On the stabilization of ion sputtered surfaces

The classical theory of ion beam sputtering predicts the instability of a flat surface to uniform ion irradiation at any incidence angle. We relax the assumption of the classical theory that the average surface erosion rate is determined by a Gaussian response function representing the effect of the collision cascade and consider the surface dynamics for other physically-motivated response functions. We show that although instability of flat surfaces at any beam angle results from all Gaussian and a wide class of non-Gaussian erosive response functions, there exist classes of modifications to the response that can have a dramatic effect. In contrast to the classical theory, these types of response render the flat surface linearly stable, while imperceptibly modifying the predicted sputter yield vs. incidence angle. We discuss the possibility that such corrections underlie recent reports of a ``window of stability'' of ion-bombarded surfaces at a range of beam angles for certain ion and surface types, and describe some characteristic aspects of pattern evolution near the transition from unstable to stable dynamics. We point out that careful analysis of the transition regime may provide valuable tests for the consistency of any theory of pattern formation on ion sputtered surfaces

Spinning jets

A fluid jet with a finite angular velocity is subject to centripetal forces in addition to surface tension forces. At fixed angular momentum, centripetal forces become large when the radius of the jet goes to zero. We study the possible importance of this observation for the pinching of a jet within a slender jet model. A linear stability analysis shows the model to break down at low viscosities. Numerical simulations indicate that angular momentum is expelled from the pinch region so fast that it becomes asymptotically irrelevant in the limit of the neck radius going to zero

Identifying the Determinants of Attitudes towards Immigrants - A Structural Cross-Country Analysis

Utilizing subjective data to infer on fundamental issues of individual opinion is associated with severe conceptual and methodological problems.This paper addresses these problems and investigates the attitudes towards immigrants within a cross-country framework. To this end, we utilize data from the first wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) in a structural latent variable model. The determinants of attitudes towards immigrants are estimated by employing different identification restrictions on the model. Our results suggest that educational attainment as well as parental education are the main driving forces behind attitudes formation.Average attitudes across countries further seem to increase with per capita GDP. All our findings are stable across countries and identification strategies.Subjective Data, Identification, Minorities

Modular AWG-based Optical Shuffle Network

This paper proposes an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) based wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) shuffle network. Compared with previous optical shuffle networks, our proposal is compact, easy to implement, highly scalable, and cost effective