4,384 research outputs found
The magnetohydrodynamics of supersonic gas clouds: MHD cosmic bullets and wind-swept clumps
We report an extensive set of two-dimensional MHD simulations exploring the role and evolution of magnetic fields in the dynamics of supersonic plasma clumps. We examine the influence of both ambient field strength and orientation on the problem. Of those two characteristics, field orientation is far more important in the cases we have considered with beta(0) = p(g)/p(b) greater than or equal to 1. That is due to the geometry-sensitivity of field stretching/amplification from large-scale shearing motions around the bullet. When the ambient magnetic field is transverse to the bullet motion, even a very modest field, well below equipartition strength, can be amplified by field line stretching around the bullet within a couple of bullet crushing times so that Maxwell stresses become comparable to the ram pressure associated with the bullet motion. The possibility is discussed that those situations might lead to large, induced electric potentials capable of accelerating charged particles. When the ambient field is aligned to the bullet motion, on the other hand, reconnection-prone topologies develop that shorten the stretched field and release much of the excess energy it contains. In this geometry, the Maxwell stresses on the bullet never approach the ram pressure level. In both cases, however, the presence of a field with even moderate initial strength acts to help the flow realign itself around the bullet into a smoother, more laminar form. That reduces bullet fragmentation tendencies caused by destructive instabilities. Eddies seem less effective at held amplification than flows around the bullet, because fields within eddies tend to be expelled to the eddy perimeters. Similar effects cause the magnetic field within the bullet itself to be reduced below its initial value over time. For oblique fields, we expect that the transverse field cases modeled here are more generally relevant. What counts is whether field lines threading the face of the bullet are swept around it in a fashion that folds them (leading to reconnection) or that keeps them unidirectional one each side of the bullet. In the second instance, behaviors should resemble those of the transverse field cases. We estimate that this quasi-transverse behavior is appropriate whenever the angle, theta, between the motion and the field satisfies tan theta greater than or similar to 1/M, where M is the bullet Mach number. From these simulations, we find support in either held geometry for the conclusions reached in previous studies that nonthermal radio emission associated with supersonic clumps is likely to be controlled largely by the generation of strong magnetic fields around the perimeters of the clumps, rather than local particle acceleration and field compression within the bow shock. In addition, since the magnetic pressure on the nose of the bullet likely becomes comparable to the ram pressure and hence the total pressure behind the bow shock, the gas pressure there could be substantially lower than that in a gasdynamical bullet. That means, as well, that the temperature in the region on the nose of the bullet would be lower than that predicted in the gasdynamical case. That detail could alter expectations of the thermal emission, including X-rays and UV-IR linesopen554
Implementation of a Quantum Search Algorithm on a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Quantum Computer
We demonstrate an implementation of a quantum search algorithm on a two qubit
NMR quantum computer based on cytosine.Comment: Six pages, three figure
Complete quantum teleportation using nuclear magnetic resonance
Quantum mechanics provides spectacular new information processing abilities
(Bennett 1995, Preskill 1998). One of the most unexpected is a procedure called
quantum teleportation (Bennett et al 1993) that allows the quantum state of a
system to be transported from one location to another, without moving through
the intervening space. Partial implementations of teleportation (Bouwmeester et
al 1997, Boschi et al 1998) over macroscopic distances have been achieved using
optical systems, but omit the final stage of the teleportation procedure. Here
we report an experimental implementation of the full quantum teleportation
operation over inter-atomic distances using liquid state nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR). The inclusion of the final stage enables for the first time a
teleportation implementation which may be used as a subroutine in larger
quantum computations, or for quantum communication. Our experiment also
demonstrates the use of quantum process tomography, a procedure to completely
characterize the dynamics of a quantum system. Finally, we demonstrate a
controlled exploitation of decoherence as a tool to assist in the performance
of an experiment.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Minor differences between this and the published
versio
Geometric quantum computation with NMR
The experimental realisation of the basic constituents of quantum information
processing devices, namely fault-tolerant quantum logic gates, requires
conditional quantum dynamics, in which one subsystem undergoes a coherent
evolution that depends on the quantum state of another subsystem. In
particular, the subsystem may acquire a conditional phase shift. Here we
consider a novel scenario in which this phase is of geometric rather than
dynamical origin. As the conditional geometric (Berry) phase depends only on
the geometry of the path executed it is resilient to certain types of errors,
and offers the potential of an intrinsically fault-tolerant way of performing
quantum gates. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has already been used to
demonstrate both simple quantum information processing and Berry's phase. Here
we report an NMR experiment which implements a conditional Berry phase, and
thus a controlled phase shift gate. This constitutes the first elementary
geometric quantum computation.Comment: Minor additions at request of referees. 4 pages revtex including 2
figures (1 eps). Nature in pres
The Density Spike in Cosmic-Ray-Modified Shocks: Formation, Evolution, and Instability
We examine the formation and evolution of the density enhancement (density
spike) that appears downstream of strong, cosmic-ray-modified shocks. This
feature results from temporary overcompression of the flow by the combined
cosmic-ray shock precursor/gas subshock. Formation of the density spike is
expected whenever shock modification by cosmic-ray pressure increases strongly.
That occurence may be anticipated for newly generated strong shocks or for
cosmic-ray-modified shocks encountering a region of higher external density,
for example. The predicted mass density within the spike increases with the
shock Mach number and with shocks more dominated by cosmic-ray pressure. We
find this spike to be linearly unstable under a modified Rayleigh-Taylor
instability criterion at the early stage of its formation. We confirm this
instability numerically using two independent codes based on the two-fluid
model for cosmic-ray transport. These two-dimensional simulations show that the
instability grows impulsively at early stages and then slows down as the
gradients of total pressure and gas density decrease. Observational discovery
of this unstable density spike behind shocks, possibly through radio emission
enhanced by the amplified magnetic fields would provide evidence for the
existence of strongly cosmic-ray modified shock structures.Comment: 26 pages in Latex and 6 figures. Accepted to Ap
Relationships between mercury burden, sex, and sexually selected feather ornaments in crested auklet (Aethia cristatella)
Individuals with higher contaminant burdens are expected to be in poorer physical health and be of lower individual body condition and energetic status, potentially resulting in reduced ornamentation or increased asymmetry in bilateral features. The degree and magnitude of this effect also would be expected to vary by sex, as female birds depurate contaminants into eggs. We tested for relationships among mercury in feathers, sex, and elaborate feather ornaments that relate to individual quality in crested auklets (Aethia cristatella), small planktivorous seabirds in the North Pacific Ocean. We found no relationships between mercury and the size of individualsâ forehead crest or degree of measurement asymmetry in auricular plumes, both of which are favoured by intersexual selection. Females had significantly greater mercury concentrations than males (females. 1.02â±â0.39 ÎŒg/g; males, 0.75â±â0.32 ÎŒg/g); but concentrations were below that known to have physiological effects, as expected for a secondary consumer. Sex differences in overwintering area for this long-distance migrant species (more females in the Kuroshio Current Large Marine Ecosystem than males) could be the reason for this seemingly counterintuitive result between sexes. Further research relating mercury burden to overwintering ecology and diet contents would build on our results and further elucidate interrelationships between sex, sexually selected feather ornaments and contaminant burden.© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The attached document is the authorsâ final accepted/submitted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisherâs version if you wish to cite from it
Radio Emission from a Young Supernova Remnant Interacting with an Interstellar Cloud: MHD Simulation with Relativistic Electrons
We present two-dimensional MHD simulations of the evolution of a young Type
Ia supernova remnant during its interaction with an interstellar cloud of
comparable size at impact. We include for the first time in such simulations
explicit relativistic electron transport, including spectral information using
a simple but effective scheme that follows their acceleration at shocks and
subsequent transport. From this information we also model radio synchrotron
emission, including spectra. The principal conclusions from these experiments
are: 1) Independent of the cloud interaction, the SNR reverse shock can be an
efficient site for particle acceleration in a young SNR. 2) At these early
times the synchrotron spectral index due to electrons accelerated at the
primary shocks should be close to 0.5 unless those shocks are modified by
cosmic-ray pressures. However, interaction with the cloud generates regions of
distinctly steeper spectra, which may complicate interpretation in terms of
global dynamical models for SNR evolution. 3) The internal motions within the
SNR become highly turbulent following the cloud interaction. 4) An initially
uniform interstellar magnetic field is preferentially amplified along the
magnetic equator of the SNR, primarily due to biased amplification by
instabilities. Independent of the external field configuration, there is a net
radial direction to this field inside the SNR. 5) Filamentary radio structures
correlate well with magnetic filaments, while diffuse emission follows the
electron distribution. 6) Interaction with the cloud enhances both the electron
population and the radio emission.Comment: 29 pages of Latex generated text with 6 figures in gif format.
Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. High resolution
postscript figures can be obtained by anonymous ftp from
ftp://ftp.msi.umn.edu/pub/users/twj/sn
Whole exome and targeted deep sequencing identify genome-wide allelic loss and frequent SETDB1 mutations in malignant pleural mesotheliomas.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis, is mainly caused by exposure to asbestos or other organic fibers, but the underlying genetic mechanism is not fully understood. Genetic alterations and causes for multiple primary cancer development including MPM are unknown. We used whole exome sequencing to identify somatic mutations in a patient with MPM and two additional primary cancers who had no evidence of venous, arterial, lymphovascular, or perineural invasion indicating dissemination of a primary lung cancer to the pleura. We found that the MPM had R282W, a key TP53 mutation, and genome-wide allelic loss or loss of heterozygosity, a distinct genomic alteration not previously described in MPM. We identified frequent inactivating SETDB1 mutations in this patient and in 68 additional MPM patients (mutation frequency: 10%, 7/69) by targeted deep sequencing. Our observations suggest the possibility of a new genetic mechanism in the development of either MPM or multiple primary cancers. The frequent SETDB1 inactivating mutations suggest there could be new diagnostic or therapeutic options for MPM
Discovery of a meteoritic ejecta layer containing unmelted impactor fragments at the base of Paleocene lavas, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Evidence for meteorite impacts in the geological record may include the presence of shocked minerals, spherule layers, and geochemical anomalies. However, it is highly unusual to find unmelted crystals from the actual impactor within an ejecta layer. Here we detail the first recorded occurrence of vanadium-rich osbornite (TiVN) on Earth, from two sites on Skye, northwest Scotland, which are interpreted as part of a meteoritic ejecta layer. TiVN has only previously been reported as dust from comet Wild 2, but on Skye it has been identified as an unmelted phase. Both ejecta layer sites also contain niobium-rich osbornite (TiNbN), which has not previously been reported. An extraterrestrial origin for these deposits is strongly supported by the presence of reidite (a high-pressure zircon polymorph), which is only found naturally at sites of meteorite impact. Barringerite [(Fe,Ni)2P], baddeleyite (ZrO2), alabandite (MnS), and carbon-bearing native iron spherules, together with planar deformation features and diaplectic glass in quartz, further support this thesis. We demonstrate through field relationships and Ar-Ar dating that the meteorite strike occurred during the mid-Paleocene. This is the first recorded mid-Paleocene impact event in the region and is coincident with the onset of magmatism in the British Palaeogene Igneous Province (BPIP). The Skye ejecta layer deposits provoke important questions regarding their lateral extent at the base of the BPIP and the possibility of their presence elsewhere beneath the much larger North Atlantic Igneous Province
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