Sub-structure formation in starless cores

Motivated by recent observational searches of sub-structure in starless molecular cloud cores, we investigate the evolution of density perturbations on scales smaller than the Jeans length embedded in contracting isothermal clouds, adopting the same formalism developed for the expanding Universe and the solar wind. We find that initially small amplitude, Jeans-stable perturbations (propagating as sound waves in the absence of a magnetic field), are amplified adiabatically during the contraction, approximately conserving the wave action density, until they either become nonlinear and steepen into shocks at a time $t_{\rm nl}$, or become gravitationally unstable when the Jeans length decreases below the scale of the perturbations at a time $t_{\rm gr}$. We evaluate analytically the time $t_{\rm nl}$ at which the perturbations enter the non-linear stage using a Burgers' equation approach, and we verify numerically that this time marks the beginning of the phase of rapid dissipation of the kinetic energy of the perturbations. We then show that for typical values of the rms Mach number in molecular cloud cores, $t_{\rm nl}$ is smaller than $t_{\rm gr}$, and therefore density perturbations likely dissipate before becoming gravitational unstable. Solenoidal modes grow at a faster rate than compressible modes, and may eventually promote fragmentation through the formation of vortical structures.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

ADAS analysis of the differential emission measure structure of the inner solar corona. II. A study of the `quiet Sun' inhomogeneities from SOHO CDS-NIS spectra

We present a study of the differential emission measure (DEM) of a `quiet Sun' area observed in the extreme ultraviolet at normal incidence by the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) on the SOHO spacecraft. The data used for this work were taken using the NISAT_S observing sequence. This takes the full wavelength ranges from both the NIS channels (308-381 Angtr. and 513-633 Angst.) with the 2 arcsec by 240 arcsec slit, which is the narrowest slit available, yielding the best spectral resolution. In this work we contrast the DEM from subregions of 2 by 80 arcsec$^2$ with that obtained from the mean spectrum of the whole raster (20 by 240 arcsec$^2$). We find that the DEM maintains essentially the same shape in the subregions, differing by a constant factor between 0.5 and 2 from the mean DEM, except in areas were the electron density is below $2 \times 10^7$ cm$^{-3}$ and downflow velocities of 50 km/s are found in the transition region. Such areas are likely to contain plasma departing from ionisation equilibrium, violating the basic assumptions underlying the DEM method. The comparison between lines of Li-like and Be-like ions may provide further evidence of departure from ionisation equilibrium. We find also that line intensities tend to be lower where velocities of the order of 30 km/s or higher are measured in transition region lines. The DEM analysis is also exploited to improve the line identification performed by Brooks et al (1999) and to investigate possible elemental abundance variations from region to region. We find that the plasma has composition close to photospheric in all the subregions examined.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, 7 tables. Table 5 is available only online. A copy of Table 5 can be found at http://webusers.ct.astro.it/acl/table5.dat. The ReadMe file is at http://webusers.ct.astro.it/acl/ReadMe. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

On the Dirac Eigenvalues as Observables of the on-shell N=2 D=4 Euclidean Supergravity

We generalize previous works on the Dirac eigenvalues as dynamical variables of the Euclidean gravity and N=1 D=4 supergravity to on-shell N=2 D=4 Euclidean supergravity. The covariant phase space of the theory is defined as as the space of the solutions of the equations of motion modulo the on-shell gauge transformations. In this space we define the Poisson brackets and compute their value for the Dirac eigenvalues.Comment: 10 pages, LATeX fil

Bright hot impacts by erupted fragments falling back on the Sun: UV redshifts in stellar accretion

A solar eruption after a flare on 7 Jun 2011 produced EUV-bright impacts of fallbacks far from the eruption site, observed with the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These impacts can be taken as a template for the impact of stellar accretion flows. Broad red-shifted UV lines have been commonly observed in young accreting stars. Here we study the emission from the impacts in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly's UV channels and compare the inferred velocity distribution to stellar observations. We model the impacts with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the localised UV 1600A emission and its timing with respect to the EUV emission can be explained by the impact of a cloud of fragments. The first impacts produce strong initial upflows. The following fragments are hit and shocked by these upflows. The UV emission comes mostly from the shocked front shell of the fragments while they are still falling, and is therefore redshifted when observed from above. The EUV emission instead continues from the hot surface layer that is fed by the impacts. Fragmented accretion can therefore explain broad redshifted UV lines (e.g. C IV 1550A) to speeds around 400 km/s observed in accreting young stellar objects.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures (movies available upon request), accepted for publicatio

Local index formula for SU_q(2)

We discuss the local index formula of Connes-Moscovici for the isospectral noncommutative geometry that we have recently constructed on quantum SU(2). We work out the cosphere bundle and the dimension spectrum as well as the local cyclic cocycles yielding the index formula.Comment: 18 pages. v2: minor changes; to appear in K-theor

Nonthermal hard X-ray excess in the Coma cluster: resolving the discrepancy between the results of different PDS data analyses

The detection of a nonthermal excess in the Coma cluster spectrum by two BeppoSAX observations analyzed with the XAS package (Fusco-Femiano et al.) has been disavowed by an analysis (Rossetti & Molendi) performed with a different software package (SAXDAS) for the extraction of the spectrum. To resolve this discrepancy we reanalyze the PDS data considering the same software used by Rossetti & Molendi. A correct selection of the data and the exclusion of contaminating sources in the background determination show that also the SAXDAS analysis reports a nonthermal excess with respect to the thermal emission at about the same confidence level of that obtained with the XAS package (~4.8sigma). Besides, we report the lack of the systematic errors investigated by Rossetti & Molendi and Nevalainen et al. taking into account the whole sample of the PDS observations off the Galactic plane, as already shown in our data analysis of Abell 2256 (Fusco-Femiano, Landi & Orlandini). All this eliminates any ambiguity and confirms the presence of a hard tail in the spectrum of the Coma cluster.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

A Method for the Measurement of Digitizers’ Absolute Phase Error

A lot of engineering applications, from telecommunications to power systems, require accurate measurement of phase angles. Some of them, like synchrophasor measurement and calibration of instrument transformers with digital output, in order to reach high phase measurement accuracy, require the knowledge of phase error of digitizers. Therefore, in this paper a method for the measurement of digitizers’ absolute phase errors is proposed. It adopts a sinewave and two square waves, that are the digitizer sample clock and a phase reference signal. Combining the measurements of the relative phase differences between the adopted signals it is possible to accurately evaluate the absolute phase error of a digitize

Fisheries-induced disruptive selection

Commercial harvesting is recognized to induce adaptive responses of life-history traits in fish populations, in particular by shifting the age and size at maturation through directional selection. In addition to such evolution of a target stock, the corresponding fishery itself may adapt, in terms of fishing policy, technological progress, fleet dynamics, and adaptive harvest. The aim of this study is to assess how the interplay between natural and artificial selection, in the simplest setting in which a fishery and a target stock coevolve, can lead to disruptive selection, which in turn may cause trait diversification. To this end, we build an eco-evolutionary model for a size-structured population, in which both the stock's maturation schedule and the fishery's harvest rate are adaptive, while fishing may be subject to a selective policy based on fish size and/or maturity stage. Using numerical bifurcation analysis, we study how the potential for disruptive selection changes with fishing policy, fishing mortality, harvest specialization, life-history tradeoffs associated with early maturation, and other demographic and environmental parameters. We report the following findings. First, fisheries-induced disruptive selection is readily caused by commonly used fishing policies, and occurs even for policies that are not specific for fish size or maturity, provided that the harvest is sufficiently adaptive and large individuals are targeted intensively. Second, disruptive selection is more likely in stocks in which the selective pressure for early maturation is naturally strong, provided life-history tradeoffs are sufficiently consequential. Third, when a fish stock is overexploited, fisheries targeting only large individuals might slightly increase sustainable yield by causing trait diversification (even though the resultant yield always remains lower than the maximum sustainable yield that could be obtained under low fishing mortality, without causing disruptive selection). We discuss the broader implications of our results and highlight how these can be taken into account for designing evolutionarily informed fisheries-management regimes