An experimental investigation of Curle's theory of aerodynamic noise generation by a stationary body in a turbulent air stream

Bies et al. (J. Sound Vib. 204(4) (1997) 631) investigated Curle's theory (Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 231 (1955) 505) published in 1955 over a wide range of flow speeds from about 50-200 m/s and found only partial agreement with the experimental data. Here the experimental investigation has been repeated allowing the data to be recorded in a format amenable to analysis, which was not previously possible.Reintroduction of a term neglected by Curle has been found necessary as Curle's compact source condition ensures so low a radiation impedance that the effect cannot be detected in the jet background noise. The reintroduction of the term, which has been neglected, allows his analysis to include radiation from sources not compact but less than half a wavelength in characteristic dimension. It is shown that the power ratio defined as the measured sound power divided by Curle's amended prediction converges to about 3 whereas Curle predicts that the power ratio should converge to 1 as the wave number converges to zero. The introduction of the empirically determined constant 3 into Curle's prediction brings the measurements into very good agreement with prediction over the entire range of the non-dimensional wave numbers from about 0.4 to 3.2.     

Neutrino oscillations as a probe of dark energy

We consider a class of theories in which neutrino masses depend significantly on environment, as a result of interactions with the dark sector. Such theories of mass varying neutrinos were recently introduced to explain the origin of the cosmological dark energy density and why its magnitude is apparently coincidental with that of neutrino mass splittings. In this Letter we argue that in such theories neutrinos can exhibit different masses in matter and in vacuum, dramatically affecting neutrino oscillations. As an example of modifications to the standard picture, we consider simple models that may simultaneously account for the LSND anomaly, KamLAND, K2K, and studies of solar and atmospheric neutrinos, while providing motivation to continue to search for neutrino oscillations in short baseline experiments such as BooNE.     

Measurement of nonrandom event-by-event fluctuations of average transverse momentum in square root of (sNN)=200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions

Event-by-event fluctuations of the average transverse momentum of produced particles near midrapidity have been measured by the PHENIX Collaboration in square root of (sNN)=200 GeV Au+Au, and p+p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The fluctuations are observed to be in excess of the expectation for statistically independent particle emission for all centralities. The excess fluctuations exhibit a dependence on both the centrality of the collision and on the pT range over which the average is calculated. Both the centrality and pT dependence can be well reproduced by a simulation of random particle production with the addition of contributions from hard-scattering processes.     

Shear-induced configurations of confined colloidal suspensions

We show that geometric confinement dramatically affects the shear-induced configurations of dense monodisperse colloidal suspensions; a new structure emerges, where layers of particles buckle to stack in a more efficient packing. The volume fraction in the shear zone is controlled by a balance between the viscous stresses and the osmotic pressure of a contacting reservoir of unsheared particles. We present a model that accounts for our observations and helps elucidate the complex interplay between particle packing and shear stress for confined suspensions.     

Letter: Causality Violating Geodesics in Bonnor's Rotating Dust Metric

We exhibit timelike geodesic paths for a metric, introduced by Bonnor [11] and considered also by Steadman [13], and show that coordinate time runs backward along a portion of these geodesics.     

Resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors and LEDs in the mid-infrared

In this paper we outline the use of resonant-cavity enhancement for increasing the exterior coupling efficiency of photodetectors and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region. This method is potentially very important in the MIR because encapsulation is not presently feasible due to the lack of suitable materials. Among other potential applications, resonant-cavity-enhanced (RCE) photodetectors and LEDs could be particularly suitable for greenhouse gas detection because of their ‘pre-tunable’ spectrally narrowed resonantly enhanced peaks. We also present the optical characterization of an InAs RCE photodetector aimed at the detection of methane gas (λ≈3.3 μm), and an InAs/InAs_0.91Sb_0.09 resonant-cavity LED (RCLED) aimed at carbon dioxide gas (λ≈4.2 μm). The high peak responsivity of the RCE photodetector was 34.7 A/W at λ=3.14 μm, and the RCLED peaked at λ=3.96 μm. These are among the longest operating wavelengths for III–V RCE photodetectors and RCLEDs reported in the literature.     

InAs/GaSb/AlSb resonant tunneling spin device concepts

We discuss device concepts for creating spin-polarized current sources without external magnetic fields, using non-magnetic 6.1 Å semiconductor resonant tunneling structures. Spin filters, spin pumps, and spin transistors that exploit structural and bulk inversion asymmetries will be examined.     

Roughness-Induced Effects on the Quasi-Geostrophic Model

We study in this paper the effect of small-scale irregularities on the quasi-geostrophic model. This study is motivated by some problems related to oceanography, as the Gulf Stream separation, or the impact of the topography on the global circulation. We first consider the role of coastal roughness in the phenomenon of western intensification of boundary currents. We show that the roughness is responsible for a nonlinear dynamics of the boundary layers, governed by a quasilinear elliptic equation. We thus extend substantially the classical derivation of Munk layers [15] and the results of convergence obtained in [10]. We then discuss the effect of a rough topography, by generalizing and justifying some formal computations of [17]. In particular, we derive rigorously a simplified model of oceanic circulation, with a nonlinear and nonlocal dissipative term due to the roughness.Acknowledgement This work has been partially supported by the GDR Amplitude Equations and Qualitative Properties (GDR CNRS 2103: EAQP) and by the IDOPT project in Grenoble.     

An approach for obtaining the intensity of the radiation transmitted through a scatterer

Monte Carlo simulation was applied to the investigation of intensity of the radiation transmitted through a scatterer. Simulations consisted of a pencil beam of monoenergetic photons with energies from 50 keV to 10 meV incident on water, aluminium, iron, copper, tin and lead slabs. We determined the scattered radiation and the scatter fractions recorded in the detector plane. An empirical formula, which is a function of the physical parameters scatterer thickness, the linear attenuation coefficient, and the atomic number was obtained for intensity of radiation transmitted through a scatterer. This work was supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [TBAG-2032 (101T053)].     

Finite-dimensional quantum systems: Complementarity,phase space,and all that

A complete set of d + 1 mutually unbiased bases exists in a Hilbert space of dimension d whenever d is power of a prime. We discuss a simple construction of d + 1 disjoint classes (each one having d ? 1 commuting operators) such that the corresponding eigenstates form sets of unbiased bases. One of these classes is diagonal and can be mapped to “ladder” operators by means of the finite Fourier transform. Using this idea, we naturally introduce the notion of quantum phase as complementary to the inversion. Relevant examples involving qubits and qutrits are discussed.