2,325 research outputs found
Observation of a nanophase segregation in LiCl aqueous solutions from Transient Grating Experiments
Transient Grating experiments performed on supercooled LiCl, RH2O solutions
with R>6 reveal the existence of a strong, short time, extra signal which
superposes to the normal signal observed for the R=6 solution and other glass
forming systems. This extra signal shows up below 190 K, its shape and the
associated timescale depend only on temperature, while its intensity increases
with R. We show that the origin of this signal is a phase separation between
clusters with a low solute concentration and the remaining, more concentrated,
solution. Our analysis demonstrates that these clusters have a nanometer size
and a composition which are rather temperature independent, while increasing R
simply increases the number of these clusters.Comment: 19 pages+ 8 figures+ 2 table
Translation-Rotation Coupling in Transient Grating Experiments : Theoretical and Experimental Evidences
The results of a Transient Grating experiment in a supercooled molecular
liquid of anisotropic molecules and its theoretical interpretation are
presented. These results show the existence of two distinct dynamical
contributions in the response function of this experiment, density and
orientation dynamics. These dynamics can be experimentally disentangled by
varying the polarisation of the probe and diffracted beams and they have been
identified and measured in a Heterodyne Detected experiment performed on
m-toluidine. The results of the theory show a good qualitative agreement with
the measurements at all temperatures.Comment: PDF format, 14 pages including 4 figures, accepted for publication in
EPL. minor modification
Hidden persuaders on film: Exploring young peopleâs lived experience through visual essays
The Hidden Persuaders research group examines âbrainwashingâ in the Cold War for the roles, real and imagined, played by psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. Our project engaged young people in an exploration of the history of fears about brainwashing, and enabled them to explore their thoughts and ideas about the forces that shape their lives in contemporary society, through film-making. Working with three schools in the Camden area of London, our partners at the Derek Jarman Lab media hub, Birkbeck, University of London, and an artist facilitator (Lizzie Burns), we invited Year 12 students to learn filming and editing to create their own short video essays. The use of this format resulted in a significant depth of engagement and generated a wealth of creative responses. The various stages of the film-making process enabled the students to work out the terms of an argument and to consider how best to express it concisely. In the resulting films, they came up with a variety of forms of visual storytelling, and used the medium to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas in diverse ways, giving us a range of new perspectives which we could consider in relation to our historical research
Protons associated with centers of solar activity and their propagation in interplanetary magnetic field regions co-rotating with the sun
Protons associated with centers of solar activity and propagation in interplanetary magnetic field regions co-rotating with su
Catalyst nanoparticle growth dynamics and their influence on product morphology in a CVD process for continuous carbon nanotube synthesis
Extrapolating the properties of individual CNTs into macro-scale CNT materials using a continuous and cost effective process offers enormous potential for a variety of applications. The floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method discussed in this paper bridges the gap between generating nano- and macro-scale CNT material and has already been adopted by industry for exploitation. A deep understanding of the phenomena occurring within the FCCVD reactor is thereby key to producing the desired CNT product and successfully scaling up the process further. This paper correlates information on decomposition of reactants, axial catalyst nanoparticle dynamics and the morphology of the resultant CNTs and shows how these are strongly related to the temperature and chemical availability within the reactor. For the first time, in-situ measurements of catalyst particle size distributions coupled with reactant decomposition profiles and a detailed axial SEM study of formed CNT materials reveal specific domains that have important implications for scale-up. A novel observation is the formation, disappearance and reformation of catalyst nanoparticles along the reactor axis, caused by their evaporation and re-condensation and mapping of different CNT morphologies as a result of this process.The authors thank Qflo Ltd for providing funding towards this research, C. Hoecker additionally thanks Churchill College Cambridge for financial support, M. Bajada gratefully acknowledges financial support through the 'Master it! Scholarship Scheme'.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2015.09.05
Parallel Evolution of Quasi-separatrix Layers and Active Region Upflows
Persistent plasma upflows were observed with Hinode's EUV Imaging
Spectrometer (EIS) at the edges of active region (AR) 10978 as it crossed the
solar disk. We analyze the evolution of the photospheric magnetic and velocity
fields of the AR, model its coronal magnetic field, and compute the location of
magnetic null-points and quasi-sepratrix layers (QSLs) searching for the origin
of EIS upflows. Magnetic reconnection at the computed null points cannot
explain all of the observed EIS upflow regions. However, EIS upflows and QSLs
are found to evolve in parallel, both temporarily and spatially. Sections of
two sets of QSLs, called outer and inner, are found associated to EIS upflow
streams having different characteristics. The reconnection process in the outer
QSLs is forced by a large-scale photospheric flow pattern which is present in
the AR for several days. We propose a scenario in which upflows are observed
provided a large enough asymmetry in plasma pressure exists between the
pre-reconnection loops and for as long as a photospheric forcing is at work. A
similar mechanism operates in the inner QSLs, in this case, it is forced by the
emergence and evolution of the bipoles between the two main AR polarities. Our
findings provide strong support to the results from previous individual case
studies investigating the role of magnetic reconnection at QSLs as the origin
of the upflowing plasma. Furthermore, we propose that persistent reconnection
along QSLs does not only drive the EIS upflows, but it is also responsible for
a continuous metric radio noise-storm observed in AR 10978 along its disk
transit by the Nan\c{c}ay Radio Heliograph.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figure
How Can Active Region Plasma Escape into the Solar Wind from below a Closed Helmet Streamer?
Recent studies show that active-region (AR) upflowing plasma, observed by the
EUV-Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), onboard Hinode, can gain access to open
field-lines and be released into the solar wind (SW) via magnetic-interchange
reconnection at magnetic null-points in pseudo-streamer configurations. When
only one bipolar AR is present on the Sun and it is fully covered by the
separatrix of a streamer, such as AR 10978 in December 2007, it seems unlikely
that the upflowing AR plasma can find its way into the slow SW. However,
signatures of plasma with AR composition have been found at 1 AU by Culhane et
al. (2014) apparently originating from the West of AR 10978. We present a
detailed topology analysis of AR 10978 and the surrounding large-scale corona
based on a potential-field source-surface (PFSS) model. Our study shows that it
is possible for the AR plasma to get around the streamer separatrix and be
released into the SW via magnetic reconnection, occurring in at least two main
steps. We analyse data from the Nan\c{c}ay Radioheliograph (NRH) searching for
evidence of the chain of magnetic reconnections proposed. We find a noise storm
above the AR and several varying sources at 150.9 MHz. Their locations suggest
that they could be associated with particles accelerated during the first-step
reconnection process and at a null point well outside of the AR. However, we
find no evidence of the second-step reconnection in the radio data. Our results
demonstrate that even when it appears highly improbable for the AR plasma to
reach the SW, indirect channels involving a sequence of reconnections can make
it possible.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. appears in Solar Physics, 201
CP-odd observables in neutralino production with transverse e+ and e- beam polarization
We consider neutralino production and decay e^+e^ --> chi^0_i chi^0_j,
chi^0_j --> chi^0_1 f \bar{f} at a linear collider with transverse e^+ and e^-
beam polarization. We propose CP asymmetries by means of the azimuthal
distribution of the produced neutralinos and of that of the final leptons,
while taking also into account the subsequent decays of the neutralinos. We
include the complete spin correlations between production and decay. Our
framework is the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with complex parameters.
In a numerical study we show that there are good prospects to observe these CP
asymmetries at the International Linear Collider and estimate the accuracy
expected for the determination of the phases in the neutralino sector.Comment: 30 pages, minor changes in the introduction, references adde
Model-independent constraints on spin observables
We discuss model-independent constraints on spin observables in exclusive and
inclusive reactions, with special attention to the case of photoproduction.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Talk by J.-M. Richard at NSTAR 2009, IHEP,
Beijing (China), April 19-22, 2009, Proc. to appear in "Chinese Physics C
Physics Opportunities at mu+mu- Higgs Factories
We update theoretical studies of the physics opportunities presented by
mu+mu- Higgs factories. Interesting measurements of the Standard Model Higgs
decays into {\bar b}b, tau+tau- and WW* may be possible if the Higgs mass is
less than about 160 GeV, as preferred by the precision electroweak data, the
mass range being extended by varying appropriately the beam energy resolution.
A suitable value of the beam energy resolution would also enable the
uncertainty in the b-quark mass to be minimized, facilitating measurements of
parameters in the MSSM at such a first mu+mu- Higgs factory. These measurements
would be sensitive to radiative corrections to the Higgs-fermion-antifermion
decay vertices, which may violate CP. Radiative corrections in the MSSM may
also induce CP violation in Higgs-mass mixing, which can be probed via various
asymmetries measurable using polarized mu+mu- beams. In addition,
Higgs-chargino couplings may be probed at a second mu+mu- Higgs factory.Comment: Report of the Higgs factory working group of the ECFA-CERN study on
Neutrino Factory & Muon Storage Rings at CERN. 28 p
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