18,528 research outputs found
A geometric approach to high resolution TVD schemes
A geometric approach, similar to Van Leer's MUSCL schemes, is used to construct a second-order accurate generalization of Godunov's method for solving scalar conservation laws. By making suitable approximations, a scheme is obtained which is easy to implement and total variation diminishing. The entropy condition is also investigated from the standpoint of the spreading of rarefaction waves. Quantitative information is obtained for Godunov's method on the rate of spreading which explain the kinks in rarefaction waves often observed at the sonic point
Scintillation Caustics in Planetary Occultation Light Curves
We revisit the GSC5249-01240 light curve obtained during its occultation by
Saturn's North polar region. In addition to refractive scintillations, the
power spectrum of intensity fluctuations shows an enhancement of power between
refractive and diffractive regimes. We identify this excess power as due to
high amplitude spikes in the light curve and suggest that these spikes are due
to caustics associated with ray crossing situations. The flux variation in
individual spikes follows the expected caustic behavior, including diffraction
fringes which we have observed for the first time in a planetary occultation
light curve. The presence of caustics in scintillation light curves require an
inner scale cut off to the power spectrum of underlying density fluctuations
associated with turbulence. Another possibility is the presence of gravity
waves in the atmosphere. While occultation light curves previously showed the
existence of refractive scintillations, a combination of small projected
stellar size and a low relative velocity during the event have allowed us to
identify caustics in this occultation. This has led us to re-examine previous
data sets, in which we have also found likely examples of caustics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; ApJL submitte
Coherent Backscattering of Light with Nonlinear Atomic Scatterers
We study coherent backscattering of a monochromatic laser by a dilute gas of
cold two-level atoms in the weakly nonlinear regime. The nonlinear response of
the atoms results in a modification of both the average field propagation
(nonlinear refractive index) and the scattering events. Using a perturbative
approach, the nonlinear effects arise from inelastic two-photon scattering
processes. We present a detailed diagrammatic derivation of the elastic and
inelastic components of the backscattering signal both for scalar and vectorial
photons. Especially, we show that the coherent backscattering phenomenon
originates in some cases from the interference between three different
scattering amplitudes. This is in marked contrast with the linear regime where
it is due to the interference between two different scattering amplitudes. In
particular we show that, if elastically scattered photons are filtered out from
the photo-detection signal, the nonlinear backscattering enhancement factor
exceeds the linear barrier two, consistently with a three-amplitude
interference effect.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Studying Migrant Assimilation Through Facebook Interests
Migrants' assimilation is a major challenge for European societies, in part
because of the sudden surge of refugees in recent years and in part because of
long-term demographic trends. In this paper, we use Facebook's data for
advertisers to study the levels of assimilation of Arabic-speaking migrants in
Germany, as seen through the interests they express online. Our results
indicate a gradient of assimilation along demographic lines, language spoken
and country of origin. Given the difficulty to collect timely migration data,
in particular for traits related to cultural assimilation, the methods that we
develop and the results that we provide open new lines of research that
computational social scientists are well-positioned to address.Comment: Accepted as a short paper at Social Informatics 2018
(https://socinfo2018.hse.ru/). Please cite the SocInfo versio
The stationary phase point method for transitional scattering: diffractive radio scintillation for pulsar
The stationary phase point (SPP) method in one-dimensional case is introduced
to treat the diffractive scintillation. From weak scattering, where the SPP
number N=1, to strong scattering (N1), via transitional scattering regime
(N2,3), we find that the modulation index of intensity experiences the
monotonically increasing from 0 to 1 with the scattering strength,
characterized by the ratio of Fresnel scale \rf to diffractive scale
\rdiff.Comment: Hanas Meeting paper, appear in ChJAA, 2006, 6, Su
Radio Scintillation due to Discontinuities in the Interstellar Plasma Density
We develop the theory of interstellar scintillation as caused by an irregular
plasma having a power-law spatial density spectrum with a spectral exponent of
4 corresponding to a medium with abrupt changes in its density. An ``outer
scale'' is included in the model representing the typical scale over which the
density of the medium remains uniform. Such a spectrum could be used to model
plasma shock fronts in supernova remnants or other plasma discontinuities. We
investigate and develop equations for the decorrelation bandwidth of
diffractive scintillations and the refractive scintillation index and compare
our results with pulsar measurements. We consider both a medium concentrated in
a thin layer and an extended irregular medium. We conclude that the
discontinuity model gives satisfactory agreement for many diffractive
measurements, in particular the VLBI meaurements of the structure function
exponent between 5/3 and 2. However, it gives less satisfactory agreement for
the refractive scintillation index than does the Kolmogorov turbulence
spectrum. The comparison suggests that the medium consists of a pervasive
background distribution of turbulence embedded with randomly placed discrete
plasma structures such as shocks or HII regions. This can be modeled by a
composite spectrum following the Kolmogorov form at high wavenumbers and
steepening at lower wavenumbers corresponding to the typical (inverse) size of
the discrete structures. Such a model can also explain the extreme scattering
events. However, lines of sight through the enhanced scattering prevalent at
low galactic latitudes are accurately described by the Kolmogorov spectrum in
an extended medium and do not appear to have a similar low-wavenumber
steepening.Comment: Accpeted for ApJ vol 531, March 200
Dynamic Correlation in Wave Propagation in Random Media
We report time-resolved measurements of the statistics of pulsed transmission
through quasi-one-dimensional dielectric media with static disorder. The
normalized intensity correlation function with displacement and polarization
rotation for an incident pulse of linewidth at delay time t is a
function only of the field correlation function, which is identical to that
found for steady-state excitation, and of , the residual
degree of intensity correlation at points at which the field correlation
function vanishes. The dynamic probability distribution of normalized intensity
depends only upon . Steady-state statistics are recovered
in the limit ->0, in which is the steady-state
degree of correlation.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, 4 figure
Ice in the Antarctic polar stratosphere
On six occasions during the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment, the Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) ice crystals were replicated over the Palmer Peninsula at approximately 70 deg South. The sampling altitude was approximately 60 to 65 thousand feet, the temperature range was -83.5 to -72C and the atmosphere was subsaturated in all cases. The collected crystals were predominantly complete and hollow prismatic columns with maximum dimensions up to 217 microns. Evidence of scavenging of submicron particles was detected on several crystals. While the replicated crystal sizes were larger than anticipated, their relatively low concentration results in a total surface area less than one tenth that of the sampled aerosol particles. The presence of large crystals suggest that PSC ice crystals can play a very important role in stratospheric dehydration processes
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