11,501 research outputs found
A new geometric setting for classical field theories
A new geometrical setting for classical field theories is introduced. This
description is strongly inspired in the one due to Skinner and Rusk for
singular lagrangians systems. For a singular field theory a constraint
algorithm is developed that gives a final constraint submanifold where a
well-defined dynamics exists. The main advantage of this algorithm is that the
second order condition is automatically included.Comment: 22 page
A 22 Degree Tidal Tail for Palomar 5
Using Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have applied an
optimal contrast, matched filter technique to trace the trailing tidal tail of
the globular cluster Palomar 5 to a distance of 18.5 degrees from the center of
the cluster. This more than doubles the total known length of the tail to some
22 degrees on the sky. Based on a simple model of the Galaxy, we find that the
stream's orientation on the sky is consistent at the 1.7 sigma level with
existing proper motion measurements. We find that a spherical Galactic halo is
adequate to model the stream over its currently known length, and we are able
to place new constraints on the current space motion of the cluster.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Correction of static pressure on a research aircraft in accelerated flight using differential pressure measurements
A method is described that estimates the error in the static pressure measurement on an aircraft from differential pressure measurements on the hemispherical surface of a Rosemount model 858AJ air velocity probe mounted on a boom ahead of the aircraft. The theoretical predictions for how the pressure should vary over the surface of the hemisphere, involving an unknown sensitivity parameter, leads to a set of equations that can be solved for the unknowns – angle of attack, angle of sideslip, dynamic pressure and the error in static pressure – if the sensitivity factor can be determined. The sensitivity factor was determined on the University of Wyoming King Air research aircraft by comparisons with the error measured with a carefully designed sonde towed on connecting tubing behind the aircraft – a trailing cone – and the result was shown to have a precision of about ±10 Pa over a wide range of conditions, including various altitudes, power settings, and gear and flap extensions. Under accelerated flight conditions, geometric altitude data from a combined Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and inertial measurement unit (IMU) system are used to estimate acceleration effects on the error, and the algorithm is shown to predict corrections to a precision of better than ±20 Pa under those conditions. Some limiting factors affecting the precision of static pressure measurement on a research aircraft are discussed
Ordering in a frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnet proximate to a spin liquid
We perform a general study of spin ordering on the pyrochlore lattice with a
3:1 proportionality of two spin polarizations. Equivalently, this describes
valence bond solid conformations of a quantum dimer model on the diamond
lattice. We determine the set of likely low temperature ordered phases, on the
assumption that the ordering is weak, i.e the system is close to a ``U(1)''
quantum spin liquid in which the 3:1 proportionality is maintained but the
spins are strongly fluctuating. The nature of the 9 ordered states we find is
determined by a ``projective symmetry'' analysis. All the phases exhibit
translational and rotational symmetry breaking, with an enlarged unit cell
containing 4 to 64 primitive cells of the underlying pyrochlore. The simplest
of the 9 phases is the same ``R'' state found earlier in a theoretical study of
the ordering on the magnetization plateau in the materials \cdaf and
\hgaf. We suggest that the spin/dimer model proposed therein undergoes a direct
transition from the spin liquid to the R state, and describe a field theory for
the universal properties of this critical point, at zero and non-zero
temperatures
Theory of Pump Depletion and Spike Formation in Stimulated Raman Scattering
By using the inverse spectral transform, the SRS equations are solved and the
explicit output data is given for arbitrary laser pump and Stokes seed profiles
injected on a vacuum of optical phonons. For long duration laser pulses, this
solution is modified such as to take into account the damping rate of the
optical phonon wave. This model is used to interprete the experiments of Druhl,
Wenzel and Carlsten (Phys. Rev. Lett., (1983) vol. 51, p. 1171), in particular
the creation of a spike of (anomalous) pump radiation. The related nonlinear
Fourier spectrum does not contain discrete eigenvalue, hence this Raman spike
is not a soliton.Comment: LaTex file, includes two figures in LaTex format, 9 page
Definitive Evidence for Order-by-Quantum-Disorder in Er2Ti2O7
Here we establish the systematic existence of a U(1) degeneracy of all
symmetry-allowed Hamiltonians quadratic in the spins on the pyrochlore lattice,
at the mean-field level. By extracting the Hamiltonian of Er2Ti2O7 from
inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we then show that the
U(1)-degenerate states of Er2Ti2O7 are its classical ground states, and
unambiguously show that quantum fluctuations break the degeneracy in a way
which is confirmed by experiment. This is the first definitive observation of
order-by-disorder in any material. We provide further verifiable consequences
of this phenomenon, and several additional comparisons between theory and
experiment.Comment: 4.5 pages, 3 figures, 7.5 pages of Supplemental Material, 8
supplemental figure
Accelerated expansion from braneworld models with variable vacuum energy
In braneworld models a variable vacuum energy may appear if the size of the
extra dimension changes during the evolution of the universe. In this scenario
the acceleration of the universe is related not only to the variation of the
cosmological term, but also to the time evolution of and, possibly, to the
variation of other fundamental "constants" as well. This is because the
expansion rate of the extra dimension appears in different contexts, notably in
expressions concerning the variation of rest mass and electric charge. We
concentrate our attention on spatially-flat, homogeneous and isotropic,
brane-universes where the matter density decreases as an inverse power of the
scale factor, similar (but at different rate) to the power law in FRW-universes
of general relativity.
We show that these braneworld cosmologies are consistent with the observed
accelerating universe and other observational requirements. In particular,
becomes constant and asymptotically in
time. Another important feature is that the models contain no "adjustable"
parameters. All the quantities, even the five-dimensional ones, can be
evaluated by means of measurements in 4D. We provide precise constrains on the
cosmological parameters and demonstrate that the "effective" equation of state
of the universe can, in principle, be determined by measurements of the
deceleration parameter alone. We give an explicit expression relating the
density parameters , and the deceleration
parameter . These results constitute concrete predictions that may help in
observations for an experimental/observational test of the model.Comment: References added, typos correcte
Does precipitation susceptibility vary with increasing cloud thickness in marine stratocumulus?
The relationship between precipitation rate and accumulation mode aerosol concentration in marine stratocumulus-topped boundary layers is investigated by applying the precipitation susceptibility metric to aircraft data obtained during the VOCALS Regional Experiment. A new method to calculate the precipitation susceptibility that incorporates non-precipitating clouds is introduced. The mean precipitation rate <i>R</i> over a segment of the data is expressed as the product of a drizzle fraction <i>f</i> and a drizzle intensity <i>I</i> (mean rate for drizzling columns). The susceptibility <i>S</i><sub>x</sub> is then defined as the fractional decrease in precipitation variable <i>x</i> = {<i>R</i>, <i>f</i>, <i>I</i>} per fractional increase in the concentration of aerosols with dry diameter >0.1 μm, with cloud thickness <i>h</i> held fixed. The precipitation susceptibility <i>S</i><sub>R</sub> is calculated using data from both precipitating and non-precipitating cloudy columns to quantify how aerosol concentrations affect the mean precipitation rate of all clouds of a given <i>h</i> range and not just the mean precipitation of clouds that are precipitating. <i>S</i><sub>R</sub> systematically decreases with increasing <i>h</i>, and this is largely because <i>S</i><sub>f</sub> decreases with <i>h</i> while <i>S</i><sub>I</sub> is approximately independent of <i>h</i>. In a general sense, <i>S</i><i>f</i> can be thought of as the effect of aerosols on the probability of precipitation, while <i>S</i><sub>I</sub> can be thought of as the effect of aerosols on the intensity of precipitation. Since thicker clouds are likely to precipitate regardless of ambient aerosol concentration, we expect <i>S</i><sub>f</sub> to decrease with increasing <i>h</i>. The results are broadly insensitive to the choice of horizontal averaging scale. Similar susceptibilities are found for both cloud base and near-surface drizzle rates. The analysis is repeated with cloud liquid water path held fixed instead of cloud thickness. Simple power law relationships relating precipitation rate to aerosol concentration or cloud droplet concentration do not capture this observed behavior
Mass and Charge in Brane-World and Non-Compact Kaluza-Klein Theories in 5 Dim
In classical Kaluza-Klein theory, with compactified extra dimensions and
without scalar field, the rest mass as well as the electric charge of test
particles are constants of motion. We show that in the case of a large extra
dimension this is no longer so. We propose the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism,
instead of the geodesic equation, for the study of test particles moving in a
five-dimensional background metric. This formalism has a number of advantages:
(i) it provides a clear and invariant definition of rest mass, without the
ambiguities associated with the choice of the parameters used along the motion
in 5D and 4D, (ii) the electromagnetic field can be easily incorporated in the
discussion, and (iii) we avoid the difficulties associated with the "splitting"
of the geodesic equation. For particles moving in a general 5D metric, we show
how the effective rest mass, as measured by an observer in 4D, varies as a
consequence of the large extra dimension. Also, the fifth component of the
momentum changes along the motion. This component can be identified with the
electric charge of test particles. With this interpretation, both the rest mass
and the charge vary along the trajectory. The constant of motion is now a
combination of these quantities. We study the cosmological variations of charge
and rest mass in a five-dimensional bulk metric which is used to embed the
standard k = 0 FRW universes. The time variations in the fine structure
"constant" and the Thomson cross section are also discussed.Comment: V2: References added, discussion extended. V3 is identical to V2,
references updated. To appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio
Blurred Lines Between Competition and Parasitism
Accurately describing the ecological relationships between species is more than mere semantics-doing so has profound practical and applied implications, not the least of which is that inaccurate descriptions can lead to fundamentally incorrect predicted outcomes of community composition and functioning. Accurate ecological classifications are particularly important in the context of global change, where species interactions can change rapidly following shifts in species composition. Here, we argue that many common ecological interactions-particularly competition and parasitism-can be easily confused and that we often lack empirical evidence for the full reciprocal interaction among species. To make our case and to propose a theoretical framework for addressing this problem, we use the interactions between lianas and trees, whose outcomes have myriad implications for the ecology and conservation of tropical forests (e.g., Schnitzer et al. 2015)
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