Physics of sinking and selection of plankton cell size

Gravitational sinking in the water column is known to affect size composition of planktonic communities. One important driver toward the reduction of plankton size is the fact that larger cells tend to sink faster below the euphotic layer. In this work, we discuss the role of gravitational sinking in driving cell size selection, showing that the outcome of phytoplankton competition is determined by the dependence of sinking velocity on cell size, shape, and on the temporal variability associated with turbulence. This opens a question on whether regional modulations of the turbulence intensity could affect size distribution of planktonic communities.     

Tracking problem under a time-varying topology

This paper studies the multi-agent tracking problem of a third-order maneuvering target under uncertain communication environments. Each tracking agent is assumed to be a third-order system and can only use its own and neighbors＇ position, velocity, and acceleration information to design its control input. In this work, the uncertain communication environments are modelled by a finite number of constant Laplacian matrices together with their corresponding scheduling functions. Sufficient conditions for the existence of a tracking strategy have been expressed in terms of the solvability of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, a numerical example is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking strategy.     

Simulation on the Effect of Brownian Motion on Nanoparticle Trajectories in a Pulsed Microplasma Cluster Source

We describe a simulation of the nanoparticle trajectories in a pulsed cluster beam source. Clusters, formed by condensation of atomic vapor in a helium bath, and considered here as rigid spheres having a diameter of 1.5nm, were tracked during their travel inside the source cavity, an aerodynamic lens, and a cylindrical nozzle. Steady state supersonic laminar flow of helium is considered in an axi-symmetric geometry aiming to simulate, within some limitations, the conditions under which cluster formation takes place in a pulsed microplasma cluster source. In spite of the unsteady nature of the pulsed source, the time scale characterizing particle motion in the flow field is significantly smaller than the characteristic time constant for the evolution of gas pressure in the source. For this reason, a steady simulation can shed some light on the understanding of processes governing nanoparticle motion in a pulsed vaporization source. The extent to which the Brownian diffusion can affect the particle extraction from the source is investigated. Simulations have shown that the Brownian motion perturbs the clusters from the trajectories dictated by the carrier gas and increases the rate of cluster deposition on the source internal walls. However, it does not hinder the aerodynamic focalization produced by the lens even in nano-size cluster regime. This result is qualitatively confirmed by experiment.     

x强流相对论环形电子束在低磁场中传输分析

 用理论和粒子模拟相结合的方法分析了强流薄环形相对论电子束在低磁场导引下，在均匀波导，无箔二极管，以及锥形波导和渐减磁场位形条件下的传输过程，研究了束包络的波动和如何减少波动的问题。分析表明：在无箔二极管中一个适当渐增的磁场位形可以有效地抑制束电子的径向运动，从而减少电子在波导中的波动幅度；电子束在锥形波导和渐减磁场位形中运动，不会增加束电子的波动。因此适当的磁场位形可以降低微波器件对导引磁场的要求，有利于实现永磁包装微波器件。     

紧凑型L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器的粒子模拟

 设计了紧凑型L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器，通过粒子模拟研究了L波段同轴相对论返波振荡器相互作用的物理过程，并对器件的电磁结构进行了优化和改进。分析表明，采用同轴慢波结构可以在较低的外加磁场下实现L波段返波振荡器的微波输出，同时可以大大减小微波器件的径向尺寸。这是因为同轴慢波结构的TM01模式有类似于TEM模的性质，没有截止频率，但纵向电场不为零，电子束能够与它发生强相互作用过程。粒子模拟优化结果表明，在器件半径仅为4.0 cm，电子束能量240 keV，电子束流1.8 kA，导引磁场仅为0.75 T时，返波振荡器可以在频率1.60 GHz处获得较大功率的微波输出， 平均峰值功率达140 MW，平均峰值功率效率约为32%。     

Dielectric-Lined Multiwave Cerenkov Generators Producing High Power Millimeter Waves

This paper presents the concept of a Dielectric-lined Multiwave Cerenkov Generator(DMWCG) producing high power millimeter waves, which is investigated with a two and one half dimensional( ) electromagnetic relativistic Particle-in-Cell(PIC) simulation code. It is showed that the DMWCG can operate in a lower diode-voltage regime with much higher radiation efficiency as compared with the usual Multiwave Cerenkov Generator(MWCG). The simulation work indicates both the downshift of the wave frequency in the presence of the dielectric liner and the existence of the optima for the permittivity of the liner as well as for the magnitude of the guiding magnetic field. The required intensity of the guiding field is reduced with the introducing of the liner. The radiation is generated at the dominant frequency of 31.5GHz. The power level of 1.5GW is achieved, with radiation efficiency up to 15%. The features of parameter dependency are presented. And reasonable explanation is put forward. In addition, the enhanced propagation of the electron beam is studied in the presence of the dielectric liner.     

Robust tracking for MIMO nonlinear time-dependent mismatched uncertain systems: non-adaptive versus adaptive control

This paper considers the problem of robust output-tracking controlfor multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems in thepresence of mismatched time-dependent uncertainties. It firstgeneralizes the stable combined-variable perturbation method(SCVPM) which was proposed by Li et al. (1996) to derive a newrobust controller and its adaptive version for MIMO systemsto track a desired trajectory. It is shown that both controllersnot only stabilize the closed-loop systems but also guaranteethat the tracking errors remain in an O() neighbourhood of theorgin, where is a small design parameter of the controller.Moreover, the adaptive robust controller is only based on thenominal system, and no a priori data on the uncertainties areneeded. Therefore, it is more feasibly implemented than thenon-adaptive controller.     

Evidence for pinning by (Sr,Ca)2CuOy particles in partial-melting processed bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ ceramics

Flux distributions of partial-melting processed Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ ceramics are obtained using magneto-optic imaging. In remanent states (μ₀H_a=0 T), large amounts of trapped flux are observed along (Sr,Ca)₂CuO_y particles embedded in the Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ matrix. Despite the relatively large size of these particles (up to 30 μm), the pinning effect is similar to that of Y₂BaCuO₅ particles in melt-processed YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ. Furthermore, we discuss how the pinning capability of non-superconducting particles of different sizes and densities will show up in magneto-optic images.     

Adaptive Robust Tracking for Flexible Spacecraft in Presence of Disturbances

The paper deals with trajectory tracking for a flexible spacecraft, subject to a gravity-gradient disturbance, under parameter uncertainties. The controls are gas jets and reaction wheels, and the measured variables describe the attitude and angular velocity of the rigid part. The flexible dynamics is treated as an additional disturbance acting on a rigid structure. First, an adaptive control is designed with only the gravity-gradient disturbance acting on the spacecraft; second, it is proved to be effective also in the presence of disturbance due to the flexibility, provided that appropriate robustness conditions on the controller gains are satisfied. These conditions use partial knowledge of the parameters describing the elastic dynamics. Simulations show the good performance of such control scheme and demonstrate its applicability even in the presence of input saturation.     

The theorem of hohenberg and kohn for subdomains of a quantum system

The theorem of Hohenberg and Kohn is extended to subdomains of a bounded quantum system. It is shown that the ground state particle density of an arbitrary subdomain uniquely determines the ground state properties of this subdomain, of any other subdomain, and of the total domain of the system.