Characteristic cohomology ofp-form gauge theories

The characteristic cohomologyH ^k _char(d) for an arbitrary set of freep-form gauge fields is explicitly worked out in all form degreesk < n — 1, wheren is the spacetime dimension. It is shown that this cohomology is finite-dimensional and completely generated by the forms dual to the field strengths. The gauge invariant characteristic cohomology is also computed. The results are extended to interactingp-form gauge theories with gauge invariant interactions. Implications for the BRST cohomology are mentioned.     

State-of-the-art of NORM nuclide determination in samples from oil and gas production: Validation of potential standardization methods through an interlaboratory test programme

Gas and oil companies frequently encounter build up of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in their production and processing facilities. In the Netherlands NORM is subject to strict national regulations and, consequently, installations have to be screened on a regular basis. The availability of accurate and reliable NORM sampling and analysis techniques is therefore essential. A number of years ago, the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij B.V. (NAM) actively initiated an investigation on analysis techniques for NORM samples from gas and oil companies. Within this framework, Shell Research Amsterdam organized a four-stage interlaboratory test programme in which representative samples of increasing complexity were analyzed by a number of Dutch institutes. Whereas a large spread in results was observed in the first stage, results in the last stage deviated less than ±10% from the values certified by an independent referee institute, even for comple, sludge samples. It was found that in particular the use of different values for the -yields and branching ratios amongst the institutes was responsible for the initial spread.     

On discretization errors and subgrid scale model implementations in large eddy simulations

We analyze the impact of discretization errors on the performance of the Smagorinsky model in large eddy simulations (LES). To avoid difficulties related to solid boundaries, we focus on decaying homogeneous turbulence. It is shown that two numerical implementations of the model in the same finite volume code lead to significantly different results in terms of kinetic energy decay, time evolutions of the viscous dissipation and kinetic energy spectra. In comparison with spectral LES results, excellent predictions are however obtained with a novel formulation of the model derived from the discrete Navier–Stokes equations. We also highlight the effect of discretization errors on the measurement of physical quantities that involve scales close to the grid resolution.     

The velocity profile of laminar MHD flows in circular conducting pipes

We present numerical simulations without modeling of an incompressible, laminar, unidirectional circular pipe flow of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of a uniform transverse magnetic field. Our computations are performed using a finite-volume code that uses a charge-conserving formulation [called current-conservative formulation in references (Ni et al J Comput Phys 221(1):174–204, 2007, Ni et al J Comput Phys 227(1):205–228, 2007)]. Using high resolution unstructured meshes, we consider Hartmann numbers up to 3000 and various values of the wall conductance ratio c. In the limit c << Ha^-1{c{\ll}{\rm Ha}^{-1}} (insulating wall), our results are in excellent agreement with the so-called asymptotic solution (Shercliff J Fluid Mech 1:644–666, 1956). For higher values of the wall conductance ratio, a discrepancy with the asymptotic solution is observed and we exhibit regions of velocity overspeed in the Roberts layers. We characterise these overspeed regions as a function of the wall conductance ratio and the Hartmann number; a set of scaling laws is derived that is coherent with existing asymptotic analysis.     

Numerical simulation of magnetohydrodynamic flow in a toroidal duct of square cross-section

We present numerical simulation results of the quasi-static magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow in a toroidal duct of square cross-section with insulating Hartmann walls and conducting side walls. Both laminar and turbulent flows are considered. In the case of steady flows, we present a comprehensive analysis of the secondary flow. It consists of two counter-rotating vortex cells, with additional side wall vortices emerging at sufficiently high Hartmann number. Our results agree well with existing asymptotic analysis. In the turbulent regime, we make a comparison between hydrodynamic and MHD flows. We find that the curvature induces an asymmetry between the inner and outer side of the duct, with higher turbulence intensities occurring at the outer side wall. The magnetic field is seen to stabilize the flow so that only the outer side layer remains unstable. These features are illustrated both by a study of statistically averaged quantities and by a visualization of (instantaneous) coherent vortices.     

BRST Cohomology of the Chapline–Manton Model

We completely compute the local BRST cohomology H(s|d) of the combined Yang–Mills 2-form system coupled through the Yang–Mills Chern–Simons term (Chapline–Manton model). We consider the case of a simple gauge group and explicitly include in the analysis the sources for the BRST variations of the fields (antifields). We show that there is an antifield independent representative in each cohomological class of H(s|d) at ghost number 0 or 1. Accordingly, any counterterm may be assumed to preserve the gauge symmetries. Similarly, there is no new candidate anomaly beside those already considered in the literature, even when one takes the antifields into account. We then characterize explicitly all the nontrivial solutions of the Wess–Zumino consistency conditions. In particular, we provide a cohomological interpretation of the Green–Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism.     

Corrections for underresolved scalar measurements in turbulent flows using a DNS database

We estimate the effect of finite spatial resolution of a probe for scalar measurements, using a database from direct numerical simulations (DNS). These are for homogeneous isotropic turbulence in temporal decay, Schmidt number unity, and low Taylor-microscale Reynolds number (≃27–42). The probe could be a cold wire for measuring temperature in a turbulent flow. Correction factors for the scalar variance, scalar dissipation rate, and mixed velocity-scalar derivative skewness are estimated, for a sensor length up to 15 times the Batchelor length scale. It is shown that the lack of resolution yields the largest attenuation on the dissipation rate, followed by the scalar variance. On the contrary, the mixed skewness, which is affected the least, is overestimated. Further, it is shown that if one estimates the mixed skewness via the scalar variance dynamical equation and neglects the term involving the time derivative of the scalar energy spectrum, large errors in the correction factor of the mixed skewness are introduced. Finally, it is found that correction factors obtained assuming Kraichnan scalar model spectrum and following Wyngaard (in Phys Fluids 14:2052–2054, 1971) approach are close to those from the DNS.