1,276 research outputs found
Bipolar Nickel-hydrogen Batteries for Aerospace Applications
A bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery which effectively addresses all key requirements for a spacecraft power system, including long-term reliability and low mass, is discussed. The design of this battery is discussed in the context of system requirements and nickel-hydrogen battery technology in general. To achieve the ultimate goal of an aerospace application of a bipolar Ni-H2 battery several objectives must be met in the design and development of the system. These objectives include: maximization of reliability and life; high specific energy and energy density; reasonable cost of manufacture, test, and integration; and ease in scaling for growth in power requirements. These basic objectives translate into a number of specific design requirements, which are discussed
Non-equilibrium and information: the role of cross-correlations
We discuss the relevance of information contained in cross-correlations among
different degrees of freedom, which is crucial in non-equilibrium systems. In
particular we consider a stochastic system where two degrees of freedom
and - in contact with two different thermostats - are coupled together.
The production of entropy and the violation of equilibrium
fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) are both related to the cross-correlation
between and . Information about such cross-correlation may be lost
when single-variable reduced models, for , are considered. Two different
procedures are typically applied: (a) one totally ignores the coupling with
; (b) one models the effect of as an average memory effect,
obtaining a generalized Langevin equation. In case (a) discrepancies between
the system and the model appear both in entropy production and linear response;
the latter can be exploited to define effective temperatures, but those are
meaningful only when time-scales are well separated. In case (b) linear
response of the model well reproduces that of the system; however the loss of
information is reflected in a loss of entropy production. When only linear
forces are present, such a reduction is dramatic and makes the average entropy
production vanish, posing problems in interpreting FDT violations.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures, 4 appendixe
Steady state properties of a mean field model of driven inelastic mixtures
We investigate a Maxwell model of inelastic granular mixture under the
influence of a stochastic driving and obtain its steady state properties in the
context of classical kinetic theory. The model is studied analytically by
computing the moments up to the eighth order and approximating the
distributions by means of a Sonine polynomial expansion method. The main
findings concern the existence of two different granular temperatures, one for
each species, and the characterization of the distribution functions, whose
tails are in general more populated than those of an elastic system. These
analytical results are tested against Monte Carlo numerical simulations of the
model and are in general in good agreement. The simulations, however, reveal
the presence of pronounced non-gaussian tails in the case of an infinite
temperature bath, which are not well reproduced by the Sonine method.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, submitted for publicatio
The fluctuation-dissipation relation: how does one compare correlation functions and responses?
We discuss the well known Einstein and the Kubo Fluctuation Dissipation
Relations (FDRs) in the wider framework of a generalized FDR for systems with a
stationary probability distribution. A multi-variate linear Langevin model,
which includes dynamics with memory, is used as a treatable example to show how
the usual relations are recovered only in particular cases. This study brings
to the fore the ambiguities of a check of the FDR done without knowing the
significant degrees of freedom and their coupling. An analogous scenario
emerges in the dynamics of diluted shaken granular media. There, the
correlation between position and velocity of particles, due to spatial
inhomogeneities, induces violation of usual FDRs. The search for the
appropriate correlation function which could restore the FDR, can be more
insightful than a definition of ``non-equilibrium'' or ``effective
temperatures''.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
Which is the temperature of granular systems? A mean field model of free cooling inelastic mixtures
We consider a mean field model describing the free cooling process of a two
component granular mixture, a generalization of so called Maxwell model. The
cooling is viewed as an ordering process and the scaling behavior is attributed
to the presence of an attractive fixed point at for the dynamics. By
means of asymptotic analysis of the Boltzmann equation and of numerical
simulations we get the following results: 1)we establish the existence of two
different partial granular temperatures, one for each component, which violates
the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics; 2) we obtain the scaling form of the two
distribution functions; 3) we prove the existence of a continuous spectrum of
exponents characterizing the inverse-power law decay of the tails of the
velocity, which generalizes the previously reported value 4 for the pure model;
4) we find that the exponents depend on the composition, masses and restitution
coefficients of the mixture; 5) we also remark that the reported distributions
represent a dynamical realization of those predicted by the Non Extensive
Statistical Mechanics, in spite of the fact that ours stem from a purely
dynamical approach.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures. submitted for publicatio
Non-Gaussian velocity distributions in excited granular matter in the absence of clustering
The velocity distribution of spheres rolling on a slightly tilted rectangular
two dimensional surface is obtained by high speed imaging. The particles are
excited by periodic forcing of one of the side walls. Our data suggests that
strongly non-Gaussian velocity distributions can occur in dilute granular
materials even in the absence of significant density correlations or
clustering. When the surface on which the particles roll is tilted further to
introduce stronger gravitation, the collision frequency with the driving wall
increases and the velocity component distributions approach Gaussian
distributions of different widths.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Additional information at
http://physics.clarku.edu/~akudrolli/nls.htm
Fluctuations in granular gases
A driven granular material, e.g. a vibrated box full of sand, is a stationary
system which may be very far from equilibrium. The standard equilibrium
statistical mechanics is therefore inadequate to describe fluctuations in such
a system. Here we present numerical and analytical results concerning energy
and injected power fluctuations. In the first part we explain how the study of
the probability density function (pdf) of the fluctuations of total energy is
related to the characterization of velocity correlations. Two different regimes
are addressed: the gas driven at the boundaries and the homogeneously driven
gas. In a granular gas, due to non-Gaussianity of the velocity pdf or lack of
homogeneity in hydrodynamics profiles, even in the absence of velocity
correlations, the fluctuations of total energy are non-trivial and may lead to
erroneous conclusions about the role of correlations. In the second part of the
chapter we take into consideration the fluctuations of injected power in driven
granular gas models. Recently, real and numerical experiments have been
interpreted as evidence that the fluctuations of power injection seem to
satisfy the Gallavotti-Cohen Fluctuation Relation. We will discuss an
alternative interpretation of such results which invalidates the
Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry. Moreover, starting from the Liouville equation and
using techniques from large deviation theory, the general validity of a
Fluctuation Relation for power injection in driven granular gases is
questioned. Finally a functional is defined using the Lebowitz-Spohn approach
for Markov processes applied to the linear inelastic Boltzmann equation
relevant to describe the motion of a tracer particle. Such a functional results
to be different from injected power and to satisfy a Fluctuation Relation.Comment: 40 pages, 18 figure
The Bright and Dark Sides of High-Redshift starburst galaxies from {\it Herschel} and {\it Subaru} observations
We present rest-frame optical spectra from the FMOS-COSMOS survey of twelve
\textit{Herschel} starburst galaxies, with Star Formation Rate
(SFR) elevated by 8, on average, above the star-forming Main Sequence
(MS). Comparing the H to IR luminosity ratio and the Balmer Decrement
we find that the optically-thin regions of the sources contain on average only
percent of the total SFR whereas percent comes from an
extremely obscured component which is revealed only by far-IR observations and
is optically-thick even in H. We measure the [NII]/H
ratio, suggesting that the less obscured regions have a metal content similar
to that of the MS population at the same stellar masses and redshifts. However,
our objects appear to be metal-rich outliers from the metallicity-SFR
anticorrelation observed at fixed stellar mass for the MS population. The
[SII]/[SII] ratio from the average spectrum indicates an
electron density , larger than what
estimated for MS galaxies but only at the 1.5 level. Our results
provide supporting evidence that high- MS outliers are the analogous of
local ULIRGs, and are consistent with a major merger origin for the starburst
event.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Serum-stable, long-circulating paclitaxel-loaded colloidal carriers decorated with a new amphiphilic PEG derivative
The paper describes sterically stabilized lipid nanocapsules (LNC) and multilamellar liposomes (MLV) coated using a new amphiphilic conjugate of PEG2000 with a 2-alkyl-lipoamino acid (LAA). A complement activation assay (CH50) and uptake experiments by THP-1 macrophage cells were used to assess in vitro the effectiveness of the PEG-LAA derivative of modifying the surface behavior of nanocarriers. Administered to rats or Swiss mice, respectively, the PEG2000-LAA—modified LNC and MLV showed plasma half-lives longer than the corresponding naked carriers.
To assess the ability of nanocarriers to specifically reach tumor sites, paclitaxel (PTX)—loaded LNC and MLV were administered subcutaneously to rats implanted with a 9L glioma. Animals treated with saline or naked LNC and MLV underwent a quick expansion of tumor mass, up to a volume of 2000 mm3 25 days after the injection of tumor cells. On the contrary, treatment with a PEG-LAA modified LNC carrier reduced the growth of the tumor volume, which did not exceed 1000 mm3 by day 25. Analogous positive results were obtained with the liposomal systems. The experimental findings confirmed that these new PEG-LAA conjugates allow to obtain sterically stable nanocarriers that behave effectively and in a comparable or even better way than the (phospho)lipid PEG derivatives commercially available
Two-dimensional Granular Gas of Inelastic Spheres with Multiplicative Driving
We study a two-dimensional granular gas of inelastic spheres subject to
multiplicative driving proportional to a power of the
local particle velocity . The steady state properties of the model
are examined for different values of , and compared with the
homogeneous case . A driving linearly proportional to
seems to reproduce some experimental observations which could not be reproduced
by a homogeneous driving. Furthermore, we obtain that the system can be
homogenized even for strong dissipation, if a driving inversely proportional toComment: 4 pages, 5 figures (accepted as Phys. Rev. Lett.
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