High-density Side Research Articles

Spontaneous asymmetry effect induced by uniform magnetic fields in capacitively coupled plasmas under perfectly symmetric conditions

Abstract Introducing asymmetry in capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) is a common strategy for achieving independent control of ion mean energy and flux. Our 1d3v particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulations reveal that a uniform magnetic field within a specific range can induce spatial asymmetry in low-pressure CCPs, even under perfectly symmetric conditions. This asymmetry, characterized by a shift in the plasma density distribution and significant differences in electron kinetics between the two sides of the plasma, leads to strong ionization and most electron losses on the low-density side, while the high-density side experiences weak ionization and minimal electron losses. The underlying mechanism triggering this spontaneous asymmetry is the differential influence of the magnetic field on low-energy (local) and high-energy (relatively nonlocal) electrons. Under conditions of low pressure and an appropriate magnetic field, this disparity in electron kinetic behavior leads to a spontaneous amplification of the asymmetry induced by random fluctuations until a steady state is reached, culminating in a spontaneous asymmetric effect.

Flame-acoustic interactions in high-pressure H2/air diffusion flames

Understanding flame-acoustics interaction (FAI) that can potentially trigger thermoacoustic instabilities is of critical importance to mitigate the serious side effects of pressure oscillations. While FAI has been studied extensively in premixed flames, comparatively less analysis has been conducted to explore FAI mechanisms in non-premixed flames, especially under high-pressure conditions. This study aims to numerically investigate FAI in high-pressure hydrogen/air counterflow diffusion flames, with special attention on the impact of pressure on FAI. To this end, a fully compressible unsteady counterflow solver combined with Navier-Stokes Characteristic Boundary Conditions (NSCBC) is employed to capture the reflection of the acoustic waves at the boundaries. The results show that for all ambient pressures ( 1 ≤ P a ≤ 60 bar) considered here, real-gas effects on flame structures are negligible and that increasing P a would lead to a power-law dependence of density gradient on P a with an exponent of 1.5. Furthermore, all tested cases show acoustic growth with time under fully reflecting boundary conditions, which is found to be pressure dependent. The flames become less resilient to FAI when the pressure (or density gradient) is increased. The results from the spectral analysis show that for all ambient pressures, there is only a single dominant frequency at the low-density fuel side and two dominant frequencies at the high-density oxidiser side. This indicates that the pressure oscillation is more sinusoidal at the H 2 side than that at the air side. Moreover, the phase space portraits of pressure signals indicate that the dynamics of the system are becoming periodic and approaching a limit cycle. It is found that the integrated heat release rate and the pressure fluctuations are partially in phase, which is responsible for the growth of high-frequency acoustic waves at both fuel and oxidiser sides. On the other hand, the significant density gradient contributes to the growth of low-frequency acoustic waves at the oxidiser side due to the high degree of acoustic reflectivity at the density boundary.

Species transport in a variable-density turbulent mixing layer considering stratified instability

Mixing of miscible fluids with differing densities in turbulent mixing layers is of great importance in chemical engineering. In addition to the effect of density ratio R between two fluids, stratified instability will introduce additional complexity to turbulent mixing of species. We investigate this issue by performing direct numerical simulations of a stratified mixing layer involving two miscible fluids with R = 1, 3, and 6. We find the stronger decay of turbulence in the high-density stream in comparison with the low-density counterpart, which is attributed to the decrease in the shear rate and the increase in stratified instability. Moreover, it shows the dynamical connections between stably stratified mixing layers and wall-bounded turbulent flows, which can be supported by the hairpin vortical structures, the vertical profile of integral shear parameter S* in the low-density side (S* ≈ 10–30), and an inverse wave-number scaling for streamwise energy spectrum of velocity fluctuation. The statistical analysis of the budget of the mixture fraction variance shows that the turbulent mixing of species is significantly suppressed in the high-density side while enhanced in the low-density one, as a result of the larger reduction of turbulent production, turbulent flux, and a smaller reduction of dissipation in the high-density side. Finally, we find that the dissipation rate of the structure function of the mixture fraction variance is about four times larger than that of mixture fraction variance. These results can provide support for large eddy simulation of stratified turbulent mixing of miscible fluids with differing densities.

Chiral Restoration of Nucleons in Neutron Star Matter: Studies Based on a Parity Doublet Model

We review the chiral variant and invariant components of nucleon masses and the consequence of their existence on the chiral restoration in extreme conditions, particularly in neutron star matter. We consider a model of linear realization of chiral symmetry with the nucleon parity doublet structure that permits the chiral invariant mass, m0, for positive and negative parity nucleons. The nuclear matter is constructed with the parity doublet nucleon model coupled to scalar fields σ, vector fields (ω,ρ), and mesons with strangeness through the U(1)A anomaly. In models with a large m0, the nucleon mass is insensitive to the medium, and the nuclear saturation properties can be reproduced without demanding strong couplings of the nucleons to the scalar fields σ and vector fields ω. We confront the resulting nuclear equations of state with nuclear constraints and neutron star observations and delineate the chiral invariant mass and effective interactions. To further examine the nuclear equations of state beyond the saturation density, we supplement quark models to set the boundary conditions from the high-density side. The quark models are constrained by the two-solar-mass conditions, and such constraints are transferred to nuclear models through the causality and thermodynamic stability conditions. We also calculate various condensates and the matter composition from nuclear to quark matter in a unified matter by constructing a generating functional that interpolates the nuclear and quark matter with external fields. Two types of chiral restoration are discussed: one due to the positive scalar charges of nucleons and the other triggered by the evolution of the Dirac sea. We found that the U(1)A anomaly softens equations of state from low to high density.

Particle dispersion in turbulent mixing layer at supercritical pressure

The heterogeneous structures of particles are generated due to the significant temperature changes when cold particles-dilute jet injects into a supercritical water fluidized bed, which is unfavorable for the reaction of coal particles. We expect to promote the particle dispersion by entrainment mechanism of large-scale vortical structures. The Eulerian-Lagrangian point-source method is used to numerically investigate the dynamics of dilute particles in mixing layer sustained by supercritical water with different temperatures. The effects of density ratio and velocity ratio between two streams are analyzed. In addition to the smaller particle numbers at high-density side, the particle clustering in the vortex core regions is found due to the inhibition of vortical structures by increasing density ratio. With increasing velocity ratio, however, the enhanced vortex stretching promotes the entrainment of particles. As a result, the increase in particle number density at high-density side is up to 26% compared with the constant-property flow. • Study on variable-density effect on dynamics of particle-laden mixing layer. • Enhancement of vortical structure by increasing velocity ratio between two streams. • Particle acceleration decrease with increasing density ratio between two streams. • Improvement of particle dispersion due to the entrainment of vortical structures.

Enhancement of thermal mixing under supercritical condition by increasing shear rate

The dynamical characteristics of the shear-driven mixing layer can be inhibited due to the variations in fluid density. In this work we expect to address this issue by increasing shear rate. Direct numerical simulations of mixing layer between two streams with different temperatures at supercritical pressure are conducted. We confirm that the turbulent characteristics of mixing layer are inhibited with increasing density ratio between the lower and upper streams, resulting in the destruction of large-scale vortex, especially at the high-density side. By increasing the velocity ratio between the two streams, however, the mixing performance is enhanced with regeneration of the hairpin vortex due to increase in mean shear. The enstrophy production thus increases due to enhancement of vortex stretching and the thermal mixing efficiency is enhanced due to the entrainment of vortical structures. Further, the streamwise spectra of the temperature fluctuations follow a slope of −3 in the viscous-diffusive range.

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Observations of Lower-hybrid Drift Waves in Terrestrial Magnetotail Reconnection with Moderate Guide Field and Asymmetric Plasma Density

Utilizing high-resolution data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we present new observations of lower-hybrid drift waves (LHDWs) in terrestrial magnetotail reconnection with guide field levels of ∼70% and asymmetric plasma density (N high/N low ∼ 2.5). The LHDWs, driven by lower-hybrid drift instability, were observed in correlation with magnetic field and density gradients at separatrices on both sides of the reconnection current sheet. The properties of the LHDWs at both sides of the separatrices are different: (1) At high-density side separatrices, the LHDWs with wavelength kρ e ∼ 0.41 propagated away from the X-line mainly in the L–M plane; (2) at the low-density side separatrices, the LHDWs with wavelengths kρ e ∼ 0.76 and kρ e ∼ 0.35 propagated mainly along the outflow direction and current sheet normal. It is also found that the perpendicular magnetic field fluctuations were comparable to the parallel component. Wave potential of the LHDWs was 20% ∼ 35% of the electron temperature. The LHDWs contributed to electron demagnetization and energy dissipation. Our study can promote understanding of properties of LHDWs during magnetic reconnection.

Interfacial and build-in electric fields rooting in gradient polyelectrolyte hydrogel boosted heavy metal removal

With the aggravation of pollutants damage to the environment, it is crucial yet rather challenging to design powerful matrixes for nanomaterials with high ions permeability and migration, as well as multiple exposed active sites. However, most of the current nanomaterial matrixes just act as carrier supporters with introduced invalid mass. Here, a gradient natural polycation electrolyte (chitosan) hydrogel was engineered as nanomaterials matrix to boost anionic heavy metals removal such as antimonate (Sb(V)) and arsenate (As(V)) for the first time, based on the generated interfacial and build-in electric potentials due to the diffusion of counterions. The resulting dual electric potentials allow for rapid diffusion and removal efficiency of heavy metal ions. Exemplified by Sb(V) removal, the chitosan gradient hydrogel matrixes with embedded UiO-66 MOFs exhibited a 3-fold higher removal velocity than the homogeneous hydrogel matrix, and their removal efficiencies were also promoted by gathering on the high charge density side of hydrogels. In contrast to the other reported matrix materials without driving force, the gradient polyelectrolyte hydrogel can greatly boost the removal efficiency and shorten the treatment times. This study offers inspirations on eliminating heavy metal contaminations based on self-driving forces stemming from the heterogeneous structure of materials.

Rational Design of a Piezoelectric BaTiO3 Nanodot Surface‐Modified LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 Cathode Material for High‐Rate Lithium‐Ion Batteries

AbstractNickel‐rich cathode materials have been regarded as the most promising candidates for lithium‐ion batteries because of their superior specific capacity and cost‐effectiveness. However, the rapid capacity fade under high current density and serious side reactions during long‐term cycling hinder its wide application. In this study, piezoelectric BaTiO3 nanodots are employed as a functional coating layer on the LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material to balance the relationship between structure and performance. A three‐phase interface model is proposed including the LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material, uniform piezoelectric BaTiO3 nanodots, and the electrolyte. The coating layer plays a key role in the rapid diffusion of lithium‐ions as well as stabilizing the bulk structure of the cathode materials. Furthermore, the possible by‐products generated during the electrochemical cycling that can be alleviated by the modification of BaTiO3 are detected by using differential electrochemical mass spectrometry. As expected, our strategy efficiently improves the structural stability and holds a high‐rate performance.

Supercavitation phenomenon research of projectiles passing through density change area

The past research on the supercavity flow mostly focused on the homogeneous fluid medium, ignoring the influence of the sudden change of the medium density. We present results from numerical study of moving projectile passing density change zone, both from low-density zone to high-density zone and from high-density to low-density. Particular attention is given to the cavity variation when projectile voyaging through different liquid density areas. And the influence of the cavitation number on the cavity variation is also studied. Research results show that there is a ‘diameter shrinkage’ phenomenon when the projectile moving pass the density jump area. The location of ‘diameter shrinkage’ is relative to the density change model: moving from high density side to low, it appears at the interface of liquids; while moving from low density side to high side, it occurs at low density side not the interface. And the degree of ‘necking’ have something to do with the density difference of two sides. However the effect of cavitation number is much complex, the ‘necking’ phenomenon at the interface showed disorder maybe due to the sample limit, but the re-development of the cavity after passing through the interface showing obvious regularity with the cavitation number.

Experiment of cryo-compressed (90-MPa) hydrogen leakage diffusion

To improve safety regulations for fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructures, experiments on cryo-compressed hydrogen leakage diffusion were conducted. The experimental apparatus can supply 90 MPa hydrogen at various temperature conditions (50 K–300 K) at a maximum flow rate of 100 kg/h. The hydrogen leakage flow rate was measured using pinhole nozzles with different outlet diameters (0.2 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm, and 1 mm). It was confirmed that the hydrogen leakage flow rate increases as the supply temperature decreases. To evaluate the hydrogen flow rate including the cryogenic condition, the orifice equation for liquid was found to be appropriate. The orifice flow coefficient converged to a constant value of 0.6 on the high-density condition side. The hydrogen concentration distribution was measured by injecting high-pressure hydrogen from the 0.2-mm pinhole for 10 min under a constant pressure/temperature condition. The axial hydrogen concentration distribution obtained by the ambient temperature (∼300 K) hydrogen injection test well agreed with the experimental formula based on previous research studies. In addition, as the hydrogen injection temperature decreased, it was found that the hydrogen concentration increased, and an empirical formula of the 1% concentration distance for the cryogenic hydrogen system was newly presented. Additional tests were conducted using pinholes of different diameters, and a 1% concentration distance was confirmed to be proportional to the hydrogen leakage flow rate to the 0.5th power.

A numerical study of a variable-density low-speed turbulent mixing layer

Direct numerical simulations of a temporally developing, low-speed, variable-density, turbulent, plane mixing layer are performed. The Navier–Stokes equations in the low-Mach-number approximation are solved using a novel algorithm based on an extended version of the velocity–vorticity formulation used by Kim et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol 177, 1987, 133–166) for incompressible flows. Four cases with density ratios $s=1,2,4$ and 8 are considered. The simulations are run with a Prandtl number of 0.7, and achieve a $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}$ up to 150 during the self-similar evolution of the mixing layer. It is found that the growth rate of the mixing layer decreases with increasing density ratio, in agreement with theoretical models of this phenomenon. Comparison with high-speed data shows that the reduction of the growth rates with increasing density ratio has a weak dependence with the Mach number. In addition, the shifting of the mixing layer to the low-density stream has been characterized by analysing one-point statistics within the self-similar interval. This shifting has been quantified, and related to the growth rate of the mixing layer under the assumption that the shape of the mean velocity and density profiles do not change with the density ratio. This leads to a predictive model for the reduction of the growth rate of the momentum thickness, which agrees reasonably well with the available data. Finally, the effect of the density ratio on the turbulent structure has been analysed using flow visualizations and spectra. It is found that with increasing density ratio the longest scales in the high-density side are gradually inhibited. A gradual reduction of the energy in small scales with increasing density ratio is also observed.

SU‐F‐T‐152: Experimental Validation and Calculation Benchmark for a Commercial Monte Carlo Pencil BeamScanning Proton Therapy Treatment Planning System in Heterogeneous Media

Purpose:Eclipse AcurosPT 13.7, the first commercial Monte Carlo pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy treatment planning system (TPS), was experimentally validated for an IBA dedicated PBS nozzle in the CIRS 002LFC thoracic phantom.Methods:A two‐stage procedure involving the use of TOPAS 1.3 simulations was performed. First, Geant4‐based TOPAS simulations in this phantom were experimentally validated for single and multi‐spot profiles at several depths for 100, 115, 150, 180, 210 and 225 MeV proton beams, using the combination of a Lynx scintillation detector and a MatriXXPT ionization chamber array. Second, benchmark calculations were performed with both AcurosPT and TOPAS in a phantom identical to the CIRS 002LFC, with the exception that the CIRS bone/mediastinum/lung tissues were replaced with similar tissues that are predefined in AcurosPT (a limitation of this system which necessitates the two stage procedure).Results:Spot sigmas measured in tissue were in agreement within 0.2 mm of TOPAS simulation for all six energies, while AcurosPT was consistently found to have larger spot sigma (<0.7 mm) than TOPAS. Using absolute dose calibration by MatriXXPT, the agreements between profiles measurements and TOPAS simulation, and calculation benchmarks are over 97% except near the end of range using 2 mm/2% gamma criteria. Overdosing and underdosing were observed at the low and high density side of tissue interfaces, respectively, and these increased with increasing depth and decreasing energy. Near the mediastinum/lung interface, the magnitude can exceed 5 mm/10%. Furthermore, we observed >5% quenching effect in the conversion of Lynx measurements to dose.Conclusion:We recommend the use of an ionization chamber array in combination with the scintillation detector to measure absolute dose and relative PBS spot characteristics. We also recommend the use of an independent Monte Carlo calculation benchmark for the commissioning of a commercial TPS.Partially supported by Varian Medical System under the master agreement between Varian and University of pennsylvania

FECAL MARKING WITH THE USE OF BARIUM CONTRAST MEDIUM AS AN OPTIMIZATION METHOD OF PATIENTS’ PREPARATION FOR THE VIRTUAL COLONOSCOPY

The purpose of our study was to optimize the patients’ preparation for the virtual colonoscopy procedure (VC) by selecting an adequate dose of the barium comprising contrast medium for the fecal marking (FM). The main aim was to reach an optimum marking of the residual contents with the decrease in both quantity and intensity of high-density side artifacts that influence the quality of the bowel wall and contiguous structures visualization. The process of selecting the appropriate barium concentration was conducted by practical consideration with the aid of the principle phantom colon model. The appropriate dose of barium contrast for FM during patients’ preparation for VC is thereon suggested by the authors of the article. 100 patients took part in the study; they were divided into 2 equal groups of 50 persons. VC with preliminary barium FM and cleansing preparation was applied to all patients from both groups. The difference between the groups consisted in the dose of contrast medium for FM: the amount of the medium suggested by the authors that was less than its standard level was used in one of the groups. The findings of the study were verified with the help of statistical analysis, on the grounds of which it is concluded about the reliable decrease in both quantity and intensity of the undesirable high-density artifacts without any defects in marking in the group of patients with the dose of barium contrast medium that was suggested by the authors.

Particle imaging through planar shock waves and associated velocimetry errors

When imaging particles through a shock wave, the resulting particle image appears blurred and at the wrong location, which is referred to as a position error. Particle image doublets are observed if only part of the light scattered by a particle is deflected or reflected by the shock. These optical distortions are due to the jump in the refractive index that occurs over the shock. Within the context of popular particle-based velocimetry techniques, such as particle image velocimetry and particle tracking velocimetry, the position error propagates into an error in the measured velocity. These particle image distortions and associated errors are assessed and quantified in this paper for the case of planar shocks by means of a light ray tracing approach and by experiments. The errors are shown to be most sensitive to the angle between the viewing direction and the plane of the shock. Increasing this angle to modest values (~5°) is a particularly effective way to decrease the relative velocity error. Looking at the shock from the high-density side is recommended when the accurate determination of the particle response to the shock wave is desired.

High conductance 2D transport around the Hall mobility peak in electrolyte-gated rubrene crystals.

We report the observation of the Hall effect at hole densities up to 6×10¹³ cm⁻² (0.3 holes/molecule) on the surface of electrolyte-gated rubrene crystals. The perplexing peak in the conductance as a function of gate voltage is confirmed to result from a maximum in mobility, which reaches 4 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 2.5×10¹³ cm⁻². Measurements to liquid helium temperatures reveal that this peak is markedly asymmetric, with bandlike and hopping-type transport occurring on the low density side, while unconventional, likely electrostatic-disorder-affected transport dominates the high density side. Most significantly, near the mobility peak the temperature coefficient of the resistance remains positive to as low as 120 K, the low temperature resistance becomes weakly temperature dependent, and the conductance reaches within a factor of 2 of e²/h, revealing conduction unprecedentedly close to a two-dimensional metallic state.

Emission of terahertz pulses from nanostructured metal surfaces

When (nanostructured) metals, such as gold and silver, are illuminated with laser pulses having a duration in the femtosecond range, they can emit pulses of THz light. Most of these experiments have been performed using amplified lasers, giving rise to energy densities on the sample on the order of mJ cm−2. The results of the different experiments are surprisingly inconsistent in both the measurements of the THz fluence as a function of laser fluence and in the interpretation of the results. This paper reviews the current state of affairs of this interesting topic and discusses some effects related to surface preparation that may influence the emission THz light on metals, particularly silver and copper. We also show results of measurements on nanostructured metals using unamplified laser pulses, which emphasize the role played by plasmons in the generation of THz light. When increasing the optical energy density on a specially nanostructured sample, we observe a transition from a ‘classical’ second-order non-linear optical process to a higher-order process as the source of the THz radiation. This supports recent results on a differently structured metal by Polyushkin et al (2014 Phys. Rev. B 89 125426), who also observe two different power regimes when decreasing the intensity coming from the high energy density side.

ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE DENSITY PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTION IN STRONGLY SELF-GRAVITATING SYSTEMS

The time evolution of the probability density function (PDF) of the mass density is formulated and solved for systems in free-fall using a simple appoximate function for the collapse of a sphere. We demonstrate that a pressure-free collapse results in a power-law tail on the high-density side of the PDF. The slope quickly asymptotes to the functional form $\mathrm{P}_v(\rho)\propto\rho^{-1.54}$ for the (volume-weighted) PDF and $\mathrm{P}_m(\rho)\propto\rho^{-0.54}$ for the corresponding mass-weighted distribution. From the simple approximation of the PDF we derive analytic descriptions for mass accretion, finding that dynamically quiet systems with narrow density PDFs lead to retarded star formation and low star formation rates. Conversely, strong turbulent motions that broaden the PDF accelerate the collapse causing a bursting mode of star formation. Finally, we compare our theoretical work with observations. The measured star formation rates are consistent with our model during the early phases of the collapse. Comparison of observed column density PDFs with those derived from our model suggests that observed star-forming cores are roughly in free-fall.

Topographical guidance of 3D tumor cell migration at an interface of collagen densities

During cancer progression, metastatic cells leave the primary tumor and invade into the fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) within the surrounding stroma. This ECM network is highly heterogeneous, and interest in understanding how this network can affect cell behavior has increased in the past several decades. However, replicating this heterogeneity has proven challenging. Here, we designed and utilized a method to create a well-defined interface between two distinct regions of high- and low-density collagen gels to mimic the heterogeneities in density found in the tumor stroma. We show that cells will invade preferentially from the high-density side into the low-density side. We also demonstrate that the net cell migration is a function of the density of the collagen in which the cells are embedded, and the difference in density between the two regions has minimal effect on cell net displacement and distance travelled. Our data further indicate that a low-to-high density interface promotes directional migration and induces formation of focal adhesion on the interface surface. Together, the current results demonstrate how ECM heterogeneities, in the form of interfacial boundaries, can affect cell migration.

Ginzburg–Landau phase diagram of QCD near chiral critical point – chiral defect lattice and solitonic pion condensate

We investigate the influence of the isospin asymmetry on the phase structure of quark matter near the chiral critical point systematically using a generalized version of Ginzburg–Landau approach. The effect has proven to be so profound that it brings about not only a shift of the critical point but also a rich variety of phases in its neighborhood. In particular, there shows up a phase with spatially varying charged pion condensate which we name the “solitonic pion condensate” in addition to the “chiral defect lattice” where the chiral condensate is partially destructed by periodic placements of two-dimensional wall-like defects. Our results suggest that there may be an island of solitonic pion condensate in the low temperature and high density side of QCD phase diagram.