2,026 research outputs found
Assessment of possible environmental effects of space shuttle operations
The potential of shuttle operations to contribute to atmospheric pollution is investigated. Presented in this interim report are results of the study to date on rocket exhaust inventory, exhaust interactions, dispersion of the ground cloud, detection and measurement of hydrochloric acid and aluminum oxide, environmental effects of hydrochloric acid and aluminum oxide, stratospheric effects of shuttle effluents, and mesospheric and ionospheric effects of orbiter reentry. The results indicate space shuttle operation will not result in adverse environmental effects if appropriate launch constraints are met
A new sound mode in liquid Helium 4?
This letter is based on the hypothesis of a small entropy content of the
superfluid fraction of liquid helium. We show that such a superfluid entropy
gives rise to a new sound mode in a ring-shaped superleak. This mode is named
sixth sound. We propose an experiment by which its sound velocity and thereby
the superfluid entropy can be measured. A negative experiment would yield a new
upper limit for the superfluid entropy.Comment: 9 pages, latex, published in Phys. Lett. A 187 (1994) 8
Coagulation by Random Velocity Fields as a Kramers Problem
We analyse the motion of a system of particles suspended in a fluid which has
a random velocity field. There are coagulating and non-coagulating phases. We
show that the phase transition is related to a Kramers problem, and use this to
determine the phase diagram, as a function of the dimensionless inertia of the
particles, epsilon, and a measure of the relative intensities of potential and
solenoidal components of the velocity field, Gamma. We find that the phase line
is described by a function which is non-analytic at epsilon=0, and which is
related to escape over a barrier in the Kramers problem. We discuss the
physical realisations of this phase transition.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Laudatores Temporis Acti, or Why Cosmology is Alive and Well - A Reply to Disney
A recent criticism of cosmological methodology and achievements by Disney
(2000) is assessed. Some historical and epistemological fallacies in the said
article have been highlighted. It is shown that---both empirically and
epistemologically---modern cosmology lies on sounder foundations than it is
portrayed. A brief historical account demonstrates that this form of
unsatisfaction with cosmology has had a long tradition, and rather meagre
results in the course of the XX century.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; a criticism of astro-ph/0009020; Gen. Rel.
Grav., accepted for publicatio
One Dimensional Magnetized TG Gas Properties in an External Magnetic Field
With Girardeau's Fermi-Bose mapping, we have constructed the eigenstates of a
TG gas in an external magnetic field. When the number of bosons is
commensurate with the number of potential cycles , the probability of this
TG gas in the ground state is bigger than the TG gas raised by Girardeau in
1960. Through the comparison of properties between this TG gas and Fermi gas,
we find that the following issues are always of the same: their average value
of particle's coordinate and potential energy, system's total momentum,
single-particle density and the pair distribution function. But the reduced
single-particle matrices and their momentum distributions between them are
different.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Dynamical diffraction in sinusoidal potentials: uniform approximations for Mathieu functions
Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of Mathieu's equation are found in the short
wavelength limit using a uniform approximation (method of comparison with a
`known' equation having the same classical turning point structure) applied in
Fourier space. The uniform approximation used here relies upon the fact that by
passing into Fourier space the Mathieu equation can be mapped onto the simpler
problem of a double well potential. The resulting eigenfunctions (Bloch waves),
which are uniformly valid for all angles, are then used to describe the
semiclassical scattering of waves by potentials varying sinusoidally in one
direction. In such situations, for instance in the diffraction of atoms by
gratings made of light, it is common to make the Raman-Nath approximation which
ignores the motion of the atoms inside the grating. When using the
eigenfunctions no such approximation is made so that the dynamical diffraction
regime (long interaction time) can be explored.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figures. This updated version includes important
references to existing work on uniform approximations, such as Olver's method
applied to the modified Mathieu equation. It is emphasised that the paper
presented here pertains to Fourier space uniform approximation
Inhibition of Tendon Cell Proliferation and Matrix Glycosaminoglycan Synthesis by Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in vitro
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of some commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on human tendon. Explants of human digital flexor and patella tendons were cultured in medium containing pharmacological concentrations of NSAIDs. Cell proliferation was measured by incorporation of 3H-thymidine and glycosaminoglycan synthesis was measured by incorporation of 35S-Sulphate. Diclofenac and aceclofenac had no significant effect either on tendon cell proliferation or glycosaminoglycan synthesis. Indomethacin and naproxen inhibited cell proliferation in patella tendons and inhibited glycosaminoglycan synthesis in both digital flexor and patella tendons. If applicable to the in vivo situation, these NSAIDs should be used with caution in the treatment of pain after tendon injury and surgery
Oscillatory Tunnel Splittings in Spin Systems: A Discrete Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin Approach
Certain spin Hamiltonians that give rise to tunnel splittings that are viewed
in terms of interfering instanton trajectories, are restudied using a discrete
WKB method, that is more elementary, and also yields wavefunctions and
preexponential factors for the splittings. A novel turning point inside the
classically forbidden region is analysed, and a general formula is obtained for
the splittings. The result is appled to the \Fe8 system. A previous result for
the oscillation of the ground state splitting with external magnetic field is
extended to higher levels.Comment: RevTex, one ps figur
Computation of inflationary cosmological perturbations in chaotic inflationary scenarios using the phase-integral method
The phase-integral approximation devised by Fr\"oman and Fr\"oman, is used
for computing cosmological perturbations in the quadratic chaotic inflationary
model. The phase-integral formulas for the scalar and tensor power spectra are
explicitly obtained up to fifth order of the phase-integral approximation. We
show that, the phase integral gives a very good approximation for the shape of
the power spectra associated with scalar and tensor perturbations as well as
the spectral indices. We find that the accuracy of the phase-integral
approximation compares favorably with the numerical results and those obtained
using the slow-roll and uniform approximation methods.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex, to appear in Phys. Rev
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