1,182 research outputs found
Nonlinear projective filtering in a data stream
We introduce a modified algorithm to perform nonlinear filtering of a time
series by locally linear phase space projections. Unlike previous
implementations, the algorithm can be used not only for a posteriori processing
but includes the possibility to perform real time filtering in a data stream.
The data base that represents the phase space structure generated by the data
is updated dynamically. This also allows filtering of non-stationary signals
and dynamic parameter adjustment. We discuss exemplary applications, including
the real time extraction of the fetal electrocardiogram from abdominal
recordings.Comment: 8 page
Outbursts from IGR J17473-2721
We have investigated the outbursts of IGR J17473-2721. We analyzed all
available observations carried out by RXTE on IGR J17473-2721 during its later
outburst and as well all the available SWIFT/BAT data. The flux of the latter
outburst rose in ~ one month and then kept roughly constant for the following ~
two months. During this time period, the source was in a low/hard state. The
source moved to a high/soft state within the following three days, accompanied
by the occurrence of an additional outburst at soft X-rays and the end of the
preceding outburst in hard X-rays. During the decay of this soft outburst, the
source went back to a low/hard state within 6 days, with a luminosity 4 times
lower than the first transition. This shows a full cycle of the hysteresis in
transition between the hard and the soft states. The fact that the flux
remained roughly constant for ~ two months at times prior to the spectral
transition to a high/soft state might be regarded as the result of balancing
the evaporation of the inner disk and the inward accretion flow, in a model in
which the state transition is determined by the mass flow rate. Such a balance
might be broken via an additional mass flow accreting onto the inner disk,
which lightens the extra soft outburst and causes the state transition.
However, the possibility of an origin of the emission from the jet during this
time period cannot be excluded. The spectral analysis suggests an inclined XRB
system for IGR J17473-2721. Such a long-lived preceding low/hard state makes
IGR J17473-2721 resemble the behavior of outbursts seen in black hole X-ray
binaries like GX 339-4.Comment: A&A in pres
The source ambiguity problem: Distinguishing the effects of grammar and processing on acceptability judgments
Judgments of linguistic unacceptability may theoretically arise from either grammatical deviance or significant processing difficulty. Acceptability data are thus naturally ambiguous in theories that explicitly distinguish formal and functional constraints. Here, we consider this source ambiguity problem in the context of Superiority effects: the dispreference for ordering a wh-phrase in front of a syntactically “superior” wh-phrase in multiple wh-questions, e.g., What did who buy? More specifically, we consider the acceptability contrast between such examples and so-called D-linked examples, e.g., Which toys did which parents buy? Evidence from acceptability and self-paced reading experiments demonstrates that (i) judgments and processing times for Superiority violations vary in parallel, as determined by the kind of wh-phrases they contain, (ii) judgments increase with exposure, while processing times decrease, (iii) reading times are highly predictive of acceptability judgments for the same items, and (iv) the effects of the complexity of the wh-phrases combine in both acceptability judgments and reading times. This evidence supports the conclusion that D-linking effects are likely reducible to independently motivated cognitive mechanisms whose effects emerge in a wide range of sentence contexts. This in turn suggests that Superiority effects, in general, may owe their character to differential processing difficulty
The influence of potassium on core and geodynamo evolution
We model the thermal evolution of the core and mantle using a parametrized convection scheme, and calculate the entropy available to drive the geodynamo as a function of time. The cooling of the core is controlled by the rate at which the mantle can remove heat. Rapid core cooling favours the operation of a geodynamo but creates an inner core that is too large; slower cooling reduces the inner core size but makes a geodynamo less likely to operate. Introducing potassium into the core retards inner core growth and provides an additional source of entropy. For our nominal model parameters, a core containing approximate to 400 ppm potassium satisfies the criteria of present-day inner core size, surface heat flux, mantle temperature and cooling rate, and positive core entropy production.We have identified three possibilities that may allow the criteria to be satisfied without potassium in the core. (1) The core thermal conductivity is less than half the generally accepted value of 50 W m(-1) K-1. (2) The core solidus and adiabat are significantly colder and shallower than results from shock experiments and ab initio simulations indicate. (3) The core heat flux has varied by no more than a factor of 2 over Earth history.
All models we examined with the correct present-day inner core radius have an inner core age of < 1.5 Gyr; prior to this time the geodynamo was sustained by cooling and radioactive heat production within a completely liquid core
Imaging the Earth's Interior: the Angular Distribution of Terrestrial Neutrinos
Decays of radionuclides throughout the Earth's interior produce geothermal
heat, but also are a source of antineutrinos. The (angle-integrated)
geoneutrino flux places an integral constraint on the terrestrial radionuclide
distribution. In this paper, we calculate the angular distribution of
geoneutrinos, which opens a window on the differential radionuclide
distribution. We develop the general formalism for the neutrino angular
distribution, and we present the inverse transformation which recovers the
terrestrial radioisotope distribution given a measurement of the neutrino
angular distribution. Thus, geoneutrinos not only allow a means to image the
Earth's interior, but offering a direct measure of the radioactive Earth, both
(1) revealing the Earth's inner structure as probed by radionuclides, and (2)
allowing for a complete determination of the radioactive heat generation as a
function of radius. We present the geoneutrino angular distribution for the
favored Earth model which has been used to calculate geoneutrino flux. In this
model the neutrino generation is dominated by decays in the Earth's mantle and
crust; this leads to a very ``peripheral'' angular distribution, in which 2/3
of the neutrinos come from angles > 60 degrees away from the downward vertical.
We note the possibility of that the Earth's core contains potassium; different
geophysical predictions lead to strongly varying, and hence distinguishable,
central intensities (< 30 degrees from the downward vertical). Other
uncertainties in the models, and prospects for observation of the geoneutrino
angular distribution, are briefly discussed. We conclude by urging the
development and construction of antineutrino experiments with angular
sensitivity. (Abstract abridged.)Comment: 25 pages, RevTeX, 7 figures. Comments welcom
Fluorescent Silicon Clusters and Nanoparticles
The fluorescence of silicon clusters is reviewed. Atomic clusters of silicon
have been at the focus of research for several decades because of the relevance
of size effects for material properties, the importance of silicon in
electronics and the potential applications in bio-medicine. To date numerous
examples of nanostructured forms of fluorescent silicon have been reported.
This article introduces the principles and underlying concepts relevant for
fluorescence of nanostructured silicon such as excitation, energy relaxation,
radiative and non-radiative decay pathways and surface passivation.
Experimental methods for the production of silicon clusters are presented. The
geometric and electronic properties are reviewed and the implications for the
ability to emit fluorescence are discussed. Free and pure silicon clusters
produced in molecular beams appear to have properties that are unfavourable for
light emission. However, when passivated or embedded in a suitable host, they
may emit fluorescence. The current available data show that both quantum
confinement and localised transitions, often at the surface, are responsible
for fluorescence. By building silicon clusters atom by atom, and by embedding
them in shells atom by atom, new insights into the microscopic origins of
fluorescence from nanoscale silicon can be expected.Comment: 5 figures, chapter in "Silicon Nanomaterials Sourcebook", editor
Klaus D. Sattler, CRC Press, August 201
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of UV Oscillations in WZ Sagittae During the Decline from Outburst
We present a time series analysis of Hubble Space Telescope observations of
WZ Sge obtained in 2001 September, October, November and December as WZ Sge
declined from its 2001 July superoutburst. Previous analysis of these data
showed the temperature of the white dwarf decreased from ~29,000 K to ~18,000
K. In this study we binned the spectra over wavelength to yield ultraviolet
light curves at each epoch that were then analyzed for the presence of the
well-known 27.87 s and 28.96 s oscillations. We detect the 29 s periodicity at
all four epochs, but the 28 s periodicity is absent. The origin of these
oscillations has been debated since their discovery in the 1970s and competing
hypotheses are based on either white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsations or
magnetically-channelled accretion onto a rotating white dwarf. By analogy with
the ZZ Ceti stars, we argue that the non-radial g-mode pulsation model demands
a strong dependence of pulse period on the white dwarf's temperature. However,
these observations show the 29 s oscillation is independent of the white
dwarf's temperature. Thus we reject the white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsation
hypothesis as the sole origin of the oscillations. It remains unclear if
magnetically-funnelled accretion onto a rapidly rotating white dwarf (or belt
on the white dwarf) is responsible for producing the oscillations. We also
report the detection of a QPO with period ~18 s in the September light curve.
The amplitudes of the 29 s oscillation and the QPO vary erratically on short
timescales and are not correlated with the mean system brightness nor with each
other.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Ap
Stability and Evolution of Supernova Fallback Disks
We show that thin accretion disks made of Carbon or Oxygen are subject to the
same thermal ionization instability as Hydrogen and Helium disks. We argue that
the instability applies to disks of any metal content. The relevance of the
instability to supernova fallback disks probably means that their power-law
evolution breaks down when they first become neutral. We construct simple
analytical models for the viscous evolution of fallback disks to show that it
is possible for these disks to become neutral when they are still young (ages
of a few 10^3 to 10^4 years), compact in size (a few 10^9 cm to 10^11 cm) and
generally accreting at sub-Eddington rates (Mdot ~ a few 10^14 - 10^18 g/s).
Based on recent results on the nature of viscosity in the disks of close
binaries, we argue that this time may also correspond to the end of the disk
activity period. Indeed, in the absence of a significant source of viscosity in
the neutral phase, the entire disk will likely turn to dust and become passive.
We discuss various applications of the evolutionary model, including anomalous
X-ray pulsars and young radio pulsars. Our analysis indicates that metal-rich
fallback disks around newly-born neutron stars and black holes become neutral
generally inside the tidal truncation radius (Roche limit) for planets, at
\~10^11 cm. Consequently, the efficiency of the planetary formation process in
this context will mostly depend on the ability of the resulting disk of rocks
to spread via collisions beyond the Roche limit. It appears easier for the
merger product of a doubly degenerate binary, whether it is a massive white
dwarf or a neutron star, to harbor planets because it can spread beyond the
Roche limit before becoming neutral.[Abridged]Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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