Angular momentum of low frequency electromagnetic fields

The total angular momentum of propagating electromagnetic fields in the SVE-approximation is proportional to the power and the inverse frequency P/ω. This relation holds also in the low frequency range, but is decreasing due to the frequency dependent power of the antennas and becomes zero for ω → 0. Nevertheless, it is possible to generate strong angular momentum at low frequency by non-propagating electromagnetic fields (quasi-static fields).     

Widths of hydrogenic levels in low electric fields

Radiative widths of fine-structure levels, Stark shifted in a constant electric field, are calculated for one-electron ions. Data are given for ⁴HeII (n = 3).     

Exciton absorption in silicon at low electric fields

This paper reports for the first time high-resolution transverse EA spectra of Si in low electric fields at liquid-helium temperature. The data conclusively demonstrate that the observed effect is related to the discrete levels of the Wannier exciton and that for the n = 1 level it can be accounted for both qualitatively and quantitatively by means of a Stark approximation where field-induced broadening is phenomenologicaly introduced to allow for weak tunneling-like contributions. The exciton energy levels determined here are in good agreement with the results of wavelength-modulation spectroscopy and all the other parameters of the absorption process are consistent with previous absolute absorption experiments.     

Surface morphological response of crystalline solids to mechanical stresses and electric fields

Surface morphological evolution under the action of external fields is a fascinating topic that has attracted considerable attention within the surface science community over the past two decades. In addition to the interest in a fundamental understanding of field-induced nonlinear response and stability of surface morphology, the problem has been technologically significant in various engineering applications such as microelectronics and nanofabrication. In this report, we review theoretical progress in modeling the surface morphological response of stressed elastic solids under conditions that promote surface diffusion and of electrically conducting solids under surface electromigration conditions. A self-consistent model of surface transport and morphological evolution is presented that has provided the basis for the theoretical and computational work that is reviewed. According to this model, the surface morphological response of electrically conducting elastic solids to the simultaneous action of mechanical stresses and electric fields is analyzed. Emphasis is placed on metallic surfaces, including surfaces of voids in metallic thin films.Surfaces of stressed elastic solids are known to undergo morphological instabilities, such as the Asaro–Tiller or Grinfeld (ATG) instability that leads to emanation of crack-like features from the surface and their fast propagation into the bulk of the solid material. This instability is analyzed theoretically, simulated numerically, and compared with experimental measurements. The surface morphological evolution of electrically conducting, single-crystalline, stressed elastic solids under surface electromigration conditions is also examined. We demonstrate that, through surface electromigration, a properly applied and sufficiently strong electric field can stabilize the surface morphology of the stressed solid against both crack-like ATG instabilities and newly discovered secondary rippling instabilities; the effects of important parameters, such as surface crystallographic orientation, on the surface morphological response to the simultaneous action of an electric field and mechanical stress also are reviewed. In addition, electromigration-driven surface morphological response is analyzed systematically, focusing on the current-driven surface morphological evolution of voids in metallic thin films; this analysis has been motivated largely by the crucial role of void dynamics in determining the reliability of metallic interconnects in integrated circuits and has led to the interpretation of a large body of experimental observations and measurements. The electromigration-driven translational motion of morphologically stable voids, effects of current-driven void dynamics on the evolution of the electrical resistance of metallic thin films, and current-driven void–void interactions also are reviewed. Furthermore, theoretical studies are reviewed that demonstrated very interesting current-driven nonlinear void dynamics in stressed metallic thin films, including the inhibition of electromigration-induced instabilities due to the action of biaxial tensile stress, and stress effects on the electromigration-driven translational motion of morphologically stable voids.Complex, oscillatory surface states under surface electromigration conditions have been observed in numerical studies. In this report, emphasis is placed on void surfaces in metallic thin films, for which stable time-periodic states have been demonstrated. It is shown that increasing parameters such as the electric-field strength or the void size past certain critical values leads to morphological transitions from steady to time-periodic states; the latter states are characterized by wave propagation on the surface of a void that migrates along the metallic film at constant speed. The transition onset corresponds to a Hopf bifurcation that may be either supercritical or subcritical, depending on the symmetry of the surface diffusional anisotropy as determined by the crystallographic orientation of the film plane. It is also shown that, in the case where the Hopf bifurcation is subcritical, the simultaneous action of mechanical stress leads the current-driven void morphological response to the stabilization of chaotic attractors; in such cases, as the applied stress level increases, the void dynamics is set on a route to chaos through a sequence of period-doubling bifurcations. The observation of current-driven chaotic dynamics in homoepitaxial islands also is discussed.     

A simple acoustic model to characterize the internal low frequency sound field in centrifugal pumps

Conventional centrifugal pumps with volute casing generate fluid-dynamic noise particularly at the so-called blade-passing frequency, which is attributed to the interaction of the flow exiting the pump impeller with the volute tongue. Following previous work by the authors to characterize the effect of that blade–tongue interaction on the tonal sound produced, this paper presents a simple acoustic model for centrifugal pumps that considers ideal sound sources of arbitrary position and properties. The model is to be implemented in a software code that applies it systematically to a pump previously tested at laboratory, until identifying the set of ideal sources that best reproduce the pressure fluctuation measurements. In this model, the ideal sources are assumed to radiate plane sound waves along the impeller channels, volute, and outlet diffuser. The volute was considered to be composed by a succession of slices, each of them equivalent to a linear 3-port acoustic system with individual sound transmission and reflection coefficients. A series of tests was conducted to check the validity of the acoustic model, by applying an external acoustic load onto the pump outlet duct and measuring the noise reflected. The resulting reflection coefficient was in good agreement with the predictions of the acoustic model. Finally, the model was used to investigate the pump internal sound field at the blade-passing frequency when operating at 70% of nominal flow rate. It was concluded that the sound field can be characterized reasonably by a dipole-like source located at the tongue region.     

Behavior of radon progeny in low frequency electromagnetic fields

Whether the electro-magnetic (EM) fields are carcinogenic or not still remains to be discussed from scientific point of view. Recently a possibility was pointed out that increased deposition of radon progeny in the EM-fields should enhance exposure dose to internal body. We investigated the behavior of charged ²²²Ru progeny and aerosols containing them by measuring the pattern and the magnitude of the deposition rate of decay products on both CR-39 track detectors and imaging plates under various conditions. We concluded that the attachment to wire cables should be increased mainly by electric component of low frequency EM-fields and possibly by electric field induced by strong changing magnetic ones.     

The non-linear response of NbSe3 to pulsed electric fields

The non-linear response of NbSe₃ to pulsed electric fields has been measured using a bridge circuit which subtracts the ohmic contribution to the voltage from the total signal. The current-induced metastable states of the charge-density wave (CDW) reported by Gill are confirmed. The periodic voltage induced by dc electric fields is clearly resolved and in some cases may be synchronized with the applied pulses. The periodic voltage comprises a large fraction of the non-linear response, growing to 100% near threshold.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of the response of bi-disperse polyelectrolyte brushes to external electric fields

Langevin dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the response of bi-disperse and strong polyacid chains grafted on an electrode to electric fields generated by opposite surface charges on the polyelectrolyte(PE)-grafted electrode and a second parallel electrode. Simulation results clearly show that, under a negative external electric field, the longer grafted PE chains are more strongly stretched than the shorter ones in terms of the relative change in their respective brush heights. Whereas under a positive external electric field, the grafted shorter chains collapse more significantly than the longer ones. It was found that, under a positive external electric field, the magnitude of the total electric force acting on one shorter PE chain is larger than that on one longer PE chain, or vice versa. The effects of smeared and discrete charge distributions of grafted PE chains on the response of PE brushes to external electric fields were also examined.     

Changes of twisted nematic liquid-crystal layers by frequency switching of applied electric fields

Electric fields of low and high frequency were applied successively to a twisted nematic layer consisting of a material with a dielectric anisotropy whose sign depends on the frequency. Six different areas have been observed which are found to have twist angles of ±π/2, ±3π/2 and ±5π/2. The formation process of these regions is described in some detail.     

A spectral deferred correction strategy for low Mach number reacting flows subject to electric fields

We propose an algorithm for low Mach number reacting flows subjected to electric field that includes the chemical production and transport of charged species. This work is an extension of a multi-implicit spectral deferred correction (MISDC) algorithm designed to advance the conservation equations in time at scales associated with advective transport. The fast and nontrivial interactions of electrons with the electric field are treated implicitly using a Jacobian-Free Newton Krylov approach for which a preconditioning strategy is developed. Within the MISDC framework, this enables a close and stable coupling of diffusion, reactions and dielectric relaxation terms with advective transport and is shown to exhibit second-order convergence in space and time. The algorithm is then applied to a series of steady and unsteady problems to demonstrate its capability and stability. Although developed in a one-dimensional case, the algorithmic ingredients are carefully designed to be amenable to multi-dimensional applications.     

Using optimized wall section to improve low frequency response in a room

Three different wall sections with step shape were applied in the finite element analysis models set up to investigate the effect on low frequency sound field by wall modification. The heights of the step in three cases are taken as equal, random and optimized. The optimized value is obtained by using an optimization process with an objective function of minimum fluctuation in sound field. The frequency responses of rooms with original and modified walls were calculated in a range from 60 Hz to 120 Hz. The results showed that the room with an optimized wall section had the flattest frequency response. Same thing was true as the ratio of the room was changed. The largest improvement on fluctuation reached 4.5 dB. In addition, wall section with semicircle and triangle were studied. The rooms that wall section had optimized radius and heights also gave a better performance than those that had fixed radius and heights. Therefore, it is possible to use optimized wall section to improve low frequency sound field.     

Using optimized surface modifications to improve low frequency response in a room

A case study of improving sound energy distribution at low frequency in a small orthogonal room is presented in this paper. The effects of the geometric modifications of wall surface on the sound frequency response have been investigated in depth. In order to find the optimal modifications for the wall surface, an optimization procedure, based on finite element analysis, has been developed. The uniqueness of this method is that it takes both modal redistribution and sound diffusion into account during optimization process. As a result, the promising improvements of sound frequency response have been obtained at the frequencies around 100 Hz in all rooms tested, particularly in those where the serious modal concentrations are met. The maximum reduction of sound fluctuation in such a room could reach a mount of 4.6 dB. The work opens up the possibility of improving low frequency sound quality by a means that considers both modal changing and surface scattering at same time.     

利用对墙截面形状的优化来改善声学小房间的低频响应

提出了通过优化墙截面形状来改变声学小房间低频响应的优化方法。在矩形有限元模型中将墙面用不同的阶梯形状作为墙截面进行代换,并用于具有不同墙面的房间,进行了声场分析。阶梯形状间的差异仅是阶梯高度的取值不同,分别为相等、随机和优化值。将获得优化值的优化方法用于60Hz到120Hz的频率范围内,对不同阶梯墙面以及平墙面房间的频率响应进行了数值计算和比较。结果显示墙截面采用优化值时得到的房间频响最为均匀;将房间长、宽、高比例改变后重复上述数值分析,仍得到房间频响改善在优化情况下最大的结果。对比例较差的房间改善幅度可达4.5dB。另外还以半圆和三角形作为墙截面形状计算了半圆半径和三角形高度分别为固定值和优化值时房间的频率响应,同样得到优化墙面优于固定值墙面的结果。因此通过运用优化的墙截面来改善房间低频声场特性是有意义的。     

Type 1.5 coupled quantum wells for electroabsorption modulation with low electric fields

A new quantum structure, the type 1.5 quantum well, is proposed and modelled. The type 1.5 quantum well has a greater absorption modulation depth with low applied fields (30 kV cm^–1) than standard type I quantum wells. In addition, the type 1.5 quantum well has better insertion loss and attenuation characteristics under negative alpha parameter (blue chirped) conditions than standard type I quantum well materials.     

Ionization by drift and ambipolar electric fields in electronegative capacitive radio frequency plasmas

Unlike α- and γ-mode operation, electrons accelerated by strong drift and ambipolar electric fields in the plasma bulk and at the sheath edges are found to dominate the ionization in strongly electronegative discharges. These fields are caused by a low bulk conductivity and local maxima of the electron density at the sheath edges, respectively. This drift-ambipolar mode is investigated by kinetic particle simulations, experimental phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy, and an analytical model in CF(4). Mode transitions induced by voltage and pressure variations are studied.     

Electron neutral collision frequency from breakdown measurements in crossed electric and magnetic fields

A simplified method of determining the electron-neutral collision frequency at unit pressurev ₀ is presented in a number of gases (hydrogen, argon and air) in crossed electric and magnetic fields utilising the sparking voltage data and equivalent pressure concept. The values ofv ₀ for lowH/p are found to agree with those reported by other authors. But at highH/p, the estimated values ofv ₀ are appreciably higher for all the three gases. The increase in the values ofv ₀ possibly occurs due to the change of the electron energy distribution at higherH/p.     

Ultrashort optical pulses controlling electric fields in carbon nanotubes at low temperatures

Alternating electric field spreading in zigzag carbon nanotube system was studied in the case of low temperatures and applied external electric fields. The electron system of carbon nanotubes was considered macroscopically while the interaction with the phonon subsystem due to the ultrashort pulse of the electromagnetic field was omitted.     

Bistable bacterial growth rate in response to antibiotics with low membrane permeability

We demonstrate that growth rate bistability for bacterial cells growing exponentially at a fixed external antibiotic concentration can emerge when the cell wall permeability for the drug is low and the growth rate sensitivity to the intracellular drug concentration is high. Under such conditions, an initially high growth rate can remain high, due to dilution of the intracellular drug concentration by rapid cell volume increase, while an initially low growth rate can remain low, due to slow cell volume increase and insignificant drug dilution. Our findings have implications for the testing of novel antibiotics on growing bacterial strains.