In this thesis, we investigate strongly correlated phenomena in quantum spin systems. In the first part of this work, we study geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets (AFMs). Generalizing the SU(2) Heisenberg Hamiltonian to Sp(N) symmetry, we obtain, in the large-N limit, the mean-field phase diagrams for the planar pyrochlore and cubic AFMs. We then use gauge theories to consider fluctuation effects about their respective mean-field configurations. We find, in addition to conventional Neel states, a plethora of novel magnetically disordered phases: two kinds of spin liquids, Z2 in 2+1D and U(1)in 3+1D, and several valence bond solids such as two and three-dimensional plaquette and columnar singlet states. We use the same approach to study the diamond lattice AFM which possesses extended classical ground state degeneracy. We demonstrate that quantum and entropic fluctuations lift this degeneracy in different ways. In the second part of the thesis, we study ultracold spinor atoms confined in optical lattices. We first demonstrate the feasibility of experimental realization of rotor models using ultracold spin-one Bose atoms in a spin-dependent and disordered optical lattice. We show that the ground state of such disordered rotor models with quadrupolar interactions can exhibit biaxial nematic ordering in the disorder-averaged sense, and suggest an imaging experiment to detect the biaxial nematicity in such systems. Finally, using variational wavefunction methods, we study the Mott phases and superfluid-insulator transition of spin-three bosons in an optical lattice with an anisotropic two dimensional optical trap. We chart out the phase diagrams for Mott states with n = 1 and n = 2 atoms per lattice site. We show that the long-range dipolar interaction stabilizes a state characterized by antiferromagnetic chains made of ferromagnetically aligned spins. We also obtain the mean-field phase boundary for the superfluid-insulator transition, and show that inside the superfluid phase and near the superfluid-insulator phase boundary, the system undergoes a first order antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic spin ordering transition.

In this thesis, we investigate strongly correlated phenomena in quantum spin systems. In the first part of this work, we study geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets (AFMs). Generalizing the SU(2) Heisenberg Hamiltonian to Sp(N) symmetry, we obtain, in the large-N limit, the mean-field phase diagrams for the planar pyrochlore and cubic AFMs. We then use gauge theories to consider fluctuation effects about their respective mean-field configurations. We find, in addition to conventional Neel states, a plethora of novel magnetically disordered phases: two kinds of spin liquids, Z2 in 2+1D and U(1)in 3+1D, and several valence bond solids such as two and three-dimensional plaquette and columnar singlet states. We use the same approach to study the diamond lattice AFM which possesses extended classical ground state degeneracy. We demonstrate that quantum and entropic fluctuations lift this degeneracy in different ways. In the second part of the thesis, we study ultracold spinor atoms confined in optical lattices. We first demonstrate the feasibility of experimental realization of rotor models using ultracold spin-one Bose atoms in a spin-dependent and disordered optical lattice. We show that the ground state of such disordered rotor models with quadrupolar interactions can exhibit biaxial nematic ordering in the disorder-averaged sense, and suggest an imaging experiment to detect the biaxial nematicity in such systems. Finally, using variational wavefunction methods, we study the Mott phases and superfluid-insulator transition of spin-three bosons in an optical lattice with an anisotropic two dimensional optical trap. We chart out the phase diagrams for Mott states with n = 1 and n = 2 atoms per lattice site. We show that the long-range dipolar interaction stabilizes a state characterized by antiferromagnetic chains made of ferromagnetically aligned spins. We also obtain the mean-field phase boundary for the superfluid-insulator transition, and show that inside the superfluid phase and near the superfluid-insulator phase boundary, the system undergoes a first order antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic spin ordering transition.

No description available.

Die Planung von Festkörpersynthesen schließt neben einer sinnvollen Aufteilung der zu untersuchenden Bereiche der Zusammensetzung xi auch eine fundierte Abschätzung der zu erwartenden Existenzbereiche (p, T)x der neuen Phasen ein. Die Form der Darstellung der Phasengleichgewichte in Zustandsbarogrammen folgt aus den thermodynamischen Beziehungen der betreffenden Gasphasenreaktionen (Kp G(T)) als lg(p) - 1/T - Diagramm. Für einfache Konstitutionstypen von Zustandsdiagrammen und –barogrammen wurde eine zusammenfassende Darstellung gegeben. Neben der Abhängigkeit der Existenz von Festkörpern von deren Gesamtdruck können sich wesentliche Bedingungen der Phasenbildung aus dem Partialdruckverhalten der Komponenten ergeben. Für eine phasenreine Darstellung von Oxiden erweist sich entsprechend die Einstellung des Sauerstoffpartialdrucks p(O2) als essentiell. Zur globalen Einordnung der Existenzbereiche (p(O2), T) bzw. der abgeleiteten Redox-Potentiale oxidischer Festkörper wurde das Konzept einer elektrochemischen Spannungsreihe für Festkörper entwickelt. Auf der Grundlage dieser Prinzipien und mit der Anschaulichkeit der Diagramme der Spannungsreihe lassen sich die Redoxgleichgewichte von Festkörperreaktionen beliebiger Kombination der Elemente M und M’ in einfacher Weise abschätzen. Über die Prinzipien druckabhängiger Gleichgewichtsbeziehungen zwischen kondensierten Bodenkörpern und der Gasphase in einem Gleichgewichtsraum hinaus wurden auch die Mechanismen von Bodenkörper-Gasphasen-Gleichgewichten zwischen zwei miteinander verbundenen Gleichgewichtsräumen untersucht. Neben den bekannten Erscheinungen der Sublimation und Zersetzungssublimation wurde ein neuer Reaktionsmechanismus des Chemischen Transports mit theoretischen Hintergründen, thermodynamischen Modellierungen und experimentellen Beispielen als Auto- oder Selbsttransport beschrieben. / The planning of solid-state synthesis includes beside the areas of composition x a thorough assessment of the existence ranges (p, T) of the new phases. The form of presentation of the phase equilibria in phase barograms follows from the thermodynamic relations of the gas-phase reactions (Kp, G(T)) as a lg(p) - 1/T - diagram. For simple constitution types of phase diagrams and barograms a summary was presented. Apart from the dependence of the existence of solids from the total pressure essential conditions of the phase formation can be deduced from the partial pressure behaviour of the components. The oxygen partial pressure p(O2) is accordingly essential for the formation of phase pure oxides. For global classification of the existence ranges (p(O2), T) and the derived redox potentials of oxidic solids, the concept of an electromotive series for solids has been originated. On the basis of these principles, and with the clarity of the diagrams of the voltage range the redox balance of solid state reactions of any combination of elements M and M' in a simple way is to estimate. In addition to the principles of pressure equilibria between condensed materials and the gas phase in only one equilibrium range the mechanisms of solid - gas equilibria between two interconnected ranges were also described. Besides the well-known phenomena of sublimation and decomposition sublimation a new reaction mechanism of the chemical transport was evaluated as an Auto- or Selftransport with theoretical backgrounds, thermodynamic modelling and experimental examples.

No description available.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 322 pages. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Ground water resources are heavily used for drinking water supply and often as a receptacle for waste water. One concern is the possible contamination of wetland areas by ground water receiving septic system infiltration. To investigate this, two tracer studies were performed using the bacteriophage PRD-1 by seeding septic systems adjacent to wetlands with the phage and monitoring migration towards wetland areas. Transport velocities were evaluated based on appearance of tracer in sampling wells at various distances from the injection point. Velocities were estimated to be 0.25 m/d and 0.4 m/d at the two sites. Some retardation with respect to the conservative tracer SF6 was observed, with a factor of about 1.5. Due to dry conditions, the water table was well below surface, so transport of the virus into surface water was not observed. Survival of public-health-related microorganisms in ground water is also a concern. / ABSTRACT: The effects of temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) on survival of 5 groups of indicator organisms were evaluated in controlled experiments. TDS did not have significant effects on inactivation of these microbes up to 1000 mg/l, but there was indication of reduced inactivation of enterococci at TDS concentrations of 3000 mg/l. Increased temperature consistently resulted in more rapid inactivation. Survival in aquifer and reservoir water samples was also evaluated, and significant effects due to water type, temperature, and pasteurization treatment were observed. Inactivation was more rapid in surface water sources, and pasteurization enhanced survival. For enterococci and DNA coliphage, pasteurization effects were more pronounced in surface water. DNA coliphage and perhaps fecal coliform appeared to be the more-conservative indicator organisms for aquifer injection monitoring. / ABSTRACT: Lastly, it was observed that inactivation rates were considerably slower in pore water of saturated limestone than in the bulk water column of similar water sources and conditions, particularly for enterococci and fecal coliform. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Sediment control devices (SCDs) are critical to reducing the contamination of waterways from adjacent construction sites. Perimeter sediment controls retard the flow of surface runoff water originating on site and subsequently reduce solid, nutrient, and metal concentrations suspended in the flowing water. Silt fence is a commonly used SCD comprised of geotextile filter fabric, steel or wood support posts, and wire mesh reinforcement. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) uses an extensive amount of silt fence every year, and because of high degradation of geotextile in the field, the silt fence installations are rarely recycled. This research measures the performance of five SCDs (two types of silt fence, mulch berm, compost sock, and straw bales) at suspended solid, turbidity, nutrient, and metal reduction. A life cycle analysis (LCA) is performed to identify environmental impacts associated with material production, assembly, installation, use on site, and disposal. An impact analysis is performed according to for each SCD. Results of the impact analysis are compared to determine the SCD with lowest overall environmental impact. Results of the SCD performance study show that silt fence installations performed the best at reducing suspended solids and turbidity, mulch was best at reducing nutrients, and compost was the best at reducing metal concentrations. The life cycle impact analysis indicates that a mulch berm is the SCD with the lowest overall environmental impact. The impact analysis included global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, and aquatic toxicity.

New processes for the production of polymeric dispersions with high solids content and low viscosity were developed, investigated and characterized. The specifications required for the desired application of paper coating, which constitutes one of the major innovative aspects of this thesis, requires in average particle sizes smaller than 200 nm. This particle size is significantly smaller than obtained in previous work in this area. The main objective of this project was to increase the solids content of existing products from ~50 to ~60 wt% while keeping the viscosity at low levels (< 1200 mPa•s at 20 s-1). In order to produce high solids content latexes with low viscosity, bimodal particle size distributions were resorted to. To obtain highest packing fraction, the small particle size population should be about 7 times smaller than the large particles, bringing the size of the small particles to less than 30 nm. Modified (micro)emulsion processes were developed in order to produce small particle size latex with reduced surfactant concentration and increased solids content. The large particle population was developed using a semi-batch emulsion polymerization process, simulating a product that is commercially available (~52 wt% solids content and viscosity of ~500 mPa•s at 20 s-1). To increase the solids content of this product up to 60 wt%, a second population of small particles was created using two approaches. In the first approach, the small particles were generated in situ using the modified (micro)emulsion approaches developed previously. This process resulted in latexes of ~ 60% solids content and viscosities lower than 500 mPa•s at 20 s-1. In the second approach, the second population of particles was created by the addition of seeds by using small cross-linked particles as pseudo inert-fillers. This process resulted in products with ~58% solids and viscosities lower than 1400 mPa•s at 20 s-1. The slightly decreased solids content and increased viscosity relative to the previous approaches is due to the difficulty in producing cross-linked seeds with particle sizes smaller than 30 nm at an acceptable concentration, causing deviations from ideal conditions. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-05-03 13:58:44.22

Cavitation is the spontaneous vaporisation of a liquid to its gaseous state due to the local absolute pressure falling to the liquid's vapour pressure (Douglas, Gasiorek et al. 1995). Cavitation is present in a wide range of mechanical systems ranging from ship screws to journal bearing. Generally, cavitation is unavoidable and may cause considerable damage and efficiency losses to these systems. This thesis considers hydraulic systems specifically, and uses a modified Greens equation to develop a boundary integral method to simulate the effect that suspended solid bodies have on a single cavitation bubble. Because of the limitations of accurately modelling cavitation bubbles beyond touchdown, results are only presented for cases up to touchdown. The aim of the model is to draw insight into the reasons there is a measurable change in cavitation erosion rate with increasing oil-in-water emulsion percentage. This principle was extended to include the effect that ingested particulates may have on cavitation in hydraulic machinery. Two particular situations are modelled; the first consists of stationary rigid particles in varying proximity to a cavitation bubble near a rigid boundary. The second case is similar; however the suspended particle is allowed to move under the influence of the pressure differential caused by the expanding/contracting cavitation bubble. Numerous characteristics of the domain are considered, including domain pressures and fluid field motion, and individual boundary surface characteristics. The conclusion of the thesis is that solid bodies, either stationary or moving, have little effect on the cavity from an energy perspective. Regardless of size or density, all energy transferred from the cavity to the solid body is returned indicating that there is no net change. As this energy is ultimately responsible for the peak pressure experienced by the domain (and hence responsible for eroding the rigid boundary) as the cavity rebounds, it then serves that a cavity with a solid body will rebound at the same pressure as a cavity without a suspended body present. If this is coupled with the observation that the cavity centroid at touchdown is largely unaffected by the presence of a suspension, then it would appear that the bubble near a solid would rebound at a very similar position as a cavity without a solid. Consequently, the damage potential of a cavity is unaffected by a suspension. However, there is one point of contention as the profile of the re-entrant jet of the cavity is altered by the presence of a suspension. As energy is radiated away from the cavity during penetration, it is possible that the shape of the jet may alter the rate that energy is radiated away during penetration. However, this requires further research to be definitive.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Physics and Astronomy. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.