12,022 research outputs found
A preliminary assessment of small steam Rankine and Brayton point-focusing solar modules
A preliminary assessment of three conceptual point-focusing distributed solar modules is presented. The basic power conversion units consist of small Brayton or Rankine engines individually coupled to two-axis, tracking, point-focusing solar collectors. An array of such modules can be linked together, via electric transport, to form a small power station. Each module also can be utilized on a stand-alone basis, as an individual power source
Quantum transport in carbon nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are a versatile material in which many aspects of condensed
matter physics come together. Recent discoveries, enabled by sophisticated
fabrication, have uncovered new phenomena that completely change our
understanding of transport in these devices, especially the role of the spin
and valley degrees of freedom. This review describes the modern understanding
of transport through nanotube devices.
Unlike conventional semiconductors, electrons in nanotubes have two angular
momentum quantum numbers, arising from spin and from valley freedom. We focus
on the interplay between the two. In single quantum dots defined in short
lengths of nanotube, the energy levels associated with each degree of freedom,
and the spin-orbit coupling between them, are revealed by Coulomb blockade
spectroscopy. In double quantum dots, the combination of quantum numbers
modifies the selection rules of Pauli blockade. This can be exploited to read
out spin and valley qubits, and to measure the decay of these states through
coupling to nuclear spins and phonons. A second unique property of carbon
nanotubes is that the combination of valley freedom and electron-electron
interactions in one dimension strongly modifies their transport behaviour.
Interaction between electrons inside and outside a quantum dot is manifested in
SU(4) Kondo behavior and level renormalization. Interaction within a dot leads
to Wigner molecules and more complex correlated states.
This review takes an experimental perspective informed by recent advances in
theory. As well as the well-understood overall picture, we also state clearly
open questions for the field. These advances position nanotubes as a leading
system for the study of spin and valley physics in one dimension where
electronic disorder and hyperfine interaction can both be reduced to a very low
level.Comment: In press at Reviews of Modern Physics. 68 pages, 55 figure
Other Challenges in the Development of the Orbiter Environmental Control Hardware
Development of the Space Shuttle orbiter environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) included the identification and resolution of several interesting problems in several systems. Some of these problems occurred late in the program, including the flight phase. Problems and solutions related to the ammonia boiler system (ABS), smoke detector, water/hydrogen separator, and waste collector system (WCS) are addressed
Space station automation of common module power management and distribution
The purpose is to automate a breadboard level Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system which possesses many functional characteristics of a specified Space Station power system. The automation system was built upon 20 kHz ac source with redundancy of the power buses. There are two power distribution control units which furnish power to six load centers which in turn enable load circuits based upon a system generated schedule. The progress in building this specified autonomous system is described. Automation of Space Station Module PMAD was accomplished by segmenting the complete task in the following four independent tasks: (1) develop a detailed approach for PMAD automation; (2) define the software and hardware elements of automation; (3) develop the automation system for the PMAD breadboard; and (4) select an appropriate host processing environment
End-to-End Models: Management Applications
Preface to the 2012 issue of Progress in Oceanography
Dilepton and Photon Emission Rates from a Hadronic Gas
We analyze the dilepton and photon emission rates from a hadronic gas using
chiral reduction formulas and a virial expansion. The emission rates are
reduced to pertinent vacuum correlation functions, most of which can be
assessed from experiment. Our results indicate that in the low mass region, the
dilepton and photon rates are enhanced compared to most of the calculations
using chiral Lagrangians. The enhancement is further increased through a finite
pion chemical potential. An estimate of the emission rates is also made using
Haag's expansion for the electromagnetic current. The relevance of these
results to dilepton and photon emission rates in heavy-ion collisions is
discussed.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX using revTeX, 6 figures imbedded in text. Figures
slightly changed, text left unchange
Novel Methods for Determining Effective Interactions for the Nuclear Shell Model
The Contractor Renormalization (CORE) method is applied in combination with
modern effective-theory techniques to the nuclear many-body problem. A
one-dimensional--yet ``realistic''--nucleon-nucleon potential is introduced to
test these novel ideas. It is found that the magnitude of ``model-space''
(CORE) corrections diminishes considerably when an effective potential that
eliminates the hard-momentum components of the potential is first introduced.
As a result, accurate predictions for the ground-state energy of the there-body
system are made with relatively little computational effort when both
techniques are used in a complementary fashion.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures and 2 tabl
- …