3,386 research outputs found
Magnetocaloric effect in Gd/W thin film heterostructures
In an effort to understand the impact of nanostructuring on the
magnetocaloric effect, we have grown and studied gadolinium in MgO/W(50
)/[Gd(400 )/W(50 )]
heterostructures. The entropy change associated with the second order magnetic
phase transition was determined from the isothermal magnetization for numerous
temperatures and the appropriate Maxwell relation. The entropy change peaks at
a temperature of 284 K with a value of approximately 3.4 J/kg-K for a 0-30 kOe
field change; the full width at half max of the entropy change peak is about 70
K, which is significantly wider than that of bulk Gd under similar conditions.
The relative cooling power of this nanoscale system is about 240 J/kg, somewhat
lower than that of bulk Gd (410 J/kg). An iterative Kovel-Fisher method was
used to determine the critical exponents governing the phase transition to be
, and . Along with a suppressed Curie temperature
relative to the bulk, the fact that the convergent value of is that
predicted by the 2-D Ising model may suggest that finite size effects play an
important role in this system. Together, these observations suggest that
nanostructuring may be a promising route to tailoring the magnetocaloric
response of materials
Particle acceleration in tangential discontinuities by lower hybrid waves
We consider the role that the lower-hybrid wave turbulence plays in providing the necessary resistivity at collisionless reconnection sights. The mechanism for generating the waves is considered to be the lower-hybrid drift instability. We find that the level of the wave amplitude is sufficient enough to heat and accelerate both electrons and ions
RR Lyrae Stars in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441: A New Oosterhoff Group?
NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 are anomalies among Galactic globular clusters in that
they cannot be readily place into either Oosterhoff group I or Oosterhoff group
II despite their significant numbers of RR Lyrae variables. The mean pulsation
periods, , of their RRab variables, at 0.71 d and 0.76 d, respectively,
are even larger than for Oosterhoff II clusters. Moreover, Oosterhoff II
clusters are very metal-poor, whereas NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 are the most
metal-rich globular clusters known to contain RR Lyrae stars. The location of
the NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 RRab variables in the period-amplitude diagram
implies that the RR Lyrae stars in those two clusters are brighter than
expected for their metallicities. Our results therefore indicate that a
universal relationship may not exist between the luminosity and the metallicity
of RR Lyrae variables.Comment: Four pages, three figures. ApJ (Letters), in pres
Fluctuations of the partial filling factors in competitive RSA from binary mixtures
Competitive random sequential adsorption on a line from a binary mix of
incident particles is studied using both an analytic recursive approach and
Monte Carlo simulations. We find a strong correlation between the small and the
large particle distributions so that while both partial contributions to the
fill factor fluctuate widely, the variance of the total fill factor remains
relatively small. The variances of partial contributions themselves are quite
different between the smaller and the larger particles, with the larger
particle distribution being more correlated. The disparity in fluctuations of
partial fill factors increases with the particle size ratio. The additional
variance in the partial contribution of smaller particle originates from the
fluctuations in the size of gaps between larger particles. We discuss the
implications of our results to semiconductor high-energy gamma detectors where
the detector energy resolution is controlled by correlations in the cascade
energy branching process.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure
Random sequential adsorption of shrinking or spreading particles
We present a model of one-dimensional irreversible adsorption in which
particles once adsorbed immediately shrink to a smaller size or expand to a
larger size. Exact solutions for the fill factor and the particle number
variance as a function of the size change are obtained. Results are compared
with approximate analytical solutions.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Variability and seasonality of active transportation in USA: evidence from the 2001 NHTS
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Active transportation including walking and bicycling is an important source of physical activity. Promoting active transportation is a challenge for the fields of public health and transportation. Descriptive data on the predictors of active transportation, including seasonal patterns in active transportation in the US as a whole, is needed to inform interventions and policies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study analyzed monthly variation in active transportation for the US using National Household Travel Survey 2001 data. For each age group of children, adolescents, adults and elderly, logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of the odds of active transportation including gender, race/ethnicity, household income level, geographical region, urbanization level, and month.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The probability of engaging in active transportation was generally higher for children and adolescents than for adults and the elderly. Active transportation was greater in the lower income groups (except in the elderly), was lower in the South than in other regions of the US, and was greater in areas with higher urbanization. The percentage of people using active transportation exhibited clear seasonal patterns: high during summer months and low during winter months. Children and adolescents were more sensitive to seasonality than other age groups. Women, non-Caucasians, persons with lower household income, who resided in the Midwest or Northeast, and who lived in more urbanized areas had greater seasonal variation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These descriptive results suggest that interventions and policies that target the promotion of active transportation need to consider socio-demographic factors and seasonality.</p
Elastic Convection in Vibrated Viscoplastic Fluids
We observe a new type of behavior in a shear thinning yield stress fluid:
freestanding convection rolls driven by vertical oscillation. The convection
occurs without the constraint of container boundaries yet the diameter of the
rolls is spontaneously selected for a wide range of parameters. The transition
to the convecting state occurs without hysteresis when the amplitude of the
plate acceleration exceeds a critical value. We find that a non-dimensional
stress, the stress due to the inertia of the fluid normalized by the yield
stress, governs the onset of the convective motion.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
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