3,228 research outputs found
Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed with the Spectrometer SPI Onboard INTEGRAL
The spectrometer SPI is one of the main detectors of ESA's INTEGRAL mission.
The instrument offers two interesting and valuable capabilities for the
detection of the prompt emission of Gamma-ray bursts. Within a field of view of
16 degrees, SPI is able to localize Gamma-ray bursts with an accuracy of 10
arcmin. The large anticoincidence shield, ACS, consisting of 512 kg of BGO
crystals, detects Gamma-ray bursts quasi omnidirectionally above ~70 keV. Burst
alerts from SPI/ACS are distributed to the interested community via the
INTEGRAL Burst Alert System. The ACS data have been implemented into the 3rd
Interplanetary Network and have proven valuable for the localization of bursts
using the triangulation method. During the first 8 months of the mission
approximately one Gamma-ray burst per month was localized within the field of
fiew of SPI and 145 Gamma-ray burst candidates were detected by the ACS from
which 40 % have been confirmed by other instruments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the Conference
"30 Years of GRB Discovery", Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, September 8-12, 200
Confined One Dimensional Harmonic Oscillator as a Two-Mode System
The one-dimensional harmonic oscillator in a box problem is possibly the
simplest example of a two-mode system. This system has two exactly solvable
limits, the harmonic oscillator and a particle in a (one-dimensional) box. Each
of the two limits has a characteristic spectral structure describing the two
different excitation modes of the system. Near each of these limits, one can
use perturbation theory to achieve an accurate description of the eigenstates.
Away from the exact limits, however, one has to carry out a matrix
diagonalization because the basis-state mixing that occurs is typically too
large to be reproduced in any other way. An alternative to casting the problem
in terms of one or the other basis set consists of using an "oblique" basis
that uses both sets. Through a study of this alternative in this
one-dimensional problem, we are able to illustrate practical solutions and
infer the applicability of the concept for more complex systems, such as in the
study of complex nuclei where oblique-basis calculations have been successful.
Keywords: one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, particle in a box, exactly
solvable models, two-mode system, oblique basis states, perturbation theory,
coherent states, adiabatic mixing.Comment: 11 pages and 9 figures; Submitted to American Journal of Physic
Nonlinear Oscillatory Dynamics of the Hardening of Calcium Phosphate Bone Cements
Here we report on the nonlinear, oscillatory dynamics detected in the evolution of phase composition during the setting of different calcium phosphate cements, two of which evolved toward brushite and one toward hydroxyapatite as the final product. Whereas both brushite-forming cements contained iondoped b-tricalcium phosphate as the initial phase, the zinc-containing one yielded scholzite as an additional phase during setting and the oscillations between these two products were pronounced throughout the entire 80 h setting period, long after the hardening processes was over from the mechanical standpoint. Oscillations in the copper-containing system involved the amount of brushite as the main product of the hardening reaction and they progressed faster toward an equilibrium point than in the zinc-containing system. Initially detected with the use of in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffractometry, the oscillations were confirmed with a sufficient level of temporal matching in an in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. The kinetic reaction analysis based on the Johnson– Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov model indicated an edge-controlled nucleation mechanism for brushite. The hydroxyapatite-forming cement comprised gelatin as an additional phase with a role of slowing down diffusion and allowing the detection of otherwise rapid oscillations in crystallinity and in the amount of the apatitic phase on the timescale of minutes. A number of possible causes for these dynamic instabilities were discussed. The classical chemical oscillatory model should not apply to these systems unless in combination with less exotic mechanisms of physicochemical nature. One possibility is that the variations in viscosity, directly affecting diffusion and nucleation rates and accompanying growth and transformation from the lower to the higher interfacial energy per the Ostwald–Lussac rule, are responsible for the oscillatory dynamics. The conception of bone replacement materials and tissue engineering constructs capable of engaging in the dynamics of integration with the natural tissues in compliance with this oscillatory nature may open a new avenue for the future of this type of medical devices. To succeed in this goal, the mechanism of these and similar instabilities must be better understood
Confined Jet Impingement with Boiling on a Variety of Enhanced Surfaces
Confined jet impingement with boiling offers unique and attractive performance characteristics for thermal management of high heat flux components. Two-phase operation of jet impingement has been shown to provide high heat transfer coefficients while maintaining a uniform temperature over a target surface. This can be achieved with minimal increases in pumping power compared to single-phase operation. To investigate further enhancements in heat transfer coefficients and increases in the maximum heat flux supported by two-phase jet impingement, an experimental study of surface enhancements is performed using the dielectric working fluid HFE-7100. The performance of a single, 3.75 mm-diameter jet orifice is compared across four distinct copper target surfaces of varying enhancement scales: a baseline smooth flat surface, a flat surface coated with a microporous layer, a surface with macroscale area enhancement (extended square pin fins), and a hybrid surface on which the pin fins are coated with the microporous layer. The heat transfer performance of each surface is compared in single- and two-phase operation at three volumetric flow rates (450 ml/min, 900 ml/min, and 1800 ml/min); area-averaged heat transfer parameters and pressure drop are reported. The mechanisms resulting in enhanced performance for the different surfaces are identified, with a special focus on the coated pin fins. This hybrid surface showed the best enhancement of all those tested, and resulted in an extension of critical heat flux (CHF) by a maximum of 2.42 times compared to the smooth flat surface at the lowest flow rate investigated; no increase in the overall pressure drop was measured
Pathway to a Compact SASE FEL Device
Newly developed high peak power lasers have opened the possibilities of
driving coherent light sources operating with laser plasma accelerated beams
and wave undulators. We speculate on the combination of these two concepts and
show that the merging of the underlying technologies could lead to new and
interesting possibilities to achieve truly compact, coherent radiator devices
Bond Orientational Order, Molecular Motion and Free Energy of High Density DNA Mesophases
By equilibrating condensed DNA arrays against reservoirs of known osmotic
stress and examining them with several structural probes, it has been possible
to achieve a detailed thermodynamic and structural characterization of the
change between two distinct regions on the liquid crystalline phase digram: a
higher-density hexagonally packed region with long-range bond orientational
order in the plane perpendicular to the average molecular direction; and a
lower-density cholesteric region with fluid-like positional order. X-rays
scattering on highly ordered DNA arrays at high density and with the helical
axis oriented parallel to the incoming beam showed a six-fold azimuthal
modulation of the first order diffraction peak that reflects the macroscopic
bond-orientational order. Transition to the less-dense cholesteric phase
through osmotically controlled swelling shows the loss of this bond
orientational order that had been expected from the change in optical
birefringence patterns and that is consistent with a rapid onset of molecular
positional disorder. This change in motion was previously inferred from
intermolecular force measurements and is now confirmed by NMR.
Controlled reversible swelling and compaction under osmotic stress, spanning a
range of densities between mg/ml to mg/ml, allows
measurement of the free energy changes throughout each phase and at the phase
transition, essential information for theories of liquid-crystalline states.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures in gif format available at
http://abulafia.mgsl.dcrt.nih.gov/pics.html E-mail: [email protected]
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