7,187 research outputs found
Science Verification Results from PMAS
PMAS, the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer, is a new integral field
instrument which was commissioned at the Calar Alto 3.5m Telescope in May 2001.
We report on results obtained from a science verification run in October 2001.
We present observations of the low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxy
SBS0335-052, the ultra-luminous X-ray Source X-1 in the Holmberg II galaxy, the
quadruple gravitational lens system Q2237+0305 (the "Einstein Cross"), the
Galactic planetary nebula NGC7027, and extragalactic planetary nebulae in M31.
PMAS is now available as a common user instrument at Calar Alto Observatory.Comment: 4 pages, 9 figures (attached in JPEG format), Euro3D Science Workshop
Proceedings, held in Cambridge May 21-23, 2003, to appear in AN (accepted
Breadboard CO2 and humidity control system
A regenerable CO2 and humidity control system is being developed for potential use on shuttle as an alternate to the baseline lithium hydroxide (LiOH)/condensing heat exchanger system. The system utilizes a sorbent material, designated HS-C, to adsorb CO2 and water vapor from the cabin atmosphere. The material is regenerated by exposing it to space vacuum. A half-size breadboard system, utilizing a flight representative HS-C canister, was designed, built, and performance tested to shuttle requirements for total CO2 and total humidity removal. The use of a new chemical matrix material allowed significant optimization of the system design by packing the HS-C chemical into the core of a heat exchanger which is manifolded to form two separate and distinct beds. Breadboard system performance was proven by parametric testing and simulated mission testing over the full range of shuttle crew sizes and metabolic loadings. Vacuum desorption testing demonstrated considerable savings in previously projected shuttle vacuum duct sizing
Spin dynamics in copper metaborate studied by muon spin relaxation
Copper metaborate CuBO was studied by muon spin relaxation
measurements in order to clarify its static and dynamic magnetic properties.
The time spectra of muon spin depolarization suggest that the local fields at
the muon site contain both static and fluctuating components in all ordered
phases down to 0.3 K. In the weak ferromagnetic phase (20 K~~9.3 K), the
static component is dominant. On the other hand, upon cooling the fluctuating
component becomes dominant in the incommensurate helix phase (9.3K > T > 1.4K).
The dynamical fluctuations of the local fields persist down to 0.3K, where a
new incommensurate phase (T < 1.4K) is expected to appear. This result suggests
that spins fluctuate even at T \to 0. We propose two possible origins of the
remnant dynamical spin fluctuations: frustration of the exchange interactions
and the dynamic behavior of the soliton lattice
Anisotropic superexchange of a 90 degree Cu-O-Cu bond
The magnetic anisotropy af a rectangular Cu-O-Cu bond is investigated in
second order of the spin-orbit interaction. Such a bond is characteristic for
cuprates having edge sharing CuO_2 chains, and exists also in the Cu_3O_4 plane
or in ladder compounds. For a ferromagnetic coupling between the copper spins
an easy axis is found perpendicular to the copper oxygen plaquettes in
agreement with the experimental spin structure of Li_2CuO_2. In addition, a
pseudo-dipolar interaction is derived. Its estimation in the case of the
Cu_3O_4 plane (which is present for instance in Ba_2Cu_3O_4Cl_2 or
Sr_2Cu_3O_4Cl_2) gives a value which is however two orders of magnitude smaller
than the usual dipole-dipole interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, improved referenc
Kinematics of disk galaxies in (proto-)clusters at z=1.5
We observed star-forming galaxies at z~1.5 selected from the HyperSuprimeCam
Subaru Strategic Program. The galaxies are part of two significant
overdensities of [OII] emitters identified via narrow-band imaging and
photometric redshifts from grizy photometry. We used VLT/KMOS to carry out
Halpha integral field spectroscopy of 46 galaxies in total. Ionized gas maps,
star formation rates and velocity fields were derived from the Halpha emission
line. We quantified morphological and kinematical asymmetries to test for
potential gravitational (e.g. galaxy-galaxy) or hydrodynamical (e.g.
ram-pressure) interactions. Halpha emission was detected in 36 targets. 34 of
the galaxies are members of two (proto-)clusters at z=1.47, confirming our
selection strategy to be highly efficient. By fitting model velocity fields to
the observed ones, we determined the intrinsic maximum rotation velocity Vmax
of 14 galaxies. Utilizing the luminosity-velocity (Tully-Fisher) relation, we
find that these galaxies are more luminous than their local counterparts of
similar mass by up to ~4 mag in the rest-frame B-band. In contrast to field
galaxies at z<1, the offsets of the z~1.5 (proto-)cluster galaxies from the
local Tully-Fisher relation are not correlated with their star formation rates
but with the ratio between Vmax and gas velocity dispersion sigma_g. This
probably reflects that, as is observed in the field at similar redshifts, fewer
disks have settled to purely rotational kinematics and high Vmax/sigma_g
ratios. Due to relatively low galaxy velocity dispersions (sigma_v < 400 km/s)
of the (proto-)clusters, gravitational interactions likely are more efficient,
resulting in higher kinematical asymmetries, than in present-day clusters.
(abbr.)Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl
Practical Quantum Key Distribution with Polarization-Entangled Photons
We present an entangled-state quantum cryptography system that operated for
the first time in a real world application scenario. The full key generation
protocol was performed in real time between two distributed embedded hardware
devices, which were connected by 1.45 km of optical fiber, installed for this
experiment in the Vienna sewage system. The generated quantum key was
immediately handed over and used by a secure communication application.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Some Findings Concerning Requirements in Agile Methodologies
gile methods have appeared as an attractive alternative to conventional methodologies. These methods try to reduce the time to market and, indirectly, the cost of the product through flexible development and deep customer involvement. The processes related to requirements have been extensively studied in literature, in most cases in the frame of conventional methods. However, conclusions of conventional methodologies could not be necessarily valid for Agile; in some issues, conventional and Agile processes are radically different. As recent surveys report, inadequate project requirements is one of the most conflictive issues in agile approaches and better understanding about this is needed. This paper describes some findings concerning requirements activities in a project developed under an agile methodology. The project intended to evolve an existing product and, therefore, some background information was available. The major difficulties encountered were related to non-functional needs and management of requirements dependencies
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