Enhancement of photoacoustic detection of inhomogeneities in polymers

We report a series of experiments on laser pulsed photoacoustic excitationin turbid polymer samples addressed to evaluate the sound speed in the samples and the presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk. We describe a system which allows the direct measurement of the speed of the detected waves by engraving the surface of the piece under study with a fiduciary pattern of black lines. We also describe how this pattern helps to enhance the sensitivity for the detection of an inhomogeneity in the bulk. These two facts are useful for studies in soft matter systems including, perhaps, biological samples. We have performed an experimental analysis on Grilon(R) samples in different situations and we show the limitations of the method.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

La planta ideal de yuca para obtener rendimientos máximos

A series of trials were carried out using cassava. Crop growth rate increased with leaf area up to LAI 4; root growth rate increased up to LAI 3-3.5, then declined. LAI is determined by leaf size, leaf formation rate and individual leaf life. Leaf size reached a max 4 mo after planting and then decreased; the max was a varietal character. Leaf life was reduced by shading but in full daylight was determined by the var. Leaf formation rate/shoot apex showed little genetic vafiation and declined with time; large differences in leaf formation rate/plant were determined by differences in branching pattern. Top growth had preference over root growth, and root sink was not limiting when root no./plant was equal to or greater than 9. A computer program was written to implement a dynamic growth model, which suggests that high-yielding plants will branch late in life and possess large leaves and long leaf life. Potential yields of greater than 25 t/ha/yr dry roots are obtainable at 400-500 g cal (cm)-2 day radiation. (AS

New Cataclysmic Variables and other Exotic Binaries in the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

We present 22 new (+3 confirmed) cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the non core-collapsed globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc). The total number of CVs in the cluster is now 43, the largest sample in any globular cluster so far. For the identifications we used near-ultraviolet (NUV) and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope, in combination with X-ray results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This allowed us to build the deepest NUV CV luminosity function of the cluster to date. We found that the CVs in 47 Tuc are more concentrated towards the cluster center than the main sequence turnoff stars. We compared our results to the CV populations of the core-collapsed globular clusters NGC 6397 and NGC 6752. We found that 47 Tuc has fewer bright CVs per unit mass than those two other clusters. That suggests that dynamical interactions in core-collapsed clusters play a major role creating new CVs. In 47 Tuc, the CV population is probably dominated by primordial and old dynamically formed systems. We estimated that the CVs in 47 Tuc have total masses of approx. 1.4 M_sun. We also found that the X-ray luminosity function of the CVs in the three clusters is bimodal. Additionally, we discuss a possible double degenerate system and an intriguing/unclassified object. Finally, we present four systems that could be millisecond pulsar companions given their X-ray and NUV/optical colors. For one of them we present very strong evidence for being an ablated companion. The other three could be CO- or He-WDs.Comment: Published on MNRAS. 31 Pages, 23 Figures, 5 Tables. Minor changes with respect to previous arXiv versio

Interaction energy functional for lattice density functional theory: Applications to one-, two- and three-dimensional Hubbard models

The Hubbard model is investigated in the framework of lattice density functional theory (LDFT). The single-particle density matrix $\gamma_{ij}$ with respect the lattice sites is considered as the basic variable of the many-body problem. A new approximation to the interaction-energy functional $W[\gamma]$ is proposed which is based on its scaling properties and which recovers exactly the limit of strong electron correlations at half-band filling. In this way, a more accurate description of $W$ is obtained throughout the domain of representability of $\gamma_{ij}$, including the crossover from weak to strong correlations. As examples of applications results are given for the ground-state energy, charge-excitation gap, and charge susceptibility of the Hubbard model in one-, two-, and three-dimensional lattices. The performance of the method is demonstrated by comparison with available exact solutions, with numerical calculations, and with LDFT using a simpler dimer ansatz for $W$. Goals and limitations of the different approximations are discussed.Comment: 25 pages and 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Searching for TeV DM evidence from Dwarf Irregular Galaxies with the HAWC Observatory

The dynamics of dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies are observed to be dominated by dark matter (DM). Recently, the DM density distribution has been studied for 31 dIrrs. Their extended DM halo (Burket type profile) makes these objects good candidates for DM searches. Located in Puebla (Mexico), the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is an optimal instrument to perform such DM searches, because of its large sky coverage (8.4 sr per day). We analyzed a set of two years of HAWC data and we found no significant DM signal from dIrr galaxies. We present the upper limits for DM annihilation cross-section with dIrr galaxies

Discovery of near-ultraviolet counterparts to millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

We report the discovery of the likely white dwarf companions to radio millisecond pulsars 47 Tuc Q and 47 Tuc S in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. These blue stars were found in near-ultraviolet images from the Hubble Space Telescope for which we derived accurate absolute astrometry, and are located at positions consistent with the radio coordinates to within 0.016 arcsec (0.2sigma). We present near-ultraviolet and optical colours for the previously identified companion to millisecond pulsar 47 Tuc U, and we unambiguously confirm the tentative prior identifications of the optical counterparts to 47 Tuc T and 47 Tuc Y. For the latter, we present its radio-timing solution for the first time. We find that all five near-ultraviolet counterparts have U300-B390 colours that are consistent with He white dwarf cooling models for masses ~0.16-0.3 Msun and cooling ages within ~0.1-6 Gyr. The Ha-R625 colours of 47 Tuc U and 47 Tuc T indicate the presence of a strong Ha absorption line, as expected for white dwarfs with an H envelope.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS. 12 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Analogue mouse pointer control via an online steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) brain-computer interface

The steady state visual evoked protocol has recently become a popular paradigm in brain–computer interface (BCI) applications. Typically (regardless of function) these applications offer the user a binary selection of targets that perform correspondingly discrete actions. Such discrete control systems are appropriate for applications that are inherently isolated in nature, such as selecting numbers from a keypad to be dialled or letters from an alphabet to be spelled. However motivation exists for users to employ proportional control methods in intrinsically analogue tasks such as the movement of a mouse pointer. This paper introduces an online BCI in which control of a mouse pointer is directly proportional to a user's intent. Performance is measured over a series of pointer movement tasks and compared to the traditional discrete output approach. Analogue control allowed subjects to move the pointer faster to the cued target location compared to discrete output but suffers more undesired movements overall. Best performance is achieved when combining the threshold to movement of traditional discrete techniques with the range of movement offered by proportional control

P-model v1.0: an optimality-based light use efficiency model for simulating ecosystem gross primary production

Terrestrial photosynthesis is the basis for vegetation growth and drives the land carbon cycle. Accurately simulating gross primary production (GPP, ecosystem-level apparent photosynthesis) is key for satellite monitoring and Earth System Model predictions under climate change. While robust models exist for describing leaf-level photosynthesis, predictions diverge due to uncertain photosynthetic traits and parameters which vary on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Here, we describe and evaluate a gross primary production (GPP, photosynthesis per unit ground area) model, the P-model, that combines the Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry model for C3 photosynthesis with an optimality principle for the carbon assimilation- transpiration trade-off, and predicts a multi-day average light use efficiency (LUE) for any climate and C3 vegetation type. The model is forced here with satellite data for the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and site-specific meteorological data and is evaluated against GPP estimates from a globally distributed network of ecosystem flux measurements. Although the P-model requires relatively few inputs and prescribed parameters, the R2 for predicted versus observed GPP based on the full model setup is 0.75 (8-day mean, 131 sites) – better than some state-of-the-art satellite data-driven light use efficiency models. The R2 is reduced to 0.69 when not accounting for the reduction in quantum yield at low temperatures and effects of low soil moisture on LUE. The R2 for the P-model-predicted LUE is 0.37 (means by site) and 0.53 (means by vegetation type). The P-model provides a simple but powerful method for predicting – rather than prescribing light use efficiency and simulating terrestrial photosythesis across a wide range of conditions. The model is available as an R package (rpmodel)

Unstable fields in Kerr spacetimes

We show that both the interior region $r<M-\sqrt{M^2-a^2}$ of a Kerr black hole and the $a^2>M^2$ Kerr naked singularity admit unstable solutions of the Teukolsky equation for any value of the spin weight. For every harmonic number there is at least one axially symmetric mode that grows exponentially in time and decays properly in the radial directions. These can be used as Debye potentials to generate solutions for the scalar, Weyl spinor, Maxwell and linearized gravity field equations on these backgrounds, satisfying appropriate spatial boundary conditions and growing exponentially in time, as shown in detail for the Maxwell case. It is suggested that the existence of the unstable modes is related to the so called "time machine" region, where the axial Killing vector field is time-like, and the Teukolsky equation, restricted to axially symmetric fields, changes its character from hyperbolic to elliptic

A convolution integral representation of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect

Analytical expressions for the non-relativistic and relativistic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) are derived by means of suitable convolution integrals. The establishment of these expressions is based on the fact that the SZE disturbed spectrum, at high frequencies, possesses the form of a Laplace transform of the single line distortion profile (structure factor). Implications of this description of the SZE related to light scattering in optically thin plasmas are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in J. Phys.