1,246 research outputs found
Band structure of helimagnons in MnSi resolved by inelastic neutron scattering
A magnetic helix realizes a one-dimensional magnetic crystal with a period
given by the pitch length . Its spin-wave excitations -- the
helimagnons -- experience Bragg scattering off this periodicity leading to gaps
in the spectrum that inhibit their propagation along the pitch direction. Using
high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering the resulting band structure of
helimagnons was resolved by preparing a single crystal of MnSi in a single
magnetic-helix domain. At least five helimagnon bands could be identified that
cover the crossover from flat bands at low energies with helimagnons basically
localized along the pitch direction to dispersing bands at higher energies. In
the low-energy limit, we find the helimagnon spectrum to be determined by a
universal, parameter-free theory. Taking into account corrections to this
low-energy theory, quantitative agreement is obtained in the entire energy
range studied with the help of a single fitting parameter.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; (v2) slight modifications, published versio
Thickness-dependent spontaneous dewetting morphology of ultrathin Ag films
We show here that the morphological pathway of spontaneous dewetting of
ultrathin Ag films on SiO2 under nanosecond laser melting is found to be film
thickness dependent. For films with thickness h between 2 <= h <= 9.5 nm, the
morphology during the intermediate stages of dewetting consisted of
bicontinuous structures. For films 11.5 <= h <= 20 nm, the intermediate stages
consisted of regularly-sized holes. Measurement of the characteristic length
scales for different stages of dewetting as a function of film thickness showed
a systematic increase, which is consistent with the spinodal dewetting
instability over the entire thickness range investigated. This change in
morphology with thickness is consistent with observations made previously for
polymer films [A. Sharma et al, Phys. Rev. Lett., v81, pp3463 (1998); R.
Seemann et al, J. Phys. Cond. Matt., v13, pp4925, (2001)]. Based on the
behavior of free energy curvature that incorporates intermolecular forces, we
have estimated the morphological transition thickness for the intermolecular
forces for Ag on SiO2 . The theory predictions agree well with observations for
Ag. These results show that it is possible to form a variety of complex Ag
nanomorphologies in a consistent manner, which could be useful in optical
applications of Ag surfaces, such as in surface enhanced Raman sensing.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Validation of GBS plasma turbulence simulation of the TJ-K stellarator
We present a validation of a three-dimensional, two-fluid simulation of
plasma turbulence in the TJ-K stellarator, a low temperature plasma experiment
ideally suited for turbulence measurements. The simulation is carried out by
the GBS code, recently adapted to simulate 3D magnetic fields. The comparison
shows that GBS retrieves the main turbulence properties observed in the device,
namely the fact that transport is dominated by fluctuations with low poloidal
mode number. The poloidal dependence of the radial
turbulent flux is compared on a poloidal plane with elliptical flux surfaces,
where a very good agreement between experiment and simulation is observed, and
on another with triangular flux surfaces, which shows a poorer comparison. The
fluctuation levels in both cases are underestimated in the simulations. The
equilibrium density profile is well retrieved by the simulation, while the
electron temperature and the electrostatic potential profiles, which are very
sensitive to the strength and localization of the sources, do not agree well
with the experimental measurements
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Solar spectral conversion for improving the photosynthetic activity in algae reactors
Sustainable biomass production is expected to be one of the major supporting pillars for future energy supply, as well as for renewable material provision. Algal beds represent an exciting resource for biomass/biofuel, fine chemicals and CO2 storage. Similar to other solar energy harvesting techniques, the efficiency of algal photosynthesis depends on the spectral overlap between solar irradiation and chloroplast absorption. Here we demonstrate that spectral conversion can be employed to significantly improve biomass growth and oxygen production rate in closed-cycle algae reactors. For this purpose, we adapt a photoluminescent phosphor of the type Ca 0.59Sr0.40Eu0.01S, which enables efficient conversion of the green part of the incoming spectrum into red light to better match the Qy peak of chlorophyll b. Integration of a Ca 0.59Sr0.40Eu0.01S backlight converter into a flat panel algae reactor filled with Haematococcus pluvialis as a model species results in significantly increased photosynthetic activity and algae reproduction rate
Rotor termination is critically dependent on kinetic properties of I Kur inhibitors in an In Silico model of chronic atrial fibrillation
Inhibition of the atrial ultra-rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I Kur) represents a promising therapeutic strategy in the therapy of atrial fibrillation. However, experimental and clinical data on the antiarrhythmic efficacy remain controversial. We tested the hypothesis that antiarrhythmic effects of I Kur inhibitors are dependent on kinetic properties of channel blockade. A mathematical description of I Kur blockade was introduced into Courtemanche-Ramirez-Nattel models of normal and remodeled atrial electrophysiology. Effects of five model compounds with different kinetic properties were analyzed. Although a reduction of dominant frequencies could be observed in two dimensional tissue simulations for all compounds, a reduction of spiral wave activity could be only be detected in two cases. We found that an increase of the percent area of refractory tissue due to a prolongation of the wavelength seems to be particularly important. By automatic tracking of spiral tip movement we find that increased refractoriness resulted in rotor extinction caused by an increased spiral-tip meandering. We show that antiarrhythmic effects of I Kur inhibitors are dependent on kinetic properties of blockade. We find that an increase of the percent area of refractory tissue is the underlying mechanism for an increased spiral-tip meandering, resulting in the extinction of re-entrant circuits
Parameter Estimation of Ion Current Formulations Requires Hybrid Optimization Approach to Be Both Accurate and Reliable
Computational models of cardiac electrophysiology provided insights into arrhythmogenesis and paved the way toward tailored therapies in the last years. To fully leverage in silico models in future research, these models need to be adapted to reflect pathologies, genetic alterations, or pharmacological effects, however. A common approach is to leave the structure of established models unaltered and estimate the values of a set of parameters. Today’s high-throughput patch clamp data acquisition methods require robust, unsupervised algorithms that estimate parameters both accurately and reliably. In this work, two classes of optimization approaches are evaluated: gradient-based trust-region-reflective and derivative-free particle swarm algorithms. Using synthetic input data and different ion current formulations from the Courtemanche et al. electrophysiological model of human atrial myocytes, we show that neither of the two schemes alone succeeds to meet all requirements. Sequential combination of the two algorithms did improve the performance to some extent but not satisfactorily. Thus, we propose a novel hybrid approach coupling the two algorithms in each iteration. This hybrid approach yielded very accurate estimates with minimal dependency on the initial guess using synthetic input data for which a ground truth parameter set exists. When applied to measured data, the hybrid approach yielded the best fit, again with minimal variation. Using the proposed algorithm, a single run is sufficient to estimate the parameters. The degree of superiority over the other investigated algorithms in terms of accuracy and robustness depended on the type of current. In contrast to the non-hybrid approaches, the proposed method proved to be optimal for data of arbitrary signal to noise ratio. The hybrid algorithm proposed in this work provides an important tool to integrate experimental data into computational models both accurately and robustly allowing to assess the often non-intuitive consequences of ion channel-level changes on higher levels of integration
Dewetting of thin polymer films near the glass transition
Dewetting of ultra-thin polymer films near the glass transition exhibits
unexpected front morphologies [G. Reiter, Phys. Rev. Lett., 87, 186101 (2001)].
We present here the first theoretical attempt to understand these features,
focusing on the shear-thinning behaviour of these films. We analyse the profile
of the dewetting film, and characterize the time evolution of the dry region
radius, , and of the rim height, . After a transient time
depending on the initial thickness, grows like while
increases like . Different regimes of growth are
expected, depending on the initial film thickness and experimental time range.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures Revised version, published in Physical Review
Letters: F. Saulnier, E. Raphael and P.-G. de Gennes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88,
196101 (2002
Characterizing Exoplanets in the Visible and Infrared: A Spectrometer Concept for the EChO Space Mission
Transit-spectroscopy of exoplanets is one of the key observational techniques
to characterize the extrasolar planet and its atmosphere. The observational
challenges of these measurements require dedicated instrumentation and only the
space environment allows an undisturbed access to earth-like atmospheric
features such as water or carbon-dioxide. Therefore, several exoplanet-specific
space missions are currently being studied. One of them is EChO, the Exoplanet
Characterization Observatory, which is part of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025
program, and which is one of four candidates for the M3 launch slot in 2024. In
this paper we present the results of our assessment study of the EChO
spectrometer, the only science instrument onboard this spacecraft. The
instrument is a multi-channel all-reflective dispersive spectrometer, covering
the wavelength range from 400 nm to 16 microns simultaneously with a moderately
low spectral resolution. We illustrate how the key technical challenge of the
EChO mission - the high photometric stability - influences the choice of
spectrometer concept and drives fundamentally the instrument design. First
performance evaluations underline the fitness of the elaborated design solution
for the needs of the EChO mission.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Journal of
Astronomical Instrumentatio
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