The Electron Density is Smooth Away from the Nuclei

We prove that the electron densities of electronic eigenfunctions of atoms and molecules are smooth away from the nuclei.     

Pure-tone threshold estimation from extrapolated distortion product otoacoustic emission I/O-functions in normal and cochlear hearing loss ears

A new method for direct pure-tone threshold estimation from input/output functions of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in humans is presented. Previous methods use statistical models relating DPOAE level to hearing threshold including additional parameters e.g., age or slope of DPOAE I/O-function. Here we derive a DPOAE threshold from extrapolated DPOAE I/O-functions directly. Cubic 2 f1-f2 distortion products and pure-tone threshold at f2 were measured at 51 frequencies between f2=500 Hz and 8 kHz at up to ten primary tone levels between L2=65 and 20 dB SPL in 30 normally hearing and 119 sensorineural hearing loss ears. Using an optimized primary tone level setting (L1 = 0.4L2 + 39 dB) that accounts for the nonlinear interaction of the two primaries at the DPOAE generation site at f2, the pressure of the 2 f1-f2 distortion product pDP is a linear function of the primary tone level L2. Linear regression yields correlation coefficients higher than 0.8 in the majority of the DPOAE I/O-functions. The linear behavior is sufficiently fulfilled for all frequencies in normal and impaired hearing. This suggests that the observed linear functional dependency is quite general. Extrapolating towards pDP=0 yields the DPOAE threshold for L2. There is a significant correlation between DPOAE threshold and pure-tone threshold (r=0.65, p<0.001). Thus, the DPOAEs that reflect the functioning of an essential element of peripheral sound processing enable a reliable estimation of cochlear hearing threshold up to hearing losses of 50 dBHL without any statistical data.     

Confinement of nonneutral plasmas on magnetic surfaces

The confinement of a nonneutral plasma in a magnetic-surface, or stellarator, configuration is explored. The fluid equilibrium equations are derived and are found to be fundamentally different from previous results. Diocotron modes are predicted to be stable. The collisional confinement time can be very long. Possible applications include positron trapping and confinement of positron-electron plasmas. The basic physics can be addressed experimentally in the simple tabletop stellarator planned for construction at Columbia University.     

The thermal effect of urethral warming during cryosurgery

The heating effect of urethral warming during cryosurgery has been investigated theoretically, via heat transfer simulations. Two warmer configurations have been considered: (i). the clinically available urethral warmer, which has a configuration of a counter flow fluid heat exchanger; (ii). a newly designed urethral warmer, based on a temperature controlled electrical heater, termed a "cryoheater". A dramatic effect of thermal resistance to heat transfer through the heat exchanger wall has been identified, which is absent in the cryoheater. It follows that the cryoheater is expected to be more efficient in generating an unfrozen region around the urethra. It is shown that the conventional heat exchanger may fail to prevent freezing around the urethra in a significant number of prostate cases, depending on the layout of cryoprobes around the urethra. On the other hand, clinical reports exist which suggest that the heat exchanger improves in many cases the outcome of cryosurgery, in terms of long term complications. It is speculated in the current report that the cryoheater can further improve the outcome of cryosurgery, by providing protection from freezing in a wider range of cases. It is suggested that a future study be conducted to examine the correlation between the layout of cryoprobes and surgical outcome.     

Reducing ghosting due to k-space discontinuities in fast spin echo (FSE) imaging by a new combination of k-space ordering and parallel imaging

In multi-echo imaging sequences like fast spin echo (FSE), the point spread function (PSF) in the phase encoding direction contains significant secondary peaks (sidebands). This is due to discontinuities in adjacent k-space data obtained at different echo times caused by T₂ decay, and leads to ghosting and hence reduced image quality. Recently, utilising multiple coils for signal reception has become the standard configuration for MR systems due to the additional flexibility that parallel imaging (PI) methods can provide. PI methods generally obtain more data than is required to reconstruct an image. Here, this redundancy in information is exploited to reduce discontinuity-related ghosting in FSE imaging. Adjacent phase encoded k-space lines are acquired at different echo times alternately in the regions of discontinuity (called ‘feathering’). This moves the resulting ghost artefacts to the edges of the field of view. This property of the ghost then makes them amenable to removal using PI methods. With ‘feathered’ array coil data it is possible to reconstruct data over the region of the discontinuity from both echo times. By combining this data, a significant reduction in ghosting can be achieved. We show this approach to be effective through simulated and acquired MRI data.     

光学特异材料的设计

In this contribution we review our latest achievements of combined experimental and theoretical studies to tailor the properties of optical metamaterials（MMs） at will. We give three examples of metamaterial designs that have been realized by means of electron-beam lithography and whose spectroscopic characteristics have been comprehensively investigated. In every case, our experiments are complemented by rigorous numer ical simulations. Particular emphasis is put on the significance of such tailored effective properties of optical MMs     

Dynamic compaction of copper powder: 2D numerical simulation and experimental results

Abstract

A method for plate-impact dynamic compaction of copper powder has been developped. The optimization of the experimental set-up (impedance adjustments, tensile wave traps, relative thickness of impactor and target,…) is presented.

2D axisymetrical numerical simulations have been performed with a Lagrangian finite element code. Geometrical characteristics of the experimental set-up as well as the dynamic response of the powder (Reaugh equation of state) and of the material of the set-up have been taken into account. These simulations show that, due to the difference in shock velocities in the container and in the powder, the powder is submitted to 2D loading waves. As a matter of fact the powder may be loaded by a non-planar shock wave propagating in the as-expected direction, as well as by a sweeping wave initiated at the bottom of the powder container, and propagating obliquely from the bottom-up. This second wave loads the bottom of the powder first. The influence of the impactor thickness as well as its material on the shock front shape and on the shock density-pressure history of the material has been studied. 1D simulations are shown not to evaluate properly the stress history and the energy deposition in the powder sample.

Metallographic observations as well as X-ray tomography experiments have been performed on consolidated samples. A very good agreement has been found between results of 2D numerical simulations and the observed final shape and density maps of the samples. The shape of deformed powder particles are also in agreement with the expected shock history.