1,448 research outputs found
Lunar rocks as meteoroid detectors
About 5000 microcraters on seven lunar rocks recovered during the Apollo 12 mission have been systematically studied using a stereomicroscope. Based on comparisons with laboratory cratering experiments, at least 95 percent of all millimeter sized craters observed were formed by impacts in which the impact velocity exceeded 10 km/s. The dynamics of particle motion near the moon and the distribution of microcraters on the rocks require an extralunar origin for these impacting particles. The microcrater population on at least one side of all rocks studied was in equilibrium for millimeter sized craters; i.e., statistically, craters a few millimeters in diameter and smaller were being removed by the superposition of new craters at the same rate new craters were being formed. The population of craters on such a surface is directly related to the total population of particles impacting that surface. Crater size distribution data together with an experimentally determined relationship between the crater size and the physical parameters of the impacting particle, yield the mass distribution of interplanetary dust at 1 AU
Local bifurcations in differential equations with state-dependent delay
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIP Publishing via the DOI in this record.A common task when analysing dynamical systems is the determination of normal forms near local bifurcations
of equilibria. As most of these normal forms have been classified and analysed, finding which particular class
of normal form one encounters in a numerical bifurcation study guides follow-up computations.
This paper builds on normal form algorithms for equilibria of delay differential equations with constant delay
that were developed and implemented in DDE-Biftool recently. We show how one can extend these methods
to delay-differential equations with state-dependent delay (sd-DDEs). Since higher degrees of regularity of
local center manifolds are still open for sd-DDEs, we give an independent (still only partial) argument which
phenomena from the truncated normal must persist in the full sd-DDE. In particular, we show that all
invariant manifolds with a sufficient degree of normal hyperbolicity predicted by the normal form exist also
in the full sd-DDEJ.S. gratefully acknowledges the financial support
of the EPSRC via grants EP/N023544/1 and
EP/N014391/1. J.S. has also received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under Grant Agreement number 643073
The micrometeoroid complex and evolution of the lunar regolith
The interaction of the micrometeoroid complex with the lunar surface is evidenced by numerous glass-lined microcraters on virtually every lunar surface exposed to space. Such craters range in size from less than .1 micron to approximately 2 sq cm diameter. Using small scale laboratory cratering experiments for calibration, the observed crater-sized frequency distributions may be converted into micrometeoroid mass distributions. These lunar mass distributions are in essential agreement with satellite data. Some physical properties of micrometeoroids may be deduced by comparing lunar crater geometries with those obtained in laboratory experiments. The proponderance of circular outlines of lunar microcraters necessitates equidimensional, if not spherical, micrometeoroids
Hybridization of electron subbands in a double quantum well at quantizing magnetic field
We employ magnetocapacitance and far-infrared spectroscopy techniques to
study the spectrum of the double-layer electron system in a parabolic quantum
well with a narrow tunnel barrier in the centre. For gate-bias-controlled
asymmetric electron density distributions in this soft two-subband system we
observe both individual subband gaps and double layer gaps at integer filling
factor . The bilayer gaps are shown to be either trivial common for two
subbands or caused by hybridization of electron subbands in magnetic field. We
describe the observed hybrid gaps at and within a simple model
for the modified bilayer spectrum.Comment: REVTeX, 24 pages, 9 figures included. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
A brown dwarf companion to the intermediate-mass star HR6037
In the course of an imaging survey we have detected a visual companion to the
intermediate-mass star HR 6037. In this letter, we present two epoch
observations of the binary with NACO/VLT, and near-IR spectroscopy of the
secondary with ISAAC/VLT. The NACO observations allow us to confirm HR 6037B as
a co-moving companion. Its J and H band ISAAC spectra suggest the object has an
spectral type of M9+-1, with a surface gravity intermediate between that of 10
Myr dwarfs and field dwarfs with identical spectral type. The comparison of its
Ks-band photometry with evolutionary tracks allows us to derive a mass,
effective temperature, and surface gravity of 62+-20 MJup, Teff = 2330+-200 K,
and log g = 5.1+-0.2, respectively. The small mass ratio of the binary, -0.03,
and its long orbital period, -5000 yr, makes HR 6037 a rare and uncommon binary
system.Comment: (5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters
Analyzing Somatic DNA Repair in Arabidopsis Meiotic Mutants
Meiotic and somatic recombination share a common set of factors. Thus, the analysis of somatic DNA repair in meiotic mutant lines should be of special interest. Growth defects of mutant plants induced by specific genotoxins can thereby hint to DNA repair functions of the affected proteins. Here, we describe two kinds of approaches to characterize deficiencies in DNA repair in mutant lines of Arabidopsis thaliana, after genotoxin treatment
Magnetic-Field-Induced Hybridization of Electron Subbands in a Coupled Double Quantum Well
We employ a magnetocapacitance technique to study the spectrum of the soft
two-subband (or double-layer) electron system in a parabolic quantum well with
a narrow tunnel barrier in the centre. In this system unbalanced by gate
depletion, at temperatures T\agt 30 mK we observe two sets of quantum
oscillations: one originates from the upper electron subband in the
closer-to-the-gate part of the well and the other indicates the existence of
common gaps in the spectrum at integer fillings. For the lowest filling factors
and , both the common gap presence down to the point of one- to
two-subband transition and their non-trivial magnetic field dependences point
to magnetic-field-induced hybridization of electron subbands.Comment: Major changes, added one more figure, the latest version to be
published in JETP Let
The micrometeoroid complex and evolution of the lunar regolith
Monte Carlo-based computer calculations, as well as analytical approaches utilizing probabilistic arguments, were applied to gain insight into the principal regolith impact processes and their resulting kinetics. Craters 10 to 1500 m in diameter are largely responsible for the overall growth of the regolith. As a consequence the regolith has to be envisioned as a complex sequence of discrete ejecta blankets. Such blankets constitute first-order discontinuities in the evolving debris layer. The micrometeoroid complex then operates intensely on these fresh ejecta blankets and accomplishes only in an uppermost layer of approximately 1-mm thickness. The absolute flux of micrometeoroids based on lunar rock analyses averaged over the past few 10 to the 6th power years is approximately an order of magnitude lower than presentday satellite fluxes; however, there is indication that the flux increased in the past 10 to the 4th power years to become compatible with the satellite data. Furthermore, there is detailed evidence that the micrometeoroid complex existed throughout geologic time
The cool atmospheres of the binary brown dwarf eps Indi B
We have imaged Indi B, the closest brown dwarf binary known, with
VISIR at the VLT in three narrow-band mid-infrared bandpasses located around
8.6m, 10.5m and 11.3m. We are able to spatially resolve both
components, and determine accurate mid-infrared photometry for both components
independently. In particular, our VISIR observations probe the NH feature
in the atmospheres of the cooler and warmer brown dwarfs. For the first time,
we can disentangle the contributions of the two components, and find that % our
photometry of IndiBb is in good agreement with recent ``cloud-free''
atmosphere models having an effective temperature of K.
With an assumed age of 1 Gyr for the Indi system, component Ba
agrees more with K rather than with
K, as suggested by SPITZER spectroscopic observations of
the combined Indi B system (Roellig et al., 2004). Even higher
effective temperatures appear inconsistent with our absolute photometry, as
they would imply an unphysical small size of the brown dwarf IndiBa.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Systems toxicology: real world applications and opportunities
Systems Toxicology aims to change the basis of how adverse biological effects of xenobiotics are characterized from empirical end points to describing modes of action as adverse outcome pathways and perturbed networks. Toward this aim, Systems Toxicology entails the integration of in vitro and in vivo toxicity data with computational modeling. This evolving approach depends critically on data reliability and relevance, which in turn depends on the quality of experimental models and bioanalysis techniques used to generate toxicological data. Systems Toxicology involves the use of large-scale data streams ("big data"), such as those derived from omics measurements that require computational means for obtaining informative results. Thus, integrative analysis of multiple molecular measurements, particularly acquired by omics strategies, is a key approach in Systems Toxicology. In recent years, there have been significant advances centered on in vitro test systems and bioanalytical strategies, yet a frontier challenge concerns linking observed network perturbations to phenotypes, which will require understanding pathways and networks that give rise to adverse responses. This summary perspective from a 2016 Systems Toxicology meeting, an international conference held in the Alps of Switzerland, describes the limitations and opportunities of selected emerging applications in this rapidly advancing field. Systems Toxicology aims to change the basis of how adverse biological effects of xenobiotics are characterized, from empirical end points to pathways of toxicity. This requires the integration of in vitro and in vivo data with computational modeling. Test systems and bioanalytical technologies have made significant advances, but ensuring data reliability and relevance is an ongoing concern. The major challenge facing the new pathway approach is determining how to link observed network perturbations to phenotypic toxicity
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