47,657 research outputs found
Persistent Decadal-Scale Rainfall Variability in the Tropical South Pacific Convergence Zone Through the Past Six Centuries
Modern Pacific decadal variability (PDV) has global impacts; hence records of PDV from the pre-instrumental period are needed to better inform models that are used to project future climate variability. We focus here on reconstructing rainfall in the western tropical Pacific (Solomon Islands; similar to 9.5 degrees S, similar to 160 degrees E), a region directly influenced by PDV, using cave deposits (stalagmite). A relationship is developed between delta O-18 variations in the stalagmite and local rainfall amount to produce a 600 yr record of rainfall variability from the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). We present evidence for large (similar to 1.5 m), abrupt, and periodic changes in total annual rainfall amount on decadal to multidecadal timescales since 1423 +/- 5 CE (Common Era) in the Solomon Islands. The timing of the decadal changes in rainfall inferred from the 20th-century portion of the stalagmite delta O-18 record coincides with previously identified decadal shifts in PDV-related Pacific ocean-atmosphere behavior (Clement et al., 2011; Deser et al., 2004). The Solomons record of PDV is not associated with variations in external forcings, but rather results from internal climate variability. The 600 yr Solomon Islands stalagmite delta O-18 record indicates that decadal oscillations in rainfall are a persistent characteristic of SPCZ-related climate variability.Taiwan ROC NSCNTU 101-2116-M-002-009, 102-2116-M-002-016, 101R7625Geological Science
Thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the liquid-gas critical point
We study the thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the
liquid-gas critical point. Specifically, we perform a numerical investigation
of the acoustic responses in a near-critical fluid to thermal perturbations
based on the same setup of a recent ultrasensitive interferometry measurement
in CO2 [Y. Miura et al. Phys. Rev. E 74, 010101(R) (2006)]. The numerical
results agree well with the experimental data. New features regarding the
reflection pattern of thermo-acoustic waves near the critical point under pulse
perturbations are revealed by the proper inclusion of the critically diverging
bulk viscosity.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by PRE (Rapid Communication
Theory of single-photon transport in a single-mode waveguide coupled to a cavity containing a two-level atom
The single-photon transport in a single-mode waveguide, coupled to a cavity
embedded with a two-leval atom is analyzed. The single-photon transmission and
reflection amplitudes, as well as the cavity and the atom excitation
amplitudes, are solved exactly via a real-space approach. It is shown that the
dissipation of the cavity and of the atom respectively affects distinctively on
the transport properties of the photons, and on the relative phase between the
excitation amplitudes of the cavity mode and the atom.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures. Accepted by Physical Review A (2009
Complete relativistic equation of state for neutron stars
We construct the equation of state (EOS) in a wide density range for neutron
stars using the relativistic mean field theory. The properties of neutron star
matter with both uniform and non-uniform distributions are studied
consistently. The inclusion of hyperons considerably softens the EOS at high
densities. The Thomas-Fermi approximation is used to describe the non-uniform
matter, which is composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei. The phase transition
from uniform matter to non-uniform matter occurs around ,
and the free neutrons drip out of nuclei at about $2.4 \times 10^{-4}\
\rm{fm^{-3}}$. We apply the resulting EOS to investigate the neutron star
properties such as maximum mass and composition of neutron stars.Comment: 23 pages, REVTeX, 9 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
A size of ~1 AU for the radio source Sgr A* at the centre of the Milky Way
Although it is widely accepted that most galaxies have supermassive black
holes (SMBHs) at their centers^{1-3}, concrete proof has proved elusive.
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)^4, an extremely compact radio source at the center of
our Galaxy, is the best candidate for proof^{5-7}, because it is the closest.
Previous Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations (at 7mm) have
detected that Sgr A* is ~2 astronomical unit (AU) in size^8, but this is still
larger than the "shadow" (a remarkably dim inner region encircled by a bright
ring) arising from general relativistic effects near the event horizon^9.
Moreover, the measured size is wavelength dependent^{10}. Here we report a
radio image of Sgr A* at a wavelength of 3.5mm, demonstrating that its size is
\~1 AU. When combined with the lower limit on its mass^{11}, the lower limit on
the mass density is 6.5x10^{21} Msun pc^{-3}, which provides the most stringent
evidence to date that Sgr A* is an SMBH. The power-law relationship between
wavelength and intrinsic size (The size is proportional to wavelength^{1.09}),
explicitly rules out explanations other than those emission models with
stratified structure, which predict a smaller emitting region observed at a
shorter radio wavelength.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
Distribution of magnetic domain pinning fields in GaMnAs ferromagnetic films
Using the angular dependence of the planar Hall effect in GaMnAs
ferromagnetic films, we were able to determine the distribution of magnetic
domain pinning fields in this material. Interestingly, there is a major
difference between the pinning field distribution in as-grown and in annealed
films, the former showing a strikingly narrower distribution than the latter.
This conspicuous difference can be attributed to the degree of non-uniformity
of magnetic anisotropy in both types of films. This finding provides a better
understanding of the magnetic domain landscape in GaMnAs that has been the
subject of intense debate
Predictable Disruption Tolerant Networks and Delivery Guarantees
This article studies disruption tolerant networks (DTNs) where each node
knows the probabilistic distribution of contacts with other nodes. It proposes
a framework that allows one to formalize the behaviour of such a network. It
generalizes extreme cases that have been studied before where (a) either nodes
only know their contact frequency with each other or (b) they have a perfect
knowledge of who meets who and when. This paper then gives an example of how
this framework can be used; it shows how one can find a packet forwarding
algorithm optimized to meet the 'delay/bandwidth consumption' trade-off:
packets are duplicated so as to (statistically) guarantee a given delay or
delivery probability, but not too much so as to reduce the bandwidth, energy,
and memory consumption.Comment: 9 page
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