799 research outputs found
Uncertainty in Soft Temporal Constraint Problems:A General Framework and Controllability Algorithms forThe Fuzzy Case
In real-life temporal scenarios, uncertainty and preferences are often
essential and coexisting aspects. We present a formalism where quantitative
temporal constraints with both preferences and uncertainty can be defined. We
show how three classical notions of controllability (that is, strong, weak, and
dynamic), which have been developed for uncertain temporal problems, can be
generalized to handle preferences as well. After defining this general
framework, we focus on problems where preferences follow the fuzzy approach,
and with properties that assure tractability. For such problems, we propose
algorithms to check the presence of the controllability properties. In
particular, we show that in such a setting dealing simultaneously with
preferences and uncertainty does not increase the complexity of controllability
testing. We also develop a dynamic execution algorithm, of polynomial
complexity, that produces temporal plans under uncertainty that are optimal
with respect to fuzzy preferences
Turbulence transition and the edge of chaos in pipe flow
The linear stability of pipe flow implies that only perturbations of
sufficient strength will trigger the transition to turbulence. In order to
determine this threshold in perturbation amplitude we study the \emph{edge of
chaos} which separates perturbations that decay towards the laminar profile and
perturbations that trigger turbulence. Using the lifetime as an indicator and
methods developed in (Skufca et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 96}, 174101 (2006))
we show that superimposed on an overall -scaling predicted and studied
previously there are small, non-monotonic variations reflecting folds in the
edge of chaos. By tracing the motion in the edge we find that it is formed by
the stable manifold of a unique flow field that is dominated by a pair of
downstream vortices, asymmetrically placed towards the wall. The flow field
that generates the edge of chaos shows intrinsic chaotic dynamics.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
An implicit method for radiative transfer with the diffusion approximation in SPH
An implicit method for radiative transfer in SPH is described. The diffusion
approximation is used, and the hydrodynamic calculations are performed by a
fully three--dimensional SPH code. Instead of the energy equation of state for
an ideal gas, various energy states and the dissociation of hydrogen molecules
are considered in the energy calculation for a more realistic temperature and
pressure determination. In order to test the implicit code, we have performed
non--isothermal collapse simulations of a centrally condensed cloud, and have
compared our results with those of finite difference calculations performed by
MB93. The results produced by the two completely different numerical methods
agree well with each other.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure
Resolving the Formation of Protogalaxies. III. Feedback from the First Stars
The first stars form in dark matter halos of masses ~10^6 M_sun as suggested
by an increasing number of numerical simulations. Radiation feedback from these
stars expels most of the gas from their shallow potential well of their
surrounding dark matter halos. We use cosmological adaptive mesh refinement
simulations that include self-consistent Population III star formation and
feedback to examine the properties of assembling early dwarf galaxies. Accurate
radiative transport is modeled with adaptive ray tracing. We include supernova
explosions and follow the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium. The
calculations focus on the formation of several dwarf galaxies and their
progenitors. In these halos, baryon fractions in 10^8 solar mass halos decrease
by a factor of 2 with stellar feedback and by a factor of 3 with supernova
explosions. We find that radiation feedback and supernova explosions increase
gaseous spin parameters up to a factor of 4 and vary with time. Stellar
feedback, supernova explosions, and H_2 cooling create a complex, multi-phase
interstellar medium whose densities and temperatures can span up to 6 orders of
magnitude at a given radius. The pair-instability supernovae of Population III
stars alone enrich the halos with virial temperatures of 10^4 K to
approximately 10^{-3} of solar metallicity. We find that 40% of the heavy
elements resides in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the end of our
calculations. The highest metallicity gas exists in supernova remnants and very
dilute regions of the IGM.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted to ApJ. Many changes, including
estimates of metal line cooling. High resolution images and movies available
at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~jwise/research/PGalaxies3
The HII Region KR 140: Spontaneous Formation of a High Mass Star
We have used a multiwavelength data set from the Canadian Galactic Plane
Survey (CGPS) to study the Galactic HII region KR 140, both on the scale of the
nebula itself and in the context of the star forming activity in the nearby
W3/W4/W5 complex of molecular clouds and HII regions. From both radio and
infrared data we have found a covering factor of about 0.5 for KR 140 and we
interpret the nebula as a bowl-shaped region viewed close to face on.
Extinction measurements place the region on the near side of its parent
molecular cloud. The nebula is kept ionized by one O8.5 V(e) star, VES 735,
which is less than a few million years old. CO data show that VES 735 has
disrupted much of the original molecular cloud for which the estimated mass and
density are about 5000 and 100 cm, respectively. KR 140 is
isolated from the nearest star forming activity, in W3. Our data suggest that
KR 140 is an example of spontaneous (i.e., non-triggered) formation of,
unusually, a high mass star.Comment: 46 pages; includes 15 figures; accepted by the Ap
Massive stars and the energy balance of the interstellar medium. II. The 35 solar mass star and a solution to the "missing wind problem"
We continue our numerical analysis of the morphological and energetic
influence of massive stars on their ambient interstellar medium for a 35 solar
mass star that evolves from the main sequence through red supergiant and
Wolf-Rayet phases, until it ultimately explodes as a supernova. We find that
structure formation in the circumstellar gas during the early main-sequence
evolution occurs as in the 60 solar mass case but is much less pronounced
because of the lower mechanical wind luminosity of the star. Since on the other
hand the shell-like structure of the HII region is largely preserved, effects
that rely on this symmetry become more important. At the end of the stellar
lifetime 1% of the energy released as Lyman continuum radiation and stellar
wind has been transferred to the circumstellar gas. From this fraction 10% is
kinetic energy of bulk motion, 36% is thermal energy, and the remaining 54% is
ionization energy of hydrogen. The sweeping up of the slow red supergiant wind
by the fast Wolf-Rayet wind produces remarkable morphological structures and
emission signatures, which are compared with existing observations of the
Wolf-Rayet bubble S308. Our model reproduces the correct order of magnitude of
observed X-ray luminosity, the temperature of the emitting plasma as well as
the limb brightening of the intensity profile. This is remarkable, because
current analytical and numerical models of Wolf-Rayet bubbles fail to
consistently explain these features. A key result is that almost the entire
X-ray emission in this stage comes from the shell of red supergiant wind swept
up by the shocked Wolf-Rayet wind rather than from the shocked Wolf-Rayet wind
itself as hitherto assumed and modeled. This offers a possible solution to what
is called the ``missing wind problem'' of Wolf-Rayet bubbles.Comment: 52 pages, 20 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
A Keck High Resolution Spectroscopic Study of the Orion Nebula Proplyds
We present the results of spectroscopy of four bright proplyds in the Orion
Nebula obtained at a velocity resolution of 6 km/s. After careful isolation of
the proplyd spectra from the confusing nebular radiation, the emission line
profiles are compared with those predicted by realistic dynamic/photoionization
models of the objects. The spectral line widths show a clear correlation with
ionization potential, which is consistent with the free expansion of a
transonic, ionization-stratified, photoevaporating flow. Fitting models of such
a flow simultaneously to our spectra and HST emission line imaging provides
direct measurements of the proplyd size, ionized density and outflow velocity.
These measurements confirm that the ionization front in the proplyds is
approximately D-critical and provide the most accurate and robust estimate to
date of the proplyd mass loss rate. Values of 0.7E-6 to 1.5E-6 Msun/year are
found for our spectroscopic sample, although extrapolating our results to a
larger sample of proplyds implies that 0.4E-6 Msun/year is more typical of the
proplyds as a whole. In view of the reported limits on the masses of the
circumstellar disks within the proplyds, the length of time that they can have
been exposed to ionizing radiation should not greatly exceed 10,000 years - a
factor of 30 less than the mean age of the proplyd stars. We review the various
mechanisms that have been proposed to explain this situation, and conclude that
none can plausibly work unless the disk masses are revised upwards by a
substantial amount.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, uses emulateapj.sty, accepted for publication in
The Astronomical Journal (scheduled November 1999
HST/WFPC2 and VLT/ISAAC observations of PROPLYDS in the giant HII region NGC 3603
We report the discovery of three proplyd-like structures in the giant HII
region NGC 3603. The emission nebulae are clearly resolved in narrow-band and
broad-band HST/WFPC2 observations in the optical and broad-band VLT/ISAAC
observations in the near-infrared. All three nebulae are tadpole shaped, with
the bright ionization front at the head facing the central cluster and a
fainter ionization front around the tail pointing away from the cluster.
Typical sizes are 6,000 A.U. x 20,000 A.U. The nebulae share the overall
morphology of the proplyds (``PROto PLanetarY DiskS'') in Orion, but are 20 to
30 times larger in size. Additional faint filaments located between the nebulae
and the central ionizing cluster can be interpreted as bow shocks resulting
from the interaction of the fast winds from the high-mass stars in the cluster
with the evaporation flow from the proplyds. The striking similarity of the
tadpole shaped emission nebulae in NGC 3603 to the proplyds in Orion suggests
that the physical structure of both types of objects might be the same. We
present 2D radiation hydrodynamical simulations of an externally illuminated
star-disk-envelope system, which was still in its main accretion phase when
first exposed to ionizing radiation from the central cluster. The simulations
reproduce the overall morphology of the proplyds in NGC 3603 very well, but
also indicate that mass-loss rates of up to 10^-5 Mo/yr are required in order
to explain the size of the proplyds. (abbreviated)Comment: 10 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses emulateapj.sty and psfig.tex.
Astronomical Journal, in press (January 2000 issue
Radioactive Probes of the Supernova-Contaminated Solar Nebula: Evidence that the Sun was Born in a Cluster
We construct a simple model for radioisotopic enrichment of the protosolar
nebula by injection from a nearby supernova, based on the inverse square law
for ejecta dispersion. We find that the presolar radioisotopes abundances
(i.e., in solar masses) demand a nearby supernova: its distance can be no
larger than 66 times the size of the protosolar nebula, at a 90% confidence
level, assuming 1 solar mass of protosolar material. The relevant size of the
nebula depends on its state of evolution at the time of radioactivity
injection. In one scenario, a collection of low-mass stars, including our sun,
formed in a group or cluster with an intermediate- to high-mass star that ended
its life as a supernova while our sun was still a protostar, a starless core,
or perhaps a diffuse cloud. Using recent observations of protostars to estimate
the size of the protosolar nebula constrains the distance of the supernova at
0.02 to 1.6 pc. The supernova distance limit is consistent with the scales of
low-mass stars formation around one or more massive stars, but it is closer
than expected were the sun formed in an isolated, solitary state. Consequently,
if any presolar radioactivities originated via supernova injection, we must
conclude that our sun was a member of such a group or cluster that has since
dispersed, and thus that solar system formation should be understood in this
context. In addition, we show that the timescale from explosion to the creation
of small bodies was on the order of 1.8 Myr (formal 90% confidence range of 0
to 2.2 Myr), and thus the temporal choreography from supernova ejecta to
meteorites is important. Finally, we can not distinguish between progenitor
masses from 15 to 25 solar masses in the nucleosynthesis models; however, the
20 solar mass model is somewhat preferred.Comment: ApJ accepted, 19 pages, 3 figure
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