2,606 research outputs found
Time-resolved lidar fluorosensor for sea pollution detection
A contemporary time and spectral analysis of oil fluorescence is useful for the detection and the characterization of oil spills on the sea surface. Nevertheless the fluorosensor lidars, which were realized up to now, have only partial capability to perform this double analysis. The main difficulties are the high resolution required (of the order of 1 nanosecond) and the complexity of the detection system for the recording of a two-dimensional matrix of data for each laser pulse. An airborne system whose major specifications were: time range, 30 to 75 ns; time resolution, 1 ns; spectral range, 350 to 700 nm; and spectral resolution, 10 nm was designed and constructed. The designed system of a short pulse ultraviolet laser source and a streak camera based detector are described
Interacting epidemics and coinfection on contact networks
The spread of certain diseases can be promoted, in some cases substantially,
by prior infection with another disease. One example is that of HIV, whose
immunosuppressant effects significantly increase the chances of infection with
other pathogens. Such coinfection processes, when combined with nontrivial
structure in the contact networks over which diseases spread, can lead to
complex patterns of epidemiological behavior. Here we consider a mathematical
model of two diseases spreading through a single population, where infection
with one disease is dependent on prior infection with the other. We solve
exactly for the sizes of the outbreaks of both diseases in the limit of large
population size, along with the complete phase diagram of the system. Among
other things, we use our model to demonstrate how diseases can be controlled
not only by reducing the rate of their spread, but also by reducing the spread
of other infections upon which they depend.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Hydrogen vs. Battery in the long-term operation. A comparative between energy management strategies for hybrid renewable microgrids
The growth of the world’s energy demand over recent decades in relation to energy intensity and demography is clear. At the same time, the use of renewable energy sources is pursued to address decarbonization targets, but the stochasticity of renewable energy systems produces an increasing need for management systems to supply such energy volume while guaranteeing, at the same time, the security and reliability of the microgrids. Locally distributed energy storage systems (ESS) may provide the capacity to temporarily decouple production and demand. In this sense, the most implemented ESS in local energy districts are small–medium-scale electrochemical batteries. However, hydrogen systems are viable for storing larger energy quantities thanks to its intrinsic high mass-energy density. To match generation, demand and storage, energy management systems (EMSs) become crucial. This paper compares two strategies for an energy management system based on hydrogen-priority vs. battery-priority for the operation of a hybrid renewable microgrid. The overall performance of the two mentioned strategies is compared in the long-term operation via a set of evaluation parameters defined by the unmet load, storage efficiency, operating hours and cumulative energy. The results show that the hydrogen-priority strategy allows the microgrid to be led towards island operation because it saves a higher amount of energy, while the battery-priority strategy reduces the energy efficiency in the storage round trip. The main contribution of this work lies in the demonstration that conventional EMS for microgrids’ operation based on battery-priority strategy should turn into hydrogen-priority to keep the reliability and independence of the microgrid in the long-term operation
Evidence of enhanced magnetism in cool, polluted white dwarfs
We report the discovery of a new, polluted, magnetic white dwarf in the Luyten survey of high-proper motion stars. High-dispersion spectra of NLTT 7547 reveal a complex heavy element line spectrum in a cool (≈5200 K) hydrogen-dominated atmosphere showing the effect of a surface averaged field of 163 kG, consistent with a 240 kG centred dipole, although the actual field structure remains uncertain. The abundance pattern shows the effect of accreted material with a distinct magnesium-rich flavour. Combined with earlier identifications, this discovery supports a correlation between the incidence of magnetism in cool white dwarfs and their contamination by heavy elements
The K-band spectrum of the Cataclysmic Variable RXJ 0502.8+1624 (Tau 4)
We present the K-band spectrum of the cataclysmic variable RXJ 0502.8+1624
(Tau 4). The spectrum shows a broad, smooth hump, with no absorption lines from
the secondary star visible. This result indicates that the infrared light of
this system is dominated by cyclotron emission, and, in combination with the
optical spectrum and X-ray properties, suggests that Tau 4 is a polar-type
cataclysmic variable (CV).
The system was chosen for study because the broadband JHK colours of Tau 4
are consistent with an L-type dwarf, suggesting that this system might harbour
an elusive sub-stellar secondary star. The result presented here, along with
the recent discovery of cyclotron emission in the cataclysmic variable EF Eri,
suggests that care must be taken when using the broadband JHK colours of CVs
when targeting searches for sub-stellar secondary starsComment: 4 pages, to appear as research note in A&
Plasma boosted electron beams for driving Free Electron Lasers
In this paper, we report results of simulations, in the framework of both
EuPRAXIA \cite{Walk2017} and EuPRAXIA@SPARC\_LAB \cite{Ferr2017} projects,
aimed at delivering a high brightness electron bunch for driving a Free
Electron Laser (FEL) by employing a plasma post acceleration scheme. The
boosting plasma wave is driven by a tens of \SI{}{\tera\watt} class laser and
doubles the energy of an externally injected beam up to \GeV{1}. The injected
bunch is simulated starting from a photoinjector, matched to plasma, boosted
and finally matched to an undulator, where its ability to produce FEL radiation
is verified to yield O(\num{e11}) photons per shot at \nm{2.7}.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Binary Star Origin of High Field Magnetic White Dwarfs
White dwarfs with surface magnetic fields in excess of MG are found as
isolated single stars and relatively more often in magnetic cataclysmic
variables. Some 1,253 white dwarfs with a detached low-mass main-sequence
companion are identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey but none of these is
observed to show evidence for Zeeman splitting of hydrogen lines associated
with a magnetic field in excess of 1MG. If such high magnetic fields on white
dwarfs result from the isolated evolution of a single star then there should be
the same fraction of high field white dwarfs among this SDSS binary sample as
among single stars. Thus we deduce that the origin of such high magnetic fields
must be intimately tied to the formation of cataclysmic variables. CVs emerge
from common envelope evolution as very close but detached binary stars that are
then brought together by magnetic braking or gravitational radiation. We
propose that the smaller the orbital separation at the end of the common
envelope phase, the stronger the magnetic field. The magnetic cataclysmic
variables originate from those common envelope systems that almost merge. We
propose further that those common envelope systems that do merge are the
progenitors of the single high field white dwarfs. Thus all highly magnetic
white dwarfs, be they single stars or the components of MCVs, have a binary
origin. This hypothesis also accounts for the relative dearth of single white
dwarfs with fields of 10,000 - 1,000,000G. Such intermediate-field white dwarfs
are found preferentially in cataclysmic variables. In addition the bias towards
higher masses for highly magnetic white dwarfs is expected if a fraction of
these form when two degenerate cores merge in a common envelope. Similar
scenarios may account for very high field neutron stars.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted by MNRA
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