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Biomedical subjects

M C Cross

Publications and source records attributed to M C Cross.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of the centrifugal force on domain chaos in Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

Experiments and simulations from a variety of sample sizes indicated that the centrifugal force significantly affects the domain-chaos state observed in rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection-patterns. In a large-aspect-ratio sample, we observed a hybrid state consisting of domain chaos close to the sample center, surrounded by an annulus of nearly stationary nearly radial rolls populated by occasional defects reminiscent of undulation chaos. Although the Coriolis force is responsible for domain chaos, by comparing experiment and simulation we show that the centrifugal force is responsible for the radial rolls. Furthermore, simulations of the Boussinesq equations for smaller aspect ratios neglecting the centrifugal force yielded a domain precession-frequency f approximately epsilon(mu) with mu approximately equal to 1 as predicted by the amplitude-equation model for domain chaos, but contradicted by previous experiment. Additionally the simulations gave a domain size that was larger than in the experiment. When the centrifugal force was included in the simulation, mu and the domain size were consistent with experiment.

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Synchronization by reactive coupling and nonlinear frequency pulling.

We present a detailed analysis of a model for the synchronization of nonlinear oscillators due to reactive coupling and nonlinear frequency pulling. We study the model for the mean field case of all-to-all coupling, deriving results for the initial onset of synchronization as the coupling or nonlinearity increase, and conditions for the existence of the completely synchronized state when all the oscillators evolve with the same frequency. Explicit results are derived for the Lorentzian, triangular, and top-hat distributions of oscillator frequencies. Numerical simulations are used to construct complete phase diagrams for these distributions.

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Response of discrete nonlinear systems with many degrees of freedom.

We study the response of a large array of coupled nonlinear oscillators to parametric excitation, motivated by the growing interest in the nonlinear dynamics of microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). Using a multiscale analysis, we derive an amplitude equation that captures the slow dynamics of the coupled oscillators just above the onset of parametric oscillations. The amplitude equation that we derive here from first principles exhibits a wave-number dependent bifurcation similar in character to the behavior known to exist in fluids undergoing the Faraday wave instability. We confirm this behavior numerically and make suggestions for testing it experimentally with MEMS and NEMS resonators.

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Scaling laws for rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

Numerical simulations of large aspect ratio, three-dimensional rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection for no-slip boundary conditions have been performed in both cylinders and periodic boxes. We have focused near the threshold for the supercritical bifurcation from the conducting state to a convecting state exhibiting domain chaos. A detailed analysis of these simulations has been carried out and is compared with experimental results, as well as predictions from multiple scale perturbation theory. We find that the time scaling law agrees with the theoretical prediction, which is in contradiction to experimental results. We also have looked at the scaling of defect lengths and defect glide velocities. We find a separation of scales in defect diameters perpendicular and parallel to the rolls as expected, but the scaling laws for the two different lengths are in contradiction to theory. The defect velocity scaling law agrees with our theoretical prediction from multiple scale perturbation theory.

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Enhanced tracer transport by the spiral defect chaos state of a convecting fluid.

To understand how spatiotemporal chaos may modify material transport, we use direct numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Boussinesq equations and of an advection-diffusion equation to study the transport of a passive tracer by the spiral defect chaos state of a convecting fluid. The simulations show that the transport is diffusive and is enhanced by the spatiotemporal chaos. The enhancement in tracer diffusivity follows two regimes. For large Péclet numbers (that is, small molecular diffusivities of the tracer), we find that the enhancement is proportional to the Péclet number. For small Péclet numbers, the enhancement is proportional to the square root of the Péclet number. We explain the presence of these two regimes in terms of how the local transport depends on the local wave numbers of the convection rolls. For large Péclet numbers, we further find that defects cause the tracer diffusivity to be enhanced locally in the direction orthogonal to the local wave vector but suppressed in the direction of the local wave vector.

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Synchronization by nonlinear frequency pulling.

We analyze a model for the synchronization of nonlinear oscillators due to reactive coupling and nonlinear frequency pulling motivated by the physics of arrays of nanoscale oscillators. We study the model for the mean field case of all-to-all coupling, deriving results for the onset of synchronization as the coupling or nonlinearity increase, and the fully locked state when all the oscillators evolve with the same frequency.

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Rayleigh-Bénard convection in large-aspect-ratio domains.

The coarsening and wave number selection of striped states growing from random initial conditions are studied in a nonrelaxational, spatially extended, and far-from-equilibrium system by performing large-scale numerical simulations of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a large-aspect-ratio cylindrical domain with experimentally realistic boundaries. We find evidence that various measures of the coarsening dynamics scale in time with different power-law exponents, indicating that multiple length scales are required in describing the time dependent pattern evolution. The translational correlation length scales with time as t0.12, the orientational correlation length scales as t0.54, and the density of defects scale as t(-0.45). The final pattern evolves toward the wave number where isolated dislocations become motionless, suggesting a possible wave number selection mechanism for large-aspect-ratio convection.

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Stochastic dynamics of nanoscale mechanical oscillators immersed in a viscous fluid.

The stochastic response of nanoscale oscillators of arbitrary geometry immersed in a viscous fluid is studied. Using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, it is shown that deterministic calculations of the governing fluid and solid equations can be used in a straightforward manner to directly calculate the stochastic response that would be measured in experiment. We use this approach to investigate the fluid coupled motion of single and multiple cantilevers with experimentally motivated geometries.

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Traveling waves in rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection: analysis of modes and mean flow.

Numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations with rotation for realistic no-slip boundary conditions and a finite annular domain are presented. These simulations reproduce traveling waves observed experimentally. Traveling waves are studied near threshold by using the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGLE): a mode analysis enables the CGLE coefficients to be determined. The CGLE coefficients are compared with previous experimental and theoretical results. Mean flows are also computed and found to be more significant as the Prandtl number decreases (from sigma=6.4 to sigma=1). In addition, the mean flow around the outer radius of the annulus appears to be correlated with the mean flow around the inner radius.

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Mean flow and spiral defect chaos in Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

We describe a numerical procedure to construct a modified velocity field that does not have any mean flow. Using this procedure, we present two results. First, we show that, in the absence of the mean flow, spiral defect chaos collapses to a stationary pattern comprising textures of stripes with angular bends. The quenched patterns are characterized by mean wave numbers that approach those uniquely selected by focus-type singularities, which, in the absence of the mean flow, lie at the zigzag instability boundary. The quenched patterns also have larger correlation lengths and are comprised of rolls with less curvature. Secondly, we describe how the mean flow can contribute to the commonly observed phenomenon of rolls terminating perpendicularly into lateral walls. We show that, in the absence of the mean flow, rolls begin to terminate into lateral walls at an oblique angle. This obliqueness increases with the Rayleigh number.

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Rayleigh-Bénard convection with a radial ramp in plate separation.

Pattern formation in Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a large-aspect-ratio cylinder with a radial ramp in the plate separation is studied analytically and numerically by performing numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations. A horizontal mean flow and a vertical large scale counterflow are quantified and used to understand the pattern wave number. Our results suggest that the mean flow, generated by amplitude gradients, plays an important role in the roll compression observed as the control parameter is increased. Near threshold, the mean flow has a quadrupole dependence with a single vortex in each quadrant while away from threshold the mean flow exhibits an octupole dependence with a counterrotating pair of vortices in each quadrant. This is confirmed analytically using the amplitude equation and Cross-Newell mean flow equation. By performing numerical experiments, the large scale counterflow is also found to aid in the roll compression away from threshold but to a much lesser degree. Our results yield an understanding of the pattern wave numbers observed in experiment away from threshold and suggest that near threshold the mean flow and large scale counterflow are not responsible for the observed shift to smaller than critical wave numbers.

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Collective directed transport of symmetrically coupled lattices in symmetric periodic potentials.

A mechanism responsible for the directed transport of symmetrically coupled lattices in a symmetric periodic potential is proposed. Under the action of an external wave that breaks the spatiotemporal symmetry and introduces inhomogeneities of the lattice, a net unidirectional current can be observed, originating from a collaboration of the lattice (periodic potential and mutual interactions) and the wave (amplitude, frequency, and phase shifts). Mode-locking induced resonant steps are observed and predicted. The directed transport can be optimized and furthermore controlled by suitably adjusting the parameters of the system.

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Nonequilibrium dynamics in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

Results from a comprehensive analytical and numerical study of nonequilibrium dynamics in the two-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation have been presented. In particular, spiral defects have been used to characterize the domain growth law and the evolution morphology. An asymptotic analysis of the single-spiral correlation function shows a sequence of singularities-analogous to those seen for time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau models with O(n) symmetry, where n is even.

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Power-law behavior of power spectra in low Prandtl number Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

The origin of the power-law decay measured in the power spectra of low Prandtl number Rayleigh-Bénard convection near the onset of chaos is addressed using long time numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Boussinesq equations in cylindrical domains. The power law is found to arise from quasidiscontinuous changes in the slope of the time series of the heat transport associated with the nucleation of dislocation pairs and roll pinch-off events. For larger frequencies, the power spectra decay exponentially as expected for time continuous deterministic dynamics.

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Nonequilibrium dynamics of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation: analytical results.

We present a detailed analytical and numerical study of nonequilibrium dynamics for the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. In particular, we characterize evolution morphologies using spiral defects. This paper is the first in a two-stage exposition. Here, we present analytical results for the correlation function arising from a single-spiral morphology. We also critically examine the utility of the Gaussian auxiliary field ansatz in characterizing a multispiral morphology. In the next paper of this exposition we will present detailed numerical results.

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Effect of phonon scattering by surface roughness on the universal thermal conductance.

The effect of phonon scattering by surface roughness on the thermal conductance in mesoscopic systems at low temperatures is calculated using full elasticity theory. The low frequency behavior of the scattering shows novel power law dependences arising from the unusual properties of the elastic modes. This leads to new predictions for the low temperature depression of the thermal conductance below the ideal universal value. Comparison with the data of Schwab et al. [Nature (London) 404, 974 (2000)] suggests that surface roughness on a scale of the width of the thermal pathway is important in the experiment.

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Finite size scaling of domain chaos.

Numerical studies of the domain chaos state in a model of rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection suggest that finite size effects may account for the discrepancy between experimentally measured values of the correlation length and the predicted divergence near onset.

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Endurance exercise with and without a thermal clamp: effects on leukocytes and leukocyte subsets.

To test how leukocyte responses to endurance exercise were modified by clamping body temperature, nine men (27.3 +/- 6.0 yr) completed four 80-min immersions to midchest at water temperatures of 23 or 39 degrees C; two tests included 40-min of cycle ergometer exercise at 65% of aerobic power. When the subjects were exercising, rectal temperature peaked at 39.1 +/- 0.4 degrees C in the warm water and 37.8 +/- 0.3 degrees C in the cool water. When the subjects were sitting in warm water, rectal temperature closely matched the core temperature during exercise in cool water, whereas when they were sitting in cool water, rectal temperatures decreased to 36.4 +/- 0.6 degrees C. Total and differential white cell counts were determined by using a Coulter counter, and cortisol and growth hormone concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay; all data were adjusted for changes of blood and plasma volumes. Heat clamping during exercise substantially reduced the rise in white cell, lymphocyte, and granulocyte counts but not the increase in monocyte count. Clamping also abolished previously observed associations between cell counts and cortisol and weakened associations with growth hormone concentrations (D. A. McCarthy and M. M. Dale. Sports Med. 6: 333-363, 1988). We conclude that both exercise and a rise of core temperature contribute to the changes in white cell and subset counts during and immediately after moderate exercise. Both cortisol and growth hormone concentrations appear to be mediators of these responses.

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