776 research outputs found
Lagrangian analysis of alignment dynamics for isentropic compressible magnetohydrodynamics
After a review of the isentropic compressible magnetohydrodynamics (ICMHD)
equations, a quaternionic framework for studying the alignment dynamics of a
general fluid flow is explained and applied to the ICMHD equations.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, submitted to a Focus Issue of New Journal of
Physics on "Magnetohydrodynamics and the Dynamo Problem" J-F Pinton, A
Pouquet, E Dormy and S Cowley, editor
Exponentially growing solutions in homogeneous Rayleigh-Benard convection
It is shown that homogeneous Rayleigh-Benard flow, i.e., Rayleigh-Benard
turbulence with periodic boundary conditions in all directions and a volume
forcing of the temperature field by a mean gradient, has a family of exact,
exponentially growing, separable solutions of the full non-linear system of
equations. These solutions are clearly manifest in numerical simulations above
a computable critical value of the Rayleigh number. In our numerical
simulations they are subject to secondary numerical noise and resolution
dependent instabilities that limit their growth to produce statistically steady
turbulent transport.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. E - rapid
communication
Lagrangian particle paths and ortho-normal quaternion frames
Experimentalists now measure intense rotations of Lagrangian particles in
turbulent flows by tracking their trajectories and Lagrangian-average velocity
gradients at high Reynolds numbers. This paper formulates the dynamics of an
orthonormal frame attached to each Lagrangian fluid particle undergoing
three-axis rotations, by using quaternions in combination with Ertel's theorem
for frozen-in vorticity. The method is applicable to a wide range of Lagrangian
flows including the three-dimensional Euler equations and its variants such as
ideal MHD. The applicability of the quaterionic frame description to Lagrangian
averaged velocity gradient dynamics is also demonstrated.Comment: 9 pages, one figure, revise
Speech rhythm: a metaphor?
Is speech rhythmic? In the absence of evidence for a traditional view that languages strive to coordinate either syllables or stress-feet with regular time intervals, we consider the alternative that languages exhibit contrastive rhythm subsisting merely in the alternation of stronger and weaker elements. This is initially plausible, particularly for languages with a steep âprominence gradientâ, i.e. a large disparity between stronger and weaker elements; but we point out that alternation is poorly achieved even by a âstress-timedâ language such as English, and, historically, languages have conspicuously failed to adopt simple phonological remedies that would ensure alternation. Languages seem more concerned to allow âsyntagmatic contrastâ between successive units and to use durational effects to support linguistic functions than to facilitate rhythm. Furthermore, some languages (e.g. Tamil, Korean) lack the lexical prominence which would most straightforwardly underpin prominence alternation. We conclude that speech is not incontestibly rhythmic, and may even be antirhythmic. However, its linguistic structure and patterning allow the metaphorical extension of rhythm in varying degrees and in different ways depending on the language, and that it is this analogical process which allows speech to be matched to external rhythms
Sub-cycle dynamics in relativistic nanoplasma acceleration
The interaction of light with nanometer-sized solids provides the means of focusing optical radiation to sub-wavelength spatial scales with associated electric field enhancements offering new opportunities for multifaceted applications. We utilize collective effects in nanoplasmas with sub-two-cycle light pulses of extreme intensity to extend the waveform-dependent electron acceleration regime into the relativistic realm, by using 10(6) times higher intensity than previous works to date. Through irradiation of nanometric tungsten needles, we obtain multi-MeV energy electron bunches, whose energy and direction can be steered by the combined effect of the induced near-field and the laser field. We identified a two-step mechanism for the electron acceleration: (i) ejection within a sub-half-optical-cycle into the near-field from the target at >TVm(-1) acceleration fields, and (ii) subsequent acceleration in vacuum by the intense laser field. Our observations raise the prospect of isolating and controlling relativistic attosecond electron bunches, and pave the way for next generation electron and photon sources
Dynamical ionization ignition of clusters in intense and short laser pulses
The electron dynamics of rare gas clusters in laser fields is investigated
quantum mechanically by means of time-dependent density functional theory. The
mechanism of early inner and outer ionization is revealed. The formation of an
electron wave packet inside the cluster shortly after the first removal of a
small amount of electron density is observed. By collisions with the cluster
boundary the wave packet oscillation is driven into resonance with the laser
field, hence leading to higher absorption of laser energy. Inner ionization is
increased because the electric field of the bouncing electron wave packet adds
up constructively to the laser field. The fastest electrons in the wave packet
escape from the cluster as a whole so that outer ionization is increased as
well.Comment: 8 pages, revtex4, PDF-file with high resolution figures is available
from http://mitarbeiter.mbi-berlin.de/bauer/publist.html, publication no. 24.
Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Asymptotic conditions of motion for radiating charged particles
Approximate asymptotic conditions on the motion of compact, electrically
charged particles are derived within the framework of general relativity using
the Einstein- Infeld-Hoffmann (EIH) surface integral method. While
superficially similar to the Abraham-Lorentz and Lorentz-Dirac (ALD) equations
of motion, these conditions differ from them in several fundamental ways. They
are not equations of motion in the usual sense but rather a set of conditions
which these motions must obey in the asymptotic future of an initial value
surface. In addition to being asymptotic, these conditions of motion are
approximate and apply, as do the original EIH equations, only to slowly moving
systems. Also, they do not admit the run- away solutions of these other
equations. As in the original EIH work, they are integrability conditions
gotten from integrating the empty-space (i.e., source free) Einstein-Maxwell
equations of general relativity over closed two-surfaces surrounding the
sources of the fields governed by these equations. No additional ad hoc
assumptions, such as the form of a force law or the introduction of inertial
reaction terms, needed to derive the ALD equations are required for this
purpose. Nor is there a need for any of the infinite mass renormalizations that
are required in deriving these other equations.Comment: 15 page
Overshadowing by fixed- and variable-duration stimuli
Two experiments investigated the effect of the temporal distribution form of a stimulus on its ability to produce an overshadowing effect. The overshadowing stimuli were either of the same duration on every trial, or of a variable duration drawn from an exponential distribution with the same mean duration as that of the fixed stimulus. Both experiments provided evidence that a variable-duration stimulus was less effective than a fixed-duration cue at overshadowing conditioning to a target conditioned stimulus (CS); moreover, this effect was independent of whether the overshadowed CS was fixed or variable. The findings presented here are consistent with the idea that the strength of the association between CS and unconditioned stimulus (US) is, in part, determined by the temporal distribution form of the CS. These results are discussed in terms of time-accumulation and trial-based theories of conditioning and timing
A probabilistic model for gene content evolution with duplication, loss, and horizontal transfer
We introduce a Markov model for the evolution of a gene family along a
phylogeny. The model includes parameters for the rates of horizontal gene
transfer, gene duplication, and gene loss, in addition to branch lengths in the
phylogeny. The likelihood for the changes in the size of a gene family across
different organisms can be calculated in O(N+hM^2) time and O(N+M^2) space,
where N is the number of organisms, is the height of the phylogeny, and M
is the sum of family sizes. We apply the model to the evolution of gene content
in Preoteobacteria using the gene families in the COG (Clusters of Orthologous
Groups) database
- âŠ