5,875 research outputs found
A Pacific Ocean general circulation model for satellite data assimilation
A tropical Pacific Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) to be used in satellite data assimilation studies is described. The transfer of the OGCM from a CYBER-205 at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory to a CRAY-2 at NASA's Ames Research Center is documented. Two 3-year model integrations from identical initial conditions but performed on those two computers are compared. The model simulations are very similar to each other, as expected, but the simulations performed with the higher-precision CRAY-2 is smoother than that with the lower-precision CYBER-205. The CYBER-205 and CRAY-2 use 32 and 64-bit mantissa arithmetic, respectively. The major features of the oceanic circulation in the tropical Pacific, namely the North Equatorial Current, the North Equatorial Countercurrent, the South Equatorial Current, and the Equatorial Undercurrent, are realistically produced and their seasonal cycles are described. The OGCM provides a powerful tool for study of tropical oceans and for the assimilation of satellite altimetry data
Systematic approach to cyclic orbifolds
We introduce an orbifold induction procedure which provides a systematic
construction of cyclic orbifolds, including their twisted sectors. The
procedure gives counterparts in the orbifold theory of all the
current-algebraic constructions of conformal field theory and enables us to
find the orbifold characters and their modular transformation properties.Comment: 39 pages, LaTeX. v2,3: references added. v4: typos correcte
X-ray Observations and Infrared Identification of the Transient 7.8 s X-ray Binary Pulsar XTE J1829-098
XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the transient 7.8 s pulsar XTE
J1829-098 are used to characterize its pulse shape and spectrum, and to
facilitate a search for an optical or infrared counterpart. In outburst, the
absorbed, hard X-ray spectrum with Gamma = 0.76+/-0.13 and N_H = (6.0+/-0.6) x
10^{22} cm^{-2} is typical of X-ray binary pulsars. The precise Chandra
localization in a faint state leads to the identification of a probable
infrared counterpart at R.A. = 18h29m43.98s, decl. = -09o51'23.0" (J2000.0)
with magnitudes K=12.7, H=13.9, I>21.9, and R>23.2. If this is a highly
reddened O or B star, we estimate a distance of 10 kpc, at which the maximum
observed X-ray luminosity is 2x10^{36} ergs s^{-1}, typical of Be X-ray
transients or wind-fed systems. The minimum observed luminosity is
3x10^{32}(d/10 kpc)^2 ergs s^{-1}. We cannot rule out the possibility that the
companion is a red giant. The two known X-ray outbursts of XTE J1829-098 are
separated by ~1.3 yr, which may be the orbital period or a multiple of it, with
the neutron star in an eccentric orbit. We also studied a late M-giant
long-period variable that we found only 9" from the X-ray position. It has a
pulsation period of ~1.5 yr, but is not the companion of the X-ray source.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. To appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Probabilistic Algorithmic Knowledge
The framework of algorithmic knowledge assumes that agents use deterministic
knowledge algorithms to compute the facts they explicitly know. We extend the
framework to allow for randomized knowledge algorithms. We then characterize
the information provided by a randomized knowledge algorithm when its answers
have some probability of being incorrect. We formalize this information in
terms of evidence; a randomized knowledge algorithm returning ``Yes'' to a
query about a fact \phi provides evidence for \phi being true. Finally, we
discuss the extent to which this evidence can be used as a basis for decisions.Comment: 26 pages. A preliminary version appeared in Proc. 9th Conference on
Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge (TARK'03
Hamiltonian Formulation of Open WZW Strings
Using a Hamiltonian approach, we construct the classical and quantum theory
of open WZW strings on a strip. (These are the strings which end on WZW
branes.) The development involves non-abelian generalized Dirichlet images in
an essential way. At the classical level, we find a new non-commutative
geometry in which the equal-time coordinate brackets are non-zero at the
world-sheet boundary, and the result is an intrinsically non-abelian effect
which vanishes in the abelian limit. Using the classical theory as a guide to
the quantum theory, we also find the operator algebra and the analogue of the
Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations for the the conformal field theory of open WZW
strings.Comment: 34 pages. Added an equation in Appendix C; some typos corrected.
Footnote b changed. Version to appear on IJMP
Asymptotic Safety of Gravity Coupled to Matter
Nonperturbative treatments of the UV limit of pure gravity suggest that it
admits a stable fixed point with positive Newton's constant and cosmological
constant. We prove that this result is stable under the addition of a scalar
field with a generic potential and nonminimal couplings to the scalar
curvature. There is a fixed point where the mass and all nonminimal scalar
interactions vanish while the gravitational couplings have values which are
almost identical to the pure gravity case. We discuss the linearized flow
around this fixed point and find that the critical surface is four-dimensional.
In the presence of other, arbitrary, massless minimally coupled matter fields,
the existence of the fixed point, the sign of the cosmological constant and the
dimension of the critical surface depend on the type and number of fields. In
particular, for some matter content, there exist polynomial asymptotically free
scalar potentials, thus providing a solution to the well-known problem of
triviality.Comment: 18 pages,typeset with revtex
Satellite data relay and platform locating in oceanography. Report of the In Situ Ocean Science Working Group
The present and future use of satellites to locate offshore platforms and relay data from in situ sensors to shore was examined. A system of the ARGOS type will satisfy the increasing demand for oceanographic information through data relay and platform location. The improved ship navigation provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) will allow direct observation of currents from underway ships. Ocean systems are described and demand estimates on satellite systems are determined. The capabilities of the ARGOS system is assessed, including anticipated demand in the next decade
- …