Sharif Digital Repository

The phase diagram of the quantum compass ladder model is investigated through numerical density matrix renormalization group based on infinite matrix product state algorithm and analytic effective perturbation theory. For this model we obtain two symmetry-protected topological phases, protected by a Z2 × Z2 symmetry, and a topologically-trivial Z2-symmetry-breaking phase. The symmetry-protected topological phases - labeled by symmetry fractionalization - belong to different topological classes, where the complexconjugate symmetry uniquely distinguishes them. An important result of this classification is that, as revealed by the nature of the Z2-symmetry-breaking phase, the associated quantum... 

A fluctuation relation for the heat exchange of an open quantum system under a thermalizing Markovian dynamics is derived. We show that the probability that the system absorbs an amount of heat from its bath, at a given time interval, divided by the probability of the reverse process (releasing the same amount of heat to the bath) is given by an exponential factor which depends on the amount of heat and the difference between the temperatures of the system and the bath. Interestingly, this relation is akin to the standard form of the fluctuation relation (for forward-backward dynamics). We also argue that the probability of the violation of the second law of thermodynamics in the form of the... 

The magnetic response of a polyamide nanocomposite membrane under applying a magnetic field has been modeled to evaluate elastic deformation order of magnitude. A PA-Fe3O4 nanocomposite membrane is considered to be modeled under influence of volume plane stress caused by a magnetic field. The modeling of the mechanical behavior of Fe3O4-PA nanocomposite membrane suggests that nanoparticle displacements within the nanocomposite, in the order of 200 nm under applying an external magnetic field, are greater than free volumes or porosities of the polyamide membrane. The membrane can be excited to mechanically vibrate by applying an alternating magnetic field lower than 0.1 T. As the results... 

The control of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes cross-linking degree is an important factor to design new membranes and optimizing permeation characteristics. The Fe3O4 nanoparticle's based TFN membranes due to potentially added magnetic responsive properties to the membrane has a great importance in developing membrane architectures. Fe3O4/polyamide (PA) TFN membranes filled with nanoparticles in different sizes and concentrations have been synthesized. Cross-linking degree of PA layer characterized with Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) methods to evaluate size dependency of the cross-linking degree of PA layer network. Obvious... 

Concentration-dependent cyto and genotoxicities of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO (rGO) sheets on spermatozoa were studied. rGO sheets with various surface chemical states were achieved using hydrazine (N2H 4) hydrothermal (HT) reactions and green tea polyphenols (GTPs). Although 0.1 μg mL-1 graphene could not change sperm viability and kinetic parameters, <40% and 20% of spermatozoa were viable and progressively motile, after 2 h incubation with 400 μg mL-1 GO or rGO, respectively. All the graphene nanomaterials induced concentration- dependent reductions of adenosine triphosphate and NAD+/NADH produced by spermatozoa for motility and metabolic activity. While GO, N 2H4-rGO, and HT-rGO... 

It has been known that applying pressure and doping carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) can each affect the behavior of high temperature superconductors. Here, bridging these two effects in order to see how they can interplay, we investigate how the dc resistivity varies in both pure and CNT-doped polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y-123) compounds under hydrostatic pressure. We demonstrate that the broadening of the resistivity transition in the CNT-doped samples (of 0.7 wt%) is smaller than the undoped samples. In addition, by increasing applied pressure, the doped samples exhibit a higher rate of the increase of the transition temperatures Tcon and Tcmid than the undoped samples. Interestingly as well,... 

Quantum detailed balance conditions and quantum fluctuation relations are two important concepts in the dynamics of open quantum systems: both concern how such systems behave when they thermalize because of interaction with an environment. We prove that for thermalizing quantum dynamics the quantum detailed balance conditions yield validity of a quantum fluctuation relation (where only forward-time dynamics is considered). This implies that to have such a quantum fluctuation relation (which in turn enables a precise formulation of the second law of thermodynamics for quantum systems) it suffices to fulfill the quantum detailed balance conditions. We, however, show that the converse is not... 

A novel intelligent semi-active control system for an eleven degrees of freedom passenger car's suspension system using magnetorheological (MR) damper with neuro-fuzzy (NF) control strategy to enhance desired suspension performance is proposed. In comparison with earlier studies, an improvement in problem modeling is made. The proposed method consists of two parts: a fuzzy control strategy to establish an efficient controller to improve ride comfort and road handling (RCH) and an inverse mapping model to estimate the force needed for a semi-active damper. The fuzzy logic rules are extracted based on Sugeno inference engine. The inverse mapping model is based on an artificial neural network... 

Using CNG as an additive for gasoline is a proper choice due to higher octane number of CNG enriched gasoline with respect to that of gasoline. As a result, it is possible to use gasoline with lower octane number in the engine. This would also mean the increase of compression ratio in SI engines resulting in higher performance and lower gasoline consumption. Over the years, the use of simulation codes to model the thermodynamic cycle of an internal combustion engine have developed tools for more efficient engine designs and fuel combustion. In this study, a thermodynamic cycle simulation of a conventional four-stroke spark-ignition engine has been developed. The model is used to study the... 

With the declining energy resources and increase of pollutant emissions, a great deal of efforts has been focused on the development of alternatives for fossil fuels. One of the promising alternative fuels to gasoline in the internal combustion engine is natural gas [1-5]. The application of natural gas in current internal combustion engines is realistic due to its many benefits. The higher thermal efficiency due to the higher octane value and lower exhaust emissions including CO2 as a result of the lower carbon to hydrogen ratio of the fuel are the two important feature of using CNG as an alternative fuel. It is well known that computer simulation codes are valuable economically as a cost... 

Gaining insight into possible vibratory responses of dynamical systems around their stable equilibria is an essential step, which must be taken before their design and application. The results of such a study can significantly help prevent instability in closed-loop stabilized systems by avoiding the excitation of the system in the neighborhood of its resonance. This paper investigates nonlinear oscillations of a rotary inverted pendulum (RIP) with a full-state feedback controller. Lagrange’s equations are employed to derive an accurate 2-DoF mathematical model, whose parameter values are extracted by both the measurement and 3D modeling of the real system components. Although the governing... 

A suction-controlled ring device has been developed to continuously measure the coefficient of lateral soil pressure in deformable unsaturated soil samples from the at-rest to the active condition under application of increasing vertical pressure and controlled matric suction. The device incorporates a thin aluminum specimen ring equipped with horizontal strain gages for recording the lateral soil strains. In addition, a sensor recording water volume changes is utilized to continuously monitor the degree of saturation of the soil sample during tests. The matric suction within the soil texture is controlled using the axis translation technique. In order to verify the performance of the ring... 

We introduce a new smooth, non-toxic, biocompatible method for cross-linking of gum tragacanth (GT), a polysaccharide of natural origin, in order to serve as a new supporting matrix for immobilization systems. The modified gum is used as a matrix for the catalysis of the conversion of benzyl penicillin to 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) by means of Escherichia coli ATCC11105 with penicillin G acylase (PGA) activity. The results show that GT beads can not only serve as a proper matrix for immobilization, but show enhanced hydrolysis rate and stability compared to other immobilization systems used for this reaction. This signifies the potential of GT as a biocompatible matrix for... 

The Class-E power amplifier has been widely studied and formulated in the literature. Although the majority of reported inductive coupling wireless power transfer (WPT) systems use a class-E power amplifier for driving the primary coil, still there is a lack of a comprehensive study on class-E circuit dedicated to WPT, providing a set of closed form design equations for proper class-E operation. This paper presents the required design equations needed to design a 'true' class-E circuit for WPT applications. Equations for the series-tuned secondary coil WPT system are presented, as well as two different design procedures for the parallel-tuned secondary coil. The derived equations have been... 

Pole Side Impact Tes is one out of three crash tests described by Euro NCAP standard for star rating of a vehicle and is required for assessing the Adult Occupant Protection. In this paper the goal is to determine the crashworthiness of side doors and B pillar in a Pole Side Impact Test based on Euro New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) using computer and simulation method. In this matter, a vehicle model has been prepared and meshed using Hypermesh and CATIA. The velocity of 29 km/h has been assigned to the vehicle which was on top of a cart while the pole has been assigned as a rigid static object based on Euro NCAP requirements specifically. Results show that different amounts of energy... 

To assess a car under the Euro New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP), Adult Occupant Protection is one out of three parameters which need to be calculated with a weight factor of 50% while the other parameters, Child Occupant Protection and Pedestrian Occupant Protection, have a weight factor of 20%. The Pole Side Impact Test, beside two other tests, Side and Front Impact, is also required to calculate the Adult Occupant Protection. It shows how important the Pole Side Impact Test is and what an effective role it has in the car rating assessment. In this paper, the objective is to evaluate the effect of thickness on the energy absorbed by the side doors and the B pillar and its...