Investigation of continuously traversing microphone system for mode measurement

The continuously Traversing Microphone System consists of a data acquisition and processing method for obtaining the modal coefficients of the discrete, coherent acoustic field in a fan inlet duct. The system would be used in fan rigs or full scale engine installations where present measurement methods, because of the excessive number of microphones and long test times required, are not feasible. The purpose of the investigation reported here was to develop a method for defining modal structure by means of a continuously traversing microphone system and to perform an evaluation of the method, based upon analytical studies and computer simulated tests. A variety of system parameters were examined, and the effects of deviations from ideal were explored. Effects of traverse speed, digitizing rate, run time, roundoff error, calibration errors, and random noise background level were determined. For constant fan operating speed, the sensitivity of the method to normal errors and deviations was determined to be acceptable. Good recovery of mode coefficients was attainable. Fluctuating fan speed conditions received special attention, and it was concluded that by employing suitable time delay procedures, satisfactory information on mode coefficients can be obtained under realistic conditions. A plan for further development involving fan rig tests was prepared

Relative Sizes of X-ray and Optical Images of Elliptical Galaxies; Correlation with X-ray Luminosity

Optical parameters of elliptical galaxies are tightly correlated, but their x-ray parameters vary widely. The x-ray luminosity L_x ranges over more than an order of magnitude for ellipticals having similar optical luminosity L_B. The source of this scatter has been elusive. We show here that the dispersion in L_x for fixed optical luminosity L_B correlates strongly with the dimensionless ratio of the sizes of the x-ray and optical images, r_ex/r_e. Specifically, we find that (L_x/L_B) is proportional to (r_{ex}/r_e)^{0.60 \pm 0.30}, a version of the correlation that is independent of distance. This correlation may be a natural result of mergings and tidal truncations that are expected during the formation and early evolution of ellipticals in groups of galaxies. The radial structure of x-ray images also varies: some are compact (e.g. NGC 4649, 7626, 5044), others diffuse (e.g. NGC 4636, 1399).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Quantum oscillator and Kepler-Coulomb problems in curved spaces: deformed shape invariance, point canonical transformations, and rational extensions

The quantum oscillator and Kepler-Coulomb problems in $d$-dimensional spaces with constant curvature are analyzed from several viewpoints. In a deformed supersymmetric framework, the corresponding nonlinear potentials are shown to exhibit a deformed shape invariance property. By using the point canonical transformation method, the two deformed Schr\"odinger equations are mapped onto conventional ones corresponding to some shape-invariant potentials, whose rational extensions are well known. The inverse point canonical transformations then provide some rational extensions of the oscillator and Kepler-Coulomb potentials in curved space. The oscillator on the sphere and the Kepler-Coulomb potential in a hyperbolic space are studied in detail and their extensions are proved to be consistent with already known ones in Euclidean space. The partnership between nonextended and extended potentials is interpreted in a deformed supersymmetric framework. Those extended potentials that are isospectral to some nonextended ones are shown to display deformed shape invariance, which in the Kepler-Coulomb case is enlarged by also translating the degree of the polynomial arising in the rational part denominator.Comment: 32 pages, no figure; published versio

Eigen modes for the problem of anomalous light transmission through subwavelength holes

We show that the wide-spread concept of optical eigen modes in lossless waveguide structures, which assumes the separation on propagating and evanescent modes, fails in the case of metal-dielectric structures, including photonic crystals. In addition to these modes, there is a sequence of new eigen-states with complex values of the propagation constant and non-vanishing circulating energy flow. The whole eigen-problem ceases to be hermitian because of changing sign of the optical dielectric constant. The new anomalous modes are shown to be of prime importance for the description of the anomalous light transmission through subwavelength holes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Evolution of Hot Gas and Dark Halos in Group-Dominant Elliptical Galaxies: Influence of Cosmic Inflow

We study the complete dynamical evolution of hot interstellar gas in massive elliptical galaxies born into a simple flat universe beginning with an overdense perturbation. Within the turn-around radius dark matter flows in a self-similar fashion into a stationary Navarro-Frenk-White halo and the baryonic gas shocks. After a few gigayears, when enough gas accumulates within the accretion shock, the de Vaucouleurs stellar system is constructed and the energy from Type II supernovae is released. The stars and dark halo are matched to NGC 4472. Gas continues to enter the galaxy by secondary infall and by stellar mass loss based on a Salpeter IMF. After about 13 Gyrs the temperature and density distribution in the hot gas agree quite well with the hot interstellar gas observed in NGC 4472. As a result of supernova-driven outflow, the present day baryonic fraction has a deep minimum in the outer galactic halo. When relatively gas-rich, X-ray luminous models are spatially truncated at early times, simulating tidal events that may have occurred during galaxy group dynamics, the current locus of truncated models lies just along the $L_x$, X-ray size correlation among well-observed ellipticals, providing another striking confirmation of our simple model of elliptical evolution.Comment: 16 pages in AASTEX LaTeX with 14 figures; accepted by Astrophysical Journa

On-demand or Spot? Selling the cloud to risk-averse customers

In Amazon EC2, cloud resources are sold through a combination of an on-demand market, in which customers buy resources at a fixed price, and a spot market, in which customers bid for an uncertain supply of excess resources. Standard market environments suggest that an optimal design uses just one type of market. We show the prevalence of a dual market system can be explained by heterogeneous risk attitudes of customers. In our stylized model, we consider unit demand risk-averse bidders. We show the model admits a unique equilibrium, with higher revenue and higher welfare than using only spot markets. Furthermore, as risk aversion increases, the usage of the on-demand market increases. We conclude that risk attitudes are an important factor in cloud resource allocation and should be incorporated into models of cloud markets.Comment: Appeared at WINE 201

Quasar Proper Motions and Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves

We report observational upper limits on the mass-energy of the cosmological gravitational-wave background, from limits on proper motions of quasars. Gravitational waves with periods longer than the time span of observations produce a simple pattern of apparent proper motions over the sky, composed primarily of second-order transverse vector spherical harmonics. A fit of such harmonics to measured motions yields a 95%-confidence limit on the mass-energy of gravitational waves with frequencies <2e-9 Hz, of <0.11/h*h times the closure density of the universe.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure. Also available at http://charm.physics.ucsb.edu:80/people/cgwinn/cgwinn_group/index.htm

Environmental determinants of acute respiratory symptoms and diarrhoea in young coloured children living in urban and peri-urban areas of South Africa

The impact of environmental risk factors associated with housing was examined in relation to diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory symptoms in South African coloured children. A multistage cluster sample representative of all coloured people living in the major urban and peri-urban areas of South Africa was used for the study. Interviews were conducted with respondents from 1 227 households. Overall, 8,5% children under 5 years were reported to have had diarrhoea, while 29% had experienced coughing and breathing problems in a 2-week recall period. Individual risk factors identified using the odds ratios (ORs) for diarrhoea included not having an inside tap or a flush toilet in the homes (both yielded an OR of 3,3), not owning a refuse receptacle (OR = 2,5), not being connected to an electricity supply (OR = 2,5), low household income (OR = 1,8), more than 2 people per room (OR = 2,0) and less than Standard 5 maternal education (OR = 1,6). Absence of an inside toilet, not having a refuse receptacle and overcrowding all remained as independent risk factors after logistic regression analyses. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that not having a refuse receptacle and the absence of electricity for heating purposes were independently associated with respiratory symptoms. The overall preventive potentials for respiratory symptoms were significantly less than those for diarrhoea. Improving physical access to essential environmental health services in urban areas and improvements in the educational status of women are urgently needed if childhood infections are to be prevented

Revised Relativistic Hydrodynamical Model for Neutron-Star Binaries

We report on numerical results from a revised hydrodynamic simulation of binary neutron-star orbits near merger. We find that the correction recently identified by Flanagan significantly reduces but does not eliminate the neutron-star compression effect. Although results of the revised simulations show that the compression is reduced for a given total orbital angular momentum, the inner most stable circular orbit moves to closer separation distances. At these closer orbits significant compression and even collapse is still possible prior to merger for a sufficiently soft EOS. The reduced compression in the corrected simulation is consistent with other recent studies of rigid irrotational binaries in quasiequilibrium in which the compression effect is observed to be small. Another significant effect of this correction is that the derived binary orbital frequencies are now in closer agreement with post-Newtonian expectations.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.