8,949 research outputs found
Dissipative effects from transport and viscous hydrodynamics
We compare 2->2 covariant transport theory and causal Israel-Stewart
hydrodynamics in 2+1D longitudinally boost invariant geometry with RHIC-like
initial conditions and a conformal e = 3p equation of state. The pressure
evolution in the center of the collision zone and the final differential
elliptic flow v2(pT) from the two theories agree remarkably well for a small
shear viscosity to entropy density ratio eta/s ~ 1/(4 pi), and also for a large
cross section sigma ~ 50 mb. A key to this agreement is keeping ALL terms in
the Israel-Stewart equations of motion. Our results indicate promising
prospects for the applicability of Israel-Stewart dissipative hydrodynamics at
RHIC, provided the shear viscosity of hot and dense quark-gluon matter is
indeed very small for the relevant temperatures T ~ 200-500 MeV.Comment: Presentation at Quark Matter 2008. 4 pages, 3 figure
Momentum of an electromagnetic wave in dielectric media
Almost a hundred years ago, two different expressions were proposed for the
energy--momentum tensor of an electromagnetic wave in a dielectric. Minkowski's
tensor predicted an increase in the linear momentum of the wave on entering a
dielectric medium, whereas Abraham's tensor predicted its decrease. Theoretical
arguments were advanced in favour of both sides, and experiments proved
incapable of distinguishing between the two. Yet more forms were proposed, each
with their advocates who considered the form that they were proposing to be the
one true tensor. This paper reviews the debate and its eventual conclusion:
that no electromagnetic wave energy--momentum tensor is complete on its own.
When the appropriate accompanying energy--momentum tensor for the material
medium is also considered, experimental predictions of all the various proposed
tensors will always be the same, and the preferred form is therefore
effectively a matter of personal choice.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX 4. Removed erroneous factor of mu/mu_0
from Eq.(44
Бизнес-планирование во внешнеэкономической деятельности (ВЭД) предприятия, как инструмент качества корпоративного управления
In vitro models, including the widely used PC12 cell line, can increase insight into cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative processes. An important determinant for the vulnerability of cells for chemical insults may be the endogenous level of oxidative stress. To test this hypothesis, we induced different degrees of cellular stress in PC12 cells by altering their ROS production using dexamethasone, l-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) and iron. These different PC12 models were subsequently used to investigate whether the degree of cellular stress could increase their susceptibility to environmental pollutants. The characteristics of these stressed PC12 cell subtypes and their vulnerability to the reference pesticide rotenone were investigated using a combination of biochemical (oxidative stress, cell viability, and α-synuclein expression) and functional (fluorescent calcium imaging) assays. Our combined data demonstrate that chemically-induced stress in PC12 cells increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alters calcium homeostasis and α-synuclein expression. Moreover, l-DOPA and FeSO4 pre-treated PC12 cells show increased vulnerability to rotenone-induced cytotoxicity. These chemically-stressed cell models may therefore prove valuable to investigate how increased cellular stress influences neurotoxic outcome, for example in case of mixture toxicity
Electronic transport coefficients from ab initio simulations and application to dense liquid hydrogen
Using Kubo's linear response theory, we derive expressions for the
frequency-dependent electrical conductivity (Kubo-Greenwood formula),
thermopower, and thermal conductivity in a strongly correlated electron system.
These are evaluated within ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in order to
study the thermoelectric transport coefficients in dense liquid hydrogen,
especially near the nonmetal-to-metal transition region. We also observe
significant deviations from the widely used Wiedemann-Franz law which is
strictly valid only for degenerate systems and give an estimate for its valid
scope of application towards lower densities
Shear flow, viscous heating, and entropy balance from dynamical systems
A consistent description of a shear flow, the accompanied viscous heating,
and the associated entropy balance is given in the framework of a deterministic
dynamical system, where a multibaker dynamics drives two fields: the velocity
and the temperature distributions. In an appropriate macroscopic limit their
transport equations go over into the Navier-Stokes and the heat conduction
equation of viscous flows. The inclusion of an artificial heat sink can
stabilize steady states with constant temperatures. It mimics a thermostating
algorithm used in non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics simulations.Comment: LaTeX 2e (epl.cls + sty-files for Europhys Lett included); 7 pages +
1 eps-figur
Investigating the interstellar dust through the Fe K-edge
The chemical and physical properties of interstellar dust in the densest
regions of the Galaxy are still not well understood. X-rays provide a powerful
probe since they can penetrate gas and dust over a wide range of column
densities (up to ). The interaction (scattering and
absorption) with the medium imprints spectral signatures that reflect the
individual atoms which constitute the gas, molecule, or solid. In this work we
investigate the ability of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy to probe the
properties of cosmic grains containing iron. Although iron is heavily depleted
into interstellar dust, the nature of the Fe-bearing grains is still largely
uncertain. In our analysis we use iron K-edge synchrotron data of minerals
likely present in the ISM dust taken at the European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility. We explore the prospects of determining the chemical composition and
the size of astrophysical dust in the Galactic centre and in molecular clouds
with future X-ray missions. The energy resolution and the effective area of the
present X-ray telescopes are not sufficient to detect and study the Fe K-edge,
even for bright X-ray sources. From the analysis of the extinction cross
sections of our dust models implemented in the spectral fitting program SPEX,
the Fe K-edge is promising for investigating both the chemistry and the size
distribution of the interstellar dust. We find that the chemical composition
regulates the X-ray absorption fine structures in the post edge region, whereas
the scattering feature in the pre-edge is sensitive to the mean grain size.
Finally, we note that the Fe K-edge is insensitive to other dust properties,
such as the porosity and the geometry of the dust.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Collisional Semiclassical Aproximations in Phase-Space Representation
The Gaussian Wave-Packet phase-space representation is used to show that the
expansion in powers of of the quantum Liouville propagator leads, in
the zeroth order term, to results close to those obtained in the statistical
quasiclassical method of Lee and Scully in the Weyl-Wigner picture. It is also
verified that propagating the Wigner distribution along the classical
trajectories the amount of error is less than that coming from propagating the
Gaussian distribution along classical trajectories.Comment: 20 pages, REVTEX, no figures, 3 tables include
The conduction pathway of potassium channels is water free under physiological conditions.
Ion conduction through potassium channels is a fundamental process of life. On the basis of crystallographic data, it was originally proposed that potassium ions and water molecules are transported through the selectivity filter in an alternating arrangement, suggesting a "water-mediated" knock-on mechanism. Later on, this view was challenged by results from molecular dynamics simulations that revealed a "direct" knock-on mechanism where ions are in direct contact. Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques tailored to characterize the interaction between water molecules and the ion channel, we show here that the selectivity filter of a potassium channel is free of water under physiological conditions. Our results are fully consistent with the direct knock-on mechanism of ion conduction but contradict the previously proposed water-mediated knock-on mechanism
The Electrodynamics of Inhomogeneous Rotating Media and the Abraham and Minkowski Tensors II: Applications
Applications of the covariant theory of drive-forms are considered for a
class of perfectly insulating media. The distinction between the notions of
"classical photons" in homogeneous bounded and unbounded stationary media and
in stationary unbounded magneto-electric media is pointed out in the context of
the Abraham, Minkowski and symmetrized Minkowski electromagnetic
stress-energy-momentum tensors. Such notions have led to intense debate about
the role of these (and other) tensors in describing electromagnetic
interactions in moving media. In order to address some of these issues for
material subject to the Minkowski constitutive relations, the propagation of
harmonic waves through homogeneous and inhomogeneous, isotropic plane-faced
slabs at rest is first considered. To motivate the subsequent analysis on
accelerating media two classes of electromagnetic modes that solve Maxwell's
equations for uniformly rotating homogeneous polarizable media are enumerated.
Finally it is shown that, under the influence of an incident monochromatic,
circularly polarized, plane electromagnetic wave, the Abraham and symmetrized
Minkowski tensors induce different time-averaged torques on a uniformly
rotating materially inhomogeneous dielectric cylinder. We suggest that this
observation may offer new avenues to explore experimentally the covariant
electrodynamics of more general accelerating media.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Proc. Roy. Soc.
Mapping the Wigner distribution function of the Morse oscillator into a semi-classical distribution function
The mapping of the Wigner distribution function (WDF) for a given bound-state
onto a semiclassical distribution function (SDF) satisfying the Liouville
equation introduced previously by us is applied to the ground state of the
Morse oscillator. Here we give results showing that the SDF gets closer to the
corresponding WDF as the number of levels of the Morse oscillator increases. We
find that for a Morse oscillator with one level only, the agreement between the
WDF and the mapped SDF is very poor but for a Morse oscillator of ten levels it
becomes satisfactory.Comment: Revtex, 27 pages including 13 eps figure
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