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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7

Modeling the Galactic Neutron Star Population for Use in Continuous Gravitational-wave Searches

Searches for continuous gravitational waves (GW) from unknown Galactic neutron stars provide limits on the shapes of neutron stars. A rotating neutron star will produce GW if asymmetric deformations exist in its structure that are characterized by the star's ellipticity. Here, in this study, we use a simple model of the spatial and spin distribution of Galactic neutron stars to estimate the total number of neutron stars probed, using GW, to a given upper limit on the ellipticity. This may help optimize future searches with improved sensitivity. The improved sensitivity of third-generation GW detectors may increase the number of neutron stars probed, to a given ellipticity, by factors of 100 to 1000.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Systems and methods that use harmonic drives for converting reciprocating axial motion to continuous rotary motion, helical drives for converting reciprocating rotary motion to reciprocating axial motion and combinations thereof for converting reciprocating rotary motion to continuous rotary motion

A harmonic drive assembly and fluid-powered linear motors with both axial pistons are rotary piston arrangements incorporating the harmonic drive assembly are disclosed. The motors may be used in downhole drilling applications, but the drive assembly and/or motors may be used in other applications. The assembly, motors and methods use advanced harmonic drives, advanced helical drives, and combinations thereof with 1) motors with axial pistons and reciprocating linear rings to convert reciprocative axial motion to continuous rotary motion, and 2) motors with rotary pistons and reciprocating linear rings to rectify reciprocative rotary motion to continual rotary motion to improve performance over prior configurations. Axial pistons provide a robust simple solution for generating rotation; Rotational pistons provide increased torque generation as the torque generated is proportional to motor length. Since downhole drills are long, a high-torque motor can be produced using this method.

Raymond, David W.↗

Computational Study of Variable Fuel-Air Ratio and Hydrogen Doping in a Rotating Detonation Engine

Rotating detonation engines (RDEs) hold great promise as a technology for powering aviation engines. The pressure gain that results from continuously traversing detonation waves enables high theoretical performance compared to deflagration-based combustion. However, the harsh operating conditions inside an RDE restrict the availability of suitable experimental diagnostics to study these systems in detail and the range of spatial and temporal scales render numerical simulations of these systems difficult. In this study, we have combined adaptive mesh refinement and a robust shock-capturing approach to study RDE systems computationally using the compressible, reactive solver PeleC. Multi-species transport along with compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved in the model along with finite-rate chemistry. Complex geometries are represented using an embedded boundary method with second-order spatial accuracy and the system is evolved in time using a second-order Runge-Kutta method. We present studies of a methane-air RDE system that is doped with varying levels of hydrogen. Our analysis focusses on how fuel mixture and doping levels effect the detonation flame structure and the generation of multiple wave modes.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Detection of open cluster rotation fields from Gaia EDR3 proper motions

Context: Most stars from in groups which with time disperse, building the field population of their host galaxy. In the Milky Way, open clusters have been continuously forming in the disk up to the present time, providing it with stars spanning a broad range of ages and masses. Observations of the details of cluster dissolution are, however, scarce. One of the main difficulties is obtaining a detailed characterisation of the internal cluster kinematics, which requires very high-quality proper motions. For open clusters, which are typically loose groups with tens to hundreds of members, there is the additional difficulty of inferring kinematic structures from sparse and irregular distributions of stars. Aims: Here, we aim to analyse internal stellar kinematics of open clusters, and identify rotation, expansion, or contraction patterns. Methods: We use Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) astrometry and integrated nested Laplace approximations to perform vector-field inference and create spatio-kinematic maps of 1237 open clusters. The sample is composed of clusters for which individual stellar memberships were already known, thus minimising contamination from field stars in the velocity maps. Projection effects were corrected using EDR3 data complemented with radial velocities from Gaia Data Release 2 and other surveys. Results: We report the detection of rotation patterns in eight open clusters. Nine additional clusters display possible rotation signs. We also observe 14 expanding clusters, with 15 other objects showing possible expansion patterns. Contraction is evident in two clusters, with one additional cluster presenting a more uncertain detection. In total, 53 clusters are found to display kinematic structures. Within these, elongated spatial distributions suggesting tidal tails are found in five clusters. These results indicate that the approach developed here can recover kinematic patterns from noisy vector fields, as those from astrometric measurements of open clusters or other stellar or galactic populations, thus offering a powerful probe for exploring the internal kinematics and dynamics of these types of objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Satellite-Based Observations of Nonlinear Relationships between Vertical Wind Shear and Intensity Changes during the Life Cycle of Hurricane Joaquin (2015)

A CIMSS vertical wind shear (VWS-C) dataset based on reprocessed GOES-East atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) at 15-min intervals has a −0.36 correlation with the CIMSS Satellite Consensus (SATCON) intensity changes at 30-min intervals over the life cycle of Hurricane Joaquin (2015). Correlations are then calculated for four intensity change events including two rapid intensifications (RIs) and two decays, and four intensity change segments immediately before or after these events. During the first RI, the peak intensity increase of 16 kt (6 h) −1 (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s −1 ) follows a small VWS-C decrease to a moderate 8 m s −1 value (negative correlation). A 30-h period of continued RI following the first peak RI occurred under moderate magnitude VWS-C (negative correlation), but with a rotation of the VWS-C direction to become more aligned with the southwestward heading of Joaquin. During the second RI, the peak intensity increase of 15 kt (6 h) −1 leads the rapid VWS-C increase (positive correlation), which the horizontal plots of VWS-C vectors demonstrate is related to an upper-tropospheric cyclone to the northeast of Joaquin. A conceptual model of ocean cooling within the anticyclonic track loop is proposed to explain a counterintuitive decreasing intensity when the VWS-C was also decreasing (positive correlation) during the Joaquin track reversal. These alternating negative and positive correlations during the four events and four segments of intensity change demonstrate the nonlinear relationships between the VWS-C and intensity changes during the life cycle of Joaquin that must be understood, analyzed, and modeled to improve tropical cyclone intensity forecasts, and especially RI events.

Elsberry, Russell L.↗

Herbicide, fertilization, and planting density effects on intensively managed loblolly pine early stand development

Production forestry in the southeast US has been partially transitioned to intensively managed short rotations (~10 years), in which multiple silvicultural interventions are performed during forest development. Understanding the responses to silvicultural practices and continued refinement of site-specific recommendations is critical to sustainably maximize forest production. We evaluated the effects of silvicultural practices (herbicide, fertilization, and planting density) on growth, stand homogeneity, and above- and belowground biomass accumulation and partitioning of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) throughout early stand development (age 5 years) in the southeastern US. Five treatments with eight replications each were tested: no herbicide and no fertilization (C); herbicide only (H); herbicide and half-reduced fertilization rate (R); herbicide and full fertilization (F); and increased stand density (60+ %; 1346 vs. 2152 trees per hectare) with herbicide and full fertilization rate (D). Allometric equations generated from destructive harvests were applied to annual diameter measurements to estimate plot-level biomass and allocation. Herbicide was crucial to promote stand uniformity and increase yield (~600+ % stem biomass compared with C at age 5). Aboveground biomass was similar in R and F treatments, which was ~25% higher than in H at age 5. Increasing planting density along with multiple herbicide and fertilizer applications yielded higher biomass without compromising individual tree size (diameter and height). There was little effect of silviculture practices on allocation patterns. Our results parallel what was found for fertilization with herbicide from a number of loblolly stands under similar conditions and indicate a ~28% volume gain with fertilization during early stand development. Similarly, our results were consistent with other studies implementing similar differences in planting density and suggest a ~26% volume gain through early stand development with an initial 60% increase in planting density. Furthermore, our study helps to understand complex relationships between production and silvicultural practices during early stand development and demonstrates that silvicultural prescriptions can be optimized to increase sustainability of production forestry

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Accumulative Roll Bonding of Alloy 2205 Duplex Steel and the Accompanying Impacts on Microstructure, Texture, and Mechanical Properties

The mechanical and microstructural evolution of Alloy 2205 during severe plastic deformation is examined in this study. A combination of accumulative roll bonding (ARB) and cold rolling results in the successful formation of a nanograined dual-phase microstructure of austenite and ferrite with some transformed martensite. Severe deformation to cumulative reductions of 80.5, 92.5, 95, and 97 pct were performed. Microscopy indicates that grain dimensions in the sheet normal direction is less than 100 nm for reductions ≥ 92.5 pct. Shear banding is observed at reductions ≥ 95 pct while twinning is only observed at reductions < 92.5 pct. Neutron diffraction measurements indicated the presence of martensite for reductions ≥ 95 pct at ~ 8 pct volume fraction. Taken in conjunction, it appears that during initial ARB processing, both slip and twinning are active plastic mechanisms. As twinning becomes exhausted, martensitic transformation, slip, and intermittent shear banding account for the active plasticity mechanisms. Material hardness saturates at 92.5 pct reduction, with a maximum hardness of 45 HRC. Sub-sized tensile testing confirms this approximate hardness with measurements indicating a UTS of ~ 1440 MPa. Texture analysis of crystal orientation distributions in the plate normal direction suggest an approximate Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship at all reductions above 80 pct indicating stability of the orientation relationship at high strains. The intragranular structure develops a fine scale sub-grain content with increasing deformation, resulting in a continual evolution of texture up to and including 97 pct reduction. The final structure presents strong components of Goss and rotated cube texture in both the austenite and ferrite. In this body of work we aim to compare ARB of an industrially relevant FCC/BCC system (Alloy 2205) to historical model FCC/BCC systems such as Cu/Nb.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Phase curves of small bodies from the SLOAN Moving Objects Catalog

Extensive photometric surveys continue to produce enormous stores of data on small bodies. These data are typically sparsely obtained at arbitrary (or unknown) rotational phases. Therefore, new methods for processing such data need to be developed to make the most of these vast catalogs. We aim to produce a method of recreating the phase curves of small bodies by considering the uncertainties introduced by the nominal errors in the magnitudes and the effect introduced by rotational variations. Here, we use the SLOAN Moving Objects Catalog data as a benchmark to construct phase curves of all small bodies in u', g', r', i', and z' filters. From the phase curves, we obtain the absolute magnitudes and we use them to set up the absolute colors, which are the colors of the asteroids that are not affected by changes in the phase angle. We selected objects with ≥3 observations taken in at least one filter and spanning over a minimum of 5 degrees in the phase angle. We developed a method that combines Monte Carlo simulations and Bayesian inference to estimate the absolute magnitudes using the HG 12 * photometric system. We obtained almost 15 000 phase curves, with about 12 000 of these including all five filters. The absolute magnitudes and absolute colors are compatible with previously published data that support our method. The method we developed is fully automatic and well suited for a run based on large amounts of data. Moreover, it includes the nominal uncertainties in the magnitudes and the whole distribution of possible rotational states of the objects producing what are possibly less precise values, that is, larger uncertainties, but more accurate, namely, closer to the actual value. To our knowledge, this work is the first to include the effect of rotational variations in such a manner.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Quantum spin helices more stable than the ground state: Onset of helical protection

Topological magnetic structures are promising candidates for resilient information storage. An elementary example is spin helices in one-dimensional easy-plane quantum magnets. To quantify their stability, we numerically implement the stochastic Schrödinger equation and time-dependent perturbation theory for spin chains with fluctuating local magnetic fields. Here, we find two classes of quantum spin helices that can reach and even exceed ground-state stability: spin-current-maximizing helices and, for fine-tuned boundary conditions, the recently discovered “phantom helices.” Beyond that, we show that the helicity itself (left or right rotating) is even more stable. We explain these findings by separated helical sectors and connect them to topological sectors in continuous spin systems. The resulting helical protection mechanism is a promising phenomenon for stabilizing helical quantum structures, e.g., in ultracold atoms and solid-state systems. We also identify a third type of phantom helix in the system.

1-dimensional spin chains↗

Non-linear MHD modelling of edge localized modes suppression by resonant magnetic perturbations in ITER

Edge localized modes (ELMs) suppression by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) was studied with the non-linear magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) code JOREK for the ITER H-mode scenarios at 15 MA, 12.5 MA, 10 MA/5.3 T. In this study, the main aim was to demonstrate that ELMs can be suppressed by RMPs while the divertor 3D footprints of heat and particle fluxes remain within divertor material limits. The unstable peeling–ballooning modes responsible for ELMs without RMPs were modelled first for each scenario using numerically accessible parameters for ITER. Then the stabilization of ELMs by RMPs was modelled with the same parameters. RMP spectra, optimized by the linear MHD MARS-F code, with main toroidal harmonics N = 2, N = 3, N = 4 have been used as boundary conditions of the computational domain of JOREK, including realistic RMP coils, main plasma, scrape off layer (SOL) divertor and realistic first wall. The model includes all relevant plasma flows: toroidal rotation, two fluid diamagnetic effects and neoclassical poloidal friction. With RMPs, the main toroidal harmonic and the non-linearly coupled harmonics remain dominant at the plasma edge, producing saturated modes and a continuous MHD turbulent transport thereby avoiding ELM crashes in all scenarios considered here. The threshold for ELM suppression was found at a maximum RMP coils current of 45 kAt–60 kAt compared to the coils maximum capability of 90 kAt. In the high beta poloidal steady-state 10 MA/5.3 T scenario, a rotating QH-mode without ELMs was observed even without RMPs. In this scenario with RMPs N = 3, N = 4 at 20 kAt maximum current in RMP coils, similar QH-mode behaviour was observed however with dominant edge harmonic corresponding to the main toroidal number of RMPs. The present MHD modelling was limited in time by few tens of ms after RMPs were switched on until the magnetic energy of the modes saturates. As a consequence the thermal energy was still evolving on this time scale, far from the ITER confinement time scale and hence only the form of 3D footprints on the divertor targets can be indicated within this set-up. Also note, that the divertor physics was missing in this model, so realistic values of fluxes are out of reach in this modelling. However the stationary 3D divertor and particle fluxes could be simply extrapolated from these results to the stationary situation considering that a large power fraction should be radiated in the core and SOL and only about 50 MW power is going to the divertor, which is an arbitrary, but reasonable number used here. The 3D footprints with RMPs show the characteristic splitting with the main RMP toroidal symmetry. The maximum radial extension of the footprints typically was ~20 cm in inner divertor and ~40 cm in outer divertor with stationary heat fluxes decreasing further out from the initial strike point from ~5 MW m ₋2 to ~1 MW m ₋2 assuming a total power in the divertor and walls is 50 MW. The heat fluxes remain within the divertor target and baffle areas, however with rather small margin in the outer divertor which could be an issue for the first wall especially in transient regimes when part of the plasma thermal energy is released due to switching on the RMP coils. This fact should be considered when RMPs are applied with a more favorable application before or soon after the L–H transition, although optimization is required to avoid increasing the L–H power threshold with RMPs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Confinement-Driven Heterogeneous Benzene Crystallization in Silica Nanopores

Nanoconfinement alters the thermodynamics, dynamics, and kinetics of fluids hosted in nanoscale solid nanopores to an extent that depends on the characteristics of the confining space and the chemistry of the confined fluids. Confinement-induced alterations in the phase behavior of confined energetic fluids under high pressure or low temperature are highly relevant to subsurface and subsea phenomena such as fluid flow in porous media, hydrate formation and dissociation, and gas storage capacity. Although extensive efforts have been directed toward understanding the phase behavior of confined fluids, the role of solid-liquid interfaces in the phase transitions of organic liquids has not been resolved yet. Here, we explore the onset and growth of benzene crystallization confined in 6 nm sized SBA-15 silica nanopores in the temperature range 300-200 K using in situ extended range small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) measurements and atomistic classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The crystallization onset of confined benzene depresses to 265 K compared to the freezing point of bulk benzene ( ~278 K), followed by the continuous growth of the emerged crystals in the pore space with complete crystallization at 200 K. The orientation of the emerged benzene crystals is dominated by parallel (π-π stacking) and perpendicular (T-shape stacking) orientations along the cylindrical pore radius and pore length, respectively. The onset of benzene crystals occurs heterogeneously on the pore surface and grows continuously toward the pore center. Further, confined benzene undergoes a dynamical crossover from fragile to strong dynamics behavior, inferred from the rotational and translational diffusion. The insights provided by this study have significant implications for the phase transitions of confined organic liquids that are relevant to a wide range of applications in the biological, geological, environmental, and chemical fields.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Higher spin partition functions via the quasinormal mode method in de Sitter quantum gravity

In this note we compute the 1-loop partition function of spin- s s fields on Euclidean de Sitter space S^{2n+1} S 2 n + 1 using the quasinormal mode method. Instead of computing the quasinormal mode frequencies from scratch, we use the analytic continuation prescription L_{\text{AdS}}\to iL_{\text{dS}} L AdS → i L dS , appearing in the dS/CFT correspondence, and Wick rotate the normal mode frequencies of fields on thermal \text{AdS}_{2n+1} AdS 2 n + 1 into the quasinormal mode frequencies of fields on de Sitter space. We compare the quasinormal mode and heat kernel methods of calculating 1-loop determinants, finding exact agreement, and furthermore explicitly relate these methods via a sum over the conformal dimension. We discuss how the Wick rotation of normal modes on thermal \text{AdS}_{2n+1} AdS 2 n + 1 can be generalized to calculating 1-loop partition functions on the thermal spherical quotients S^{2n+1}/\mathbb{Z}_{p} S 2 n + 1 / ℤ p . We further show that the quasinormal mode frequencies encode the group theoretic structure of the spherical spacetimes in question, analogous to the analysis made for thermal AdS in [1-3] .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The effects of mixture preburning on detonation wave propagation

Pressure gain combustion in the form of continuous detonations can provide a significant increase in the efficiency of a variety of propulsion and energy conversion devices. In this regard, rotating detonation engines (RDEs) that utilize an azimuthally-moving detonation wave in annular systems are increasingly seen as a viable approach to realizing pressure gain combustion. However, practical RDEs that employ non- premixed fuel and oxidizer injection need to minimize losses through a number of mechanisms, including turbulence-induced shock-front variations, incomplete fuel-air mixing, and premature deflagration. In this study, a canonical stratified detonation configuration is used to understand the impact of preburning on detonation efficiency. It was found that heat release ahead of the detonation wave leads to weaker shock fronts, delayed combustion of partially-oxidized fuel-air mixture, and non-compact heat release. Furthermore, large variations in wave speeds were observed, which is consistent with wave behavior in full-scale RDEs. Peak pressures in the compression region or near triple points were considerably lower than the theoretically-predicted values for ideal detonations. Analysis of the detonation structure indicates that this deflagration process is parasitic in nature, reducing the detonation efficiency but also leading to heat release far behind the wave that cannot directly strengthen the shock wave. As a result, this parasitic combustion leads to commensal combustion (heat release far downstream of the wave), indicating that it is the root cause of combustion efficiency losses.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Data-driven Alignment of the Tracker for the Mu2e Experiment

An alignment of the Mu2e Tracker is investigated using the Mu2e Offline Software and Millepede-II. Simulated misalignments of Tracker planes were inserted between Monte-Carlo event generation and before reconstruction using randomly generated $(x,y,z)$-translations and rotations of the rigid-body planes in the detector model. Cosmic ray muons, with no magnetic field present in the Detector Solenoid, will follow a straight-line trajectory. A maximum-likelihood fit is used to reconstruct a track and determine its parameters. Tracks traversing at least four planes, with ten registered straw hits, and a maximum time residual of $20$ ns are selected to be used in an alignment sample. The cuts were chosen to discard tracks with low information content, such as those with high levels of multiple scattering or those with low numbers of measurements contributing to a single track fit. Millepede-II produces the resulting alignment constants according to a simultaneous least-squares fit of the alignment parameters and the track parameters for all input tracks. The improved alignment constants are used to repeat the process and recover an increased number of suitable tracks, further improving the estimate of the alignment constants in subsequent iterations. A performance study of the process was conducted on a misaligned Tracker in the case of translation-only, and translation plus rotational misalignments. In both cases, the correct alignment constants were recovered to within statistical error after three global fit iterations. Additionally, a continuous integration system was developed for the \texttt{Mu2e/Offline} GitHub repository, introducing a convenient automated testing process for all proposed changes (``pull requests"). The tests developed included a full build of the software, followed by tests of the validation routines, geometry overlap checking, and multi-threading mode. Additionally, code quality checks and low-statistics physics comparison checks a re also available.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Multizone Modeling of Black Hole Accretion and Feedback in 3D GRMHD: Bridging Vast Spatial and Temporal Scales

Simulating accretion and feedback from the horizon scale of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) out to galactic scales is challenging because of the vast range of scales involved. Elaborating on H. Cho et al., we describe and test a "multizone" technique, which is designed to tackle this difficult problem in three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. While short-timescale variability should be interpreted with caution, the method is demonstrated to be well-suited for finding dynamical steady states over a wide dynamic range. We simulate accretion on a nonspinning SMBH ($a\ast$ = 0) using initial conditions and the external galactic potential from a large-scale galaxy simulation and achieve a steady state over eight decades in radius. As found in H. Cho et al., the density scales with radius as ρ ∝ r –1 inside the Bondi radius R B , which is located at R B = 2 × 10 5 r g (≈60 pc for M87), where r g is the gravitational radius of the SMBH; the plasma-β is ~ unity, indicating an extended magnetically arrested state; the mass accretion rate $\dot{M}$ is ≈1% of the analytical Bondi accretion rate ${\dot{M}}_{{\rm{B}}};$ and there is continuous energy feedback out to ≈100R B (or beyond > kpc) at a rate $\approx 0.02\dot{M}{c}^{2}$. Surprisingly, no ordered rotation in the external medium survives as the magnetized gas flows to smaller radii, and the final steady solution is very similar to when the exterior has no rotation. Using the multizone method, we simulate GRMHD accretion over a wide range of Bondi radii, R B ~ 10 2 –10 7 r g , and find that $\dot{M}/{\dot{M}}_{{B}}\approx {({R}_{{B}}/6\,{r}_{g})}^{-0.5}$.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Aeroelastic oscillations of a pitching flexible wing with structural geometric nonlinearities: Theory and numerical simulation

In this paper, we focus on the derivation of an analytical model of the aeroelastic dynamics of an elastically mounted flexible wing. This equations of motion obtained serve to help understand the behaviour of the aeroelastic wind tunnel setup in question, which consists of a rectangular wing with a uniform NACA 0012 airfoil profile, whose base is free to rotate rigidly about a longitudinal axis. Of particular interest are the structural geometric nonlinearities primarily introduced by the coupling between the rigid body pitch degree-of-freedom and the continuous system. A coupled system of partial differential equations (PDEs) coupled with an ordinary differential equation (ODE) describing axial-bending-bending-torsion-pitch motion is derived using Hamilton's principle. A finite dimensional approximation of the system of coupled differential equations is obtained using the Galerkin method, leading to a system of coupled nonlinear ODEs. Subsequently, these nonlinear ODEs are solved numerically using Houbolt's method. The results that are obtained are verified by comparison with the results obtained by direct integration of the equations of motion using a finite difference scheme. Adopting a linear unsteady aerodynamic model, it is observed that the system undergoes coalescence flutter due to coupling between the rigid body pitch rotation dominated mode and the first flapwise bending dominated mode. Finally, the behaviour of the limit cycle oscillations is primarily influenced by the structural geometric nonlinear terms in the coupled system of PDEs and ODE.

42 ENGINEERING↗

AmeriFlux US-KL1 KBS Lux Arbor Reserve Corn

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-KL1 KBS Lux Arbor Reserve Corn. Site Description - The site was under conventional corn/soybean rotation row crop agriculture for decades before conversion. The site was converted to no-till soybean in 2009 and to no-till continuous corn from 2010 onwards.

Robertson, G. Philip↗

Spontaneous shock waves in pulse-stimulated flocks of Quincke rollers

Active matter demonstrates complex spatiotemporal self-organization not accessible at equilibrium and the emergence of collective behavior. Fluids comprised of microscopic Quincke rollers represent a popular realization of synthetic active matter. Temporal activity modulations, realized by modulated external electric fields, represent an effective tool to expand the variety of accessible dynamic states in active ensembles. Here, we report on the emergence of shockwave patterns composed of coherently moving particles energized by a pulsed electric field. The shockwaves emerge spontaneously and move faster than the average particle speed. Combining experiments, theory, and simulations, we demonstrate that the shockwaves originate from intermittent spontaneous vortex cores due to a vortex meandering instability. They occur when the rollers’ translational and rotational decoherence times, regulated by the electric pulse durations, become comparable. The phenomenon does not rely on the presence of confinement, and multiple shock waves continuously arise and vanish in the system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗