Demonstrating Universal Scaling in Quench Dynamics of a Yukawa One-Component Plasma

The Yukawa one-component plasma (OCP) is a paradigm model for describing plasmas that contain one component of interest and one or more other components that can be treated as a neutralizing, screening background. In appropriately scaled units, interactions are characterized entirely by a screening parameter, $\kappa$. As a result, systems of similar $\kappa$ show the same dynamics, regardless of the underlying parameters (e.g., density and temperature). We demonstrate this behavior using ultracold neutral plasmas (UNP) created by photoionizing a cold ($T\le10$ mK) gas. The ions in UNP systems are well described by the Yukawa model, with the electrons providing the screening. Creation of the plasma through photoionization can be thought of as a rapid quench from $\kappa_{0}=\infty$ to a final $\kappa$ value set by the electron density and temperature. We demonstrate experimentally that the post-quench dynamics are universal in $\kappa$ over a factor of 30 in density and an order of magnitude in temperature. Results are compared with molecular dynamics simulations. We also demonstrate that features of the post-quench kinetic energy evolution, such as disorder-induced heating and kinetic-energy oscillations, can be used to determine the plasma density and the electron temperature.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, to be submitted to Physical Review

Ion temperature evolution in an ultracold neutral plasma

We study the long-time evolution of the ion temperature in an expanding ultracold neutral plasma using spatially resolved, laser-induced-fluorescence spectroscopy. Adiabatic cooling reduces the ion temperature by an order of magnitude during the plasma expansion, to temperatures as low as 0.2 K. Cooling is limited by heat exchange between ions and the much hotter electrons. We also present evidence for an additional heating mechanism and discuss possible sources. Data are described by a model of the plasma evolution, including the effects of ion-electron heat exchange. We show that for appropriate initial conditions, the degree of Coulomb coupling of ions in the plasma increases during expansion

Protein Fingerprinting: A Domain-Free Approach to Protein Analysis

An alternative method for analyzing proteins is proposed. Currently, protein search engines available on the internet utilize domains (predefined sequences of amino acids) to align proteins. The method presented converts a protein sequence with the use of 1200 numeric codes that represent a unique three—amino-acid protein sequence. Each numeric code starts with one of three specific amino acids, followed by any two additional amino acids. With the use of the FPC (FingerPrinted Contig) program, the total protein database (including “redundant” records) from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has been processed and placed into “bins/contigs” based on associations of these triplet codes. When analyzed with FPC, proteins are “contigged” together based on the number of shared fragments, regardless of order. These associations were supported by additional analysis with the standard BLASTP utility from NCBI. Within the created contig sets, there are numerous examples of proteins (allotypes and orthotypes) that have evolved into different, seemingly unrelated proteins. The power of this domain-free technique has yet to be explored; however, the ability to bin proteins together with no a priori knowledge of domains may prove a powerful tool in the characterization of the hundreds of thousands of available, yet undescribed expressed protein and open reading frame sequences

Southern Illinois University\u27s BigDog HIgh Performance Computing Cluster

This presentation is a short introduction to SI\u27s new BigDog high-performance computing cluster (HPCC), a supercomputer that operates at a theoretical 34.7 Tflops, totaling 800 CPUs. BigDog is free to university researchers, including faculty and students with faculty supervision

Alien Registration- Langin, Iva (Wade, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32659/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Langin, Lottie (Wade, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32660/thumbnail.jp

Terracotta Figurines and Social Identities in Hellenistic Babylonia

Terracotta figurines are proposed as a particularly useful object corpus through which to access social identities in Hellenistic Babylonia. Cross-cultural interaction between Greeks and Babylonians has traditionally been the primary interest of scholars researching this society, and figurines were often recruited as evidence for the opposition of ethnic identities. In this work, a new approach to the figurines is proposed, which deemphasizes the categorical rigidity of typology and substitutes a flexible methodology of accessing multiple inter-object entanglements. A particular case study of “nude heroic” figurines (which are often considered evidence for display of cultural difference) is explored in detail, utilizing the entanglement approach. This research reveals that the hybrid qualities of objects were often selected with a sensitivity to both Greek and Babylonian cultural traditions, and with the aim of mutual acceptability. The evidence presented indicates that ethnicity-based concerns were not always the paramount interests in Hellenistic Babylonian identity formation, nor the primary way in which that society was divided

Figuring Out the Figurines of the Ancient Near East

We are pleased to announce the publication of Figuring Out the Figurines of the Ancient Near East, edited by Stephanie Langin-Hooper. This is the first volume in the series Occasional Papers in Coroplastic Studies that is designed to provide a forum for the publication of peer-reviewed papers dedicated to coroplastic research. This series is published by ACoSt. This present volume of 80 pages comprises 4 papers that were delivered at one of the three sessions of the Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) either in 2009, 2010, or 2011 that were entitled “Figuring Out the Figurines of the Ancient Near East”. These were organized by Stephanie Langin-Hooper

Performance and Monumentality in the Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta

The Ancient Near Eastern monument known as the “Altar of Tukulti-Ninurta” is traditionally analyzed as a divine symbol-socle used in the cult cella of the Ištar Temple at Aššur. This chapter – which refers to the “Altar” by its ancient term, “nemedu” – presents a re-evaluation of the monument’s archaeological context, as well as a consideration of comparative art historical evidence. Both data sets suggest that the nemedu in question was actually intended for use outside the temple doorway. Based on this understanding of the nemedu’s functional context, a more public viewership must be reconstructed for the monument, necessitating, in turn, new approaches to the supposedly self-referential relief on the monument’s face, as well as new interpretations of the viewer-object relationship(s) in which the monument participated. The chapter proposes that the combination of the monument’s public viewership, its intimate relief depiction of the king’s body, and the performances generated by the monument’s material properties, created a community of shared ritual action that bridged the usual social and physical divisions between the king and his nonroyal subjects. This unprecedented effect made the nemedu a powerful monument, but also a problematic one, perhaps necessitating the nemedu’s eventual decommissioning and storage