56,390 research outputs found
Gamma-ray emission from globular clusters
Over the last few years, the data obtained using the Large Area Telescope
(LAT) aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has provided new insights on
high-energy processes in globular clusters, particularly those involving
compact objects such as Millisecond Pulsars (MSPs). Gamma-ray emission in the
100 MeV to 10 GeV range has been detected from more than a dozen globular
clusters in our galaxy, including 47 Tucanae and Terzan 5. Based on a sample of
known gamma-ray globular clusters, the empirical relations between gamma-ray
luminosity and properties of globular clusters such as their stellar encounter
rate, metallicity, and possible optical and infrared photon energy densities,
have been derived. The measured gamma-ray spectra are generally described by a
power law with a cut-off at a few gigaelectronvolts. Together with the
detection of pulsed gamma-rays from two MSPs in two different globular
clusters, such spectral signature lends support to the hypothesis that
gamma-rays from globular clusters represent collective curvature emission from
magnetospheres of MSPs in the clusters. Alternative models, involving
Inverse-Compton (IC) emission of relativistic electrons that are accelerated
close to MSPs or pulsar wind nebula shocks, have also been suggested.
Observations at >100 GeV by using Fermi/LAT and atmospheric Cherenkov
telescopes such as H.E.S.S.-II, MAGIC-II, VERITAS, and CTA will help to settle
some questions unanswered by current data.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, J. Astron. Space Sci., in pres
Macro aerodynamic devices controlled by micro systems
Micro-ElectroMechanical-Systems (MEMS) have emerged as a major enabling technology across the engineering disciplines. In this study, the possibility of applying MEMS to the aerodynamic field was explored. We have demonstrated that microtransducers can be used to control the motion of a delta wing in a wind tunnel and can even maneuver a scaled aircraft in flight tests. The main advantage of using micro actuators to replace the traditional control surface is the significant reduction of radar cross-sections. At a high angle of attack, a large portion of the suction loading on a delta wing is contributed by the leading edge separation vortices which originate from thin boundary layers at the leading edge. We used microactuators with a thickness comparable to that of the boundary layer in order to alter the separation process and thus achieved control of the global motion by minute perturbations
Energy-level pinning and the 0.7 spin state in one dimension: GaAs quantum wires studied using finite-bias spectroscopy
We study the effects of electron-electron interactions on the energy levels
of GaAs quantum wires (QWs) using finite-bias spectroscopy. We probe the energy
spectrum at zero magnetic field, and at crossings of opposite-spin-levels in
high in-plane magnetic field B. Our results constitute direct evidence that
spin-up (higher energy) levels pin to the chemical potential as they populate.
We also show that spin-up and spin-down levels abruptly rearrange at the
crossing in a manner resembling the magnetic phase transitions predicted to
occur at crossings of Landau levels. This rearranging and pinning of subbands
provides a phenomenological explanation for the 0.7 structure, a
one-dimensional (1D) nanomagnetic state, and its high-B variants.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Effect of magnetic field on the phase transition in a dusty plasma
The formation of self-consistent crystalline structure is a well-known
phenomenon in complex plasmas. In most experiments the pressure and rf power
are the main controlling parameters in determining the phase of the system. We
have studied the effect of externally applied magnetic field on the
configuration of plasma crystals, suspended in the sheath of a radio-frequency
discharge using the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment (MDPX) device.
Experiments are performed at a fixed pressure and rf power where a crystalline
structure is formed within a confining ring. The magnetic field is then
increased from 0 to 1.28 T. We report on the breakdown of the crystalline
structure with increasing magnetic field. The magnetic field affects the
dynamics of the plasma particles and first leads to a rotation of the crystal.
At higher magnetic field, there is a radial variation (shear) in the angular
velocity of the moving particles which we believe leads to the melting of the
crystal. This melting is confirmed by evaluating the variation of the pair
correlation function as a function of magnetic field.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Study and simulation results for video landmark acquisition and tracking technology (Vilat-2)
The results of several investigations and hardware developments which supported new technology for Earth feature recognition and classification are described. Data analysis techniques and procedures were developed for processing the Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) data. This experiment was flown in November 1981, on the second Shuttle flight and a second instrument, designed for aircraft flights, was flown over the United States in 1981. Ground tests were performed to provide the basis for designing a more advanced version (four spectral bands) of the FILE which would be capable of classifying clouds and snow (and possibly ice) as distinct features, in addition to the features classified in the Shuttle experiment (two spectral bands). The Shuttle instrument classifies water, bare land, vegetation, and clouds/snow/ice (grouped)
Real-time diagnostics of gas/water assisted injection moulding using integrated ultrasonic sensors
YesAn ultrasound sensor system has been applied to the mould of both the water and gas assisted
injection moulding processes. The mould has a cavity wall mounted pressure sensor and instrumentation to
monitor the injection moulding machine. Two ultrasound sensors are used to monitor the arrival of the fluid
(gas or water) bubble tip through the detection of reflected ultrasound energy from the fluid polymer
boundary and the fluid bubble tip velocity through the polymer melt is estimated. The polymer contact with
the cavity wall is observed through the reflected ultrasound energy from that boundary. A theoretically
based estimation of the residual wall thickness is made using the ultrasound reflection from the fluid (gas or
water) polymer boundary whilst the samples are still inside the mould and a good correlation with a physical
measurement is observed
Segregation of Polymers in Confined Spaces
We investigate the motion of two overlapping polymers with self-avoidance
confined in a narrow 2d box. A statistical model is constructed using blob
free-energy arguments. We find spontaneous segregation under the condition: , and mixing under , where L is the length of the box, and
the polymer extension in an infinite slit. Segregation time scales are
determined by solving a mean first-passage time problem, and by performing
Monte Carlo simulations. Predictions of the two methods show good agreement.
Our results may elucidate a driving force for chromosomes segregation in
bacteria
Effects of accidental microconstriction on the quantized conductance in long wires
We have investigated the conductance of long quantum wires formed in
GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Using realistic fluctuation potentials from donor
layers we have simulated numerically the conductance of four different kinds of
wires. While ideal wires show perfect quantization, potential fluctuations from
random donors may give rise to strong conductance oscillations and degradation
of the quantization plateaux. Statistically there is always the possibility of
having large fluctuations in a sample that may effectively act as a
microconstriction. We therefore introduce microconstrictions in the wires by
occasional clustering of donors. These microconstrictions are found to restore
the quantized plateaux. A similar effect is found for accidental lithographic
inaccuracies.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, paper for NANO2002 symposium, will appear in SPIE
proceeding
A Sustained Dietary Change Increases Epigenetic Variation in Isogenic Mice
Epigenetic changes can be induced by adverse environmental exposures, such as nutritional imbalance, but little is known about the nature or extent of these changes. Here we have explored the epigenomic effects of a sustained nutritional change, excess dietary methyl donors, by assessing genomic CpG methylation patterns in isogenic mice exposed for one or six generations. We find stochastic variation in methylation levels at many loci; exposure to methyl donors increases the magnitude of this variation and the number of variable loci. Several gene ontology categories are significantly overrepresented in genes proximal to these methylation-variable loci, suggesting that certain pathways are susceptible to environmental influence on their epigenetic states. Long-term exposure to the diet (six generations) results in a larger number of loci exhibiting epigenetic variability, suggesting that some of the induced changes are heritable. This finding presents the possibility that epigenetic variation within populations can be induced by environmental change, providing a vehicle for disease predisposition and possibly a substrate for natural selection.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP0771859) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (#459412, #635510)
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