43,974 research outputs found
Magnetic field amplification by cosmic rays in supernova remnants
Magnetic field amplification is needed to accelerate cosmic cays to PeV
energies in supernova remants. Escaping cosmic rays trigger a return current in
the plasma that drives a non-resonant hybrid instability. We run simulations in
which we represent the escaping cosmic rays with the plasma return current,
keeping the maximum cosmic ray energy fixed, and evaluate its effects on the
upstream medium. In addition to magnetic field amplification, density
perturbations arise that, when passing through the shock, further increase
amplification levels downstream. As the growth rate of the instability is most
rapid for the smaller scales, the resolution is a limiting factor in the
amplification that can be reached with these simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"370 years of Astronomy in Utrecht", eds. G. Pugliese, A. de Koter and M.
Wijbur
Cosmic ray acceleration in young supernova remnants
We investigate the appearance of magnetic field amplification resulting from
a cosmic ray escape current in the context of supernova remnant shock waves.
The current is inversely proportional to the maximum energy of cosmic rays, and
is a strong function of the shock velocity. Depending on the evolution of the
shock wave, which is drastically different for different circumstellar
environments, the maximum energy of cosmic rays as required to generate enough
current to trigger the non-resonant hybrid instability that confines the cosmic
rays follows a different evolution and reaches different values. We find that
the best candidates to accelerate cosmic rays to ~few PeV energies are young
remnants in a dense environment, such as a red supergiant wind, as may be
applicable to Cassiopeia A. We also find that for a typical background magnetic
field strength of 5 microG the instability is quenched in about 1000 years,
making SN1006 just at the border of candidates for cosmic ray acceleration to
high energies.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Confining the high-energy cosmic rays
Diffusive shock acceleration is the prime candidate for efficient
acceleration of cosmic rays. Galactic cosmic rays are believed to originate
predominantly from this process in supernova remnant shock waves. Confinement
of the cosmic rays in the shock region is key in making the mechanism
effective. It has been known that on small scales (smaller than the typical
gyroradius) high-amplitude non-resonant instabilities arise due to cosmic ray
streaming ahead of the shock. For the efficiency of scattering of the highest
energy cosmic rays it is of interest to determine the type of instabilities
that act on longer length scales, i.e. larger than the cosmic ray gyroradius.
We will present the results of our analysis of an instability that acts in this
regime and will discuss its driving mechanism and typical growth times.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. Proceedings for the conference on Cosmic Rays and
the Interstellar Medium (CRISM) in June 2011, Montpellier, France. To appear
in MSA
From cosmic ray source to the Galactic pool
The Galactic cosmic ray spectrum is a remarkably straight power law. Our
current understanding is that the dominant sources that accelerate cosmic rays
up to the knee ( eV) or perhaps even the ankle ( eV), are young Galactic supernova remnants. In theory, however, there
are various reasons why the spectrum may be different for different sources,
and may not even be a power law if nonlinear shock acceleration applies during
the most efficient stages of acceleration. We show how the spectrum at the
accelerator translates to the spectrum that make up the escaping cosmic rays
that replenish the Galactic pool of cosmic rays. We assume that cosmic ray
confinement, and thus escape, is linked to the level of magnetic field
amplification, and that the magnetic field is amplified by streaming cosmic
rays according to the non-resonant hybrid or resonant instability. When a fixed
fraction of the energy is transferred to cosmic rays, it turns out that a
source spectrum that is flatter than will result in a escape
spectrum, whereas a steeper source spectrum will result in an escape spectrum
with equal steepening. This alleviates some of the concern that may arise from
expected flat or concave cosmic ray spectra associated with nonlinear shock
modification.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in MNRA
High-efficiency cell concepts on low-cost silicon sheets
The limitations on sheet growth material in terms of the defect structure and minority carrier lifetime are discussed. The effect of various defects on performance are estimated. Given these limitations designs for a sheet growth cell that will make the best of the material characteristics are proposed. Achievement of optimum synergy between base material quality and device processing variables is proposed. A strong coupling exists between material quality and the variables during crystal growth, and device processing variables. Two objectives are outlined: (1) optimization of the coupling for maximum performance at minimal cost; and (2) decoupling of materials from processing by improvement in base material quality to make it less sensitive to processing variables
Absence of Electron Surfing Acceleration in a Two-Dimensional Simulation
Electron acceleration in high Mach number perpendicular shocks is
investigated through two-dimensional electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC)
simulation. We simulate the shock foot region by modeling particles that
consist of three components such as incident protons and electrons and
reflected protons in the initial state which satisfies the Buneman instability
condition. In contrast to previous one-dimensional simulations in which strong
surfing acceleration is realized, we find that surfing acceleration does not
occur in two-dimensional simulation. This is because excited electrostatic
potentials have a two-dimensional structure that makes electron trapping
impossible. Thus, the surfing acceleration does not work either in itself or as
an injection mechanism for the diffusive shock acceleration. We briefly discuss
implications of the present results on the electron heating and acceleration by
shocks in supernova remnants.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Non-Bilocal Measurement via Entangled State
Two observers, who share a pair of particles in an entangled mixed state, can
use it to perform some non-bilocal measurement over another bipartite system.
In particular, one can construct a specific game played by the observers
against a coordinator, in which they can score better than a pair of observers
who only share a classical communication channel.Comment: 6 pages. minor change
Actions speak louder than words: designing transdisciplinary approaches to enact solutions
Sustainability science uses a transdisciplinary research process in which academic and non-academic partners collaborate to identify a common problem and co-produce knowledge to develop more sustainable solutions. Sustainability scientists have advanced the theory and practice of facilitating collaborative efforts such that the knowledge created is usable. There has been less emphasis, however, on the last step of the transdisciplinary process: enacting solutions. We analyzed a case study of a transdisciplinary research effort in which co-produced policy simulation information shaped the creation of a new policy mechanism. More specifically, by studying the development of a mechanism for conserving vernal pool ecosystems, we found that four factors helped overcome common challenges to acting upon new information: creating a culture of learning, co-producing policy simulations that acted as boundary objects, integrating research into solution development, and employing an adaptive management approach. With an increased focus on these four factors that enable action, we can better develop the same level of nuanced theoretical concepts currently characterizing the earlier phases of transdisciplinary research, and the practical advice for deliberately designing these efforts
Turning Contention into Collaboration: Engaging Power, Trust, and Learning in Collaborative Networks
Given the complexity and multiplicity of goals in natural resource governance, it is not surprising that policy debates are often characterized by contention and competition. Yet at times adversaries join together to collaborate to find creative solutions not easily achieved in polarizing forums. We employed qualitative interviews and a quantitative network analysis to investigate a collaborative network that formed to develop a resolution to a challenging natural resource management problem, the conservation of vernal pools. We found that power had become distributed among members, trust had formed across core interests, and social learning had resulted in shared understanding and joint solutions. Furthermore, institutions such as who and when new members joined, norms of inclusion and openness, and the use of small working groups helped create the observed patterns of power, trust, and learning
Testing quantum nonlocality by generalized quasiprobability functions
We derive a Bell inequality based on a generalized quasiprobability function
which is parameterized by one non-positive real value. Two types of known Bell
inequalities formulated in terms of the Wigner and Q functions are included as
limiting cases. We investigate violations of our Bell inequalities for single
photon entangled states and two-mode squeezed vacuum states when varying the
detector efficiency. We show that the Bell inequality for the Q function allows
the lowest detection efficiency for violations of local realism.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
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