Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) studies the dynamics of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of a magnetic field. Many astrophysical phenomena are related to MHD, and computer simulations are used to model these dynamics. In this thesis, we conduct MHD simulations of non-radiative black hole accretion as well as fast magnetic reconnection. By performing large scale three dimensional parallel MHD simulations on supercomputers and using a deformed-mesh algorithm, we were able to conduct very high dynamical range simulations of black hole accretion of Sgr A* at the Galactic Center. We find a generic set of solutions, and make specific predictions for currently feasible observations of rotation measure (RM). The magnetized accretion flow is subsonic and lacks outward convection flux, making the accretion rate very small and having a density slope of around $-1$. There is no tendency for the flows to become rotationally supported, and the slow time variability of the RM is a key quantitative signature of this accretion flow. We also provide a constructive numerical example of fast magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional periodic box. Reconnection is initiated by a strong, localized perturbation to the field lines and the solution is intrinsically three-dimensional. Approximately $30\%$ of the magnetic energy is released in an event which lasts about one Alfv\'en time, but only after a delay during which the field lines evolve into a critical configuration. In the co-moving frame of the reconnection regions, reconnection occurs through an X-like point, analogous to the Petschek reconnection. The dynamics appear to be driven by global flows rather than local processes. In addition to issues pertaining to physics, we present results on the acceleration of MHD simulations using heterogeneous computing systems \cite. We have implemented the MHD code on a variety of heterogeneous and multi-core architectures (multi-core x86, Cell, Nvidia and ATI GPU) using different languages (FORTRAN, C, Cell, CUDA and OpenCL). Initial performance results for these systems are presented, and we conclude that substantial gains in performance over traditional systems are possible. In particular, it is possible to extract a greater percentage of peak theoretical performance from some heterogeneous systems when compared to x86 architectures.

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) studies the dynamics of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of a magnetic field. Many astrophysical phenomena are related to MHD, and computer simulations are used to model these dynamics. In this thesis, we conduct MHD simulations of non-radiative black hole accretion as well as fast magnetic reconnection. By performing large scale three dimensional parallel MHD simulations on supercomputers and using a deformed-mesh algorithm, we were able to conduct very high dynamical range simulations of black hole accretion of Sgr A* at the Galactic Center. We find a generic set of solutions, and make specific predictions for currently feasible observations of rotation measure (RM). The magnetized accretion flow is subsonic and lacks outward convection flux, making the accretion rate very small and having a density slope of around $-1$. There is no tendency for the flows to become rotationally supported, and the slow time variability of the RM is a key quantitative signature of this accretion flow. We also provide a constructive numerical example of fast magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional periodic box. Reconnection is initiated by a strong, localized perturbation to the field lines and the solution is intrinsically three-dimensional. Approximately $30\%$ of the magnetic energy is released in an event which lasts about one Alfv\'en time, but only after a delay during which the field lines evolve into a critical configuration. In the co-moving frame of the reconnection regions, reconnection occurs through an X-like point, analogous to the Petschek reconnection. The dynamics appear to be driven by global flows rather than local processes. In addition to issues pertaining to physics, we present results on the acceleration of MHD simulations using heterogeneous computing systems \cite. We have implemented the MHD code on a variety of heterogeneous and multi-core architectures (multi-core x86, Cell, Nvidia and ATI GPU) using different languages (FORTRAN, C, Cell, CUDA and OpenCL). Initial performance results for these systems are presented, and we conclude that substantial gains in performance over traditional systems are possible. In particular, it is possible to extract a greater percentage of peak theoretical performance from some heterogeneous systems when compared to x86 architectures.

The optical and magneto-optical response of plasmonic resonances in metallic nanoarrays out of square structures, either in holes or islands, were investigated. The excitation of the Bragg Plasmons takes place within a grating. Significant differences in the excited plasmon modes were seen by using p- or s-polarized light as well between the holes and islands sample. In order to investigate magneto-optical response from the magnetic nanostrucures, transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) measurements were done with the result that there is a difference in holes and islands sample. Contrary to what is generally expected for the polarization dependence of TMOKE, a TMOKE signal for s-polarized light on the holes sample was measured.

No description available.

Com o advento das cubas eletrolíticas de alta amperagem para redução do alumínio, o estudo da instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica tem se tornado cada vez mais importante, tanto no projeto de novas tecnologias quanto na melhoria da eficiência dos equipamentos já existentes. O objetivo central deste trabalho é desenvolver um modelo matemático de instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica. O modelo deve ser sensível aos principais parâmetros de projeto e operacionais de uma cuba e capaz de servir como ferramenta na determinação de configurações mais favoráveis no que tange à instabilidade. No modelo, considera-se que o campo magnético gerado pelos condutores externos é conhecido. As equações diferenciais pertinentes à física do modelo são resolvidas utilizando-se diferentes métodos numéricos implementados em um software desenvolvido e dedicado para os objetivos deste trabalho. Alguns resultados de oscilação de voltagem foram comparados com os valores obtidos em cubas reais. Foram feitos estudos de sensibilidade na variação de parâmetros quanto à instabilidade, tais como: corrente elétrica de operação; distância anódica-catódica, nível de metal líquido e desbalanço do campo magnético vertical. Diferentes configurações básicas de campos magnéticos foram testadas de modo a definir-se qual delas é a mais indicada para obterem-se cubas mais estáveis. A influência da operação de troca dos anodos na instabilidade também foi estudada. Com o auxílio do modelo foi possível recomendar-se uma seqüência de trocas de anodo que minimize o distúrbio na instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica de um específico projeto de cubas. / With the advent of high amperage electrolytic cells for aluminum reduction, the study of the magnetohydrodynamics is becoming more and more important to the new technologies project, as well to the existent devices efficiency improvement. The main objective of this work is to develop a mathematical model of the cell’s magnetohydrodynamic instability. The model shall be sensible to the main project and operational cells’ parameters and able to be used as a tool for determining better configurations regarding cell instability. In the model, the magnetic field generated by the external conductors is considered as known. The differential equations regarding the model physics are solved using different numerical methods, implemented in a software developed and dedicated for the purposes of this work. Several oscillation voltage results were compared with the values obtained in real cells. Sensibility of some operational parameters variation on the instability such as: total operational electrical current, anodecathode distance, liquid metal level, and unbalance of the vertical magnetic field were studied. Different magnetic field basic configurations were tested in order to define the most indicated for obtaining more stable cells. The influence of the anode changing operation on the instability was also investigated. With the help of the model, it was possible to recommend an anode changing sequence which minimizes the disturbance on the magnetohydrodynamic instability in a specific cell design.

Com o advento das cubas eletrolíticas de alta amperagem para redução do alumínio, o estudo da instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica tem se tornado cada vez mais importante, tanto no projeto de novas tecnologias quanto na melhoria da eficiência dos equipamentos já existentes. O objetivo central deste trabalho é desenvolver um modelo matemático de instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica. O modelo deve ser sensível aos principais parâmetros de projeto e operacionais de uma cuba e capaz de servir como ferramenta na determinação de configurações mais favoráveis no que tange à instabilidade. No modelo, considera-se que o campo magnético gerado pelos condutores externos é conhecido. As equações diferenciais pertinentes à física do modelo são resolvidas utilizando-se diferentes métodos numéricos implementados em um software desenvolvido e dedicado para os objetivos deste trabalho. Alguns resultados de oscilação de voltagem foram comparados com os valores obtidos em cubas reais. Foram feitos estudos de sensibilidade na variação de parâmetros quanto à instabilidade, tais como: corrente elétrica de operação; distância anódica-catódica, nível de metal líquido e desbalanço do campo magnético vertical. Diferentes configurações básicas de campos magnéticos foram testadas de modo a definir-se qual delas é a mais indicada para obterem-se cubas mais estáveis. A influência da operação de troca dos anodos na instabilidade também foi estudada. Com o auxílio do modelo foi possível recomendar-se uma seqüência de trocas de anodo que minimize o distúrbio na instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica de um específico projeto de cubas. / With the advent of high amperage electrolytic cells for aluminum reduction, the study of the magnetohydrodynamics is becoming more and more important to the new technologies project, as well to the existent devices efficiency improvement. The main objective of this work is to develop a mathematical model of the cell’s magnetohydrodynamic instability. The model shall be sensible to the main project and operational cells’ parameters and able to be used as a tool for determining better configurations regarding cell instability. In the model, the magnetic field generated by the external conductors is considered as known. The differential equations regarding the model physics are solved using different numerical methods, implemented in a software developed and dedicated for the purposes of this work. Several oscillation voltage results were compared with the values obtained in real cells. Sensibility of some operational parameters variation on the instability such as: total operational electrical current, anodecathode distance, liquid metal level, and unbalance of the vertical magnetic field were studied. Different magnetic field basic configurations were tested in order to define the most indicated for obtaining more stable cells. The influence of the anode changing operation on the instability was also investigated. With the help of the model, it was possible to recommend an anode changing sequence which minimizes the disturbance on the magnetohydrodynamic instability in a specific cell design.

Com o advento das cubas eletrolíticas de alta amperagem para redução do alumínio, o estudo da instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica tem se tornado cada vez mais importante, tanto no projeto de novas tecnologias quanto na melhoria da eficiência dos equipamentos já existentes. O objetivo central deste trabalho é desenvolver um modelo matemático de instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica. O modelo deve ser sensível aos principais parâmetros de projeto e operacionais de uma cuba e capaz de servir como ferramenta na determinação de configurações mais favoráveis no que tange à instabilidade. No modelo, considera-se que o campo magnético gerado pelos condutores externos é conhecido. As equações diferenciais pertinentes à física do modelo são resolvidas utilizando-se diferentes métodos numéricos implementados em um software desenvolvido e dedicado para os objetivos deste trabalho. Alguns resultados de oscilação de voltagem foram comparados com os valores obtidos em cubas reais. Foram feitos estudos de sensibilidade na variação de parâmetros quanto à instabilidade, tais como: corrente elétrica de operação; distância anódica-catódica, nível de metal líquido e desbalanço do campo magnético vertical. Diferentes configurações básicas de campos magnéticos foram testadas de modo a definir-se qual delas é a mais indicada para obterem-se cubas mais estáveis. A influência da operação de troca dos anodos na instabilidade também foi estudada. Com o auxílio do modelo foi possível recomendar-se uma seqüência de trocas de anodo que minimize o distúrbio na instabilidade magnetohidrodinâmica de um específico projeto de cubas. / With the advent of high amperage electrolytic cells for aluminum reduction, the study of the magnetohydrodynamics is becoming more and more important to the new technologies project, as well to the existent devices efficiency improvement. The main objective of this work is to develop a mathematical model of the cell’s magnetohydrodynamic instability. The model shall be sensible to the main project and operational cells’ parameters and able to be used as a tool for determining better configurations regarding cell instability. In the model, the magnetic field generated by the external conductors is considered as known. The differential equations regarding the model physics are solved using different numerical methods, implemented in a software developed and dedicated for the purposes of this work. Several oscillation voltage results were compared with the values obtained in real cells. Sensibility of some operational parameters variation on the instability such as: total operational electrical current, anodecathode distance, liquid metal level, and unbalance of the vertical magnetic field were studied. Different magnetic field basic configurations were tested in order to define the most indicated for obtaining more stable cells. The influence of the anode changing operation on the instability was also investigated. With the help of the model, it was possible to recommend an anode changing sequence which minimizes the disturbance on the magnetohydrodynamic instability in a specific cell design.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T18:07:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo7990_1.pdf: 2863612 bytes, checksum: 3b1642885ecc61c2c9303d2b919f2aa9 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Neste trabalho, estudamos os modos orbitais que surgem na armadilha magneto-ótica quando os feixes de laser, responsáveis pelo aprisionamento dos átomos, apresentam um desalinhamento no plano xy de forma a induzir um movimento orbital em torno do eixo z. Para explicar as diferentes estruturas espaciais observadas experimentalmente, consideramos, além da interação com os lasers, também a interação entre pares de átomos devido ao múltiplo espalhamento de fótons. Concentramos nossos estudos nos efeitos da interação sobre a estrutura na forma de um anel e seu desenvolvimento para dois anéis concêntricos. Implementamos um algoritmo numérico com estrutura hierárquica, o qual permite controlar a aproximação feita no cálculo numérico da interação. Com este algoritmo, pudemos simular a dinâmica de até 106 átomos na armadilha. Esse é o limite para simulações usando programação linear. Os efeitos da interação com o aumento do número de átomos na armadilha são observados no alargamento da estrutura em forma de anel, bem como no aumento do raio de equilíbrio desta estrutura. Para 106 átomos esta estrutura espacial apresenta um pequeno pico lateral indicando um possível início da estrutura de dois anéis concêntricos

In recent years, many investigators have predicted that with a semiactive suspension it is possible to attain performance gains comparable to those possible with a fully active suspension. In achieving this, the method by which the damper is controlled is one of the crucial factors that ultimately determines the success or failure of a particular semiactive suspension. This study is an investigation into the effectiveness of a number of basic control strategies at controlling vehicle dynamics, particularly vehicle roll. The test vehicle is a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), a class of vehicle that regularly sees widely varying vehicle weight (as a result of passengers and load) and can exhibit undesirable levels of vehicle roll. This study includes a suspension system comprised of four controllable magneto-rheological dampers, associated sensors, and controller. There are three distinct phases in this investigation, the first of which is a numerical investigation performed on a four-degree-of-freedom vehicle roll-plane model. The model is subjected to a variety of road and driver induced inputs, and the vehicle response is characterized, with each semiactive control policy. The second phase of this study consists of laboratory testing performed on a Ford Expedition, with the front axle of the vehicle placed on a two-post dynamic rig (tire coupled), and a variety of road inputs applied. The third phase of this testing involves road testing the test vehicle to further evaluate the effectiveness of each of the semiactive control policies at controlling both vehicle comfort (vibration) and stability (roll). In each phase, the semiactive control policies that are investigated are tuned and modified such that the best possible performance is attained. The performance of each of these optimal semiactive systems is then compared. In the first phase of this investigation, two basic skyhook control strategies are investigated and two modified strategies are proposed. Upon numerically investigating the effectiveness of the four control strategies, it is found that the performance achievable with each of the control strategies is heavily dependent on the properties of the controllable damper. The properties of the controllable damper that were particularly important were the upper and lower levels of force that the controllable damper was able to apply. Based on numerical results, the controllable dampers were tuned for each control system. The results indicate that a velocity-based skyhook control policy, in conjunction with force control, is most effective at controlling both road-induced vibration and driver-induced roll. In the second phase of this investigation, the effects of the two skyhook control strategies were again examined. Multiple system inputs including step inputs, chirp inputs, and multi-sine inputs were used, and the results indicate that significant performance gains using the basic skyhook policies are unlikely. The third phase involved road testing the vehicle through specific maneuvers modeling a wide variety of common driving situations. In addition to the two basic skyhook policies, two additional policies augmented with steering wheel position feedback were also examined. It was found that the velocity based skyhook control policy augmented with steering wheel position feedback achieved performance superior to both the stock passive dampers and other control policies tested here. / Ph. D.

The graphitic systems have attracted intensive attention recently due to the discovery of graphene, a single layer of graphite. The low-energy band structure of graphene exhibits an unusual linear dispersion relation which hosts massless Dirac fermions and leads to intriguing electronic and optical properties. In particular, due to the high mobility and tunability, graphene and graphitic materials have been recognized as promising candidates for future nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Electron-phonon coupling (EPC) plays a significant role in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Therefore, it is crucial to understand EPC in graphitic materials and then manipulate it to achieve better device performance. In the first part of this thesis, we explore EPC between Dirac-like fermions and infrared active phonons in graphite via infrared magneto-spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the EPC can be tuned by varying the magnetic field. The second part of this thesis deals with magnetoplasmons in quasineutral graphene nanoribbons. Multilayer epitaxial graphene grown on the carbon terminated silicon carbide surface behaves like single layer graphene. Plasmons are excited in the nanoribbons of undoped multilayer epitaxial graphene. In a magnetic field, the cyclotron resonance can couple with the plasmon resonance forming the so-called upperhybrid mode. This mode exhibits a distinct dispersion relation, radically different from that expected for conventional two dimensional systems.