A Verilog HDL digital architecture for delay calculation

A method for the calculation of the delay between two digital signals with central frequencies in the range [20, 300] Hz is presented. The method performs a delay calculation in order to determine the bearing angle of a sound source. Computing accuracy is tested against a previous implementation of the Cross Correlation Derivative method. A Verilog RTL model of the method has been tested on a Xilinx® FPGA in order to evaluate the real performance of the method. Simulations of an ASIC design on a standard CMOS technology predict a power saving of about 25 times per delay stage over previous implementations.Fil: Chacón-Rodríguez, A.. Universidad de Mar del Plata. Laboratorio de Componentes Electrónicos; ArgentinaFil: Martín-Pirchio, F. N.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras; ArgentinaFil: Julian, Pedro Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Eléctrica "Alfredo Desages". Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Eléctrica "Alfredo Desages"; ArgentinaFil: Mandolesi, Pablo Sergio. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y de Computadoras; Argentin

Passively mode-locked laser using an entirely centred erbium-doped fiber

This paper describes the setup and experimental results for an entirely centred erbium-doped fiber laser with passively mode-locked output. The gain medium of the ring laser cavity configuration comprises a 3 m length of two-core optical fiber, wherein an undoped outer core region of 9.38 μm diameter surrounds a 4.00 μm diameter central core region doped with erbium ions at 400 ppm concentration. The generated stable soliton mode-locking output has a central wavelength of 1533 nm and pulses that yield an average output power of 0.33 mW with a pulse energy of 31.8 pJ. The pulse duration is 0.7 ps and the measured output repetition rate of 10.37 MHz corresponds to a 96.4 ns pulse spacing in the pulse train

Gamma-ray Emission From Advection-Dominated Accretion Flows Around Black Holes: Application to the Galactic Center

We calculate the flux and spectrum of \gamma-rays emitted by a two-temperature advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) around a black hole. The \gamma-rays are from the decay of neutral pions produced through proton-proton collisions. We discuss both thermal and power-law distributions of proton energies and show that the \gamma-ray spectra in the two cases are very different. We apply the calculations to the \gamma-ray source, 2EG J1746-2852, detected by EGRET from the direction of the Galactic Center. We show that the flux and spectrum of this source are consistent with emission from an ADAF around the supermassive accreting black hole Sgr A^* if the proton distribution is a power-law. The model uses accretion parameters within the range made likely by other considerations. If this model is correct, it provides evidence for the presence of a two temperature plasma in Sgr A^*, and predicts \gamma-ray fluxes from other accreting black holes which could be observed with more sensitive detectors.Comment: 19 pages (Latex), 4 Figures. ApJ 486. Revised Tables and Figure

Dredged Sediments Contain Potentially Beneficial Microorganisms for Agriculture and Little Harmful Cyanobacteria

Abstract Introduction Soils worldwide are degrading, raising concerns about our ability to feed the growing global population. Soil amendments that can alleviate degradation are gaining attention. The application of sediments dredged from waterways to agricultural fields has increasing promise as a means for improving degraded soils. However, herbaceous plant species may have difficulty establishing on dredged material because of low nutrient availability, inhibitory levels of toxins, unsuitable moisture conditions and lack of microorganisms capable of ameliorating these characteristics. To counteract these issues, we sought to understand if the use of a cover crop would increase the abundance, diversity and function of beneficial soil microorganisms compared to harmful microorganisms in dredged sediments. Materials and Methods We collected soil samples from two 100% dredged sediment plots, one where winter cereal rye (Secale cereal) was grown as a winter cover crop and one left fallow over the winter, followed by traditional corn (Zea mays) planting. We sampled both plots three times during the growing season: before cover crop application, following cover crop application but before corn planting and following final corn harvest. We then used high‐throughput sequencing to identify the bacterial and fungal communities present in the samples. Results Our data show that cover crop application did not alter the microbial community in these plots. However, sampling time decreased species diversity and altered the composition of both fungal and bacterial communities recovered from these plots. Across both plots, microorganisms associated with carbon cycling were more abundant than those associated with harmful effects, including microcystin‐producing cyanobacteria, which were an extremely small portion of the overall community. Conclusion Our work suggests that dredged sediments have the potential to improve soil function through the addition of microorganisms associated with nutrient cycling, but a cover crop is not necessary to incur these benefits

Universal scaling of distances in complex networks

Universal scaling of distances between vertices of Erdos-Renyi random graphs, scale-free Barabasi-Albert models, science collaboration networks, biological networks, Internet Autonomous Systems and public transport networks are observed. A mean distance between two nodes of degrees k_i and k_j equals to =A-B log(k_i k_j). The scaling is valid over several decades. A simple theory for the appearance of this scaling is presented. Parameters A and B depend on the mean value of a node degree _nn calculated for the nearest neighbors and on network clustering coefficients.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Magnetic Stress at the Marginally Stable Orbit: Altered Disk Structure, Radiation, and Black Hole Spin Evolution

Magnetic connections to the plunging region can exert stresses on the inner edge of an accretion disk around a black hole. We recompute the relativistic corrections to the thin-disk dynamics equations when these stresses take the form of a time-steady torque on the inner edge of the disk. The additional dissipation associated with these stresses is concentrated relatively close outside the marginally stable orbit, scaling as r to the -7/2 at large radius. As a result of these additional stresses: spin-up of the central black hole is retarded; the maximum spin-equilibrium accretion efficiency is 36%, and occurs at a/M=0.94; the disk spectrum is extended toward higher frequencies; line profiles (such as Fe K-alpha) are broadened if the line emissivity scales with local flux; limb-brightening, especially at the higher frequencies, is enhanced; and the returning radiation fraction is substantially increased, up to 58%. This last effect creates possible explanations for both synchronized continuum fluctuations in AGN, and polarization rises shortward of the Lyman edge in quasars. We show that no matter what additional stresses occur, when a/M < 0.36, the second law of black hole dynamics sets an absolute upper bound on the accretion efficiency.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Non-LTE Spectra of Accretion Disks Around Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

We have calculated the structures and the emergent spectra of stationary, geometrically thin accretion disks around 100 and 1000 M_sun black holes in both the Schwarzschild and extreme Kerr metrics. Equations of radiative transfer, hydrostatic equilibrium, energy balance, ionization equilibrium, and statistical equilibrium are solved simultaneously and consistently. The six most astrophysically abundant elements (H, He, C, N, O, and Fe) are included, as well as energy transfer by Comptonization. The observed spectrum as a function of viewing angle is computed incorporating all general relativistic effects. We find that, in contrast with the predictions of the commonly-used multi-color disk (MCD) model, opacity associated with photoionization of heavy elements can significantly alter the spectrum near its peak. These ionization edges can create spectral breaks visible in the spectra of slowly-spinning black holes viewed from almost all angles and in the spectra of rapidly-spinning black holes seen approximately pole-on. For fixed mass and accretion rate relative to Eddington, both the black hole spin and the viewing angle can significantly shift the observed peak energy of the spectrum, particularly for rapid spin viewed obliquely or edge-on. We present a detailed test of the approximations made in various forms of the MCD model. Linear limb-darkening is confirmed to be a reasonable approximation for the integrated flux, but not for many specific frequencies of interest.Comment: 30 pages, 11 eps figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Simulations of Convection in Radiation-Dominated Accretion Disks

The standard equilibrium for radiation-dominated accretion disks has long been known to be viscously, thermally, and convectively unstable, but the nonlinear development of these instabilities---hence the actual state of such disks---has not yet been identified. By performing local two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of disks, we demonstrate that convective motions can release heat sufficiently rapidly as to substantially alter the vertical structure of the disk. If the dissipation rate within a vertical column is proportional to its mass, the disk settles into a new configuration thinner by a factor of two than the standard radiation-supported equilibrium. If, on the other hand, the vertically-integrated dissipation rate is proportional to the vertically-integrated total pressure, the disk is subject to the well-known thermal instability. Convection, however, biases the development of this instability toward collapse. The end result of such a collapse is a gas pressure-dominated equilibrium at the original column density.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Please send comments to [email protected]