48,993 research outputs found
A computer program incorporating fatigue and fracture criteria in the preliminary design of transport aircraft: An evaluation
The APAS program a multistation structural synthesis procedure developed to evaluate material, geometry, and configuration with various design criteria usually considered for the primary structure of transport aircraft is described and evaluated. Recommendations to improve accuracy and extend the capabilities of the APAS program are given. Flow diagrams are included
Spatio-Temporal Scaling of Solar Surface Flows
The Sun provides an excellent natural laboratory for nonlinear phenomena. We
use motions of magnetic bright points on the solar surface, at the smallest
scales yet observed, to study the small scale dynamics of the photospheric
plasma. The paths of the bright points are analyzed within a continuous time
random walk framework. Their spatial and temporal scaling suggest that the
observed motions are the walks of imperfectly correlated tracers on a turbulent
fluid flow in the lanes between granular convection cells.Comment: Now Accepted by Physical Review Letter
Preconditioned fully implicit PDE solvers for monument conservation
Mathematical models for the description, in a quantitative way, of the
damages induced on the monuments by the action of specific pollutants are often
systems of nonlinear, possibly degenerate, parabolic equations. Although some
the asymptotic properties of the solutions are known, for a short window of
time, one needs a numerical approximation scheme in order to have a
quantitative forecast at any time of interest. In this paper a fully implicit
numerical method is proposed, analyzed and numerically tested for parabolic
equations of porous media type and on a systems of two PDEs that models the
sulfation of marble in monuments. Due to the nonlinear nature of the underlying
mathematical model, the use of a fixed point scheme is required and every step
implies the solution of large, locally structured, linear systems. A special
effort is devoted to the spectral analysis of the relevant matrices and to the
design of appropriate iterative or multi-iterative solvers, with special
attention to preconditioned Krylov methods and to multigrid procedures.
Numerical experiments for the validation of the analysis complement this
contribution.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figure
Quantum transport in weakly coupled superlattices at low temperature
We report on the study of the electrical current flowing in weakly coupled
superlattice (SL) structures under an applied electric field at very low
temperature, i.e. in the tunneling regime. This low temperature transport is
characterized by an extremely low tunneling probability between adjacent wells.
Experimentally, I(V) curves at low temperature display a striking feature, i.e
a plateau or null differential conductance. A theoretical model based on the
evaluation of scattering rates is developed in order to understand this
behaviour, exploring the different scattering mechanisms in AlGaAs alloys. The
dominant interaction in usual experimental conditions such as ours is found to
be the electron-ionized donors scattering. The existence of the plateau in the
I(V) characteristics is physically explained by a competition between the
electric field localization of the Wannier-Stark electron states in the weakly
coupled quantum wells and the electric field assisted tunneling between
adjacent wells. The influence of the doping concentration and profile as well
as the presence of impurities inside the barrier are discussed
Simultaneous Multi-Wavelength Observations of Magnetic Activity in Ultracool Dwarfs. III. X-ray, Radio, and H-alpha Activity Trends in M and L Dwarfs
[Abridged] As part of our on-going investigation into the magnetic field
properties of ultracool dwarfs, we present simultaneous radio, X-ray, and
H-alpha observations of three M9.5-L2.5 dwarfs (BRI0021-0214,
LSR060230.4+391059, and 2MASSJ052338.2-140302). We do not detect X-ray or radio
emission from any of the three sources, despite previous detections of radio
emission from BRI0021 and 2M0523-14. Steady and variable H-alpha emission are
detected from 2M0523-14 and BRI0021, respectively, while no H-alpha emission is
detected from LSR0602+39. Overall, our survey of nine M8-L5 dwarfs doubles the
number of ultracool dwarfs observed in X-rays, and triples the number of L
dwarfs, providing in addition the deepest limits to date, log(L_X/L_bol)<-5.
With this larger sample we find the first clear evidence for a substantial
reduction in X-ray activity, by about two orders of magnitude, from mid-M to
mid-L dwarfs. We find that the decline in both X-rays and H-alpha roughly
follows L_{X,Halpha}/L_bol ~ 10^[-0.4x(SP-M6)] for SP>M6. In the radio band,
however, the luminosity remains relatively unchanged from M0 to L4, leading to
a substantial increase in L_rad/L_bol. Our survey also provides the first
comprehensive set of simultaneous radio/X-ray/H-alpha observations of ultracool
dwarfs, and reveals a clear breakdown of the radio/X-ray correlation beyond
spectral type M7, evolving smoothly from L_{\nu,rad}/L_X ~ 10^-15.5 to
~10^-11.5 Hz^-1 over the narrow spectral type range M7-M9. This breakdown
reflects the substantial reduction in X-ray activity beyond M7, but its
physical origin remains unclear since, as evidenced by the uniform radio
emission, there is no drop in the field dissipation and particle acceleration
efficiency.Comment: Submitted to ApJ; 19 pages, 10 figures, 5 table
A Radio Flare from GRB 020405: Evidence for a Uniform Medium Around a Massive Stellar Progenitor
We present radio observations of GRB 020405 starting 1.2 days after the
burst, which reveal a rapidly-fading ``radio flare''. Based on its temporal and
spectral properties, we interpret the radio flare as emission from the reverse
shock. This scenario rules out a circumburst medium with a radial density
profile \rho ~ r^{-2} expected around a mass-losing massive star, since in that
case the reverse shock emission decays on the timescale of the burst duration
t~100 s. Using published optical and X-ray data, along with the radio data
presented here, we further show that a self-consistent model requires
collimated ejecta with an opening angle of 6 degrees (t_j~0.95 days). As a
consequence of the early jet break, the late-time (t>10 days) emission measured
with the Hubble Space Telescope significantly deviates from an extrapolation of
the early, ground-based data. This, along with an unusually red spectrum, F_\nu
\~ \nu^{-3.9}, strengthens the case for a supernova that exploded at about the
same time as GRB 020405, thus pointing to a massive stellar progenitor for this
burst. This is the first clear association of a massive progenitor with a
uniform medium, indicating that a \rho ~ r^{-2} profile is not a required
signature, and in fact may not be present on the lengthscales probed by the
afterglow in the majority of bursts.Comment: Submitted to ApJ; 14 pages, 2 tables, 3 figure
Spitzer Observations of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies: A Unique Window into High Redshift Chemical Evolution and Star-formation
We present deep Spitzer 3.6 micron observations of three z~5 GRB host
galaxies. Our observations reveal that z~5 GRB hosts are a factor of 3 less
luminous than the median rest-frame V-band luminosity of spectroscopically
confirmed z~5 galaxies in the GOODS fields and the UDF. The strong connection
between GRBs and massive star formation implies that not all star-forming
galaxies at these redshifts are currently being accounted for in deep surveys
and GRBs provide a unique way to measure the contribution to the star-formation
rate density from galaxies at the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function.
By correlating the co-moving star-formation rate density with co-moving GRB
rates at lower redshifts, we estimate a lower limit to the star-formation rate
density of 0.12+/-0.09 and 0.09+/-0.05 M_sun/yr/Mpc^3 at z~4.5 and z~6,
respectively. Finally, we provide evidence that the average metallicity of
star-forming galaxies evolves as (stellar mass density)^(0.69+/-0.17) between
and , probably indicative of the loss of a significant
fraction of metals to the intergalactic medium, particularly in low-mass
galaxies.Comment: ApJ, in pres
Periodic Radio and H-alpha Emission from the L Dwarf Binary 2MASSW J0746425+200032: Exploring the Magnetic Field Topology and Radius of an L Dwarf
[Abridged] We present an 8.5-hour simultaneous radio, X-ray, UV, and optical
observation of the L dwarf binary 2MASSW J0746+20. We detect strong radio
emission, dominated by short-duration periodic pulses at 4.86 GHz with
P=124.32+/-0.11 min. The stability of the pulse profiles and arrival times
demonstrates that they are due to the rotational modulation of a B~1.7 kG
magnetic field. A quiescent non-variable component is also detected, likely due
to emission from a uniform large-scale field. The H-alpha emission exhibits
identical periodicity, but unlike the radio pulses it varies sinusoidally and
is offset by exactly 1/4 of a phase. The sinusoidal variations require
chromospheric emission from a large-scale field structure, with the radio
pulses likely emanating from the magnetic poles. While both light curves can be
explained by a rotating mis-aligned magnetic field, the 1/4 phase lag rules out
a symmetric dipole topology since it would result in a phase lag of 1/2
(poloidal field) or zero (toroidal field). We therefore conclude that either
(i) the field is dominated by a quadrupole configuration, which can naturally
explain the 1/4 phase lag; or (ii) the H-alpha and/or radio emission regions
are not trivially aligned with the field. Regardless of the field topology, we
use the measured period along with the known rotation velocity (vsini=27 km/s),
and the binary orbital inclination (i=142 deg), to derive a radius for the
primary star of 0.078+/-0.010 R_sun. This is the first measurement of the
radius of an L dwarf, and along with a mass of 0.085+/-0.010 M_sun it provides
a constraint on the mass-radius relation below 0.1 M_sun. We find that the
radius is about 30% smaller than expected from theoretical models, even for an
age of a few Gyr.Comment: Submitted to Ap
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