8,858 research outputs found

    Statistical modelling for prediction of axis-switching in rectangular jets

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    Rectangular nozzles are increasingly used for modern military aircraft propulsion installations, including the roll nozzles on the F-35B vertical/short take-off and landing strike fighter. A peculiar phenomenon known as axis-switching is generally observed in such non-axisymmetric nozzle flows during which the jet spreads faster along the minor axis compared to the major axis. This might affect the under-wing stores and aircraft structure. A computational fluid dynamics study was performed to understand the effects of changing the upstream nozzle geometry on a rectangular free jet. A method is proposed, involving the formulation of an equation based upon a statistical model for a rectangular nozzle with an exit aspect ratio (ARe) of 4; the variables under consideration (for a constant nozzle pressure ratio (NPR)) being inlet aspect ratio (ARi) and length of the contraction section. The jet development was characterised using two parameters: location of the cross-over point (Xc) and the difference in the jet half-velocity widths along the major and minor axes (ΔB30). Based on the observed results, two statistical models were formulated for the prediction of axis-switching; the first model gives the location of the cross-over point, while the second model indicates the occurrence of axis-switching for the given configuration

    The Sources of b-Quarks at the Tevatron and their Correlations

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    The leading-log order QCD hard scattering Monte-Carlo models of HERWIG, ISAJET, and PYTHIA are used to study the sources of b-quarks at the Tevatron. The reactions responsible for producing b and bbar quarks are separated into three categories; flavor creation, flavor excitation, and parton-shower/fragmentation. Flavor creation corresponds to the production of a b-bbar pair by gluon fusion or by annihilation of light quarks, while flavor excitation corresponds to a b or bbar quark being knocked out of the initial-state by a gluon or a light quark or antiquark. The third source occurs when a b-bbar pair is produced within a parton shower or during the fragmentation process of a gluon or a light quark or antiquark (includes gluon splitting). The QCD Monte-Carlo models indicate that all three sources of b-quarks are important at the Tevatron and when combined they qualitatively describe the inclusive cross-section data. Correlations between the b and bbar quark are very different for the three sources and can be used to isolate the individual contributions.Comment: RevTex4, 14 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

    Dry-mass sensing for microfluidics

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    We present an approach for interfacing an electromechanical sensor with a microfluidic device for the accurate quantification of the dry mass of analytes within microchannels. We show that depositing solutes onto the active surface of a quartz crystal microbalance by means of an on-chip microfluidic spray nozzle and subsequent solvent removal provides the basis for the real-time determination of dry solute mass. Moreover, this detection scheme does not suffer from the decrease in the sensor’s quality factor and the viscous drag present if the measurement is performed in a liquid environment, yet allows solutions to be analysed. We demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of our approach by controlled deposition of nanogram levels of salt and protein from a micrometer-sized channel.We thank Alexander K. Buell, Igor Efimov, and Victor Ostanin for valuable discussions on QCM sensors and gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the European Research Council (ERC), as well as the Frances and Augustus Newman Foundation.Permission is granted to quote from an AIP publication with the customary acknowledgment of the source. Republication of an article or portions thereof (e.g., excerpts of greater than 400 words, figures, tables, etc.) in original form or in translation, as well as other types of reuse (such as use in course packs or electronic reserves) require formal permission from AIP and may be subject to fees. Although it is not a legal requirement for permission, as a courtesy, an author of the original article should be informed of any request for republication/reuse

    A New Technique for Finding Needles in Haystacks: A Geometric Approach to Distinguishing Between a New Source and Random Fluctuations

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    We propose a new test statistic based on a score process for determining the statistical significance of a putative signal that may be a small perturbation to a noisy experimental background. We derive the reference distribution for this score test statistic; it has an elegant geometrical interpretation as well as broad applicability. We illustrate the technique in the context of a model problem from high-energy particle physics. Monte Carlo experimental results confirm that the score test results in a significantly improved rate of signal detection.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

    Approximating Mexican highways with slime mould

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    Plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a single cell visible by unaided eye. During its foraging behavior the cell spans spatially distributed sources of nutrients with a protoplasmic network. Geometrical structure of the protoplasmic networks allows the plasmodium to optimize transport of nutrients between remote parts of its body. Assuming major Mexican cities are sources of nutrients how much structure of Physarum protoplasmic network correspond to structure of Mexican Federal highway network? To find an answer undertook a series of laboratory experiments with living Physarum polycephalum. We represent geographical locations of major cities by oat flakes, place a piece of plasmodium in Mexico city area, record the plasmodium's foraging behavior and extract topology of nutrient transport networks. Results of our experiments show that the protoplasmic network formed by Physarum is isomorphic, subject to limitations imposed, to a network of principle highways. Ideas and results of the paper may contribute towards future developments in bio-inspired road planning

    Desertification

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    IPCC SPECIAL REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND (SRCCL) Chapter 3: Climate Change and Land: An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystem

    The difference that tenure makes

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    This paper argues that housing tenures cannot be reduced to either production relations or consumption relations. Instead, they need to be understood as modes of housing distribution, and as having complex and dynamic relations with social classes. Building on a critique of both the productionist and the consumptionist literature, as well as of formalist accounts of the relations between tenure and class, the paper attempts to lay the foundations for a new theory of housing tenure. In order to do this, a new theory of class is articulated, which is then used to throw new light on the nature of class-tenure relations

    A large sample study of spin relaxation and magnetometric sensitivity of paraffin-coated Cs vapor cells

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    We have manufactured more than 250 nominally identical paraffin-coated Cs vapor cells (30 mm diameter bulbs) for multi-channel atomic magnetometer applications. We describe our dedicated cell characterization apparatus. For each cell we have determined the intrinsic longitudinal, \sGamma{01}, and transverse, \sGamma{02}, relaxation rates. Our best cell shows \sGamma{01}/2\pi\approx 0.5 Hz, and \sGamma{02}/2\pi\approx 2 Hz. We find a strong correlation of both relaxation rates which we explain in terms of reservoir and spin exchange relaxation. For each cell we have determined the optimal combination of rf and laser powers which yield the highest sensitivity to magnetic field changes. Out of all produced cells, 90% are found to have magnetometric sensitivities in the range of 9 to 30 fTHz. Noise analysis shows that the magnetometers operated with such cells have a sensitivity close to the fundamental photon shot noise limit

    Correlation effects in MgO and CaO: Cohesive energies and lattice constants

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    A recently proposed computational scheme based on local increments has been applied to the calculation of correlation contributions to the cohesive energy of the CaO crystal. Using ab-initio quantum chemical methods for evaluating individual increments, we obtain 80% of the difference between the experimental and Hartree-Fock cohesive energies. Lattice constants corrected for correlation effects deviate by less than 1% from experimental values, in the case of MgO and CaO.Comment: LaTeX, 4 figure
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