Variational approaches to quantum impurities: from the Fröhlich polaron to the angulon

ABSTRACT

Problems involving quantum impurities, in which one or a few particles are interacting with a macroscopic environment, represent a pervasive paradigm, spanning across atomic, molecular, and condensed-matter physics. In this paper we introduce new variational approaches to quantum impurities and apply them to the Fröhlich polaron – a quasiparticle formed out of an electron (or other point-like impurity) in a polar medium, and to the angulon – a quasiparticle formed out of a rotating molecule in a bosonic bath. We benchmark these approaches against established theories, evaluating their accuracy as a function of the impurity-bath coupling.     

Recent progress in analytical capillary isotachophoresis

This review brings a survey of studies on analytical ITP published since 2016 until the first quarter of 2018 and includes chapters about theory and principles, instrumentation and techniques, and analytical applications of ITP. It shows the position of analytical ITP among contemporary separation techniques, where particularly its unique concentrating capabilities keep the interest to include it into novel high‐sensitivity analytical procedures. The reviewed papers are considered according to their nature, techniques used, and instrumentation employed. The significance of electrolyte system composition is emphasized by providing explicit values where possible.     

Global stability of an SAIRS epidemic model with vaccinations,transient immunity and treatment

We consider an SAIRS epidemic model with vaccinations and treatment, where asymptomatic and symptomatic infectious individuals are considered in the transmission of the disease. We found the basic reproduction number, ${ℛ}_0$ and using ${ℛ}_0$, we conducted global stability analysis. We proved when ${ℛ}_0<1$, the disease-free equilibrium is globally stable. If ${ℛ}_0>1$, the disease-free equilibrium in unstable and a unique endemic equilibrium exists. We explored the global stability of the endemic equilibrium and noticed it is globally stable under certain conditions. Moreover, we then considered a special case of the SAIRS model, the SAIR model. We proved the disease-free equilibrium is globally stability when ${ℛ}_0<1$ and the endemic equilibrium is globally stable when ${ℛ}_0>1$. Next, we numerically simulated our analytical results and plotted these for various cases. Finally, we performed sensitivity analysis to tell us how each parameter in the system affects disease transmission.     

A face-based monolithic approach for the incompressible magnetohydrodynamics equations

A novel numerical algorithm has been developed to solve the incompressible resistive magnetohydrodynamics equations in a fully coupled form. The numerical method is based on the face-centered unstructured finite volume approximation, where the velocity and magnetic field vector components are defined at the center of edges/faces; meanwhile, the pressure term is defined at element centroid. In order to enforce a divergence-free magnetic field, the gradient of a scalar Lagrange multiplier is introduced into the induction equation. A special attention will be given to satisfy the continuity equation and the Gauss' law for magnetism within each element and the summation of the equations can be exactly reduced to the domain boundary. The first modification to the original algorithm involves the evaluation of the convective fluxes over the two neighboring elements, where the discrete continuity equations are exactly satisfied. The second modification is based on the neglecting electric field term from the Lorentz force in two dimensions. The resulting large-scale algebraic linear equations are solved in a fully coupled manner using the one- and two-level restricted additive Schwarz preconditioners to avoid any time step restrictions forced by stability requirements. The spatial convergence of the algorithm is confirmed by solving the Hartmann flow, and then the algorithm is applied to the classical lid-driven cavity and backward facing step benchmark problems in two and three dimensions. The lid-driven cavity flow calculations at relatively high Stuart numbers indicate the perfect braking effect of the magnetic field in two dimensions.     

On open boundary conditions for long wave equation in the hodograph plane

We discuss implications of the seaward boundary conditions used in initial-boundary value problem formulation of nonlinear shallow-water wave propagation over a linear slope. We first demonstrate the reflection of wave velocity in the case of Dirichlet condition and that of water elevation in the case of Neumann condition. We then show that linear superposition of the two boundary conditions results in much less reflection at the artificial boundary. We also propose a new boundary condition of mixed type and compare its results with that of the aforementioned conditions.     

多服务台并联排队系统的随机模拟

针对多服务台并联排队系统,提出了计算机随机模拟的方法.分别研究了基本和非基本排队系统中,诸如排队人数、排队时间、平稳分布、忙期及其忙期服务人数等各项排队指标的模拟求解方法.通过模拟例子和实际数据分析,显示了本文所提模拟方法的有效性、灵活性和实用性.     

A simplified solution for piled-raft foundation analysis by using the two-phase approach

In common practice, the pile–soil–raft interaction still remains a challenging problem in the analysis of piled-raft foundations. In the present study, a simplified analytical approach is introduced to analyze a vertically-loaded piled-raft foundation by using a developed homogenization technique called the two-phase approach. In spite of classical and simplified methods in the literature, the proposed method considers the pile–soil interaction. The other major advantage is the ability to predict the axial pile load along the pile length. The problem is solved in the domain of elasticity and simple closed-form solutions are presented for the prediction of the settlement and the pile load sharing of a piled raft as well as the pile's axial force distribution along its length. The applicability of the proposed method is validated by considering case studies and field measurements. A comparison of the results indicates that the method can be utilized safely in a proper, quick, and effective manner with the least computational effort in comparison with sophisticated numerical approaches. The raft settlement can be accurately predicted while the pile load sharing might be over/under estimated. A parametric study is also carried out to investigate the response of piled-raft foundations including the influence of the parameters of the soil and the geometric characteristics of the piles.     

Alkaline Phosphatase-based Electrochemical Analysis for Point-of-Care Testing

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices have evolved to provide beneficial information about an individual's health whenever needed. Enzyme-based analytical devices have facilitated the highly selective detection of numerous biological molecules and ions. Enzymes are commonly used as the tags of recognition components, such as antibodies, to generate and amplify detection signals. Particularly, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is one of the most widely used enzymes because of its high turnover number and low cost. Rapid response time and the incorporation of many sensors fabricated by micro/nano processing technologies are the advantages in using electrochemical devices as analytical tools. Therefore, ALP-based electrochemical devices have potential applications for more practical POCT platforms. This review summarizes recent research progress of ALP-based electrochemical devices for POCT. In addition to ALP substrates, the application of ALP-based immunosensors, aptasensors, and DNAzyme sensors are discussed.