14,358 research outputs found
Analysis of data systems requirements for global crop production forecasting in the 1985 time frame
Data systems concepts that would be needed to implement the objective of the global crop production forecasting in an orderly transition from experimental to operational status in the 1985 time frame were examined. Information needs of users were converted into data system requirements, and the influence of these requirements on the formulation of a conceptual data system was analyzed. Any potential problem areas in meeting these data system requirements were identified in an iterative process
Continuous star cluster formation in the spiral NGC 45
We determined ages for 52 star clusters with masses < 10^6 solar masses in
the low surface brightness spiral galaxy NGC 45. Four of these candidates are
old globular clusters located in the bulge. The remaining ones span a large age
range. The cluster ages suggest a continuous star/cluster formation history
without evidence for bursts, consistent with the galaxy being located in a
relatively unperturbed environment in the outskirts of the Sculptor group.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "Island Universes - Structure and
Evolution of Disk Galaxies", Terschelling (Netherlands), July 200
C32, A Young Star Cluster in IC 1613
The Local Group irregular galaxy IC 1613 has remained an enigma for many
years because of its apparent lack of star clusters. We report the successful
search for clusters among several of the candidate objects identified many
years ago on photographic plates. We have used a single HST WFPC2 pointing and
a series of images obtained with the WIYN telescope under exceptional seeing
conditions, examining a total of 23 of the previously published candidates. All
but six of these objects were found to be either asterisms or background
galaxies. Five of the six remaining candidates possibly are small, sparse
clusters and the sixth, C32, is an obvious cluster. It is a compact, young
object, with an age of less than 10 million years and a total absolute
magnitude of M_V = -5.78+/-0.16 within a radius of 13 pc.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to be published in the May 2000 issue of the PAS
First Starbursts at high redshift: Formation of globular clusters
Numerical simulations of a Milky Way-size galaxy demonstrate that globular
clusters with the properties similar to observed can form naturally at z > 3 in
the concordance Lambda-CDM cosmology. The clusters in our model form in the
strongly baryon-dominated cores of supergiant molecular clouds. The first
clusters form at z = 12, while the peak formation appears to be at z = 3-5. The
zero-age mass function of globular clusters can be approximated by a power-law
dN/dM ~ M^-2, in agreement with observations of young massive star clusters.Comment: 4 pages, proceedings of the "Multi-Wavelength Cosmology" meeting,
June 200
Null Strings in Schwarzschild Spacetime
The null string equations of motion and constraints in the Schwarzschild
spacetime are given. The solutions are those of the null geodesics of General
Relativity appended by a null string constraint in which the "constants of
motion" depend on the world-sheet spatial coordinate. Because of the extended
nature of a string, the physical interpretation of the solutions is completely
different from the point particle case. In particular, a null string is
generally not propagating in a plane through the origin, although each of its
individual points is. Some special solutions are obtained and their physical
interpretation is given. Especially, the solution for a null string with a
constant radial coordinate moving vertically from the south pole to the
north pole around the photon sphere, is presented. A general discussion of
classical null/tensile strings as compared to massless/massive particles is
given. For instance, tensile circular solutions with a constant radial
coordinate do not exist at all. The results are discussed in relation to
the previous literature on the subject.Comment: 16 pages, REVTEX, no figure
Instantaneous Pair Theory for High-Frequency Vibrational Energy Relaxation in Fluids
Notwithstanding the long and distinguished history of studies of vibrational
energy relaxation, exactly how it is that high frequency vibrations manage to
relax in a liquid remains somewhat of a mystery. Both experimental and
theoretical approaches seem to say that there is a natural frequency range
associated with intermolecular motions in liquids, typically spanning no more
than a few hundred cm^{-1}. Landau-Teller-like theories explain how a solvent
can absorb any vibrational energy within this "band", but how is it that
molecules can rid themselves of superfluous vibrational energies significantly
in excess of these values? We develop a theory for such processes based on the
idea that the crucial liquid motions are those that most rapidly modulate the
force on the vibrating coordinate -- and that by far the most important of
these motions are those involving what we have called the mutual nearest
neighbors of the vibrating solute. Specifically, we suggest that whenever there
is a single solvent molecule sufficiently close to the solute that the solvent
and solute are each other's nearest neighbors, then the instantaneous
scattering dynamics of the solute-solvent pair alone suffices to explain the
high frequency relaxation. The many-body features of the liquid only appear in
the guise of a purely equilibrium problem, that of finding the likelihood of
particularly effective solvent arrangements around the solute. These results
are tested numerically on model diatomic solutes dissolved in atomic fluids
(including the experimentally and theoretically interesting case of I_2 in Xe).
The instantaneous pair theory leads to results in quantitative agreement with
those obtained from far more laborious exact molecular dynamics simulations.Comment: 55 pages, 6 figures Scheduled to appear in J. Chem. Phys., Jan, 199
Structure and Mass of a Young Globular Cluster in NGC 6946
Using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope,
we have imaged a luminous young star cluster in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC
6946. The cluster has an absolute visual magnitude M(V)=-13.2, comparable to
the brightest young `super-star clusters' in the Antennae merger galaxy. UBV
colors indicate an age of about 15 Myr. The cluster has a compact core (core
radius = 1.3 pc), surrounded by an extended envelope. We estimate that the
effective radius (Reff) = 13 pc, but this number is uncertain because the outer
parts of the cluster profile gradually merge with the general field. Combined
with population synthesis models, the luminosity and age of the cluster imply a
mass of 8.2x10^5 Msun for a Salpeter IMF extending down to 0.1 Msun, or
5.5x10^5 Msun if the IMF is log-normal below 0.4 Msun. Depending on model
assumptions, the central density of the cluster is between 5300 Msun pc^-3 and
17000 Msun pc^-3, comparable to other high-density star forming regions. We
also estimate a dynamical mass for the cluster, using high-dispersion spectra
from the HIRES spectrograph on the Keck I telescope. The velocity dispersion is
10.0 +/- 2.7 km/s, implying a total cluster mass within 65 pc of (1.7 +/- 0.9)
x 10^6 Msun. Comparing the dynamical mass with the mass estimates based on the
photometry and population synthesis models, the mass-to-light ratio is at least
as high as for a Salpeter IMF extending down to 0.1 Msun, although a turn-over
in the IMF at 0.4 Msun is still possible within the errors. The cluster will
presumably remain bound, evolving into a globular cluster-like object.Comment: 33 pages, including 10 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
Non-linear optomechanical measurement of mechanical motion
Precision measurement of non-linear observables is an important goal in all
facets of quantum optics. This allows measurement-based non-classical state
preparation, which has been applied to great success in various physical
systems, and provides a route for quantum information processing with otherwise
linear interactions. In cavity optomechanics much progress has been made using
linear interactions and measurement, but observation of non-linear mechanical
degrees-of-freedom remains outstanding. Here we report the observation of
displacement-squared thermal motion of a micro-mechanical resonator by
exploiting the intrinsic non-linearity of the radiation pressure interaction.
Using this measurement we generate bimodal mechanical states of motion with
separations and feature sizes well below 100~pm. Future improvements to this
approach will allow the preparation of quantum superposition states, which can
be used to experimentally explore collapse models of the wavefunction and the
potential for mechanical-resonator-based quantum information and metrology
applications.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, extensive supplementary material available with
published versio
Formation of the oxygen torus in the inner magnetosphere: Van Allen Probes observations
We study the formation process of an oxygen torus during the 12â15 November 2012 magnetic storm, using the magnetic field and plasma wave data obtained by Van Allen Probes. We estimate the local plasma mass density (ÏL) and the local electron number density (neL) from the resonant frequencies of standing AlfvĂ©n waves and the upper hybrid resonance band. The average ion mass (M) can be calculated by M ⌠ÏL/neL under the assumption of quasi-neutrality of plasma. During the storm recovery phase, both Probe A and Probe B observe the oxygen torus at L = 3.0â4.0 and L = 3.7â4.5, respectively, on the morning side. The oxygen torus has M = 4.5â8 amu and extends around the plasmapause that is identified at LâŒ3.2â3.9. We find that during the initial phase, M is 4â7 amu throughout the plasma trough and remains at âŒ1 amu in the plasmasphere, implying that ionospheric O+ ions are supplied into the inner magnetosphere already in the initial phase of the magnetic storm. Numerical calculation under a decrease of the convection electric field reveals that some of thermal O+ ions distributed throughout the plasma trough are trapped within the expanded plasmasphere, whereas some of them drift around the plasmapause on the dawnside. This creates the oxygen torus spreading near the plasmapause, which is consistent with the Van Allen Probes observations. We conclude that the oxygen torus identified in this study favors the formation scenario of supplying O+ in the inner magnetosphere during the initial phase and subsequent drift during the recovery phase
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