1,541 research outputs found
An integrated study of earth resources in the state of California using remote sensing techniques
The University of California has been conducting an investigation which seeks to determine the usefulness of modern remote sensing techniques for studying various components of California's earth resources complex. Most of the work has concentrated on California's water resources, but with some attention being given to other earth resources as well and to the interplay between them and California's water resources
Spectropolarimetric observations of Herbig Ae/Be Stars I: HiVIS spectropolarimetric calibration and reduction techniques
Using the HiVIS spectropolarimeter built for the Haleakala 3.7m AEOS
telescope in Hawaii, we are collecting a large number of high precision
spectropolarimetrc observations of stars. In order to precisely measure very
small polarization changes, we have performed a number of polarization
calibration techniques on the AEOS telescope and HiVIS spectrograph. We have
extended our dedicated IDL reduction package and have performed some hardware
upgrades to the instrument. We have also used the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter
on CFHT to verify the HiVIS results with back-to-back observations of MWC 361
and HD163296. Comparision of this and other HiVIS data with stellar
observations from the ISIS and WW spectropolarimeters in the literature further
shows the usefulness of this instrument.Comment: 35 pages, 44 figures, Accepted by PAS
Ab initio calculations of the hydrogen bond
Recent x-ray Compton scattering experiments in ice have provided useful
information about the quantum nature of the interaction between HO
monomers. The hydrogen bond is characterized by a certain amount of charge
transfer which could be determined in a Compton experiment. We use ab-initio
simulations to investigate the hydrogen bond in HO structures by
calculating the Compton profile and related quantities in three different
systems, namely the water dimer, a cluster containing 12 water molecules and
the ice crystal. We show how to extract estimates of the charge transfer from
the Compton profiles.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Optimising background-limited observing during bright-moon phases and twilight
For the majority of optical observing programs, the sky brightness provides
the fundamental limit to signal detection such that the scientific feasibility
is largely dictated by the moon phase. Since most observatories do not have the
resources to build expensive high-resolution or infrared instruments, they are
increasingly at a loss as to how to exploit bright time. We show that, with due
consideration of the field and moon position, it is possible to undertake `dark
time' observing programs under `bright time' conditions. Our recommendations
are particularly appropriate to all-sky survey programs.
In certain instances, there are gains in observing efficiency with the use of
a polariser, which can significantly reduce the moonlight (or twilight)
sky-background flux relative to an extraterrestrial flux. These gains are
possible in background-limited cases because the sky background can be highly
polarised, due to scattering, around ninety degrees away from the moon (or
sun). To take advantage of this, only minor modifications to existing
instruments are needed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRA
Numerical Study of Length Spectra and Low-lying Eigenvalue Spectra of Compact Hyperbolic 3-manifolds
In this paper, we numerically investigate the length spectra and the
low-lying eigenvalue spectra of the Laplace-Beltrami operator for a large
number of small compact(closed) hyperbolic (CH) 3-manifolds. The first non-zero
eigenvalues have been successfully computed using the periodic orbit sum
method, which are compared with various geometric quantities such as volume,
diameter and length of the shortest periodic geodesic of the manifolds. The
deviation of low-lying eigenvalue spectra of manifolds converging to a cusped
hyperbolic manifold from the asymptotic distribution has been measured by
function and spectral distance.Comment: 19 pages, 18 EPS figures and 2 GIF figures (fig.10) Description of
cusped manifolds in section 2 is correcte
Techno-economic feasibility of selective CO2 capture processes from biogas streams using ionic liquids as physical absorbents
Biogas from anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge is a renewable resource with high energy content, which is composed mainly of CH4 (40-75 vol %) and CO2 (15-60 vol %). Other components, such as water (H2O, 5-10 vol %) and trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide and siloxanes, can also be present. A CH4-rich stream can be produced by removing the CO2 and other impurities so that the upgraded biomethane can be injected into the natural gas grid or used as a vehicle fuel. The main objective of this paper is to assess the technical and economic performance of biogas upgrading processes using ionic liquids that physically absorb CO2. The simulation methodology is based on the COSMO-SAC model as implemented in Aspen Plus. Three different ionic liquids, namely, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonylimide, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazoliumbis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonylimide, and trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonylimide, are considered for CO2 capture in a pressure-swing regenerative absorption process. The simulation software Aspen Plus and Aspen Process Economic Analyzer is used to account for mass and energy balances as well as equipment cost. In all cases, the biogas upgrading plant consists of a multistage compressor for biogas compression, a packed absorption column for CO2 absorption, a flash evaporator for solvent regeneration, a centrifugal pump for solvent recirculation, a preabsorber solvent cooler, and a gas turbine for electricity recovery. The evaluated processes are compared in terms of energy efficiency, capital investment, and biomethane production costs. The overall plant efficiency ranges from 71 to 86%, and the biomethane production cost ranges from 9.18-11.32 per GJ (LHV). A sensitivity analysis is also performed to determine how several technical and economic parameters affect the biomethane production costs. The results of this study show that the simulation methodology developed can predict plant efficiencies and production costs of large scale CO2 capture processes using ionic liquids without having to rely on gas solubility experimental data
Environmental change, if unaccounted, prevents detection of cryptic evolution in a wild population
Detecting contemporary evolution requires demonstrating that genetic change has occurred. Mixed effects models allow estimation of quantitative genetic parameters and are widely used to study evolution in wild populations. However, predictions of evolution based on these parameters frequently fail to match observations. Here, we applied three commonly used quantitative genetic approaches to predict the evolution of size at maturity in a wild population of Trinidadian guppies. Crucially, we tested our predictions against evolutionary change observed in common-garden experiments performed on samples from the same population. We show that standard quantitative genetic models underestimated or failed to detect the cryptic evolution of this trait as demonstrated by the common-garden experiments. The models failed because (1) size at maturity and fitness both decreased with increases in population density, (2) offspring experienced higher population densities than their parents, and (3) selection on size was strongest at high densities. When we accounted for environmental change, predictions better matched observations in the common-garden experiments, although substantial uncertainty remained. Our results demonstrate that predictions of evolution are unreliable if environmental change is not appropriately captured in models
Mid-infrared spectra of PAH emission in Herbig AeBe stars
We present spectra of four Herbig AeBe stars obtained with the Infrared
Spectrograph (IRS). on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All four of the sources
show strong emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the 6.2
um emission feature shifted to 6.3 um and the strongest C-C skeletal-mode
feature occuring at 7.9 um instead of at 7.7 um as is often seen. Remarkably,
none of the four stars have silicate emission. The strength of the 7.9 um
feature varies with respect to the 11.3 um feature among the sources,
indicating that we have observed PAHs with a range of ionization fractions. The
ionization fraction is higher for systems with hotter and brighter central
stars. Two sources, HD 34282 and HD 169142, show emission features from
aliphatic hydrocarbons at 6.85 and 7.25 um. The spectrum of HD 141569 shows a
previously undetected emission feature at 12.4 um which may be related to the
12.7 um PAH feature. The spectrum of HD 135344, the coolest star in our sample,
shows an unusual profile in the 7-9 um region, with the peak emission to the
red of 8.0 um and no 8.6 um PAH feature.Comment: Accepted by ApJ 23 June, 2005, 8 pages (emulateapj), 5 figures (3 in
color
Do the Infrared Emission Features Need Ultraviolet Excitation
We present the results of imaging spectroscopy of the reflection nebula vdB
133, obtained with the infrared camera and circular variable filter wheel on
the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Our observations reveal the infrared
emission features (IEFs), at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3, and 12.7 micron, and
associated 5 -- 15 micron continuum emission. The stellar system illuminating
vdB 133 has the lowest ratio of ultraviolet (shortward of 0.4 micron) to total
flux of any stars demonstrated to date to excite the IEFs and associated
continuum emission from adjacent interstellar dust, as opposed to circumstellar
dust. The low fraction of UV flux from this system poses a problem for existing
models for the emission mechanism and emitting material, which all require
substantial UV radiation for the excitation of the IEFs and associated
continuum.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ
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