Study on the divertor plasma behavior through sweeping strike point in the new lower divertor on EAST

A series of L-mode discharges have been conducted in the new ‘corner slot’ divertor on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to study the divertor plasma behavior through sweeping strike point. The plasma control system controls the strike point sweeping from the horizontal target to the vertical target through poloidal field coils, with keeping the main plasma stability. The surface temperature of the divertor target cools down as the strike point moves away, indicating that sweeping strike point mitigates the heat load. To avoid the negative effect of probe tip damage, a method based on sweeping strike point is used to get the normalized profile and study the decay length of particle and heat flux on the divertor target λ js , λ q .In the discharges with high radio-frequency (RF) heating power, electron temperature T e is lower and λ js is larger when the strike point locates on the horizontal target compared to the vertical target, probably due to the corner effect. In the Ohmic discharges, λ js , λ q are much larger compared to the discharges with high RF heating power, which may be attributed to lower edge T e .

Filling up complex spectral regions through non-Hermitian disordered chains

Eigenspectra that fill regions in the complex plane have been intriguing to many, inspiring research from random matrix theory to esoteric semi-infinite bounded non-Hermitian lattices. In this work, we propose a simple and robust ansatz for constructing models whose eigenspectra fill up generic prescribed regions. Our approach utilizes specially designed non-Hermitian random couplings that allow the co-existence of eigenstates with a continuum of localization lengths, mathematically emulating the effects of semi-infinite boundaries. While some of these couplings are necessarily long-ranged, they are still far more local than what is possible with known random matrix ensembles. Our ansatz can be feasibly implemented in physical platforms such as classical and quantum circuits, and harbors very high tolerance to imperfections due to its stochastic nature.

Transmissive 2-bit anisotropic coding metasurface

Coding metasurfaces have attracted tremendous interests due to unique capabilities of manipulating electromagnetic wave. However, archiving transmissive coding metasurface is still challenging. Here we propose a transmissive anisotropic coding metasurface that enables the independent control of two orthogonal polarizations. The polarization beam splitter and the OAM generator have been studied as typical applications of anisotropic 2-bit coding metasurface. The simulated far field patterns illustrate that the x and y polarized electromagnetic waves are deflected into two different directions, respectively. The anisotropic coding metasurface has been experimentally verified to realize an orbital angular momentum (OAM) beam with l = 2 of right-handed polarized wave, resulting from both contributions from linear-to-circular polarization conversion and the phase profile modulation. This work is beneficial to enrich the polarization manipulation field and develop transmissive coding metasurfaces.

Analysis of Identification Methods of Key Nodes in Transportation Network

The identification of key nodes plays an important role in improving the robustness of the transportation network. For different types of transportation networks, the effect of the same identification method may be different. It is of practical significance to study the key nodes identification methods corresponding to various types of transportation networks. Based on the knowledge of complex networks, the metro networks and the bus networks are selected as the objects, and the key nodes are identified by the node degree identification method, the neighbor node degree identification method, the weighted k-shell degree neighborhood identification method (KSD), the degree k-shell identification method (DKS), and the degree k-shell neighborhood identification method (DKSN). Take the network efficiency and the largest connected subgraph as the effective indicators. The results show that the KSD identification method that comprehensively considers the elements has the best recognition effect and has certain practical significance.

Robustness of two-qubit and three-qubit states in correlated quantum channels

We investigate how the correlated actions of quantum channels affect the robustness of entangled states. We consider the Bell-like state and random two-qubit pure states in the correlated depolarizing, bit flip, bit-phase flip, and phase flip channels. It is found that the robustness of two-qubit pure states can be noticeably enhanced due to the correlations between consecutive actions of these noisy channels, and the Bell-like state is always the most robust state. We also consider the robustness of three-qubit pure states in correlated noisy channels. For the correlated bit flip and phase flip channels, the result shows that although the most robust and most fragile states are locally unitary equivalent, they exhibit different robustness in different correlated channels, and the effect of channel correlations on them is also significantly different. However, for the correlated depolarizing and bit-phase flip channels, the robustness of two special three-qubit pure states is exactly the same. Moreover, compared with the random three-qubit pure states, they are neither the most robust states nor the most fragile states.

Reaction mechanism of metal and pyrite under HPHT conditions and improvement of the properties

Pyrite tailings are the main cause of acid mine wastewater. An idea was put forward to more effectively use pyrite, and it was modified by exploiting the reducibility of metal represented by Al under high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) conditions. Upon increasing the Al addition, the conductivity of pyrite were effectively improved, which is nearly 734-times higher than that of unmodified pyrite at room temperature. First-principles calculations were used to determine the influence of a high pressure on the pyrite lattice. The high pressure increased the thermal stability of pyrite, reduced pyrite to high-conductivity Fe7S8 (pyrrhotite) by Al, and prevented the formation of iron. Through hardness and density tests the influence of Al addition on the hardness and toughness of samples was explored. Finally the possibility of using other metal-reducing agents to improve the properties of pyrite was discussed.

Effect of void size and Mg contents on plastic deformation behaviors of Al-Mg alloy with pre-existing void: Molecular dynamics study

The plastic deformation properties of cylindrical pre-void Aluminum-Magnesium (Al-Mg) alloy under uniaxial tension are explored using molecular dynamics simulations with embedded atom method (EAM) potential. The factors of Mg content, void size, and temperature are considered. The results show that the void fraction decreases with increasing Mg in the plastic deformation, and it is almost independent of Mg content when Mg is beyond 5%. Both Mg contents and stacking faults around the void affect the void growth. These phenomena are explained by the dislocation density of the sample and stacking faults distribution around the void. The variation trends of yield stress caused by void size are in good agreement with Lubarda model. Moreover, temperature effects are explored, the yield stress and Young's modulus obviously decrease with temperature. Our results may enrich and facilitate the understanding of the plastic mechanism of Al-Mg with defects or other alloys.

Non-invasive and low-artifact in vivo brain imaging by using a scanning acoustic-photoacoustic dual mode microscopy

Photoacoustic imaging is a potential candidate for in-vivo brain imaging, whereas, its imaging performance could be degraded by inhomogeneous multi-layered media, consisted of scalp and skull. In this work, we propose a low-artifact photoacoustic microscopy (LAPAM) scheme, which combines conventional acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy with scanning acoustic microscopy to suppress the reflection artifacts induced by multi-layers. Based on similar propagation characteristics of photoacoustic signals and ultrasonic echoes, the ultrasonic echoes can be employed as the filters to suppress the reflection artifacts to obtain low-artifact photoacoustic images. Phantom experiment is used to validate the effectiveness of this method. Furthermore, LAPAM is applied for in-vivo imaging mouse brain without removing the scalp and the skull. Experimental results show that the proposed method successfully achieves the low-artifact brain image, which demonstrates the practical applicability of LAPAM. This work might improve the photoacoustic imaging quality in many biomedical applications, which involve tissue with complex acoustic properties, such as brain imaging through scalp and skull.

Dynamical quantum phase transition in XY chains with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and XZY-YZX three-site interactions

We study the dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in the XY chains with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and the XZY-YZX type of three-site interaction after a sudden quench. Both the models can be mapped to the spinless free fermion models by the Jordan-Wigner and Bogoliubov transformations with the form $H=\sum_{k}\varepsilon_{k}(\eta^†_{k}\eta_{k}-\frac{1}{2})$, where the quasiparticle excitation spectra $\varepsilon_{k}$ may be smaller than 0 for some $k$ and are asymmetrical ($\varepsilon_{k}\neq\varepsilon_{-k}$). It's found that the factors of Loschmidt echo equal 1 for some $k$ corresponding to the quasiparticle excitation spectra of the pre-quench Hamiltonian satisfying $\varepsilon_{k}\cdot\varepsilon_{-k}<0$, when the quench is from the gapless phase. By considering the quench from different ground states, we obtain the conditions for the occurrence of DQPTs for the general XY chains with gapless phase, and find that the DQPTs may not occur in the quench across the quantum phase transitions regardless of whether the quench is from the gapless phase to gapped phase or from the gapped phase to gapless phase. This is different from the DQPTs in the case of quench from the gapped phase to gapped phase, in which the DQPTs will always appear. Besides, we also analyze the different reasons for the absence of DQPTs in the quench from the gapless phase and the gapped phase. The conclusion can also be extended to the general quantum spin chains.

Regulation of the intermittent release of giant unilamellar vesicles under osmotic pressure

Osmotic pressure can break the fluid balance between intracellular and extracellular solutions. In hypo-osmotic solution, water molecules, which transfer into the cell and burst, are driven by the concentrations difference of solute across the semi-permeable membrane. The complicated dynamic processes of the intermittent burst have been previously observed. However, the underlying physical mechanism has yet to be thoroughly explored and analyzed. Here, the intermittent release of inclusion in giant unilamellar vesicles was investigated quantitatively, applying the combination of experimental and theoretical methods in the hypo-osmotic medium. Experimentally, we adopted highly sensitive EMCCD to acquire intermittent dynamic images. Notably, the component of the vesicle phospholipids affected the stretch velocity, and the prepared solution of the vesicle adjusted the release time. Theoretically, we chose equations numerical simulations to quantify the dynamic process in phases and explored the influence of physical parameters such as bilayer permeability and solution viscosity on the process. It was concluded that the time taken to achieve the balance of giant unilamellar vesicles was highly dependent on the structure of the lipid molecular. The pore lifetime was strongly related with the internal solution environment of giant unilamellar vesicles. The vesicle prepared in viscous solution accessed visualized long-lived pore. Furthermore, the line tension was measured quantitatively by the release velocity of inclusion, which was in the same order of magnitude as the theoretical simulation. In all, the experimental values well matched the theoretical values. Our investigation clarified the physical regulatory mechanism of intermittent pore formation and inclusion release, which had an important reference for the development of novel technologies such as gene therapy based on transmembrane transport as well as controlled drug delivery based on liposomes.