958 research outputs found
Modern Aerocapture Guidance to Enable Reduced-Lift Vehicles at Neptune
Aerocapture is covered extensively in the literature as means of achieving orbital insertion with dramatic mass-saving results compared to fully-propulsive systems. One of the primary obstacles facing aerocapture is the inherent uncertainty associated with passing through a planets upper atmosphere. In-flight dispersions due to delivery errors, environment variables, and aerodynamic performance impose a large flight envelope. System studies for aerocapture often select high lift-to-drag ratios to compensate for these uncertainties. However, modern predictor-corrector guidance strategies have shown promise in recent years to provide robust control schemes in-situ. These algorithms do not rely on a pre-calculated reference trajectory and instead employ a numerical optimizer to continuously solve nonlinear equations of motion each guidance cycle. Numerical predictor-corrector strategies may provide considerable accuracy over heritage guidance schemes. The goal of this study is reproduce a landmark study of Neptune aerocapture and apply modern guidance to illustrate relative performance improvements and cost-saving potential. Capture constraints based on the theoretical corridor width are considered. Results indicate that heritage vehicles with moderate lift-to-drag ratios, lower than previous studies have indicated, may prove viable for aerocapture at Neptune
An elliptic expansion of the potential field source surface model
Context. The potential field source surface model is frequently used as a
basis for further scientific investigations where a comprehensive coronal
magnetic field is of importance. Its parameters, especially the position and
shape of the source surface, are crucial for the interpretation of the state of
the interplanetary medium. Improvements have been suggested that introduce one
or more additional free parameters to the model, for example, the current sheet
source surface (CSSS) model.
Aims. Relaxing the spherical constraint of the source surface and allowing it
to be elliptical gives modelers the option of deforming it to more accurately
match the physical environment of the specific period or location to be
analyzed.
Methods. A numerical solver is presented that solves Laplace's equation on a
three-dimensional grid using finite differences. The solver is capable of
working on structured spherical grids that can be deformed to create elliptical
source surfaces.
Results. The configurations of the coronal magnetic field are presented using
this new solver. Three-dimensional renderings are complemented by
Carrington-like synoptic maps of the magnetic configuration at different
heights in the solar corona. Differences in the magnetic configuration computed
by the spherical and elliptical models are illustrated.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Finite-temperature charge transport in the one-dimensional Hubbard model
We study the charge conductivity of the one-dimensional repulsive Hubbard
model at finite temperature using the method of dynamical quantum typicality,
focusing at half filling. This numerical approach allows us to obtain current
autocorrelation functions from systems with as many as 18 sites, way beyond the
range of standard exact diagonalization. Our data clearly suggest that the
charge Drude weight vanishes with a power law as a function of system size. The
low-frequency dependence of the conductivity is consistent with a finite dc
value and thus with diffusion, despite large finite-size effects. Furthermore,
we consider the mass-imbalanced Hubbard model for which the charge Drude weight
decays exponentially with system size, as expected for a non-integrable model.
We analyze the conductivity and diffusion constant as a function of the mass
imbalance and we observe that the conductivity of the lighter component
decreases exponentially fast with the mass-imbalance ratio. While in the
extreme limit of immobile heavy particles, the Falicov-Kimball model, there is
an effective Anderson-localization mechanism leading to a vanishing
conductivity of the lighter species, we resolve finite conductivities for an
inverse mass ratio of .Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure
Comparative study of theoretical methods for nonequilibrium quantum transport
We present a detailed comparison of three different methods designed to
tackle nonequilibrium quantum transport, namely the functional renormalization
group (fRG), the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group (tDMRG),
and the iterative summation of real-time path integrals (ISPI). For the
nonequilibrium single-impurity Anderson model (including a Zeeman term at the
impurity site), we demonstrate that the three methods are in quantitative
agreement over a wide range of parameters at the particle-hole symmetric point
as well as in the mixed-valence regime. We further compare these techniques
with two quantum Monte Carlo approaches and the time-dependent numerical
renormalization group method.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures; published versio
Lower bounds for the conductivities of correlated quantum systems
We show how one can obtain a lower bound for the electrical, spin or heat
conductivity of correlated quantum systems described by Hamiltonians of the
form H = H0 + g H1. Here H0 is an interacting Hamiltonian characterized by
conservation laws which lead to an infinite conductivity for g=0. The small
perturbation g H1, however, renders the conductivity finite at finite
temperatures. For example, H0 could be a continuum field theory, where momentum
is conserved, or an integrable one-dimensional model while H1 might describe
the effects of weak disorder. In the limit g to 0, we derive lower bounds for
the relevant conductivities and show how they can be improved systematically
using the memory matrix formalism. Furthermore, we discuss various applications
and investigate under what conditions our lower bound may become exact.Comment: Title changed; 9 pages, 2 figure
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Synthesis of a Compact Tetralattice Heat Exchanger using Solid Freeform Fabrication and Comparison Testing Against a Tube Heat Exchanger
The challenge for Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) lies in fabricating complex parts that are not
possible by conventional manufacturing means. The goal was to apply SFF techniques to
complex geometry heat exchangers. The heat exchanger structure is modeled after the
covalently bonded carbon atoms of a diamond. The tetrahedron diamond lattice, or Tetralattice,
is a repeating lattice unit that forms a network of channels to form the heat exchanger.
Electroforming methods creating Tetralattice were applied to synthesize an air-oil compact heat
exchanger. After production, the heat exchanger was tested and compared with an industry
standard heat exchanger for performance evaluation.Mechanical Engineerin
Layered 3D: tomographic image synthesis for attenuation-based light field and high dynamic range displays
We develop tomographic techniques for image synthesis on displays composed of compact volumes of light-attenuating material. Such volumetric attenuators recreate a 4D light field or high-contrast 2D image when illuminated by a uniform backlight. Since arbitrary oblique views may be inconsistent with any single attenuator, iterative tomographic reconstruction minimizes the difference between the emitted and target light fields, subject to physical constraints on attenuation. As multi-layer generalizations of conventional parallax barriers, such displays are shown, both by theory and experiment, to exceed the performance of existing dual-layer architectures. For 3D display, spatial resolution, depth of field, and brightness are increased, compared to parallax barriers. For a plane at a fixed depth, our optimization also allows optimal construction of high dynamic range displays, confirming existing heuristics and providing the first extension to multiple, disjoint layers. We conclude by demonstrating the benefits and limitations of attenuation-based light field displays using an inexpensive fabrication method: separating multiple printed transparencies with acrylic sheets.Dolby Laboratories Inc.Samsung ElectronicsAlfred P. Sloan Foundatio
Left ventricular clefts - incidental finding or pathologic sign of Wilson's disease?
Background: Wilson’s disease is an inherited autosomal recessive multi-systemic disorder characterized by reduced
excretion and consequently excessive accumulation of copper in different organs, such as the heart.
Results: In a prospective controlled trial, which is the largest to date, we evaluated 61 patients with Wilson’s
disease, age- and sex-matched to 61 healthy patients, for cardiac manifestation using cardiac magnetic resonance
imaging. Patients were under stable disease and had no signs of heart failure at the time of examination.
We detected a left ventricular cleft, an invagination penetrating more than 50% wall thickness of the adjoining
compact myocardium in diastole, in 20% of the patients (12 out of 61) compared to 5% among control patients (3
out of 61, p = 0.013). No correlation between the incidence of cleft and a certain genotype of Wilson’s disease was
found. All described cases were incidental findings and none of the patients showed other signs of cardiac
involvement.
Conclusions: To conclude, the results of this study suggests that the increased occurrence of left ventricular clefts
is due to Wilson’s disease. Large studies with a long observation period are needed for further evaluation
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