34,386 research outputs found
Constraints on SN Ia progenitor time delays from high-z SNe and the star formation history
We re-assess the question of a systematic time delay between the formation of
the progenitor and its explosion in a type Ia supernova (SN Ia) using the
Hubble Higher-z Supernova Search sample (Strolger et al. 2004). While the
previous analysis indicated a significant time delay, with a most likely value
of 3.4 Gyr, effectively ruling out all previously proposed progenitor models,
our analysis shows that the time-delay estimate is dominated by systematic
errors, in particular due to uncertainties in the star-formation history. We
find that none of the popular progenitor models under consideration can be
ruled out with any significant degree of confidence. The inferred time delay is
mainly determined by the peak in the assumed star-formation history. We show
that, even with a much larger Supernova sample, the time delay distribution
cannot be reliably reconstructed without better constraints on the
star-formation history.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Survival of Fecal Contamination Indicator Organisms in Soil
Soils amended with human or animal waste may result in pathogen contamination of ground and surface water. Because temperature has been shown to affect pathogen survival, two laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of extremes in temperature on bacterial and viral pathogen indicator die-off in soil. A Captina silt loam was amended with broiler litter (0.1 g/g dry soil), septic tank effluent, or Escherichia coli (ATCC 13706) culture (both at 0.04 and 0.1 mL/g dry soil in the two respective studies), incubated at 5 and 35°C, and analyzed over time to determine the number of fecal coliform, E. coli, and coliphage remaining. Pathogen indicator die-off rate constants (k) for all indicator- temperature-treatment combinations were determined by first-order kinetics. For all three pathogen indicators, die-off was significantly more rapid at 35°C than at 5°C. In both studies, fecal coliform die-off rates were not different from E. coli die-off rates across each temperature-treatment combination. Levels of these bacterial indicators appeared in a ratio of 1:0.94 with 95% confidence intervals at 0.89 and 0.99 in the E. coli- and litter-amended soils. Die-off of the viral indicator was significantly slower than the die-off of the bacterial indicators at 5°C in litter-amended soil. Die-off of the bacterial indicator, E. coli, in soil amended with E. coli culture was not significantly different than die-off in soil amended with broiler litter at 5 or 35°C in the two studies. Because the higher incubation temperature increased die-off rates for all three indicators, it is expected that the potential for contamination of ground and surface water decreases with increasing temperature
A cotunneling mechanism for all-electrical Electron Spin Resonance of single adsorbed atoms
The recent development of all-electrical electron spin resonance (ESR) in a
scanning tunneling microscope (STM) setup has opened the door to vast
applications. Despite the fast growing number of experimental works on STM-ESR,
the fundamental principles remains unclear. By using a cotunneling picture, we
show that the spin resonance signal can be explained as a time-dependent
variation of the tunnel barrier induced by the alternating electric driving
field. We demonstrate how this variation translates into the resonant frequency
response of the direct current. Our cotunneling theory explains the main
experimental findings. Namely, the linear dependence of the Rabi flop rate with
the alternating bias amplitude, the absence of resonant response for
spin-unpolarized currents, and the weak dependence on the actual atomic
species.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Kinetic modelling of epitaxial film growth with up- and downward step barriers
The formation of three-dimensional structures during the epitaxial growth of
films is associated to the reflection of diffusing particles in descending
terraces due to the presence of the so-called Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barrier.
We generalize this concept in a solid-on-solid growth model, in which a barrier
dependent on the particle coordination (number of lateral bonds) exists
whenever the particle performs an interlayer diffusion. The rules do not
distinguish explicitly if the particle is executing a descending or an
ascending interlayer diffusion. We show that the usual model, with a step
barrier in descending steps, produces spurious, columnar, and highly unstable
morphologies if the growth temperature is varied in a usual range of mound
formation experiments. Our model generates well-behaved mounded morphologies
for the same ES barriers that produce anomalous morphologies in the standard
model. Moreover, mounds are also obtained when the step barrier has an equal
value for all particles independently if they are free or bonded. Kinetic
roughening is observed at long times, when the surface roughness w and the
characteristic length scale as and where
and , independently of the growth
temperature.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Learning about the Energy of a Hurricane System through an Estimation Epistemic Game
As part of a study into students' problem solving behaviors, we asked
upper-division physics students to solve estimation problems in clinical
interviews. We use the Resources Framework and epistemic games to describe
students' problem solving moves. We present a new epistemic game, the
"estimation epistemic game". In the estimation epistemic game, students break
the larger problem into a series of smaller, tractable problems. Within each
sub-problem, they try to remember a method for solving the problem, and use
estimation and reasoning abilities to justify their answers. We demonstrate how
a single case study student plays the game to estimate the total energy in a
hurricane. Finally, we discuss the implications of epistemic game analysis for
other estimation problems.Comment: 4 pages. Submitted to Physics Education Research Conference 201
The Wolf effect and the Redshift of Quasars
We consider a simple model, based on currently accepted models for active
galactic nuclei, for a quasi-stellar object (QSO or ``quasar'') and examine the
influence that correlation- induced spectral changes (``The Wolf Effect'') may
have upon the redshifts of the optical emission lines.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To be published in J. European Optical Soc. A:
Pure and Applied Optic
Time and frequency transfer with a microwave link in the ACES/PHARAO mission
The Atomic Clocks Ensemble in Space (ACES/PHARAO mission), which will be
installed on board the International Space Station (ISS), uses a dedicated
two-way Micro-Wave Link (MWL) in order to compare the timescale generated on
board with those provided by many ground stations disseminated on the Earth.
Phase accuracy and stability of this long range link will have a key role in
the success of the ACES/PHARAO experiment. SYRTE laboratory is heavily involved
in the design and development of the data processing software : from
theoretical modelling and numerical simulations to the development of a
software prototype. Our team is working on a wide range of problems that need
to be solved in order to achieve high accuracy in (almost) real time. In this
article we present some key aspects of the measurement, as well as current
status of the software's development.Comment: Proceedings of the European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF) 2012 held
in Gothenburg, Sweden, April 201
How Can Viral Dynamics Models Inform Endpoint Measures in Clinical Trials of Therapies for Acute Viral Infections?
Acute viral infections pose many practical challenges for the accurate assessment of the impact of novel therapies on viral growth and decay. Using the example of influenza A, we illustrate how the measurement of infection-related quantities that determine the dynamics of viral load within the human host, can inform investigators on the course and severity of infection and the efficacy of a novel treatment. We estimated the values of key infection-related quantities that determine the course of natural infection from viral load data, using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. The data were placebo group viral load measurements collected during volunteer challenge studies, conducted by Roche, as part of the oseltamivir trials. We calculated the values of the quantities for each patient and the correlations between the quantities, symptom severity and body temperature. The greatest variation among individuals occurred in the viral load peak and area under the viral load curve. Total symptom severity correlated positively with the basic reproductive number. The most sensitive endpoint for therapeutic trials with the goal to cure patients is the duration of infection. We suggest laboratory experiments to obtain more precise estimates of virological quantities that can supplement clinical endpoint measurements
Nb3Sn wire shape and cross sectional area inhomogeneity in Rutherford cables
During Rutherford cable production the wires are plastically deformed and
their initially round shape is distorted. Using X-ray absorption tomography we
have determined the 3D shape of an unreacted Nb3Sn 11 T dipole Rutherford
cable, and of a reacted and impregnated Nb3Sn cable double stack.
State-of-the-art image processing was applied to correct for tomographic
artefacts caused by the large cable aspect ratio, for the segmentation of the
individual wires and subelement bundles inside the wires, and for the
calculation of the wire cross sectional area and shape variations. The 11 T
dipole cable cross section oscillates by 2% with a frequency of 1.24 mm (1/80
of the transposition pitch length of the 40 wire cable). A comparatively
stronger cross sectional area variation is observed in the individual wires at
the thin edge of the keystoned cable where the wire aspect ratio is largest.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures, presented at EUCAS 201
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