Transport Model Simulations of Projectile Fragmentation Reactions at 140 MeV/nucleon

The collisions in four different reaction systems using $^{40,48}$Ca and $^{58,64}$Ni isotope beams and a Be target have been simulated using the Heavy Ion Phase Space Exploration and the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics models. The present study mainly focuses on the model predictions for the excitation energies of the hot fragments and the cross sections of the final fragments produced in these reactions. The effects of various factors influencing the final fragment cross sections, such as the choice of the statistical decay code and its parameters have been explored. The predicted fragment cross sections are compared to the projectile fragmentation cross sections measured with the A1900 mass separator. At $E/A=140$ MeV, reaction dynamics can significantly modify the detection efficiencies for the fragments and make them different from the efficiencies applied to the measured data reported in the previous work. The effects of efficiency corrections on the validation of event generator codes are discussed in the context of the two models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

Extrapolation of neutron-rich isotope cross-sections from projectile fragmentation

Using the measured fragmentation cross sections produced from the 48Ca and 64Ni beams at 140 MeV per nucleon on 9Be and 181Ta targets, we find that the cross sections of unmeasured neutron rich nuclei can be extrapolated using a systematic trend involving the average binding energy. The extrapolated cross-sections will be very useful in planning experiments with neutron rich isotopes produced from projectile fragmentation. The proposed method is general and could be applied to other fragmentation systems including those used in other radioactive ion beam facilities.Comment: accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

Comparing Evaporative Sources of Terrestrial Precipitation and Their Extremes in MERRA Using Relative Entropy

A quasi-isentropic back trajectory scheme is applied to output from the Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications and a land-only replay with corrected precipitation to estimate surface evaporative sources of moisture supplying precipitation over every ice-free land location for the period 1979-2005. The evaporative source patterns for any location and time period are effectively two dimensional probability distributions. As such, the evaporative sources for extreme situations like droughts or wet intervals can be compared to the corresponding climatological distributions using the method of relative entropy. Significant differences are found to be common and widespread for droughts, but not wet periods, when monthly data are examined. At pentad temporal resolution, which is more able to isolate floods and situations of atmospheric rivers, values of relative entropy over North America are typically 50-400 larger than at monthly time scales. Significant differences suggest that moisture transport may be the key to precipitation extremes. Where evaporative sources do not change significantly, it implies other local causes may underlie the extreme events

Neutron and Proton Transverse Emission Ratio Measurements and the Density Dependence of the Asymmetry Term of the Nuclear Equation of State

Recent measurements of pre-equilibrium neutron and proton transverse emission from (112,124)Sn+(112,124)Sn reactions at 50 MeV/A have been completed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Free nucleon transverse emission ratios are compared to those of A=3 mirror nuclei. Comparisons are made to BUU transport calculations and conclusions concerning the density dependence of the asymmetry term of the nuclear equation-of-state at sub-nuclear densities are made. The double-ratio of neutron-proton ratios between two reactions is employed as a means of reducing first-order Coulomb effects and detector efficiency effects. Comparison to BUU model predictions indicate a density dependence of the asymmetry energy that is closer to a form in which the asymmety energy increases as the square root of the density for the density region studied. A coalescent-invariant analysis is introduced as a means of reducing suggested difficulties with cluster emission in total nucleon emission. Future experimentation is presented

Where Does the Irrigation Water Go? An Estimate of the Contribution of Irrigation to Precipitation Using MERRA

Irrigation is an important human activity that may impact local and regional climate, but current climate model simulations and data assimilation systems generally do not explicitly include it. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) shows more irrigation signal in surface evapotranspiration (ET) than the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) because ERA-Interim adjusts soil moisture according to the observed surface temperature and humidity while MERRA has no explicit consideration of irrigation at the surface. But, when compared with the results from a hydrological model with detailed considerations of agriculture, the ET from both reanalyses show large deficiencies in capturing the impact of irrigation. Here, a back-trajectory method is used to estimate the contribution of irrigation to precipitation over local and surrounding regions, using MERRA with observation-based corrections and added irrigation-caused ET increase from the hydrological model. Results show substantial contributions of irrigation to precipitation over heavily irrigated regions in Asia, but the precipitation increase is much less than the ET increase over most areas, indicating that irrigation could lead to water deficits over these regions. For the same increase in ET, precipitation increases are larger over wetter areas where convection is more easily triggered, but the percentage increase in precipitation is similar for different areas. There are substantial regional differences in the patterns of irrigation impact, but, for all the studied regions, the highest percentage contribution to precipitation is over local land

Ten-Year Climatology of Summertime Diurnal Rainfall Rate Over the Conterminous U.S.

Diurnal cycles of summertime rainfall rates are examined over the conterminous United States, using radar-gauge assimilated hourly rainfall data. As in earlier studies, rainfall diurnal composites show a well-defined region of rainfall propagation over the Great Plains and an afternoon maximum area over the south and eastern portion of the United States. Zonal phase speeds of rainfall in three different small domains are estimated, and rainfall propagation speeds are compared with background zonal wind speeds. Unique rainfall propagation speeds in three different regions can be explained by the evolution of latent-heat theory linked to the convective available potential energy, than by gust-front induced or gravity wave propagation mechanisms

The Neurovascular Relation in Oxygen-induced Retinopathy

Purpose: Longitudinal studies in rat models of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) have demonstrated that abnormalities of retinal vasculature and function change hand-in-hand. In the developing retina, vascular and neural structures are under cooperative molecular control. In this study of rats with oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) models of ROP, mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), semaphorin (Sema), and their neuropilin receptor (NRP) were examined during the course of retinopathy to evaluate their roles in the observed neurovascular congruency. Methods: Oxygen exposures designed to induce retinopathy were delivered to Sprague-Dawley rat pups (n=36) from postnatal day (P) 0 to P14 or from P7 to P14. Room-air-reared controls (n=18) were also studied. Sensitivities of the rod photoreceptors ($S_{rod}$) and the postreceptor cells (Sm) were derived from electroretinographic (ERG) records. Arteriolar tortuosity, $T_A$, was derived from digital fundus images using Retinal Image multi-Scale Analysis (RISA) image analysis software. mRNA expression of $VEGF_{164}$, semaphorin IIIA (Sema3A), and neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) was evaluated by RT–PCR of retinal extracts. Tests were performed at P15–P16, P18–P19, and P25–P26. Relations among ERG, RISA, and PCR parameters were evaluated using linear regression on log transformed data. Results: Sm was low and $T_A$ was high at young ages, then both resolved by P25–P26. $VEGF_{164}$ and Sema3A mRNA expression were also elevated early and decreased with age. Low Sm was significantly associated with high $VEGF_{164}$ and Sema3A expression. Low Srod was also significantly associated with high VEGF164. $S_{rod}$ and Sm were both correlated with $T_A$. NRP-1 expression was little affected by OIR. Conclusions: The postreceptor retina appears to mediate the vascular abnormalities that characterize OIR. Because of the relationships revealed by these data, early treatment that targets the neural retina may mitigate the effects of ROP