Finite Volume Cumulant Expansion in QCD-Colorless Plasma

Due to the finite size effects, the localisation of the phase transition in finite systems and the determination of its order, become an extremely difficult task, even in the simplest known cases. In order to identify and locate the finite volume transition point $T_{0}(V)$ of the QCD deconfinement phase transition to a Colorless QGP, we have developed a new approach using the finite size cumulant expansion of the order parameter and the $L_{mn}$-method. The first six cumulants $C_{1,2,3,4,5,6}$ with the corresponding under-normalized ratios(skewness $\Sigma$, kurtosis $\kappa$ ,pentosis $\Pi_{\pm}$ and hexosis $\mathcal{H}_{1,2,3}$) and three unnormalized combinations of them ($\mathcal{O}={\mathcal{\sigma }^{2} \mathcal{\kappa } }{\mathbf{\Sigma }^{-1} }$, $\mathcal{U} ={\mathcal{\sigma }^{-2} \mathbf{\Sigma }^{-1} }$, $\mathcal{N} = \mathcal{\sigma }^{2} \mathcal{\kappa }$) are calculated and studied as functions of $(T,V)$. A new approach, unifying in a clear and consistent way the definitions of cumulant ratios, is proposed. A numerical FSS analysis of the obtained results has allowed us to locate accurately the finite volume transition point. The extracted transition temperature value $T_{0}(V)$ agrees with that expected $T_{0}^{N}(V)$ from the order parameter and the thermal susceptibility $\chi _{T}\left( T,V\right)$, according to the standard procedure of localization to within about $2\%$. In addition to this, a very good correlation factor is obtained proving the validity of our cumulants method. The agreement of our results with those obtained by means of other models is remarkable.Comment: 19 pages,14 figues, figures 4,5,6 figures are oversized, therefore, can be obtained directly from [email protected],Accepted for publication in EPJ

Influence of gravel and adjuvant on the compressive strength and water absorption of concrete.

Concrete is the most commonly used material in civil engineering, given its economic cost and ease of manufacture. Its strength depends on the characteristics of its constituents. A good mix makes it possible to build solid, durable and economical structures. The present work aims to characterize the gravel of the Eastern region (quarry of eastern Morocco) by granulometric analysis and water absorption. Then, the studied gravel is used to produce three types of concrete (B20, B25 and B30), which were assessed in terms of water absorption and compressive strength. The last step is to study the effect of an adjuvant, more specifically a water reducer, on mechanical characteristics of local concrete. B25 concrete was chosen for the last step since it is the most used type in the region. Results show that adding a water reducer adjuvant, in this case 'Chrysoplast', can improve the compressive strength of concrete if the percentage added is accurately determined

Full Scale Proton Beam Impact Testing of new CERN Collimators and Validation of a Numerical Approach for Future Operation

New collimators are being produced at CERN in the framework of a large particle accelerator upgrade project to protect beam lines against stray particles. Their movable jaws hold low density absorbers with tight geometric requirements, while being able to withstand direct proton beam impacts. Such events induce considerable thermo-mechanical loads, leading to complex structural responses, which make the numerical analysis challenging. Hence, an experiment has been developed to validate the jaw design under representative conditions and to acquire online results to enhance the numerical models. Two jaws have been impacted by high-intensity proton beams in a dedicated facility at CERN and have recreated the worst possible scenario in future operation. The analysis of online results coupled to post-irradiation examinations have demonstrated that the jaw response remains in the elastic domain. However, they have also highlighted how sensitive the jaw geometry is to its mounting support inside the collimator. Proton beam impacts, as well as handling activities, may alter the jaw flatness tolerance value by $\pm$ 70 ${\mu}$m, whereas the flatness tolerance requirement is 200 ${\mu}$m. In spite of having validated the jaw design for this application, the study points out numerical limitations caused by the difficulties in describing complex geometries and boundary conditions with such unprecedented requirements.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Prepared for submission to JINS

Gamma-D crystallin gene (CRYGD) mutation causes autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts

Congenital cataracts are a major cause of bilateral visual impairment in childhood. We mapped the gene responsible for autosomal congenital cerulean cataracts to chromosome 2q33-35 in a four generation family of Moroccan descent. The maximum lod score (7.19 at recombination fraction theta=0) was obtained for marker D2S2208 near the g-crystallin gene (CRYG) cluster. Sequencing of the coding regions of the CRYGA, B, C, and D genes showed the presence of a heterozygous C>A transversion in exon 2 of CRYGD that is associated with cataracts in this family. This mutation resulted in a proline to threonine substitution at amino acid 23 of the protein in the first of the four Greek key motifs that characterise this protein. We show that although the x ray crystallography modelling does not indicate any change of the backbone conformation, the mutation affects a region of the Greek key motif that is important for determining the topology of this protein fold. Our data suggest strongly that the proline to threonine substitution may alter the protein folding or decrease the thermodynamic stability or solubility of the protein. Furthermore, this is the first report of a mutation in this gene resulting in autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts

Structural and magnetic properties of Co2MnSi thin films

Co2MnSi (CMS) films of different thicknesses (20, 50, and 100 nm) were grown by radio frequency (RF) sputtering on a-plane sapphire substrates. Our X-rays diffraction (XRD) study shows that, in all the samples, the cubic 〈110〉 CMS axis is normal to the substrate and that six well defined preferential in-plane orientations are present. Static and dynamic magnetic properties were investigated using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and microstrip line ferromagnetic resonance (MS-FMR), respectively. From the resonance measurements versus the direction and the amplitude of an applied magnetic field, most of the magnetic parameters are derived, i.e.: the magnetization, the gyromagnetic factor, the exchange stiffness coefficient, and the magnetic anisotropy terms. The in-plane anisotropy results from the superposition of two terms showing a twofold and a fourfold symmetry, respectively. The observed behavior of the hysteresis loops is in agreement with this complex form of the in-plane anisotropy.International audienceCo2MnSi (CMS) films of different thicknesses (20, 50, and 100 nm) were grown by radio frequency (RF) sputtering on a-plane sapphire substrates. Our X-rays diffraction (XRD) study shows that, in all the samples, the cubic 〈110〉 CMS axis is normal to the substrate and that six well defined preferential in-plane orientations are present. Static and dynamic magnetic properties were investigated using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and microstrip line ferromagnetic resonance (MS-FMR), respectively. From the resonance measurements versus the direction and the amplitude of an applied magnetic field, most of the magnetic parameters are derived, i.e.: the magnetization, the gyromagnetic factor, the exchange stiffness coefficient, and the magnetic anisotropy terms. The in-plane anisotropy results from the superposition of two terms showing a twofold and a fourfold symmetry, respectively. The observed behavior of the hysteresis loops is in agreement with this complex form of the in-plane anisotropy

Cliophysics: Socio-political Reliability Theory, Polity Duration and African Political (In)stabilities

Quantification of historical sociological processes have recently gained attention among theoreticians in the effort of providing a solid theoretical understanding of the behaviors and regularities present in sociopolitical dynamics. Here we present a reliability theory of polity processes with emphases on individual political dynamics of African countries. We found that the structural properties of polity failure rates successfully capture the risk of political vulnerability and instabilities in which 87.50%, 75%, 71.43%, and 0% of the countries with monotonically increasing, unimodal, U-shaped and monotonically decreasing polity failure rates, respectively, have high level of state fragility indices. The quasi-U-shape relationship between average polity duration and regime types corroborates historical precedents and explains the stability of the autocracies and democracies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Effect of colorlessness condition on phase transition from Hadronic Gas to partonic plasma

One of the most important phase transition in physics is the Deconfinement Phase Transition in thermal Quantum ChromoDynamics. Due to the confinement property, we study the effect of colorlessness condition during the Deconfinement Phase Transition from a Hadronic Gas to a Quark-Gluon Plasma. We investigate the behavior of some thermodynamical quantities of the system such as the energy density and the pressure, the colorlessness condition and without colorlessness

Free Vibration Analysis of Isotropic Plates by Alternative Hierarchical Finite Element Method Based on Reddy’s C1 HSDT

This paper presents the free vibration analysis of isotropic thick rectangular plates, based on higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The plate theory ensures a zero shear-stress condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate, and do not requires a shear correction factor. The model requires inter-element C1 continuity for the transverse displacement. To overcome this hindrance, a new hierarchical p-element with six degrees of freedom per node is developed and used to find natural frequencies of thick plates. Convergence studies and comparison have been carried out for with different boundaries conditions. It is shown that the present element enables rapid convergence