994 research outputs found
Effect of the Centrifugal Force on Domain Chaos in Rayleigh-B\'enard convection
Experiments and simulations from a variety of sample sizes indicated that the
centrifugal force significantly affects rotating Rayleigh-B\'enard
convection-patterns. In a large-aspect-ratio sample, we observed a hybrid state
consisting of domain chaos close to the sample center, surrounded by an annulus
of nearly-stationary nearly-radial rolls populated by occasional defects
reminiscent of undulation chaos. Although the Coriolis force is responsible for
domain chaos, by comparing experiment and simulation we show that the
centrifugal force is responsible for the radial rolls. Furthermore, simulations
of the Boussinesq equations for smaller aspect ratios neglecting the
centrifugal force yielded a domain precession-frequency
with as predicted by the amplitude-equation model for domain
chaos, but contradicted by previous experiment. Additionally the simulations
gave a domain size that was larger than in the experiment. When the centrifugal
force was included in the simulation, and the domain size closely agreed
with experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Acoustic analysis of starting jets in an anechoic chamber: implications for volcano monitoring
Explosive volcanic eruptions are associated with a plethora of geophysical signals. Among them, acoustic signals provide ample information about eruptive dynamics and are widely used for monitoring purposes. However, a mechanistic correlation of monitoring signals, underlying source processes and reasons for short-term variations is incomplete. Scaled laboratory experiments can mimic a wide range of explosive volcanic eruption conditions. Here, starting (non-steady) compressible gas jets are created using a shock tube in an anechoic chamber and their acoustic signature is recorded with a microphone array. Noise sources are mapped in time and frequency using wavelet analysis and their dependence from pressure ratio, non-dimensional mass supply and exit-to-throat area ratio is deciphered. We observed that the pressure ratio controls the establishment of supersonic conditions and their duration, and influences the interaction between shock, shear layer, and vortex ring. The non-dimensional mass supply affects the duration of the discharge, the maximum velocity of the flow, and the existence of a trailing jet. Lower values of exit-to-throat area ratio induce a faster decay of the acoustic fingerprint of the jet flow. The simplistic experiments presented here, and their acoustic analysis will serve as an essential starting point to infer source conditions prior to and during impulsive volcanic eruptions
Submillimetric spectroscopic observations of volatiles in comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz)
We aim to determine the production rates of several parent and product
volatiles and the 12C/13C isotopic carbon ratio in the long-period comet C/2004
Q2 (Machholz), which is likely to originate from the Oort Cloud. The line
emission from several molecules in the coma was measured with high
signal-to-noise ratio in January 2005 at heliocentric distance of 1.2 AU by
means of high-resolution spectroscopic observations using the Submillimeter
Telescope (SMT). We have obtained production rates of several volatiles (CH3OH,
HCN, H13CN, HNC, H2CO, CO and CS) by comparing the observed and simulated
line-integrated intensities. Furthermore, multiline observations of the CH3OH
(7-6) series allow us to estimate the rotational temperature using the rotation
diagram technique. We find that the CH3OH population distribution of the levels
sampled by these lines can be described by a rotational temperature of 40 \pm 3
K. Derived mixing ratios relative to hydrogen cyanide are
CO/CH3OH/H2CO/CS/HNC/H13CN/HCN = 30.9/24.6/4.8/0.57/0.031/0.013/1 assuming a
pointing offset of 8" due to the uncertain ephemeris at the time of the
observations and the telescope pointing error. The measured relative molecular
abundances in C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) are between low- to typical values of those
obtained in Oort Cloud comets, suggesting that it has visited the inner solar
system previously and undergone thermal processing. The HNC/HCN abundance ratio
of ~3.1% is comparable to that found in other comets, accounting for the
dependence on the heliocentric distance, and could possibly be explained by
ion-molecule chemical processes in the low-temperature atmosphere. From a
tentative H13CN detection, the measured value of 97 \pm 30 for the H12CN/H13CN
isotopologue pair is consistent with a telluric value.Comment: 14 pages with 11 figures, abridged abstrac
A survey of volatile species in Oort cloud comets C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) at millimeter wavelengths
The line emission in the coma was measured in the comets C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and
C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), that were observed on five consecutive nights, 7-11 May
2004, at heliocentric distances of 1.0 and 0.7 AU, respectively, by means of
high-resolution spectroscopy using the 10-m Submillimeter Telescope (SMT). We
present a search for six parent- and product-volatile species (HCN, H2CO, CO,
CS, CH3OH, and HNC) in both comets. Multiline observations of the CH3OH J = 5-4
series allow us to estimate the rotational temperature using the rotation
diagram technique. We derive rotational temperatures of 54(9) K for C/2001 Q4
(NEAT) and 119(34) K for C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) that are roughly consistent with
observations of other comets at similar distances from the Sun. The gas
production rates of material are computed using a spherically symmetric
molecular excitation code that includes collisions between neutrals and
electrons. We find an HCN production rate of 2.96(5)e26 molec.s-1 for comet
C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), corresponding to a mixing ratio with respect to H2O of
1.12(2)e-3. The mean HCN production rate during the observing period is
4.54(10)e26 molec.s-1 for comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), which gives a Q_HCN/Q_H2O
mixing ratio of 1.51(3)e-3. With systematically lower mixing ratios in comet
C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), production rate ratios of the observed species with respect
to H2O lie within the typical ranges of dynamically new comets in both objects.
We find a relative low abundance of CO in C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) compared to the
observed range in other comets based on millimeter/submillimeter observations,
and a significant upper limit on the CO production in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) is
derived. Depletion of CO suggests partial evaporation from the surface layers
during previous visits to the outer Solar System and agrees with previous
measurements of dynamically new comets.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures. Minor changes to match the published versio
The Domain Chaos Puzzle and the Calculation of the Structure Factor and Its Half-Width
The disagreement of the scaling of the correlation length xi between
experiment and the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model for domain chaos was resolved.
The Swift-Hohenberg (SH) domain-chaos model was integrated numerically to
acquire test images to study the effect of a finite image-size on the
extraction of xi from the structure factor (SF). The finite image size had a
significant effect on the SF determined with the Fourier-transform (FT) method.
The maximum entropy method (MEM) was able to overcome this finite image-size
problem and produced fairly accurate SFs for the relatively small image sizes
provided by experiments.
Correlation lengths often have been determined from the second moment of the
SF of chaotic patterns because the functional form of the SF is not known.
Integration of several test functions provided analytic results indicating that
this may not be a reliable method of extracting xi. For both a Gaussian and a
squared SH form, the correlation length xibar=1/sigma, determined from the
variance sigma^2 of the SF, has the same dependence on the control parameter
epsilon as the length xi contained explicitly in the functional forms. However,
for the SH and the Lorentzian forms we find xibar ~ xi^1/2.
Results for xi determined from new experimental data by fitting the
functional forms directly to the experimental SF yielded xi ~ epsilon^-nu} with
nu ~= 1/4 for all four functions in the case of the FT method, but nu ~= 1/2,
in agreement with the GL prediction, in the the case of the MEM. Over a wide
range of epsilon and wave number k, the experimental SFs collapsed onto a
unique curve when appropriately scaled by xi.Comment: 15 pages, 26 figures, 1 tabl
Square patterns in Rayleigh-Benard convection with rotation about a vertical axis
We present experimental results for Rayleigh-Benard convection with rotation
about a vertical axis at dimensionless rotation rates in the range 0 to 250 and
upto 20% above the onset. Critical Rayleigh numbers and wavenumbers agree with
predictions of linear stability analysis. For rotation rates greater than 70
and close to onset, the patterns are cellular with local four-fold coordination
and differ from the theoretically expected Kuppers-Lortz unstable state. Stable
as well as intermittent defect-free square lattices exist over certain
parameter ranges. Over other ranges defects dynamically disrupt the lattice but
cellular flow and local four-fold coordination is maintained.Comment: ReVTeX, 4 pages, 7 eps figures include
Optimal immunization cocktails can promote induction of broadly neutralizing Abs against highly mutable pathogens
Strategies to elicit Abs that can neutralize diverse strains of a highly mutable pathogen are likely to result in a potent vaccine. Broadly neutralizing Abs (bnAbs) against HIV have been isolated from patients, proving that the human immune system can evolve them. Using computer simulations and theory, we study immunization with diverse mixtures of variant antigens (Ags). Our results show that particular choices for the number of variant Ags and the mutational distances separating them maximize the probability of inducing bnAbs. The variant Ags represent potentially conflicting selection forces that can frustrate the Darwinian evolutionary process of affinity maturation. An intermediate level of frustration maximizes the chance of evolving bnAbs. A simple model makes vivid the origin of this principle of optimal frustration. Our results, combined with past studies, suggest that an appropriately chosen permutation of immunization with an optimally designed mixture (using the principles that we describe) and sequential immunization with variant Ags that are separated by relatively large mutational distances may best promote the evolution of bnAbs
Ammonia and other parent molecules in comet 10P/Tempel 2 from Herschel/HIFI and ground-based radio observations
The Jupiter-family comet 10P/Tempel 2 was observed during its 2010 return
with the Herschel Space Observatory. We present here the observation of the (J,
K) = (1, 0)-(0, 0) transition of ammonia at 572 GHz in this comet with the
Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) of Herschel. We also report
on radio observations of other molecules (HCN, CH3OH, H2S and CS) obtained
during the 1999 return of the comet with the CSO telescope and the JCMT, and
during its 2010 return with the IRAM 30-m telescope. Molecular abundances
relative to water are 0.09%, 1.8%, 0.4%, and 0.08% for HCN, CH3OH, H2S, and CS,
respectively. An abundance of 0.5% for NH3 is obtained, which is similar to the
values measured in other comets. The hyperfine structure of the ammonia line is
resolved for the first time in an astronomical source. Strong anisotropy in the
outgassing is present in all observations from 1999 to 2010 and is modelled to
derive the production rates.Comment: 6 pages and 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Origin and pathogenesis of nodular lymphocyte–predominant Hodgkin lymphoma as revealed by global gene expression analysis
The pathogenesis of nodular lymphocyte–predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) and its relationship to other lymphomas are largely unknown. This is partly because of the technical challenge of analyzing its rare neoplastic lymphocytic and histiocytic (L&H) cells, which are dispersed in an abundant nonneoplastic cellular microenvironment. We performed a genome-wide expression study of microdissected L&H lymphoma cells in comparison to normal and other malignant B cells that indicated a relationship of L&H cells to and/or that they originate from germinal center B cells at the transition to memory B cells. L&H cells show a surprisingly high similarity to the tumor cells of T cell–rich B cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin lymphoma, a partial loss of their B cell phenotype, and deregulation of many apoptosis regulators and putative oncogenes. Importantly, L&H cells are characterized by constitutive nuclear factor {kappa}B activity and aberrant extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling. Thus, these findings shed new light on the nature of L&H cells, reveal several novel pathogenetic mechanisms in NLPHL, and may help in differential diagnosis and lead to novel therapeutic strategies
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact Encounter
We report on the Hubble Space Telescope program to observe periodic comet
9P/Tempel 1 in conjunction with NASA's Deep Impact mission. Our objectives were
to study the generation and evolution of the coma resulting from the impact and
to obtain wide-band images of the visual outburst generated by the impact. Two
observing campaigns utilizing a total of 17 HST orbits were carried out: the
first occurred on 2005 June 13-14 and fortuitously recorded the appearance of a
new, short-lived fan in the sunward direction on June 14. The principal
campaign began two days before impact and was followed by contiguous orbits
through impact plus several hours and then snapshots one, seven, and twelve
days later. All of the observations were made using the Advanced Camera for
Surveys (ACS). For imaging, the ACS High Resolution Channel (HRC) provides a
spatial resolution of 36 km (16 km/pixel) at the comet at the time of impact.
Baseline images of the comet, made prior to impact, photometrically resolved
the comet's nucleus. The derived diameter, 6.1 km, is in excellent agreement
with the 6.0 +/- 0.2 km diameter derived from the spacecraft imagers. Following
the impact, the HRC images illustrate the temporal and spatial evolution of the
ejecta cloud and allow for a determination of its expansion velocity
distribution. One day after impact the ejecta cloud had passed out of the
field-of-view of the HRC.Comment: 15 pages, 14 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Icarus
special issue on Deep Impac
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