Autoionization of an ultracold Rydberg gas through resonant dipole coupling

We investigate a possible mechanism for the autoionization of ultracold Rydberg gases, based on the resonant coupling of Rydberg pair states to the ionization continuum. Unlike an atomic collision where the wave functions begin to overlap, the mechanism considered here involves only the long-range dipole interaction and is in principle possible in a static system. It is related to the process of intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD). In addition, we include the interaction-induced motion of the atoms and the effect of multi-particle systems in this work. We find that the probability for this ionization mechanism can be increased in many-particle systems featuring attractive or repulsive van der Waals interactions. However, the rates for ionization through resonant dipole coupling are very low. It is thus unlikely that this process contributes to the autoionization of Rydberg gases in the form presented here, but it may still act as a trigger for secondary ionization processes. As our picture involves only binary interactions, it remains to be investigated if collective effects of an ensemble of atoms can significantly influence the ionization probability. Nevertheless our calculations may serve as a starting point for the investigation of more complex systems, such as the coupling of many pair states proposed in [P.J. Tanner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 043002 (2008)].     

湿斜压热动力耦合强迫激发辐合增长和暴雨维持的一种机制

打破将散度演化分析局限于水平动力学框架内的传统认识思维,针对大气的斜压性与层结特征将对大气运动散度场演化产生显著影响的事实,从湿斜压原始方程出发,将大气的斜压热力作用通过热力学方程引入散度方程,在替换平衡近似（alternative balance）下,导出了显式包含湿非地转Q矢量与垂直风切变耦合强迫作用的新型散度方程.阐明了潮湿大气中非地转斜压强迫激发散度场演化的物理机制,为利用常规观测资料诊断散度场演化提供了一种有效的数学工具.通过对流层中低层气柱内总体辐合增长影响因子的分 关键词： 暴雨天气 散度演变 正压非平衡强迫 湿斜压热动力耦合强迫     

AFM study of forces between silica, silicon nitride and polyurethane pads

Interaction of silica and silicon nitride with polyurethane surfaces is rather poorly studied despite being of great interest for modern semiconductor industry, e.g., for chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) processes. Here we show the results from the application of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique to study the forces between silica or silicon nitride (AFM tips) and polyurethane surfaces in aqueous solutions of different acidity. The polyurethane surface potentials are derived from the measured AFM data. The obtained potentials are in rather good agreement with measurements of zeta-potentials using the streaming-potentials method. Another important parameter, adhesion, is also measured. While the surface potentials of silica are well known, there are ambiguous results on the potentials of silicon nitride that is naturally oxidized. Deriving the surface potential of the naturally oxidized silicon nitride from our measurements, we show that it is not oxidized to silica despite some earlier published expectations.     

Volumetric, Electric, and Magnetic Properties of Thioxanthen-9-one in Aprotic Solvents as Revealed by High-Precision Densitometry, High-Accuracy Refractometry and Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements and by DFT Calculations

High-precision densitometry measurements of solutions of thioxanten-9-one (TX) in 1,4-dioxane, DMSO, toluene, and benzene have been obtained at 293.15, 303.15, 313.15, 323.15, 333.15, and 343.15K. The partial molar volumes of TX ( ) and the corresponding values at infinite dilution ( ) were determined. The partial molar expansibility ( ) of TX at infinite dilution in each solvent is temperature independent. Dynamic electronic polarizabilities of TX in each aprotic solvent were determined by the Singer–Garito approach. These values are in excellent concordance with the theoretical value for TX of 2.611×10⁻²³cm³ estimated here using DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p). The partial molar volumes of TX at infinite dilution were calculated and interpreted in terms of the Scale Particle Theory (SPT). The solvent influence on the partial molar volume of TX was found to be due mainly to cavity formation and intermolecular dispersion forces.     

含非理想空间棱柱铰的多体系统接触分析

传统的接触分析方法通过物体间的相对运动确定接触位置. 将这种方法用于多体系统中铰内的接触分析时, 无论铰内间隙是否十分微小都必须解除铰的运动学约束, 从而导致求解效率和求解精度方面的诸多弊端. 基于铰约束反力与铰内接触力之间的力系等效关系, 以及铰内可能接触点运动之间内在的运动学关系, 以矩形截面的棱柱铰为例, 提出了一种对空间棱柱铰进行摩擦接触分析的方法, 可在不解除铰的运动学约束的前提下得到铰内接触模式和接触力. 数值算例验证了方法的可行性.      

A possible unification of Newton's and Coulomb's forces

We have considered electric charge as the fourth component of the particle momentum in five-dimensional space–time. The fifth dimension has been compactified on a circle with an extremely small radius determined from the fundamental physics constants. First, we have given equations in the framework of five-dimensional special relativity and determined the corresponding reduction to four-dimensional space–time. Then, in order to obtain an appropriate charge-to-mass ratio and to avoid the Fourier modes problem, we have considered the propagation of an off-mass shell particle in the five-dimensional space–time which can be interpreted as the motion of an on-mass shell particle in the four-dimensional world we experience. As an example, we have discussed the five-dimensional kinematic equations associated with the electron-positron annihilation process into two photons. Finally, the consequences on the gravitational interaction between two elementary charged particles has been studied. As a main result, we have obtained a unification of Newton's gravitational and Coulomb's electrostatic forces.     

Extracting inter-particle forces in opaque granular materials: Beyond photoelasticity

This paper presents the first example of inter-particle force inference in real granular materials using an improved version of the methodology known as the Granular Element Method (GEM). GEM combines experimental imaging techniques with equations governing particle behavior to allow force inference in cohesionless materials with grains of arbitrary shape, texture, and opacity. This novel capability serves as a useful tool for experimentally characterizing granular materials, and provides a new means for investigating force networks. In addition to an experimental example, this paper presents a precise mathematical formulation of the inverse problem involving the governing equations and illustrates solution strategies.     

Study on the operational safety of high-speed trains exposed to stochastic winds

The characteristic wind curve （CWC） was com- monly used in the previous work to evaluate the operational safety of the high-speed trains exposed to crosswinds. How- ever, the CWC only provide the dividing line between safety state and failure state of high-speed trains, which can not evaluate the risk of derailment of high-speed trains when ex- posed to natural winds. In the present paper, a more realistic approach taking into account the stochastic characteristics of natural winds is proposed, which can give a reasonable and effective assessment of the operational safety of high-speed trains under stochastic winds. In this approach, the longitudi- nal and lateral components of stochastic winds are simulated based on the Cooper theory and harmonic superposition. An algorithm is set up for calculating the unsteady aerody- namic forces （moments） of the high-speed trains exposed to stochastic winds. A multi-body dynamic model of the rail vehicle is established to compute the vehicle system dynamic response subjected to the unsteady aerodynamic forces （mo- ments） input. Then the statistical method is used to get the mean characteristic wind curve （MCWC） and spread range of the high-speed trains exposed to stochastic winds. It is found that the CWC provided by the previous analyticalmethod produces over-conservative limits. The methodol- ogy proposed in the present paper can provide more signif- icant reference for the safety operation of high-speed trains exposed to stochastic winds.     

Impulsive forces of two spark-generated cavity bubbles with phase differences

The characteristics of synchronous and phase difference bubble pairs in axisymmetric configuration near a boundary are investigated experimentally by the spark discharge method. Their destructive forces on nearby boundaries are measured using a polyvinylidene fluoride sensor. The bubble pair interactions and deformed features in the boundary vicinity are dissimilar to those in bulk water. Moreover, significant discrepancies between in-phase and out-of-phase pair interactions and their intensities of impulses are also witnessed. The interbubble distance (η), stand-off distance from the boundary (γ), and phase offset (τ) are crucial parameters affecting the shape evolutions and impulsive forces. From the qualitative analysis of sensor acquisition and high-speed imaging, it is observed that bubble periods are either prolonged or shorter than their corresponding isolated single cavity according to different parameters and arrangements. Additionally, the strongest impingements are produced by in-phase pairs. The impulses of phase difference bubble pairs are remarkably lower than in-phase pairs and even lower than a single bubble in some arrangements.