Bose and Fermi gases in the early universe with self-gravitational effect

We study the self-gravitational effect on the equation of state (EoS) of Bose and Fermi gases in thermal equilibrium at the end of reheating, the period after quark-hadron transition and before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). After introducing new grand canonical partition functions based on the work of Uhlenbeck and Gropper, we notice some interesting features of the newly developed EoSs with distinct behaviors of relativistic and non-relativistic gases under self-gravity. The usual negligence of the self-gravitational effect when solving the background expansion of the early universe is justified with numerical results, showing the magnitude of the self-gravitational modification of the state constant to be less than $O(10^{-78})$. This helps us to clarify the background thermal evolution of the primordial patch. Such clarification is crucial in testing gravity theories, evaluating inflation models and determining element abundances in BBN.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PR

Teleconnection analysis of runoff and soil moisture over the Pearl River basin in Southern China

This study explores the teleconnection of two climatic patterns, namely the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), with hydrological processes over the Pearl River basin in southern China, particularly on a sub-basin-scale basis. The Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model is used to simulate the daily hydrological processes over the basin for the study period 1952–2000, and then, using the simulation results, the time series of the monthly runoff and soil moisture anomalies for its ten sub-basins are aggregated. Wavelet analysis is performed to explore the variability properties of these time series at 49 timescales ranging from 2 months to 9 yr. Use of the wavelet coherence and rank correlation method reveals that the dominant variabilities of the time series of runoff and soil moisture are basically correlated with IOD. The influences of ENSO on the terrestrial hydrological processes are mainly found in the eastern sub-basins. The teleconnections between climatic patterns and hydrological variability also serve as a reference for inferences on the occurrence of extreme hydrological events (e.g., floods and droughts).published_or_final_versio

Reexamining the temperature and neutron density conditions for r-process nucleosynthesis with augmented nuclear mass models

We explore the effects of nuclear masses on the temperature and neutron density conditions required for r-process nucleosynthesis using four nuclear mass models augmented by the latest atomic mass evaluation. For each model we derive the conditions for producing the observed abundance peaks at mass numbers A ~ 80, 130, and 195 under the waiting-point approximation and further determine the sets of conditions that can best reproduce the r-process abundance patterns (r-patterns) inferred for the solar system and observed in metal-poor stars of the Milky Way halo. In broad agreement with previous studies, we find that (1) the conditions for producing abundance peaks at A ~ 80 and 195 tend to be very different, which suggests that, at least for some nuclear mass models, these two peaks are not produced simultaneously; (2) the typical conditions required by the critical waiting-point (CWP) nuclei with the N = 126 closed neutron shell overlap significantly with those required by the N=82 CWP nuclei, which enables coproduction of abundance peaks at A ~ 130 and 195 in accordance with observations of many metal-poor stars; and (3) the typical conditions required by the N = 82 CWP nuclei can reproduce the r-pattern observed in the metal-poor star HD 122563, which differs greatly from the solar r-pattern. We also examine how nuclear mass uncertainties affect the conditions required for the r-process and identify some key nuclei including76Ni to 78Ni, 82Zn, 131Cd, and 132Cd for precise mass measurements at rare-isotope beam facilities.Comment: 28 pages,9 figures,1 tabl

Silicon and III-V compound nanotubes: structural and electronic properties

Unusual physical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes have started a search for similar tubular structures of other elements. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of single-wall nanotubes of silicon and group III-V compounds. Starting from precursor graphene-like structures we investigated the stability, energetics and electronic structure of zigzag and armchair tubes using first-principles pseudopotential plane wave method and finite temperature ab-initio molecular dynamics calculations. We showed that (n,0) zigzag and (n,n) armchair nanotubes of silicon having n > 6 are stable but those with n < 6 can be stabilized by internal or external adsorption of transition metal elements. Some of these tubes have magnetic ground state leading to spintronic properties. We also examined the stability of nanotubes under radial and axial deformation. Owing to the weakness of radial restoring force, stable Si nanotubes are radially soft. Undeformed zigzag nanotubes are found to be metallic for 6 < n < 11 due to curvature effect; but a gap starts to open for n > 12. Furthermore, we identified stable tubular structures formed by stacking of Si polygons. We found AlP, GaAs, and GaN (8,0) single-wall nanotubes stable and semiconducting. Our results are compared with those of single-wall carbon nanotubes.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Combined shear/compression structural testing of asymmetric sandwich structures

Asymmetric sandwich technology can be applied in the design of lightweight, non-pressurized aeronautical structures such as those of helicopters. A test rig of asymmetric sandwich structures subjected to compression/shear loads was designed, validated, and set up. It conforms to the standard certification procedure for composite aeronautical structures set out in the “test pyramid”, a multiscale approach. The static tests until failure showed asymmetric sandwich structures to be extremely resistant, which, in the case of the tested specimen shape, were characterized by the absence of buckling and failure compressive strains up to 10,000 μ strains. Specimens impacted with perforation damage were also tested, enabling the original phenomenon of crack propagation to be observed step-by-step. The results of the completed tests thus enable the concept to be validated, and justify the possibility of creating a much larger machine to overcome the drawbacks linked to the use of small specimens

Eddy-current analysis of double-stator inset-type permanent magnet brushless machines

In this paper, a new multi-pole double-stator inset-type permanent magnet (PM) machine is proposed for low-speed direct-drive applications. In the outer stator, a fractional-slot concentrated winding is adopted to reduce the slot number and stator yoke height, hence saving the space and improving the torque density. In the inner stator, a vernier structure is used to reduce the winding slots and enlarge the slot area to accommodate more conductors, hence fully utilizing the inner stator space. Consequently, the torque density is improved, and the cogging torque is reduced. Since the machine structure is so unique while its operating principle is so distinct, a nodal method based network-field coupled time-stepping finite element method (NF-TS-FEM) is newly developed. The corresponding modeling and analysis are simpler and more convenient than its loop method based counterpart. The analysis of eddy-current loss in both of the PMs is conducted. The performance of the proposed machine is verified by the proposed NF-TS-FEM. © 2006 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Spin and orbital moments of ultra-thin Fe films on various semiconductor surfaces

The magnetic moments of ultrathin Fe films on three different III-V semiconductor substrates, namely GaAs, InAs and In0.2Ga0.8As have been measured with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at room temperature to assess their relative merits as combinations suitable for next-generation spintronic devices. The results revealed rather similar spin moments and orbital moments for the three systems, suggesting the relationship between film and semiconductor lattice parameters to be less critical to magnetic moments than magnetic anisotropy