659 research outputs found
Experimental study of fusion neutron and proton yields produced by petawatt-laser-irradiated D2-3He or CD4-3He clustering gases
We report on experiments in which the Texas Petawatt laser irradiated a
mixture of deuterium or deuterated methane clusters and helium-3 gas,
generating three types of nuclear fusion reactions: D(d, 3He)n, D(d, t)p and
3He(d, p)4He. We measured the yields of fusion neutrons and protons from these
reactions and found them to agree with yields based on a simple cylindrical
plasma model using known cross sections and measured plasma parameters. Within
our measurement errors, the fusion products were isotropically distributed.
Plasma temperatures, important for the cross sections, were determined by two
independent methods: (1) deuterium ion time-of-flight, and (2) utilizing the
ratio of neutron yield to proton yield from D(d, 3He)n and 3He(d, p)4He
reactions, respectively. This experiment produced the highest ion temperature
ever achieved with laser-irradiated deuterium clusters.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Temperature measurements of fusion plasmas produced by petawatt laser-irradiated D2-3He or CD4-3He clustering gases
Two different methods have been employed to determine the plasma temperature
in a laser-cluster fusion experiment on the Texas Petawatt laser. In the first,
the temperature was derived from time-of-flight data of deuterium ions ejected
from exploding D2 or CD4 clusters. In the second, the temperature was measured
from the ratio of the rates of two different nuclear fusion reactions occurring
in the plasma at the same time: D(d, 3He)n and 3He(d, p)4He. The temperatures
determined by these two methods agree well, which indicates that: i) The ion
energy distribution is not significantly distorted when ions travel in the
disassembling plasma; ii) The kinetic energy of deuterium ions, especially the
hottest part responsible for nuclear fusion, is well described by a
near-Maxwellian distribution.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of the plasma astrophysical S factor for the 3He(D, p)4He reaction in exploding molecular clusters
The plasma astrophysical S factor for the 3He(D, p)4He fusion reaction was
measured for the first time at temperatures of few keV, using the interaction
of intense ultrafast laser pulses with molecular deuterium clusters mixed with
3He atoms. Different proportions of D2 and 3He or CD4 and 3He were mixed in the
gas jet target in order to allow the measurement of the cross-section for the
3He(D, p)4He reaction. The yield of 14.7 MeV protons from the 3He(D, p)4He
reaction was measured in order to extract the astrophysical S factor at low
energies. Our result is in agreement with other S factor parameterizations
found in the literature
A Focused Sequent Calculus Framework for Proof Search in Pure Type Systems
Basic proof-search tactics in logic and type theory can be seen as the
root-first applications of rules in an appropriate sequent calculus, preferably
without the redundancies generated by permutation of rules. This paper
addresses the issues of defining such sequent calculi for Pure Type Systems
(PTS, which were originally presented in natural deduction style) and then
organizing their rules for effective proof-search. We introduce the idea of
Pure Type Sequent Calculus with meta-variables (PTSCalpha), by enriching the
syntax of a permutation-free sequent calculus for propositional logic due to
Herbelin, which is strongly related to natural deduction and already well
adapted to proof-search. The operational semantics is adapted from Herbelin's
and is defined by a system of local rewrite rules as in cut-elimination, using
explicit substitutions. We prove confluence for this system. Restricting our
attention to PTSC, a type system for the ground terms of this system, we obtain
the Subject Reduction property and show that each PTSC is logically equivalent
to its corresponding PTS, and the former is strongly normalising iff the latter
is. We show how to make the logical rules of PTSC into a syntax-directed system
PS for proof-search, by incorporating the conversion rules as in
syntax-directed presentations of the PTS rules for type-checking. Finally, we
consider how to use the explicitly scoped meta-variables of PTSCalpha to
represent partial proof-terms, and use them to analyse interactive proof
construction. This sets up a framework PE in which we are able to study
proof-search strategies, type inhabitant enumeration and (higher-order)
unification
Leading-effect vs. Risk-taking in Dynamic Tournaments: Evidence from a Real-life Randomized Experiment
Two 'order effects' may emerge in dynamic tournaments with information feedback. First, participants adjust effort across stages, which could advantage the leading participant who faces a larger 'effective prize' after an initial victory (leading-effect). Second, participants lagging behind may increase risk at the final stage as they have 'nothing to lose' (risk-taking). We use a randomized natural experiment in professional two-game soccer tournaments where the treatment (order of a stage-specific advantage) and team characteristics, e.g. ability, are independent. We develop an identification strategy to test for leading-effects controlling for risk-taking. We find no evidence of leading-effects and negligible risk-taking effects
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