MHD Flow of a 2nd Grade Fluid in an Orthogonal Rheometer

The magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow of a conducting, homogeneous incompressible Rivlin-Ericksen fluid of second grade contained between two infinite, parallel, insulated disks rotating with the same angular velocity about two noncoincident axes, under the application of a uniform transverse magnetic field, is investigated. This model represents the MHD flow of the fluid in the instrument called an orthogonal rheometer, except for the fact that in the rheometer the rotating plates are necessarily finite. An exact solution of the governing equations of motion is presented. The force components in the x and y directions on the disks are calculated. The effects of magnetic field and the viscoelastic parameter on the forces are discussed in detail.

Buckling in polymer monolayers: Molecular-weight dependence

We present systematic investigations of buckling in Langmuir monolayers of polyvinyl acetate formed at the air-water interface. On compression the polymer monolayers are converted to a continuous membrane with a thickness of ~2–3 nm of well-defined periodicity, lambdab. Above a certain surface concentration the membrane undergoes a morphological transition buckling, leading to the formation of striped patterns. The periodicity seems to depend on molecular weight as per the predictions of the gravity-bending buckling formalism of Milner et al. for fluidlike films on water. However anomalously low values of bending rigidity and Young's modulus are obtained using this formalism. Hence we have considered an alternative model of buckling-based solidlike films on viscoelastic substrates. The values of bending rigidity and Young's modulus obtained by this method, although lower than expected, are closer to the bulk values. Remarkably, no buckling is found to occur above a certain molecular weight. We have tried to explain the observed molecular-weight dependence in terms of the variation in isothermal compressive modulus of the monolayers with surface concentration as well as provided possible explanations for the obtained low values of mechanical properties similar to that observed for ultrathin polymer films.

Dark Spots, Bubbles, and Shells in the Lobes of Extragalactic Radio Sources

Based on maps of the extragalactic radio sources Cyg A, Her A, Cen A, 3C 277.3 and others, arguments are given that the twin-jets from the respective active galactic nucleus ram their channels repeatedly through thin, massive shells. The jets are thereby temporarily choked and blow radio bubbles. Warm shell matter in the cocoon shows up radio-dark through electron-scattering.

Morphological transitions in polymer monolayers under compression

We present a systematic investigation of morphological transitions in poly vinylacetate Langmuir monolayers. On compression, the polymer monolayer is converted to a continuous membrane with a thickness of similar to 2-3 nm. Above a certain surface concentration the monolayer, on water, undergoes a morphological transition-buckling, leading to formation of striped patterns of period of lambda(b)similar to 160 nm, as determined from in situ grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering measurements. The obtained value is much smaller than what has been typically observed for Langmuir monolayers on water or thin films on soft substrates. Using existing theories for buckling of fluidlike films on fluid substrates, we obtain very low values of bending rigidity and Young's modulus of the polymer monolayer compared to that observed earlier for lipid or polymeric monolayers. Since buckling in these monolayers occurs only above a certain surface concentration, we have looked at the possibility that the buckling in these films occurs due to changes in their mechanical properties under compression. Using the model of Huang and Suo of buckling of solidlike films on viscoelastic substrates, we find values of the mechanical properties, which are much closer to the bulk values but still significantly lower. Although the reduction could be along the lines of what has been observed earlier for ultrathin polymer film or surface layers of polymers, the possibility of micromechanical effects also determining the buckling in such polymer monolayers cannot be ruled out. We have provided possible explanation of the buckling of the poly vinylacetate monolayers in terms of the change in isothermal compression modulus with surface concentration.

Study of turbid media with light: Recovery of mechanical and optical properties from boundary measurement of intensity autocorrelation of light

We discuss the inverse problem associated with the propagation of the field autocorrelation of light through a highly scattering object like tissue. In the first part of the work, we reconstructed the optical absorption coefficient mu(u) and particle diffusion coefficient D-B from simulated measurements which are integrals of a quantity computed from the measured intensity and intensity autocorrelation g(2)(tau) at the boundary. In the second part we recover the mean square displacement (MSD) distribution of particles in an inhomogeneous object from the sampled g(2)(tau) measure on the boundary. From the MSD, we compute the storage and loss moduli distributions in the object. We have devised computationally easy methods to construct the sensitivity matrices which are used in the iterative reconstruction algorithms for recovering these parameters from the measurements. The results of the reconstruction of mu(a), D-B, MSD and the viscoelastic parameters, which are presented, show reasonable good position and quantitative accuracy.

Re-entrant Phase Behavior of a Concentrated Anionic Surfactant System with Strongly Binding Counterions

The phase behavior of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the presence of the strongly binding counterion p-toluidine hydrochloride (PTHC) has been examined using small-angle X-ray diffraction and polarizing microscopy. A hexagonal-to-lamellar transition on varying the PTHC to SDS molar ratio (alpha) occurs through a nematic phase of rodlike micelles (N-C) -> isotropic (I) -> nematic of disklike micelles (N-D) at a fixed surfactant concentration (phi). The lamellar phase is found to coexist with an isotropic phase (l') over a large region of the phase diagram. Deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance investigations of the phase behavior at phi = 0.4 confirm the transition from N-C to N-D on varying alpha. The viscoelastic and flow behaviors of the different phases were examined. A decrease in the steady shear viscosity across the different phases with increasing alpha suggests a decrease in the aspect ratio of the micellar aggregates. From the transient shear stress response of the N-C and N-D nematic phases in step shear experiments, they were characterized to be tumbling and now aligning, respectively. Our studies reveal that by tuning the morphology of the surfactant micelles strongly binding counterions modify the phase behavior and rheological properties of concentrated surfactant solutions.

Choice of the End Functional Groups in Tri(p-phenylenevinylene) Derivatives Controls Its Physical Gelation Abilities

New supramolecular organogels based on all-trans-tri(p-phenylenevinylene) (TPV) systems possessing different terminal groups, e.g., oxime, hydrazone, phenylhydrazone, and semicarbazone have been synthesized. The self-assembly properties of the compounds that gelate in specific organic solvents and the aggregation motifs of these molecules in the organogels were investigated using UV−vis, fluorescence, FT-IR, and 1H NMR spectroscopy, electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and rheology. The temperature variable UV−vis and fluorescence spectroscopy in different solvents clearly show the aggregation pattern of the self-assemblies promoted by hydrogen bonding, aromatic π-stacking, and van der Waals interactions among the individual TPV units. Gelation could be controlled by variation in the number of hydrogen-bonding donors and acceptors in the terminal functional groups of this class of gelators. Also wherever gelation is observed, the individual fibers in gels change to other types of networks in their aggregates depending on the number of hydrogen-bonding sites in the terminal functions. Comparison of the thermal stability of the gels obtained from DSC data of different gelators demonstrates higher phase transition temperature and enthalpy for the hydrazone-based gelator. Rheological studies indicate that the presence of more hydrogen-bonding donors in the periphery of the gelator molecules makes the gel more viscoelastic solidlike. However, in the presence of more numbers of hydrogen-bonding donor/acceptors at the periphery of TPVs such as with semicarbazone a precipitation as opposed to gelation was observed. Clearly, the choice of the end functional groups and the number of hydrogen-bonding groups in the TPV backbone holds the key and modulates the effective length of the chromophore, resulting in interesting optical properties.

Hybrid Materials Combining Photoactive 2,3-Didecyloxy Anthracene Physical Gels and Gold Nanoparticles

Organic/inorganic hybrid gels have been developed in order to control the three-dimensional structure of photoactive nanofibers and metallic nanoparticles (NPs). These materials are prepared by simultaneous self-assembly of the 2,3-didecyloxyanthracene (DDOA) gelator and of thiol-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). TEM and fluorescence measurements show that alkane-thiol capped AuNPs are homogeneously dispersed and tightly attached to the thermoreversible fibrillar network formed by the organogelator in n-butanol or n-decanol. Rheology and thermal stability measurements reveal moreover that the mechanical and thermal stabilities of the DDOA organogels are not significantly altered and that they remain strong, viscoelastic materials. The hybrid materials display a variable absorbance in the visible range because of the AuNPs, whereas the strong luminescence of the DDOA nanofibers is efficiently quenched by micromolar amounts of AuNPs. Besides, we obtained hybrid aerogels using supercritical CO2. These arc very low-density porous materials showing fibrillar networks oil which fluorinated gold NPs arc dispersed. These hybrid materials are of high interest because of their tunable optical properties and are under investigation for efficient light scattering.

Brownian particles in stationary and moving traps: The mean and variance of the heat distribution function

A recent theoretical model developed by Imparato et al. Phys of the experimentally measured heat and work effects produced by the thermal fluctuations of single micron-sized polystyrene beads in stationary and moving optical traps has proved to be quite successful in rationalizing the observed experimental data. The model, based on the overdamped Brownian dynamics of a particle in a harmonic potential that moves at a constant speed under a time-dependent force, is used to obtain an approximate expression for the distribution of the heat dissipated by the particle at long times. In this paper, we generalize the above model to consider particle dynamics in the presence of colored noise, without passing to the overdamped limit, as a way of modeling experimental situations in which the fluctuations of the medium exhibit long-lived temporal correlations, of the kind characteristic of polymeric solutions, for instance, or of similar viscoelastic fluids. Although we have not been able to find an expression for the heat distribution itself, we do obtain exact expressions for its mean and variance, both for the static and for the moving trap cases. These moments are valid for arbitrary times and they also hold in the inertial regime, but they reduce exactly to the results of Imparato et al. in appropriate limits. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.80.011118 PACS.

Total photoproduction cross section at very high energy

In this paper we apply to the photoproduction total cross section a model we have proposed for purely hadronic processes and which is based on QCD mini-jets and soft gluon re-summation. We compare the predictions of our model with the HERA data as well as with other models. For cosmic rays, our model predicts substantially higher cross sections at TeV energies than models based on factorization, but lower than models based on mini-jets alone, without soft gluons. We discuss the origin of this difference.

The sensitivity of the northern hemisphere summer mean meridional circulation to changes in the large scale eddy forcing

A zonally averaged version of the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences (GLAS) climate model is used to study the sensitivity of the northern hemisphere (NH) summer mean meridional circulation to changes in the large scale eddy forcing. A standard solution is obtained by prescribing the latent heating field and climatological horizontal transports of heat and momentum by the eddies. The radiative heating and surface fluxes are calculated by model parameterizations. This standard solution is compared with the results of several sensitivity studies. When the eddy forcing is reduced to 0.5 times or increased to 1.5 times the climatological values, the strength of the Ferrel cells decrease or increase proportionally. It is also seen that such changes in the eddy forcing can influence the strength of theNH Hadley cell significantly. Possible impact of such changes in the large scale eddy forcing on the monsoon circulation via changes in the Hadley circulation is discussed. Sensitivity experiments including only one component of eddy forcing at a time show that the eddy momentum fluxes seem to be more important in maintaining the Ferrel cells than the eddy heat fluxes. In the absence of the eddy heat fluxes, the observed eddy momentum fluxes alone produce subtropical westerly jets which are weaker than those in the standard solution. On the other hand, the observed eddy heat fluxes alone produce subtropical westerly jets which are stronger than those in the standard solution.

Steady mixed convection stagnation-point flow of upper convected Maxwell fluids with magnetic field

The steady MHD mixed convection flow of a viscoelastic fluid in the vicinity of two-dimensional stagnation point with magnetic field has been investigated under the assumption that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion. induced magnetic field and energy which results in three coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations which are well-posed. These equations have been solved by using finite difference method. The results indicate the reduction in the surface velocity gradient, surface heat transfer and displacement thickness with the increase in the elasticity number. These trends are opposite to those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid. The surface velocity gradient and heat transfer are enhanced by the magnetic and buoyancy parameters. The surface heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface velocity gradient decreases.

Contribution from unresolved discrete sources to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB)

The origin of the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB) is still an open question, even nearly forty years after its discovery. The emission could originate either from truly diffuse processes or from unresolved point sources. Although the majority of the 271 point sources detected by EGRET (Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope) are unidentified, of the identified sources, blazars are the dominant candidates. Therefore, unresolved blazars may be considered the main contributor to the EGRB, and many studies have been carried out to understand their distribution, evolution and contribution to the EGRB. Considering that gamma-ray emission comes mostly from jets of blazars and that the jet emission decreases rapidly with increasing jet to line-of-sight angle, it is not surprising that EGRET was not able to detect many large inclination angle active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Though Fermi could only detect a few large inclination angle AGNs during the first three months of its survey, it is expected to detect many such sources in the near future. Since non-blazar AGNs are expected to have higher density as compared to blazars, these could also contribute significantly to the EGRB. In this paper, we discuss contributions from unresolved discrete sources including normal galaxies, starburst galaxies, blazars and off-axis AGNs to the EGRB.

An Experimental Study on Energy Absorption Behavior of Polyurethane Foams

This article is concerned with a study on the energy absorption behavior of polyurethane (PU) foams such as flexible high resilience (HR), flexible viscoelastic (VE) and semi-rigid (SR) foams as a function of the overall foam density. Foam samples were prepared in the form of cubes by mixing appropriate polyol and isocyanate compounds produced by Huntsman International India Pvt. Ltd. in varying proportions leading to a range of densities for each type of foam. The cubical samples were tested under compressive load in a standard UTM. Based on the measured load-displacement behaviors, variations of peak load and energy-absorption attributes with respect to density are plotted for each type of foam and the possible existence of an optimum foam density is shown.

A model of the polarization position-angle swings in BL Lacertae objects

The polarization position-angle swings that have been measured in a number of BL Lacertae objects and highly variable quasars are interpreted in terms of shock waves which illuminate (by enhanced synchrotron radiation) successive transverse cross sections of a magnetized, relativistic jet. The jet is assumed to have a nonaxisymmetric magnetic field configuration of the type discussed in the companion paper on the equilibria of force-free jets. For a jet that is viewed at a small angle to the axis, the passage of a shock will give rise to an apparent rotation of the polarization position angle whose amplitude can be substantially larger than 180 deg. The effects of freely propagating shocks are compared with those of bow shocks which form in front of dense obstacles in the jet, and specific applications to 0727 - 115 and BL Lacertae are considered. In the case of 0727 - 115, it is pointed out that the nonuniformity of the swing rate and the apparent oscillations of the degree of polarization could be a consequence of relativistic aberration.