298 research outputs found
Relevant heating of the quiet solar corona by Alfvén waves: a result of adiabaticity breakdown
International audienceIon heating by Alfvén waves has been considered for long as the mechanism explaining why thesolar corona has a temperature several orders of magnitude higher than the photosphere. Unfortu-nately, as the measured wave frequencies are much smaller than the ion cyclotron frequency, particleswere expected to behave adiabatically, impeding a direct wave-particle energy transfer to take place,except through decorrelating stochastic mechanisms related to broadband wave spectra. This paperproposes a new paradigm for this mechanism by showing it is actually much simpler, more general,and very efficient. Indeed, for measured wave amplitudes in the quiet corona, ion orbits are shownto cross quasi-periodically one or several slowly pulsating separatrices in phase space. Now, a sepa-ratrix is an orbit with an infinite period, thus much longer than the pulsation one. Therefore, eachseparatrix crossing cancels adiabatic invariance, and yields a very strong energy transfer from thewave, and thus particle heating. This occurs whatever be the wave spectrum, even a monochromaticone. The proposed mechanism is so efficient that it might lead to a self-organized picture of coronalheating: all Alfvén waves exceeding a threshold are immediately quenched and transfer their energyto the waves
Universal diffusion near the golden chaos border
We study local diffusion rate in Chirikov standard map near the critical
golden curve. Numerical simulations confirm the predicted exponent
for the power law decay of as approaching the golden curve via principal
resonances with period (). The universal
self-similar structure of diffusion between principal resonances is
demonstrated and it is shown that resonances of other type play also an
important role.Comment: 4 pages Latex, revtex, 3 uuencoded postscript figure
Scaling laws for the largest Lyapunov exponent in long-range systems: A random matrix approach
We investigate the laws that rule the behavior of the largest Lyapunov
exponent (LLE) in many particle systems with long range interactions. We
consider as a representative system the so-called Hamiltonian alpha-XY model
where the adjustable parameter alpha controls the range of the interactions of
N ferromagnetic spins in a lattice of dimension d. In previous work the
dependence of the LLE with the system size N, for sufficiently high energies,
was established through numerical simulations. In the thermodynamic limit, the
LLE becomes constant for alpha greater than d whereas it decays as an inverse
power law of N for alpha smaller than d. A recent theoretical calculation based
on Pettini's geometrization of the dynamics is consistent with these numerical
results (M.-C. Firpo and S. Ruffo, cond-mat/0108158). Here we show that the
scaling behavior can also be explained by a random matrix approach, in which
the tangent mappings that define the Lyapunov exponents are modeled by random
simplectic matrices drawn from a suitable ensemble.Comment: 5 pages, no figure
Relevance of a photo-Fenton like technology based on peroxymonosulphate for 17b-estradiol removal from wastewater
The objective of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of sulphate radical based homogeneous
advanced oxidation technologies (SR-AOTs) involving peroxymonosulphate (PMS) as an oxidant and ferrous
iron (Fe(II)) as a catalyst, for the removal of 17b-estradiol (E2) from wastewater effluents collected
downstream of a biological WWTP in Perpignan (France). This molecule is used as a surrogate for endocrine
disrupting compounds (EDCs) due to its high biological activity at very low concentration levels (ng/
L). For this purpose, two different laboratory-scale devices have been employed, one for indoor experiments
working with controlled and artificial UV light centered on k = 365 nm emission, and the other
at a larger scale for outdoor experiments using direct solar irradiation. Comparison of kinetic studies with
those obtained with commonly used hydroxyl radical based advanced oxidation technologies (HR-AOTs),
i.e., UV–Vis/H2O2/Fe(II) and UV/TiO2 revealed the higher efficiency of the former over the latter ones. Estrogenicity
measurement through bioassays confirmed the complete removal of 17b-estradiol after only a
few minutes treatment. Determination of E2 transformation pathways upon sulphate radical reactivity
through intermediates identification by mass spectrometry revealed that the oxidation of phenol moiety
into quinone might be the main step responsible for the decrease in estrogenicity. UV–Vis/PMS/Fe(II) system
appears to be the most suitable method for the treatment of aqueous solutions containing E2
Landau model for uniaxial systems with complex order parameter
We study the Landau model for uniaxial incommensurate-commensurate systems of
the I class by keeping Umklapp terms of third and fourth order in the expansion
of the free energy. It applies to systems in which the soft mode minimum lies
between the corresponding commensurate wave numbers. The minimization of the
Landau functional leads to the sine-Gordon equation with two nonlinear terms,
equivalent to the equation of motion for the well-known classical mechanical
problem of two mixing resonances. We calculate the average free energies for
periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic solutions of this equation, and show that
in the regime of finite strengths of Umklapp terms only periodic solutions are
absolute minima of the free energy, so that the phase diagram contains only
commensurate configurations. The phase transitions between neighboring
configurations are of the first order, and the wave number of ordering goes
through harmless staircase with a finite number of steps. These results are the
basis for the interpretation of phase diagrams for some materials from the I
class of incommensurate-commensurate systems, in particular of those for
ABX and BCCD compounds. Also, we argue that chaotic barriers which
separate metastable periodic solutions represent an intrinsic mechanism for
observed memory effects and thermal hystereses.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Landau Model for Commensurate-Commensurate Phase Transitions in Uniaxial Improper Ferroelectric Crystals
We propose the Landau model for lock-in phase transitions in uniaxially
modulated improper ferroelectric incommensurate-commensurate systems of class
I. It includes Umklapp terms of third and fourth order and secondary order
parameter representing the local polarization. The corresponding phase diagram
has the structure of harmless staircase, with the allowed wave numbers obeying
the Farey tree algorithm. Among the stable commensurate phases only those with
periods equal to odd number of lattice constants have finite macroscopic
polarizations. These results are in excellent agreement with experimental
findings in some A2BX4 compounds.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, revtex, to be published in Journal of Physics:
Cond. Matter as a Letter to the Edito
Hamiltonian Dynamics and the Phase Transition of the XY Model
A Hamiltonian dynamics is defined for the XY model by adding a kinetic energy
term. Thermodynamical properties (total energy, magnetization, vorticity)
derived from microcanonical simulations of this model are found to be in
agreement with canonical Monte-Carlo results in the explored temperature
region. The behavior of the magnetization and the energy as functions of the
temperature are thoroughly investigated, taking into account finite size
effects. By representing the spin field as a superposition of random phased
waves, we derive a nonlinear dispersion relation whose solutions allow the
computation of thermodynamical quantities, which agree quantitatively with
those obtained in numerical experiments, up to temperatures close to the
transition. At low temperatures the propagation of phonons is the dominant
phenomenon, while above the phase transition the system splits into ordered
domains separated by interfaces populated by topological defects. In the high
temperature phase, spins rotate, and an analogy with an Ising-like system can
be established, leading to a theoretical prediction of the critical temperature
.Comment: 10 figures, Revte
Stochastic ionization through noble tori: Renormalization results
We find that chaos in the stochastic ionization problem develops through the
break-up of a sequence of noble tori. In addition to being very accurate, our
method of choice, the renormalization map, is ideally suited for analyzing
properties at criticality. Our computations of chaos thresholds agree closely
with the widely used empirical Chirikov criterion
Symmetry breaking perturbations and strange attractors
The asymmetrically forced, damped Duffing oscillator is introduced as a
prototype model for analyzing the homoclinic tangle of symmetric dissipative
systems with \textit{symmetry breaking} disturbances. Even a slight fixed
asymmetry in the perturbation may cause a substantial change in the asymptotic
behavior of the system, e.g. transitions from two sided to one sided strange
attractors as the other parameters are varied. Moreover, slight asymmetries may
cause substantial asymmetries in the relative size of the basins of attraction
of the unforced nearly symmetric attracting regions. These changes seems to be
associated with homoclinic bifurcations. Numerical evidence indicates that
\textit{strange attractors} appear near curves corresponding to specific
secondary homoclinic bifurcations. These curves are found using analytical
perturbational tools
Foliar lead uptake by lettuce exposed to atmospheric fallouts
Metal uptake by plants occurs by soil−root transfer but also by direct transfer of contaminants from the atmosphere to the shoots. This second pathway may be particularly important in kitchen gardens near industrial plants. The mechanisms of foliar uptake of lead by lettuce (Lactuca sativa) exposed to the atmospheric fallouts of a lead-recycling plant were studied. After 43 days of exposure, the thoroughly washed leaves contained 335 ± 50 mg Pb kg−1 (dry weight). Micro-X-ray fluorescence mappings evidenced Pb-rich spots of a few hundreds of micrometers in diameter located in necrotic zones. These spots were more abundant at the base of the central nervure. Environmental scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis showed that smaller particles (a few micrometers in diameter) were also present in other regions of the leaves, often located beneath the leaf surface. In addition, submicrometric particles were observed inside stomatal openings. Raman microspectrometry analyses of the leaves identified smelter-originated Pb minerals but also secondary phases likely resulting from the weathering of original particles. On the basis of these observations, several pathways for foliar lead uptake are discussed. A better understanding of these mechanisms may be of interest for risk assessment of population exposure to atmospheric metal contamination
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