognitive characteristics of participants

Thermoacoustic effects in supercritical fluids near the critical point: Resonance, piston effect, and acoustic emission and reflection

We present a general theory of thermoacoustic phenomena in supercritical fluids near the critical point in a one-dimensional cell. We take into account the effects of the heat conduction in the boundary walls and the bulk viscosity near the critical point. We introduce a coefficient $Z(\omega)$ characterizing reflection of sound with frequency $\omega$ at the boundary. As applications, we examine the acoustic eigenmodes in the cell, the response to time-dependent perturbations, sound emission and reflection at the boundary. Resonance and rapid adiabatic changes are noteworthy. In these processes, the role of the thermal diffusion layers is enhanced near the critical point because of the strong critical divergence of the thermal expansion.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Direct-current-dependent shift of theta-burst-induced plasticity in the human motor cortex

Animal studies using polarising currents have shown that induction of synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) by bursts of patterned stimulation is affected by the membrane potential of the postsynaptic neurone. The aim of the present experiments was to test whether it is possible to observe similar phenomena in humans with the aim of improving present protocols of inducing synaptic plasticity for therapeutic purposes. We tested whether the LTP/LTD-like after effects of transcranial theta-burst stimulation (TBS) of human motor cortex, an analogue of patterned electrical stimulation in animals, were affected by simultaneous transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive method of polarising cortical neurones in humans. Nine healthy volunteers were investigated in a single-blind, balanced cross-over study; continuous TBS (cTBS) was used to introduce LTD-like after effects, whereas intermittent TBS (iTBS) produced LTP-like effects. Each pattern was coupled with concurrent application of tDCS (<200 s, anodal, cathodal, sham). Cathodal tDCS increased the response to iTBS and abolished the effects of cTBS. Anodal tDCS changed the effects of cTBS towards facilitation, but had no impact on iTBS. Cortical motor thresholds and intracortical inhibitory/facilitatory networks were not altered by any of the stimulation protocols. We conclude that the after effects of TBS can be modulated by concurrent tDCS. We hypothesise that tDCS changes the membrane potential of the apical dendrites of cortical pyramidal neurones and that this changes the response to patterned synaptic input evoked by TBS. The data show that it may be possible to enhance LTP-like plasticity after TBS in the human cortex