'Nation branding' avant la lettre. Le 10 octobre 1941 dans la mémoire collective luxembourgeoise

Article for general public (2016)

How Far from Equilibrium Is Active Matter?

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2016), 117(3),

Active matter systems are driven out of thermal equilibrium by a lack of generalized Stokes-Einstein relation between injection and dissipation of energy at the microscopic scale. We consider such a ... [more ▼]

Active matter systems are driven out of thermal equilibrium by a lack of generalized Stokes-Einstein relation between injection and dissipation of energy at the microscopic scale. We consider such a system of interacting particles, propelled by persistent noises, and show that, at small but finite persistence time, their dynamics still satisfy a time-reversal symmetry. To do so, we compute perturbatively their steady-state measure and show that, for short persistent times, the entropy production rate vanishes. This endows such systems with an effective fluctuation-dissipation theorem akin to that of thermal equilibrium systems. Last, we show how interacting particle systems with viscous drags and correlated noises can be seen as in equilibrium with a viscoelastic bath but driven out of equilibrium by nonconservative forces, hence providing energetic insight into the departure of active systems from equilibrium. [less ▲]

Economic Emergency and the Loss of Faith in the Greek Constitution

in Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law (2016), 2015(2), 289-318

The legal story of the Eurozone crisis is by now well known. Most commentators have focused on the impact of the crisis on the organisation of the European Union. However, the dominant Eurocentric ... [more ▼]

The legal story of the Eurozone crisis is by now well known. Most commentators have focused on the impact of the crisis on the organisation of the European Union. However, the dominant Eurocentric discourse has neglected the important changes brought about by the crisis in the constitutions of ‘weak’ Member States—those who have received financial assistance. Domestic scholars are typically unable to offer a coherent account, let alone justification, of these transformations from a constitutional law point of view. Outside the domestic sphere, constitutional change within ‘crisis-hit’ countries has not attracted enough attention; it is considered not to be the problem, but rather the solution or an inevitable side-effect of the European developments. Still, it is precisely these ‘weak’ states that form exemplary cases for the study of how economic emergency and European integration operate in the domestic sphere of liberal constitutional democracies. The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on this ‘dark side’ of the Eurocrisis, through the study of a particular, albeit exemplary, national case: Greece. How was the Greek Constitution deconstructed by legal means? How do domestic actors justify the significant constitutional-political changes brought about by the Eurocrisis? How can we observe the loss of faith in the Greek Constitution? [less ▲]

Öffentlichkeit / Philologie

in Mein, Georg; Ernst, Thomas (Eds.) Literatur als Interdiskurs. Realismus und Normalismus, Interkulturalität und Intermedialität von der Moderne bis zur Gegenwart (2016)

Chromatic numbers of hyperbolic surfaces

in Indiana University Mathematics Journal (2016), 65(4), 1401--1423

Numerical study of the influence of particle size and packing on pyrolysis products using XDEM

in International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer (2016), 71

Conversion of biomass as a renewable source of energy is one of the most challenging topics in industry and academy. Numerical models may help designers to understand better the details of the involved ... [more ▼]

Conversion of biomass as a renewable source of energy is one of the most challenging topics in industry and academy. Numerical models may help designers to understand better the details of the involved processes within the reactor, to improve process control and to increase the efficiency of the boilers. In this work, XDEM as an Euler-Lagrange model is used to predict the heat-up, drying and pyrolysis of biomass in a packed bed of spherical biomass particles. The fluid flow through the void space of a packed bed (which is formed by solid particles) is modeled as three-dimensional flow through a porous media using a continuous approach. The solid phase forming the packed bed is represented by individual, discrete particles which are described by a Lagrangian approach. On the particle level, distributions of temperature and species within a single particle are accounted for by a system of one-dimensional and transient conservation equations. The model is compared to four sets of experimental data from independent research groups. Good agreements with all experimental data are achieved, proving reliability of the used numerical methodology. The proposed model is used to investigate the impact of particle size in combination with particle packing on the char production. For this purpose, three setups of packed beds differing in particle size and packing mode are studied under the same process conditions. The predicted results show that arranging the packed bed in layers of small and large particles may increase the final average char yield for the entire bed by 46 %. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. [less ▲]

Zur ästhetischen Dimension des Realismus

in Parr, Rolf; Fauth, Søren (Eds.) Neue Realismen der Gegenwartsliteratur (2016)

Partizipation im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Luxemburg im europäischen Kontext

Book published by Peter Lang (2016)

La langue luxembourgeoise n’est pas menacée par l’immigration… au contraire

Article for general public (2016)

Bessere Verhaltensinhibition nach Stress bei Jung und Alt – eine EKP Studie

in Kathmann, Norbert (Ed.) Programmheft PuG 2016; Abstractband PuG2016 (2016)

Ein Großteil der kognitiven Fertigkeiten, vor allem im Bereich der exekutiven Funktionen, nimmt mit zunehmendem Alter ab. Dabei sind insbesondere diejenigen Funktionen betroffen, welche auf dem ... [more ▼]

Ein Großteil der kognitiven Fertigkeiten, vor allem im Bereich der exekutiven Funktionen, nimmt mit zunehmendem Alter ab. Dabei sind insbesondere diejenigen Funktionen betroffen, welche auf dem präfrontalen Cortex basieren. Dieser gilt als besonders stress-sensitiv. Im Humanbereich sind Stresseffekte auf exekutive Funktionen, speziell Verhaltensinhibition, bisher wenig erforscht worden. Die vorliegende EEG Studie untersuchte den gemeinsamen Einfluss von Alter und Stress auf Verhaltensinhibition und deren neuronale Korrelate. Dazu wurden 49 junge und alte Männer mittels des Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) gestresst oder durchliefen eine Kontrollprozedur bevor sie ein Go Nogo Paradigma bearbeiteten. Der TSST führte in beiden Altersgruppen gleichermaßen zu einem signifikanten Cortisolanstieg. Junge und alte Probanden machten nach dem TSST weniger Fehler in Nogo Durchgängen. Die Analyse der ereigniskorrelierten Potentiale zeigte, dass Alter und Stress die neuronalen Korrelate (N2, P3) veränderte. Während ältere Probanden generell eine reduzierte N2 und P3 im Vergleich zu jungen Probanden aufwiesen, führte Stress in beiden Altersgruppen zu einer vergrößerten N2. Hinsichtlich der P3 zeigten junge gestresste Probanden eine reduzierte P3 Amplitude, während Stress in älteren Probanden eine Vergrößerung der Amplitude bewirkte. Zudem führte Stress tendenziell in beiden Gruppen zu kürzeren Latenzen, insbesondere bei jungen Probanden. Entgegen der weit verbreitenden Annahme, dass Stress zu Einbußen in exekutiven Funktionen führt, zeigen die Ergebnisse eine stressinduzierte Verbesserung der inhibitorischen Kontrolle in beiden Altersklassen. Allerdings scheinen zum Teil unterschiedliche Mechanismen dafür in jungen und alten Probanden dafür verantwortlich zu sein. [less ▲]