Slow Excitation Trapping in Quantum Transport with Long-Range Interactions

Long-range interactions slow down the excitation trapping in quantum transport processes on a one-dimensional chain with traps at both ends. This is counter intuitive and in contrast to the corresponding classical processes with long-range interactions, which lead to faster excitation trapping. We give a pertubation theoretical explanation of this effect.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Reversible uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation at low oxygen tension.

The stoichiometry of oxidative phosphorylation at low oxygen tension (

Plasma Edge Kinetic-MHD Modeling in Tokamaks Using Kepler Workflow for Code Coupling, Data Management and Visualization

A new predictive computer simulation tool targeting the development of the H-mode pedestal at the plasma edge in tokamaks and the triggering and dynamics of edge localized modes (ELMs) is presented in this report. This tool brings together, in a coordinated and effective manner, several first-principles physics simulation codes, stability analysis packages, and data processing and visualization tools. A Kepler workflow is used in order to carry out an edge plasma simulation that loosely couples the kinetic code, XGC0, with an ideal MHD linear stability analysis code, ELITE, and an extended MHD initial value code such as M3D or NIMROD. XGC0 includes the neoclassical ion-electron-neutral dynamics needed to simulate pedestal growth near the separatrix. The Kepler workflow processes the XGC0 simulation results into simple images that can be selected and displayed via the Dashboard, a monitoring tool implemented in AJAX allowing the scientist to track computational resources, examine running and archived jobs, and view key physics data, all within a standard Web browser. The XGC0 simulation is monitored for the conditions needed to trigger an ELM crash by periodically assessing the edge plasma pressure and current density profiles using the ELITE code. If an ELM crash is triggered, the Kepler workflow launches the M3D code on a moderate-size Opteron cluster to simulate the nonlinear ELM crash and to compute the relaxation of plasma profiles after the crash. This process is monitored through periodic outputs of plasma fluid quantities that are automatically visualized with AVS/Express and may be displayed on the Dashboard. Finally, the Kepler workflow archives all data outputs and processed images using HPSS, as well as provenance information about the software and hardware used to create the simulation. The complete process of preparing, executing and monitoring a coupled-code simulation of the edge pressure pedestal buildup and the ELM cycle using the Kepler scientific workflow system is described in this paper

Analysis of proton-induced fragment production cross sections by the Quantum Molecular Dynamics plus Statistical Decay Model

The production cross sections of various fragments from proton-induced reactions on $^{56}$Fe and $^{27}$Al have been analyzed by the Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) plus Statistical Decay Model (SDM). It was found that the mass and charge distributions calculated with and without the statistical decay have very different shapes. These results also depend strongly on the impact parameter, showing an importance of the dynamical treatment as realized by the QMD approach. The calculated results were compared with experimental data in the energy region from 50 MeV to 5 GeV. The QMD+SDM calculation could reproduce the production cross sections of the light clusters and intermediate-mass to heavy fragments in a good accuracy. The production cross section of $^{7}$Be was, however, underpredicted by approximately 2 orders of magnitude, showing the necessity of another reaction mechanism not taken into account in the present model.Comment: 12 pages, Latex is used, 6 Postscript figures are available by request from [email protected]

Time dependence of triplet-singlet excitation transfer from compact poly rA to bound dye at 77 K

The nonexponential phosphorescence decay of a highly folded form of poly-riboadenylic acid (poly rA) with noncovalently bound dye is explained by a novel application of a well-known theory of electronic excitation transfer based on the Förster mechanism. This theory, originally used to describe singlet-singlet energy transfer from donor molecules to an acceptor in a solution, is here applied to the transfer of triplet excitation from the adenine (in poly rA) to the singlet manifold of either of the bound dyes, ethidium bromide or proflavine. New experimental data are presented that allow straight-forward theoretical interpretation. These data fit the form predicted by the theory, U(t) exp (-Bt[superscript 1/2]), where U(t) is the decay of the poly rA phosphorescence in the absence of dye, for a range of relative concentrations of either dye. The self-consistency of these theoretical fits is demonstrated by the proportionality of B to the square root of the Förster triplet-singlet overlap integrals for transfer from poly rA to each of the dyes, as demanded by the theory. From these self-consistent values of B, the theory enables one to deduce the mean packing density of nucleotides in this folded poly rA, which we estimate to be approximately ~ 1 nm⁻³. We conclude that some variations of the method described here may be useful for deducing packing densities of nucleotides in other compact nucleic acid structures.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by The Biophysical Society and published by Cell Press/Elsevier. It can be found at: http://www.cell.com/biophysj

Wall-confined high beta spheromak

The spheromak could be extended into the high beta regime by supporting the pressure on flux-conserving walls, allowing the plasma to be in a Taylor state with zero pressure gradient and thus stable to ideal and resistive MHD. The concept yields a potentially attractive, pulsed reactor which would require no external magnets. The flux conserver would be shaped to be stable to the tilt and shift instabilities. We envision a plasma which is ohmically ignited at low beta, with the kinetic pressure growing to beta > 1 by fueling from the edge. The flux conserver would be designed such that the magnetic decay time = the fusion burn time. The thermal capacity of the flux conserver and blanket would exceed the fusion yield per discharge, so that they can be cooled steadily. Ignition is estimated to require minimum technology: 30-100 MJ of pulsed power applied at a 0.5 GW rate generates an estimated bum yield > 1 GJ. The concept thus provides an alternate route to a fusion plasma that is MHD stable at high beta, yielding a reactor that is simple and cheap. The major confinement issue is transport due to grad(T), e.g. driven by high beta modes related to the ITG instability

Isolation of Metals from Liquid Wastes: Reactive Scavenging in Turbulent Thermal Reactors

The Overall project demonstrated that toxic metals (cesium Cs and strontium Sr) in aqueous and organic wastes can be isolated from the environment through reaction with kaolinite based sorbent substrates in high temperature reactor environments. In addition, a state-of-the art laser diagnostic tool to measure droplet characteristic in practical 'dirty' laboratory environments was developed, and was featured on the cover of a recent edition of the scientific journal ''applied Spectroscopy''. Furthermore, great strides have been made in developing a theoretical model that has the potential to allow prediction of the position and life history of every particle of waste in a high temperature, turbulent flow field, a very challenging problem involving as it does, the fundamentals of two phase turbulence and of particle drag physics

Spheromak Energy Transport Studies via Neutral Beam Injection

Results from the SSPX spheromak experiment provide strong motivation to add neutral beam injection (NBI) heating. Such auxiliary heating would significantly advance the capability to study the physics of energy transport and pressure limits for the spheromak. This LDRD project develops the physics basis for using NBI to heat spheromak plasmas in SSPX. The work encompasses three activities: (1) numerical simulation to make quantitative predictions of the effect of adding beams to SSPX, (2) using the SSPX spheromak and theory/modeling to develop potential target plasmas suitable for future application of neutral beam heating, and (3) developing diagnostics to provide the measurements needed for transport calculations. These activities are reported in several publications

Model dependence of single-energy fits to pion photoproduction data

Model dependence of multipole analysis has been explored through energy-dependent and single-energy fits to pion photoproduction data. The MAID energy-dependent solution has been used as input for an event generator producing realistic pseudo data. These were fitted using the SAID parametrization approach to determine single-energy and energy-dependent solutions over a range of lab photon energies from 200 to 1200 MeV. The resulting solutions were found to be consistent with the input amplitudes from MAID. Fits with a $\chi$-squared per datum of unity or less were generally achieved. We discuss energy regions where consistent results are expected, and explore the sensitivity of fits to the number of included single- and double-polarization observables. The influence of Watson's theorem is examined in detail.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Analysis and Modeling of DIII-D Hybrid Discharges and their Extrapolation to ITER

Recent experiments on tokamaks around the world [1-5] have demonstrated discharges with moderately high performance in which the q-profile remains stationary, as measured by the motional Stark effect diagnostic, for periods up to several {tau}{sub R}. Hybrid discharges are characterize by q{sub min} {approx} 1, high {beta}{sub N}, and good confinement. These discharges have been termed hybrid because of their intermediate nature between that of an ordinary H-mode and advanced tokamak discharges. They form an attractive scenario for ITER as the normalized fusion performance ({beta}{sub N}H{sub 89P}/q{sub 95}{sup 2}) is at or above that for the ITER baseline Q{sub fus} = 10 scenario, even for q{sub 95} as high as 4.6. The startup phase is thought to be crucial to the ultimate evolution of the hybrid discharge. An open question is how hybrid discharges achieve and maintain their stationary state during the initial startup phase. To investigate this aspect of hybrid discharges, we have used the CORSICA code to model the early stages of a discharge. Results clearly indicate that neoclassical current evolution alone is insufficient to account for the time evolution of the q-profile and that an addition of non-inductive current source must be incorporated into the model to reproduce the experimental time history. We include non-inductive neutral beam and bootstrap current sources in the model, and investigate the difference between simulations with these sources and the experimentally inferred q-profile. Further, we have made preliminary estimates of the spatial structure of the current needed to bring the simulation and experiment into agreement. This additional non-inductive source has not been tied to any physical mechanism as yet. We present these results and discuss the implications for hybrid startup on ITER