2,281 research outputs found
Particulate and water-soluble carbon measured in recent snow at Summit, Greenland
Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), waterinsoluble particulate organic carbon (WIOC), and particulate elemental carbon (EC) were measured simultaneously for the first time on the Greenland Ice Sheet in surface snow and in a 3-meter snow pit. Snow pit concentrations reveal that, on average, WSOC makes up the majority (89%) of carbonaceous species, followed by WIOC (10%) and EC (1%). The enhancement of OC relative to EC (ratio 99:1) in Greenland snow suggests that, along with atmospheric particulate matter, gaseous organics contribute to snow-phase OC. Comparison of summer surface snow concentrations in 2006 with past summer snow pit layers (2002 â 2005) found a significant depletion in WSOC (20 â 82%) and WIOC (46 â 65%) relative to EC for 3 of the 4 years. The apparent substantial loss of WSOC and WIOC in aged snow suggests that post-depositional processes, such as photochemical reactions, need to be considered in linking ice core records of organics to atmospheric concentrations. Citation: Hagler, G. S. W., M. H. Bergin, E. A. Smith, J. E. Dibb, C. Anderson, and E. J. Steig (2007), Particulate and water-soluble carbon measured in recent snow at Summit, Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L16505, doi:10.1029/2007GL030110
Black Hole Entropy is Noether Charge
We consider a general, classical theory of gravity in dimensions, arising
from a diffeomorphism invariant Lagrangian. In any such theory, to each vector
field, , on spacetime one can associate a local symmetry and, hence, a
Noether current -form, , and (for solutions to the field
equations) a Noether charge -form, . Assuming only that the
theory admits stationary black hole solutions with a bifurcate Killing horizon,
and that the canonical mass and angular momentum of solutions are well defined
at infinity, we show that the first law of black hole mechanics always holds
for perturbations to nearby stationary black hole solutions. The quantity
playing the role of black hole entropy in this formula is simply times
the integral over of the Noether charge -form associated with
the horizon Killing field, normalized so as to have unit surface gravity.
Furthermore, we show that this black hole entropy always is given by a local
geometrical expression on the horizon of the black hole. We thereby obtain a
natural candidate for the entropy of a dynamical black hole in a general theory
of gravity. Our results show that the validity of the ``second law" of black
hole mechanics in dynamical evolution from an initially stationary black hole
to a final stationary state is equivalent to the positivity of a total Noether
flux, and thus may be intimately related to the positive energy properties of
the theory. The relationship between the derivation of our formula for black
hole entropy and the derivation via ``Euclidean methods" also is explained.Comment: 16 pages, EFI 93-4
Conformal Scalar Propagation on the Schwarzschild Black-Hole Geometry
The vacuum activity generated by the curvature of the Schwarzschild
black-hole geometry close to the event horizon is studied for the case of a
massless, conformal scalar field. The associated approximation to the unknown,
exact propagator in the Hartle-Hawking vacuum state for small values of the
radial coordinate above results in an analytic expression which
manifestly features its dependence on the background space-time geometry. This
approximation to the Hartle-Hawking scalar propagator on the Schwarzschild
black-hole geometry is, for that matter, distinct from all other. It is shown
that the stated approximation is valid for physical distances which range from
the event horizon to values which are orders of magnitude above the scale
within which quantum and backreaction effects are comparatively pronounced. An
expression is obtained for the renormalised in the
Hartle-Hawking vacuum state which reproduces the established results on the
event horizon and in that segment of the exterior geometry within which the
approximation is valid. In contrast to previous results the stated expression
has the superior feature of being entirely analytic. The effect of the
manifold's causal structure to scalar propagation is also studied.Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures. Published on line on October 16, 2009 and due to
appear in print in Gen.Rel.Gra
Gauging Newton's Law
We derive both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics as gauge theories of
Newtonian mechanics. Systematic development of the distinct symmetries of
dynamics and measurement suggest that gauge theory may be motivated as a
reconciliation of dynamics with measurement. Applying this principle to
Newton's law with the simplest measurement theory leads to Lagrangian
mechanics, while use of conformal measurement theory leads to Hamilton's
equations.Comment: 44 pages, no figures, LaTe
Shape Space Methods for Quantum Cosmological Triangleland
With toy modelling of conceptual aspects of quantum cosmology and the problem
of time in quantum gravity in mind, I study the classical and quantum dynamics
of the pure-shape (i.e. scale-free) triangle formed by 3 particles in 2-d. I do
so by importing techniques to the triangle model from the corresponding 4
particles in 1-d model, using the fact that both have 2-spheres for shape
spaces, though the latter has a trivial realization whilst the former has a
more involved Hopf (or Dragt) type realization. I furthermore interpret the
ensuing Dragt-type coordinates as shape quantities: a measure of
anisoscelesness, the ellipticity of the base and apex's moments of inertia, and
a quantity proportional to the area of the triangle. I promote these quantities
at the quantum level to operators whose expectation and spread are then useful
in understanding the quantum states of the system. Additionally, I tessellate
the 2-sphere by its physical interpretation as the shape space of triangles,
and then use this as a back-cloth from which to read off the interpretation of
dynamical trajectories, potentials and wavefunctions. I include applications to
timeless approaches to the problem of time and to the role of uniform states in
quantum cosmological modelling.Comment: A shorter version, as per the first stage in the refereeing process,
and containing some new reference
Rigidity of minimal submanifolds in hyperbolic space
We prove that if an -dimensional complete minimal submanifold in
hyperbolic space has sufficiently small total scalar curvature then has
only one end. We also prove that for such there exist no nontrivial
harmonic 1-forms on
Early-Holocene warming in Beringia and its mediation by sea-level and vegetation changes
Arctic land-cover changes induced by recent global climate change (e.g., expansion of woody vegetation into tundra and effects of permafrost degradation) are expected to generate further feedbacks to the climate system. Past changes can be used to assess our understanding of feedback mechanisms through a combination of process modelling and paleo-observations. The sub-continental region of Beringia (Northeast Siberia, Alaska, and northwestern Canada) was largely ice-free at the peak of deglacial warming and experienced both major vegetation change and loss of permafrost when many arctic regions were still ice covered. The evolution of Beringian climate at this time was largely driven by global features, such as the amplified seasonal cycle of Northern Hemisphere insolation and changes in global ice volume and atmospheric composition, but changes in regional land-surface controls, such as the widespread development of thaw lakes, the replacement of tundra by deciduous forest or woodland, and the flooding of the BeringâChukchi land bridge, were probably also important. We examined the sensitivity of Beringiaâs early Holocene climate to these regional-scale controls using a regional climate model (RegCM). Lateral and oceanic boundary conditions were provided by global climate simulations conducted using the GENESIS V2.01 atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) with a mixed-layer ocean. We carried out two present day simulations of regional climate, one with modern and one with 11 ka geography, plus another simulation for 6 ka. In addition, we performed five ? 11 ka climate simulations, each driven by the same global AGCM boundary conditions: (i) 11 ka âControlâ, which represents conditions just prior to the major transitions (exposed land bridge, no thaw lakes or wetlands, widespread tundra vegetation), (ii) sea-level rise, which employed present day continental outlines, (iii) vegetation change, with deciduous needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf boreal vegetation types distributed as suggested by the paleoecological record, (iv) thaw lakes, which used the present day distribution of lakes and wetlands; and (v) post-11 ka âAllâ, incorporating all boundary conditions changed in experiments (ii)â(iv). We find that regional-scale controls strongly mediate the climate responses to changes in the large-scale controls, amplifying them in some cases, damping them in others, and, overall, generating considerable spatial heterogeneity in the simulated climate changes. The change from tundra to deciduous woodland produces additional widespread warming in spring and early summer over that induced by the 11 ka insolation regime alone, and lakes and wetlands produce modest and localized cooling in summer and warming in winter. The greatest effect is the flooding of the land bridge and shelves, which produces generally cooler conditions in summer but warmer conditions in winter and is most clearly manifest on the flooded shelves and in eastern Beringia. By 6 ka continued amplification of the seasonal cycle of insolation and loss of the Laurentide ice sheet produce temperatures similar to or higher than those at 11 ka, plus a longer growing season
Thermodynamics of charged and rotating black strings
We study thermodynamics of cylindrically symmetric black holes. Uncharged as
well as charged and rotating objects have been discussed. We derive surface
gravity and hence the Hawking temperature and entropy for all these cases. We
correct some results in the literature and present new ones. It is seen that
thermodynamically these black configurations behave differently from
spherically symmetric objects
The Baryon asymmetry in the Standard Model with a low cut-off
We study the generation of the baryon asymmetry in a variant of the standard
model, where the Higgs field is stabilized by a dimension-six interaction.
Analyzing the one-loop potential, we find a strong first order electroweak
phase transition for Higgs masses up to at least 170 GeV. Dimension-six
operators induce also new sources of CP violation. We compute the baryon
asymmetry in the WKB approximation. Novel source terms in the transport
equations enhance the generated baryon asymmetry. For a wide range of
parameters the model predicts a baryon asymmetry close to the observed value.Comment: 22 pages, latex, 6 figure
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