Monitoring Alfvén cascades with interferometry on the JET Tokamak

A microwave interferometry technique is applied for the first time for detecting a discrete spectrum of Alfvén cascade (AC) eigenmodes excited with fast ions in reversed magnetic shear plasmas of the Joint European Torus. The interferometry measurements of plasma density perturbations associated with ACs show an unprecedented frequency and time resolution superior to that obtained with external magnetic coils. The measurements of ACs are used for monitoring the evolution of the safety factor and density of rational magnetic surfaces in the region of maximum plasma current.     

Edge effects on the order and freezing of a 2D array of block copolymer spheres

The order in a single layer of spherical domains of a block copolymer melt is investigated as a function of distance from the edges of the 15 microm wide, 30 nm deep wells that confine it along a substrate. At 255 degrees C the edge induces the formation of a hexatic phase whose orientational and translational order decreases slowly away from the edge until in the center of the well the block copolymer spheres have liquidlike order.     

Transverse asymmetry AT' from the quasielastic 3He(e,e') process and the neutron magnetic form factor

We have measured the transverse asymmetry A(T') in 3He(e,e(')) quasielastic scattering in Hall A at Jefferson Laboratory with high precision for Q2 values from 0.1 to 0.6 (GeV/c)(2). The neutron magnetic form factor G(n)(M) was extracted based on Faddeev calculations for Q2 = 0.1 and 0.2 (GeV/c)(2) with an experimental uncertainty of less than 2%.     

Persistence of zero velocity fronts in reaction diffusion systems

Steady, nonpropagating, fronts in reaction diffusion systems usually exist only for special sets of control parameters. When varying one control parameter, the front velocity may become zero only at isolated values (where the Maxwell condition is satisfied, for potential systems). The experimental observation of fronts with a zero velocity over a finite interval of parameters, e.g., in catalytic experiments [Barelko et al., Chem. Eng. Sci., 33, 805 (1978)], therefore, seems paradoxical. We show that the velocity dependence on the control parameter may be such that velocity is very small over a finite interval, and much larger outside. This happens in a class of reaction diffusion systems with two components, with the extra assumptions that (i) the two diffusion coefficients are very different, and that (ii) the slowly diffusing variables has two stable states over a control parameter range. The ratio of the two velocity scales vanishes when the smallest diffusion coefficient goes to zero. A complete study of the effect is carried out in a model of catalytic reaction. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.     

Critical bond lengths and their role in spontaneous magnetostriction of R2Fe17CX (R=Y,Nd, Gd,Tb, Er)

High-energy high-flux synchrotron X-rays have been used to study the spontaneous magnetostriction of R₂Fe₁₇ (R=Y, Nd, Gd, Tb, Er) and their carbides in the temperature range 10–1100 K. Addition of interstitial carbon greatly increases both the Curie temperatures (T_C) and the spontaneous magnetostrain of the compounds, while reduces the anisotropy of the magnetostrain by expanding the distances between rare-earth and neighboring Fe sites. The increase of T_C with carbon is due to the increased spatial separation of the Fe hexagon layers. On the basal plane, the Fe hexagons are squeezed and the contribution of Fe sublattice to spontaneous magnetostriction is attenuated, while that of rare-earth sublattice is enhanced. The average bond magnetostrain around Fe sites are in linear relation with their hyperfine field intensities.     

Characterization of Standard Reference Material 2942, Ce-ion-doped glass, spectral correction standard for UV fluorescence

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2942 is a cuvette-shaped, Ce-ion-doped glass, recommended for use for relative spectral correction of emission from 320 to 430 nm and day-to-day performance verification of steady-state fluorescence spectrometers. Properties of this standard that influence its effective use or contribute to the uncertainty in its certified emission spectrum were explored here. These properties include its photostability, absorbance, dissolution rate in water, anisotropy and temperature coefficient of fluorescence intensity. The expanded uncertainties in the certified spectrum are about 9% around the peak maximum at 330 nm, using an excitation wavelength of 310 nm. The SRM also exhibits a strong resistance to photodegradation, with no measurable decrease in fluorescence intensity even after 25 h of irradiation with UV light>280 nm from a Xe lamp.     

A conservative unstructured scheme for rapidly varied flows

This article introduces a new semi‐implicit, staggered finite volume scheme on unstructured meshes for the modelling of rapidly varied shallow water flows. Rapidly varied flows occur in the inundation of dry land during flooding situations. They typically involve bores and hydraulic jumps after obstacles such as road banks. Near such sudden flow transitions, the grid resolution is often low compared with the gradients of the bathymetry. Locally the hydrostatic pressure assumption may become invalid. In these situations, it is crucial to apply the correct conservation properties to obtain accurate results. An important feature of this scheme is therefore its ability to conserve momentum locally or, by choice, preserve constant energy head along a streamline. This is achieved using a special interpolation method and control volumes for momentum. The efficiency of inundation calculations with locally very high velocities, and in the case of unstructured meshes locally very small grid distances, is severely hampered by the Courant condition. This article provides a solution in the form of a locally implicit time integration for the advective terms that allows for an explicit calculation in most of the domain, while maintaining unconditional stability by implicit calculations only where necessary. The complex geometry of flooded urban areas asks for the flexibility of unstructured meshes. The efficient calculation of the pressure gradient in this, and other semi‐implicit staggered schemes, requires, however, an orthogonality condition to be put on the grid. In this article a simple method is introduced to generate unstructured hybrid meshes that fulfil this requirement. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of neutron activation analysis in acid precipitation studies

Instrumental neutron activation analysis has been successfully employed in three distrinct acid precipitation studies. These include the determination of ten (Al, Br, Ca, Cl, Cu, I, Mg, Mn, Na and V) elements in urban rainfall, elevated aluminum concentrations in acidified lakes and major ions (Ca, Cl, K, Mg and Na) in small-mouth bass kept in controlled pH environments. Quality control was assured by analyzing two certified standard reference materials prepared by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS 1643a) and National Research Council of Canada (hepatopancreas TORT-1 marine biological tissue).