23,979 research outputs found
Characterization of surficial units on Mars using Viking orbiter multispectral image and thermal data
Albedo and thermal property correlations of the topography of Mars were conducted with emphases upon the types and origins of materials exposed in the central equatorial region. This area displays a wide variation in color, albedo and thermal properties, and is relatively free of dust and haze. The physical, mineralogical and elemental characteristics of this area are discussed
Bright sand/dark dust: The identification of active sand surfaces on the Earth and Mars
Field studies and analysis of LANDSAT Thematic Mapper data in the Gran Desierto, Mexico may shed light on a technique to distinguish active from inactive (relict) sand surfaces. Active sand bodies in the study area are consistently brighter (by an average of 20%) at visual and near infrared wavelengths and darker at thermal infrared wavelengths than compositionally similar inactive sands. The reasons for the albedo difference between active and inactive sands are reviewed and the mixing model of Johnson et al. is examined for tracing the provenance of sands based on albedo and spectral variations. Portions of the wavelengths covered by the Mars Orbiter correspond to the Thematic Mapper data. The identification of active sands on Earth, with a priori knowledge of bulk composition and grain size distribution, may allow the remote mapping of active sand surfaces on Mars. In conjuction with thermal infrared remote sensing for composition, it may also provide a method for the remote determination of grain size distributions within sand/silt mixtures
A diffuse radar scattering model from Martian surface rocks
Remote sensing of Mars has been done with a variety of instrumentation at various wavelengths. Many of these data sets can be reconciled with a surface model of bonded fines (or duricrust) which varies widely across the surface and a surface rock distribution which varies less so. A surface rock distribution map from -60 to +60 deg latitude has been generated by Christensen. Our objective is to model the diffuse component of radar reflection based on this surface distribution of rocks. The diffuse, rather than specular, scattering is modeled because the diffuse component arises due to scattering from rocks with sizes on the order of the wavelength of the radar beam. Scattering for radio waves of 12.5 cm is then indicative of the meter scale and smaller structure of the surface. The specular term is indicative of large scale surface undulations and should not be causally related to other surface physical properties. A simplified model of diffuse scattering is described along with two rock distribution models. The results of applying the models to a planet of uniform fractional rock coverage with values ranging from 5 to 20% are discussed
Analysis of the Gran Desierto, Pinacte Region, Sonora, Mexico, via shuttle imaging radar
The radar discriminability of geolian features and their geological setting as imaged by the SIR-A experiment is examined. The Gran Desierto and Pincate volcanio field of Sonora, Mexico was used to analyze the radar characteristics of the interplay of aeolian features and volcano terrain. The area in the Gran Desierto covers 4000 sq. km. and contains sand dunes of several forms. The Pincate volcanio field covers more than 2.000 sq. km. and consists primarily of basaltic lavas. Margins of the field, especially on the western and northern sides, include several maar and maar-like craters; thus obtaining information on their radar characteristics for comparison with impact craters
Transitions in non-conserving models of Self-Organized Criticality
We investigate a random--neighbours version of the two dimensional
non-conserving earthquake model of Olami, Feder and Christensen [Phys. Rev.
Lett. {\bf 68}, 1244 (1992)]. We show both analytically and numerically that
criticality can be expected even in the presence of dissipation. As the
critical level of conservation, , is approached, the cut--off of the
avalanche size distribution scales as . The
transition from non-SOC to SOC behaviour is controlled by the average branching
ratio of an avalanche, which can thus be regarded as an order
parameter of the system. The relevance of the results are discussed in
connection to the nearest-neighbours OFC model (in particular we analyse the
relevance of synchronization in the latter).Comment: 8 pages in latex format; 5 figures available upon reques
Further Series Studies of the Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet at T=0: Magnon Dispersion and Structure Factors
We have extended our previous series studies of quantum antiferromagnets at
zero temperature by computing the one-magnon dispersion curves and various
structure factors for the linear chain, square and simple cubic lattices. Many
of these results are new; others are a substantial extension of previous work.
These results are directly comparable with neutron scattering experiments and
we make such comparisons where possible.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, revised versio
Stellar Oscillations Network Group
Stellar Oscillations Network Group (SONG) is an initiative aimed at designing
and building a network of 1m-class telescopes dedicated to asteroseismology and
planet hunting. SONG will have 8 identical telescope nodes each equipped with a
high-resolution spectrograph and an iodine cell for obtaining precision radial
velocities and a CCD camera for guiding and imaging purposes. The main
asteroseismology targets for the network are the brightest (V<6) stars. In
order to improve performance and reduce maintenance costs the instrumentation
will only have very few modes of operation. In this contribution we describe
the motivations for establishing a network, the basic outline of SONG and the
expected performance.Comment: Proc. Vienna Workshop on the Future of Asteroseismology, 20 - 22
September 2006. Comm. in Asteroseismology, Vol. 150, in the pres
Vacuum polarization of scalar fields near Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black holes and the resonance behavior in field-mass dependence
We study vacuum polarization of quantized massive scalar fields in
equilibrium at black-hole temperature in Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m background. By
means of the Euclidean space Green's function we analytically derive the
renormalized expression at the event horizon with the area
. It is confirmed that the polarization amplitude
is free from any divergence due to the infinite red-shift
effect. Our main purpose is to clarify the dependence of on
field mass in relation to the excitation mechanism. It is shown for
small-mass fields with how the excitation of
caused by finite black-hole temperature is suppressed as increases, and it
is verified for very massive fields with that
decreases in proportion to with the amplitude equal to the
DeWitt-Schwinger approximation. In particular, we find a resonance behavior
with a peak amplitude at in the field-mass dependence of
vacuum polarization around nearly extreme (low-temperature) black holes. The
difference between Scwarzschild and nearly extreme black holes is discussed in
terms of the mass spectrum of quantum fields dominant near the event horizon.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure Accepted in PR
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