Supercritical Field Research Articles

Spin-polarization effects in the one-photon pair production in a supercritical magnetic field

A theoretical study is performed for the single-photon creation of an electron–positron pair in an external magnetic field. We present general expressions for process rates that are valid for arbitrarily high field strengths. Simple analytical expressions are obtained in the limiting cases of weak and strong fields. The emphasis is placed on the investigation of the spin alignment of the created particles as a function of the incident photon polarization and magnetic field strength. The obtained results show that the maximum value of the polarization degree of electrons (positrons) decreases in supercritical magnetic field.

Heavy black hole seed formation in high-z atomic cooling halos

Context. Halos with masses in excess of the atomic limit are believed to be ideal environments in which to form heavy black hole seeds with masses above 103 M⊙. In cases where the H2 fraction is suppressed, this is expected to lead to reduced fragmentation of the gas and the generation of a top-heavy initial mass function. In extreme cases this can result in the formation of massive black hole seeds. Resolving the initial fragmentation scale and the resulting protostellar masses has, until now, not been robustly tested. Aims. We run zoom-in simulations of atomically cooled halos in which the formation of H2 is suppressed to assess whether they can truly resist fragmentation at high densities and tilt the initial mass function towards a more top-heavy form and the formation of massive black hole seeds. Methods. Cosmological simulations were performed with the moving mesh code AREPO, using a primordial chemistry network until z ∼ 11. Three haloes with masses in excess of the atomic cooling mass were then selected for detailed examination via zoom-ins. A series of zoom-in simulations, with varying levels of maximum spatial resolution, captured the resulting fragmentation and formation of metal-free stars using the sink particle technique. The highest resolution simulations resolved densities up to 10−6 g cm−3 (1018 cm−3) and captured a further 100 yr of fragmentation behaviour at the centre of the halo. Lower resolution simulations were then used to model the future accretion behaviour of the sinks over longer timescales. Results. Our simulations show intense fragmentation in the central region of the halos, leading to a large number of near-solar mass protostars. Even in the presence of a super-critical Lyman-Werner radiation field (JLW > 105J21), H2 continues to form within the inner ∼2000 au of the halo. Despite the increased fragmentation, the halos produce a protostellar mass spectrum that peaks at higher masses relative to standard Population III star-forming halos. The most massive protostars have accretion rates of 10−3–10−1 M⊙ yr−1 after the first 100 years of evolution, while the total mass of the central region grows at 1 M⊙ yr−1. Lower resolution zoom-ins show that the total mass of the system continues to accrete at ∼1 M⊙ yr−1 for at least 104 yr, although how this mass is distributed amongst the rapidly growing number of protostars is unclear. However, assuming that a fraction of stars can continue to accrete rapidly, the formation of a sub-population of stars with masses in excess of 103 M⊙ is likely in these halos. In the most optimistic case, we predict the formation of heavy black hole seeds with masses in excess of 104 M⊙, assuming an accretion behaviour in line with expectations from super-competitive accretion and/or frequent mergers with secondary protostars.

Subtraction-based densities for positrons created inside supercritical fields

Subtraction-based densities for positrons created inside supercritical fields

Preface to Special Topic: Relativistic plasma in supercritical fields

Preface to Special Topic: Relativistic plasma in supercritical fields

Case study: Repowering of ORC system by means of experimental test bench with supercritical carbon dioxide, proposal, and field experience improvements

Although organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) have cornered the small-scale energy harvesting market, the generation capacities produced by sCO2 cycles far exceed those of ORCs, reaching higher powers and efficiencies. This paper analyzes the results of the field tests performed in 2022 at the Grupo Dragón, Nayarit, Mexico, facilities, in which the objective was to validate the operation of the ORC IDEA-10 system with a capacity of up to 10 kWe. The thermodynamic states reached during the test time lapses in which there was full operational stability and with direct loads are analyzed. The results obtained together with proposals for improvement led to compare the performance of ORCs with sCO2 systems for low temperature geothermal sources. The efficiencies of simple sCO2 cycles (5.32%) turned out to be lower than that of ORC at the same temperatures (9.7%), however, the efficiency of the sCO2 cycle improved notably in a regenerative configuration, given the properties of CO2 near its critical point, reaching efficiencies above 25% even at low temperatures compared to conventional ORCs with efficiencies below 10%. Finally, the basis for the implementation of sCO2 in low enthalpy geothermal applications was established, designing an experimental circuit with results obtained in the literature.

Existence of nonminimal solutions to an inhomogeneous elliptic equation with supercritical nonlinearity

Abstract In our previous paper [K. Ishige, S. Okabe, and T. Sato, A supercritical scalar field equation with a forcing term, J. Math. Pures Appl. 128 (2019), pp. 183–212], we proved the existence of a threshold κ ∗ > 0 {\kappa }^{\ast }\gt 0 such that the elliptic problem for an inhomogeneous elliptic equation − Δ u + u = u p + κ μ -\Delta u+u={u}^{p}+\kappa \mu in R N {{\bf{R}}}^{N} possesses a positive minimal solution decaying at the space infinity if and only if 0 < κ ≤ κ ∗ 0\lt \kappa \le {\kappa }^{\ast } . Here, N ≥ 2 N\ge 2 , μ \mu is a nontrivial nonnegative Radon measure in R N {{\bf{R}}}^{N} with a compact support, and p > 1 p\gt 1 is in the Joseph-Lundgren subcritical case. In this article, we prove the existence of nonminimal positive solutions to the elliptic problem. Our arguments are also applicable to inhomogeneous semilinear elliptic equations with exponential nonlinearity.

Birth process of electron-positron pairs inside supercritical fields

We propose a computational quantum field theoretical approach to obtain a microscopic insight into the creation process of electrons and positrons as well as their subsequent motion inside a supercritical external field with space-time resolution. A machine-learning–based method permits us to address fundamental questions such as where inside the interaction region the particles are being created and what their initial velocity distribution is. It suggests that the particles' most likely birth positions change in time during the dynamics. At early times the particles' birth density is roughly proportional to the square of the force field, but in the long-time and steady state production regime their possible birth locations narrow down significantly. Counterintuitively, this leads for longer times to the occurrence of “birth-free” zones within the field, where particles are no longer created even though the electric field is maximal there. The genetic-programming–based symbolic regression algorithms first learn multiple sequences of partially dressed positronic spatial probability densities as training data and then exploit their features as a function of the dressing strength in order to predict the particles' true distribution in space and momentum.

Vacuum birefringence at one-loop in a supercritical magnetic field superposed with a weak electric field and application to pulsar magnetosphere

Recent ultra-intense lasers of subcritical fields and proposed X-ray polarimetry for highly magnetized neutron stars of supercritical fields have attracted attention to vacuum birefringence, a unique feature of the nonlinear vacuum under strong electromagnetic fields. We propose a formulation of the vacuum birefringence in a strong magnetic field ({textbf{B}}) and a weak electric field ({textbf{E}}), including the effect of electromagnetic wrench (G equiv -{textbf{E}}cdot {textbf{B}}ne 0). To do so, we derive a closed expression of the one-loop effective Lagrangian for the combined magnetic and electric fields by using the formula of the one-loop effective Lagrangian for an arbitrarily strong magnetic field. We then employ the expression to derive the polarization and magnetization of the vacuum, from which we obtain the permittivity and permeability for a weak probe field. Specifically, we find the refractive indices and the associated polarization vectors of the probe field for the case of parallel magnetic and electric fields. The proposed formulation reproduces the known results for pure magnetic fields in the proper limit. Finally, we apply the formulation to the Goldreich–Julian pulsar model. Our formulation reveals the importance of the electromagnetic wrench in vacuum birefringence: it can reduce the difference between refractive indices and rotate polarization vectors to a significant degree. Such a quantitative understanding is crucial to the X-ray polarimetry for magnetized neutron stars or magnetars, which will demonstrate the fundamental feature of the strongly-modified quantum vacuum and estimate the extreme fields surrounding those astrophysical bodies.

Non-perturbative effects in the QED-vacuum energy exposed to the supercritical Coulomb field

Non-perturbative effects of the QED-vacuum reconstruction exposed to the supercritical Coulomb field are considered with emphasis on the behavior of the vacuum energy [Formula: see text]. It is shown that in the supercritical region [Formula: see text] turns out to be a decreasing function of the Coulomb source, resulting in decay into the negative range as [Formula: see text], and that it is indeed the decline of [Formula: see text], which provides the required energy for (presumably possible) positron emission. The properties of the resonance decay, found this way, are in agreement with those achieved by other methods. The additional problems of spontaneous emission, caused by lepton number conservation, are also discussed.

Hydrothermal fluid flow triggered by an earthquake in Iceland

Microearthquake hypocenters were analyzed in the Krýsuvík geothermal area in SW-Iceland with data taken from two consecutive passive seismic surveys, 2005 and 2009. Five years prior to the 2005 survey, this area was struck by an earthquake initiating a major top-to-bottom fluid migration in the upper crust. We observe from our surveys a complex bottom-to-top migration of seismicity with time following this fluid penetration, suggesting the migration of a pore pressure front controlled by the upper-crust fracture system. We interpret these data as the time and space development of high-temperature hydrothermal cells from a deep upper crustal fluid reservoir in the supercritical field. These results provide an insight into the coupling mechanisms between active tectonics and fluid flow in upper-crustal extensional systems with high thermal flux.

Supercritical resonance in a strong magnetic field

The position and width of supercritical resonance of one-electron ion in presence of a strong magnetic field are calculated. The influence of the magnetic field on the supercritical resonance parameters is investigated. Keywords: supercritical field, complex scaling.

Metamorphosis of trilobite-like drops on a surface: Electrically driven fingering

The experimental evidence reveals that sessile drops on a dielectric horizontal substrate subjected to sub-critical in-plane electric field acquire steady-state configurations where a balance between the pulling-outwards electric Maxwell stresses and the restoring surface tension has been attained. On the other hand, the experiments show that in supercritical electric field the Maxwell stresses become dominant and not only stretch the drop as a whole but also trigger growth of multiple fingers crawling toward electrodes on both sides of the drop. This makes the drops with fingers stretched along the electric field lines similar to some trilobites known from their imprints in petrified sediments studied in paleontology. It is shown experimentally and theoretically that fingers are triggered during the encounters of the spreading drop outlines with minor surface imperfections. Such surface defects (existing originally or pre-notched on purpose) result in fingers which can grow being directed by the electric-field lines. The present work details multiple experimental observations of the trilobite-like fingering with several types of commercially available paints (colloidal dispersions) and also provides a theoretical framework for this novel type of fingering.

Geochemical evidence for the nonexistence of supercritical geothermal fluids at the Yangbajing geothermal field, southern Tibet

Exploring and exploiting high-temperature (even supercritical) geothermal resources are significant to meet energy demands and reduce carbon emissions. The Yangbajing geothermal field is the most exploited in China, with the currently highest temperature (329.8 °C) measured in a geothermal well. However, whether there are supercritical geothermal fluids beneath the deep parts of this geothermal field is under controversy. In this paper, the water isotope, chemical compositions, and C–He isotopes of gas samples were collected and analyzed. The geothermal water originated from the mixing of meteoric water and magmatic water (25%). The sources of CO2 in the geothermal field were dominated by the thermogenic degassing of carbonates and metasediments in the crust while the radioactive decay of U and Th in granite is the dominated source of He. The temperatures of three different reservoirs are 150 ± 15 °C, 250 ± 10 °C, and ∼320 °C (with a depth of ∼8 km), respectively. These were obtained using dissolved gas, soil CO2 flux, and noble gas geothermometers. Unlike other supercritical geothermal fields worldwide with larger, shallower, basaltic magma chambers, the Yangbajing geothermal field has a deep-seated, small-scale, granitic magma chamber. Thus, its geological conditions are not conducive for gestating supercritical fluids. These results are of great significance for exploring and developing high-temperature (even ultra-high-temperature) geothermal resources in China.

Electrohydrodynamic instability of viscous liquid films: Electrostatically modified second-order Benney and Kuramoto–Sivashinsky models

Long wave evolution on viscous films flowing under gravity down an inclined plate in the presence of an electrostatic field acting normal to the plate is described using new nonlinear models. First, an asymptotic expansion is applied to derive a strongly nonlinear evolution equation for the interfacial position in the long-wave limit, which retains terms up to second order in a small film parameter (ε) and thus brings in dispersive effects, inclination-angle corrections for hydrostatic pressure, second-order contributions to inertia and electric stresses as well as the interaction of the last two. Two weakly nonlinear models (WNMs) for the disturbances with O(ε2) amplitude are then derived, which account for distinct effects of hydrostatic pressure, inertia and dispersion for shallow and steep angles. We compare the linear stability results based on the second-order electrified Benney equation (BE) and the WNMs with realistic parameter values. It is shown that the growth rates coincide, while the phase speed from the WNMs is a good approximation of that from the BE for small wavenumbers only. The comparison of exact dispersion relations from the Orr–Sommerfeld (OS) problem with the linear results of the second-order BE takes a step towards understanding the validity range of the BE with non-local terms that approximates the full electrohydrodynamic coupling system describing the inclined electrified film flow. The pertinent OS results demonstrate that a decrease in electrode distance can diminish the critical Reynolds number (Re). Furthermore, at subcritical Re with a slightly supercritical electric field, the finite wavelength of the least stable mode has been estimated using an energy balance, whose amplitude will be governed by two coupled Ginzburg–Landau (GL) equations, derived using a multiple-scale analysis by taking higher-order problems into account. The numerical solutions of the leading-order GL equation demonstrate that close to the bifurcation, it can fully govern the temporal behaviour of the system.

Evolution and Shape of Two-Dimensional Stokesian Drops under the Action of Surface Tension and Electric Field: Linear and Nonlinear Theory and Experiment

The creeping-flow theory describing evolution and steady-state shape of two-dimensional ionic-conductor drops under the action of surface tension and the subcritical (in terms of the electric Bond number) electric field imposed in the substrate plane is developed. On the other hand, the experimental data are acquired for drops impacted or softly deposited on dielectric surfaces of different wettability and subjected to an in-plane subcritical electric field. Even though the experimental situation involves viscous friction of drops with the substrates and wettability-driven motion of the contact line, the comparison to the theory reveals that it can accurately describe the steady-state drop shape on a non-wettable substrate. In the latter case, the drop is sufficiently raised above the substrate, which diminishes the three-dimensional effects, making the two-dimensional description (lacking the no-slip condition at the substrate and wettability-driven motion of the contact line) relevant. Accordingly, it is demonstrated how the subcritical electric field deforms the initially circular drops until an elongated steady-state configuration is reached. In particular, the surface tension tends to round off the non-circular drops stretched by the electric Maxwell stresses imposed by the electrodes. A more pronounced substrate wettability leads to more elongated steady-state configurations observed experimentally than those predicted by the two-dimensional theory. The latter cases reveal significant three-dimensional effects in the electrically driven drop stretching. In the supercritical electric fields (corresponding to the supercritical electric Bond numbers), the electrical stretching of drops predicted by the present linearized two-dimensional theory results in splitting into two separate droplets. This scenario is corroborated by the predictions of the fully nonlinear results for similar electrically stretched bubbles in the creeping-flow regime available in the literature as well as by the present experimental results on a substrate with slip.

Atomic physics at the HIAF under extreme conditions: QED effects from strong Coulomb fields to beyond Schwinger limits

The high-intensity heavy ion accelerator facility (HIAF) is one of the major large-scale research facilities at the nuclear science center planned for Huizhou City in Guangdong Province. HIAF and its experimental terminals can be used to realize unprecedented research progresses in nuclear physics, atomic physics, materials, high-energy-density physics, and applications related to heavy ion beams such as cancer therapy, material modification, and radiobiology. In addition, they will provide excellent possibilities for atomic physics to investigate the quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects from strong electromagnetic fields to super-critical electromagnetic fields beyond the Schwinger limit. Starting from modern atomic spectroscopy based on the accelerator technology and in combination with the beam characteristics of the HIAF, this paper discusses the cutting-edge research topics that could be performed at HIAF and the upgrades to HIAF that could be implemented in the near future. The research fields include the QED effects in super-strong fields, parity nonconservation in highly charged ions, few-body processes in relativistic collisions, and testing the locality of matter waves of massive particles. This paper also discusses the possibility to perform laser spectroscopy with respect to radioactive ions. Furthermore, we believe that the latest high harmonic extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser technology can be combined with HIAF for realizing high-precision measurements.

How to access QED at a supercritical Coulomb field

In slow collisions of two bare nuclei with the total charge number larger than the critical value, $Z_{\rm cr} \approx 173$, the initially neutral vacuum can spontaneously decay into the charged vacuum and two positrons. Detection of the spontaneous emission of positrons would be the direct evidence of this fundamental phenomenon. However, the spontaneous emission is generally masked by the dynamical positron emission, which is induced by a strong time-dependent electric field created by the colliding nuclei. In our recent paper [I.A. Maltsev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 113401 (2019)] it has been shown that the spontaneous pair production can be observed via measurements of the pair-production probabilities for a given set of nuclear trajectories. In the present paper, we have significantly advanced this study by exploring additional aspects of the process we are interested in. We calculate the positron energy spectra and find that these spectra can give a clear signature of the transition from the subcritical to the supercritical regime. It is found that focusing on a part of the positron spectrum, which accounts for the energy region where the spontaneously created positrons can contribute, allows to get a much stronger evidence of the transition to the supercritical mode, making it very well pronounced in collisions, for example, of two uranium nuclei. The possibility of extending this study to collisions of bare nuclei with neutral atoms is also considered. The probability of a vacancy in the lowest-energy state of a quasimolecule which is formed in collisions of a bare U nucleus with neutral U and Cm atoms has been calculated. The relatively large values of this probability make such collisions suitable for observing the vacuum decay.

Macroalgae as a Source of Valuable Antimicrobial Compounds: Extraction and Applications.

In the last few decades, attention on new natural antimicrobial compounds has arisen due to a change in consumer preferences and the increase in the number of resistant microorganisms. Macroalgae play a special role in the pursuit of new active molecules as they have been traditionally consumed and are known for their chemical and nutritional composition and their biological properties, including antimicrobial activity. Among the bioactive molecules of algae, proteins and peptides, polysaccharides, polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids and pigments can be highlighted. However, for the complete obtaining and incorporation of these molecules, it is essential to achieve easy, profitable and sustainable recovery of these compounds. For this purpose, novel liquid–liquid and solid–liquid extraction techniques have been studied, such as supercritical, ultrasound, microwave, enzymatic, high pressure, accelerated solvent and intensity pulsed electric fields extraction techniques. Moreover, different applications have been proposed for these compounds, such as preservatives in the food or cosmetic industries, as antibiotics in the pharmaceutical industry, as antibiofilm, antifouling, coating in active packaging, prebiotics or in nanoparticles. This review presents the main antimicrobial potential of macroalgae, their specific bioactive compounds and novel green extraction technologies to efficiently extract them, with emphasis on the antibacterial and antifungal data and their applications.

From parallel to perpendicular – On the orientation of magnetic fields in molecular clouds

ABSTRACT We present synthetic dust polarization maps of simulated molecular clouds with the goal to systematically explore the origin of the relative orientation of the magnetic field ($\mathbf {B}$) with respect to the cloud sub-structure identified in density (n; 3D) and column density (N; 2D). The polarization maps are generated with the radiative transfer code polaris, which includes self-consistently calculated efficiencies for radiative torque alignment. The molecular clouds are formed in two sets of 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations: (i) in colliding flows (CF), and (ii) in the SILCC-Zoom simulations. In 3D, for the CF simulations with an initial field strength below ∼5 μG, $\mathbf {B}$ is oriented either parallel or randomly with respect to the n-structures. For CF runs with stronger initial fields as well as all SILCC-Zoom simulations, which have an initial field strength of 3 μG, a flip from parallel to perpendicular orientation occurs at high densities of $n_\rm {trans}\, \simeq$ 102–103 cm−3. We suggest that this flip happens if the cloud’s mass-to-flux ratio, μ, is close to or below the critical value of 1. This corresponds to a field strength around 3–5 μG, close to the Galactic average. In 2D, we use the method of Projected Rayleigh Statistics (PRS) to study the relative orientation of $\mathbf {B}$. If present, the flip in orientation occurs in the projected maps at $N_\rm {trans}\, \simeq$ 1021 − 21.5 cm−2. This value is similar to the observed transition value from sub- to supercritical magnetic fields in the interstellar medium. However, projection effects can strongly reduce the predictive power of the PRS method: Depending on the considered cloud or line-of-sight, the projected maps of the SILCC-Zoom simulations do not always show the flip, although it is expected given the 3D morphology. Such projection effects can explain the variety of recently observed field configurations, in particular within a single cloud. Finally, we do not find a correlation between the observed orientation of $\mathbf {B}$ and the N-PDF.

How non-stationary are moderately supercritical shocks?

Ion motion in a collisionless shock front is affected by macroscopic large-scale weakly varying and microscopic small-scale fast varying magnetic and electric fields. With the increase of the Mach number the role of the microscopic field is expected to become progressively more important. Using a combination of hybrid simulations and test particle analysis, we show that in moderately supercritical shocks macroscopic fields play the main role in ion motion across the shock. Pressure balance across the shock is only weakly broken and non-stationarity is related to the deviations from the total pressure from the constant value.