Scaling of spontaneous rotation with temperature and plasma current in tokamaks

Using theoretical arguments, a simple scaling law for the size of the intrinsic rotation observed in tokamaks in the absence of momentum injection is found: the velocity generated in the core of a tokamak must be proportional to the ion temperature difference in the core divided by the plasma current, independent of the size of the device. The constant of proportionality is of the order of $10\,\mathrm{km \cdot s^{-1} \cdot MA \cdot keV^{-1}}$. When the intrinsic rotation profile is hollow, i.e. it is counter-current in the core of the tokamak and co-current in the edge, the scaling law presented in this Letter fits the data remarkably well for several tokamaks of vastly different size and heated by different mechanisms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Seeking critical nodes in digraphs

The Critical Node Detection Problem (CNDP) consists in finding the set of nodes, defined critical, whose removal maximally degrades the graph. In this work we focus on finding the set of critical nodes whose removal minimizes the pairwise connectivity of a direct graph (digraph). Such problem has been proved to be NP-hard, thus we need efficient heuristics to detect critical nodes in real-world applications. We aim at understanding which is the best heuristic we can apply to identify critical nodes in practice, i.e., taking into account time constrains and real-world networks. We present an in-depth analysis of several heuristics we ran on both real-world and on synthetic graphs. We define and evaluate two different strategies for each heuristic: standard and iterative. Our main findings show that an algorithm recently proposed to solve the CNDP and that can be used as heuristic for the general case provides the best results in real-world graphs, and it is also the fastest. However, there are few exceptions that are thoroughly analyzed and discussed. We show that among the heuristics we analyzed, few of them cannot be applied to very large graphs, when the iterative strategy is used, due to their time complexity. Finally, we suggest possible directions to further improve the heuristic providing the best results

Deuterium Balmer/Stark spectroscopy and impurity profiles: first results from mirror-link divertor spectroscopy system on the JET ITER-like wall

For the ITER-like wall, the JET mirror link divertor spectroscopy system was redesigned to fully cover the tungsten horizontal strike plate with faster time resolution and improved near-UV performance. Since the ITER-like wall project involves a change in JET from a carbon dominated machine to a beryllium and tungsten dominated machine with residual carbon, the aim of the system is to provide the recycling flux, equivalent, to the impinging deuterium ion flux, the impurity fluxes (C, Be, O) and tungsten sputtering fluxes and hence give information on the tungsten divertor source. In order to do this self-consistently, the system also needs to provide plasma characterization through the deuterium Balmer spectra measurements of electron density and temperature during high density. L-Mode results at the density limit from Stark broadening/line ratio analysis will be presented and compared to Langmuir probe profiles and 2D-tomography of low-n Balmer emission [1]. Comparison with other diagnostics will be vital for modelling attempts with the EDGE2D-EIRENE code[2] as the best possible data sets need to be provided to study detachment behaviour.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure

The Optical Depth of H II Regions in the Magellanic Clouds

We exploit ionization-parameter mapping (IPM) as a powerful tool to measure the optical depth of star-forming H II regions. Our simulations using the photoionization code CLOUDY and our new, SURFBRIGHT surface-brightness simulator demonstrate that this technique can directly diagnose most density-bounded, optically thin nebulae using spatially resolved emission-line data. We apply this method to the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), using the data from the Magellanic Clouds Emission Line Survey. We generate new H II region catalogs based on photoionization criteria set by the observed ionization structure in the [S II ]/[O III ] ratio and Hα surface brightness. The luminosity functions from these catalogs generally agree with those from Hα-only surveys. We then use IPM to crudely classify all the nebulae into optically thick versus optically thin categories, yielding fundamental new insights into Lyman-continuum (LyC) radiation transfer. We find that in both galaxies, the frequency of optically thin objects correlates with Hα luminosity, and that the numbers of these objects dominate above log L /(erg s –1 ) ≥ 37.0. The frequencies of optically thin objects are 40% and 33% in the LMC and SMC, respectively. Similarly, the frequency of optically thick regions correlates with H I column density, with optically thin objects dominating at the lowest N (H I ). The integrated escape luminosity of ionizing radiation is dominated by the largest regions and corresponds to luminosity-weighted, ionizing escape fractions from the H II region population of ≥0.42 and ≥0.40 in the LMC and SMC, respectively. These values correspond to global galactic escape fractions of 4% and 11%, respectively. This is sufficient to power the ionization rate of the observed diffuse ionized gas in both galaxies. Since our optical depth estimates tend to be underestimates, and also omit the contribution from field stars without nebulae, our results suggest the possibility of significant galactic escape fractions of LyC radiation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98568/1/0004-637X_755_1_40.pd

Relating geologic units and mobility system kinematics contributing to Curiosity wheel damage at Gale Crater, Mars

Curiosity landed on plains to the north of Mount Sharp in August 2012. By June 2016 the rover had traversed 12.9 km to the southwest, encountering extensive strata that were deposited in a fluvial-deltaic-lacustrine system. Initial drives across sharp sandstone outcrops initiated an unacceptably high rate of punctures and cracks in the thin aluminum wheel skin structures. Initial damage was found to be related to the drive control mode of the six wheel drive actuators and the kinematics of the rocker-bogie suspension. Wheels leading a suspension pivot were forced onto sharp, immobile surfaces by the other wheels as they maintained their commanded angular velocities. Wheel damage mechanisms such as geometry-induced stress concentration cracking and low-cycle fatigue were then exacerbated. A geomorphic map was generated to assist in planning traverses that would minimize further wheel damage. A steady increase in punctures and cracks between landing and June 2016 was due in part because of drives across the sharp sandstone outcrops that could not be avoided. Wheel lifetime estimates show that with careful path planning the wheels will be operational for an additional ten kilometers or more, allowing the rover to reach key strata exposed on the slopes of Mount Sharp

Identification of rare-disease genes using blood transcriptome sequencing and large control cohorts.

It is estimated that 350 million individuals worldwide suffer from rare diseases, which are predominantly caused by mutation in a single gene1. The current molecular diagnostic rate is estimated at 50%, with whole-exome sequencing (WES) among the most successful approaches2-5. For patients in whom WES is uninformative, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has shown diagnostic utility in specific tissues and diseases6-8. This includes muscle biopsies from patients with undiagnosed rare muscle disorders6,9, and cultured fibroblasts from patients with mitochondrial disorders7. However, for many individuals, biopsies are not performed for clinical care, and tissues are difficult to access. We sought to assess the utility of RNA-seq from blood as a diagnostic tool for rare diseases of different pathophysiologies. We generated whole-blood RNA-seq from 94 individuals with undiagnosed rare diseases spanning 16 diverse disease categories. We developed a robust approach to compare data from these individuals with large sets of RNA-seq data for controls (n = 1,594 unrelated controls and n = 49 family members) and demonstrated the impacts of expression, splicing, gene and variant filtering strategies on disease gene identification. Across our cohort, we observed that RNA-seq yields a 7.5% diagnostic rate, and an additional 16.7% with improved candidate gene resolution