470 research outputs found
The Jamming Transition in Granular Systems
Recent simulations have predicted that near jamming for collections of
spherical particles, there will be a discontinuous increase in the mean contact
number, Z, at a critical volume fraction, phi_c. Above phi_c, Z and the
pressure, P are predicted to increase as power laws in phi-phi_c. In
experiments using photoelastic disks we corroborate a rapid increase in Z at
phi_c and power-law behavior above phi_c for Z and P. Specifically we find
power-law increase as a function of phi-phi_c for Z-Z_c with an exponent beta
around 0.5, and for P with an exponent psi around 1.1. These exponents are in
good agreement with simulations. We also find reasonable agreement with a
recent mean-field theory for frictionless particles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 2 pages supplement; minor changes and
clarifications, 2 addtl. refs., accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Critical Decay at Higher-Order Glass-Transition Singularities
Within the mode-coupling theory for the evolution of structural relaxation in
glass-forming systems, it is shown that the correlation functions for density
fluctuations for states at A_3- and A_4-glass-transition singularities can be
presented as an asymptotic series in increasing inverse powers of the logarithm
of the time t: , where
with p_n denoting some polynomial and x=ln (t/t_0). The results are
demonstrated for schematic models describing the system by solely one or two
correlators and also for a colloid model with a square-well-interaction
potential.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, Proceedings of "Structural Arrest Transitions in
Colloidal Systems with Short-Range Attractions", Messina, Italy, December
2003 (submitted
EAC-1A: A novel large-volume lunar regolith simulant
The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany. With an estimated representative lunar testbed area of approximately 660 m(2), a large volume of lunar regolith simulant material is needed for this purpose. In this study, a basanitic sandy silt from a quarry located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field is evaluated as a large-volume source of material. The focus of this project has been to conduct a physical and chemical characterisation of the fine-grained material to be used in LUNA;the European Astronaut Centre lunar regolith simulant 1 (EAC-1A). The physical characterisation tests undertaken include sphericity, density measurements, cohesion and static angle of repose, with mineralogical investigations via petrographical analysis with optical microscope and SEM, XRF, XRD and DSC measurements. The results of the EAC-1A tests are compared to published data on existing widely used lunar regolith simulants, namely JSC-1A, JSC-2A, NU-LHT-3M, DNA and FJS-1
Unoccupied states of individual silver clusters and chains on Ag(111)
Size-selected silver clusters on Ag(111) were fabricated with the tip of a
scanning tunneling microscope. Unoccupied electron resonances give rise to
image contrast and spectral features which shift toward the Fermi level with
increasing cluster size. Linear assemblies exhibit higher resonance energies
than equally sized compact assemblies. Density functional theory calculations
reproduce the observed energies and enable an assignment of the resonances to
hybridized atomic 5s and 5p orbitals with silver substrate states.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Mitochondrial encephalocardio-myopathy with early neonatal onset due to TMEM70 mutation
Objective Mitochondrial disturbances of energy-generating systems in childhood are a heterogeneous group of disorders. The aim of this multi-site survey was to characterise the natural course of a novel mitochondrial disease with ATP synthase deficiency and mutation in the TMEM70 gene.
Methods Retrospective clinical data and metabolic profiles were collected and evaluated in 25 patients (14 boys, 11 girls) from seven European countries with a c. 317-2A -> G mutation in the TMEM70 gene.
Results Severe muscular hypotonia (in 92% of newborns), apnoic spells (92%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP; 76%) and profound lactic acidosis (lactate 5-36 mmol/l; 92%) with hyperammonaemia (100-520 mu mol/l; 86%) were present from birth. Ten patients died within the first 6 weeks of life. Most patients surviving the neonatal period had persisting muscular hypotonia and developed psychomotor delay. HCMP was non-progressive and even disappeared in some children. Hypospadia was present in 54% of the boys and cryptorchidism in 67%. Increased excretion of lactate and 3-methylglutaconic acid (3-MGC) was observed in all patients. In four surviving patients, life-threatening hyperammonaemia occurred during childhood, triggered by acute gastroenteritis and prolonged fasting.
Conclusions ATP synthase deficiency with mutation in TMEM70 should be considered in the diagnosis and management of critically ill neonates with early neonatal onset of muscular hypotonia, HCMP and hypospadias in boys accompanied by lactic acidosis, hyperammonaemia and 3-MGC-uria. However, phenotype severity may vary significantly. The disease occurs frequently in the Roma population and molecular-genetic analysis of the TMEM70 gene is sufficient for diagnosis without need of muscle biopsy in affected children
Dynamics in Colloidal Liquids near a Crossing of Glass- and Gel-Transition Lines
Within the mode-coupling theory for ideal glass-transitions, the mean-squared
displacement and the correlation function for density fluctuations are
evaluated for a colloidal liquid of particles interacting with a square-well
potential for states near the crossing of the line for transitions to a gel
with the line for transitions to a glass. It is demonstrated how the dynamics
is ruled by the interplay of the mechanisms of arrest due to hard-core
repulsion and due to attraction-induced bond formation as well as by a nearby
higher-order glass-transition singularity. Application of the universal
relaxation laws for the slow dynamics near glass-transition singularities
explains the qualitative features of the calculated time dependence of the
mean-squared displacement, which are in accord with the findings obtained in
molecular-dynamics simulation studies by Zaccarelli et. al [Phys. Rev. E 66,
041402 (2002)]. Correlation functions found by photon-correlation spectroscopy
in a micellar system by Mallamace et. al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5431 2000)] can
be interpreted qualitatively as a crossover from gel to glass dynamics.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure
Detection of Solar-like Oscillations in the G7 Giant Star xi Hya
We report the firm discovery of solar-like oscillations in a giant star. We
monitored the star xi Hya (G7III) continuously during one month with the
CORALIE spectrograph attached to the 1.2m Swiss Euler telescope. The 433
high-precision radial-velocity measurements clearly reveal multiple oscillation
frequencies in the range 50 - 130 uHz, corresponding to periods between 2.0 and
5.5 hours. The amplitudes of the strongest modes are slightly smaller than 2
m/s. Current model calculations are compatible with the detected modes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication as a letter in A&
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