Instability Turbulence Research Articles

Numerical study of turbulent eddy self-interaction in tokamaks with low magnetic shear. Part II: Nonlinear simulations

Abstract Using local nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations and building up on linear results from a companion paper (Volčokas 2024 Submitted for publication), we demonstrate that turbulent eddies can extend along magnetic field lines for hundreds of poloidal turns in tokamaks with weak or zero magnetic shear s ^ . We observe that this parallel eddy length scales inversely with magnetic shear and at s ^ = 0 is limited by the thermal speed of electrons v th , e . We examine the consequences of these ‘ultra long’ eddies on turbulent transport, in particular, how field line topology mediates strong parallel self-interaction. Our investigation reveals that, through this process, field line topology can strongly affect transport. It can cause transitions between different turbulent instabilities and in some cases triple the logarithmic gradient needed to drive a given amount of heat flux. We also extensively study a novel ‘eddy squeezing’ effect introduced in Volčokas (2023 Nucl. Fusion 63 014003), which reduces the perpendicular size of eddies and their ability to transport energy, thus representing a novel approach to improve confinement. Finally, we investigate the triggering mechanism of Internal Transport Barriers (ITBs) using low magnetic shear simulations, shedding light on why ITBs are often easier to trigger where the safety factor has a low-order rational value.

Linear instability in thermally stratified quasi-Keplerian flows

Quasi-Keplerian flow, a special regime of Taylor–Couette co-rotating flow, is of great astrophysical interest for studying angular momentum transport in accretion disks. The well-known magnetorotational instability (MRI) successfully explains the flow instability and generation of turbulence in certain accretion disks, but fails to account for these phenomena in protoplanetary disks where magnetic effects are negligible. Given the intrinsic decrease of the temperature in these disks, we examine the effect of radial thermal stratification on three-dimensional global disturbances in linearised quasi-Keplerian flows under radial gravitational acceleration mimicking stellar gravity. Our results show a thermo-hydrodynamic linear instability for both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric modes across a broad parameter space of the thermally stratified quasi-Keplerian flow. Generally, a decreasing Richardson or Prandtl number stabilises the flow, while a reduced radius ratio destabilises it. This work also provides a quantitative characterisation of the instability. At low Prandtl numbers $Pr$ , we observe a scaling relation of the linear critical Taylor number $Ta_c\propto Pr^{-6/5}$ . Extrapolating the observed scaling to high $Ta$ and low $Pr$ may suggest the relevance of the instability to accretion disks. Moreover, even slight thermal stratification, characterised by a low Richardson number, can trigger the flow instability with a small axial wavelength. These findings are qualitatively consistent with the results from a traditional local stability analysis based on short wave approximations. Our study refines the thermally induced linearly unstable transition route in protoplanetary disks to explain angular momentum transport in dead zones where MRI is ineffective.

Resolution analysis of magnetically arrested disc simulations

ABSTRACT Polarization measurements by the Event Horizon Telescope from M87* and Sgr A* suggest that there is a dynamically strong, ordered magnetic field, typical of what is expected of a magnetically arrested accretion disc (MAD). In such discs, the strong poloidal magnetic field can suppress the accretion flow and cause episodic flux eruptions. Recent work shows that general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) MAD simulations feature dynamics of turbulence and mixing instabilities that are becoming resolved at higher resolutions. We perform a convergence study of MAD states exceeding the status quo by an order of magnitude in resolution. We use existing 3D simulations performed with the H-AMR code, up to a resolution of 5376 × 2304 × 2304 in a logarithmic spherical-polar grid. We find consistent time-averaged disc properties across all resolutions. However, higher resolutions reveal signs of inward angular momentum transport attributed to turbulent convection, particularly evident when mixing instabilities occur at the surfaces of flux tubes during flux eruptions. Additionally, we see wave-like features in the jet sheath, which become more prominent at higher resolutions, that may induce mixing between the jet and disc. At higher resolutions, we observe the sheath to be thinner, resulting in increased temperature, reduced magnetization, and greater variability. Those differences could affect the dissipation of energy, which would eventually result in distinct observable radiative emission from high-resolution simulations. With higher resolutions, we can delve into crucial questions about horizon-scale physics and its impact on the dynamics and emission properties of larger-scale jets.

Condition for metal fragmentation during Earth-forming collisions

The long-term evolution of the deep Earth depends on its initial temperature and composition. These were set by the large planetary collisions that formed the Earth. After each collision, the metallic core of the impactor fell into a molten silicate magma ocean. Previous investigations showed that, as it sank, the impactor core fragmented into drops. The overall fragmentation of the core controlled the efficiency of chemical transfers between the impactor metal and the magma ocean, and, as a consequence, the composition of the Earth's core and mantle. However, because previous studies lack an impact stage, it is unclear whether the projectile core fragmented during the impact at Earth's surface, or deeper in the magma ocean.To answer this question, we conduct laboratory experiments modeling the collision of single-phase and two-phase impactors. In a first series of experiments, we investigate the impact of a single-phase centimetric liquid volume, representing the impactor core, onto a lighter immiscible liquid, representing the magma ocean. Our experiments approach the dynamical regime of planetary collisions for which inertia is large compared to surface tension. Varying the velocity and size of the impactor, we determine the conditions under which the impactor fragments into drops. We find that fragmentation occurs when the Froude number, which measures the relative importance of inertia to gravity, is larger than 40, regardless of surface tension. This fragmentation results from the growth of a turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the interface between the impacting liquid and the target pool. In contrast, when Fr<10, the impactor remains coherent. In a second series of experiments, we use two-phase impactors to show that these results hold for impactors that are differentiated into a core and a mantle.Applied to planet formation, our results suggest that the core of impactors less than 330 km in radius impacting at the escape velocity onto an Earth-sized planet fully fragments into droplets during the impact process, whereas the core of a giant Mars-sized impactor remains coherent. We derive a model for the depth at which the impactor core fragments in the magma ocean as a function of the impactor size and velocity. This model predicts that impactors with a radius less than 800 km fully fragment before reaching the bottom of the magma ocean. For velocities higher than twice the escape speed, some degree of fragmentation is unavoidable for any impactor size.

Modeling of primary breakup considering turbulent nozzle flow, internal turbulence and surface instability of liquid jet using turbulence decay theory

In heat engines utilizing fuel injection, the processes of atomization and spray formation have a significant impact on the combustion process, thereby determining both efficiency and emission characteristics. Accurate prediction and control of spray formation in fuel injection systems play a key role in improving the efficiency and environmental performance of thermal engines, especially with the emergence of carbon-neutral fuels. To achieve accurate prediction of spray mixture formation, it is imperative to refine the atomization model for the liquid jet within numerical simulations. This requires a phenomenological representation of the atomization process that avoids reliance on computational constants obtained from spray experimental results. Consequently, the present study attempts to mathematically model the turbulent nozzle flow and liquid jet atomization process, leading to the development of a novel primary breakup model. The construction of the primary breakup model involves an analysis of the turbulence at the nozzle inlet. By merging this turbulence with the turbulence resulting from wall shear flow within the nozzle, the model provides insight into the internal turbulence and surface instability of the liquid jet, encompassing the turbulence spectrum. Consequently, the influence of nozzle length on the turbulent flow within the nozzle can be understood, and the droplet formation characteristics of the liquid jet can be predicted along with its multi-wavelength dispersion characteristics. The model effectively captures the experimental results in terms of breakup length and droplet dispersion characteristics, thus adding a higher level of accuracy to numerical simulations. Ultimately, the in-depth study of this model, coupled with its comparison with experimental results, enhances the understanding of the liquid jet atomization process.

Особливості та проблеми дифузії клієнтських баз у діяльності ІТ-підприємств України

The purpose of the study is to identify the features and problems of diffusion of the client base of IT enterprises in Ukraine, to develop recommendations for solution of the latter. The article outlines the general situation in the IT market, in particular, draws attention to its turbulence and high instability of consumer preferences, when supply in the market dominates over demand. The components of the concept of «diffusion of client bases of enterprises» are considered. Under the concept of «diffusion» it is proposed to consider the conception that describes the patterns of distribution of cultural, social, economic and other phenomena, initially concentrated in one or more places, which imply the presence of a certain share of uncertainties, and «client base» – as the main source of business and income of the enterprise, containing information about both existing and potential clients. The main advantages of maintaining a client base of activities are presented, in particular: preservation of data; transfer of a client from one manager to another; analysis of the market situation; assessment of the target audience; formation of marketing strategy and business development. It is noted that client-oriented business management allows to increase the profit and overall efficiency of the enterprise by increasing the amount of revenue from the existing client base, as well as by optimizing operating costs. The stages of formation of the client base of activity for IT enterprises are proposed and detailed as: planning, development, implementation, and analysis. Attention is drawn to the matter that the main indicator of the diffusion of the client base of an IT enterprise is the «drawdown» of sales, which can be caused by both internal and external factors of influence. The statistics of changes in the geography of hiring on the example of the largest domestic IT enterprises, which is one of the indicators of client behavior, has been studied. It is noted that large enterprises do not experience the diffusion of the client base of activity to the same extent as it happens with small companies, so the diffusion of the client base of IT enterprises from Ukraine is not a mass phenomenon. Recommendations to encourage clients to cooperate with Ukrainian IT companies are proposed. Prospects for further research in this direction are the study of the specifics of the recovery of global demand in the IT industry after the recession.

Impact of PBL schemes on multiscale WRF modeling over complex terrain, Part I: Mesoscale simulations

This study investigates the performance of two commonly used planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes, the local turbulence closure (Mellor-Yamada-Janjić: MYJ) and the nonlocal turbulence closure (Yonsei University: YSU), over the tropical coastal region of Shenzhen, China, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The simulation results are evaluated by comparing them to various measurements. Additionally, we also investigate the performance of the PBL schemes over different land cover types and their ability to reproduce the physical relationships between several pairs of interrelated near-surface atmospheric parameters. The results show that both PBL schemes underestimate temperature and PBL height and overestimate wind speed and turbulent fluxes throughout the whole day, but this can be improved by increasing horizontal resolution. We find that the overestimation of wind speed and turbulent heat fluxes is mainly caused by the strong mechanical mixing in the model. Some improvements are required such as more accurate surface morphology parameters and momentum transport coefficients. Overall, the YSU scheme outperforms the MYJ scheme at all horizontal resolutions over complex terrain in terms of near-surface variables, PBL vertical structures, and the internal relations between turbulent heat fluxes and atmospheric instability. However, the difference between the two PBL schemes, varying over different land covers and with time periods and altitudes within the PBL, is generally greater over the land than over the sea for thermal-related variables (especially during daytime), while for variables associated with water vapor is the opposite. This highlights the importance of the underlying surface for the performance of PBL schemes and the need to select appropriate PBL schemes for simulating the evolution of PBL processes over different land covers.

Comparative study on the wake dynamics of pump-jet and ducted propeller based on dynamic mode decomposition

A comparative study on the wake dynamics of a pump-jet propulsor (PJP) and a ducted propeller (DP) is conducted to investigate the effects of the pre-swirl stator and corresponding stator–rotor interaction on the wake evolution and destabilization mechanisms of a PJP system. The flow field analysis, vortex structure identification, and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) analysis are carried out based on the numerical results obtained from delayed detached eddy simulations. The numerical hydrodynamic loading and flow field of the PJP are compared with experimental results, and they are in good agreement. Compared with the DP, the stator trailing vortices of the PJP interact with the rotor trailing vortices as well as the hub vortex, accelerating their diffusion and viscous dissipation. The pre-swirl stator triggers the generation of secondary vortices and moderates the spiral behavior of tip leakage vortices, which dominates the wake instability of PJP. The DMD analysis revealed that the wake field evolution is primarily characterized by the different mode structures at blade passing frequency and its multiples, especially in the PJP due to its strong stator–rotor interaction. The modal energy decays faster in the PJP wake field owing to its more turbulent and earlier instability. The hub vortex plays an important role in the wake dynamics of the DP.

From classical to ultimate heat fluxes for convection at a vertical wall

Convection from a buoyancy source distributed over a vertical wall has diverse applications, from the natural ventilation of buildings to the melting of marine-terminating glaciers which impacts on future sea level. A key challenge involves determining how the rate and mechanisms of turbulent heat transfer should be extrapolated across a range of scales. Ke et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 964, 2023, A24) explore transitions in the turbulent flow dynamics using direct numerical simulation of a convective boundary layer at a heated vertical wall. A classical regime of heat transfer, consistent with previous laboratory experiments, gives way with increasing accumulation of buoyancy to an ultimate regime with enhanced heat transfer. The key to this transition lies in a near-wall sublayer, with a switch from laminar buoyancy-driven dynamics to a sublayer dominated by turbulence and shear instability from the mean flow.

A theoretic analysis of magnetoactive GES-based turbulent solar plasma instability

ABSTRACT A recently reported gravito-electrostatic sheath (GES) model is procedurally applied to study the turbumagnetoactive helioseismic oscillation features in the entire bi-fluidic solar plasma system. The bounded solar interior plasma (SIP, internally self-gravitating), and the unbounded solar wind plasma (SWP, externally point-gravitating) are coupled through the interfacial diffused solar surface boundary (SSB) due to an exact gravito-electrostatic interplay. A numerical platform on the developed theoretic formalism reveals the evolution of both dispersive and non-dispersive features of the modified GES mode fluctuations in new parametric windows. Different colourspectral profiles exhibit important features of the GES-based SIP–SWP perturbations elaborately. It is illustratively shown that the thermostatistical GES stability depends mainly on the radial distance, magnetic field, equilibrium plasma density, and plasma temperature. We see that their dispersive features are more pertinently pronounced in the self-gravitational domains (SIP) than the electrostatic counterparts (SWP). Besides, different characteristic parameters with accelerating (or decelerating) and stabilizing (or destabilizing) effects influencing the entire solar plasma stability are illustratively portrayed. We speculate that, in the SIP, the long-wave (gravitational-like) helioseismic fluctuations become highly dispersive showing more propagatory nature than the shorter ones (acoustic-like). The short waves show more propagatory propensity than the longer ones in the SSB and SWP regime. The reliability of our proposed investigation is bolstered along with the tentative applicability and future scope in light of the current solar observational scenarios, such as SOHO, STEREO, SDO, PSP, and SolO.

Flow field characteristics of a 127-pin rod bundle with hexagonal spacer grids

A determination of nominal flow phenomena in liquid metal fast reactor (LMFR) fuel assemblies is critical toward generation-IV reactor development. Axially positioned spacer grids are used to maintain the geometry of hexagonal rod bundles and simultaneously introduce perturbations in the flow. Three-dimensional (3D) printed asymmetric honeycomb spacer grids were installed in a prototypical 127-pin LMFR fuel assembly model to study complex fluid dynamics interactions induced by the spacer grid and rods. To characterize flow dynamics in this intricate geometry, time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) using the matched-index-of-refraction method was employed to obtain non-intrusive velocity measurements for three axial planes (one near-wall and two interior planes) at a Reynolds number of 6000. The statistical TR-PIV results compared sub-channel-dependent normalized time-averaged velocity, velocity fluctuations, Reynolds stress, vorticity, and turbulence kinetic energy distributions. TR-PIV line profiles characterized downstream spacer grid flow dynamics. Two-point spatial and spatial–temporal cross-correlation fields revealed local coherent structures and quantified convection velocities of traveling vortices. Spatial–temporal decomposition using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) applied to the near-wall vorticity fields extracted turbulent structures and flow instabilities in the wake region of the spacer grid, along with their decay and frequency rates. Reduced-order velocity fields from DMD reconstructions identified the most energy-containing coherent structures persistent in the near-wall region. This research provides experimental data sets and analyses of flow behavior in rod bundles with hexagonal spacer grids. The results are critical toward LMFR design and geometry optimization, crucial for the validation of computational fluid dynamics and reduced-order flow models.

Observation of Plasma Turbulence in a Hall Thruster Using Microwave Interferometry

To understand anomalous electron transport in a Hall thruster, plasma turbulence inside the acceleration channel was observed using a 76 GHz microwave interferometer. The dependence of the amplitude of the 100–500 kHz turbulence on magnetic flux density, and the relationships between the turbulence and other plasma instabilities and between the turbulence and the discharge current were investigated through spectral density and bicoherence analysis. The amplitude of electron number density fluctuations of the turbulence, integrating the spectral density from 100 to 500 kHz, is , or almost 10% of the time-averaged electron number density. The amplitude of the turbulence decreases with increase in weak magnetic field strength (coil current less than 0.6 A) and then increases with increase in magnetic field strength. The amplitude of the turbulence has a positive relation to the discharge current, leads to anomalous electron transport inside the acceleration channel, and is coupled with ionization instability. In addition, low-frequency perturbations of several hundred hertz were observed, with a positive relation to the turbulence and coupled with both ionization instability and turbulence.

Self-similar propagation and flame acceleration of hydrogen-rich syngas turbulent expanding flames

In order to investigate the flame self-similar propagation and flame acceleration characteristics of hydrogen-rich syngas turbulent expanding flames, the turbulent combustion experimental studies of H2/CO/air mixtures with XH2 = 55%-95%, φ = 0.6–1.0, P = 1 bar-3 bar, u’=0.809–2.533 were conducted in a fan-stirred turbulent combustion chamber with an inner diameter of 380 mm. Results show that the normalized flame propagation speed ST/SL and turbulent flame Reynolds number ReT,flame could be represented by power-law correlations. With the increase of hydrogen fraction from 55% to 95%, the power exponent decreases from 0.413 to 0.301. The increase of hydrogen fraction makes the flame acceleration weaker because that the enhancing of laminar flame speed is more obvious than the differential-diffusion effect by decreasing Le. With the decrease of equivalence ratio from 1.0 to 0.6, the power exponent increases from 0.304 to 0.411 in this study. The relative high power exponent under low equivalence ratio is due to the coupling between differential-diffusion and the flame stretch on the local wrinkled flame structures. In addition, the influence of turbulence and flame intrinsic instabilities on flame acceleration propagation process of hydrogen-enriched syngas were studied. The acceleration exponent was extracted to quantitatively investigate the flame self-acceleration propagation in the transition stage, and the relationships between acceleration exponent and turbulence intensity (u’), Kovasznay number (Kz), turbulence integral length scale (LT), flame thickness (δ), thermal expansion ratio (ρu/ρb), effective Lewis number (Leeff) were analyzed

КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНІСТЬ ПІДПРИЄМНИЦЬКИХ СТРУКТУР ЯК ОБ’ЄКТ УПРАВЛІННЯ: ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНИХ ПІДХОДІВ

The article provides arguments in favor of the fact that a clear understanding by the management of the essence of the competitiveness of the enterprise as an object of management is important for making a well-founded choice of the strategy of the business entity's behavior on the market. Therefore, the aim of the work is a comparative analysis of methodological approaches to the interpretation of the term "enterprise competitiveness" from the point of view of the correspondence of their essential content to the modern realities of entrepreneurial activity. It is assumed that this will enable the managers of domestic business structures to identify priority areas of management efforts to preserve (restore) their viability in the conditions of economic instability caused by the war and the uncertainty of post-war recovery processes. In the course of the analysis, complex and relative approaches, resource-oriented, competence-targeted and value-oriented are highlighted. The features of each of the approaches and the conditions for their effective application are characterized. It is argued that in the conditions of turbulence and economic instability caused by the war and the uncertainty of future political processes, it is advisable to rely on a value-oriented approach in the management of competitiveness. In the context of this approach, the leading role of information support in the process of creating new value propositions was noted and a logical scheme of this process was developed. Considering the fact that the creation of new consumer values functionally belongs to the subsystems of marketing and innovation management, their specific role in this process is highlighted.

The response of small-scale shear layers to perturbations in turbulence

The perturbation response of small-scale shear layers in turbulence is investigated with direct numerical simulations (DNS). The analysis of shear layers in isotropic turbulence suggests that the typical layer thickness is about four times the Kolmogorov scale $\eta$ . Response for sinusoidal perturbations is investigated for an isolated shear layer, which models a mean flow around the shear layers in turbulence. The vortex formation in the shear layer is optimally promoted by the perturbation whose wavelength divided by the layer thickness is about 7. These results indicate that the small-scale shear instability in turbulence is efficiently promoted by velocity fluctuations with a wavelength of about $30\eta$ . Furthermore, DNS are carried out for decaying turbulence initialised by the artificially modified velocity field of isotropic turbulence. The vortex formation from shear layers is accelerated under the influence of external perturbations with the efficient wavelength to promote the instability. When velocity fluctuations with this wavelength are eliminated by a band-cut filter, the shear layers tend to persist for a long time without producing vortices. These behaviours affect the number of vortices in turbulence, which increases and decreases when velocity perturbations with the unstable wavelength of the instability are artificially amplified and damped, respectively. The increase in the number of vortices results in the enhancement of kinetic energy dissipation, enstrophy production and strain self-amplification. These results indicate that the perturbation response of shear layers is important in the small-scale dynamics of turbulence as well as the modulation of small-scale turbulent motions by external disturbance.

Thermodiffusively-unstable lean premixed hydrogen flames: Phenomenology, empirical modelling, and thermal leading points

Thermodiffusively-unstable lean premixed hydrogen flames are investigated using three-dimensional direct numerical simulation with finite-rate chemical kinetics. A large number of simulations have been performed to investigate the influence of reactant conditions (pressure, temperature, and equivalence ratio) on thermodiffusive response in freely-propagating and turbulent flames. Reactant conditions are characterised using an instability parameter ω2, which was recently shown to characterise freely-propagating flames well in 2D. Freely-propagating flame speeds and thicknesses are found to correlate with ω2 using the same functional form found in 2D (with larger model constants), and different correlations are required either side of the most-unstable surface in ω2-space. The freely-propagating values are demonstrated to be more appropriate for characterising turbulent flames than the corresponding 1D laminar flame values. Both turbulence and thermodiffusive instability bring about a similar flame response (increasing curvature, reaction rates and temperature), and so starting from strongly thermodiffusively-unstable conditions limits the potential turbulent response; an empirical model for local flame speed and thickness is provided incorporating this dependence. Joint probability density functions are used to correlate local consumption-based flame speed with curvature, strain-rate and stretch with single and independent Markstein numbers. A simple curvature-based model coupled with the empirical flame speed model is found to yield reasonable results. Principal curvatures are used to partition the flame surface into six classifications, allowing for conditional analysis in different parts of the flame surface. Fractional contributions show that the bulk of the fuel consumption occurs in flat regions and leading edges, shifting from the former to the latter with increasing instability and/or turbulence. Furthermore, the flat flame regions experience speeds in excess of the reference value despite the lack of focussing of fuel by preferential diffusion in these regions, contrary to the conventional expectations of thermodiffusive instability. We propose a thermal leading point interpretation of these phenomena: as expected, strong positive curvature in the leading points/edges result in diffusive focussing of fuel, increasing the reaction rates, resulting in superadiabatic temperatures; these high temperatures left behind the leading points/edges then support higher-than-expected reaction rates in regions where the flame surface is relatively-flat.

DS4 universe emergent from Kerr-AdS5 spacetime: bubble nucleation catalyzed by a black hole

The emergence of a four-dimensional de Sitter (dS4) universe on an expanding bubble in the five-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS5) background has been suggested as a possible cosmological scenario. It is motivated by the difficulties in the realization of a stable de Sitter vacua in string theory. The bubble can be nucleated in a meta-stable pure AdS5 spacetime, but it is known that a pure AdS spacetime is non-perturbatively unstable. It means that the pure AdS5 background is an idealized situation, and in realistic situations, non-linear perturbations in AdS may lead to the formation of black holes due to the gravitational turbulent instability. To investigate how the proposed scenario works in a more realistic situation, we here study the nucleation process of a vacuum bubble in the Kerr-AdS5 spacetime. Especially we investigate conditions sufficient to ensure the nucleation of a vacuum bubble with a rotating black hole and how the black hole affects the transition rate. We find that even in the Kerr-AdS5 spacetime, a quasi-dS4 expansion can be realized on the nucleated vacuum bubble without contradicting the de Sitter swampland conjectures.

3D chemical structure of the diffuse turbulent interstellar medium

Aims. The high abundances of CH+ in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) are a long-standing issue of our understanding of the thermodynamical and chemical states of the gas. We investigate here the formation of CH+ in turbulent and multiphase environments, where the heating of the gas is almost solely driven by the photoelectric effect. Methods. The diffuse ISM is simulated using the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code RAMSES which self-consistently computes the dynamical and thermal evolution of the gas along with the time-dependent evolutions of the abundances of H+, H, and H2. The rest of the chemistry, including the abundance of CH+, is computed in post-processing, at equilibrium, under the constraint of out-of-equilibrium H+, H, and H2. The comparison with the observations is performed taking into account an often neglected yet paramount piece of information, namely the length of the intercepted diffuse matter along the observed lines of sight. Results. Almost all of the mass of CH+ originates from unstable gas, in environments where the kinetic temperature is higher than 600 K, the density ranges between 0.6 and 10 cm−3, the electronic fraction ranges between 3 × 10−4 and 6 × 10−3, and the molecular fraction is smaller than 0.4. Its formation is driven by warm and out-of-equilibrium H2 initially formed in the cold neutral medium (CNM) and injected in more diffuse environments, and even the warm neutral medium (WNM) through a combination of advection and thermal instability. The simulation that displays the closest agreement with the HI-to-H2 transition and the thermal pressure distribution observed in the solar neighborhood is found to naturally reproduce the observed abundances of CH+, the dispersion of observations, the probability of occurrence of most of the lines of sight, the fraction of nondetections of CH+, and the distribution of its line profiles. The amount of CH+ and the statistical properties of the simulated lines of sight are set by the fraction of unstable gas rich in H2, which is controlled on Galactic scales by the mean density of the diffuse ISM (or, equivalently, its total mass), the amplitude of the mean UV radiation field, and the strength of the turbulent forcing. Conclusions. This work offers a new and natural solution to an 80-yr-old chemical riddle. The almost ubiquitous presence of CH+ in the diffuse ISM likely results from the exchange of matter between the CNM and the WNM induced by the combination of turbulent advection and thermal instability, without the need to invoke ambipolar diffusion or regions of intermittent turbulent dissipation. Through two-phase turbulent mixing, CH+ might thus be a tracer of the H2 mass loss rate of CNM clouds.

Cooperative FSO and mmWave System for Reliable 200G Wireless Transmission

The use of free-space optics (FSO) for ultra-high-speed communications has been recently standing out as a promising alternative for fiber/wireless-based scenarios. However, FSO communications still suffer from variations in the received optical power due to atmospheric turbulence and weather instability, which limits its use in reliability-driven applications. To explore the full potential of FSO and maintain communications reliability, hybrid FSO and radio-frequency systems can be employed to leverage the strengths of the two technologies. In this letter, we demonstrate a 3m hybrid FSO and millimeter-wave system for 200G stable wireless transmission. Resorting to time-adaptive probabilistic constellation shaping and a cross-domain entropy loading scheme, we are able to compensate for up to 15% (30Gbps) of data-rate reduction in the FSO link. Comparing with FSO-only transmission, we demonstrate a cumulative capacity gain of over 150Gbps after 40 offline measurement iterations.

Resonant dynamics and the instability of the box Minkowski model

We revisit the box Minkowski model [M. Maliborski, Instability of Flat Space Enclosed in a Cavity, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 221101 (2012).] and provide a strong argument that, subject to the Dirichlet boundary condition, it is unstable toward black hole formation for arbitrarily small generic perturbations. Using weakly nonlinear perturbation theory, we derive the resonant system, which compared to systems with the anti--de Sitter asymptotics has extra resonant terms, and study its properties, including conserved quantities. We find that the generic solution of the resonant system becomes singular in finite time. Surprisingly, the additional resonant interactions do not significantly affect the singular evolution. Furthermore, we find that the interaction coefficients take a relatively simple form, making this a particularly attractive toy model of turbulent gravitational instability.