2,794 research outputs found
Simple analysis of off-axis solenoid fields using the scalar magnetostatic potential: application to a Zeeman-slower for cold atoms
In a region free of currents, magnetostatics can be described by the Laplace
equation of a scalar magnetic potential, and one can apply the same methods
commonly used in electrostatics. Here we show how to calculate the general
vector field inside a real (finite) solenoid, using only the magnitude of the
field along the symmetry axis. Our method does not require integration or
knowledge of the current distribution, and is presented through practical
examples, including a non-uniform finite solenoid used to produce cold atomic
beams via laser cooling. These examples allow educators to discuss the
non-trivial calculation of fields off-axis using concepts familiar to most
students, while offering the opportunity to introduce important advancements of
current modern research.Comment: 6 pages. Accepted in the American Journal of Physic
On the use of low-cost computer peripherals for the assessment of motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease – Quantification of bradykinesia using target tracking tasks
The potential of computer games peripherals to measure the motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s diseases is assessed. Of particular interest is the quantification of bradykinesia. Previous studies used modified or custom haptic interfaces, here an unmodified force feedback joystick and steering wheel are used with a laptop. During testing an on screen cursor moves in response to movements of the peripheral, the user has to track a continuously moving target (pursuit tracking), or move to a predetermined target (step tracking). All tasks use movement in the horizontal axis, allowing use of joystick or steering wheel. Two pursuit tracking tasks are evaluated, pseudo random movement, and a swept frequency task. Two step tracking tasks are evaluated, movement between two or between two of five fixed targets. Thirteen patients and five controls took part on a weekly basis. Patients were assessed for bradykinesia at each session using standard clinical measures. A range of quantitative measures was developed to allow comparison between and within patients and controls using ANOVA. Both peripherals are capable of discriminating between controls and patients, and between patients with different levels of bradykinesia. Recommendations for test procedures and peripherals are given
The Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey
A blind HI survey of the extragalactic sky behind the southern Milky Way has
been conducted with the multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope.
The survey covers the Galactic longitude range 212 < l < 36 and Galactic
latitudes |b| < 5, and yields 883 galaxies to a recessional velocity of 12,000
km/s. The survey covers the sky within the HIPASS area to greater sensitivity,
finding lower HI-mass galaxies at all distances, and probing more completely
the large-scale structures at and beyond the distance of the Great Attractor.
Fifty-one percent of the HI detections have an optical/NIR counterpart in the
literature. A further 27% have new counterparts found in existing, or newly
obtained, optical/NIR images. The counterpart rate drops in regions of high
foreground stellar crowding and extinction, and for low-HI mass objects. Only
8% of all counterparts have a previous optical redshift measurement. A notable
new galaxy is HIZOA J1353-58, a possible companion to the Circinus galaxy.
Merging this catalog with the similarly-conducted northern extension (Donley et
al. 2005), large-scale structures are delineated, including those within the
Puppis and Great Attractor regions, and the Local Void. Several
newly-identified structures are revealed here for the first time. Three new
galaxy concentrations (NW1, NW2 and NW3) are key in confirming the diagonal
crossing of the Great Attractor Wall between the Norma cluster and the CIZA
J1324.7-5736 cluster. Further contributors to the general mass overdensity in
that area are two new clusters (CW1 and CW2) in the nearer Centaurus Wall, one
of which forms part of the striking 180 deg (100/h Mpc) long filament that
dominates the southern sky at velocities of ~3000 km/s, and the suggestion of a
further Wall at the Great Attractor distance at slightly higher longitudes.Comment: Published in Astronomical Journal 9 February 2016 (accepted 26
September 2015); 42 pages, 7 tables, 18 figures, main figures data tables
only available in the on-line version of journa
Theory of Light Emission in Sonoluminescence as Thermal Radiation
Based on the model proposed by Hilgenfeldt {\it at al.} [Nature {\bf 398},
401 (1999)], we present here a comprehensive theory of thermal radiation in
single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). We first invoke the generalized
Kirchhoff's law to obtain the thermal emissivity from the absorption
cross-section of a multilayered sphere (MLS). A sonoluminescing bubble, whose
internal structure is determined from hydrodynamic simulations, is then
modelled as a MLS and in turn the thermal radiation is evaluated. Numerical
results obtained from simulations for argon bubbles show that our theory
successfully captures the major features observed in SBSL experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 20 figure
Radio haloes in nearby galaxies modelled with 1D cosmic-ray transport using SPINNAKER
We present radio continuum maps of 12 nearby (), edge-on
(), late-type spiral galaxies mostly at and 5 GHz,
observed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Very Large Array,
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, Effelsberg 100-m and Parkes 64-m
telescopes. All galaxies show clear evidence of radio haloes, including the
first detection in the Magellanic-type galaxy NGC 55. In 11 galaxies, we find a
thin and a thick disc that can be better fitted by exponential rather than
Gaussian functions. We fit our SPINNAKER (SPectral INdex Numerical Analysis of
K(c)osmic-ray Electron Radio-emission) 1D cosmic-ray transport models to the
vertical model profiles of the non-thermal intensity and to the non-thermal
radio spectral index in the halo. We simultaneously fit for the advection speed
(or diffusion coefficient) and magnetic field scale height. In the thick disc,
the magnetic field scale heights range from 2 to 8 kpc with an average across
the sample of ; they show no correlation with either
star-formation rate (SFR), SFR surface density () or rotation
speed (). The advection speeds range from 100 to and display correlations of and
; they agree remarkably well with the
escape velocities (), which can be explained by
cosmic-ray driven winds. Radio haloes show the presence of disc winds in
galaxies with
that extend over several kpc and are driven by processes related to the
distributed star formation in the disc.Comment: 39 pages, 20 colour figures, 10 tables. Accepted by MNRA
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