An Inexpensive Liquid Crystal Spectropolarimeter for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Plaskett Telescope

A new, inexpensive polarimetric unit has been constructed for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) 1.8-m Plaskett telescope. It is implemented as a plug-in module for the telescope's existing Cassegrain spectrograph, and enables medium resolution (R~10,000) circular spectropolarimetry of point sources. A dual-beam design together with fast switching of the wave plate at rates up to 100Hz, and synchronized with charge shuffling on the CCD, is used to significantly reduce instrumental effects and achieve high-precision spectropolarimetric measurements for a very low cost. The instrument is optimized to work in the wavelength range 4700 - 5300A to simultaneously detect polarization signals in the H beta line as well as nearby metallic lines. In this paper we describe the technical details of the instrument, our observing strategy and data reduction techniques, and present tests of its scientific performance.Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in PAS

Passive tracer in a flow corresponding to a two dimensional stochastic Navier Stokes equations

In this paper we prove the law of large numbers and central limit theorem for trajectories of a particle carried by a two dimensional Eulerian velocity field. The field is given by a solution of a stochastic Navier--Stokes system with a non-degenerate noise. The spectral gap property, with respect to Wasserstein metric, for such a system has been shown in [9]. In the present paper we show that a similar property holds for the environment process corresponding to the Lagrangian observations of the velocity. In consequence we conclude the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem for the tracer. The proof of the central limit theorem relies on the martingale approximation of the trajectory process

A Structure Function Model Recovers the Many Formulations for Air-Water Gas Transfer Velocity

Two ideas regarding the structure of turbulence near a clear air-water interface are used to derive a waterside gas transfer velocity k(L) for sparingly and slightly soluble gases. The first is that k(L) is proportional to the turnover velocity described by the vertical velocity structure function D-ww(r), where r is separation distance between two points. The second is that the scalar exchange between the air-water interface and the waterside turbulence can be suitably described by a length scale proportional to the Batchelor scale l(B) = Sc-1/2, where Sc is the molecular Schmidt number and eta is the Kolmogorov microscale defining the smallest scale of turbulent eddies impacted by fluid viscosity. Using an approximate solution to the von Karman-Howarth equation predicting D-ww(r) in the inertial and viscous regimes, prior formulations for k(L) are recovered including (i) kL = root 2/15Sc(-1/2)v(K), v(K) is the Kolmogorov velocity defined by the Reynolds number v(K)eta/nu = 1 and nu is the kinematic viscosity of water; (ii) surface divergence formulations; (iii) k(L) alpha Sc(-1/2)u(*), where u(*) is the waterside friction velocity; (iv) k(L) alpha Sc-1/2 root g nu/u(*) for Keulegan numbers exceeding a threshold needed for long-wave generation, where the proportionality constant varies with wave age, g is the gravitational acceleration; and (v) k(L) = root 2/15Sc(-1/2) (nu g beta(o)q(o))(1/4) in free convection, where q(o) is the surface heat flux and beta(o) is the thermal expansion of water. The work demonstrates that the aforementioned k(L) formulations can be recovered from a single structure function model derived for locally homogeneous and isotropic turbulence.Peer reviewe

RELIABLE AUTOMATED NEEDLE INSERTION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL APPLICATION

Many disorders occur annually as a result of poorly performed stings. This project is an attempt to develop a system that automates blood tests, serum injections and catheter placements, and to identify its basic limitations. Determining parameters are first identified. They include the coordinates of stinging point on the skin, the depth of blood vessel, its radius and the age of patient. The developed module performs the sting process based on the knowledge of these parameters. Automation is based on a neural network which correlates the data to determine insertion angle and needle geometry. Though the insertion process is adapted to patient profile, difficulties still remain concerning correct skin viscoelastic properties as proper input parameters. However, finer analysis of skin-needle system indicates the possibility of a secure and much easier automated sting in a large range of usual parameters with constant speed

IRAC Observations of Taurus Pre-Main Sequence Stars

We present infrared photometry obtained with the IRAC camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope of a sample of 82 pre-main sequence stars and brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. We find a clear separation in some IRAC color-color diagrams between objects with and without disks. A few ``transition'' objects are noted, which correspond to systems in which the inner disk has been evacuated of small dust. Separating pure disk systems from objects with remnant protostellar envelopes is more difficult at IRAC wavelengths, especially for objects with infall at low rates and large angular momenta. Our results generally confirm the IRAC color classification scheme used in previous papers by Allen et al. and Megeath et al. to distinguish between protostars, T Tauri stars with disks, and young stars without (inner) disks. The observed IRAC colors are in good agreement with recent improved disk models, and in general accord with models for protostellar envelopes derived from analyzing a larger wavelength region. We also comment on a few Taurus objects of special interest. Our results should be useful for interpreting IRAC results in other, less well-studied star-forming regions.Comment: 29 pages 10 figures, to appear in Ap

Tangling clustering of inertial particles in stably stratified turbulence

We have predicted theoretically and detected in laboratory experiments a new type of particle clustering (tangling clustering of inertial particles) in a stably stratified turbulence with imposed mean vertical temperature gradient. In this stratified turbulence a spatial distribution of the mean particle number density is nonuniform due to the phenomenon of turbulent thermal diffusion, that results in formation of a gradient of the mean particle number density, \nabla N, and generation of fluctuations of the particle number density by tangling of the gradient, \nabla N, by velocity fluctuations. The mean temperature gradient, \nabla T, produces the temperature fluctuations by tangling of the gradient, \nabla T, by velocity fluctuations. These fluctuations increase the rate of formation of the particle clusters in small scales. In the laboratory stratified turbulence this tangling clustering is much more effective than a pure inertial clustering that has been observed in isothermal turbulence. In particular, in our experiments in oscillating grid isothermal turbulence in air without imposed mean temperature gradient, the inertial clustering is very weak for solid particles with the diameter 10 microns and Reynolds numbers Re =250. Our theoretical predictions are in a good agreement with the obtained experimental results.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, REVTEX4, revised versio

Transition phenomena in unstably stratified turbulent flows

We study experimentally and theoretically transition phenomena caused by the external forcing from Rayleigh-Benard convection with the large-scale circulation (LSC) to the limiting regime of unstably stratified turbulent flow without LSC whereby the temperature field behaves like a passive scalar. In the experiments we use the Rayleigh-B\'enard apparatus with an additional source of turbulence produced by two oscillating grids located nearby the side walls of the chamber. When the frequency of the grid oscillations is larger than 2 Hz, the large-scale circulation (LSC) in turbulent convection is destroyed, and the destruction of the LSC is accompanied by a strong change of the mean temperature distribution. However, in all regimes of the unstably stratified turbulent flow the ratio $\big[(\ell_x \nabla_x T)^2 + (\ell_y \nabla_y T)^2 + (\ell_z \nabla_z T)^2\big] /$ varies slightly (even in the range of parameters whereby the behaviour of the temperature field is different from that of the passive scalar). Here $\ell_i$ are the integral scales of turbulence along x, y, z directions, T and \theta are the mean and fluctuating parts of the fluid temperature. At all frequencies of the grid oscillations we have detected the long-term nonlinear oscillations of the mean temperature. The theoretical predictions based on the budget equations for turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent temperature fluctuations and turbulent heat flux, are in agreement with the experimental results.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, REVTEX4-1, revised versio

Universality of Probability Distributions Among Two-Dimensional Turbulent Flows

We study statistical properties of two-dimensional turbulent flows. Three systems are considered: the Navier-Stokes equation, surface quasi-geostrophic flow, and a model equation for thermal convection in the Earth's mantle. Direct numerical simulations are used to determine 1-point fluctuation properties. Comparative study shows universality of probability density functions (PDFs) across different types of flow. Especially for the derivatives of the ``advected'' quantity, the shapes of the PDFs are the same for the three flows, once normalized by the average size of fluctuations. Theoretical models for the shape of PDFs are briefly discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure

Nonlinear turbulent magnetic diffusion and effective drift velocity of large-scale magnetic field in a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

We study a nonlinear quenching of turbulent magnetic diffusion and effective drift velocity of large-scale magnetic field in a developed two-dimensional MHD turbulence at large magnetic Reynolds numbers. We show that transport of the mean-square magnetic potential strongly changes quenching of turbulent magnetic diffusion. In particularly, the catastrophic quenching of turbulent magnetic diffusion does not occur for the large-scale magnetic fields $B \gg B_{\rm eq} / \sqrt{\rm Rm}$ when a divergence of the flux of the mean-square magnetic potential is not zero, where $B_{\rm eq}$ is the equipartition mean magnetic field determined by the turbulent kinetic energy and Rm is the magnetic Reynolds number. In this case the quenching of turbulent magnetic diffusion is independent of magnetic Reynolds number. The situation is similar to three-dimensional MHD turbulence at large magnetic Reynolds numbers whereby the catastrophic quenching of the alpha effect does not occur when a divergence of the flux of the small-scale magnetic helicity is not zero.Comment: 8 pages, Physical Review E, in pres