21,558 research outputs found
Search for a Radio Pulsar in the Remnant of Supernova 1987A
We have observed the remnant of supernova SN~1987A (SNR~1987A), located in
the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), to search for periodic and/or transient radio
emission with the Parkes 64\,m-diameter radio telescope. We found no evidence
of a radio pulsar in our periodicity search and derived 8 upper bounds
on the flux density of any such source of Jy at 1.4~GHz and
Jy at 3~GHz. Four candidate transient events were detected with
greater than significance, with dispersion measures (DMs) in the
range 150 to 840\,cmpc. For two of them, we found a second pulse at
slightly lower significance. However, we cannot at present conclude that any of
these are associated with a pulsar in SNR~1987A. As a check on the system, we
also observed PSR~B054069, a young pulsar which also lies in the LMC. We
found eight giant pulses at the DM of this pulsar. We discuss the implications
of these results for models of the supernova remnant, neutron star formation
and pulsar evolution.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Winter Conditions Influence Biological Responses of Migrating Hummingbirds
Conserving biological diversity given ongoing environmental changes requires the knowledge of how organisms respond biologically to these changes; however, we rarely have this information. This data deficiency can be addressed with coordinated monitoring programs that provide field data across temporal and spatial scales and with process-based models, which provide a method for predicting how species, in particular migrating species that face different conditions across their range, will respond to climate change. We evaluate whether environmental conditions in the wintering grounds of broad-tailed hummingbirds influence physiological and behavioral attributes of their migration. To quantify winter ground conditions, we used operative temperature as a proxy for physiological constraint, and precipitation and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as surrogates of resource availability. We measured four biological response variables: molt stage, timing of arrival at stopover sites, body mass, and fat. Consistent with our predictions, we found that birds migrating north were in earlier stages of molt and arrived at stopover sites later when NDVI was low. These results indicate that wintering conditions impact the timing and condition of birds as they migrate north. In addition, our results suggest that biologically informed environmental surrogates provide a valuable tool for predicting how climate variability across years influences the animal populations
Study of spin-scan imaging for outer planets missions
The constraints that are imposed on the Outer Planet Missions (OPM) imager design are of critical importance. Imager system modeling analyses define important parameters and systematic means for trade-offs applied to specific Jupiter orbiter missions. Possible image sequence plans for Jupiter missions are discussed in detail. Considered is a series of orbits that allow repeated near encounters with three of the Jovian satellites. The data handling involved in the image processing is discussed, and it is shown that only minimal processing is required for the majority of images for a Jupiter orbiter mission
Study of spin-scan imaging for outer planets missions: Executive summary
The development and characteristics of spin-scan imagers for interplanetary exploration are discussed. The spin-scan imaging photopolarimeter instruments of Pioneer 10 and 11 are described. In addition to the imaging function, the instruments are also used in a faint-light mode to take sky maps in both radiance and polarization. The performance of a visible-infrared spin-scan radiometer (VISSR), which operates in both visible and infrared wavelengths, is reported
Soliton blue-shift in tapered photonic crystal fiber
We show that solitons undergo a strong blue shift in fibers with a dispersion
landscape that varies along the direction of propagation. The experiments are
based on a small-core photonic crystal fiber, tapered to have a core diameter
that varies continuously along its length, resulting in a zero-dispersion
wavelength that moves from 731 nm to 640 nm over the transition. The central
wavelength of a soliton translates over 400 nm towards shorter wavelength. This
accompanied by strong emission of radiation into the UV and IR spectral region.
The experimental results are confirmed by numerical simulation.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Fiber-optical analogue of the event horizon
The physics at the event horizon resembles the behavior of waves in moving
media. Horizons are formed where the local speed of the medium exceeds the wave
velocity. We use ultrashort pulses in microstructured optical fibers to
demonstrate the formation of an artificial event horizon in optics. We observed
a classical optical effect, the blue-shifting of light at a white-hole horizon.
We also show by theoretical calculations that such a system is capable of
probing the quantum effects of horizons, in particular Hawking radiation.Comment: MEDIA EMBARGO. This paper is subject to the media embargo of Scienc
Multiple hydrodynamical shocks induced by Raman effect in photonic crystal fibres
We theoretically predict the occurrence of multiple hydrodynamical-like shock
phenomena in the propagation of ultrashort intense pulses in a suitably
engineered photonic crystal fiber. The shocks are due to the Raman effect,
which acts as a nonlocal term favoring their generation in the focusing regime.
It is shown that the problem is mapped to shock formation in the presence of a
slope and a gravity-like potential. The signature of multiple shocks in XFROG
signals is unveiled
Beyond Control-Flow: Extending Business Process Configuration to Roles and Objects
A configurable process model is an integrated representation of multiple variants of a business process. It is designed to be individualized to meet a particular set of requirements. As such, configurable process models promote systematic reuse of proven or common practices. Existing notations for configurable process modeling focus on capturing tasks and control-flow dependencies, neglecting equally important aspects of business processes such as data flow, material flow and resource management. This paper fills this gap by proposing an integrated meta-model for configurable processes with advanced features for capturing resources involved in the performance of tasks (through task-role associations) as well as flow of data and physical artifacts (through task-object associations). Although embodied as an extension of a popular process modeling notation, namely EPC, the meta-model is defined in an abstract and formal manner to make it applicable to other notations
Substructure Boosts to Dark Matter Annihilation from Sommerfeld Enhancement
The recently introduced Sommerfeld enhancement of the dark matter
annihilation cross section has important implications for the detection of dark
matter annihilation in subhalos in the Galactic halo. In addition to the boost
to the dark matter annihilation cross section from the high densities of these
subhalos with respect to the main halo, an additional boost caused by the
Sommerfeld enhancement results from the fact that they are kinematically colder
than the Galactic halo. If we further believe the generic prediction of CDM
that in each subhalo there is an abundance of substructure which is
approximately self-similar to that of the Galactic halo, then I show that
additional boosts coming from the density enhancements of these small
substructures and their small velocity dispersions enhance the dark matter
annihilation cross section even further. I find that very large boost factors
( to ) are obtained in a large class of models. The implications of
these boost factors for the detection of dark matter annihilation from dwarf
Spheroidal galaxies in the Galactic halo are such that, generically, they
outshine the background gamma-ray flux and are detectable by the Fermi
Gamma-ray Space Telescope.Comment: PRD in pres
The Challenge of Machine Learning in Space Weather Nowcasting and Forecasting
The numerous recent breakthroughs in machine learning (ML) make imperative to
carefully ponder how the scientific community can benefit from a technology
that, although not necessarily new, is today living its golden age. This Grand
Challenge review paper is focused on the present and future role of machine
learning in space weather. The purpose is twofold. On one hand, we will discuss
previous works that use ML for space weather forecasting, focusing in
particular on the few areas that have seen most activity: the forecasting of
geomagnetic indices, of relativistic electrons at geosynchronous orbits, of
solar flares occurrence, of coronal mass ejection propagation time, and of
solar wind speed. On the other hand, this paper serves as a gentle introduction
to the field of machine learning tailored to the space weather community and as
a pointer to a number of open challenges that we believe the community should
undertake in the next decade. The recurring themes throughout the review are
the need to shift our forecasting paradigm to a probabilistic approach focused
on the reliable assessment of uncertainties, and the combination of
physics-based and machine learning approaches, known as gray-box.Comment: under revie
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