Geometrically nonlinear analysis of the Apollo aft heat shield Final report, 1 Apr. 1966 - 15 Dec. 1966

Structural analysis of Apollo aft heat shield under water impact loading condition

Müllerian mimicry of a quantitative trait despite contrasting levels of genomic divergence and selection

Hybrid zones, where distinct populations meet and interbreed, give insight into how differences between populations are maintained despite gene flow. Studying clines in genetic loci and adaptive traits across hybrid zones is a powerful method for understanding how selection drives differentiation within a single species, but can also be used to compare parallel divergence in different species responding to a common selective pressure. Here, we study parallel divergence of wing colouration in the butterflies Heliconius erato and H. melpomene , which are distantly related Müllerian mimics which show parallel geographic variation in both discrete variation in pigmentation, and quantitative variation in structural colour. Using geographic cline analysis, we show that clines in these traits are positioned in roughly the same geographic region for both species, which is consistent with direct selection for mimicry. However, the width of the clines varies markedly between species. This difference is explained in part by variation in the strength of selection acting on colour traits within each species, but may also be influenced by differences in the dispersal rate and total strength of selection against hybrids between the species. Genotyping‐by‐sequencing also revealed weaker population structure in H. melpomene , suggesting the hybrid zones may have evolved differently in each species, which may also contribute to the patterns of phenotypic divergence in this system. Overall, we conclude that multiple factors are needed to explain patterns of clinal variation within and between these species, although mimicry has probably played a central role

An Experimental Investigation of the Scaling of Columnar Joints

Columnar jointing is a fracture pattern common in igneous rocks in which cracks self-organize into a roughly hexagonal arrangement, leaving behind an ordered colonnade. We report observations of columnar jointing in a laboratory analog system, desiccated corn starch slurries. Using measurements of moisture density, evaporation rates, and fracture advance rates as evidence, we suggest an advective-diffusive system is responsible for the rough scaling behavior of columnar joints. This theory explains the order of magnitude difference in scales between jointing in lavas and in starches. We investigated the scaling of average columnar cross-sectional areas due to the evaporation rate, the analog of the cooling rate of igneous columnar joints. We measured column areas in experiments where the evaporation rate depended on lamp height and time, in experiments where the evaporation rate was fixed using feedback methods, and in experiments where gelatin was added to vary the rheology of the starch. Our results suggest that the column area at a particular depth is related to both the current conditions, and hysteretically to the geometry of the pattern at previous depths. We argue that there exists a range of stable column scales allowed for any particular evaporation rate.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, for supporting online movies, go to http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/nonlinear/movies/starch_movies.htm

Electronic structure of epitaxial graphene layers on SiC: effect of the substrate

Recent transport measurements on thin graphite films grown on SiC show large coherence lengths and anomalous integer quantum Hall effects expected for isolated graphene sheets. This is the case eventhough the layer-substrate epitaxy of these films implies a strong interface bond that should induce perturbations in the graphene electronic structure. Our DFT calculations confirm this strong substrate-graphite bond in the first adsorbed carbon layer that prevents any graphitic electronic properties for this layer. However, the graphitic nature of the film is recovered by the second and third absorbed layers. This effect is seen in both the (0001)and $(000\bar{1})$ 4H SiC surfaces. We also present evidence of a charge transfer that depends on the interface geometry. It causes the graphene to be doped and gives rise to a gap opening at the Dirac point after 3 carbon layers are deposited in agreement with recent ARPES experiments (T.Ohta et al, Science {\bf 313} (2006) 951)

Strongly quadrature-dependent noise in superconducting micro-resonators measured at the vacuum-noise limit

We measure frequency- and dissipation-quadrature noise in superconducting lithographed microwave resonators with sensitivity near the vacuum noise level using a Josephson parametric amplifier. At an excitation power of 100~nW, these resonators show significant frequency noise caused by two-level systems. No excess dissipation-quadrature noise (above the vacuum noise) is observed to our measurement sensitivity. These measurements demonstrate that the excess dissipation-quadrature noise is negligible compared to vacuum fluctuations, at typical readout powers used in micro-resonator applications. Our results have important implications for resonant readout of various devices such as detectors, qubits and nano-mechanical oscillators.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Carboxylated and esterified SWCNTs : characterization and contribution as components of biomaterials and solar cells

Date du colloque&nbsp;: 04/2010</p

Quantum Fluctuations in the Chirped Pendulum

An anharmonic oscillator when driven with a fast, frequency chirped voltage pulse can oscillate with either small or large amplitude depending on whether the drive voltage is below or above a critical value-a well studied classical phenomenon known as autoresonance. Using a 6 GHz superconducting resonator embedded with a Josephson tunnel junction, we have studied for the first time the role of noise in this non-equilibrium system and find that the width of the threshold for capture into autoresonance decreases as the square root of T, and saturates below 150 mK due to zero point motion of the oscillator. This unique scaling results from the non-equilibrium excitation where fluctuations, both quantum and classical, only determine the initial oscillator motion and not its subsequent dynamics. We have investigated this paradigm in an electrical circuit but our findings are applicable to all out of equilibrium nonlinear oscillators.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure