Os estudos sobre o plasma na região da borda de máquinas tokamak têm se intensificado nos últimos anos em decorrência da constatação de que o comportamento do plasma na região central da máquina é bastante influenciado por processos que ocorrem na borda da coluna. Neste trabalho feito um estudo experimental das propriedades de transporte do plasma na região da sombra do limitador do TBR-l, um tokamak de pequeno porte em operação no Instituto de Física da Universidade de São Paulo. São também determinados os tempos de confinamento globais de partículas e energia. Três foram os diagnósticos usados neste trabalho. Inicialmente, é abordada a utilização de sondas de Langmuir para a obtenção de perfis radiais e temporais da temperatura de elétrons, densidade e potencial de plasma; descreve-se também o arranjo experimental usado para este diagnóstico. A seguir, discute-se o projeto e a construção de uma sonda sensível a íons associada a um sistema eletrônico que permitiu a determinação simultânea das temperaturas locais de íons e elétrons. Finalmente, é discutido o dimensionamento e a implantação de um interferômetro de microondas para medidas de densidade de elétrons na região central da coluna de plasma do TBR-1; o sistema opera em 65 GHz e toda a eletrônica associada foi projetada e construída em nosso Laboratório. Os resultados obtidos com as sondas foram analisados com o ajuda de um modelo não colisional de transporte de partículas e energia para a região da sombra do limitador de máquinas tokamak. A partir dos decaimentos radiais da termperatura de elétrons (\'lâmbda IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 2,6cm) e da densidade (\'lâmbda IND. n\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,4cm), bem como do fator de transmissão de energia para os elétrons (\'delta IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 4), determinou-se o coeficiente de difusão perpendicular ao campo magnético (\'D IND. 1\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 6 \'m POT. 2\'\'s POT. -1\') e a difusividade térmica dos elétrons (\'qui POT. e IND. 1\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 8 \'m POT. 2\'\'s POT. -1\'), resultados que indicam valores próximos aos previstos pelo modelo de Bohm. As medidas das temperaturas de íons e elétrons mostram um claro desacoplamento térmico entre íons e elétrons (\'T IND. i\'/\'T IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 2). As medidas de densidade obtidas no centro da coluna, em conjunto com as obtidas na borda, permitiram a determinação dos tempos de confinamento globais de partículas (\'tau IND. p\'\'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,8 x \'10 POT. -3\'s) e de energia (\'tau IND. E\'\'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,2 x \'10 POT. -4\'s). Os resultados foram comparados com os previstos por várias leis de escala. / The study of the plasma edge in Tokamak machines has increased in recent last years, since the recognition that the behavior of the plasma core is influenced by the Physical processes that occur in the edge region. This work develops an experimental stud) of plasma transport properties in the shadow region of TBR-l limiter. TBR-l is a small Tokamak in operation in the Physics Institute of São Paulo University. We have also determined the global confinement time of particles and energy. We have used three diagnostics: a Langmuir probe, an ion sensitive probe, and a microwave interferometer. Initially we discuss the use of Langmuir probes in Tokamak machines to obtain temporal and radial profiles of electron temperature, plasma density and potential; we show also the experimental arrangement used in the TBR-l for this diagnostic. Then, we discuss the design and construction of an ion sensitive probe associated with an electronic system, that was used to obtain, simultaneously, local ion and electron temperature. Finally we discuss a microwave interferometry system that has been built for the TBR-1. The microwave generator is a reflex Klystron (f = 65 GHz), and with the interferometer we obtained electron density time profiles of the center of TBR-l plasma column. All the electronics associated with the interferometer were designed and built in our laboratory. The results obtained with the probes are discussed with the help of a collisionless model for Tokamak scrape-off plasma. With the radial e-foldings of electron temperature (e 2.6 cm) and density (n 1.4 cm), and the sheath electron transmission coefficient (e 4) we have determined the cross-field diffusion coefficient (D1 6 m2s-1) and the electron cross-field thermal diffusivity (e1 8 m2s-1). These results indicate values near those predicted by the Bohm model. The measurements of electron and ion temperature shows a clear thermal decoupling between ions and electrons (T1/Te 2). The measurements of plasma parameters in the center of the plasma column, with that obtained with the probes permitted the determination of the particle (p 1.8 x 10-3s) and energy (e 1.2 x10-4s) global confinement times. These results were compared with those predicted by scaling laws.

We conduct a comprehensive and systematic study of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) model using both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, with the aim being to explain the cause of the anomalous energy-transport behaviour in the model. In the equilibrium scenario, our motivation stems from the lack of a complete understanding of the effects of initial conditions on the energy dissipation among Fourier modes. We also critically reconsider the ????probes' that had been widely used to quantitatively describe the types of energy sharing in a system, and then decide on a preferred choice to be used in our equilibrium study. We establish, from strong numerical evidence, that there exists a critical energy density of approximately 0:1, above which the energy dissipation among the modes becomes independent of initial conditions and system parameters, and that the full equipartition of mode energy is never attained in the FPU model. We report, for the first time, the violation of particle positions in the FPU model at high energies, where the particles are found to pass through one another. In the non-equilibrium scenario, we critically review the Nos???Se-Hoover algorithm thermostatting method largely used by other works, and identify its weaknesses. We also review some other alternative methods and decide on the most appropriate one to be implemented throughout our work. We confirm the divergence of the thermal conductivity of the FPU model as the chain length increases, and that kfpu [symbol] No.41, in agreement with other works. Our study further shows that there exists an upper limit of the anharmonicity in the FPU model, and that any attempt to increase the strength of this anharmonicity will not succeed. We also introduce elastic collisions into the original FPU model and find that the Modified model (FPUC) still exhibits anomalous thermal conductivity. We conclude that a one-dimensional FPU-type model with ????only' nearest-neighbour interaction, regardless of being soft or hard, does not exhibit a finite thermal conductivity as the system size increases, due to the non-chaotic nature of its microscopic dynamics, the origin of which we are unable to account for. Finally, we briefly outline possible research directions.

We conduct a comprehensive and systematic study of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) model using both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, with the aim being to explain the cause of the anomalous energy-transport behaviour in the model. In the equilibrium scenario, our motivation stems from the lack of a complete understanding of the effects of initial conditions on the energy dissipation among Fourier modes. We also critically reconsider the ????probes' that had been widely used to quantitatively describe the types of energy sharing in a system, and then decide on a preferred choice to be used in our equilibrium study. We establish, from strong numerical evidence, that there exists a critical energy density of approximately 0:1, above which the energy dissipation among the modes becomes independent of initial conditions and system parameters, and that the full equipartition of mode energy is never attained in the FPU model. We report, for the first time, the violation of particle positions in the FPU model at high energies, where the particles are found to pass through one another. In the non-equilibrium scenario, we critically review the Nos???Se-Hoover algorithm thermostatting method largely used by other works, and identify its weaknesses. We also review some other alternative methods and decide on the most appropriate one to be implemented throughout our work. We confirm the divergence of the thermal conductivity of the FPU model as the chain length increases, and that kfpu [symbol] No.41, in agreement with other works. Our study further shows that there exists an upper limit of the anharmonicity in the FPU model, and that any attempt to increase the strength of this anharmonicity will not succeed. We also introduce elastic collisions into the original FPU model and find that the Modified model (FPUC) still exhibits anomalous thermal conductivity. We conclude that a one-dimensional FPU-type model with ????only' nearest-neighbour interaction, regardless of being soft or hard, does not exhibit a finite thermal conductivity as the system size increases, due to the non-chaotic nature of its microscopic dynamics, the origin of which we are unable to account for. Finally, we briefly outline possible research directions.

This thesis is concerned with quantum properties of excitonic energy transport in nanostructures that are embedded in a noisy environment. Of principal interests are ways to exploit this environment to facilitate the transport of energetic excitations. The first research chapter deals with an extension to the 'standard' open quantum system picture, where the Hilbert space is split into three: system, environment, and a wider universe. This division is natural for many biological and artificial nanostructures. A new analytical method, based on a phase space representation of the density matrix, is developed for studying such division. The effects of the wider universe are shown to be captured by a simple correction of the environmental response function. The second research chapter addresses the question: when do second-order perturbative approaches to open quantum systems, which are intuitive and simple to compute, provide adequate accuracy? A simple analytical criterion is developed, and its validity is verified for the case of the much-studied FMO dynamics as well as the canonical spin-boson model. In the third research chapter, an intuitive model of a photocell is studied. The model comprises two light-absorbing molecules coupled to an idealised reaction centre, showing asymmetric dimers are capable of providing a significant enhancement of light-to-current conversion under ambient conditions. This is done by 'parking' the energy of an absorbed photon in a dark state which neither absorbs nor emits light. In the final research chapter, a basic model for what can be thought as a "quantum brachistochrone" problem is investigated. Exotic energy configurations are found to yield considerable enhancement to the exciton's transfer probability, due to similar mechanisms studied in the previous chapter.

Os estudos sobre o plasma na região da borda de máquinas tokamak têm se intensificado nos últimos anos em decorrência da constatação de que o comportamento do plasma na região central da máquina é bastante influenciado por processos que ocorrem na borda da coluna. Neste trabalho feito um estudo experimental das propriedades de transporte do plasma na região da sombra do limitador do TBR-l, um tokamak de pequeno porte em operação no Instituto de Física da Universidade de São Paulo. São também determinados os tempos de confinamento globais de partículas e energia. Três foram os diagnósticos usados neste trabalho. Inicialmente, é abordada a utilização de sondas de Langmuir para a obtenção de perfis radiais e temporais da temperatura de elétrons, densidade e potencial de plasma; descreve-se também o arranjo experimental usado para este diagnóstico. A seguir, discute-se o projeto e a construção de uma sonda sensível a íons associada a um sistema eletrônico que permitiu a determinação simultânea das temperaturas locais de íons e elétrons. Finalmente, é discutido o dimensionamento e a implantação de um interferômetro de microondas para medidas de densidade de elétrons na região central da coluna de plasma do TBR-1; o sistema opera em 65 GHz e toda a eletrônica associada foi projetada e construída em nosso Laboratório. Os resultados obtidos com as sondas foram analisados com o ajuda de um modelo não colisional de transporte de partículas e energia para a região da sombra do limitador de máquinas tokamak. A partir dos decaimentos radiais da termperatura de elétrons (\'lâmbda IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 2,6cm) e da densidade (\'lâmbda IND. n\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,4cm), bem como do fator de transmissão de energia para os elétrons (\'delta IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 4), determinou-se o coeficiente de difusão perpendicular ao campo magnético (\'D IND. 1\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 6 \'m POT. 2\'\'s POT. -1\') e a difusividade térmica dos elétrons (\'qui POT. e IND. 1\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 8 \'m POT. 2\'\'s POT. -1\'), resultados que indicam valores próximos aos previstos pelo modelo de Bohm. As medidas das temperaturas de íons e elétrons mostram um claro desacoplamento térmico entre íons e elétrons (\'T IND. i\'/\'T IND. e\' \'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 2). As medidas de densidade obtidas no centro da coluna, em conjunto com as obtidas na borda, permitiram a determinação dos tempos de confinamento globais de partículas (\'tau IND. p\'\'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,8 x \'10 POT. -3\'s) e de energia (\'tau IND. E\'\'APROXIMADAMENTE IGUAL A\' 1,2 x \'10 POT. -4\'s). Os resultados foram comparados com os previstos por várias leis de escala. / The study of the plasma edge in Tokamak machines has increased in recent last years, since the recognition that the behavior of the plasma core is influenced by the Physical processes that occur in the edge region. This work develops an experimental stud) of plasma transport properties in the shadow region of TBR-l limiter. TBR-l is a small Tokamak in operation in the Physics Institute of São Paulo University. We have also determined the global confinement time of particles and energy. We have used three diagnostics: a Langmuir probe, an ion sensitive probe, and a microwave interferometer. Initially we discuss the use of Langmuir probes in Tokamak machines to obtain temporal and radial profiles of electron temperature, plasma density and potential; we show also the experimental arrangement used in the TBR-l for this diagnostic. Then, we discuss the design and construction of an ion sensitive probe associated with an electronic system, that was used to obtain, simultaneously, local ion and electron temperature. Finally we discuss a microwave interferometry system that has been built for the TBR-1. The microwave generator is a reflex Klystron (f = 65 GHz), and with the interferometer we obtained electron density time profiles of the center of TBR-l plasma column. All the electronics associated with the interferometer were designed and built in our laboratory. The results obtained with the probes are discussed with the help of a collisionless model for Tokamak scrape-off plasma. With the radial e-foldings of electron temperature (e 2.6 cm) and density (n 1.4 cm), and the sheath electron transmission coefficient (e 4) we have determined the cross-field diffusion coefficient (D1 6 m2s-1) and the electron cross-field thermal diffusivity (e1 8 m2s-1). These results indicate values near those predicted by the Bohm model. The measurements of electron and ion temperature shows a clear thermal decoupling between ions and electrons (T1/Te 2). The measurements of plasma parameters in the center of the plasma column, with that obtained with the probes permitted the determination of the particle (p 1.8 x 10-3s) and energy (e 1.2 x10-4s) global confinement times. These results were compared with those predicted by scaling laws.

Surface gravity waves in the world’s oceans contain a renewable source of free power on the order of terawatts that has to this date not been commercially utilized. The division of Electricity at Uppsala University is developing a technology to harvest this energy. The technology is a point absorber type wave energy converter based on a direct-driven linear generator placed on the sea bed connected via a line to a buoy on the surface. The work in this thesis is focused mainly on the energy transport of ocean waves and on increasing the transfer of energy from the waves to the generator and load. Potential linear wave theory is used to describe the ocean waves and to derive the hydrodynamic forces that are exerted on the buoy. Expressions for the energy transport in polychromatic waves travelling over waters of finite depth are derived and extracted from measured time series of wave elevation collected at the Lysekil test site. The results are compared to existing solutions that uses the simpler deep water approximation. A Two-Body system wave energy converter model tuned to resonance in Swedish west coast sea states is developed based on the Lysekil project concept. The first indicative results are derived by using a linear resistive load. The concept is further extended by a coupled hydrodynamic and electromagnetic model with two more realistic non-linear load conditions. Results show that the use of the deep water approximation gives a too low energy transport in the time averaged as well as in the total instantaneous energy transport. Around the resonance frequency, a Two-Body System gives a power capture ratio of up to 80 percent. For more energetic sea states the power capture ratio decreases rapidly, indicating a smoother power output. The currents in the generator when using the Two-Body system is shown to be more evenly distributed compared to the conventional system, indicating a better utilization of the electrical equipment. Although the resonant nature of the system makes it sensitive to the shape of the wave spectrum, results indicate a threefold increase in annual power production compared to the conventional system.

In spite of being the subject of intense research, several key but complex questions on the nonequilibrium physics of correlated quantum systems remain controversial. For example, the nature of particle and energy transport in different interacting regimes, the relevance of integrability and the impact of environmental coupling are still under active debate. These problems can now be approached numerically, due to the development of powerful algorithms which allow the efficient simulation of the dynamics of correlated systems. In the present thesis we study numerically and analytically the transport properties of low-dimensional quantum systems. In particular, we consider the steady-state spin and energy conduction through XXZ boundary-driven spin-1/2 chains. In the first part, we analyse the transport through chains with only coherent processes in the bulk. For spin transport induced by a magnetisation imbalance between the boundaries, previously identified ballistic, diffusive and negative differential conductivity regimes are reproduced. We provide a comprehensive explanation of the latter. The energy conduction induced by this driving scheme features the same properties as spin transport. For thermally-driven chains, we discuss the nature of energy transport and the emergence of local thermal states when the integrability of the Hamiltonian is broken. In the second part of the thesis we analyse the effect of bulk incoherent effects on the transport properties previously discussed. First we find that for weak particle-particle interactions, pure dephasing degrades spin and energy conduction. In contrast, for strong interactions dephasing induces a significant transport enhancement. We identify the underlying mechanism and discuss its generality. Finally, motivated by the lattice structure of several organic conductors, we study the interplay between coherent and incoherent processes in systems of weakly-coupled chains. We find an enhancement effect due to incoherent interchain hopping, stronger than that by dephasing, which increases with the chain length and relates to superdiffusive transport.

Ultracold neutral plasmas provide a platform for studying transport properties in an idealized environment. In this dissertation, transport properties in a Ca$^+$/Yb$^+$ dual species ultracold neutral plasma and a Ca$^+$ magnetized ultracold neutral plasma are studied. In dual species plasmas, we study ion-ion temperature relaxation. We compare measured relaxation rates with atomistic simulations and a range of popular theories. Our work validates the assumptions and capabilities of molecular dynamic simulations and invalidates theoretical models in this regime. This work illustrates an approach for precision determinations of detailed material properties in Coulomb mixtures across a wide range of conditions. We also study plasma expansion in single species plasma in the presence of a strong uniform magnetic field. We find that the asymptotic expansion velocity falls exponentially with magnetic field strength, which disagrees with a previously published ambipolar diffusion model. In the parallel direction, plasma expansion is driven by electron pressure. However, in the perpendicular direction, no plasma expansion is observed at large magnetic field strengths.

In this study nano-patterning was carried out using two different nano-optic devices namely- the NSOM and Fresnel zone plate. In the first study, NSOM was used to generate nano-patterns on selected semiconducting (Si and Ge) and metallic (Cr, Cu and Ag) targets under different laser pulse durations, laser energies and number of laser pulses. Based on the experimental results, femtosecond laser pulses, provided lower pattern generation thresholds on targets but higher damage thresholds to the NSOM probes at the wavelength (~400-410 nm) studied, compared with nanosecond laser pulses. Three different mechanisms were identified as the dominant processes for pattern generation under different conditions, namely nano-scale laser ablation, nano-scale thermal oxidation and nano-scale melting/recrystallization of the targets. Furthermore, the resulting nano-patterns also showed a significant dependence on the optical properties (i.e., absorption coefficient and surface reflectivity) of the target material. By comparing the obtained experimental results, it was concluded that the optical energy transport from the NSOM probe to the target dominates the pattern generation when femtosecond laser is applied to the NSOM system. When nanosecond laser is applied, both the thermal and optical energy transported from the NSOM probe to the targets attribute to the obtained morphology of nano-patterns on different targets under the experimental conditions studied. In the second study, a traditional Fresnel zone plate with a focus length of 3 micrometres was fabricated with a novel lift-off process in e-beam lithography. The fabrication process involved, using a HSQ/PMMA bi-layer in a negative tone lift-off process with a layer of conducting polyaniline for charge dissipation. HSQ was used as the high resolution negative resist for e-beam patterning and the PMMA under-layer was used to enable a HSQ lift-off process. The fabricated Fresnel zone plate was used to generate nano-patterns on a UV sensitive photoresist using nanosecond laser light with lamda~409nm. The smallest pattern sizes generated was close to the diffraction limit. Nano-pattern sizes generated on the photoresist were comparable with a numerically calculated intensity distribution at the focus spot of the designed Fresnel zone plate obtained from Scalar Diffraction Theory.

Solid-fluid thermal interactions during unsteady flow in porous media play an important role in the regenerators of pulse tube cryocoolers. Pore-level thermal processes in porous media under unsteady flow conditions are poorly understood. The objective of this investigation is to study the pore-level thermal phenomena during pulsating flow through a generic, two-dimensional porous medium by numerical analysis. Furthermore, an examination of the effects of flow pulsations on the thermal dispersion and heat transfer coefficient that are encountered in the standard, volume-average energy equations for porous media are carried out. The investigated porous media are periodic arrays of square cylinders. Detailed numerical data for the porosity range of 0.64 to 0.84, with flow Reynold's numbers from 0-1000 are obtained. Based on these numerical data, the instantaneous as well as cycle-average thermal dispersion and heat transfer coefficients, to be used in the standard unsteady volume-average energy conservation equations for flow in porous media, are derived. Also, the adequacy of current applied cycle-average correlations for heat transfer coefficients and the inclusion of the thermal dispersion in the definition of an effective fluid thermal conductivity are investigated.