452 research outputs found
Assessment of the potential of MERIS near-infrared water vapour products to correct ASAR interferometric measurements
Atmospheric water vapour is a major limitation for high precision Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) applications due to its significant impact on microwave signals. We propose a statistical criterion to test whether an independent water vapour product can reduce water vapour effects on InSAR interferograms, and assess the potential of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) near-infrared water vapour products for correcting Advanced SAR (ASAR) data. Spatio-temporal comparisons show c. 1.1mm
agreement between MERIS and GPS/radiosonde water vapour products in terms of standard deviations. One major limitation with the use of MERIS water vapour products is the frequency of cloud free conditions. Our analysis indicates that in spite of the low global cloud free conditions (~25%), the frequency can be much higher for certain areas such as Eastern Tibet (~38%) and Southern
California (~48%). This suggests that MERIS water vapour products show potential for correcting ASAR interferometric measurements in certain regions
Superlattice Patterns in Surface Waves
We report novel superlattice wave patterns at the interface of a fluid layer
driven vertically. These patterns are described most naturally in terms of two
interacting hexagonal sublattices. Two frequency forcing at very large aspect
ratio is utilized in this work. A superlattice pattern ("superlattice-I")
consisting of two hexagonal lattices oriented at a relative angle of 22^o is
obtained with a 6:7 ratio of forcing frequencies. Several theoretical
approaches that may be useful in understanding this pattern have been proposed.
In another example, the waves are fully described by two superimposed hexagonal
lattices with a wavelength ratio of sqrt(3), oriented at a relative angle of
30^o. The time dependence of this "superlattice-II" wave pattern is unusual.
The instantaneous patterns reveal a time-periodic stripe modulation that breaks
the 6-fold symmetry at any instant, but the stripes are absent in the time
average. The instantaneous patterns are not simply amplitude modulations of the
primary standing wave. A transition from the superlattice-II state to a 12-fold
quasi-crystalline pattern is observed by changing the relative phase of the two
forcing frequencies. Phase diagrams of the observed patterns (including
superlattices, quasicrystalline patterns, ordinary hexagons, and squares) are
obtained as a function of the amplitudes and relative phases of the driving
accelerations.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures (gif), to appear in Physica
Mean flow and spiral defect chaos in Rayleigh-Benard convection
We describe a numerical procedure to construct a modified velocity field that
does not have any mean flow. Using this procedure, we present two results.
Firstly, we show that, in the absence of mean flow, spiral defect chaos
collapses to a stationary pattern comprising textures of stripes with angular
bends. The quenched patterns are characterized by mean wavenumbers that
approach those uniquely selected by focus-type singularities, which, in the
absence of mean flow, lie at the zig-zag instability boundary. The quenched
patterns also have larger correlation lengths and are comprised of rolls with
less curvature. Secondly, we describe how mean flow can contribute to the
commonly observed phenomenon of rolls terminating perpendicularly into lateral
walls. We show that, in the absence of mean flow, rolls begin to terminate into
lateral walls at an oblique angle. This obliqueness increases with Rayleigh
number.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure
Measurement in biological systems from the self-organisation point of view
Measurement in biological systems became a subject of concern as a
consequence of numerous reports on limited reproducibility of experimental
results. To reveal origins of this inconsistency, we have examined general
features of biological systems as dynamical systems far from not only their
chemical equilibrium, but, in most cases, also of their Lyapunov stable states.
Thus, in biological experiments, we do not observe states, but distinct
trajectories followed by the examined organism. If one of the possible
sequences is selected, a minute sub-section of the whole problem is obtained,
sometimes in a seemingly highly reproducible manner. But the state of the
organism is known only if a complete set of possible trajectories is known. And
this is often practically impossible. Therefore, we propose a different
framework for reporting and analysis of biological experiments, respecting the
view of non-linear mathematics. This view should be used to avoid
overoptimistic results, which have to be consequently retracted or largely
complemented. An increase of specification of experimental procedures is the
way for better understanding of the scope of paths, which the biological system
may be evolving. And it is hidden in the evolution of experimental protocols.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Temporal Modulation of the Control Parameter in Electroconvection in the Nematic Liquid Crystal I52
I report on the effects of a periodic modulation of the control parameter on
electroconvection in the nematic liquid crystal I52. Without modulation, the
primary bifurcation from the uniform state is a direct transition to a state of
spatiotemporal chaos. This state is the result of the interaction of four,
degenerate traveling modes: right and left zig and zag rolls. Periodic
modulations of the driving voltage at approximately twice the traveling
frequency are used. For a large enough modulation amplitude, standing waves
that consist of only zig or zag rolls are stabilized. The standing waves
exhibit regular behavior in space and time. Therefore, modulation of the
control parameter represents a method of eliminating spatiotemporal chaos. As
the modulation frequency is varied away from twice the traveling frequency,
standing waves that are a superposition of zig and zag rolls, i.e. standing
rectangles, are observed. These results are compared with existing predictions
based on coupled complex Ginzburg-Landau equations
Spin-Peierls and Antiferromagnetic Phases in Cu{1-x}Zn{x}GeO{3}: A Neutron Scattering Study
Comprehensive neutron scattering studies were carried out on a series of
high-quality single crystals of Cu_{1-x}Zn_xGeO_3. The Zn concentration, x, was
determined for each sample using Electron Probe Micro-Analysis. The measured Zn
concentrations were found to be 40-80% lower than the nominal values.
Nevertheless the measured concentrations cover a wide range which enables a
systematic study of the effects due to Zn-doping. We have confirmed the
coexistence of spin-Peierls (SP) and antiferromagnetic (AF) orderings at low
temperatures and the measured phase diagram is presented. Most surprisingly,
long-range AF ordering occurs even in the lowest available Zn concentration,
x=0.42%, which places important constraints on theoretical models of the AF-SP
coexistence. Magnetic excitations are also examined in detail. The AF
excitations are sharp at low energies and show no considerable broadening as x
increases indicating that the AF ordering remains long ranged for x up to 4.7%.
On the other hand, the SP phase exhibits increasing disorder as x increases, as
shown from the broadening of the SP excitations as well as the dimer reflection
peaks.Comment: 17 preprint style pages, 9 postscript files included. Submitted to
Phys. Rev. B. Also available from
http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~mmartin/pubs.htm
Spin Injection in a Ballistic Two-Dimensional Electron Gas
We explore electrically injected, spin polarized transport in a ballistic
two-dimensional electron gas. We augment the Buettiker-Landauer picture with a
simple, but realistic model for spin-selective contacts to describe multimode
reservoir-to-reservoir transport of ballistic spin 1/2 particles. Clear and
unambiguous signatures of spin transport are established in this regime, for
the simplest measurement configuration that demonstrates them directly. These
new effects originate from spin precession of ballistic carriers; they exhibit
strong dependence upon device geometry and vanish in the diffusive limit. Our
results have important implications for prospective ``spin transistor''
devices.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Detection of magnetized quark-nuggets, a candidate for dark matter
AbstractQuark nuggets are theoretical objects composed of approximately equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks and are also called strangelets and nuclearites. They have been proposed as a candidate for dark matter, which constitutes ~85% of the universeâs mass and which has been a mystery for decades. Previous efforts to detect quark nuggets assumed that the nuclear-density core interacts directly with the surrounding matter so the stopping power is minimal. Tatsumi found that quark nuggets could well exist as a ferromagnetic liquid with a ~1012-T magnetic field. We find that the magnetic field produces a magnetopause with surrounding plasma, as the earthâs magnetic field produces a magnetopause with the solar wind, and substantially increases their energy deposition rate in matter. We use the magnetopause model to compute the energy deposition as a function of quark-nugget mass and to analyze testing the quark-nugget hypothesis for dark matter by observations in air, water, and land. We conclude the water option is most promising.</jats:p
VVV-WIT-01: highly obscured classical nova or protostellar collision?
© 2020 The Author(s).A search of the first Data Release of the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) Survey discovered the exceptionally red transient VVV-WIT-01 (H-Ks=5.2). It peaked before March 2010, then faded by ~9.5 mag over the following two years. The 1.6-22 ”m spectral energy distribution in March 2010 was well fit by a highly obscured black body with T ~ 1000 K and AKs ~ 6.6 mag. The source is projected against the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) SDC G331.062-0.294. The chance projection probability is small for any single event (p â 0.01 to 0.02) which suggests a physical association, e.g. a collision between low mass protostars. However, black body emission at T ~ 1000 K is common in classical novae (especially CO novae) at the infrared peak in the light curve, due to condensation of dust ~30-60 days after the explosion. Radio follow up with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) detected a fading continuum source with properties consistent with a classical nova but probably inconsistent with colliding protostars. Considering all VVV transients that could have been projected against a catalogued IRDC raises the probability of a chance association to p=0.13 to 0.24. After weighing several options, it appears likely that VVV-WIT-01 was a classical nova event located behind an IRDC.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Motion of rotatory molecular motor and chemical reaction rate
We examine the dependence of the physical quantities of the rotatory
molecular motor, such as the rotation velocity and the proton translocation
rate, on the chemical reaction rate using the model based only on diffusion
process. A peculiar behavior of proton translocation is found and the energy
transduction efficiency of the motor protein is enhanced by this behavior. We
give a natural explanation that this behavior is universal when certain
inequalities between chemical reaction rates hold. That may give a clue to
examine whether the motion of the molecular motor is dominated by diffusion
process or not.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
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