2,440 research outputs found
About the determination of critical exponents related to possible phase transitions in nuclear fragmentation
We introduce a method based on the finite size scaling assumption which
allows to determine numerically the critical point and critical exponents
related to observables in an infinite system starting from the knowledge of the
observables in finite systems. We apply the method to bond percolation in 2
dimensions and compare the results obtained when the bond probability p or the
fragment multiplicity m are chosen as the relevant parameter.Comment: 12 pages, TeX, 4 figure
Snowier Winters Extend Autumn Availability of High-quality Forage for Caribou in Arctic Alaska
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) rely on the short Arctic growing season to restore body condition, support the demands of lactation, and prepare for the long arctic winter, making them susceptible to even small changes in forage availability or quality. Body condition in the summer and autumn is linked to winter survival rates and fecundity in cows, critical factors in the productivity of caribou populations. Climate change predictions of warmer and wetter northern winters suggest increased snowfall over Alaska’s North Slope, which has recently been verified between 1995 and 2017. However, a comprehensive analysis of how deeper snow will affect caribou forage quality is absent across Alaska. In this study, we quantify how snow depth alters the quality and seasonality of caribou forage using a long-term (24 yr) International Tundra Experiment snow depth manipulation to evaluate how winter climate change scenarios may affect tussock tundra systems in northern Alaska. Deeper snow in prior winters leads to increases in growing season leaf N and digestible protein (DP) in deciduous shrubs (and Betula spp.) and graminoids (Carex spp. and Eriophorum spp.), but not evergreen dwarf shrubs (Rhododendron spp. and Vaccinium spp.). Dry matter digestibility varied among species with small differences (\u3c5%) associated with snow depth. Most striking was the discovery that deeper snow in the prior winter increased the duration of DP levels above the minimum threshold for protein gain in caribou by as much as 25 d in Salix pulchra and 6–9 d in Betula nana and Carex bigelowii in late summer and early autumn. Consequently, deeper winter snow may provide an extended window of opportunity for foraging and the accumulation of lean body mass and fat reserves which promote winter survival and successful calving the following spring and potentially improve the productivity of caribou in northern Alaska
Phase Transition in Liquid Drop Fragmentation
A liquid droplet is fragmented by a sudden pressurized-gas blow, and the
resulting droplets, adhered to the window of a flatbed scanner, are counted and
sized by computerized means. The use of a scanner plus image recognition
software enables us to automatically count and size up to tens of thousands of
tiny droplets with a smallest detectable volume of approximately 0.02 nl. Upon
varying the gas pressure, a critical value is found where the size-distribution
becomes a pure power-law, a fact that is indicative of a phase transition. Away
from this transition, the resulting size distributions are well described by
Fisher's model at coexistence. It is found that the sign of the surface
correction term changes sign, and the apparent power-law exponent tau has a
steep minimum, at criticality, as previously reported in Nuclear
Multifragmentation studies [1,2]. We argue that the observed transition is not
percolative, and introduce the concept of dominance in order to characterize
it. The dominance probability is found to go to zero sharply at the transition.
Simple arguments suggest that the correlation length exponent is nu=1/2. The
sizes of the largest and average fragments, on the other hand, do not go to
zero but behave in a way that appears to be consistent with recent predictions
of Ashurst and Holian [3,4].Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. LaTeX (revtex4) with psfig/epsfi
Finite size effects and the order of a phase transition in fragmenting nuclear systems
We discuss the implications of finite size effects on the determination of
the order of a phase transition which may occur in infinite systems. We
introduce a specific model to which we apply different tests. They are aimed to
characterise the smoothed transition observed in a finite system. We show that
the microcanonical ensemble may be a useful framework for the determination of
the nature of such transitions.Comment: LateX, 5 pages, 5 figures; Fig. 1 change
Topologically disordered systems at the glass transition
The thermodynamic approach to the viscosity and fragility of amorphous oxides was used to determine the topological characteristics of the disordered network-forming systems. Instead of the disordered system of atoms we considered the congruent disordered system of interconnecting bonds. The Gibbs free energy of network-breaking defects (configurons) was found based on available viscosity data. Amorphous silica and germania were used as reference disordered systems for which we found an excellent agreement of calculated and measured glass transition temperatures. We reveal that the Hausdorff dimension of the system of bonds changes from Euclidian three-dimensional below to fractal 2.55 ± 0.05-dimensional geometry above the glass transition temperature
Energy averages and fluctuations in the decay out of superdeformed bands
We derive analytic formulae for the energy average (including the energy
average of the fluctuation contribution) and variance of the intraband decay
intensity of a superdeformed band. Our results may be expressed in terms of
three dimensionless variables: , ,
and . Here is
the spreading width for the mixing of a superdeformed (SD) state with the
normally deformed (ND) states whose spin is the same as 's. The
have mean level spacing and mean electromagnetic decay width
whilst has electromagnetic decay width .
The average decay intensity may be expressed solely in terms of the variables
and or, analogously to statistical
nuclear reaction theory, in terms of the transmission coefficients and
describing transmission from the to the SD band via and
to lower ND states.
The variance of the decay intensity, in analogy with Ericson's theory of
cross section fluctuations depends on an additional variable, the correlation
length
\Gamma_N/(\Gamma_S+\Gamma^{\downarrow})=\frac{d}{2\pi}T_N/(\Gamma_S+\Gamma^{\d
ownarrow}). This suggests that analysis of an experimentally obtained variance
could yield the mean level spacing as does analysis of the cross section
autocorrelation function in compound nuclear reactions.
We compare our results with those of Gu and Weidenm\"uller.Comment: revtex4, 14 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Corresponding States of Structural Glass Formers
The variation with respect to temperature T of transport properties of 58
fragile structural glass forming liquids (68 data sets in total) are analyzed
and shown to exhibit a remarkable degree of universality. In particular,
super-Arrhenius behaviors of all super-cooled liquids appear to collapse to one
parabola for which there is no singular behavior at any finite temperature.
This behavior is bounded by an onset temperature To above which liquid
transport has a much weaker temperature dependence. A similar collapse is also
demonstrated, over the smaller available range, for existing numerical
simulation data.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Updated References, Table Values, Submitted for
Publicatio
Properties of projectile-fragments in the Ar + Al reaction at 44 A MeV. Comparison with a multisequential decay model
GANIL-EXPResults on projectile fragment–fragment coincidences in the forward direction and for the reaction 40Ar + 27Al at 44 A MeV are presented and compared with the predictions of two different entrance channel models, a two-body and a three-body mechanism both followed by a binary multisequential decay including fission. This analysis shows that many features of the projectile decay products are well accounted for by the binary multisequential decay model. However the results depend critically upon the initial masses and excitation energies of the primary projectile fragments. In this respect, the three-body approach underestimates the excitation energy imparted to the primary fragments whereas the two-body scenario overestimates it. The present data put strong constraints on the initial excitation energy imparted to the primary fragments which appears to be intermediate between the predictions of the two models
Estimate of average freeze-out volume in multifragmentation events
An estimate of the average freeze-out volume for multifragmentation events is
presented. Values of volumes are obtained by means of a simulation using the
experimental charged product partitions measured by the 4pi multidetector INDRA
for 129Xe central collisions on Sn at 32 AMeV incident energy. The input
parameters of the simulation are tuned by means of the comparison between the
experimental and simulated velocity (or energy) spectra of particles and
fragments.Comment: To be published in Phys. Lett. B 12 pages, 5 figure
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