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Electric fields as a means of controlling thin film flow over topography
This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.Gravity-driven, steady-state flow of a thin liquid film over a substrate containing topography in the presence of a normal electric field is investigated. The liquid is assumed to be a perfect conductor and the air above it an ideal dielectric. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a new depth-averaged approximation that is capable of analysing film flows with inertia, with the flow coupled to the electric field via a Maxwell normal stress term that results from the solution of Laplace’s equation for the electric potential above the film. The latter is solved analytically using separation of variables and Fourier series. The coupled solver is used to analyse the interplay between inertia and electric field effects for flow over onedimensional step and trench topographies and to predict the effect of an electric field on three-dimensional Stokes flow over a two-dimensional trench topography. Sample results are given which investigate the magnitude of the electric fields needed to suppress free surface disturbances induced by topography in each of the cases considered.This study is funded by the European Union via Marie Curie Action Contract MEST-CT-2005-020599
Ultrasonic Attenuation Measurements in Jet-Engine Titanium Alloys
In the inspection of titanium material intended for use in aircraft engines, a number of unusual phenomena are observed, including significant fluctuations of the amplitude and phase of back-surface echoes and of the amplitudes of pulse-echo signals from nominally identical flaws[1]. Practical implications include a broadening of the probability of detection curves and difficulties in determining the ultrasonic attenuation, a parameter used in interpreting flaw response data. Incorrect determination of attenuation can lead to errors in distance-gain corrections and hence in estimates of the magnitude of the flaw response. In this paper, we report experiments designed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these signal fluctuations
Preferred Basis in a Measurement Process
The effect of decoherence is analysed for a free particle, interacting with
an environment via a dissipative coupling. The interaction between the particle
and the environment occurs by a coupling of the position operator of the
particle with the environmental degrees of freedom. By examining the exact
solution of the density matrix equation one finds that the density matrix
becomes completely diagonal in momentum with time while the position space
density matrix remains nonlocal. This establishes the momentum basis as the
emergent 'preferred basis' selected by the environment which is contrary to the
general expectation that position should emerge as the preferred basis since
the coupling with the environment is via the position coordinate.Comment: Standard REVTeX format, 10 pages of output. Accepted for publication
in Phys. Rev
Profiling filaments: comparing near-infrared extinction and submillimetre data in TMC-1
Interstellar filaments are an important part of star formation. To understand
the structure of filaments, cross-section profiles are often fitted with
Plummer profiles. This profiling is often done with submm studies, such as
Herschel. It would be convenient if filament properties could also be studied
using groundbased NIR data. We compare the filament profiles obtained by NIR
extinction and submm observations to find out if reliable profiles can be
derived using NIR data. We use J-, H-, and K-band data of a filament north of
TMC-1 to derive an extinction map from colour excesses of background stars. We
compare the Plummer profiles obtained from extinction maps with Herschel dust
emission maps. We present 2 methods to estimate profiles from NIR: Plummer
profile fits to median Av of stars or directly to the Av of individual stars.
We compare the methods by simulations. In simulations extinction maps and the
new methods give correct results to within ~10-20 for modest densities. Direct
fit to data on individual stars gives more accurate results than extinction
map, and can work in higher density. In profile fits to real observations,
values of Plummer parameters are generally similar to within a factor of ~2.
Although parameter values can vary significantly, estimates of filament mass
usually remain accurate to within some tens of per cent. Our results for TMC-1
are in agreement with earlier results. High resolution NIR data give more
details, but 2MASS data can be used to estimate profiles. NIR extinction can be
used as an alternative to submm observations to profile filaments. Direct fits
of stars can also be a valuable tool. Plummer profile parameters are not always
well constrained, and caution should be taken when making fits. In the
evaluation of Plummer parameters, one can use the independence of dust emission
and NIR data and the difference in the shapes of the confidence regions.Comment: accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics; abstract has been shortened for
astrop
Envelope structure of deeply embedded young stellar objects in the Serpens Molecular Cloud
Aperture synthesis and single-dish (sub) millimeter molecular lines and
continuum observations reveal in great detail the envelope structure of deeply
embedded young stellar objects (SMM1, SMM2, SMM3, SMM4) in the densely
star-forming Serpens Molecular Cloud. Resolved millimeter continuum emission
constrains the density structure to a radial power law with index -2.0 +/- 0.5,
and envelope masses of 8.7, 3.0, and 5.3 M_sol for SMM1, SMM3, and SMM4. The
core SMM2 does not seem to have a central condensation and may not have formed
a star yet. The molecular line observations can be described by the same
envelope model, if an additional, small amount of warm (100 K) material is
included. This probably corresponds to the inner few hundred AU of the envelope
were the temperature is high. In the interferometer beam, the molecular lines
reveal the inner regions of the envelopes, as well as interaction of the
outflow with the surrounding envelope. Bright HCO+ and HCN emission outlines
the cavities, while SiO and SO trace the direct impact of the outflow on
ambient gas. Taken together, these observations provide a first comprehensive
view of the physical and chemical structure of the envelopes of deeply embedded
young stellar objects in a clustered environment on scales between 1000 and
10,000 AU.Comment: 46 pages, incl. 12 postscript figures, uses ApJ latex and psfig
macro
Fully gapped superconductivity in Ni-pnictide superconductors BaNi2As2 and SrNi2P2
We have performed low-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity
measurements on the Ni-pnictide superconductors BaNiAs
(=0.7 K and SrNiP (=1.4 K). The temperature
dependences and of the two compounds are similar to the
results of a number of s-wave superconductors. Furthermore, the concave field
responses of the residual for BaNiAs rules out the presence of
nodes on the Fermi surfaces. We postulate that fully gapped superconductivity
could be universal for Ni-pnictide superconductors. Specific heat data on
BaLaNiAs shows a mild suppression of and
relative to BaNiAs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to be published in J. Phys.: Conf. Se
Optimized phase switching using a single atom nonlinearity
We show that a nonlinear phase shift of pi can be obtained by using a single
two level atom in a one sided cavity with negligible losses. This result
implies that the use of a one sided cavity can significantly improve the pi/18
phase shift previously observed by Turchette et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 4710
(1995)].Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, added comments on derivation and assumption
Subchronic Exposure to TCDD, PeCDF, PCB126, and PCB153: Effect on Hepatic Gene Expression
We employed DNA microarray to identify unique hepatic gene expression patterns associated with subchronic exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and other halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs). Female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 13 weeks to toxicologically equivalent doses of four different HAHs based on the toxic equivalency factor of each chemical: TCDD (100 ng/kg/day), 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (PeCDF; 200 ng/kg/day), 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126; 1,000 ng/kg/day), or 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153; 1,000 μg/kg/day). Global gene expression profiles for each exposure, which account for 8,799 gene probe sets contained on Affymetrix RGU34A GeneChips, were compared by principal components analysis. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands TCDD, PeCDF, and PCB126 produced very similar global gene expression profiles that were unique from the nonAhR ligand PCB153, underscoring the extensive impact of AhR activation and/or the resulting hepatic injury on global gene expression in female rat liver. Many genes were co-expressed during the 13-week TCDD, PeCDF, or PCB126 exposures, including classical AhR-regulated genes and some genes not previously characterized as being AhR regulated, such as carcinoembryonic-cell adhesion molecule 4 (C-CAM4) and adenylate cyclase-associated protein 2 (CAP2). Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction confirmed the increased expression of these genes in TCDD-, PeCDF-, and PCB126-exposed rats as well as the up- or down-regulation of several other novel dioxin-responsive genes. In summary, DNA microarray successfully identified dioxin-responsive genes expressed after exposure to AhR ligands (TCDD, PeCDF, PCB126) but not after exposure to the non-AhR ligand PCB153. Together, these findings may help to elucidate some of the fundamental features of dioxin toxicity and may further clarify the biologic role of the AhR signaling pathway
What determines the density structure of molecular clouds? A case study of Orion B with <i>Herschel</i>
A key parameter to the description of all star formation processes is the density structure of the gas. In this Letter, we make use of probability distribution functions (PDFs) of Herschel column density maps of Orion B, Aquila, and Polaris, obtained with the Herschel Gould Belt survey (HGBS). We aim to understand which physical processes influence the PDF shape, and with which signatures. The PDFs of Orion B (Aquila) show a lognormal distribution for low column densities until AV ~ 3 (6), and a power-law tail for high column densities, consistent with a ρα r-2 profile for the equivalent spherical density distribution. The PDF of Orion B is broadened by external compression due to the nearby OB stellar aggregates. The PDF of a quiescent subregion of the non-star-forming Polaris cloud is nearly lognormal, indicating that supersonic turbulence governs the density distribution. But we also observe a deviation from the lognormal shape at AV > 1 for a subregion in Polaris that includes a prominent filament. We conclude that (1) the point where the PDF deviates from the lognormal form does not trace a universal AV -threshold for star formation, (2) statistical density fluctuations, intermittency, and magnetic fields can cause excess from the lognormal PDF at an early cloud formation stage, (3) core formation and/or global collapse of filaments and a non-isothermal gas distribution lead to a power-law tail, and (4) external compression broadens the column density PDF, consistent with numerical simulations
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