Formation of adhesive contacts: Spreading versus dewetting

A soft bead (radius R _b) is pressed with a force F against a hydrophobic glass plate through a water drop (“wet” JKR set-up). We observe with a fast camera the growth of the contact zone bridging the rubber bead to the glass. Depending on the approach velocity V, two regimes are observed : i) at large V a liquid film is squeezed at the interface and dewets by nucleation and growth of a dry contact; ii) at low velocities, the bead remains nearly spherical. As it comes into contact, the rubber bead spreads on the glass with a characteristic time (in the range of one millisecond) τ ≈ ηR _b ²/F, where η is the liquid viscosity. The laws of spreading are interpreted by a balance of global mechanical and viscous forces. Received: 22 December 2002 / Accepted: 24 March 2003 / Published online: 29 April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: brochard@curie.fr     

Depletion of ideal polymer chains near a spherical colloid particle beyond the Dirichlet boundary conditions

We reconsider the depletion interaction of an ideal polymer chain, characterized by the gyration radius R_G and bond length a , and an impenetrable spherical colloid particle of radius R . Forbidding the polymer-colloid penetration explicitly (by the use of Mayer functions) without any other requirement we derive and solve analytically an integral equation for the chain partition function of a long ideal polymer chain for the spherical geometry. We find that the correction to the solution of the Dirichlet problem depends on the ratios R/R _G and R/a . The correction vanishes for the continuous chain model (i.e. in the limit R/R _G → 0 and R/a → ∞ but stays finite (even for an infinite chain) for the discrete chain model. The correction can become substantial in the case of nano-colloids (the so-called protein limit).     

Phase behavior of a suspension of hard spherocylinders plus ideal polymer chains

We study isotropic-isotropic and isotropic-nematic phase transitions of fluid mixtures containing hard spherocylinders (HSC) and added non-adsorbing ideal polymer chains using scaled particle theory (SPT). First, we investigate isotropic-nematic (I -N phase coexistence using SPT in the absence of polymer. We compare the results obtained using a Gaussian form of the orientational distribution function (ODF) to minimize the free energy versus minimizing numerically. We find that formal numerical minimization gives results that are much closer to computer simulation results. In order to describe mixtures of HSC plus ideal chains we studied the depletion of ideal chains around a HSC. We analyze the density profiles of ideal chains near a hard cylinder and find the depletion thickness δ is a function of the ratio of the polymer's radius of gyration R_g and the cylinder radius R_c. Our results are compared with a common approximation in which the depletion thickness is taken equal to the radius of gyration of the polymer chain. We incorporate the correct depletion thickness into SPT and find that for R _g/R _c < 1.56 using ideal chains gives phase transitions at smaller polymer concentrations, whereas for R _g/R _c > 1.56 , which is a common experimental situation, the phase transitions are found at larger polymer concentrations with respect to δ = R _g . The differences are significant, especially for R _g ≫ R _c , so we can conclude it is essential to take into account the properties of ideal polymer chains and the resulting depletion near a cylinder. Finally, we present phase diagrams for rod-polymer mixtures which could be realized under experimental conditions.     

On the N-exciton normalization factor

The N-ground-state-exciton normalization factor, namely 〈v| B ₀ ^N B ₀ ^dagN| v〉 = N!F _N, with B ₀ ^d ag the exact ground state exciton creation operator, differs from N! because the excitons are not perfect bosons. The quantity F_N turns out to be crucial for problems dealing with interacting excitons. Indeed, the excitons feel each other not only through the Coulomb interaction but also through Pauli exclusion between their components. A quite novel purely Pauli contribution exists in their many-body effects, which relies directly on F_N. Following procedures used in the commutation technique we recently introduced to treat interacting close-to-bosons, and in the BCS theory of superconductivity, we rederive important relations verified by the F_N's. We also give new explicit expressions of F_N valid for η = Na _x ³/ small but N ² a _x ³/ large, as F_N does not read in terms of η but Nη, the exciton number N being possibly huge in macroscopic samples. Due to this superextensivity, F_N does not appear alone in physical quantities, but through ratios like F _{N + p}/F _N. We end this work by giving the η expansion of these ratios, useful for all purely Pauli many-body effects. Received 30 May 2002 / Received in final form 12 October 2002 Published online 27 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: combescot@gps.jussieu.fr     

Production of a0 +-mesons in the reaction pp↦da0 +

We investigate the reaction pp↦da ₀ ⁺ at COSY and SIS energies together with accompanying background reactions and inclusive particle yields. The a ₀ ⁺ is considered as a usual u quark model state with two decay channels a ₀ ⁺↦K ⁺ and a ₀ ⁺↦π⁺η. Calculated cross-sections for a ₀ ⁺ production as well as for the corresponding non-resonant channels pp↦dK ⁺ and pp↦dπ⁺η are compared. Especially, in case of the final channel dπ⁺η, high statistics measurements are necessary to extract the a ₀ ⁺ signal from the high non-resonant background. Received: 20 December 2000 / Accepted: 7 May 2001     

Low-energy ηd-resonance

Elastic ηd-scattering is considered within the Alt-Grassberger-Sandhas (AGS) formalism for various ηN input data. A three-body resonant state is found close to the ηd threshold. This resonance is sustained for different choices of the two-body ηN-scattering length a _ηN. The position of the resonance moves towards the ηd threshold when Rea _ηN is increased, and turns into a quasi-bound state at Rea _ηN∼ 0.7-0.8 fm depending on the choice of Ima _ηN. Received: 12 June 2000 / Accepted: 3 August 2000     

Exact Casimir–Polder potential between a particle and an ideal metal cylindrical shell and the proximity force approximation

We derive the exact Casimir–Polder potential for a polarizable microparticle inside an ideal metal cylindrical shell using the Green function method. The exact Casimir–Polder potential for a particle outside a shell, obtained recently by using the Hamiltonian approach, is rederived and confirmed. The exact quantum field theoretical result is compared with that obtained using the proximity force approximation and a very good agreement is demonstrated at separations below 0.1R, where R is the radius of the cylinder. The developed methods are applicable in the theory of topological defects.     

Mars and frame-dragging: study for a dedicated mission

In this paper, we preliminarily explore the possibility of designing a dedicated satellite-based mission to measure the general relativistic gravitomagnetic Lense–Thirring effect in the gravitational field of Mars. The focus is on the systematic uncertainty induced by the multipolar expansion of the areopotential and on possible strategies to reduce it. It turns out that the major sources of bias are the Mars’equatorial radius R and the even zonal harmonics J _ℓ, ℓ = 2, 4, 6, . . . of the areopotential. An optimal solution, in principle, consists of using two probes at high-altitudes (a ≈ 9,500–9,600 km) and different inclinations (one probe should fly in a nearly polar orbit), and suitably combining their nodes in order to entirely cancel out the bias due to δ R. The remaining uncancelled mismodelled terms due to δ J _ℓ, ℓ = 2, 4, 6, . . . would induce a bias ≲ 1%, according to the present-day MGS95J gravity model, over a wide range of admissible values of the inclinations. The Lense–Thirring out-of-plane shifts of the two probes would amount to about 10 cm year⁻¹.     

Computational analysis of factors influencing thermal conductivity of nanofluids

Numerical investigations are conducted to study the effect of factors such as particle clustering and interfacial layer thickness on thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Based on this, parameters including Kapitza radius and fractal and chemical dimension which have received little attention by previous research are rigorously investigated. The degree of thermal enhancement is analyzed for increasing aggregate size, particle concentration, interfacial thermal resistance, and fractal and chemical dimensions. This analysis is conducted for water-based nanofluids of Alumina (Al₂O₃), CuO, and Titania (TiO₂) nanoparticles where the particle concentrations are varied up to 4 vol%. Results from the numerical work are validated using available experimental data. For the case of aggregate size, particle concentration, and interfacial thermal resistance, the aspect ratio (ratio of radius of gyration of aggregate to radius of primary particle, R _g/a) is varied from 2 to 60. It was found that the enhancement decreases with interfacial layer thickness. Also the rate of decrease is more significant after a given aggregate size. For a given interfacial resistance, the enhancement is mostly sensitive to R _g/a < 20 indicated by the steep gradients of data plots. Predicted and experimental data for thermal conductivity enhancement are in good agreement. On the influence of fractal and chemical dimensions (d _l and d _f) of Alumina–water nanofluid, the R _g/a was varied from 2 to 8, d _l from 1.2 to 1.8, and d _f from 1.75 to 2.5. For a given concentration, the enhancement increased with the reduction of d _l or d _f. It appears a distinctive sensitivity of the enhancement to d _f, in particular, in the range 2–2.25, for all values of R _g/a. However, the sensitivity of d _l was largely depended on the value of R _g/a. The information gathered from this study on the sensitivity of thermal conductivity enhancement to aggregate size, particle concentration, interfacial resistance, and fractal and chemical dimensions will be useful in manufacturing highly thermally conductive nanofluids. Further research on the refine cluster evolution dynamics as a function of particle-scale properties is underway.     

Mechanism of the production of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript>(980) resonance in the γγ → π<Superscript>0</Superscript>η reaction

High-statistics Belle data on the γγ → π⁰η reaction have been analyzed in order to reveal the mechanism of two-photon production and the nature of the a ₀(980) resonance. The solution obtained for the γγ → π⁰η amplitude is in agreement with the predictions of the chiral theory for the πη-scattering length; with the strong coupling of the a ₀(980) resonance with the πη, K $ \bar K $ \bar K , and πη′ channels; and with the key role of the a ₀(980) → (K $ \bar K $ \bar K + π⁰η + π⁰η′) → γγ rescattering mechanisms in the a ₀(980) → γγ decay. This picture is much in favor of the q ² $ \bar q $ \bar q ² nature of a ₀(980) resonance and is consistent with the properties of its partners, σ₀(600) and f ₀(980) resonances, in particular, with those manifested in the γγ → ππ reactions. The important role of vector exchanges in the formation of the nonresonant background in the γγ → π⁰η reaction has been revealed. Preliminary information on the π⁰η → π⁰η reaction has been obtained.     

New computational method for atoms in an intense electromagnetic field

A new representation is found for the interaction of intense circularly polarized light with an atom. A stationary centrosymmetric part, which depends on the field parameter a ₀=F/ω², is separated out from the atom-field interaction. The time-dependent part of the interaction is represented in the form of a multipole expansion with a ₀ taken into account. The application of this representation for calculating the nonlinear dynamic polarizability of a complicated atom in the random-phase approximation with exchange is studied. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 3, 189–193 (10 August 1998)     

Momentum transport and torque scaling in Taylor-Couette flow from an analogy with turbulent convection

We generalize an analogy between rotating and stratified shear flows. This analogy is summarized in Table 1. We use this analogy in the unstable case (centrifugally unstable flow vs. convection) to compute the torque in Taylor-Couette configuration, as a function of the Reynolds number. At low Reynolds numbers, when most of the dissipation comes from the mean flow, we predict that the non-dimensional torque G = T/ν² L, where L is the cylinder length, scales with Reynolds number R and gap width η, G = 1.46η^3/2(1 - η)^-7/4 R ^3/2. At larger Reynolds number, velocity fluctuations become non-negligible in the dissipation. In these regimes, there is no exact power law dependence the torque versus Reynolds. Instead, we obtain logarithmic corrections to the classical ultra-hard (exponent 2) regimes: G = 0.50 . These predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with avail-able experimental data. Predictions for scaling of velocity fluctuations are also provided. Received 7 June 2001 and Received in final form 7 December 2001     

Magnetic lines of force in a Tornado trap

Numerical methods are used to analyze the structure of the magnetic field of an ideal Tornado trap; i.e., a trap consisting of linear currents whose magnitude and location in space are such as to produce a spherical separatrix with a radius η _c between the helices of the trap and partition the magnetic field into two regions so that the lines of force from the working volume η<η _c do not pass beyond its boundary. It is found that the magnetic lines of force of the working volume form a series of regions, each with its own properties, and do not penetrate from one region to another. In particular, one of the regions is a layer of magnetic toroidal surfaces adjacent to the inner surface of the separatrix. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 30–34 (January 1997)     

Damping of zero sound in Luttinger liquids

We calculate the damping γ_q of collective density oscillations (zero sound) in a one-dimensional Fermi gas with dimensionless forward scattering interaction F and quadratic energy dispersion k² / 2 m at zero temperature. Using standard many-body perturbation theory, we obtain γ_q from the expansion of the inverse irreducible polarization to first order in the effective screened (RPA) interaction. For wave-vectors | q| /k_F ≪F (where k_F = m v_F is the Fermi wave-vector) we find to leading order γ_q ∝| q |³ /(v_F m²). On the other hand, for F ≪| q| /k_F most of the spectral weight is carried by the particle-hole continuum, which is distributed over a frequency interval of the order of q²/m. We also show that zero sound damping leads to a finite maximum proportional to |k - k_F | ^{-2 + 2 η} of the charge peak in the single-particle spectral function, where η is the anomalous dimension. Our prediction agrees with photoemission data for the blue bronze K_0.3MoO₃. We comment on other recent calculations of γ_q.     

Speculations on the absorption and emission properties of the F-centre in alkali halides

Summary A review of acquisitions and of unresolved problems concerning F-centres in alkali halides is presented. The main conclusions area) the temperature dependence of the bands is mainly due to the thermal expansion for the absorption process and to electron-phonon interaction for the emission process: for the latter half-width and Huang-Rhys factor values are related to the transverse optical frequency ones;b) the lifetime τ_R of the relaxed excited state is not intrinsic at low temperature because of the interaction between F-and α-centres always present in real samples;c) even though the absolute quantum yield decreases when F-centre concentration increased, the relative quantum yield η_r is unaffected by change on F-centre concentration, strongly evidencing a nonhomogenous distribution of F-centres in real samples;d) a temperature-dependent, fine structure in τ_R (an η_r) values is observed but only when temperature control of the samples is better than a few hundredth of a degree: this effect has been interpreted in terms of interactions which involve F-, α-and F′-centres. Work jointly supported by the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione and by Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Gruppo Nazionale di Struttura della Materia.     

np → ηd near threshold and the s -wave ηN amplitude

We calculate the process np → ηd near threshold using a separable potential model of the coupled ηN - πN - ππN subystems, and a relativistic three-body calculation for the ηd scattering amplitude. The ππN channels are represented by an effective σN channel, and we compare the case where the σ and π masses are related by m _σ = 2m _π and no width is considered, to another where the mass and width of the σ -meson are taken from ππ scattering data. The np → ηd cross-section can be well described up to about 60MeV by models where the real part of the ηN scattering length lies between 0.4≤Re(a _ηN)≤0.6 fm which allows us to determine the s -wave ηN scattering amplitude for -60≤E≤60 MeV.     

Phase behaviour of colloid-polymer mixtures

Summary We review the phase behaviour of mixtures of colloids and non-adsorbing polymers. The exclusion of polymer molecules from overlapping ?depletion zones? between two neighbouring colloidal particles results in an unbalanced osmotic pressure pushing the particles together. This depletion potential is separately tunable in range and depth. Theory predicts that the resulting phase behaviour is sensitive to ξ=r _g/R, the ratio of the radius of gyration of a polymer molecule, to the radius of the colloid. At large ξ, a stable colloidalliquid phase becomes possible. This has been confirmed by recent experiments. The formation of non-equilibrium ?transient gel? states when the size ratio is small (≈0.08) is also introduced briefly. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.     

Stability of QED Vacuum and 3+1 Dimensional Scattering Problem in the Presence of a Coulomb Scalar Potential and Vector Field

We show that, in the presence of a scalar field the range of the value of external field parameters a and b, at which corresponding Hamiltonian operator is hermitian, essentially wider than in its absence. It allows us to study precisely the question on stability of QED vacuum in the presence of a strong electric field of a point charge Z|e| and external scalar Coulomb field with respect to electron-positron pair production. Also, we consider the scattering of Dirac particle by the specified fields in 3+1 dimensions. The phase shift and wave functions are obtained exactly. We calculate the scattering amplitude in a quasi-classical approximation as a partial wave series. By means of figures obtained for the cross section σ(θ) in general and special cases, such as a≠b and a=b, we find that σ(θ) is not exactly symmetric about θ=π.     

Transitions between secondary structures in isolated polyalanines

Monte Carlo simulations of gas-phase polyalanine peptides have been carried out with the Amber ff96 force field. A low-temperature structural transition takes place between the α-helix stable conformation and β-sheet structures, followed by the unfolding phase change. The transition state ensembles connecting the helix and sheet conformations are investigated by sampling the energy landscape along specific geometric order parameters as putative reaction coordinates, namely the electric dipole μ, the end-to-end distance d, and the gyration radius R_g. By performing series of shooting trajectories, the committor probabilities and their distributions are obtained, revealing that only the electric dipole provides a satisfactory transition coordinate for the α↔β interconversion. The nucleus at the transition is found to have a high helical content.     

On the high-statistics investigation of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript>(980) resonance in the γγ → π<Superscript>0</Superscript>η reaction

High-statistics data on the γγ → π⁰η reaction will make it possible to conclude whether the K ⁺ K ⁻-loop rescattering mechanism, γγ → K ⁺ K ⁻ → a ₀(980) → π⁰η, is the main mechanism of the production of a ₀(980) isovector resonance. This mechanism provides a reasonable value of 20–30 nb at the maximum for the manifestation of a ₀(980) in the γγ → π⁰η cross section. It also gives rise to a noticeable narrowing of the a ₀(980) peak to its effective (observed) width ≈20–30 MeV in the γγ → π⁰η channel. The decay width averaged over the resonance mass distribution is 〈Γ_{α 0} → K ⁺ K ⁻ → γγ〉_πη ≈ 0.13 keV. The experimental confirmation of this scenario would be important evidence in favor of the q ² $ \bar q $ \bar q ² nature of light scalar mesons.