The effects of an electric field on an autocatalytic ionic reaction in a system with high ionic strength

The effects of an applied electric field on an ionic autocatalyticreaction with a quadratic rate law are considered, where thereacting species, A⁺ and B⁺, are present in a system which alsoincludes non-reacting species C^- and D⁺. The conditions areestablished under which the general terms which describe theelectric field effects in the reaction-diffusion equations canbe simplified to those used in previous studies, where theseeffects are modelled by linear advection terms. The resultingequations are then studied in detail by first obtaining conditionsfor the existence of travelling waves of permanent form. Thisdiscussion shows that _B, the ratio of the diffusion coefficientsof B⁺ and A⁺, is a critical parameter, with different formsof behaviour arising for _B < 1 and _B > 1. This analysisis augmented by obtaining solutions valid for large times andlarge values of (the dirnensionless applied field). Numericalsolutions of initial-value problems are obtained for a rangeof values of and _B, guided by and interpreted through the analysispreviously obtained. These numerical integrations show the formationof reaction fronts, with the possibility of greatly increasedreaction rates caused by the applied electric field, as wellas propagating electrophoretic fronts in B⁺ being formed incases where a reaction front is also initiated. There is alsothe possibility of separate electrophoretic fronts in A⁺ andB⁺ being formed, which become increasingly separated as timeincreases with the reaction being completely inhibited.     

Resilience in reaction-diffusion systems

Reaction-diffusion systems with zero-flux Neumann boundariesare widely used to model various kinds of interaction in, forexample, the scientific fields of ecology, biology, chemistry,medicine and industry. The physical systems within these fieldsare often known to be (conditionally or unconditionally) resilientwith respect to shocks, disturbances or catastrophies in theimmediate environment. In order to be good mathematical modelsof such situations the reaction-diffusion systems must havethe same resilient or asymptotic behaviour as that of the physicalsituation. Three fundamentally different kinds of reaction termsare usually distinguished according to the entry signs of thereaction Jacobian: mutualism, mixed (predator-prey) interactionand competition. The asymptotic stability (in the Poincarésense) of mutualistic systems has already been studied extensively,but the results cannot be generalized (globally) to the othertwo fundamental types, which are not order-preserving. A partial(local) generalization is, however given here for these twotypes, involving simple Jacobian inequalities and knowledge(often prompted by the underlying physical situation) of invariantsets in solution space. The return time of resilient systemsand the approach rate of asymptotically stable solutions arealso estimated.     

The photocurrent response of human cones is fast and monophasic

Background  

The precise form of the light response of human cone photoreceptors in vivo has not been established with certainty. To investigate the response shape we compare the predictions of a recent model of transduction in primate cone photoreceptors with measurements extracted from human cones using the paired-flash electroretinogram method. As a check, we also compare the predictions with previous single-cell measurements of ground squirrel cone responses.     

Separating sets with relative interior in Fréchet spaces

A separation theorem, valid in infinite dimensional spaces, and involving the relative interior of the sets to be separated, will be extended to Fréchet spaces. This theorem will be elucidated by means of a few examples. The second separation theorem is a generalization of an existing separation theorem, valid in Fréchet spaces. This paper consists of two parts: part I contains the first theorem, the second part contains the second generalization.     

Some minimax theorems in vector-valued functions

In this paper, we generalize the well-known notions of minimax, maximin, and saddle point to vector-valued functions. Conditions for a vector-valued function to have a generalized saddle point are given. An example is used to illustrate the generalized concepts of minimax, maximin, and saddle point.     

About isermann duality

In this note, we consider the following multiple-objective linear program: maxCx, such thatAx=b,x≧0, and its associated Isermann dual program: minUb, such thatUAW≤Cw, for now≧0. We give a simple proof of the known fact that, for every dual efficient pointU°, there is a primal efficient pointx°, such thatU°b=Cx°. Parts of the ingredients in this proof are useful in exploring the structure of the dual feasible set of function values {Ub¦UAw≤Cw, for now≧0}.     

Prompt neutrino production in 400 GeV proton-copper interactions

A new beam-dump experiment has been performed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron using the CHARM neutrino detector. The instrumentation and the statistics have been significantly improved with respect to earlier experiments. For a neutrino energy above 20 GeV the asymmetry of the prompt muon-neutrino and electron-neutrino fluxes \([(v_\mu + \bar v_\mu ) - (v_e + \bar v_e )]/[(v_\mu + \bar v_\mu ) + (v_e + \bar v_e )]\) is found to be 0.20±0.10 (stat.)±0.05 (syst.), and the asymmetry of prompt antineutrino and neutrino fluxes for muonneutrinos \((v_\mu - \bar v_\mu )/(v_\mu + \bar v_\mu )\) is 0.02±0.16 (stat.)±0.02 (syst.) in agreement with our previous results. For the cross-section times branching ratio for charm production and semileptonic decay we obtain a value of \(\sigma \times BR\left[ {D(\bar D) \to v_e (\bar v_e ) X} \right] = 1.9 \pm 0.2 \pm 0.2\mu b\) per nucleon. We find no evidence forv _τ orv _x interactions. The \((v_\tau + \bar v_\tau )\) flux is less than 21% of the total prompt neutrino flux. We derive an improved limit on the branching ratio \(\pi ^0 \to v\bar v\) of 6.5×10^?6, and as a verification of the universality of the neutral weak coupling we find \(g_{v_e \bar v_e } /g_{v_\mu \bar v_\mu } = 1.05_{ - 0.18}^{ + 0.15} \) .     

Total cross sections of charged-current neutrino and antineutrino interactions on isoscalar nuclei

New measurements of the total crosssections of charged-current interactions of muonneutrinos and antineutrinos on isoscalar nuclei have been performed. Data were recorded in an exposure of the CHARM detector in an 160 GeV narrow-band beam. The antineutrino flux was determined from the measurements of the pion and kaon flux, and independently from the muon flux measured in the shield; the two methods are found to agree. The neutrino flux was determined from the muon flux ratio forv _μ and \(\bar v_\mu \) runs which was normalized to the antineutrino flux. The cross-section slopes thus determined are $$\begin{gathered} \sigma _T^{\bar v} /E = (0.335 \pm 0.004(stat) \hfill \\ \pm 0.010(syst)).10^{ - 38} cm^2 /(GeV \cdot nucleon) \hfill \\ \sigma _T^v /E = (0.686 \pm 0.002(stat) \hfill \\ \pm 0.020(syst)).10^{ - 38} cm^2 /(GeV \cdot nucleon) \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ The momentum sum of the quarks in the nucleon and the ratio of sea quark to total quark momentum are derived from the measurements.