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Pure CO ice has been irradiated with electrons of energy in the range $150-1000$~eV with the Interstellar Energetic-Process System (IEPS). The main products of irradiation are carbon chains C$_n$ ($n=3$, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), suboxides, C$_n$O ($n=2$, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), and C$_n$O$_2$ ($n=1$, 3, 4, 5, 7) species. \ce{CO2} is by far the most abundant reaction product in all the experiments. The destruction cross-section of CO peaks at about 250 eV, decreases with the energy of the electrons and is more than one order of magnitude higher than for gas-phase CO ionization. The production cross-section of carbon dioxide has been also derived and is characterized by the competition between chemistry and desorption. Desorption of CO and of new species during the radiolysis follows the electron distribution in the ice. Low energy electrons having short penetration depths induce significant desorption. Finally, as the ice thickness approaches the electron penetration depth the abundance of the products starts to saturate. Implications on the atmospheric photochemistry of cold planets hosting surface CO ices are also discussed., Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures

We investigate the effect of anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) on the center motions of nonoverlapping Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in bilayer and multilayer stacks. In the bilayer, it is shown analytically that while DDI plays no role in the in-phase modes of center motions of condensates, out-of-phase mode frequency ($\omega_o$) depends crucially on the strength of DDI ($a_d$). At the small-$a_d$ limit, $\omega_o^2(a_d)-\omega_o^2(0)\propto a_d$. In the multilayer stack, transverse modes associated with center motions of coupled condensates are found to be optical phonon like. At the long-wavelength limit, phonon velocity is proportional to $\sqrt a_d$., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

The behaviors of a rapid rotating Bose-Einstein condensate under extreme elongation in a 2D anisotropic harmonic plus quartic trap are investigated. Due to the quartic trap, the system remains stable at high rotating velocity, $\Omega\geq \omega_\perp$ ($\omega_\perp$ is the radial harmonic trap frequency), and vortex lattices form even in the absence of the repulsive s-wave interaction ($g$). When $g$ is present, the interplay between $g$ and the quartic trap potential can lead to rich vortex lattice transition states as a function of $\Omega$, to which vortex lattices vanish eventually at some higher $\Omega$., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

The tumbling dynamics of individual polymers in semidilute solution is studied by large-scale non-equilibrium mesoscale hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the tumbling time is equal to the non-equilibrium relaxation time of the polymer end-to-end distance along the flow direction and strongly depends on concentration. In addition, the normalized tumbling frequency as well as the widths of the alignment distribution functions for a given concentration-dependent Weissenberg number exhibit a weak concentration dependence in the cross-over regime from a dilute to a semidilute solution. For semidilute solutions a universal behavior is obtained. This is a consequence of screening of hydrodynamic interactions at polymer concentrations exceeding the overlap concentration.

Combining metamaterials with functional media brings a new dimension to their performance. Here we demonstrate substantial resonance frequency tuning in a photonic metamaterial hybridized with an electrically/optically switchable chalcogenide glass. The transition between amorphous and crystalline forms brings about a 10% shift in the near-infrared resonance wavelength of an asymmetric split-ring array, providing transmission modulation functionality with a contrast ratio of 4:1 in a device of sub-wavelength thickness., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures

Gaussian distribution is commonly used as a good approximation to study the trapped one-component Bose-condensed atoms with relatively small nonlinear effect. It is not adequate in dealing with the one-component system of large nonlinear effect, nor the two-component system where phase separation exists. We propose a modified Gaussian distribution which is more effective when dealing with the one-component system with relatively large nonlinear terms as well as the two-component system. The modified Gaussian is also used to study the breathing modes of the two-component system, which shows a drastic change in the mode dispersion at the occurrence of the phase separation. The results obtained are in agreement with other numerical results., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A

It is commonly accepted that in concentrated solutions or melts high-molecular weight polymers display random-walk conformational properties without long-range correlations between subsequent bonds. This absence of memory means, for instance, that the bond-bond correlation function, $P(s)$, of two bonds separated by $s$ monomers along the chain should exponentially decay with $s$. Presenting numerical results and theoretical arguments for both monodisperse chains and self-assembled (essentially Flory size-distributed) equilibrium polymers we demonstrate that some long-range correlations remain due to self-interactions of the chains caused by the chain connectivity and the incompressibility of the melt. Suggesting a profound analogy with the well-known long-range velocity correlations in liquids we find, for instance, $P(s)$ to decay algebraically as $s^{-3/2}$. Our study suggests a precise method for obtaining the statistical segment length \bstar in a computer experiment., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Self-assembled linear structures like giant cylindrical micelles or discotic molecules in solution stacked in flexible columns are systems reminiscent of polydisperse polymer solutions.These supramolecular polymers have an equilibrium length distribution, the result of a competition between the random breakage of chains and the fusion of chains to generate longer ones. In the present work, we review the basic theoretical concepts of these ``equilibrium polymers" and some of the important results obtained by simulation approaches. We propose a new version of a mesoscopic model in continuous space based on the bead and FENE spring polymer model which is treated by Brownian Dynamics and Monte-Carlo binding/unbinding reversible changes for adjacent monomers in space, characterized by an attempt frequency parameter. For a dilute and a moderately semi-dilute state-points which both correspond to dynamically unentangled regimes, the dynamic properties are found to depend upon $\omega$ through the effective life time $\tau_b$ of the average size chain which, in turn, yields the kinetic reaction coefficients of the mean-field kinetic model proposed by Cates. Simple kinetic theories seem to work for times $ t \geq \tau_b$ while at shorter time, strong dynamical correlation effects are observed., Comment: 17 figures; Lecture notes in Physics, Springer, to be published

Oscillations of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates in a 1D optical lattice with a two-point basis is investigated. In the low-frequency regime, four branches of modes are resolved, that correspond to the transverse in-phase and out-of-phase breathing modes, and the longitudinal acoustic and optical phonon modes of the condensates. Dispersions of these modes depend intimately on the values of two intersite Josephson tunneling strengths, $J_1$ and $J_2$, and the on-site repulsion $U$ between the atoms. Observation of these mode dispersions is thus a direct way to access them., Comment: 5 pages,2 figures

A program plan for system evaluation of the two-dimensional Scanning Laser Doppler System (SLDS) is presented. In order to meet system evaluation and optimization objectives the following tests were conducted: (1) noise tests; (2) wind tests; (3) blower flowfield tests; (4) single unit (1-D) flyby tests; and (5) dual unit (2-D) flyby tests. Test results are reported. The final phase of the program included logistics preparation, equipment interface checkouts, and data processing. It is concluded that the SLDS is capable of accurately tracking aircraft wake vortices from small or large aircraft, and in any type of weather.

A servo-controlled range/elevation scanner for the laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) was developed and tested in the field to assess its performance in detecting and monitoring aircraft trailing vortices in an airport environment. The elevation scanner provides a capability to manually point the LDV telescope at operator chosen angles from 3.2 deg. to 89.6 deg within 0.2 deg, or to automatically scan the units between operator chosen limits at operator chosen rates of 0.1 Hz to 0.5 Hz. The range scanner provides a capability to manually adjust the focal point of the system from a range of 32 meters to a range of 896 meters under operator control, or to scan between operator chosen limits and at rates from 0.1 Hz to 6.9 Hz. The scanner controls are designed to allow simulataneous range and elevation scanning so as to provide finger scan patterns, arc scan patterns, and vertical line scan patterns. The development and testing of the unit is discussed, along with a fluid dynamic model of the wake vortex developed in a laser Doppler vortex sensor simulation program.

Comparative Michelson interferometers are discussed as well as the operating range potential of a structural alignment sensor (SAS) which requires only one laser mode. Schematics are presented for the distance measurement logic, the basic SAS system, the SAS optical layout, the coarse measurement signal processor, and the measured range resolution.

A structural alignment sensor (SAS) was developed for use with large deployable antenna systems for contour measurement and/or active control. The SAS is a laser ranging system using frequency modulation and accurate phase measurement to determine distance. Work was done with a CO2 and HeNe laser. The capability of the SAS to measure antenna rib contours was studied over ranges of 50 meters to a resolution of 100 microns. Initial resolution data was taken with the CO2 system. This data shows that it will indeed meet the SAS requirements. The development of the HeNe system was initiated because it offers substantial improvement in size, weight, and power over the CO2 system. The final demonstration was made with the HeNe system and it too showed that the SAS requirements could be met with this alternate approach. The projection of these results to a conceptual design for a flight system and its application are described.

Laser system remotely senses and tracks aircraft-wake turbulence. Other potential applications include long-range (remote) detection of airflow, monitoring smokestack exit flow velocities, and observing winds at altitude.