A study of chemically prepared small metal clusters in the nonmetallic regime

Small gold clusters [mean diameter (d)[less, similar] 1.4 nm], unlike larger clusters, show a higher Au(4f) binding energy relative to the bulk value and the presence of a conductance gap in tunnelling measurements, just as the molecular cluster compound, Au55(PPh3)12Cl6; small platinum clusters show similar nonmetallic features.

Constitutive modeling of ice in the high strain rate regime

The objective of the present work is to propose a constitutive model for ice by considering the influence of important parameters such as strain rate dependence and pressure sensitivity on the response of the material. In this regard, the constitutive model proposed by Carney et al. (2006) is considered as a starting basis and subsequently modified to incorporate the effect of brittle cracking within a continuum damage mechanics framework. The damage is taken to occur in the form of distributed cracking within the material during impact which is consistent with experimental observations. At the point of failure, the material is assumed to be fluid-like with deviatoric stress almost dropping down to zero. The constitutive model is implemented in a general purpose finite element code using an explicit formulation. Several single element tests under uniaxial tension and compression, as well as biaxial loading are conducted in order to understand the performance of the model. Few large size simulations are also performed to understand the capability of the model to predict brittle damage evolution in un-notched and notched three point bend specimens. The proposed model predicts lower strength under tensile loading as compared to compressive loading which is in tune with experimental observations. Further the model also asserts the strain rate dependency of the strength behavior under both compressive as well as tensile loading, which also corroborates well with experimental results. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on BaO particles in nanosize regime

Barium oxide nanosize particles were prepared using the wet chemical route. Various capping agents were used to arrest the growth. X-ray diffraction studies reveal particle size as low as 9 Angstrom in diameter, which is close to the Bohr exciton radius of BaO. However, changes in the optical absorption features arising from the confinement effect in the nanosize regime were not observed. These results were confirmed by fluorescence measurements. The calculations based on effective mass approximations indicate that the quantum confinement effects are not significant for particle sizes as small as 15 Angstrom.

Swing amplification of nonaxisymmetric perturbations in stars and gas in a sheared galactic disk

We present a study of the growth of local, nonaxisymmetric perturbations in gravitationally coupled stars and gas in a differentially rotating galactic disk. The stars and gas are treated as two isothermal fluids of different velocity dispersions, with the stellar velocity dispersion being greater than that for the gas. We examine the physical effects of inclusion of a low-velocity dispersion component (gas) on the growth of non-axisymmetric perturbations in both stars and gas, as done for the axisymmetric case by Jog & Solomon. The amplified perturbations in stars and gas constitute trailing, material, spiral features which may be identified with the local spiral features seen in all spiral galaxies. The formulation of the two-fluid equations closely follows the one-fluid treatment by Goldreich & Lynden-Bell. The local, linearized perturbation equations in the sheared frame are solved to obtain the results for a temporary growth via swing amplification. The problem is formulated in terms of five dimensionless parameters-namely, the Q-factors for stars and gas, respectively; the gas mass fraction; the shearing rate in the galactic disk; and the length scale of perturbation. By using the observed values of these parameters, we obtain the amplifications and the pitch angles for features in stars and gas for dynamically distinct cases, as applicable for different regions of spiral galaxies. A real galaxy consisting of stars and gas may display growth of nonaxisymmetric perturbations even when it is stable against axisymmetric perturbations and/or when either fluid by itself is stable against non-axisymmetric perturbations. Due to its lower velocity dispersion, the gas exhibits a higher amplification than do the stars, and the amplified gas features are slightly more tightly wound than the stellar features. When the gas contribution is high, the stellar amplification and the range of pitch angles over which it can occur are both increased, due to the gravitational coupling between the two fluids. Thus, the two-fluid scheme can explain the origin of the broad spiral arms in the underlying old stellar populations of galaxies, as observed by Schweizer and Elmegreen & Elmegreen. The arms are predicted to be broader in gas-rich galaxies, as is indeed seen for example in M33. In the linear regime studied here, the arm contrast is shown to increase with radius in the inner Galaxy, in agreement with observations of external galaxies by Schweizer. These results follow directly due to the inclusion of gas in the problem.

Synthesis of nonlinear controller to recover an unstable aircraft from poststall regime

Dynamics of the aircraft configuration considered in this paper show a unique characteristic in that there are no stable attractors in the entire high angle-of-attack flight envelope. As a result, once the aircraft has departed from the normal flight regime, no standard technique can be applied to recover the aircraft. In this paper, using feedback linearization technique, a nonlinear controller is designed at high angles of attack, which is engaged after the aircraft departs from normal flight regime. This controller stabilizes the aircraft into a stable spin. Then a set of synthetic pilot inputs is applied to cause an automatic transition from the spin equilibrium to low angles of attack where the second controller is connected. This controller is a normal gain-scheduled controller designed to have a large domain of attraction at low angles of attack. It traps the aircraft into a low angle-of-attack level flight. This entire concept of recovery has been verified using six-degrees-of-freedom nonlinear simulation. Feedback linearization technique used to design a controller ensures internal stability only if the nonlinear plant has stable zero dynamics. Because zero dynamics depend on the selection of outputs, a new method of choosing outputs is described to obtain a plant that has stable zero dynamics. Certain important aspects pertaining to the implementation of a feedback linearization-based controller are also discussed.

Experimental study and optimization of Plasma Actuators for Flow control in subsonic regime

Experimental study and optimization of Plasma Ac- tuators for Flow control in subsonic regime PRADEEP MOISE, JOSEPH MATHEW, KARTIK VENKATRAMAN, JOY THOMAS, Indian Institute of Science, FLOW CONTROL TEAM | The induced jet produced by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) setup is capable of preventing °ow separation on airfoils at high angles of attack. The ef-fect of various parameters on the velocity of this induced jet was studied experimentally. The glow discharge was created at atmospheric con-ditions by using a high voltage RF power supply. Flow visualization,photographic studies of the plasma, and hot-wire measurements on the induced jet were performed. The parametric investigation of the charac- teristics of the plasma show that the width of the plasma in the uniform glow discharge regime was an indication of the velocity induced. It was observed that the spanwise and streamwise overlap of the two electrodes,dielectric thickness, voltage and frequency of the applied voltage are the major parameters that govern the velocity and the extent of plasma.e®ect of the optimized con¯guration on the performance characteristics of an airfoil was studied experimentally.

Minor mergers and their impact on the kinematics of old and young stellar populations in disk galaxies

By means of N-body simulations we investigate the impact of minor mergers on the angular momentum and dynamical properties of the merger remnant. Our simulations cover a range of initial orbital characteristics and gas-to-stellar mass fractions (from 0 to 20%), and include star formation and supernova feedback. We confirm and extend previous results by showing that the specific angular momentum of the stellar component always decreases independently of the orbital parameters or morphology of the satellite, and that the decrease in the rotation velocity of the primary galaxy is accompanied by a change in the anisotropy of the orbits. However, the decrease affects only the old stellar population, and not the new population formed from gas during the merging process. This means that the merging process induces an increasing difference in the rotational support of the old and young stellar components, with the old one lagging with respect to the new. Even if our models are not intended specifically to reproduce the Milky Way and its accretion history, we find that, under certain conditions, the modeled rotational lag found is compatible with that observed in the Milky Way disk, thus indicating that minor mergers can be a viable way to produce it. The lag can increase with the vertical distance from the disk midplane, but only if the satellite is accreted along a direct orbit, and in all cases the main contribution to the lag comes from stars originally in the primary disk rather than from stars in the satellite galaxy. We also discuss the possibility of creating counter-rotating stars in the remnant disk, their fraction as a function of the vertical distance from the galaxy midplane, and the cumulative effect of multiple mergers on their creation.

Determinant: Old algorithms, new insights (Extended Abstract)

In this paper we approach the problem of computing the characteristic polynomial of a matrix from the combinatorial viewpoint. We present several combinatorial characterizations of the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial, in terms of walks and closed walks of different kinds in the underlying graph. We develop algorithms based on these characterizations, and show that they tally with well-known algorithms arrived at independently from considerations in linear algebra.

Climatic fluctuations during the LIA and post-LIA in the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, India: Evidence from a 400 y old stalagmite record

This paper presents the first stable isotope (delta O-18 and delta C-13) data of a similar to 400 years (1590-2006 AD) long annual to decadal-resolution speleothem record collected from the Indian Lesser Himalaya. The data show a variation from -2.7 to -5.9 parts per thousand in delta O-18 and -5.3 to -8.8 parts per thousand in delta C-13. The isotopic analyses indicate that the climate during this period can be divided into two stages: a wet phase during the Little Ice Age (LIA) (1590-1850 AD) and comparatively dry phase during the post-LIA after 1850 AD. However, the record also documents the minor dry events during the LIA and a wet episode after the LIA. Within the age uncertainty, the dry spells during the LIA are linked with the historical drought events in the Indian subcontinent and similar latitudes. The isotopic record is consistent with a number of previous studies in the areas influenced by the Westerlies but appears to be conflicting to the regions, dominated by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). This may be due to the possible changes in the strength of Westerlies in the study area and added by negative anomaly of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the LIA. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Electrical properties of buckled multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays in the diffusive regime

We report the geometrical effect of graded buckled multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays on the electrical transport properties in the diffusive regime, via successive breakdown caused by the Joule heating. This breakdown occurs in the straighter region. Empirical relations involving the current-carrying ability, resistance, breakdown power, threshold voltage, diameter and length of carbon nanotube arrays are discussed on the basis of an extensive set of experimental data along with justification. The experimental results are corroborated by the density functional tight-binding calculations of electronic band structure. The band gap decreases as buckleness increases leading to the enhancement in the current-carrying ability and elucidating the role of buckleness in carbon nanotubes. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2012

Microstructure and texture evolution during sub-transus thermo-mechanical processing of Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy: part II. static annealing in (alpha plus beta) regime

The first part of this study describes the evolution of microstructure and texture in Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy during sub-transus rolling vis-A -vis the control alloy Ti-6Al-4V. In the second part, the static annealing response of the two alloys at self-same conditions is compared and the principal micromechanisms are analyzed. Faster globularization kinetics has been observed in the Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy for equivalent annealing conditions. This is primarily attributed to the alpha colonies, which leads to easy boundary splitting via multiple slip activation in this alloy. The other mechanisms facilitating lamellar to equiaxed morphological transformations, e.g., termination migration and cylinderization, also start early in the boron-modified alloy due to small alpha colony size, small aspect ratio of the alpha lamellae, and the presence of TiB particles in the microstructure. Both the alloys exhibit weakening of basal fiber (ND||aOE (c) 0001 >) and strengthening of prism fiber (RD||aOE (c) aOE(a)) upon annealing. A close proximity between the orientations of fully globularized primary alpha and secondary alpha phases during alpha -> beta -> alpha transformation has accounted for such a texture modification.

Robustness of early warning signals of regime shifts in time-delayed ecological models

Various ecological and other complex dynamical systems may exhibit abrupt regime shifts or critical transitions, wherein they reorganize from one stable state to another over relatively short time scales. Because of potential losses to ecosystem services, forecasting such unexpected shifts would be valuable. Using mathematical models of regime shifts, ecologists have proposed various early warning signals of imminent shifts. However, their generality and applicability to real ecosystems remain unclear because these mathematical models are considered too simplistic. Here, we investigate the robustness of recently proposed early warning signals of regime shifts in two well-studied ecological models, but with the inclusion of time-delayed processes. We find that the average variance may either increase or decrease prior to a regime shift and, thus, may not be a robust leading indicator in time-delayed ecological systems. In contrast, changing average skewness, increasing autocorrelation at short time lags, and reddening power spectra of time series of the ecological state variable all show trends consistent with those of models with no time delays. Our results provide insights into the robustness of early warning signals of regime shifts in a broader class of ecological systems.

Crystallographic texture and microstructure evolution during hot compression of Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy in the (alpha plus beta)-regime

Microstructure and texture are known to undergo drastic modifications due to trace hypoeutectic boron addition (similar to 0.1wt.%) for various titanium alloys e.g. Ti-6Al-4V. The deformation behaviour of such an alloy Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B is investigated in the (+) phase field and compared against that of the base alloy Ti-6Al-4V studied under selfsame conditions. The deformation microstructures for the two alloys display bending and kinking of lamellae in near and softening via globularization of lamella in near phase regimes, respectively. The transition temperature at which pure slip based deformation changes to softening is lower for the boron added alloy. The presence of TiB particles is largely held attributable for the early softening of Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy. The compression texture of both the alloys carry signature of pure phase defamation at lower temperature and phase transformation near the transus temperature. Texture is influenced by a complex interplay of the deformation and transformation processes in the intermediate temperature range. The contribution from phase transformation is prominent for Ti-6Al-4V-0.1B alloy at comparatively lower temperature.