708 research outputs found
A burst from a thermonuclear runaway on an ONeMg white dwarf
Studies which examine the consequences of accretion, at rates of 10(exp -9) solar mass/yr and 10(exp -10) solar mass/yr, onto an ONeMg white dwarf with a mass of 1.35 solar masses are performed. In these studies, a Lagrangian, hydrodynamic, one-dimensional computer code was used. The code now includes a network with 89 nuclei up to Ca-40, elemental diffusion, new opacities, and new equation of state. The initial abundance distribution corresponded to a mixture that was enriched to either 25, 50, or 75 percent in products of carbon burning. The remaining material in each case is assumed to have a solar composition. The evolution of the thermonuclear runaway in the 1.35 solar mass white dwarf, with M = 10(exp -9) solar mass, produced peak temperatures in the shell source exceeding 300 million degrees. The sequence produced significant amounts of Na-22 from proton captures onto Ne-20 and significant amounts of Al-26 from proton captures on Mg-24. This sequence ejected 5.2 x 10(exp -6) solar mass moving with speeds from approximately 100 km/s to 2300 km/s. When the mass accretion rate was decreased to 10(exp -10) solar mass, the resulting thermonuclear runaway produced a shock that moved through the outer envelope of the white dwarf and raised the surface luminosity to L greater than 10(exp 7) solar luminosity and the effective temperature to values exceeding 10(exp 7) K. The interaction of the material expanding from off of the white dwarf with the accretion disk should produce a burst of gamma-rays
The role of surface chemical reactivity in the stability of electronic nanodevices based on two-dimensional materials "beyond graphene" and topological insulators
Here, we examine the influence of surface chemical reactivity toward ambient
gases on the performance of nanodevices based on two-dimensional materials
"beyond graphene" and novel topological phases of matter. While surface
oxidation in ambient conditions was observed for silicene and phosphorene with
subsequent reduction of the mobility of charge carriers, nanodevices with
active channels of indium selenide, bismuth chalcogenides and transition-metal
dichalcogenides are stable in air. However, air-exposed indium selenide suffers
of p-type doping due to water decomposition on Se vacancies, whereas the low
mobility of charge carriers in transition-metal dichalcogenides increases the
response time of nanodevices. Conversely, bismuth chalcogenides require a
control of crystalline quality, which could represent a serious hurdle for up
scaling
Scaling properties of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
The scaling properties of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
are obtained from direct numerical simulations of decaying turbulence using
modes. The results indicate that the turbulence does not follow the
Iroshnikov-Kraichnan phenomenology.In the case of hyperresistivity, the
structure functions exhibit a clear scaling range yielding absolute values of
the scaling exponents . The scaling exponents agree with a modified
She-Leveque model , corresponding to Kolmogorov
scaling but sheet-like geometry of the dissipative structures
Statistical anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
Direct numerical simulations of decaying and forced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
turbulence without and with mean magnetic field are analyzed by higher-order
two-point statistics. The turbulence exhibits statistical anisotropy with
respect to the direction of the local magnetic field even in the case of global
isotropy. A mean magnetic field reduces the parallel-field dynamics while in
the perpendicular direction a gradual transition towards two-dimensional MHD
turbulence is observed with inertial-range scaling of the
perpendicular energy spectrum. An intermittency model based on the Log-Poisson
approach, , is able to describe the observed
structure function scalings.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.
Current-sheet formation in incompressible electron magnetohydrodynamics
The nonlinear dynamics of axisymmetric, as well as helical, frozen-in vortex
structures is investigated by the Hamiltonian method in the framework of ideal
incompressible electron magnetohydrodynamics. For description of current-sheet
formation from a smooth initial magnetic field, local and nonlocal nonlinear
approximations are introduced and partially analyzed that are generalizations
of the previously known exactly solvable local model neglecting electron
inertia. Finally, estimations are made that predict finite-time singularity
formation for a class of hydrodynamic models intermediate between that local
model and the Eulerian hydrodynamics.Comment: REVTEX4, 5 pages, no figures. Introduction rewritten, new material
and references adde
Impact of observational uncertainties on universal scaling of MHD turbulence
Scaling exponents are the central quantitative prediction of theories of
turbulence and in-situ satellite observations of the high Reynolds number solar
wind flow have provided an extensive testbed of these. We propose a general,
instrument independent method to estimate the uncertainty of velocity field
fluctuations. We obtain the systematic shift that this uncertainty introduces
into the observed spectral exponent. This shift is essential for the correct
interpretation of observed scaling exponents. It is sufficient to explain the
contradiction between spectral features of the Elsasser fields observed in the
solar wind with both theoretical models and numerical simulations of
Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
Chemical reactions on surfaces for applications in catalysis, gas sensing, adsorption-assisted desalination and Li-ion batteries: opportunities and challenges for surface science
The study of chemical processes on solid surfaces is a powerful tool to discover novel physicochemical concepts with direct implications for processes based on chemical reactions at surfaces, largely exploited by industry. Recent upgrades of experimental tools and computational capabilities, as well as the advent of two-dimensional materials, have opened new opportunities and challenges for surface science. In this Perspective, we highlight recent advances in application fields strictly connected to novel concepts emerging in surface science. Specifically, we show for selected case-study examples that surface oxidation can be unexpectedly beneficial for improving the efficiency in electrocatalysis (the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction) and photocatalysis, as well as in gas sensing. Moreover, we discuss the adsorption-assisted mechanism in membrane distillation for seawater desalination, as well as the use of surface-science tools in the study of Li-ion batteries. In all these applications, surface-science methodologies (both experimental and theoretical) have unveiled new physicochemical processes, whose efficiency can be further tuned by controlling surface phenomena, thus paving the way for a new era for the investigation of surfaces and interfaces of nanomaterials. In addition, we discuss the role of surface scientists in contemporary condensed matter physics, taking as case-study examples specific controversial debates concerning unexpected phenomena emerging in nanosheets of layered materials, solved by adopting a surface-science approach. © the Owner Societies 2020
Surface Instability and Chemical Reactivity of ZrSiS and ZrSiSe Nodal-Line Semimetals
Materials exhibiting nodal-line fermions promise superb impact on technology for the prospect of dissipationless spintronic devices. Among nodal-line semimetals, the ZrSiX (X = S, Se, Te) class is the most suitable candidate for such applications. However, the surface chemical reactivity of ZrSiS and ZrSiSe has not been explored yet. Here, by combining different surface-science tools and density functional theory, it is demonstrated that the formation of ZrSiS and ZrSiSe surfaces by cleavage is accompanied by the washing up of the exotic topological bands, giving rise to the nodal line. Moreover, while the ZrSiS has a termination layer with both Zr and S atoms, in the ZrSiSe surface, reconstruction occurs with the appearance of Si surface atoms, which is particularly prone to oxidation. It is demonstrated that the chemical activity of ZrSiX compounds is mostly determined by the interaction of the Si layer with the ZrX sublayer. A suitable encapsulation for ZrSiX should not only preserve their surfaces from interaction with oxidative species, but also provide a saturation of dangling bonds with minimal distortion of the surface. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, WeinheimU.S. Department of Energy, USDOE: DE-SC0014208A.P. thanks Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. for financial support. Z.M. thanks the support by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DE-SC0014208 for material synthesis. This work was partly performed in the framework of the Nanoscience Foundry and Fine Analysis facility (NFFA-MIUR Italy Progetti Internazionali)
Thermonuclear Reaction Rate of 23Mg(p,gamma)24$Al
Updated stellar rates for the reaction 23Mg(p,gamma)24Al are calculated by
using all available experimental information on 24Al excitation energies.
Proton and gamma-ray partial widths for astrophysically important resonances
are derived from shell model calculations. Correspondences of experimentally
observed 24Al levels with shell model states are based on application of the
isobaric multiplet mass equation. Our new rates suggest that the
23Mg(p,gamma)24Al reaction influences the nucleosynthesis in the mass A>20
region during thermonuclear runaways on massive white dwarfs.Comment: 13 pages (uses Revtex) including 3 postscript figures (uses
epsfig.sty), accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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