3,979 research outputs found
Simulating Distributed Systems
The simulation framework developed within the "Models of Networked Analysis at Regional Centers" (MONARC) project as a design and optimization tool for large scale distributed systems is presented. The goals are to provide a realistic simulation of distributed computing systems, customized for specific physics data processing tasks and to offer a flexible and dynamic environment to evaluate the performance of a range of possible distributed computing architectures. A detailed simulation of a large system, the CMS High Level Trigger (HLT) production farm, is also presented
Deep Hubble Space Telescope/ACS Observations of I Zw 18: a Young Galaxy in Formation
We present V and I photometry of the resolved stars in the most
metal-deficient blue compact dwarf galaxy known, I Zw 18 (Zsun/50), using
Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images, the deepest
ones ever obtained for this galaxy. The resulting I vs. V-I color-magnitude
diagram (CMD) reaches limiting magnitudes V=I=29 mag. It reveals a young
stellar population of blue main-sequence (MS) stars (age <30 Myr) and blue and
red supergiants (10 Myr<age<100 Myr), but also an older evolved population of
asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars (100 Myr<age<500 Myr). We derive a distance
to I Zw 18 in the range 12.6 Mpc - 15 Mpc from the brightness of its AGB stars,
with preferred values in the higher range. The red giant branch (RGB) stars are
conspicuous by their absence, although, for a distance of I Zw 18 <15 Mpc, our
imaging data go ~ 1-2 mag below the tip of the RGB. Thus, the most evolved
stars in the galaxy are not older than 500 Myr and I Zw 18 is a bona fide young
galaxy. Several star formation episodes can be inferred from the CMDs of the
main body and the C component. There have been respectively three and two
episodes in these two parts, separated by periods of ~ 100-200 Myr. In the main
body, the younger MS and massive post-MS stars are distributed over a larger
area than the older AGB stars, suggesting that I Zw 18 is still forming from
the inside out. In the C component, different star formation episodes are
spatially distinct, with stellar population ages decreasing from the northwest
to the southeast, also suggesting the ongoing build-up of a young galaxy.Comment: 29 pages, 13 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Determination of the fault plane using a single near-field seismic station with a finite-dimension source model
We explore the possibility of determining the actual fault plane of an earthquake from the inversion of near-source displacement seismograms of one station when a finite-dimension source is used instead of a point source model and when the complete displacement is taken into account, including near-field waves. Tests on synthetic seismograms and real data recorded at local distances show that this is possible even with a single, three-component station. A single accelerogram available for the Erzincan, Turkey, 1992 March 13, Ms= 6.8 earthquake is inverted and the solution found is compatible with other seismological studies and with the mechanism expected for the North Anatolian Faul
MonALISA : A Distributed Monitoring Service Architecture
The MonALISA (Monitoring Agents in A Large Integrated Services Architecture)
system provides a distributed monitoring service. MonALISA is based on a
scalable Dynamic Distributed Services Architecture which is designed to meet
the needs of physics collaborations for monitoring global Grid systems, and is
implemented using JINI/JAVA and WSDL/SOAP technologies. The scalability of the
system derives from the use of multithreaded Station Servers to host a variety
of loosely coupled self-describing dynamic services, the ability of each
service to register itself and then to be discovered and used by any other
services, or clients that require such information, and the ability of all
services and clients subscribing to a set of events (state changes) in the
system to be notified automatically. The framework integrates several existing
monitoring tools and procedures to collect parameters describing computational
nodes, applications and network performance. It has built-in SNMP support and
network-performance monitoring algorithms that enable it to monitor end-to-end
network performance as well as the performance and state of site facilities in
a Grid. MonALISA is currently running around the clock on the US CMS test Grid
as well as an increasing number of other sites. It is also being used to
monitor the performance and optimize the interconnections among the reflectors
in the VRVS system.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 8 pages, pdf. PSN MOET00
Statistics of the electromagnetic response of a chaotic reverberation chamber
This article presents a study of the electromagnetic response of a chaotic
reverberation chamber (RC) in the presence of losses. By means of simulations
and of experiments, the fluctuations in the maxima of the field obtained in a
conventional mode-stirred RC are compared with those in a chaotic RC in the
neighborhood of the Lowest Useable Frequency (LUF). The present work
illustrates that the universal spectral and spatial statistical properties of
chaotic RCs allow to meet more adequately the criteria required by the Standard
IEC 61000-4-21 to perform tests of electromagnetic compatibility.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure
A spectroscopic study of component C and the extended emission around I Zw 18
Long-slit Keck II, 4m Kitt Peak, and 4.5m MMT spectrophotometric data are
used to investigate the stellar population and the evolutionary status of I Zw
18C, the faint C component of the nearby blue compact dwarf galaxy I Zw 18.
Hydrogen H and H emission lines are detected in the spectra of I
Zw 18C, implying that ionizing massive stars are present. High signal-to-noise
Keck II spectra of different regions in I Zw 18C reveal H, H
and higher order hydrogen lines in absorption. Several techniques are used to
constrain the age of the stellar population in I Zw 18C. Ages derived from two
different methods, one based on the equivalent widths of the H,
H emission lines and the other on H, H absorption lines
are consistent with a 15 Myr instantaneous burst model. We find that a small
extinction in the range = 0.20 -- 0.65 mag is needed to fit the observed
spectral energy distribution of I Zw 18C with that model. In the case of
constant star formation, all observed properties are consistent with stars
forming continuously between ~ 10 Myr and < 100 Myr ago. We use all available
observational constraints for I Zw 18C, including those obtained from Hubble
Space Telescope color-magnitude diagrams, to argue that the distance to I Zw 18
should be as high as ~ 15 Mpc. The deep spectra also reveal extended ionized
gas emission around I Zw 18. H emission is detected as far as 30" from
it. To a B surface brightness limit of ~ 27 mag arcsec we find no
observational evidence for extended stellar emission in the outermost regions,
at distances > 15" from I Zw 18.Comment: 38 pages, 11 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Characterization of segregation in bidispersed granular media by linear and nonlinear acoustic methods
AbstractThe segregation of size is studied by linear and nonlinear acoustic methods for an unconsolidated granular medium. By applying vertical vibrations we study the variation of the average compacity and the acoustic transfer function in order to follow the segregation process with an acoustic probing
Ultrastructural characteristics of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis
International audienc
An imaging and spectroscopic study of the very metal-deficient blue compact dwarf galaxy Tol 1214--277
We present a spectrophotometric study based on VLT/FORS I observations of one
of the most metal-deficient blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies known, Tol
1214-277 (Z ~ Zsun/25). The data show that roughly half of the total luminosity
of the BCD originates from a bright and compact starburst region located at the
northeastern tip of a faint dwarf galaxy with cometary appearance. The
starburst has ignited less than 4 Myr ago and its emission is powered by
several thousands O7V stars and ~ 170 late-type nitrogen Wolf-Rayet stars
located within a compact region with < 500 pc in diameter. For the first time
in a BCD, a relatively strong [Fe V] 4227 emission line is seen which together
with intense He II 4686 emission indicates the presence of a very hard
radiation field in Tol 1214-277. We argue that this extraordinarily hard
radiation originates from both Wolf--Rayet stars and radiative shocks in the
starburst region. The structural properties of the low-surface-brightness (LSB)
component underlying the starburst have been investigated by means of surface
photometry down to 28 B mag/sq.arcsec. We find that, for a surface brightness
level fainter than ~ 24.5 B mag/sq.arcsec, an exponential fitting law provides
an adequate approximation to its radial intensity distribution. The broad-band
colors in the outskirts of the LSB component of Tol 1214-277 are nearly
constant and are consistent with an age below one Gyr. This conclusion is
supported by the comparison of the observed spectral energy distribution (SED)
of the LSB host with theoretical SEDs.Comment: 17 pages, 11 Postscript figures, uses emulateapj.sty, to appear in
Astronomical Journa
Magnetism: the Driving Force of Order in CoPt. A First-Principles Study
CoPt or FePt equiatomic alloys order according to the tetragonal L10
structure which favors their strong magnetic anisotropy. Conversely magnetism
can influence chemical ordering. We present here {\it ab initio} calculations
of the stability of the L10 and L12 structures of Co-Pt alloys in their
paramagnetic and ferromagnetic states. They show that magnetism strongly
reinforces the ordering tendencies in this system. A simple tight-binding
analysis allows us to account for this behavior in terms of some pertinent
parameters
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