6,406 research outputs found
Effects of Gamma Ray Bursts in Earth Biosphere
We continue former work on the modeling of potential effects of Gamma Ray
Bursts on Phanerozoic Earth. We focus on global biospheric effects of ozone
depletion and show a first modeling of the spectral reduction of light by NO2
formed in the stratosphere. We also illustrate the current complexities
involved in the prediction of how terrestrial ecosystems would respond to this
kind of burst. We conclude that more biological field and laboratory data are
needed to reach even moderate accuracy in this modelingComment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Curvature energy effects on strange quark matter nucleation at finite density
We consider the effects of the curvature energy term on thermal strange quark
matter nucleation in dense neutron matter. Lower bounds on the temperature at
which this process can take place are given and compared to those without the
curvature term.Comment: PlainTex, 6 pp., IAG-USP Rep.5
THE CONFLUENCE RATIO OF THE TRANSYLVANIAN BASIN RIVERS
There are many possibilities to assess the hydrological and geomorphological evolution of a territory. Among them, one remarks the confluence ratio of the rivers belonging to different catchment areas. The values of this indicator may provide information regarding the stage of evolution of the fluvial landforms in the Transylvanian Basin. Also, the values may serve for the calculation of other parameters of catchment areas like: the degree of finishing of the drainage basin for its corresponding order, the density of river segments within a catchment area etc. To calculate the confluence ratio, 35 catchment areas of different orders have been selected. The confluence ratio varies between 3.04 and 6.07. The large range of values demonstrates the existence of a heterogeneous lithology and of morphological and hydrographical contrasts from one catchment area to the other. The existence of values above 5, correlated also with observations in the field, reveals an accelerated dynamics of the geomorphological processes in those catchment areas. This dynamic is mainly supported by the high landform fragmentation due to the first order rivers. In contrast, the catchment areas that have a confluence ratio below 5 are in a more advanced stage of evolution with stable slopes, unable to initiate new first order river segments
Matrix Models and D-branes in Twistor String Theory
We construct two matrix models from twistor string theory: one by dimensional
reduction onto a rational curve and another one by introducing noncommutative
coordinates on the fibres of the supertwistor space P^(3|4)->CP^1. We comment
on the interpretation of our matrix models in terms of topological D-branes and
relate them to a recently proposed string field theory. By extending one of the
models, we can carry over all the ingredients of the super ADHM construction to
a D-brane configuration in the supertwistor space P^(3|4). Eventually, we
present the analogue picture for the (super) Nahm construction.Comment: 1+37 pages, reference added, JHEP style, published versio
Strangelet spectra from type II supernovae
We study in this work the fate of strangelets injected as a contamination in
the tail of a "strange matter-driven" supernova shock. A simple model for the
fragmentation and braking of the strangelets when they pass through the
expanding oxygen shell is presented and solved to understand the reprocessing
of this component. We find that the escaping spectrum is a scaled-down version
of the one injected at the base of the oxygen shell. The supernova source is
likely to produce low-energy particles of quite independently
of the initial conditions. However, it is difficult that ultrarrelativistic
strangelets (such as the hypothetical Centauro primaries) can have an origin in
those explosive events.Comment: RevTex file, 5 pp., no figure
Nucleation of quark matter bubbles in neutron stars
The thermal nucleation of quark matter bubbles inside neutron stars is
examined for various temperatures which the star may realistically encounter
during its lifetime. It is found that for a bag constant less than a critical
value, a very large part of the star will be converted into the quark phase
within a fraction of a second. Depending on the equation of state for neutron
star matter and strange quark matter, all or some of the outer parts of the
star may subsequently be converted by a slower burning or a detonation.Comment: 13 pages, REVTeX, Phys.Rev.D (in press), IFA 93-32. 5 figures (not
included) available upon request from [email protected]
Intercalation of Hydrotalcites with Hexacyanoferrate(II) and (III)-a ThermoRaman Spectroscopic Study
Raman spectroscopy using a hot stage indicates that the intercalation of hexacyanoferrate(II) and (III) in the interlayer space of a Mg,Al hydrotalcites leads to layered solids where the intercalated species is both hexacyanoferrate(II) and (III). Raman spectroscopy shows that depending on the oxidation state of the initial hexacyanoferrate partial oxidation and reduction takes place upon intercalation. For the hexacyanoferrate(III) some partial reduction occurs during synthesis. The symmetry of the hexacyanoferrate decreases from Oh existing for the free anions to D3d in the hexacyanoferrate interlayered hydrotalcite complexes. Hot stage Raman spectroscopy reveals the oxidation of the hexacyanoferrate(II) to hexacyanoferrate(III) in the hydrotalcite interlayer with the removal of the cyanide anions above 250 °C. Thermal treatment causes the loss of CN ions through the observation of a band at 2080 cm-1. The hexacyanoferrate (III) interlayered Mg,Al hydrotalcites decomposes above 150 °C
Classical Stabilization of Homogeneous Extra Dimensions
If spacetime possesses extra dimensions of size and curvature radii much
larger than the Planck or string scales, the dynamics of these extra dimensions
should be governed by classical general relativity. We argue that in general
relativity, it is highly nontrivial to obtain solutions where the extra
dimensions are static and are dynamically stable to small perturbations. We
also illustrate that intuition on equilibrium and stability built up from
non-gravitational physics can be highly misleading. For all static, homogeneous
solutions satisfying the null energy condition, we show that the Ricci
curvature of space must be nonnegative in all directions. Much of our analysis
focuses on a class of spacetime models where space consists of a product of
homogeneous and isotropic geometries. A dimensional reduction of these models
is performed, and their stability to perturbations that preserve the spatial
symmetries is analyzed. We conclude that the only physically realistic examples
of classically stabilized large extra dimensions are those in which the
extra-dimensional manifold is positively curved.Comment: 25 pages; minor changes, improved reference
Interface Motion in Random Media at Finite Temperature
We have studied numerically the dynamics of a driven elastic interface in a
random medium, focusing on the thermal rounding of the depinning transition and
on the behavior in the pinned phase. Thermal effects are quantitatively
more important than expected from simple dimensional estimates. For sufficient
low temperature the creep velocity at a driving force equal to the
depinning force exhibits a power-law dependence on , in agreement with
earlier theoretical and numerical predictions for CDW's. We have also examined
the dynamics in the pinned phase resulting from slowly increasing the
driving force towards threshold. The distribution of avalanche sizes
decays as , with , in agreement with
recent theoretical predictions.Comment: harvmac.tex, 30 pages, including 9 figures, available upon request.
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