Edges Of Filaments Research Articles

Characterization of physical properties of a coastal upwelling filament with evidence of enhanced submesoscale activity and transition from balanced to unbalanced motions in the Benguela upwelling region

Abstract. We combine high-resolution in situ data (acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), Scanfish, and surface drifters) and remote sensing to investigate the physical characteristics of a major filament observed in the Benguela upwelling region. The 30–50 km wide and about 400 km long filament persisted for at least 40 d. Mixed-layer depths were less than 40 m in the filament and over 60 m outside of it. Observations of the Rossby number Ro from the various platforms provide the spatial distribution of Ro for different resolutions. Remote sensing focuses on geostrophic motions of the region related to the mesoscale eddies that drive the filament formation and thereby reveals |Ro|<0.1. Ship-based measurements in the surface mixed layer reveal 0.5<|Ro|<1, indicating the presence of unbalanced, ageostrophic motions. Time series of Ro from triplets of surface drifters trapped within the filament confirm these relatively large Ro values and show a high variability along the filament. A scale-dependent analysis of Ro, which relies on the second-order velocity structure function, was applied to the latter drifter group and to another drifter group released in the upwelling zone. The two releases explored the area nearly distinctly and simultaneously and reveal that at small scales (<15 km) Ro values are twice as large in the filament in comparison to its environment with Ro>1 for scales smaller than ∼500 m. This suggests that filaments are hotspots of ageostrophic dynamics, pointing to the presence of a forward energy cascade. The different dynamics indicated by our Ro analysis are confirmed by horizontal kinetic energy wavenumber spectra, which exhibit a power law k−α with α∼5/3 for wavelengths 2π/k smaller than a transition scale of 15 km, supporting significant submesoscale energy at scales smaller than the first baroclinic Rossby radius (Ro1∼30 km). The detected transition scale is smaller than those found in regions with less mesoscale eddy energy, consistent with previous studies. We found evidence for the processes which drive the energy transfer to turbulent scales. Positive Rossby numbers 𝒪(1) associated with cyclonic motion inhibit the occurrence of positive Ertel potential vorticity (EPV) and stabilize the water column. However, where the baroclinic component of EPV dominates, submesoscale instability analysis suggests that mostly gravitational instabilities occur and that symmetric instabilities may be important at the filament edges.

Temporal characterization of heating in femtosecond laser filamentation with planar Rayleigh scattering.

Temporal and spatial evolution of temperature in femtosecond laser filamentation is investigated using planar Rayleigh scattering combined with optical flow algorithm, the corresponding mechanism is analyzed. The temperature increases sharply with a characteristic time of 4.53μs and reach a maximum value of 418 K within 1∼10μs, then decreases slowly to around 300 K with a characteristic time of 136μs. While the temperature first diffuses rapidly in the radial direction and then diffuses very slowly, an obvious step is observed around 2μs. The mechanism of heat transfer is the result of energy exchange between electron and heavy particles and heat conduction. Within 1 ns to 10μs, molecules obtain energy continuously due to collision with electrons, which is much larger than the energy loss due to thermal conduction, leading to rise of gas temperature and the high-speed movement of the filament edges. After 10μs, thermal conduction becomes the dominant factor, resulting gas temperature decreasing and slower movement of the filament edges.

Rivers of gas – I. Unveiling the properties of high redshift filaments

ABSTRACT At high redshift, the cosmic web is widely expected to have a significant impact on the morphologies, dynamics, and star formation rates of the galaxies embedded within it, underscoring the need for a comprehensive study of the properties of such a filamentary network. With this goal in mind, we perform an analysis of high-z gas and dark matter (DM) filaments around a Milky Way-like progenitor simulated with the ramses adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code from cosmic scales (∼1 Mpc) down to the virial radius of its DM halo host (∼20 kpc at z = 4). Radial density profiles of both gas and DM filaments are found to have the same functional form, namely a plummer-like profile modified to take into account the wall within which these filaments are embedded. Measurements of the typical filament core radius r0 from the simulation are consistent with that of isothermal cylinders in hydrostatic equilibrium. Such an analytic model also predicts a redshift evolution for the core radius of filaments in fair agreement with the measured value for DM [r0∝ (1 + z)−3.18 ± 0.28]. Gas filament cores grow as [r0∝ (1 + z)−2.72 ± 0.26]. In both gas and DM, temperature and vorticity sharply drop at the edge of filaments, providing an excellent way to constrain the outer filament radius. When feedback is included, the gas temperature and vorticity fields are strongly perturbed, hindering such a measurement in the vicinity of the galaxy. However, the core radius of the filaments as measured from the gas density field is largely unaffected by feedback; and the median central density is only reduced by about 20 per cent.

Beyond halo mass: quenching galaxy mass assembly at the edge of filaments

ABSTRACT We examine how the mass assembly of central galaxies depends on their location in the cosmic web. The Horizon-AGN simulation is analysed at z ∼ 2 using the DisPerSE code to extract multi-scale cosmic filaments. We find that the dependency of galaxy properties on large-scale environment is mostly inherited from the (large-scale) environmental dependency of their host halo mass. When adopting a residual analysis that removes the host halo mass effect, we detect a direct and non-negligible influence of cosmic filaments. Proximity to filaments enhances the build-up of stellar mass, a result in agreement with previous studies. However, our multi-scale analysis also reveals that, at the edge of filaments, star formation is suppressed. In addition, we find clues for compaction of the stellar distribution at close proximity to filaments. We suggest that gas transfer from the outside to the inside of the haloes (where galaxies reside) becomes less efficient closer to filaments, due to high angular momentum supply at the vorticity-rich edge of filaments. This quenching mechanism may partly explain the larger fraction of passive galaxies in filaments, as inferred from observations at lower redshifts.

Sequential star formation in the filamentary structures of the Planck Galactic cold clump G181.84+0.31

Abstract We present a multiwavelength study of the Planck Galactic cold clump G181.84+0.31, which is located at the northern end of the extended filamentary structure S242. We have extracted nine compact dense cores from the SCUBA-2 850-$\hbox{$\mu $m}$ map, and we have identified 18 young stellar objects (YSOs; four Class I and 14 Class II) based on their Spitzer, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer(WISE) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) near- and mid-infrared colours. The dense cores and YSOs are mainly distributed along the filamentary structures of G181.84 and are well traced by HCO+(1–0) and N2H+(1–0) spectral-line emission. We find signatures of sequential star formation activities in G181.84: dense cores and YSOs located in the northern and southern substructures are younger than those in the central region. We also detect global velocity gradients of about 0.8 ± 0.05 and 1.0 ± 0.05 km s−1 pc−1 along the northern and southern substructures, respectively, and local velocity gradients of 1.2 ± 0.1 km s−1 pc−1 in the central substructure. These results might be due to the fact that the global collapse of the extended filamentary structure S242 is driven by an edge effect, for which the filament edges collapse first and then further trigger star formation activities inward. We identify three substructures in G181.84 and estimate their critical masses per unit length, which are ∼101 ± 15, 56 ± 8 and 28 ± 4 M⊙ pc−1, respectively. These values are all lower than the observed values (∼200 M⊙ pc−1), suggesting that these substructures are gravitationally unstable.

Neutral surfaces of coronal magnetic field and solar filaments

The shape of solar filaments is compared with the projection of parts of the neutral surface of the coronal magnetic field within a certain range of heights at different aspects of observation due to the rotation of the Sun. Neutral surfaces are calculated in the potential approximation from the photospheric data. The comparison shows that the material of filaments is concentrated mainly near the neutral surface of the potential field. The traces of the neutral surface section by the horizontal plane serve as polarity inversion lines (PILs) of the vertical field at the given height. In projection onto the disk, a lower edge of the filament with the intermediate barbs protruding on each side is delineated by the PIL at the low height, while an upper edge touches the high-height PIL. All material of the filament is enclosed in the space between these two lines. Although in reality the magnetic field structure near filaments differs very strongly from the potential field structure, their neutral surfaces can be similar and close, especially at low heights. This fact is probably the cause of the observed correlation. It can be used to determine the height of the upper edge of filaments above the photosphere in the case of observations only on the disk.

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS): galaxy segregation inside filaments atz≃ 0.7

We present the first quantitative detection of large-scale filamentary structure at $z \simeq 0.7$ in the large cosmological volume probed by the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). We use simulations to show the capability of VIPERS to recover robust topological features in the galaxy distribution, in particular the filamentary network. We then investigate how galaxies with different stellar masses and stellar activities are distributed around the filaments and find a significant segregation, with the most massive or quiescent galaxies being closer to the filament axis than less massive or active galaxies. The signal persists even after down-weighting the contribution of peak regions. Our results suggest that massive and quiescent galaxies assemble their stellar mass through successive mergers during their migration along filaments towards the nodes of the cosmic web. On the other hand, low-mass star-forming galaxies prefer the outer edge of filaments, a vorticity rich region dominated by smooth accretion, as predicted by the recent spin alignment theory. This emphasizes the role of large scale cosmic flows in shaping galaxy properties.

Probabilistic insight to possibility of new metal filament nucleation during repeated cycling of conducting bridge memory

The question of whether resistance switching in conducting bridge random access memory (CBRAM) devices occurs through a single filament which repeatedly undergoes nucleation and rupture or through different filaments for different cycles is difficult to ascertain using conventional electrical tests on metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitor structures. In order to profile the spatial location of the conductive filament during multiple switching cycles, we make use of the Ni–HfO2–Si based metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) stack with a transistor test structure so that the lateral location of the filament along the source to drain can be probed electrically by considering the weighted ratio of source and drain currents measured. Our analysis reveals that filaments can evolve in spatially uncorrelated locations and switching is not always caused by the same filament over and over again. A simple statistical model is also provided to justify the inferences of the electrical study. The probability of a new filament nucleating elsewhere in the dielectric is a strong function of the oxide barrier thickness as well as the curvature radii of the previously ruptured metal filament edges.

Statistical properties of filaments in weak gravitational lensing

We study weak lensing properties of filaments that connect clusters of galaxies through large cosmological $N$-body simulations. We select 4639 halo pairs with masses higher than $10^{14}h^{-1}\mathrm{M}_\odot$ from the simulations and investigate dark matter distributions between two haloes with ray-tracing simulations. In order to classify filament candidates, we estimate convergence profiles and perform profile fitting. We find that matter distributions between haloes can be classified in a plane of fitting parameters, which allow us to select straight filaments from the ray-tracing simulations. We also investigate statistical properties of these filaments, finding them to be consistent with previous studies. We find that $35\%$ of halo pairs possess straight filaments, $4\%$ of which can directly be detected at $S/N\geq2$ with weak lensing. Furthermore, we study statistical properties of haloes at the edges of filaments. We find that haloes are preferentially elongated along filamentary structures and are less massive with increasing filament masses. However, the dependence of these halo properties on masses of straight filaments is very weak.

Lateral Mixing in the Pycnocline by Baroclinic Mixed Layer Eddies

Abstract Using a process study model, the effect of mixed layer submesoscale instabilities on the lateral mixing of passive tracers in the pycnocline is explored. Mixed layer eddies that are generated from the baroclinic instability of a front within the mixed layer are found to penetrate into the pycnocline leading to an eddying flow field that acts to mix properties laterally along isopycnal surfaces. The mixing of passive tracers released on such isopycnal surfaces is quantified by estimating the variance of the tracer distribution over time. The evolution of the tracer variance reveals that the flow undergoes three different turbulent regimes. The first regime, lasting about 3–4 days (about 5 inertial periods) exhibits near-diffusive behavior; dispersion of the tracer grows nearly linearly with time. In the second regime, which lasts for about 10 days (about 14 inertial periods), tracer dispersion exhibits exponential growth because of the integrated action of high strain rates created by the instabilities. In the third regime, tracer dispersion follows Richardson’s power law. The Nakamura effective diffusivity is used to study the role of individual dynamical filaments in lateral mixing. The filaments, which carry a high concentration of tracer, are characterized by the coincidence of large horizontal strain rate with large vertical vorticity. Within filaments, tracer is sheared without being dispersed, and consequently the effective diffusivity is small in filaments. While the filament centers act as barriers to transport, eddy fluxes are enhanced at the filament edges where gradients are large.

FRACTAL GEOMETRY OF THE WAKE SHED BY A FLAPPING FILAMENT IN FLOWING SOAP-FILM

In this study, we illustrate the fractal nature of the wake shed by a periodically flapping filament. Such wake structure is a combination of primary vortex shedding resulting in the von Kármán vortex street, a series of concentrated vortex dipoles formed when the trailing edges of filaments reach their maximum amplitudes and small eddies form along the shear layer connected with the concentrated vortices due to the shear layer instability. The vortex dynamics of the flapping filament are visualized and imaged experimentally using a soap-film flow tunnel with a high-speed camera and a low pressure sodium lamp as a light source. The wake fractal geometry is measured using the standard box-counting method and it is shown that the fractal dimension of the soap pattern boundaries in the wake is D = 1.38 ± 0.05, which agrees well with those measured for fully developed turbulences and other shear flow phenomena. The invariant of the fractality in the wake induced by the flapping filament thus provides another illustration of the geometrical self-similarity and nonlinear dynamics of chaotic fluid flows.

Fused deposition modeling of patient‐specific polymethylmethacrylate implants

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of medical‐grade polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in fused deposition modeling (FDM) to fabricate porous customized freeform structures for several applications including craniofacial reconstruction and orthopaedic spacers. It also aims to examine the effects of different fabrication conditions on porosity and mechanical properties of PMMA samples.Design/methodology/approachThe building parameters and procedures to properly and consistently extrude PMMA filament in FDM for building 3D structures were determined. Two experiments were performed that examined the effects of different fabrication conditions, including tip wipe frequency, layer orientation, and air gap (AG) (or distance between filament edges) on the mechanical properties and porosity of the fabricated structures. The samples were characterized through optical micrographs, and measurements of weight and dimensions of the samples were used to calculate porosity. The yield strength, strain, and modulus of elasticity of the samples were determined through compressive testing.FindingsResults show that both the tip wipe frequency (one wipe every layer or one wipe every ten layers) and layer orientation (transverse or axial with respect to the applied compressive load) used to fabricate the scaffolds have effects on the mechanical properties and resulting porosity. The samples fabricate in the transverse orientation with the high tip wipe frequency have a larger compressive strength and modulus than the lower tip wipe frequency samples (compressive strength: 16±0.97 vs 13±0.71 MPa, modulus: 370±14 vs 313±29 MPa, for the high vs low tip wipe frequency, respectively). Also, the samples fabricated in the transverse orientation have a larger compressive strength and modulus than the ones fabricated in the axial orientation (compressive strength: 16±0.97 vs 13±0.83 MPa, modulus: 370±14 vs 281±22 MPa; for samples fabricated with one tip wipe per layer in the transverse and axial orientations, respectively). In general, the stiffness and yield strength decreased when the porosity increased (compressive strength: 12±0.71 to 7±0.95 MPa, Modulus: 248±10 to 165±16 MPa, for samples with a porosity ranging from 55 to 70 percent). As a demonstration, FDM is successfully used to fabricate patient‐specific, 3D PMMA implants with varying densities, including cranial defect repair and femur models.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates that customized, 3D, biocompatible PMMA structures with varying porosities can be designed and directly fabricated using FDM. By enabling the use of PMMA in FDM, medical implants such as custom craniofacial implants can be directly fabricated from medical imaging data improving the current state of PMMA use in medicine.

Local Current Transport and Current Sharing Between Filaments in Striated Coated Conductors With Artificial Defects

Multifilamentary YBCO coated conductor with fishnet striation pattern is investigated by transport measurements and scanning laser microscopy (SLM). Each filament is clearly visible in SLM images, and higher current flows along the edges of filaments. After initial measurements, an incision is made to disable two filaments and to investigate the changes in the current transport, the current sharing, and the dissipation patterns. Current sharing and redistribution are clearly observed among the filaments and at the weak links. We find that the dissipation is mainly caused by local current crowding. Since the current is to be shared among intact filaments, the most impacted area is the filaments closer to the disabled ones which have to carry higher current. The other susceptible area is the weak links where the current redistributes and the increased current density is expected.

Influence of heated catalyzer on thermal distribution of substrate in HWCVD system

Based on Stefan-Boltzman and Lambert theorems, the radiation energy distribution on substrate (REDS) from catalyzer with parallel filament geometry has been simulated by variation of filament and system layout in hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. The REDS uniformity is sensitive to the distance between filament and substrate d f–s when d f–s⩽4 cm. As d f–s>4 cm, the REDS uniformity is independent of d f–s and is mainly determined by filament number and filament separation. Two-dimensional calculation shows that the REDS uniformity is limited by temperature decay at filament edges. The simulation data are in good agreement with experiments.

Diamond films grown on cemented WC–Co dental burs using an improved CVD method

A modified hot-filament chemical vapour deposition system was used to deposit adherent diamond films onto cutting edges of cemented tungsten carbide (WC–Co) dental burs. Generally, the as-grown films were found to be polycrystalline and displayed good coverage. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to characterise the stress distribution at three positions: (i) bur tip, (ii) middle of the bur and (iii) end of bur. The stress at the back, in the middle and at the tip of the bur was calculated to be −1.7, −2.3 and −3.4 GPa in compression, respectively. It was noted that the filament temperature, as measured by the two colour optical pyrometer, varied along the coils of the filament. The coiled filament was at higher temperatures around the central region as compared to the filament edges. The temperature of the cutting edges was higher at the tip of the bur compared to the middle and back of the bur. The cutting teeth were closer to the filament and therefore expected to be at a slightly higher temperature. Consequently, a thicker coating was deposited on the edges of the cutting teeth as compared to the flat bur base material.

Transversal and longitudinal current distribution in Bi-2223/Ag tapes with high filament aspect ratio

Transversal and longitudinal homogeneity of Bi-2223/Ag tapes made by a tape-in-rectangular tube process with high filament aspect ratio was studied. Spatially resolved transport measurements (“magnetic knife”), Hall probe measurements and local V– I measurements were used to obtain the I c distribution across and/or along the tape sample. The I c distribution in the width of the filaments shows a minimum in the filaments centre and a maximum is measured near the filament edges. A periodical variation of longitudinal I c values is observed by local V– I and by Hall probe measurements. Transversal and longitudinal filaments cross-sections were obtained and compared to transport critical currents.

Resonance‐Line Scattering in Supernova Remnant Shocks

We present a three-dimensional radiative transfer model to examine the effects of resonance-line scattering in the postshock flow behind a nonradiative supernova remnant shock. For a rippled shock front viewed edge-on, line scattering significantly reduces the observed flux of C IV λ1549 and N V λ1240, two important diagnostic lines in the ultraviolet spectra of supernova remnants. The correction factor (defined to be the ratio of the line flux that would be observed neglecting scattering to the actual observed line flux) is a function of position within the filament. For sufficiently large regions that include crisp edges as well as more diffuse regions of the filament structure, the C IV and N V correction factors are between about 1.5 and 3.5 (and the C IV correction factor is invariably larger than the N V correction factor). The correction factors have a larger range when smaller regions are considered. The C IV correction factor is about 6 at the filament edges, while the N V correction factor is about 4. These simulations of resonance-line scattering will be useful for the analysis of supernova remnant shock spectra.

Heated gaseous streamers and star formation in the Orion molecular cloud

THE Orion molecular cloud, which is obscured by the dust and ionized gas of the Orion nebula, is the nearest example of a giant molecular cloud. Massive stars are actively forming deep in the core of this cloud as a result of large-scale cloud instabilities, fragmentation and gravitational collapse. These young stars will inject a considerable amount of energy back into the surrounding environment through stellar winds and radiation1, and they are thus expected to exert a major influence on the evolution of the cloud. Here we present a mosaic of ten high-resolution radio maps of the region of the cloud known as OMC-1; the maps were constructed from observations of two ammonia emission lines, which trace the densest regions of the gas while mitigating the obscuring effects of the dust. We find dense filaments of molecular gas with complex motions fanning out more than 0.5 parsec from the central core of the cloud. These filaments appear as long, bead-like chains, consisting of dense clumps of gas that may be the sites of future star formation. The outer sheaths of clumps and the edges of filaments may be heated as a direct result of radiation and outflows from young stars embedded in the central core.

The role of environmental sodium chloride relative to calcium in gill morphology of freshwater salmonid fish

Ultrastructure, distribution and abundance of cell types were examined in the gills of two freshwater salmonid species, Salmo fario and Salmo gairdneri, in media of selected ion content. In plain hard water (PW) with high concentrations of Ca2+, Na+, and Cl-, gill chloride cells (CC) were confined to trailing edges and interlamellar regions of filaments whereas in mountain soft water (MW) with low concentrations of Ca2+, Na+, and Cl-, CC were more numerous on filaments and covered lamellae, particularly along trailing edges. CC also appeared on lamellae of PW trout acclimated to soft water in a pond. This proliferation was not alleviated when ambient Ca2+ levels were raised (MW + Ca2+) but regressed in elevated NaCl media (MW + NaCl). The regression process involved an initial covering of CC by pavement cells followed by cytolysis and then eventual disappearance of CC. In MW, mucous cells were distributed mainly on trailing edges and, to a lesser extent, leading edges of filaments; they were absent from lamellae regardless of external ion levels. The results of this study shed some light on the functional significance of CC in freshwater fish. It is suggested that proliferation of CC is an adaptive response to dilute freshwater (i.e. [NaCl]<0.1 mequiv·1-1).