50,328 research outputs found
Non-equilibrium dynamics of an active colloidal "chucker"
We report Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamics of a "chucker": a colloidal
particle which emits smaller solute particles from its surface, isotropically
and at a constant rate k_c. We find that the diffusion constant of the chucker
increases for small k_c, as recently predicted theoretically. At large k_c the
chucker diffuses more slowly due to crowding effects. We compare our simulation
results to those of a "point particle" Langevin dynamics scheme in which the
solute concentration field is calculated analytically, and in which
hydrodynamic effects can be included albeit in an approximate way. By
simulating the dragging of a chucker, we obtain an estimate of its apparent
mobility coefficient which violates the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. We
also characterise the probability density profile for a chucker which sediments
onto a surface which either repels or absorbs the solute particles, and find
that the steady state distributions are very different in the two cases. Our
simulations are inspired by the biological example of
exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria, as well as by recent experimental,
simulation and theoretical work on phoretic colloidal "swimmers".Comment: re-submission after referee's comment
Study of proton radiation effects on solar vehicle electronic system
Radiation effects on electronic equipment of solar spacecraft - shielding requirement
Investigation of potential of differential absorption Lidar techniques for remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants
The NASA multipurpose differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system uses two high conversion efficiency dye lasers which are optically pumped by two frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers mounted rigidly on a supporting structure that also contains the transmitter, receiver, and data system. The DIAL system hardware design and data acquisition system are described. Timing diagrams, logic diagrams, and schematics, and the theory of operation of the control electronics are presented. Success in obtaining remote measurements of ozone profiles with an airborne systems is reported and results are analyzed
Quantitative multielement analysis using high energy particle bombardment
Charged particles ranging in energy from 0.8 to 4.0 MeV are used to induce resonant nuclear reactions, Coulomb excitation (gamma X-rays), and X-ray emission in both thick and thin targets. Quantitative analysis is possible for elements from Li to Pb in complex environmental samples, although the matrix can severely reduce the sensitivity. It is necessary to use a comparator technique for the gamma-rays, while for X-rays an internal standard can be used. A USGS standard rock is analyzed for a total of 28 elements. Water samples can be analyzed either by nebulizing the sample doped with Cs or Y onto a thin formvar film or by extracting the sample (with or without an internal standard) onto ion exchange resin which is pressed into a pellet
The Radio Recovery of SN 1970G: The Continuing Radio Evolution of SN 1970G
Using the Very Large Array, we have detected radio emission from the site of
SN 1970G in the Sc galaxy M101. These observations are 31 years after the
supernova event, making SN 1970G the longest monitored radio supernova. With
flux densities of 0.12 +/- 0.020 mJy at 6 cm and 0.16 +/- 0.015 mJy at 20 cm,
the spectral index of -0.24 +/- 0.20 appears to have flattened somewhat when
compared with the previously reported value of -0.56 +/- 0.11, taken in 1990.
The radio emission at 20 cm has decayed since the 1990 observations with a
power-law index of beta_20cm = -0.28 +/- 0.13. We discuss the radio properties
of this source and compare them to those of other Type II radio supernovae.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table and 2 figures; To appear in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
An experimental/analytical program to assess the utility of lidar for pollution monitoring
The development and demonstration of lidar techniques for the remote measurement of atmospheric constituents and transport processes in the lower troposphere was carried out. Particular emphasis was given to techniques for monitoring SO2 and particulates, the principal pollutants in power plant and industrial plumes. Data from a plume dispersion study conducted in Maryland during September and October 1976 were reduced, and a data base was assembled which is available to the scientific community for plume model verification. A UV Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) was built, and preliminary testing was done
Can a circulating light beam produce a time machine?
In a recent paper, Mallett found a solution of the Einstein equations in
which closed timelike curves (CTC's) are present in the empty space outside an
infinitely long cylinder of light moving in circular paths around an axis. Here
we show that, for physically realistic energy densities, the CTC's occur at
distances from the axis greater than the radius of the visible universe by an
immense factor. We then show that Mallett's solution has a curvature
singularity on the axis, even in the case where the intensity of the light
vanishes. Thus it is not the solution one would get by starting with Minkowski
space and establishing a cylinder of light.Comment: 5 pages, RevTe
A 22 Degree Tidal Tail for Palomar 5
Using Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have applied an
optimal contrast, matched filter technique to trace the trailing tidal tail of
the globular cluster Palomar 5 to a distance of 18.5 degrees from the center of
the cluster. This more than doubles the total known length of the tail to some
22 degrees on the sky. Based on a simple model of the Galaxy, we find that the
stream's orientation on the sky is consistent at the 1.7 sigma level with
existing proper motion measurements. We find that a spherical Galactic halo is
adequate to model the stream over its currently known length, and we are able
to place new constraints on the current space motion of the cluster.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Coherent cross-talk and parametric driving of matter-wave vortices
We show that the interaction between vortices and sound waves in atomic
Bose-Einstein condensates can be elucidated in a double-well trap: with one
vortex in each well, the sound emitted by each precessing vortex can be driven
into the opposing vortex (if of the same polarity). This cross-talk leads to a
periodic exchange of energy between the vortices which is long-range and highly
efficient. The increase in vortex energy (obtained by numerical simulations of
the Gross-Pitaevskii equation) is significant and experimentally observable as
a migration of the vortex to higher density over just a few precession periods.
Similar effects can be controllably engineered by introducing a precessing
localised obstacle into one well as an artificial generator of sound, thereby
demonstrating the parametric driving of energy into a vortex.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure
On the absence of Shapiro-like steps in certain mesoscopic S-N-S junctions
In DC transport through mesoscopic S-N-S junctions, it is known that the
Josephson coupling decreases exponentially with increasing temperature, but the
phase dependence of the conductance persists to much higher temperatures and
decreases only as 1/T. It is pointed out here that, despite the fact that such
a phase-dependent conductance does bring about an AC current for a pure DC
voltage, it cannot, by itself, lead to the formation of Shapiro steps.Comment: 1 page, to be published in PRL (as Comment
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