Preface to the Special Issue on Quantum Transport in Mesoscopic Systems

Mesoscopic systems,including nanowires,quantum dots and two-dimensional electron gases,are excellent platforms for studying emerging quantum phenomena,especially in the field of electrical transport.Quantum transport covers vast scopes of condensed matter physics,such as superconductivity,quantum Hall effect,and many investigations in mesoscopic devices.

Analysis of mesoscopic mechanical dynamic characteristics of ballast bed with under sleeper pads

The meso-dynamical behaviour of a high-speed rail ballast bed with under sleeper pads(USPs)was studied.The geometrically irregular refined discrete element model of the ballast particles was constructed using 3D scanning techniques,and the 3D dynamic model of the rail-sleeper-ballast bed was constructed using the coupled discrete element method-multiflexible-body dynamics(DEM-MFBD)approach.We analyse the meso-mechanical dynamics of the ballast bed with USPs under dynamic load on a train and verify the correctness of the model in laboratory tests.It is shown that the deformation of the USPs increases the contact area between the sleeper and the ballast particles,and subsequently the number of contacts between them.As the depth of the granular ballast bed increases,the contact area becomes larger,and the contact force between the ballast particles gradually decreases.Under the action of the elastic USPs,the contact forces between ballast particles are reduced and the overall vibration level of the ballast bed can be reduced.The settlement of the granular ballast bed occurs mainly at the shallow position of the sleeper bottom,and the installation of the elastic USPs can be effective in reducing the stress on the ballast particles and the settlement of the ballast bed.

Tailored multifunctional hydrazine derivatives for efficient printable hole-conductive-free mesoscopic perovskite solar cells via enhancing defect passivation

The low-cost and easy large-scale fabrication advantages of printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells(p-MPSCs)are overshadowed by their limited photovoltaic conversion efficiency(PCE).Here,we introduce the hydrazide derivative of 4-Hydroxybenzoylhydrazine(4-HBH)to improve the PCE of p-MPSCs by inducing enhanced defect passivation.Both carbonyl and hydrazine groups in hydrazide groups present strong interaction with perovskite.The hydroxyl group,as an electron donor group,increases the electron cloud density of the hydrazide group in 4-HBH under the conjugation of the benzene ring,and thus enhances its interaction with perovskite.Additionally,the hydroxy group itself interacts with perovskite and passivates defects synergistically.The hydrazine agents can also reduce I2and suppress the loss of iodine in perovskite films,which inhibits the formation of iodine-related defects.Consequently,p-MPSCs with 4-HBH achieve a high PCE of 19.21%,and present well improved stability.

Cerebrovascular segmentation from mesoscopic optical images using Swin Transformer

Vascular segmentation is a crucial task in biomedical image processing,which is significant for analyzing and modeling vascular networks under physiological and pathological states.With advances in fluorescent labeling and mesoscopic optical techniques,it has become possible to map the whole-mouse-brain vascular networks at capillary resolution.However,segmenting vessels from mesoscopic optical images is a challenging task.The problems,such as vascular signal discontinuities,vessel lumens,and background fluorescence signals in mesoscopic optical images,belong to global semantic information during vascular segmentation.Traditional vascular segmentation methods based on convolutional neural networks(CNNs)have been limited by their insufficient receptive fields,making it challenging to capture global semantic information of vessels and resulting in inaccurate segmentation results.Here,we propose SegVesseler,a vascular segmentation method based on Swin Transformer.SegVesseler adopts 3D Swin Transformer blocks to extract global contextual information in 3D images.This approach is able to maintain the connectivity and topology of blood vessels during segmentation.We evaluated the performance of our method on mouse cerebrovascular datasets generated from three different labeling and imaging modalities.The experimental results demonstrate that the segmentation effect of our method is significantly better than traditional CNNs and achieves state-of-the-art performance.

Entropy Production along Dominant Pathway of Nonequilibrium Phase Transition in Mesoscopic Chemical System

We consider a bistable mesoscopic chemical reaction system and calculate entropy produc- tion along the dominant pathway during nonequilibrium phase transition. Using probability generating function method and eikonal approximation, we first convert the chemical master equation into the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation, and then find the dominant pathways between two steady states in the phase space by calculating zero-energy trajectories. We find that entropy productions are related to the actions of the forward and backward dominant pathways. At the coexistence point where the stabilities of the two steady states are equiv alent, both the system entropy change and the medium entropy change are zero; whereas at non-coexistence point both of them are nonzero.

Mesoscopic modelling of UHPCC material under dynamic tensile loadings

This paper presents a new 3D mesoscopic model of ultra-high performance cement-based composite(UHPCC)to investigate its dynamic tensile behavior.In this model,the UHPCC is regarded as a two-phase material composed of cementitious matrix and randomly distributed fibers.The model is established using the commercial software LS-DYNA and involves generating the randomly distributed fiber elements with considerations of diameter,length,orientation and volume fraction,and then fully constraining them with the matrix.In particular,to capture the slipping effect between fibers and matrix that has a strong influence on the dynamic tensile behavior,the fibers are modelled by a fictitious material represented by the load-slip relation.The strain-rate effect of slipping force neglected in most of previous studies is considered by calibrating constitutive parameters of the fictitious material under different strain-rates based on the single fiber pullout tests.Finally,the 3D mesoscopic model is validated against three sets of tension-dominated experiments covered a wide range of loading intensity.Numerical predictions demonstrate that strain-rate effect of slipping force must be considered,and the neglect of it may lead to a great underestimation of the dynamic tensile strength of UHPCC material and would unavoidably underestimate the blast resistance of UHPCC components.

Influence of Rubber Powder Movement on Properties of Asphalt Rubber from the Mesoscopic View

The research on asphalt performance mainly focused on the macro performance and micro mechanism.Mesoscopic analysis was introduced to study the effect of rubber powder movement on asphalt rubber properties.After the preparation parameters and the preparation process of asphalt rubber were determined,the modification mechanism and rheological properties were analyzed which revealed the compatible stability mechanism.Then,the analysis model of asphalt rubber was established to focus on simulating the effect of rubber powder and the spatial movement on its mechanical properties.The experimental results show that rubber powder can make the asphalt rubber bear more uniform stress distribution and enhance the ability to resist deformation.Meanwhile,the rotational motion and final distribution of rubber powder have an obvious impact on the mechanical properties of asphalt rubber.In the selected feature points,the average stress of rubber powder at 0°space angle is only 34.1%of that at90°space angle.When the rubber powders are all in parallel in the ideal state,it enhances the mechanical properties the most.This study supplements the“mesoscopic”scale between macro and micro research.The relationship between micro mechanism and macro properties of asphalt rubber will be established from the mesoscopic perspective.It is also an effort to realize the effective correlation from micro,mesoscopic to macro in asphalt.

Reconstruction and functionalization of aerogels by controlling mesoscopic nucleation to greatly enhance macroscopic performance

This work presents a strategy for the mesoscopic engineering of hierarchically structured sodium alginate(SA)aerogels to enhance the macroscopic performance.The strategy was implemented by meso-functionalizing and reorganizing SA aerogels via controlled heterogeneous nucleation,in which microcrystalline cellulose-manganese dioxide(MCC-MnO_(2))nano-crystallites worked as template.Due to the short rod-like structure and abundant hydroxyl groups of MCC-MnO_(2),the organized mesostructure of SA aerogels was reconstructed during the assembly of SA molecule chains,which gave rise to a significant enhancement in macroscopic performance of SA areogels.For instance,the functionalized and reconstructed MCC-MnO_(2)/SA aerogels acquired a more than 70%increase in mechanical strength with an excellent deformation recovery.Furthermore,an almost double enhancement of removal capacity for metal ions(i.e.,Cu^(2+)and Pb^(2+))and organic dyes(i.e.,congo red and methylene blue)was obtained for MnO_(2)/SA aerogels,with an 87%repossession of the pollutants removal performance after 5 operation cycles.

A Modified Model for Soil–Structure Interface Considering Random Damage of Mesoscopic Contact Elements

The interaction between soil and marine structures like submarine pipeline/pipe pile/suction caisson is a complicated geotechnical mechanism process.In this study,the interface is discretized into multiple mesoscopic contact elements that are damaged randomly throughout the shearing process due to the natural heterogeneity.The evolution equation of damage variable is developed based on the Weibull function,which is able to cover a rather wide range of distribution shapes by only two parameters,making it applicable for varying scenarios.Accordingly,a statistical damage model is established by incorporating Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion,in which the interfacial residual strength is considered whereby the strain softening behavior can be described.A concept of“semi-softening”characteristic point on shear stress–displacement curve is proposed for effectively modeling the evolution of strain softening.Finally,a series of ring shear tests of the interfaces between fine sea sand and smooth/rough steel surfaces are conducted.The predicted results using the proposed model are compared with experimental data of this study as well as some results from existing literature,indicating that the model has a good performance in modeling the progressive failure and strain softening behavior for various types of soil–structure interfaces.

The Influence of Mesoscopic Characteristics of Mineral Powders Fillers on the Rutting Factor(G^(*)/sinδ)of Asphalt Mortar

This study aims to investigate the efiect of the mesoscopic characteristics of mineral powder fillers on the rutting resistance of asphalt mortar.Extraction and sieving tests were used to obtain the buton rock asphalt(BRA)ash with particle size smaller than 0.075 mm,which is consistent with that of the conventional mineral powder.The mesoscopic characteristics of BRA ash and conventional mineral powder were measured by SEM image analysis and the osmotic free pressure water method.Mesoscopic structure models of structural and free asphalts in mortar were obtained.The 70#matrix asphalt was used to prepare two kinds of asphalt mortar with BRA ash and conventional mineral powders fillers.The rutting factor of the two asphalt mortars was tested by dynamic shear test(DSR).Test results show that the ash extracted from BRA has a similar mesoscopic classification with the conventional mineral powder.Still,its fractal dimensions are larger,indicating the particles in BRA ash have more complex shapes and rougher surfaces,which is beneficial for forming structural asphalt and subsequently increasing the rutting factor(G*/sinδ),i e,improving the rutting resistance of the asphalt mortar.

Real-time dynamics in strongly correlated quantum-dot systems

We investigate the real-time dynamical properties of Rabi-type oscillation through strongly correlated quantum-dot systems by means of accurate hierarchical equations of motion.It is an extension of the hierarchical Liouville-space approach for addressing strongly correlated quantum-dot systems.We study two paradigmatic models,the single quantum-dot system,and serial coupling double quantum-dot system.We calculate accurately the time-dependent occupancy of quantum-dot systems subject to a sudden change of gate voltage.The Rabi-type oscillation of the occupancy and distinct relaxation time of the quantum-dot systems with different factors are described.This is helpful to understand dissipation and decoherence in real-time dynamics through nanodevices and provides a theoretical frame to experimental investigation and manipulation of molecular electronic devices.

Schrdinger Cat States in a Mesoscopic Josephson Junction

To study the nonclassical effects of the mesoscopic Josephson junction in the presence of a nonclassical microwave, the mesoscopic Josephson junction and the field were both treated quantum mechanically, and the external field approximation was used. It is shown that if the external field is in the coherent state and the state of the junction is initially prepared in the vacuum state, the state of the junction can evolve into a quantum superposition of two coherent states. The Schrdinger cat states can be produced in a mesoscopic Josephson junction.

Contact effect in the dynamic electron transport of a two-probe mesoscopic conductor

Based on the self-consistent electron dynamic transport theory for multi-probe mesoscopic systems, we calculate the distribution of internal potential, charge density, and ac conductance of a two-probe mesoscopic conductor with wide trapezoid reservoirs, and study the contact effect. The results show that including the contact effect can make a significant difference to the frequency-dependent electron transport properties. In the nonzero frequency case, the internal potential and the charge density are complex with extremely small imaginary parts. Importantly, the imaginary part of the charge density gives rise to a real ac conductance （admittance）, which corresponds to the charge-relaxation resistance.

Fatigue properties and damage constitutive model of salt rock based on CT scanning

To investigate the macroscopic fatigue properties and the mesoscopic pore evolution characteristics of salt rock under cyclic loading,fatigue tests under different upper-limit stresses were carried out on salt rock,and the mesoscopic pore structures of salt rock before and after fatigue tests and under different cycle numbers were measured using CT scanning instrument.Based on the test results,the effects of the cycle number and the upper-limit stress on the evolution of cracks,pore morphology,pore number,pore volume,pore size,plane porosity,and volume porosity of salt rock were analyzed.The failure path of salt rock specimens under cyclic loading was analyzed using the distribution law of plane porosity.The damage variable of salt rock under cyclic loading was defined on basis of the variation of volume porosity with cycle number.In order to describe the fatigue deformation behavior of salt rock under cyclic loading,the nonlinear Burgers damage constitutive model was further established.The results show that the model established can better reflect the whole development process of fatigue deformation of salt rock under cyclic loading.

Simulation of Fracture Process of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Based on Digital Image Processing Technology

The mechanical properties and failure mechanism of lightweight aggregate concrete(LWAC)is a hot topic in the engineering field,and the relationship between its microstructure and macroscopic mechanical properties is also a frontier research topic in the academic field.In this study,the image processing technology is used to establish a micro-structure model of lightweight aggregate concrete.Through the information extraction and processing of the section image of actual light aggregate concrete specimens,the mesostructural model of light aggregate concrete with real aggregate characteristics is established.The numerical simulation of uniaxial tensile test,uniaxial compression test and three-point bending test of lightweight aggregate concrete are carried out using a new finite element method-the base force element method respectively.Firstly,the image processing technology is used to produce beam specimens,uniaxial compression specimens and uniaxial tensile specimens of light aggregate concrete,which can better simulate the aggregate shape and random distribution of real light aggregate concrete.Secondly,the three-point bending test is numerically simulated.Thirdly,the uniaxial compression specimen generated by image processing technology is numerically simulated.Fourth,the uniaxial tensile specimen generated by image processing technology is numerically simulated.The mechanical behavior and damage mode of the specimen during loading were analyzed.The results of numerical simulation are compared and analyzed with those of relevant experiments.The feasibility and correctness of the micromodel established in this study for analyzing the micromechanics of lightweight aggregate concrete materials are verified.Image processing technology has a broad application prospect in the field of concrete mesoscopic damage analysis.

Large-field objective lens for multi-wavelength microscopy at mesoscale and submicron resolution

Conventional microscopes designed for submicron resolution in biological research are hindered by a limited field of view,typically around 1 mm.This restriction poses a challenge when attempting to simultaneously analyze various parts of a sample,such as different brain areas.In addition,conventional objective lenses struggle to perform consistently across the required range of wavelengths for brain imaging in vivo.Here we present a novel mesoscopic objective lens with an impressive field of view of 8 mm,a numerical aperture of 0.5,and a working wavelength range from 400 to 1000 nm.We achieved a resolution of 0.74μm in fluorescent beads imaging.The versatility of this lens was further demonstrated through high-quality images of mouse brain and kidney sections in a wide-field imaging system,a confocal laser scanning system,and a two-photon imaging system.This mesoscopic objective lens holds immense promise for advancing multi-wavelength imaging of large fields of view at high resolution.

Mesoscopic Simulation of Aggregate Behaviour of Polymers in β-HMX-based PBXs

The mesoscopic structures of β-HMX （octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine）- based PBXs （polymer bonded explosives） at room temperature were investigated using dissipative particle dynamics method. The parameters and repulsive parameters of dif- ferent polymers and β-HMX, the mesoscopic structures of β-HMX-based polymer-bonded explosives at different temperatures have been studied. The results showed that the compat-ibility between β-HMX and vinylidenedifluoride （VDF）,β-HMX and chlorotrifluoroethylene （CTFE）, VDF and CTFE increased with increasing temperature. The temperature and mo-lar ratio of the polymers played an important role in wrapped process. And there exists the optimum temperature and molar ratio.

Zero-Point Energy and Fluctuation in a Field-Josephson Junction-Coupled System

To investigate the interaction of a mesoscopic Josephson junction with a single mode quantized electromagnetic field, the diagnonalizing process of the coupled system Hamiltonian was performed by using an unitary transformation. Zero? point energy and zero? point fluctuation of the coupled system were shown. For the ground state of the coupled system, the quantum fluctuations of the flux and charge operators in the field and junction subsystems can exhibit smaller quantum noise than the zero point fluctuations of the individual subsystems. Thus, when the coupled system is in its lowest energy state, which means that no radiation appear, the two subsystems exhibit nonclassical behavior.

Three-Dimensional Multi-Phase Microscopic Simulation of Service Life of Recycled Large Aggregate Self-Compacting Concrete

Recycled large aggregate self-compacting concrete (RLA-SCC) within multiple weak areas. These weak areas have poor resistance to chloride ion erosion, which affects the service life of RLA-SCC in the marine environment. A three-dimensional multi-phase mesoscopic numerical model of RLA-SCC was established to simulate the chloride ions transportation in concrete. Experiments of RLA-SCC immersing in chloride solution were carried out to verify the simulation results. The effects of recycled large aggregate (RLA) content and RLA particle size on the service life of concrete were explored. The results indicate that the mesoscopic numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. At the same depth, the closer to the surface of the RLA, the greater the chloride ion concentration. The service life of RLA-SCC in marine environment decreases with the increase of RLA content. Compared with the service life of 20% content, the service life of 25% and 30% content decreased by 20% and 42% respectively. Increasing the particle size of RLA can effectively improve the service life of RLA-SCC in chloride environment. Compared with the service life of 50 mm particle size, the service life of 70 mm and 90 mm increased by 61% and 163%, respectively. .

Quantum Fluctuation of a Mesoscopic Inductance Coupling Circuit at Finite Temperature

We study the quantization of mesoscopic inductance coupling circuit and discuss its time evolution. Bymeans of the thermal field dynamics theory we study the quantum fluctuation of the system at finite temperature.