5,992 research outputs found
Cloud-top meridional momentum transports on Saturn and Jupiter
Cloud-tracked wind measurements reported by Sromovsky et al. were analyzed to determine meridional momentum transports in Saturn's northern middle latitudes. Results are expressed in terms of eastward and northward velocity components (u and v), and eddy components u and v. At most latitudes between 13 and 44 deg N (planetocentric), the transport by the mean flow () is measurably southward, tending to support Saturn's large equatorial jet, and completely dominating the eddy transport. Meridional velocities are near zero at the peak of the relatively weak westward jet; along the flanks of that jet, measurements indicate divergent flow out of the jet. In this region the dominant eddy transport () is northward on the north side of the jet, but not resolvable on the south side. Eddy transports at most other latitudes are not significantly different from measurement error. The conversion of eddy kinetic energy to mean kinetic energy, indicated by the correlation between and d/dy (where y is meridional distance) is clearly smaller than various values reported for Jupiter, and not significantly different from zero. Both Jovian and Saturnian results may be biased by the tendency for cloud tracking to favor high contrast features, and thus may not be entirely representative of the cloud level motions as a whole
Lifetime statistics of quantum chaos studied by a multiscale analysis
In a series of pump and probe experiments, we study the lifetime statistics
of a quantum chaotic resonator when the number of open channels is greater than
one. Our design embeds a stadium billiard into a two dimensional photonic
crystal realized on a Silicon-on-insulator substrate. We calculate resonances
through a multiscale procedure that combines graph theory, energy landscape
analysis and wavelet transforms. Experimental data is found to follow the
universal predictions arising from random matrix theory with an excellent level
of agreement.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
A Mini-survey of X-ray Point Sources in Starburst and Non-Starburst Galaxies
We present a comparison of X-ray point source luminosity functions of 3
starburst galaxies (the Antennae, M82, and NGC 253) and 4 non-starburst spiral
galaxies (NGC 3184, NGC 1291, M83, and IC 5332). We find that the luminosity
functions of the starbursts are flatter than those of the spiral galaxies; the
starbursts have relatively more sources at high luminosities. This trend
extends to early-type galaxies which have steeper luminosity functions than
spirals. We show that the luminosity function slope is correlated with 60
micron luminosity, a measure of star formation. We suggest that the difference
in luminosity functions is related to the age of the X-ray binary populations
and present a simple model which highlights how the shape of the luminosity
distribution is affected by the age of the underlying X-ray binary population.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. accepted for publication in Ap
Simulations of Electron Acceleration at Collisionless Shocks: The Effects of Surface Fluctuations
Energetic electrons are a common feature of interplanetary shocks and
planetary bow shocks, and they are invoked as a key component of models of
nonthermal radio emission, such as solar radio bursts. A simulation study is
carried out of electron acceleration for high Mach number, quasi-perpendicular
shocks, typical of the shocks in the solar wind. Two dimensional
self-consistent hybrid shock simulations provide the electric and magnetic
fields in which test particle electrons are followed. A range of different
shock types, shock normal angles, and injection energies are studied. When the
Mach number is low, or the simulation configuration suppresses fluctuations
along the magnetic field direction, the results agree with theory assuming
magnetic moment conserving reflection (or Fast Fermi acceleration), with
electron energy gains of a factor only 2 - 3. For high Mach number, with a
realistic simulation configuration, the shock front has a dynamic rippled
character. The corresponding electron energization is radically different:
Energy spectra display: (1) considerably higher maximum energies than Fast
Fermi acceleration; (2) a plateau, or shallow sloped region, at intermediate
energies 2 - 5 times the injection energy; (3) power law fall off with
increasing energy, for both upstream and downstream particles, with a slope
decreasing as the shock normal angle approaches perpendicular; (4) sustained
flux levels over a broader region of shock normal angle than for adiabatic
reflection. All these features are in good qualitative agreement with
observations, and show that dynamic structure in the shock surface at ion
scales produces effective scattering and can be responsible for making high
Mach number shocks effective sites for electron acceleration.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figure
Supermagnetosonic jets behind a collisionless quasi-parallel shock
The downstream region of a collisionless quasi-parallel shock is structured
containing bulk flows with high kinetic energy density from a previously
unidentified source. We present Cluster multi-spacecraft measurements of this
type of supermagnetosonic jet as well as of a weak secondary shock front within
the sheath, that allow us to propose the following generation mechanism for the
jets: The local curvature variations inherent to quasi-parallel shocks can
create fast, deflected jets accompanied by density variations in the downstream
region. If the speed of the jet is super(magneto)sonic in the reference frame
of the obstacle, a second shock front forms in the sheath closer to the
obstacle. Our results can be applied to collisionless quasi-parallel shocks in
many plasma environments.Comment: accepted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (Nov 5, 2009
Hysteresis phenomenon in deterministic traffic flows
We study phase transitions of a system of particles on the one-dimensional
integer lattice moving with constant acceleration, with a collision law
respecting slower particles. This simple deterministic ``particle-hopping''
traffic flow model being a straightforward generalization to the well known
Nagel-Schreckenberg model covers also a more recent slow-to-start model as a
special case. The model has two distinct ergodic (unmixed) phases with two
critical values. When traffic density is below the lowest critical value, the
steady state of the model corresponds to the ``free-flowing'' (or ``gaseous'')
phase. When the density exceeds the second critical value the model produces
large, persistent, well-defined traffic jams, which correspond to the
``jammed'' (or ``liquid'') phase. Between the two critical values each of these
phases may take place, which can be interpreted as an ``overcooled gas'' phase
when a small perturbation can change drastically gas into liquid. Mathematical
analysis is accomplished in part by the exact derivation of the life-time of
individual traffic jams for a given configuration of particles.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, corrected and improved version, to appear in the
Journal of Statistical Physic
The Cosmological Constant is Back
A diverse set of observations now compellingly suggest that Universe
possesses a nonzero cosmological constant. In the context of quantum-field
theory a cosmological constant corresponds to the energy density of the vacuum,
and the wanted value for the cosmological constant corresponds to a very tiny
vacuum energy density. We discuss future observational tests for a cosmological
constant as well as the fundamental theoretical challenges---and
opportunities---that this poses for particle physics and for extending our
understanding of the evolution of the Universe back to the earliest moments.Comment: latex, 8 pages plus one ps figure available as separate compressed
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New Mechanism for Electronic Energy Relaxation in Nanocrystals
The low-frequency vibrational spectrum of an isolated nanometer-scale solid
differs dramatically from that of a bulk crystal, causing the decay of a
localized electronic state by phonon emission to be inhibited. We show,
however, that an electron can also interact with the rigid translational motion
of a nanocrystal. The form of the coupling is dictated by the equivalence
principle and is independent of the ordinary electron-phonon interaction. We
calculate the rate of nonradiative energy relaxation provided by this mechanism
and establish its experimental observability.Comment: 4 pages, Submitted to Physical Review
The Multi-Colored Hot Interstellar Medium of "The Antennae" Galaxies (NGC 4038/39)
We report the results of the analysis of the extended soft emission
discovered in the Chandra ACIS pointing at the merging system NGC 4038/39 (the
Antennae). We present a `multi-color' X-ray image that suggests both extensive
absorption by the dust in this system, peaking in the contact region, as well
as variations in the temperature of different emitting regions of the hot
interstellar medium (ISM). Spectral fits to multi-component thermal emission
models confirm this picture and give a first evaluation of the parameters of
the hot plasma. We compare the diffuse X-ray emission with radio continuum
(6cm), HI, CO, and H images to take a first look at the multi-phase ISM
of the Antennae galaxies. We find that the hot (X-ray) and cold (CO) gas have
comparable thermal pressures in the two nuclear regions. We also conclude that
the displacement between the peak of the diffuse X-ray emission in the north of
the galaxy system, towards the inner regions of the northern spiral arm (as
defined by H, radio continuum and HI), could result from ram pressure
of infalling HI clouds.Comment: Accepted by Ap
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