Physics Commons^™

Low Background Techniques For The Borexino Nylon Vessels, Andrea Pocar

Andrea Pocar

Borexino is an organic liquid scintillator underground detector for low energy solar neutrinos. The experiment has to satisfy extremely stringent low background requirements. The thin nylon spherical scintillator containment vessel has to meet cleanliness and low radioactivity levels second only, within the detector, to the scintillator itself. Overall, the background from the vessel in the fiducial volume of the detector must be kept at the level of one event per day or better. The requirements, design choices, results from laboratory tests, and fabrication techniques that have been adopted to meet this goal are presented. Details of the precautions taken during …

Application Of Detuned Laser Beatwave For Generation Of Few-Cycle Electromagnetic Pulses, Serguei Y. Kalmykov, Gennady Shvets

Serge Youri Kalmykov

An approach to compressing high-power laser beams in plasmas via coherent Raman sideband generation is described. The technique requires two beams: a pump and a probe detuned by a near-resonant frequency \Omega < \omega_p. The two laser beams drive a high-amplitude electron plasma wave (EPW) which modifies the refractive index of plasma so as to produce a periodic phase modulation of the incident laser with the laser beat period t_b = 2\pi / \Omega. After propagation through plasma, the original laser beam breaks into a train of chirped beatnotes (each of duration t_b). The chirp is positive (the longer-wavelength sidebands are advanced in time) when \Omega < \omega_p and negative otherwise. Finite group velocity dispersion (GVD) of radiation in plasma can compress the positively chirped beatnotes to a few-laser-cycle duration thus creating in plasma a sequence of sharp electromagnetic spikes separated in time by t_b. Driven EPW strongly couples the laser sidebands and thus reduces the effect of GVD. Compression of the chirped beatnotes can be implemented in a separate plasma of higher density, where the laser sidebands become uncoupled.

Field-And Temperature-Induced Topological Phase Transitions In Three Dimensional N-Component London Superconductor, J. Smiseth, E. Smorgrav, Egor Babaev, A. Sudbo

Egor Babaev

The phase diagram and critical properties of the $N$-component London superconductor are studied both analytically and through large-scale Monte-Carlo simulations in $d=2+1$ dimensions (components here refer to different replicas of the complex scalar field). Examples are given of physical systems to which this model is applicable. The model with different bare phase stiffnesses for each component, is a model of superconductivity which should arise out of metallic phases of light atoms under extreme pressure. A projected mixture of electronic and protonic condensates in liquid metallic hydrogen under extreme pressure is the simplest example, corresponding to N=2. These are such that …

Classical Physics And Quantum Loops, Barry R. Holstein, John Donoghue

John Donoghue

The standard picture of the loop expansion associates a factor of h-bar with each loop, suggesting that the tree diagrams are to be associated with classical physics, while loop effects are quantum mechanical in nature. We discuss examples wherein classical effects arise from loop contributions and display the relationship between the classical terms and the long range effects of massless particles.

Average Nighttime F Region Disturbance Neutral Winds Measured By Windi Uars: Initial Results, J. T. Emmert, Bela G. Fejer, G. G. Shepard, B. H. Solheim

Bela G. Fejer

[1] We use low- and mid-latitude wind data from the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) on board the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) to study the average response of nighttime upper thermospheric winds to geomagnetic activity. We calculate perturbation winds in magnetic coordinates and analyze them as a function of magnetic local time, latitude, geomagnetic activity, and solar EUV flux. The nighttime zonal disturbance winds are predominately westward, with the strongest effects extending from dusk at 70° to midnight at 45°. Westward disturbance winds are also observed throughout most of the night at low latitudes, where they change to eastward at …

Modeling Correlated Main-Chain Motions In Proteins For Flexible Molecular Recognition., Maria Zavodsky, Ming Lei, M. Thorpe, Anthony Day, Leslie Kuhn

Anthony Roy Day

We describe a new method for modeling protein and ligand main-chain flexibility, and show its ability to model flexible molecular recognition. The goal is to sample the full conformational space, including large-scale motions that typically cannot be reached in molecular dynamics simulations due to the computational intensity, as well as conformations that have not been observed yet by crystallography or NMR. A secondary goal is to assess the degree of flexibility consistent with protein–ligand recognition. Flexibility analysis of the target protein is performed using the graph-theoretic algorithm FIRST, which also identifies coupled networks of covalent and noncovalent bonds within the …

Simulation Of High Intensity Laser Pulse Propagation Through Optical Systems, Jeremy Gulley, Erik Zeek, William Dennis

Jeremy R. Gulley

No abstract is currently available.

Asymptotic Accuracy Of Geoacoustic Inversions, Michele Zanolin, Ian Ingram, Aaron Thode, Nicholas C. Makris

Michele Zanolin

Stimulated Raman Backscattering Of Laser Radiation In Deep Plasma Channels, Serguei Y. Kalmykov, Gennady Shvets

Serge Youri Kalmykov

Stimulated Raman backscattering (RBS) of intense laser radiation confined by a single-mode plasma channel with a radial variation of plasma frequency greater than a homogeneous-plasma RBS bandwidth is characterized by a strong transverse localization of resonantly driven electron plasma waves (EPW). The EPW localization reduces the peak growth rate of RBS and increases the amplification bandwidth. The continuum of nonbound modes of backscattered radiation shrinks the transverse field profile in a channel and increases the RBS growth rate. Solution of the initial-value problem shows that an electromagnetic pulse amplified by the RBS in the single-mode deep plasma channel has a …

Microscale Simulation Of Martensitic Microstructure Evolution, Valery I. Levitas, Alexander V. Idesman, Dean L. Preston

Valery I. Levitas

A new model for the evolution of multivariant martensitic microstructure in single crystals and polycrystals is developed. In contrast with Landau-Ginzburg models, which are limited in practice to nanoscale specimens, this new scale-free model is valid for length scales greater than 100 nm and without an upper bound. It is based on a thermodynamic potential in the volume fractions of the martensitic variants that exhibits an instability resulting in microstructure formation. Simulated microstructures in elastic single crystals and polycrystals under uniaxial loading are in qualitative agreement with those observed experimentally.

Amplification Of Electrostatic Ion-Cyclotron Waves In A Plasma With Magnetic-Field-Aligned Ion Flow Shear And No Electric Current, Erick Agrimson

Erick Agrimson

No abstract provided.

Ester Type Banana-Shaped Liquid Crystalline Monomers: Synthesis And Physical Properties, Katalin Fodor-Csorba, Aniko Vajda, Antal Jakli, Christian Slugovc, Gregor Trimmel, Dietrich Demus, Eszter Gacz-Baitz, Sandor Holly, Giancarlo Galli

Antal Jakli

New ester-type banana (bent-shaped) monomers, 1,3-phenylene bis[4'-(alken-1-yloxy)-biphenyl-4-carboxylate] s Ia - Vb, with different substituent(s) on the central phenyl ring (H, CH3, Cl or NO2) and alkenyl tails in the side arms ( decenyl or undecenyl) were prepared. The analogues IIIa - IVb with 4-chloro- or 4,6-dichloro-substituents exhibited a nematic phase, while Va, Vb with 2-nitro-substituent showed a B-7 phase at relatively low temperature. All the compounds were stable, no degradation or polymerization was observed under applied electric fields or heat treatments. Electro-hydrodynamic instabilities were observed in the nematic phase of each sample. In the B-7 phase of Vb there was …

Reliable First-Principles Alloy Thermodynamics Via Truncated Cluster Expansions, Nikolai A. Zarkevich, Duane D. Johnson

Nikolai A. Zarkevich

In alloys cluster expansions (CE) are increasingly used to combine first-principles electronicstructure calculations and Monte Carlo methods to predict thermodynamic properties. As a basis-set expansion in terms of lattice geometrical clusters and effective cluster interactions, the CE is exact if infinite, but is tractable only if truncated. Yet until now a truncation procedure was not well defined and did not guarantee a reliable truncated CE. We present an optimal truncation procedure for CE basis sets that provides reliable thermodynamics. We then exemplify its importance in Ni3V, where the CE has failed unpredictably, and now show agreement to a range of …

Extended Tidal Structure In Two Lyalpha-Emitting Starburst Galaxies, John M. Cannon, E D. Skillman, D Kunth, C Leitherer, M Mas-Hesse, G Östlin, A Petrosian

John Cannon

No abstract provided.

Driven Diffusive Systems: How Steady States Depend On Dynamics, D. P. Landau, Wooseop Kwak, Beate Schmittmann

Beate Schmittmann

In contrast to equilibrium systems, nonequilibrium steady states depend explicitly on the underlying dynamics. Using Monte Carlo simulations with Metropolis, Glauber, and heat bath rates, we illustrate this expectation for an Ising lattice gas, driven far from equilibrium by an “electric” field. While heat bath and Glauber rates generate essentially identical data for structure factors and two-point correlations, Metropolis rates give noticeably weaker correlations, as if the “effective” temperature were higher in the latter case. We also measure energy histograms and define a simple ratio which is exactly known and closely related to the Boltzmann factor for the equilibrium case. …

Finite-Difference Time-Domain Calculations Of A Liquid-Crystal-Based Switchable Bragg Grating, Bin Wang, Xinghua Wang, Philip Bos

Philip J. Bos

A polymer-wall-confined transmissive switchable liquid crystal grating is proposed and investigated by two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain optical calculation and liquid-crystal-director calculation, to our knowledge for the first time. The results show how to obtain optimized conditions for high diffraction efficiency by adjusting the liquid crystal parameters, grating geometric structure, and applied voltages. The light propagation direction and efficiency can be accurately calculated and visualized concurrently.

A Dunking Bird Of The Second Kind, Nadine Abraham, Peter Palffy-Muhoray

Peter Palffy-Muhoray

The conventional dunking bird is a heat engine that relies on the temperature difference between the head and the tail of the bird for its operation. We describe a new type of dunking bird that is not a heat engine, but one that directly uses the chemical potential difference between liquid water and its vapor.

Dynamics Of M-Theory Vacua, John Donoghue

John Donoghue

At very early times, the universe was not in a vacuum state. Under the assumtion that the deviation from equillibrium was large, in particular that it is higher than the scale of inflation, we analyse the conditions for local transitions between states that are related to different vacua. All pathways lead to an attractor solution of a description of the universe by eternal inflation with domains that have different low energy parameters. The generic case favors transitions between states that have significantly different parameters rather than jumps between nearby states in parameter space. I argue that the strong CP problem …

The Complex Neutral Gas Dynamics Of The Dwarf Starburst Galaxy Ngc 625, John M. Cannon, Naomi M. Mcclure-Griffiths, Evan D. Skillman, Stephanie Cote

John Cannon

No abstract provided.

Lattice Thermal Conductivity Of K2(Bi1_Zsbz)8se13 Solid Solutions, Jeffrey S. Dyck, Theodora Kyratsi, Evripides Hatzikraniotis, M Paraskevopoulous, H. K. Shin, Ctirad Uher, Mercouri Kanatzidis

Jeffrey Dyck

The family of solid solutions of the type B -K2(Bi1_zSbz)8Se13 (0

Liquid Crystal Blazed Gratings Formed In A Single-Step Through Photo-Induced Localization Of Polymer Into A Prismatic Structure, Sang Hwa Kim, Liang-Chy Chien

Sang Kim

A liquid crystal blazed grating having a prismatic polymer microstructure has been developed. The polymer structure is fabricated by photo-induced localization and polymerization of a small concentration of monomer onto one substrate of an electro-optical cell by using ultraviolet light irradiation at 45degrees direction from normal incident. Using this method a periodical one-dimensional pattern with a prismatic shape of polymer can be formed on a one-dimensional pattern-forming state of a cholesteric host. The optical diffraction properties of the grating are evaluated by the application of electric field and light incident angles.

Liquid Crystal Blazed Gratings Formed In A Single-Step Through Photo-Induced Localization Of Polymer Into A Prismatic Structure, Sang Hwa Kim, Liang-Chy Chien

Liang-Chy Chien

A liquid crystal blazed grating having a prismatic polymer microstructure has been developed. The polymer structure is fabricated by photo-induced localization and polymerization of a small concentration of monomer onto one substrate of an electro-optical cell by using ultraviolet light irradiation at 45degrees direction from normal incident. Using this method a periodical one-dimensional pattern with a prismatic shape of polymer can be formed on a one-dimensional pattern-forming state of a cholesteric host. The optical diffraction properties of the grating are evaluated by the application of electric field and light incident angles.

Conduction Band Splitting And Transport Properties Of Bi2se3., J. Navrátil, J. Horák, T. Plecháček, S. Kamba, P. LošŤÁK, Jeffrey Dyck, W. Chen, C. Uher

Jeffrey Dyck

Detailed transport studies of single crystals of Bi2Se3 were made in the temperature range of 2–300K, and the data were analyzed in terms of a model consisting of two groups of electrons—a centrosymmetrical lower conduction band and an upper conduction band located away from the Γ-point. Very good agreement with the experimental data is obtained assuming the electrons are scattered on acoustic phonons and ionized impurities. A rather strong influence of the latter mechanism is attributed to a large number of charged selenium vacancies in Bi2Se3. The fitted transport parameters were used to calculate the electronic portion of the thermal …

Infrared Laser Spectroscopy Of Jet Cooled Cobalt Tricarbonyl, Kyle Trauth, William A. Burns, Ginger Berry, Scott Reeve

Scott Reeve

No abstract provided.

Infrared Depletion Spectroscopy Of Aniline–Toluene Cluster: The Investigation Of The Red Shifts Of The Nh2 Stretching Vibrations Of Aniline–Aromatic Clusters, Naveed Piracha, F. Ito, T. Nakanaga

Naveed K. Piracha

The infrared spectra of the NH2 stretching vibrations of aniline–toluene cluster and corresponding cluster cation have been measured by the infrared depletion method. The NH2 stretching vibrations of aniline–toluene cluster were observed at 3393 and 3468 cm−1. The red shifts from the corresponding bands of aniline monomer are 29 and 40 cm−1, respectively, for the NH2 symmetric and anti-symmetric stretching vibrations. The magnitudes of the red shifts are similar to those of other aniline–aromatic clusters. The structure of this cluster has been found to be a sandwich type, that is, the two aromatic rings are parallel in the cluster and …

Cubic : Bulk Thermoelectric Materials With High Figure Of Merit, Kuei Hsu, Sim Loo, Fu Guo, Wei Chen, Jeffrey Dyck, Cterid Uher, Tim Hogan, E. Polychroniadis, Mercouri Kanatzidis

Jeffrey Dyck

The conversion of heat to electricity by thermoelectric devices may play a key role in the future for energy production and utilization. However, in order to meet that role, more efficient thermoelectric materials are needed that are suitable for high-temperature applications. We show that the material system may be suitable for this purpose. With m = 10 and 18 and doped appropriately, n-type semiconductors can be produced that exhibit a high thermoelectric figure of merit of ~2.2 at 800 kelvin. In the temperature range 600 to 900 kelvin, the material is expected to outperform all reported bulk thermoelectrics, thereby earmarking …

Effect Of Measurement On The Periodicity Of The Coulomb Staircase Of A Superconducting Box, Jaan Männik, J. E. Lukens

Jaan Männik

We report on the effect of the backaction of a single Cooper pair transistor electrometer (E) on the charge state of a superconducting box (B). The charge is e periodic in the gate bias of B when E is operated near voltages 2Δ/e or 4Δ/e. We show that this is due to quasiparticle poisoning of B at a rate proportional to the number of quasiparticle tunneling events in E per second. We are able to eliminate this backaction and recover 2e-charge periodicity using a new measurement method based on switching-current modulation of E.

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.057004

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.057004

Hypothetical Thermodynamic Properties: The Boiling And Critical Temperatures Of Polyethylene And Polytetrafluoroethylene, James S. Chickos

James Chickos

No abstract provided.

Heavy Quark Production By A Quasi-Classical Color Field In Proton-Nucleus Collisions, Kirill Tuchin

Kirill Tuchin

We calculate the inclusive heavy quark production cross section for proton-nucleus collisions at high energies. We perform calculation in a quasi-classical approximation (McLerran-Venugopalan model) neglecting all low-x evolution effects. The derived expression for the differential cross section can be applied for studying the heavy quark production in the central rapidity region at RHIC.

Nuclear Modification Factor In D + Au Collisions: Onset Of Suppression In The Color Glass Condensate, Dmitri Kharzeev, Yuri V. Kovchegov, Kirill Tuchin

Kirill Tuchin

We perform a quantitative analysis of the nuclear modification factor in deuteron-gold collisions R dAu within the Color Glass Condensate approach, and compare our results with the recent data from RHIC experiments. Our model leads to Cronin enhancement at mid-rapidity, while at forward rapidities it predicts strong suppression of R dAu at all PT due to low-x evolution. We demonstrate that our results are consistent with the data for dAu charged hadron spectra, R dAu and R CP recently reported for rapidities in the interval η=0-3.2 by the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC. We also make a prediction for R pA …