The role of kinetics in the design of plasma microreactors

Miniaturization of plasma reactors has the potential of low power operation. In general, the electric field strength in the gap between two electrodes increases proportionate to inverse of the gap width, so that it is possible to overcome the first ionization potential of the gas with a low voltage. However, plasmas are extinguished primarily by recombination at the walls. Wall collisions are enhanced by the greater surface area to volume ratio in micro channels, which also increases proportionate to the inverse of the gap width. If the plasma were well mixed, then the plasma creation in the bulk would be balanced by extinction at the wall, providing no particular advantage with regard to low voltage/low power operation. However, the plasma is transferred from the bulk to the wall by ambipolar diffusion. If the operation of the plasma microreactor is essentially transient or batch, whether or not the reaction kinetics are comparable to or faster than ambipolar diffusion determines if there is a regime of operation in which a low voltage plasma discharge can generate a high yield of product. In this paper, this question is investigated with regards to the ozone formation reaction and a particular design of a micro channel plasma reactor, with parameters so chosen to arguably achieve low voltage operation. The focus of this paper is the simulation of the kinetics of the plasma reactions leading to ozone formation, which shows a time to completion that is comparable (10(-2) s) or faster than the estimate of ambipolar diffusion time at these length scales. Preliminary results of a microchip reactor are consistent with this prediction. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Constructive algebraic renormalization of the abelian Higgs-Kibble model

We propose an algorithm, based on Algebraic Renormalization, that allows the restoration of Slavnov-Taylor invariance at every order of perturbation expansion for an anomaly-free BRS invariant gauge theory. The counterterms are explicitly constructed in terms of a set of one-particle-irreducible Feynman amplitudes evaluated at zero momentum (and derivatives of them). The approach is here discussed in the case of the abelian Higgs-Kibble model, where the zero momentum limit can be safely performed. The normalization conditions are imposed by means of the Slavnov-Taylor invariants and are chosen in order to simplify the calculation of the counterterms. In particular within this model all counterterms involving BRS external sources (anti-fields) can be put to zero with the exception of the fermion sector.Comment: Jul, 1998, 31 page

Radiation MHD modeling of a proposed dynamic hohlraum

In this paper we report 2D radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a dynamic hohlraum target designed to be driven by the Z accelerator at Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque New Mexico. Z generates currents up 20 MA with a rise time of 100 ns and peak electrical power of 40 TW. In this design we attempt to reduce the effects of magneto-Rayleigh Taylor (RT) modes by using a distributed initial density profile. Earlier work showed that ``tailoring`` the initial density profile could reduce the sheath acceleration and the number of e-foldings that the RT instability grows during the implosion . As the sheath moves in radially, fresh material is swept up or ``snow plowed``, providing a back pressure that counters the J x B force. A special profile can be found in which the unstable outer surface of the sheath implodes at constant velocity, reducing the classical growth rate to zero, although residual Richtmeyer-Meshkov type instability (instability of the snow-plow shock front) may be present. In practice, it is hard to create tailored initial density profiles due to the difficulty of machining and otherwise manipulating very low density materials. It becomes easier to manufacture these complex targets as the current, energy and load mass increase with large drivers. Z is the first fast pulse power device with enough energy to consider loads of this type

Estimates of dispersion from clustered-drifter deployments on the southern flank of Georges Bank

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 53 (2006): 2501-2519, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.08.004.Data from 16 clustered-drifter deployments are used to examine horizontal dispersion on the southern flank of Georges Bank. The spreading rates of all clusters have an average of 1.6 km d-1 with a standard deviation of 1.8 km d-1. Both "effective" and "apparent" diffusivities are calculated for each cluster. Their ranges (i.e., -54 to 757 m2 s-1 for effective diffusivity) are related to differences in cluster size and proximity to the tidal mixing front. Cross-bank convergence is documented for nearly 40% of the clusters. This occurs especially for clusters with centroids within 10 km of the tidal mixing front location, as deduced from conductivity, temperature, and depth transects (CTD) conducted concurrently with the cluster deployments. Estimates of turbulent dispersion (distinct from shear effects) are derived by the method of Okubo and Ebbysmeyer (Okubo, A. and Ebbesmeyer, C.C., 1976. Determination of vorticity, divergence, and deformation rates from analysis of drogue observations. Deep-Sea Res., 23, 349-352). The results reveal that the effects of horizontal shear are important in spreading of larger drifter clusters. Often the impact of shear is evidenced by the track of a lone drifter that separates from a cluster as it is entrained into the current of the shelf-edge front or the tidal mixing front. Cluster dispersion is time dependent as evidenced by a significant modulation of cluster size at the M2 tidal frequency. This modulation is due to the spatial variation of tidal currents over the southern flank of Georges Bank and is closely reproduced by immersing drifter clusters into the flow field of a Georges Bank tidal model.The work carried out at WHOI was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grants OCE-98-06498, OCE-96-32357, OCE98-06397 and OCE02-27679. The effort at the Woods Hole NMFS was funded through a grant from the NOAA Coastal Ocean Program

Measurements of Direct CP Violation, CPT Symmetry, and Other Parameters in the Neutral Kaon System

We present a series of measurements based on K -> pi+pi- and K -> pi0pi0 decays collected in 1996-1997 by the KTeV experiment (E832) at Fermilab. We compare these four K -> pipi decay rates to measure the direct CP violation parameter Re(e'/e) = (20.7 +- 2.8) x 10^-4. We also test CPT symmetry by measuring the relative phase between the CP violating and CP conserving decay amplitudes for K->pi+pi- (phi+-) and for K -> pi0pi0 (phi00). We find the difference between the relative phases to be Delta-phi = phi00 - phi+- = (+0.39 +- 0.50) degrees and the deviation of phi+- from the superweak phase to be phi+- - phi_SW =(+0.61 +- 1.19) degrees; both results are consistent with CPT symmetry. In addition, we present new measurements of the KL-KS mass difference and KS lifetime: Delta-m = (5261 +- 15) x 10^6 hbar/s and tauS = (89.65 +- 0.07) x 10^-12 s.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, August 6, 2002; 37 pages, 32 figure

Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets

The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of the black hole's accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a_* of the black hole (|a_*| < 1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by this continuum-fitting method range widely from a_* \approx 0 to a_* > 0.95. The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher). Changes to Sections 5.2, 6.1 and 7.4. Section 7.4 responds to Russell et al. 2013 (MNRAS, 431, 405) who find no evidence for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spi

Confirmation of a metastasis-specific microRNA signature in primary colon cancer

The identification of patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer who may benefit from adjuvant therapy may allow the clinical approach to be tailored for these patients based on an understanding of tumour biology. MicroRNAs have been proposed as markers of the prognosis or treatment response in colorectal cancer. Recently, a 2-microRNA signature (l et-7i and miR-10b) was proposed to identify colorectal cancer patients at risk of developing distant metastasis. We assessed the prognostic value of this signature and additional candidate microRNAs in an independent, clinically well-defined, prospectively collected cohort of primary colon cancer patients including stage I-II colon cancer without and stage III colon cancer with adjuvant treatment. The 2-microRNA signature specifically predicted hepatic recurrence in the stage I-II group, but not the overall ability to develop distant metastasis. The addition of miR-30b to the 2-microRNA signature allowed the prediction of both distant metastasis and hepatic recurrence in patients with stage I-II colon cancer who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Available gene expression data allowed us to associate m iR-30b expression with axon guidance and l et-7i expression with cell adhesion, migration, and motility