A Residual-Based Compact Scheme for the Compressible Navier–Stokes Equations

A simple and efficient time-dependent method is presented for solving the steady compressible Euler and Navier–Stokes equations with third-order accuracy. Owing to its residual-based structure, the numerical scheme is compact without requiring any linear algebra, and it uses a simple numerical dissipation built on the residual. The method contains no tuning parameter. Accuracy and efficiency are demonstrated for 2-D inviscid and viscous model problems. Navier–Stokes calculations are presented for a shock/boundary layer interaction, a separated laminar flow, and a transonic turbulent flow over an airfoil.     

The absorption spectrum of methane at 80 and 294 K in the icosad (6717–7589 cm−1): Improved empirical line lists,isotopologue identification and temperature dependence

Using a cryogenic cell and a series of Distributed Feed Back (DFB) diode lasers, new high resolution spectra of methane have been recorded at 80 K and room temperature by differential absorption spectroscopy (DAS) between 6717 and 7589 cm^?1 (1.49–1.32 μm). The investigated spectral region corresponds to the very congested icosad, which is not tractable by theory. Empirical lists of 19,940 and 24,001 lines were constructed from the 80 K and room temperature spectrum, respectively. The room temperature list adds about 8500 features to the empirical list of 15,375 lines at 296 K adopted in the HITRAN database from the original work of L. Brown (Brown, L. Empirical line parameters of methane from 1.1 to 2.1 μm. JQSRT 2005;96:251–70). A number of relatively strong CH₄ lines located near strong water lines were found missing in the HITRAN line list. The improved sensitivity allowed adding more than 7000 lines to our previous list of about 12,000 transitions at 80 K (Campargue A, Wang L, Kassi S, Ma?át M, Votava O. Temperature dependence of the absorption spectrum of CH₄ by high resolution spectroscopy at 81 K: (II) The Icosad region (1.49–1.30 μm). JQSRT 2010;111:1141–51). In order to facilitate identification of the transitions of the different methane isotopologues present in “natural” isotopic abundance, spectra of highly enriched CH₃D and ¹³CH₄ samples were recorded with the same experimental setup, both at room temperature and at 80 K.From the variation of the line strengths between 80 K and 294 K, the low energy values of about 12,000 transitions were determined. They allow accounting for the temperature dependence of 84 and 93% of the methane absorbance in the region, at room temperature and 80 K, respectively. As a result, we provide as supplementary material two complete line lists at 80 K and 294 K, including CH₃D and ¹³CH₄ identification and lower state energy values.     

Convergence and Efficiency of Adaptive Importance Sampling Techniques with Partial Biasing

We propose a new Monte Carlo method to efficiently sample a multimodal distribution (known up to a normalization constant). We consider a generalization of the discrete-time Self Healing Umbrella Sampling method, which can also be seen as a generalization of well-tempered metadynamics. The dynamics is based on an adaptive importance technique. The importance function relies on the weights (namely the relative probabilities) of disjoint sets which form a partition of the space. These weights are unknown but are learnt on the fly yielding an adaptive algorithm. In the context of computational statistical physics, the logarithm of these weights is, up to an additive constant, the free-energy, and the discrete valued function defining the partition is called the collective variable. The algorithm falls into the general class of Wang–Landau type methods, and is a generalization of the original Self Healing Umbrella Sampling method in two ways: (i) the updating strategy leads to a larger penalization strength of already visited sets in order to escape more quickly from metastable states, and (ii) the target distribution is biased using only a fraction of the free-energy, in order to increase the effective sample size and reduce the variance of importance sampling estimators. We prove the convergence of the algorithm and analyze numerically its efficiency on a toy example.     

Nanometric Antimony Powder Synthesis by Activated Alkaline Hydride Reduction of Antimony Pentachloride

A novel chemical reduction method using an activated alkaline hydride (LiH or NaH-t-BuONa) in tetrahydrofuran solvent has been applied to antimony salt reduction. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies have been carried out to characterize the morphology and structure of the materials. Alkali hydride nature influence has been proved. In both cases the process allows to prepare antimony particles in nanometer range from few nanometers to about 20nm which could be used as anodic materials for lithium–ion batteries. With lithium hydride well-crystallized particles inclined to agglomeration were observed whereas finely dispersed amorphous particles were pointing out after activated sodium hydride reduction.     

A Law of Large Numbers for the Zeroes of Heine–Stieltjes Polynomials

We determine the limiting density of the zeroes of Heine–Stieltjes polynomials (or of any set of points satisfying the conclusion of Heine–Stieltjes Theorem) in the thermodynamic limit and use this to prove a strong law of large numbers for the zeroes.     

The overtone spectrum of C2D2 and C2H2 by ICLAS-VECSEL near 1 μm

The intracavity laser absorption spectra (ICLAS) of dideuteroacetylene, C₂D₂, and acetylene, C₂H₂, have been recorded between 1.03 and 0.99 μm with a vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) leading to the observation of seven and six bands, for C₂D₂ and C₂H₂ respectively, most of them newly reported. The strong ν₁+3ν₃ band of C₂D₂ at is found accompanied by the two Π-Π hot bands with v₄=1 and v₅=1 lower state and by the ν₂+3ν₃+2ν₄ band near . This last band results from an intensity transfer from the ν₁+3ν₃ band induced by the 1/244 anharmonic interaction. The ν₁+3ν₃ band of , present in natural abundance in the sample, could also be detected at in full agreement with local mode model predictions. The different bands of both C₂H₂ and C₂D₂ were found mostly unperturbed and the spectroscopic parameters retrieved from the rovibrational analyses agree satisfactorily with the predictions of the respective effective Hamiltonian models.     

Effect of optical disorder and single defects on the expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional waveguide

We investigate the one-dimensional expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical guide in the presence of a random potential created with optical speckles. With the speckle the expansion of the condensate is strongly inhibited. A detailed investigation has been carried out varying the experimental conditions and checking the expansion when a single optical defect is present. The experimental results are in good agreement with numerical calculations based on the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.     

Study of the spontaneous formation of organic layers on carbon and metal surfaces from diazonium salts

This study investigates the spontaneous grafting of different para-substituted phenyl groups on carbon and metallic surfaces from diazonium salts solutions. Glassy carbon, nickel, zinc and iron plates were allowed to react with an acetonitrile solution of aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborate salt by simple dipping. The surfaces were characterized before and after their immersion by XPS and AFM to evidence the formation of a coating on the different materials. The results are indicative of the presence of substituted phenyl groups on all the investigated surfaces. This study also aims at correlating grafting efficiency with metal reactivities and diazonium salt electronic properties by means of AFM and FT-IRRAS. For this purpose, zinc and nickel were chosen due to their opposite reducing properties and two diazonium salts were selected with electron-donor or -withdrawing para-substituents. The results tend to indicate that redox properties of both partners (diazonium + metal) are of prime importance for grafting to occur.     

Band-edge-induced Bragg diffraction in two-dimensional photonic crystals

Two-dimensional photonic crystals composed of two orthogonal volume diffraction gratings have been photogenerated in photopolymers. When the read beam is set at the Bragg angle, the diffraction efficiency of the transmission grating is strongly enhanced at the band edge of the reflection grating recorded in the material. Such a device provides Bragg operation and enhancement of the diffraction efficiency of the thin diffraction grating together with good wavelength selectivity. Such advantages could be interesting for optical signal processing.     

Hypersonic velocity measurement using Brillouin scattering technique. Application to water under high pressure and temperature

This paper presents recent improvement on sound velocity measurements under extreme conditions, illustrated by the hypersonic sound velocity measurements of water up to 723 K and 9 GPa using Brillouin scattering technique. Because water at high pressure and high temperature is chemically very aggressive, these experiments have been carried out using a specific experimental set-up. The present data should be useful to better constrain the water equation of state at high density. This new development brings high-quality elastic data in a large pressure/temperature domain, which may afterwards benefit the understanding of many other fields as nonlinear acoustics, underwater sound, or physical acoustics from a more general point of view.