arXiv subjects

Sasa Bajt

Publications and source records attributed to Sasa Bajt.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

The natural breakup length of a steady capillary jet

Despite their fundamental and applied importance, a general model to predict the natural breakup length of steady capillary jets has not been proposed yet. In this work, we derive a scaling law with two universal constants to calculate that length as a function of the liquid properties and operating conditions. These constants are determined by fitting the scaling law to a large set of experimental and numerical measurements, including previously published data. Both the experimental and numerical jet lengths conform remarkably well to the proposed scaling law. This law is explained in terms of the growth of perturbations excited by the jet breakup itself.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

The origin of the 3.4 micron feature in Wild 2 cometary particles and in ultracarbonaceous interplanetary dust particles

We analyzed 2 ultra-carbonaceous interplanetary dust particles and 2 cometary Wild 2 particles with infrared spectroscopy. We characterized the carrier of the 3.4 micron band in these samples and compared its profile and the CH2/CH3 ratios to the 3.4 micron band in the diffuse interstellar medium (DISM), in the insoluble organic matter (IOM) from 3 primitive meteorites, in asteroid 24 Themis and in the coma of comet 103P/Hartley 2. We found that the 3.4 micron band in both Wild 2 and IDPs is similar, but different from all the other astrophysical environments that we compared to. The 3.4 micron band in IDPs and Wild 2 particles is dominated by CH2 groups, the peaks are narrower and stronger than in the meteorites, asteroid Themis, and the DISM. Also, the presence of the carbonyl group C=O at 1700 cm-1 (5.8 micron) in most of the spectra of our samples, indicates that these aliphatic chains have O bonded to them, which is quite different from astronomical spectra of the DISM. Based on all these observations we conclude that the origin of the carrier of the 3.4 micron band in IDPs and Wild 2 samples is not interstellar, instead, we suggest that the origin lies in the outermost parts of the solar nebula.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2006

Femtosecond Diffractive Imaging with a Soft-X-ray Free-Electron Laser

Theory predicts that with an ultrashort and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse, a single diffraction pattern may be recorded from a large macromolecule, a virus, or a cell before the sample explodes and turns into a plasma. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of this principle using the FLASH soft X-ray free-electron laser. An intense 25 fs, 4 10^13 W/cm^2 pulse, containing 10^12 photons at 32 nm wavelength, produced a coherent diffraction pattern from a nano-structured non-periodic object, before destroying it at 60,000 K. A novel X-ray camera assured single photon detection sensitivity by filtering out parasitic scattering and plasma radiation. The reconstructed image, obtained directly from the coherent pattern by phase retrieval through oversampling, shows no measurable damage, and extends to diffraction-limited resolution. A three-dimensional data set may be assembled from such images when copies of a reproducible sample are exposed to the beam one by one.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2003

Aerogel keystones: extraction of complete hypervelocity impact events from aerogel collectors

In January 2006, the Stardust mission will return the first samples from a solid solar-system body since Apollo, and the first samples of contemporary interstellar dust ever collected. Although sophisticated laboratory instruments exist for the analysis of Stardust samples, techniques for the recovery of particles and particle residues from aerogel collectors remain primitive. Here we describe our recent progress in developing techniques for extracting small volumes of aerogel, which we have called ``keystones,'' which completely contain particle impacts but minimize the damage to the surrounding aerogel collector. These keystones can be fixed to custom-designed micromachined silicon fixtures (so-called ``microforklifts''). In this configuration the samples are self-supporting, which can be advantageous in situations in which interference from a supporting substrate is undesirable. The keystones may also be extracted and placed onto a substrate without a fixture. We have also demonstrated the capability of homologously crushing these unmounted keystones for analysis techniques which demand flat samples.

astro-ph↗