1,951 research outputs found
Simulation study of the filamentation of counter-streaming beams of the electrons and positrons in plasmas
The filamentation instability driven by two spatially uniform and
counter-streaming beams of charged particles in plasmas is modelled by a
particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. Each beam consists of the electrons and
positrons. The four species are equally dense and they have the same
temperature. The one-dimensional simulation direction is orthogonal to the beam
velocity vector. The magnetic field grows spontaneously and rearranges the
particles in space, such that the distributions of the electrons of one beam
and the positrons of the second beam match. The simulation demonstrates that as
a result no electrostatic field is generated by the magnetic field through its
magnetic pressure gradient prior to its saturation. This electrostatic field
would be repulsive at the centres of the filaments and limit the maximum charge
and current density. The filaments of electrons and positrons in this
simulation reach higher charge and current densities than in one with no
positrons. The oscillations of the magnetic field strength induced by the
magnetically trapped particles result in an oscillatory magnetic pressure
gradient force. The latter interplays with the statistical fluctuations in the
particle density and it probably enforces a charge separation, by which
electrostatic waves grow after the filamentation instability has saturated.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Fisheries-induced disruptive selection
Commercial harvesting is recognized to induce adaptive responses of life-history traits in fish populations, in particular by shifting the age and size at maturation through directional selection. In addition to such evolution of a target stock, the corresponding fishery itself may adapt, in terms of fishing policy, technological progress, fleet dynamics, and adaptive harvest. The aim of this study is to assess how the interplay between natural and artificial selection, in the simplest setting in which a fishery and a target stock coevolve, can lead to disruptive selection, which in turn may cause trait diversification. To this end, we build an eco-evolutionary model for a size-structured population, in which both the stock's maturation schedule and the fishery's harvest rate are adaptive, while fishing may be subject to a selective policy based on fish size and/or maturity stage. Using numerical bifurcation analysis, we study how the potential for disruptive selection changes with fishing policy, fishing mortality, harvest specialization, life-history tradeoffs associated with early maturation, and other demographic and environmental parameters. We report the following findings. First, fisheries-induced disruptive selection is readily caused by commonly used fishing policies, and occurs even for policies that are not specific for fish size or maturity, provided that the harvest is sufficiently adaptive and large individuals are targeted intensively. Second, disruptive selection is more likely in stocks in which the selective pressure for early maturation is naturally strong, provided life-history tradeoffs are sufficiently consequential. Third, when a fish stock is overexploited, fisheries targeting only large individuals might slightly increase sustainable yield by causing trait diversification (even though the resultant yield always remains lower than the maximum sustainable yield that could be obtained under low fishing mortality, without causing disruptive selection). We discuss the broader implications of our results and highlight how these can be taken into account for designing evolutionarily informed fisheries-management regimes
Evolutionary Dynamics of Predator-Prey Systems: An Ecological Perspective
Evolution takes place in an evolutionary setting that typically involves interactions with other organisms. To describe such evolution, a structure is needed which incorporates the simultaneous evolution of interacting species. Here a formal framework for this purpose is suggested, extending from the microscopic interactions between individuals- the immediate cause of natural selection, through the mesoscopic population dynamics responsible for driving the replacement of one mutant phenotype by another, to the macroscopic process of phenotypic evolution arising from many such substitutions. The process of coevolution that results from this is illustrated in the predator-prey systems. With no more than qualitative information about the evolutionary dynamics, some basic properties of predator-prey coevolution become evident. More detailed understanding requires specification of an evolutionary dynamic; two models for this purpose are outlined, one from our own research on a stochastic process of mutation and selection and the other from quantitative genetics. Much of the interest in coevolution has been to characterize the properties of fixed points at which there is no further phenotypic evolution. Stability analysis of the fixed points of evolutionary dynamical systems is reviewed and leads to conclusions about the asymptotic states of evolution rather than different from those of game-theoretic methods. These differences become especially important when evolution involves more than one species
Stabilisation of BGK modes by relativistic effects
Context. We examine plasma thermalisation processes in the foreshock region of astrophysical shocks within a fully kinetic and self-consistent treatment. We concentrate on proton beam driven electrostatic processes, which are thought to play a key role in the beam relaxation and the particle acceleration. Our results have implications for the effectiveness of electron surfing acceleration and
the creation of the required energetic seed population for first order Fermi acceleration at the shock front.
Aims. We investigate the acceleration of electrons via their interaction with electrostatic waves, driven by the relativistic Buneman instability, in a system dominated by counter-propagating proton beams.
Methods. We adopt a kinetic Vlasov-Poisson description of the plasma on a fixed Eulerian grid and observe the growth and saturation of electrostatic waves for a range of proton beam velocities, from 0.15c to 0.9c.
Results. We can report a reduced stability of the electrostatic wave (ESW) with increasing non-relativistic beam velocities and an improved wave stability for increasing relativistic beam velocities, both in accordance with previous findings. At the highest beam speeds, we find the system to be stable again for a period of ≈160 plasma periods. Furthermore, the high phase space resolution
of the Eulerian Vlasov approach reveals processes that could not be seen previously with PIC simulations. We observe a, to our knowledge, previously unreported secondary electron acceleration mechanism at low beam speeds. We believe that it is the result of parametric couplings to produce high phase velocity ESW’s which then trap electrons, accelerating them to higher energies. This
allows electrons in our simulation study to achieve the injection energy required for Fermi acceleration, for beam speeds as low as 0.15c in unmagnetised plasma
Instability and dynamics of two nonlinearly coupled laser beams in a plasma
We investigate the nonlinear interaction between two laser beams in a plasma
in the weakly nonlinear and relativistic regime. The evolution of the laser
beams is governed by two nonlinear Schroedinger equations that are coupled with
the slow plasma density response. We study the growth rates of the Raman
forward and backward scattering instabilities as well of the Brillouin and
self-focusing/modulational instabilities. The nonlinear evolution of the
instabilities is investigated by means of direct simulations of the
time-dependent system of nonlinear equations.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Contrast Interferometry Using Bose-Einstein Condensates to Measure h/m and the Fine Structure Constant
The kinetic energy of an atom recoiling due to absorption of a photon was
measured as a frequency using an interferometric technique called ``contrast
interferometry''. Optical standing wave pulses were used as atom-optical
elements to create a symmetric three-path interferometer with a Bose-Einstein
condensate. The recoil phase accumulated in different paths was measured using
a single-shot detection technique. The scheme allows for additional photon
recoils within the interferometer and its symmetry suppresses several random
and systematic errors including those from vibrations and ac Stark shifts. We
have measured the photon recoil frequency of sodium to ppm precision, using
a simple realization of this scheme. Plausible extensions should yield a
sufficient precision to bring within reach a ppb-level determination of
and the fine structure constant
Prognostic factors in seminomas with special respect to HCG: Results of a prospective multicenter study
Objective: In a prospective multicenter trial, it was our intention to elucidate clinical prognostic factors of seminomas with special reference to the importance of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) elevations in histologically pure seminomas. Methods: Together with 96 participating urological departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, we recruited 803 seminoma patients between 1986 and 1991. Out of 726 evaluable cases, 378 had elevated, while 348 had normal HCG values in the cubital vein. Histology was reviewed by two reference pathologists. HCG levels were determined in local laboratories and in a study laboratory. Standard therapy was defined as radiotherapy in stages I (30 Gy) and IIA/B (36 Gy) to the paraaortal and the ispilateral (stage I) and bilateral (stage IIA/B) iliac lymph nodes; higher stages received polychemotherapy and surgery in case of residual tumor masses. Statistics included chi-square tests, linear Cox regression, and log-rank test. Results: The HCG elevation is associated with a larger tumor mass (primary tumor and/or metastases). HCG-positive and HCG-negative seminomas had no different prognostic outcome after standard therapy. The overall relapse rate of 6% and the survival rate of 98% after 36 months (median) indicate an excellent prognosis. The calculation of the relative risk of developing a relapse discovered only stage of the disease and elevation of the lactate dehydrogenase concentration and its prolonged marker decay as independent prognostic factors for seminomas. A more detailed analysis of the prognostic significance of the stage revealed that the high relapse rate in stage IIB seminomas after radiotherapy (24%) is responsible for this result. Conclusions: We conclude that HCG-positive seminomas do not represent a special entity. Provided standard therapy is applied, HCG has no influence on the prognosis. Patients with stage IIB disease should be treated with chemotherapy because of the demonstrated higher relapse rate outside the retroperitoneum. Copyright (C) 1999 S. Karger AG. Basel
A relativistic partially electromagnetic planar plasma shock
We model relativistically colliding plasma by PIC simulations in one and two
spatial dimensions, taking an ion-to-electron mass ratio of 400. Energy
dissipation by a wave precursor of mixed polarity and different densities of
the colliding plasma slabs results in a relativistic forward shock forming on
millisecond timescales. The forward shock accelerates electrons to
ultrarelativistic energies and reflects upstream ions, which drag the electrons
along to preserve the plasma quasi-neutrality. No reverse shock forms. The
shock may be representative for internal gamma ray burst shocks
Electrostatic pair creation and recombination in quantum plasmas
The collective production of electron-positron pairs by electrostatic waves
in quantum plasmas is investigated. In particular, a semi-classical governing
set of equation for a self-consistent treatment of pair creation by the
Schwinger mechanism in a quantum plasma is derived.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in JETP Letter
Evolutionary branching in a stochastic population model with discrete mutational steps
Evolutionary branching is analysed in a stochastic, individual-based
population model under mutation and selection. In such models, the common
assumption is that individual reproduction and life career are characterised by
values of a trait, and also by population sizes, and that mutations lead to
small changes in trait value. Then, traditionally, the evolutionary dynamics is
studied in the limit of vanishing mutational step sizes. In the present
approach, small but non-negligible mutational steps are considered. By means of
theoretical analysis in the limit of infinitely large populations, as well as
computer simulations, we demonstrate how discrete mutational steps affect the
patterns of evolutionary branching. We also argue that the average time to the
first branching depends in a sensitive way on both mutational step size and
population size.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Revised versio
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