Origin of backstreaming electrons within the quasi-perpendicular foreshock region: Two-dimensional self-consistent PIC simulation

International audienceThe foreshock region is populated by energetic backstreaming particles (electrons and ions) issued from the shock after having interacted with it. Several aspects concerning the origin of these high-energy particles and their corresponding acceleration mechanisms are still unresolved. The present study is focused on a quasi-perpendicular curved shock and associated electron foreshock region (i.e., for 90° ≥ θBn ≥ 45°, where θBn is the angle between the shock normal and the upstream magnetostatic field). Two-dimensional full-particle simulation is used in order to include self-consistently the electron and ion dynamics, the full dynamics of the shock, the curvature effects and the time-of-flight effects. All expected salient features of the bow shock are recovered both for particles and for electromagnetic fields. Present simulations evidence that the fast-Fermi acceleration (magnetic mirror) mechanism, which is commonly accepted, is certainly not the unique process responsible for the formation of energetic backstreaming electrons. Other mechanisms also contribute. More precisely, three different classes of backstreaming electrons are identified according to their individual penetration depth within the shock front: (i) “magnetic mirrored” electrons which only suffer a specular reflection at the front, (ii) “trapped” electrons which succeed to penetrate the overshoot region and suffer a local trapping within the parallel electrostatic potential at the overshoot, and (iii) “leaked” electrons which penetrate even much deeper into the downstream region. “Trapped” and “leaked” electrons succeed to find appropriate conditions to escape from the shock and to be reinjected back upstream. All these different types of electrons contribute together to the formation of energetic field-aligned beam. The acceleration mechanisms associated to each electron class and/or escape conditions are analyzed and discussed

Progettazione e Analisi Strutturale di Generatori Solari d'Alta Potenza per Veicoli Spaziali

La presente tesi riguarda l'analisi di alcuni parametri fondamentali per determinare il comportamento dinamico della struttura gonfiabile di un pannello solare per applicazioni spaziali

Effect of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) administration on apparent digestibility of horses

Six mares were divided into two groups of three subjects each in a crossover design on the basis of body weight and age: Control(C)fedabasaldiet,Treatment(T)fedabasaldietand2 Control (C) fed a basal diet, Treatment (T) fed a basal diet and 2 2 g/head/d of live yeast ((S. cerevisiae 4.6x1010 CFU/day).Theexperimentaldesignwasdividedintotwo ).Theexperimentaldesignwasdividedintotwo . The experimental design was divided into two periods named period 1 and period 2 respectively of 35d each, and consisting of 3 different phases. Dur- ing each period all animals were subject to an adaptation phase of 14d (phase1); during phase 2 (18d) and phase 3 live yeast was administered (T) or not (C). Phase 3 consisted in a three days individual fecal collection period all the groups, in order to determine dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude fat, NDF and ADF apparent digestion rates using acid insoluble ash (AIA) as internal marker (Bergero et al., 2005). Results obtained evidenced as the administration of S. cerevisiae to mature horses resulted in increased digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, NDF, and ADF

An albumin-derived peptide scaffold capable of binding and catalysis

We have identified a 101-amino-acid polypeptide derived from the sequence surrounding the IIA binding site of human albumin. The polypeptide contains residues that make contact with ligands as warfarin in the parent protein, and eight cysteine residues to form disulfide bridges, which stabilize the polypeptide structure. Seventy-four amino acids are located in six [alpha]-helical regions, with the remaining amino acids forming six connecting coil/loop regions. Codon usage optimization was used to express a GST fusion protein in E. coli in yields as high as 4 mg/l. This fusion protein retains its structural integrity and aldolase activity, the ability to direct the stereochemical outcome of a diketone reduction, and its binding capacity to warfarin and efavirenz. Notably, this newly cloned polypeptide represents a valuable starting point for the construction of libraries of binders and catalysts with improved proficiency

Non adiabatic electron behavior through a supercritical perpendicular collisionless shock: Impact of the shock front turbulence

International audienceAdiabatic and nonadiabatic electrons transmitted through a supercritical perpendicular shock wave are analyzed with the help of test particle simulations based on field components issued from 2 − D full-particle simulation. A previous analysis (Savoini et al., 2005) based on 1 − D shock profile, including mainly a ramp (no apparent foot) and defined at a fixed time, has identified three distinct electron populations: adiabatic, overadiabatic, and underadiabatic, respectively, identified by μds/μus ≈ 1, >1 and <1, where μus and μds are the magnetic momenta in the upstream and downstream regions. Presently, this study is extended by investigating the impact of the time evolution of 2 − D shock front dynamics on these three populations. Analysis of individual time particle trajectories is performed and completed by statistics based on the use of different upstream velocity distributions (spherical shell of radius vshell and a Maxwellian with thermal velocity vthe). In all statistics, the three electron populations are clearly recovered. Two types of shock front nonstationarity are analyzed. First, the impact of the nonstationarity along the shock normal (due to the front self-reformation only) strongly depends on the values of vshell or vthe. For low values, the percentages of adiabatic and overadiabatic electrons are almost comparable but become anticorrelated under the filtering impact of the self-reformation; the percentage of the underadiabatic population remains almost unchanged. In contrast, for large values, this impact becomes negligible and the adiabatic population alone becomes dominant. Second, when 2 − D nonstationarity effects along the shock front (moving rippling) are fully included, all three populations are strongly diffused, leading to a larger heating; the overadiabatic population becomes largely dominant (and even larger than the adiabatic one) and mainly contributes to the energy spectrum

Domain size effects on the dynamics of a charge density wave in 1T-TaS2

Recent experiments have shown that the high temperature incommensurate (I) charge density wave (CDW) phase of 1T-TaS2 can be photoinduced from the lower temperature, nearly commensurate (NC) CDW state. Here we report a time-resolved x-ray diffraction study of the growth process of the photoinduced I-CDW domains. The layered nature of the material results in a marked anisotropy in the size of the photoinduced domains of the I-phase. These are found to grow self-similarly, their shape remaining unchanged throughout the growth process. The photoinduced dynamics of the newly formed I-CDW phase was probed at various stages of the growth process using a double pump scheme, where a first pump creates I-CDW domains and a second pump excites the newly formed I-CDW state. We observe larger magnitudes of the coherently excited I-CDW amplitude mode in smaller domains, which suggests that the incommensurate lattice distortion is less stable for smaller domain sizes.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

The photoinduced transition in magnetoresistive manganites: a comprehensive view

We use femtosecond x-ray diffraction to study the structural response of charge and orbitally ordered Pr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$MnO$_3$ thin films across a phase transition induced by 800 nm laser pulses. By investigating the dynamics of both superlattice reflections and regular Bragg peaks, we disentangle the different structural contributions and analyze their relevant time-scales. The dynamics of the structural and charge order response are qualitatively different when excited above and below a critical fluence $f_c$. For excitations below $f_c$ the charge order and the superlattice is only partially suppressed and the ground state recovers within a few tens of nanosecond via diffusive cooling. When exciting above the critical fluence the superlattice vanishes within approximately half a picosecond followed by a change of the unit cell parameters on a 10 picoseconds time-scale. At this point all memory from the symmetry breaking is lost and the recovery time increases by many order of magnitudes due to the first order character of the structural phase transition

Microstructure and temperature dependence of the microhardness of W-4V-1La₂O₃ and W-4Ti-1La₂O₃

This study is presented of: The Fifteenth International Conference on Fusion Reactor Materials (ICFRM-15) was held October 16–22, 2011, at the Charleston Marriott Hotel in Charleston, South CarolinaW–4V–1La₂O₃ and W–4Ti–1La₂O₃ (wt.%) alloys have been produced by mechanical alloying and subsequent hot isostatic pressing. Electron microscopy observations revealed that these alloys exhibit a submicron grain structure with a dispersion of La oxide nanoparticles. Large V or Ti pools with martensitic characteristics are found segregated in the interstices between the W particles of the respective alloys. Microhardness tests were carried out over the temperature range 300–1073 K in vacuum. The microhardness–temperature curve for W–4V–1La₂O₃ exhibited the expected decreasing trend with increasing temperature although the microhardness stayed constant between ~473 and 773 K. The W–4Ti–1La₂O₃ presented quite different temperature dependence with an anomalous microhardness increase for temperatures above ~473 K.The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project ENE2012-39787-C06-05), the Comunidad de Madrid through the program ESTRUMAT-CM (Grant S2009/MAT-1[5]85), and the European Commission through the European Fusion DevelopmentPublicad