448 research outputs found
Estimating uncertainties in incoherent scatter radar parameters from random variations in time series data
International audienceThe variation of parameters in time series data from the EISCAT UHF incoherent scatter radar has been used to estimate the uncertainties in measurements of electron concentration, electron and ion temperature and line-of-sight ion velocity. Good agreement was found with the results of previous analyses that estimated uncertainties in velocity and electron temperature from similar data using a complementary method. By contrast, uncertainties in ion temperature and electron concentration estimated from the same time series data were found to differ from the expected theoretical values by factors of 1.8 and 2.7, respectively. It was found that the relative sizes of these uncertainties more closely matched those predicted by a previous Monte Carlo simulation than values predicted by currently accepted theoretical formulae. Although the specific measured and theoretical uncertainties reported here relate to a very simple kind of ISR experiment, the method itself is general and can be applied to data from any incoherent scatter radar
A Snapshot of J. L. Synge
A brief description is given of the life and influence on relativity theory
of Professor J. L. Synge accompanied by some technical examples to illustrate
his style of work
Recommended from our members
ESR and EISCAT observations of the response of the cusp and cleft to IMF orientation changes
International audienceWe report observations of the cusp/cleft ionosphere made on December 16th 1998 by the EISCAT (European incoherent scatter) VHF radar at Tromsø and the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR). We compare them with observations of the dayside auroral luminosity, as seen by meridian scanning photometers at Ny Ålesund and of HF radar backscatter, as observed by the CUTLASS radar. We study the response to an interval of about one hour when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), monitored by the WIND and ACE spacecraft, was southward. The cusp/cleft aurora is shown to correspond to a spatially extended region of elevated electron temperatures in the VHF radar data. Initial conditions were characterised by a northward-directed IMF and cusp/cleft aurora poleward of the ESR. A strong southward turning then occurred, causing an equatorward motion of the cusp/cleft aurora. Within the equatorward expanding, southward-IMF cusp/cleft, the ESR observed structured and elevated plasma densities and ion and electron temperatures. Cleft ion fountain upflows were seen in association with elevated ion temperatures and rapid eastward convection, consistent with the magnetic curvature force on newly opened field lines for the observed negative IMF By. Subsequently, the ESR beam remained immediately poleward of the main cusp/cleft and a sequence of poleward-moving auroral transients passed over it. After the last of these, the ESR was in the polar cap and the radar observations were characterised by extremely low ionospheric densities and downward field-aligned flows. The IMF then turned northward again and the auroral oval contracted such that the ESR moved back into the cusp/cleft region. For the poleward-retreating, northward-IMF cusp/cleft, the convection flows were slower, upflows were weaker and the electron density and temperature enhancements were less structured. Following the northward turning, the bands of high electron temperature and cusp/cleft aurora bifurcated, consistent with both subsolar and lobe reconnection taking place simultaneously. The present paper describes the large-scale behaviour of the ionosphere during this interval, as observed by a powerful combination of instruments. Two companion papers, by Lockwood et al. (2000) and Thorolfsson et al. (2000), both in this issue, describe the detailed behaviour of the poleward-moving transients observed during the interval of southward Bz, and explain their morphology in the context of previous theoretical work
Exact solution for random walks on the triangular lattice with absorbing boundaries
The problem of a random walk on a finite triangular lattice with a single
interior source point and zig-zag absorbing boundaries is solved exactly. This
problem has been previously considered intractable.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, IOP macro
The "Mysterious" Origin of Brown Dwarfs
Hundreds of brown dwarfs (BDs) have been discovered in the last few years in
stellar clusters and among field stars. BDs are almost as numerous as hydrogen
burning stars and so a theory of star formation should also explain their
origin. The ``mystery'' of the origin of BDs is that their mass is two orders
of magnitude smaller than the average Jeans' mass in star--forming clouds, and
yet they are so common. In this work we investigate the possibility that
gravitationally unstable protostellar cores of BD mass are formed directly by
the process of turbulent fragmentation. Supersonic turbulence in molecular
clouds generates a complex density field with a very large density contrast. As
a result, a fraction of BD mass cores formed by the turbulent flow are dense
enough to be gravitationally unstable. We find that with density, temperature
and rms Mach number typical of cluster--forming regions, turbulent
fragmentation can account for the observed BD abundance.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, ApJ submitted Error in equation 1 has been
corrected. Improved figure
The Clusters AgeS Experiment (CASE). II. The Eclipsing Blue Straggler OGLEGC-228 in the Globular Cluster 47 Tuc
We use photometric and spectroscopic observations of the eclipsing binary
OGLEGC-228 (V228) to derive the masses, radii, and luminosities of the
component stars. Based on measured systemic velocity, proper motion and
distance, the system is a blue straggler member of the globular cluster 47 Tuc.
Our analysis shows that V228 is a semi-detached Algol. We obtain M=1.512 +/-
0.022 Msun, R=1.357 +/- 0.019 Rsun, L=7.02 +/- 0.050 Lsun for the hotter and
more luminous primary component and M=0.200 +/- 0.007 Msun, R=1.238 +/- 0.013
Rsun, L=1.57 +/- 0.09 Lsun for the Roche lobe filling secondary.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, AJ, in pres
New Path Equations in Absolute Parallelism Geometry
The Bazanski approach, for deriving the geodesic equations in Riemannian
geometry, is generalized in the absolute parallelism geometry. As a consequence
of this generalization three path equations are obtained. A striking feature in
the derived equations is the appearance of a torsion term with a numerical
coefficients that jumps by a step of one half from equation to another. This is
tempting to speculate that the paths in absolute parallelism geometry might
admit a quantum feature.Comment: 4 pages Latex file Journal Reference: Astrophysics and space science
228, 273, (1995
Black Holes with Weyl Charge and Non-Riemannian Waves
A simple modification to Einstein's theory of gravity in terms of a
non-Riemannian connection is examined. A new tensor-variational approach yields
field equations that possess a covariance similar to the gauge covariance of
electromagnetism. These equations are shown to possess solutions analogous to
those found in the Einstein-Maxwell system. In particular one finds
gravi-electric and gravi-magnetic charges contributing to a spherically
symmetric static Reissner-Nordstr\"om metric. Such Weyl ``charges'' provide a
source for the non-Riemannian torsion and metric gradient fields instead of the
electromagnetic field. The theory suggests that matter may be endowed with
gravitational charges that couple to gravity in a manner analogous to
electromagnetic couplings in an electromagnetic field. The nature of
gravitational coupling to spinor matter in this theory is also investigated and
a solution exhibiting a plane-symmetric gravitational metric wave coupled via
non-Riemannian waves to a propagating spinor field is presented.Comment: 18 pages Plain Tex (No Figures), Classical and Quantum Gravit
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