The effect of latent heat release on synoptic-to-planetary wave interactions and its implication for satellite observations: Theoretical modeling

Simple models are being developed to simulate interaction of planetary and synoptic-scale waves incorporating the effects of large-scale topography; eddy heat and momentum fluxes (or nonlinear dynamics); radiative heating/cooling; and latent heat release (precipitation) in synoptic-scale waves. The importance of latent heat release is determined in oceanic storm tracks for temporal variability and time-mean behavior of planetary waves. The model results were compared with available observations of planetary and synoptic-scale wave variability and time-mean circulation. The usefulness of monitoring precipitation in oceanic storm tracks by satellite observing systems was ascertained. The modeling effort includes two different low-order quasi-geostrophic models-time-dependent version and climatological mean version. The modeling also includes a low-order primitive equation model. A time-dependent, multi-level version will be used to validate the two-level Q-G models and examine effects of spherical geometry

Capabilities of wind tunnels with two-adaptive walls to minimize boundary interference in 3-D model testing

An initial wind tunnel test was made to validate a new wall adaptation method for 3-D models in test sections with two adaptive walls. First part of the adaptation strategy is an on-line assessment of wall interference at the model position. The wall induced blockage was very small at all test conditions. Lift interference occurred at higher angles of attack with the walls set aerodynamically straight. The adaptation of the top and bottom tunnel walls is aimed at achieving a correctable flow condition. The blockage was virtually zero throughout the wing planform after the wall adjustment. The lift curve measured with the walls adapted agreed very well with interference free data for Mach 0.7, regardless of the vertical position of the wing in the test section. The 2-D wall adaptation can significantly improve the correctability of 3-D model data. Nevertheless, residual spanwise variations of wall interference are inevitable

The effect of latent heat release on synoptic-to-planetary wave interactions and its implication for satellite observations: Theoretical modeling

The project objectives are to develop process models to investigate the interaction of planetary and synoptic-scale waves including the effects of latent heat release (precipitation), nonlinear dynamics, physical and boundary-layer processes, and large-scale topography; to determine the importance of latent heat release for temporal variability and time-mean behavior of planetary and synoptic-scale waves; to compare the model results with available observations of planetary and synoptic wave variability; and to assess the implications of the results for monitoring precipitation in oceanic-storm tracks by satellite observing systems. Researchers have utilized two different models for this project: a two-level quasi-geostrophic model to study intraseasonal variability, anomalous circulations and the seasonal cycle, and a 10-level, multi-wave primitive equation model to validate the two-level Q-G model and examine effects of convection, surface processes, and spherical geometry. It explicitly resolves several planetary and synoptic waves and includes specific humidity (as a predicted variable), moist convection, and large-scale precipitation. In the past year researchers have concentrated on experiments with the multi-level primitive equation model. The dynamical part of that model is similar to the spectral model used by the National Meteorological Center for medium-range forecasts. The model includes parameterizations of large-scale condensation and moist convection. To test the validity of results regarding the influence of convective precipitation, researchers can use either one of two different convective schemes in the model, a Kuo convective scheme or a modified Arakawa-Schubert scheme which includes downdrafts. By choosing one or the other scheme, they can evaluate the impact of the convective parameterization on the circulation. In the past year researchers performed a variety of initial-value experiments with the primitive-equation model. Using initial conditions typical of climatological winter conditions, they examined the behavior of synoptic and planetary waves growing in moist and dry environments. Surface conditions were representative of a zonally averaged ocean. They found that moist convection associated with baroclinic wave development was confined to the subtropics

Comparative study between N-body and Fokker-Planck simulations for rotating star clusters: I. Equal-mass system

We have carried out N-body simulations for rotating star clusters with equal mass and compared the results with Fokker-Planck models. These two different approaches are found to produce fairly similar results, although there are some differences with regard to the detailed aspects. We confirmed the acceleration of the core collapse of a cluster due to an initial non-zero angular momentum and found a similar evolutionary trend in the central density and velocity dispersion in both simulations. The degree of acceleration depends on the initial angular momentum. Angular momentum is being lost from the cluster due to the evaporation of stars with a large angular momentum on a relaxation time scale.Comment: 11 pages, 13 eps figures, accepted for the publication of MNRA

Optical full Hadamard matrix multiplexing and noise effects

Hadamard multiplexing provides a considerable SNR boost over additive random noise but Poisson noise such as photon noise reduces the boost. We develop the theory for full H-matrix Hadamard transform imaging under additive and Poisson noise effects. We show that H-matrix encoding results in no effect on average on the noise level due to Poisson noise sources while preferentially reducing additive noise. We use this result to explain the wavelength-dependent varying SNR boost in a Hadamard hyperspectral imager and argue that such a preferential boost is useful when the main noise source is indeterminant or varying

Gauge Theory of Gravity Requires Massive Torsion Field

One of the greatest unsolved issues of the physics of this century is to find a quantum field theory of gravity. According to a vast amount of literature unification of quantum field theory and gravitation requires a gauge theory of gravity which includes torsion and an associated spin field. Various models including either massive or massless torsion fields have been suggested. We present arguments for a massive torsion field, where the probable rest mass of the corresponding spin three gauge boson is the Planck mass.Comment: 3 pages, Revte

Taiping Tianguo und Donghag: Eine religionswissenschaftliche Studie über den Entstehungsprozess der beiden neuen religiösen Bewegungen

Taiping-Tianguo und Donghag sind gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts in China und Korea entstandene neue Religionsbewegungen. Das 19. Jahrhundert ist für die beiden Nationen ein historischer Wendepunkt, der durch das Auftreten der Westmächte markiert ist. Die beiden Gründer standen hauptsächlich unter dem Einfluss von drei sehr unterschiedlichen religiösen Vorstellungen, das ist erstens der einfache, tief eingewurzelte Glaube des Volkes, zweitens die kultivierte Lehre des Neokonfuzianismus und drittens die ?importierte? Ideologie oder Religion des Christentums. Bei dem dieser drei spirituellen Kräfte spielte das Christentum eine jeweils entscheidende Rolle: Der Taiping-Gründer übernahm wesentliche Elemente seiner neuen Lehre aus christlichen Anschauungen, die er jedoch in die konfuzianische Gedankenwelt integrierte, ohne dabei die Mentalität des Volksglaubens zu vergessen. Choe dagegen, der Donghag-Gründer, entwickelte und formte seine neue Lehre im Gegensatz und auch als Gegenvorschlag zu den christlichen Vorstellungen in dem Bemühen, die beiden eigenständigen Lehren zu stärken und zu verbinden. Durch die vorliegende Arbeit sehen wir die Ähnlichkeiten und die Unterschiede der beiden Religionsbewegungen. Die Ähnlichkeiten lassen sich in folgenden 4 Punkten zusammenfassen: 1) Beide Religionsbewegungen entstanden in ähnlichen historischen Umständen und bekamen die Unterstützung der Bauernklasse. 2) Man darf das Auftreten der Westmächte nicht vergessen, weil dadurch der Nationalismus der beiden Länder zu entstehen begann, in dem auch die beiden neuen Religionen eine Rolle spielten. 3) Sie versuchten revolutionäre Maßnahmen in China und in Korea durchzuführen, s. die Bodenpolitik der Taiping-Bewegung und die Begründung der ?jibgangso? (ein von der Zentralregierung unabhängiges Selbstverwaltungsorgan) u. s. w. 4) Sie waren auch mehr oder weniger vom Christentum beeinflusst. Ihre Unterschiede sind folgende: 1) Die vorhandenen Traditionen werden unterschiedlich verstanden und gewertet. Die Taiping-Bewegung lehnte die konfuzianische Tradition ab, indem sie die christliche Lehre als ihre Hauptideologie aufnahm. Dagegen verstanden die Donghag-Anhänger das Christentum als eine Bedrohung der eigenen traditionellen Kultur- und Gesellschaftsordnung, deswegen verhielten sie sich gegen das Christentum ablehnend. 2) Die Aufstände verfolgten unterschiedliche Ziele. Die Taiping-Bewegung hatte die Absicht, eine neue Dynastie des Han-Volkes zu eröffnen, indem sie die mandschurische Regierung stürzte. Die neue Dynastie hielt sich 14 Jahre lang. Daher kann man die Taiping-Bewegung als einen Konflikt zwischen dem Han und dem Man-Volk betrachten. Aber den Donghag-Bauernkrieg kann man als einen Klassenkampf bezeichnen. Durch die Donghag-Organisation wollten die regierungsfeindlichen Gelehrten auf dem Land und die Bauern die Korruption und die Verderbnis der Verwaltung korrigieren und reformieren. Es ist jedoch keine Absicht erkennbar, eine neue Dynastie zu gründen. Auf jeden Fall waren die beiden Religionsbewegungen wichtige Erscheinungen in der Geschichte Chinas und Koreas, die den Weg in die moderne Zeit eröffneten. Daher ist es wichtig und notwendig, die historischen Hintergründe (einschließlich der religiösen Umwelt) in Ostasien ausführlich zu untersuchen, wenn man die beiden Religionen verstehen will. Hierzu einen Beitrag zu leisten, war das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit

Simulation of Observed PCBs and Pesticides in the Water Column during the North Atlantic Bloom Experiment

The dynamics of persistent organic pollutants in the oceans are not well constrained, in particular during a bloom formation and collapse. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some pesticides were measured in air, water, and zooplankton tracking the North Atlantic Bloom in May 2008. Lower weight PCBs were entering the water column from the atmosphere during the main bloom period but reached equilibrium after the bloom collapsed. The PCBs in the lipids of zooplankton Calanus were in equilibrium with those in the dissolved phase. A Lagrangian box model was developed to simulate the dissolved phase PCBs and pesticides by including the following processes: air–water exchange, reversible sorption to POC, changes in mixed layer depth, removal by sinking particles, and degradation. Results suggest that sorption to (sinking) POC was the dominant removal process for hydrophobic pollutants from seawater. Statistical test suggested simulated results were not significantly different from observed values for hydrophobic pollutants (p,p’-DDE)

Dynamical evolution of rotating stellar systems - II. Post-collapse, equal mass system

We present the first post core collapse models of initially rotating star clusters, using the numerical solution of an orbit-averaged 2D Fokker-Planck equation. Based on the code developed by Einsel & Spurzem (1999), we have improved the speed and the stability and included the steady three-body binary heating source. We have confirmed that rotating clusters, whether they are in a tidal field or not, evolve significantly faster than non-rotating ones. Consequences for observed shapes, density distribution, and kinematic properties of young and old star clusters are discussed. The results are compared with gaseous and 1D Fokker-Planck models in the non-rotating case.Comment: 12 pages (MNLaTeX), 17 Postscript figures, Submitted to MNRA

The Effect of Learning on the Function of Monkey Extrastriate Visual Cortex

One of the most remarkable capabilities of the adult brain is its ability to learn and continuously adapt to an ever-changing environment. While many studies have documented how learning improves the perception and identification of visual stimuli, relatively little is known about how it modifies the underlying neural mechanisms. We trained monkeys to identify natural images that were degraded by interpolation with visual noise. We found that learning led to an improvement in monkeys' ability to identify these indeterminate visual stimuli. We link this behavioral improvement to a learning-dependent increase in the amount of information communicated by V4 neurons. This increase was mediated by a specific enhancement in neural activity. Our results reveal a mechanism by which learning increases the amount of information that V4 neurons are able to extract from the visual environment. This suggests that V4 plays a key role in resolving indeterminate visual inputs by coordinated interaction between bottom-up and top-down processing streams