Fractional dynamics, fractional weak bosons masses and physics beyond the standard model

I discuss the possibility of manifestation of the ultralight Hubble mass in the Affleck–Dine mechanism and the time-variation of the gauge-coupling constant beyond the standard electroweak model. Exceedingly small correction to the standard theory in terms of “fractional weak boson mass” of the same order of magnitude the mass uncertainties found in the Particle Data Group tables is obtained and thus related to the space-time fractionality. The mathematics is based on fractional action-like variational problems recently introduced by the author that generalize the d’Alembertian operator of conventional quantum field theory.     

Piezoresistive fiber-reinforced composites: A coupled nonlinear micromechanical–microelectrical modeling approach

Piezoresistive composites are materials that exhibit spatial and effective electrical resistivity changes as a result of local mechanical deformations in their constituents. These materials have a wide array of applications from non-destructive evaluation to sensor technology. We propose a new coupled nonlinear micromechanical-microelectrical modeling framework for periodic heterogeneous media. These proposed micro-models enable the prediction of the effective piezoresistive properties along with the corresponding spatial distributions of local mechanical–electrical fields, such as stress, strain, current densities, and electrical potentials. To this end, the high fidelity generalized method of cells (HFGMC), originally developed for micromechanical analysis of composites, is extended for the micro-electrical modeling in order to predict their spatial field distributions and effective electrical properties. In both cases, the local displacement vector and electrical potential are expanded using quadratic polynomials in each subvolume (subcell). The equilibrium and charge conservations are satisfied in an average volumetric fashion. In addition, the continuity and periodicity of the displacements, tractions, electrical potential, and current are satisfied at the subcell interfaces on an average basis. Next, a one way coupling is established between the nonlinear mechanical and electrical effects, whereby the mechanical deformations affect the electrical conductivity in the fiber and/or matrix constituents. Incremental and total formulations are used to arrive at the proper nonlinear solution of the governing equations. The micro-electrical HFGMC is first verified by comparing the stand-alone electrical solution predictions with the finite element method for different doubly periodic composites. Next, the coupled HFGMC is calibrated and experimentally verified in order to examine the effective piezoresistivity of different composites. These include conductive polymeric matrices doped with carbon nano-tubes or particles. One advantage of the proposed nonlinear coupled micro-models is its ability to predict the local and effective electro-mechanical behaviors of multi-phase periodic composites with different conductive phases.     

Extended DLVO calculations expose the role of the structural nature of the adsorbent beads during chromatography

Protein adsorption onto hydrophobic interaction chromatography supports was studied by a surface-thermodynamics approach. To gather relevant experimental information, contact angle measurements and zeta potential determinations were performed on three different commercial adsorbent beads, Phenyl Sepharose 6 Fast Flow, Toyopearl Phenyl 650-C and Source 15 Phenyl, having soft to rigid backbone structure. Similar information was obtained for a collection of model proteins, lysozyme, bovine serum albumin (BSA), polygalacturonase, aminopeptidase, chymosin, aspartic protease, beta-galactosidase, human immunoglobulin G, and lactoferrin, were evaluated in the hydrated and in the dehydrated state. Based on the mentioned experimental data, calculations were performed to obtain the (interfacial) energy versus distance profiles of nine individual (model) proteins on (commercial) beads of three different types. All of these beads harbored the phenyl-ligand onto a matrix of differentiated chemical nature. Extended Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek (DLVO) calculations were correlated with actual chromatographic behavior. Typical chromatography conditions were employed. The population of model proteins utilized in this study could be segregated into two groups, according to the minimum values observed for the resulting interaction energy pockets and the corresponding retention volumes (or times) during chromatography. Moreover, trends were also identified as a function of the type of adsorbent bead under consideration. This has revealed the influence of the physicochemical nature of the bead structure on the adsorption process and consequently, on the expected separation behavior.     

Spectroscopical splitting of Cu ion energy levels in magnesium lead fluoro silicate glasses

Homogeneous 40.0 MgO-(10-x) PbF₂-50.0 SiO₂: x CuO glasses were prepared using melt-quenching technique under controlled conditions. Spectroscopic studies (UV-vis absorption, ESR, FT-IR) are carried out for these glasses. One broad characteristic visible absorption band is observed around 700-850 nm in these glasses, the optical band gap decreases as the content of the CuO increases in the glass network up to 0.7 mol % then reversal trend is observed. ESR spectra of all these glasses show resonance peaks characteristic of Cu²⁺ ions and hyperfine splitting is resolved with increasing the CuO content in the glass network. From the observed ESR spectra, the spin-Hamiltonian parameters have been evaluated and indicate that Cu²⁺ ions have octahedral coordination with a strong tetragonal distortion in these glasses. By correlating ESR and optical absorption data, the molecular orbital coefficients have been evaluated. FT-IR spectra give important information about the nature of bonds in the glass matrix. The density of the glasses is also measured and is found to decrease with the increase CuO contents in the glass matrix. The physical parameters along with spectroscopic parameters are measured.     

Dilectric and thermal properties of PEO doped with cadimium chloride salt

The main aim of this research is to investigate the effect of salt concentration on the dielectric properties(AC (σ_AC),permittivity（ε′）,dielectric loss（ε″）,and dielectric relaxation process) and melting behavior of polyethylene oxide （PEO）/CdCl₂ complexes.The dielectric study was carried out over a frequency range 10-335 kHz and a temperature range 25-45℃.The AC conductivity,permittivity and dielectric loss of the PEO/CdCl₂ complexes increase with increasing salt concentration and temperature.Also,it was found that the addition of CdCl₂ salt to PEO host reduced the melting temperature of PEO host.Dielectric results reveal that the relaxation process of these complexes is due to viscoelastic relaxation or non-Debye relaxation at room temperature.Additionally,it was found that relaxation behavior remained viscoelastic at different temperatures and salt concentrations.     

Perfect imaging through a disordered waveguide lattice

It is experimentally demonstrated that perfect imaging is possible in disordered wave guiding media, provided that the disorder is off-diagonal, i.e., that only the spacing varies randomly between the otherwise identical lattice sites. On-diagonal disorder or Kerr nonlinearity destroys the imaging.     

Quasi-harmonic approximation of thermodynamic properties of ice Ih, II, and III

Several thermodynamic properties of ice Ih, II, and III are studied by a quasi-harmonic approximation and compared to results of quantum path integral and classical simulations. This approximation allows to obtain thermodynamic information at a fraction of the computational cost of standard simulation methods, and at the same time permits studying quantum effects related to zero-point vibrations of the atoms. Specifically, we have studied the crystal volume, bulk modulus, kinetic energy, enthalpy, and heat capacity of the three ice phases as a function of temperature and pressure. The flexible q-TIP4P/F model of water was employed for this study, although the results concerning the capability of the quasi-harmonic approximation are expected to be valid independently of the employed water model. The quasi-harmonic approximation reproduces with reasonable accuracy the results of quantum and classical simulations showing an improved agreement at low temperatures (T< 100 K). This agreement does not deteriorate as a function of pressure as long as it is not too close to the limit of mechanical stability of the ice phases.     

Analysis of circular hole expansion with generalized yield criteria

Expansion of a circular hole, embedded in an infinite elastoplastic sheet, is studied within the framework of large strain plane-stress plasticity. Material response is modeled by deformation type theories with two families of generalized isotropic yield criteria. Two distinct problems are examined in detail: hole enlargement under internal pressure and hole expansion under remote tension. Strain hardening and elastic compressibility are fully accounted for.Numerical illustrations reveal constitutive sensitivity of stress and deformation profiles. For the internally pressurized hole the specific power needed to create a new volume unit reaches an asymptotic level practically independent of yield criteria. The specific cavitation power is used to derive a simple relation for the ballistic limit in quasi-static plate perforation, showing good agreement with experimental results. Under remote tension the hole expands spontaneously when external stress approaches a limit which is found to be highly sensitive to the yield criteria.     

Nonlinear micromechanical formulation of the high fidelity generalized method of cells

The recent High Fidelity Generalized Method of Cells (HFGMC) micromechnical modeling framework of multiphase composites is formulated in a new form which facilitates its computational efficiency that allows an effective multiscale material–structural analysis. Towards this goal, incremental and total formulations of the governing equations are derived. A new stress update computational method is established to solve for the nonlinear material constituents along with the micromechanical equations. The method is well-suited for multiaxial finite increments of applied average stress or strain fields. Explicit matrix form of the HFGMC model is presented which allows an immediate and convenient computer implementation of the offered method. In particular, the offered derivations provide for the residual field vector (error) in its incremental and total forms along with an explicit expression for the Jacobian matrix. This enables the efficient iterative computational implementation of the HFGMC as a stand alone. Furthermore, the new formulation of the HFGMC is used to generate a nested local-global nonlinear finite element analysis of composite materials and structures. Applications are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach. These include the behavior of multiphase composites with nonlinearly elastic, elastoplastic and viscoplastic constituents.     

Few nucleon transfer versus fragmentation in the production of projectile-like fragments in the40Ar+68Zn reaction at 27.6 MeV/nucleon

The isotope distributions, momentum width distributions, and velocities of the projectile-like fragments in the⁴⁰Ar on⁶⁸Zn reaction have been measured at 27.6 MeV/nucleon incident energy. The results show the existence of a fragmentation process well described in the framework of the high energy fragmentation model. However, important contributions from direct nucleon transfer and damped collisions are present.