23,489 research outputs found
Some Comments on Branes, G-flux, and K-theory
This is a summary of a talk at Strings2000 explaining three ways in which
string theory and M-theory are related to the mathematics of K-theory.Comment: 10pp., late
Beryllium 7 and Lead 210 in the western hemisphere Arctic atmosphere: Observations from three recent aircraft-based sampling programs
Concentrations of the natural radionuclides 7Be and 210Pb were determined in aerosol samples collected in the western hemisphere Arctic during the recent NOAA Arctic Gas and Aerosol Sampling Program (AGASP 3) and NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment/Arctic Boundary Layer Expeditions (GTE/ABLE 3A and ABLE 3B) missions. Beryllium 7 showed a free tropospheric concentration maximum between 4 and 5 km in the summer of 1990. Previous 7Be data obtained in the late 1950s and early 1960s also indicated a similar vertical distribution of 7Be near 70°N. Injection of stratospheric air through tropopause folds associated with the Arctic jet near 70°N appears to explain the presence of a layer of air near 4–5 km in the high Arctic free troposphere with elevated 7Be concentrations. The vertical distribution of 210Pb showed a distinct difference between the high-Arctic and sub-Arctic in the summer of 1988. At latitudes greater than 65°N, 210Pb concentrations at 3–6 km were elevated compared to those below 1 km. The reverse of this trend was observed near 60°N. These same vertical distributions were also apparent in aerosol SO42−, determined in separate aerosol samples collected on the same flights (Talbot et al., this issue). The results for 210Pb suggest that some of the difference between the summer troposphere in the high- and sub-Arctic is also due to enhanced stratosphere-troposphere exchange in the vicinity of the Arctic jet. These observations, and other findings from ABLE 3A presented in this issue, suggest that for some species the stratosphere may be a principal source influencing their distribution in the Arctic summer troposphere. For example, intrusions of stratospheric air constitute the dominant source term for tropospheric budgets of 7Be and ozone, and may be important in the 210Pb, SO42−, and NOybudgets. Further investigation, including determination of detailed 7Be and 210Pb distributions, is needed to quantify the stratospheric impact on the chemistry of the Arctic troposphere during the summer
Topological phases and phase transitions on the square-octagon lattice
We theoretically investigate a tight binding model of fermions hopping on the
square-octagon lattice which consists of a square lattice with plaquette
corners themselves decorated by squares. Upon the inclusion of second neighbor
spin-orbit coupling or non-Abelian gauge fields, time-reversal symmetric
topological Z_2 band insulators are realized. Additional insulating and gapless
phases are also realized via the non-Abelian gauge fields. Some of the phase
transitions involve topological changes to the Fermi surface. The stability of
the topological phases to various symmetry breaking terms is investigated via
the entanglement spectrum. Our results enlarge the number of known exactly
solvable models of Z_2 band insulators, and are potentially relevant to the
realization and identification of topological phases in both the solid state
and cold atomic gases.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Energy dependent Schrödinger operators and complex Hamiltonian systems on Riemann surfaces
We use so-called energy-dependent Schrödinger operators to establish a link between special classes of solutions on N-component systems of evolution equations and finite dimensional Hamiltonian systems on the moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces. We also investigate the phase-space geometry of these Hamiltonian systems and introduce deformations of the level sets associated to conserved quantities, which results in a new class of solutions with monodromy for N-component systems of PDEs.
After constructing a variety of mechanical systems related to the spatial flows of nonlinear evolution equations, we investigate their semiclassical limits. In particular, we obtain semicalssical asymptotics for the Bloch eigenfunctions of the energy dependent Schrödinger operators, which is of importance in investigating zero-dispersion limits of N-component systems of PDEs
Coulomb drag between helical edge states
We theoretically investigate the Coulomb drag between the edge states of two
quantum spin Hall systems. Using an interacting theory of the one-dimensional
helical edge modes, we show that the drag vanishes at second order in the
inter-edge interaction, where it is typically finite in other systems, due to
the absence of backscattering within the edges. However, in the presence of a
small external magnetic field the drag is finite and scales as the fourth power
of the magnetic field, a behavior that sharply distinguishes it from other
systems. We obtain the temperature dependence of the drag for regimes of both
linear and quadratic edge dispersion in the presence of a finite field.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Apollo Saturn 511 effluent measurements from the Apollo 16 launch operations: An experiment
An experiment was performed in conjunction with the Apollo 16 launch to define operational and instrumentational problems associated with launch-vehicle exhaust effluent monitoring. Ground and airborne sampling were performed for CO, CO2, hydrocarbons, and particulates. Sampling systems included filter pads and photometers for particulates and whole-air grab samples for gases. Launch debris was identified in the particulate samples at ground level(taken immediately after launch) and in the airborne measurements (taken 40 to 50 minutes after launch approximately 40 km downwind of the pad). Operational problems were identified and included the need for higher instrumentation mobility and the need for real-time sampling instrumentation as opposed to collection-type samples such as the whole-air grab sample
Launch vehicle effluent measurements during the September 5, 1977, Titan 3 launch at Air Force eastern test range
Airborne effluent measurements and cloud physical behavior data are presented. The monitoring program included airborne effluent measurements in situ in the launch cloud, visible and infrared photography of cloud growth and physical behavior, and limited surface collection of rain samples. Effluent measurements included concentrations of HCl, Cl2, NO, nitric oxide, and particles as a function of time in the exhaust cloud. In situ particle mass concentration and number density were measured as a function of time and size in the range of 0.05 micron m to 30 micron m diameter. Measurement results were similar to those of previous launch monitorings. Maximum HCl and nitric oxide concentrations of Cl2 were maximum about 2 minutes after launch and by 10 to 15 minutes had decayed to less than 10 ppb (detection limit). Particle measurements showed most of the particles present to be below about 3-micron m diameter. Postlaunch analyses of collected particle samples showed significant amounts of Al (some cases Cl) from about 3-micron m to 0.04-micron m diameter
The preservation of atmospheric nitrate in snow at Summit, Greenland
There is great interest in using nitrate NO3 isotopic composition in ice cores to track the history of precursor nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) in the atmosphere. Nitrate NO3 however can be lost from the snow by surface processes, such as photolysis back to NOx upon exposure to sunlight, making it difficult to interpret records of NO3 as a tracer of atmospheric NOx loading. In a campaign consisting of two field seasons (May–June) at Summit, Greenland, high temporal frequency surface snow samples were collected and analyzed for the oxygen isotopic composition of NO3. The strong, linear relationship observed between the oxygen isotopes of NO3 in both 2010 and 2011, is difficult to explain in the presence of significant post depositional processing of NO3 unless several unrelated variables change in concert. Therefore, the isotopic signature of NO3 in the snow at Summit is most feasibly explained as preserved atmospheric NO3 deposition
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