1,066 research outputs found
Polarimetric observations of comet Levy 1990c and of other comets: Some clues to the evolution of cometary dust
The evolution with the phase angle alpha of the polarization degree P of light scattered by comet Halley's dust is well documented. No significant discrepancy is found between Halley and Levy polarization curves near the inversion point. From all available cometary observations, we have derived polarimetric synthetic curves. Typically, a set of about 200 data points in the red wavelengths range exhibits a minimum for (alpha approximately equals 10.3 degrees, P approximately equals 1.8 percent) and an inversion point for (alpha approximately equals 22.4 degrees, P = 0 percent), with a slop of about 0.27 percent per degree. A significant spreading of some data (comets Austin 1982VI, Austin 1989c1, West 1976VI) is found at large phase angles. The analysis of our polarimetric maps of Levy reveals that the inner coma is heterogeneous. The increase of the inversion angle value with increasing distance from the photometric center is suspected to be due to the evolution with time of grains ejected from the nucleus. A fan like structure could be produced by a jet of grains freshly ejected
Polaron relaxation in ferroelectric thin films
We report a dielectric relaxation in ferroelectric thin films of the ABO3
family. We have compared films of different compositions with several growth
modes: sputtering (with and without magnetron) and sol-gel. The relaxation was
observed at cryogenic temperature (T<100K) for frequencies from 100Hz up to
10MHz. This relaxation activation energy is always lower than 200meV. It is
very similar to the polaron relaxation that we reported in the parent bulk
perovskites. Being independent of the materials size, morphology and texture,
this relaxation can be a useful probe of defects in actual integrated
capacitors with no need for specific shapin
Influence of transport and ocean ice extent on biogenic aerosol sulfur in the Arctic atmosphere
The recent decline in sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean could affect the regional radiative forcing via changes in sea ice-atmosphere exchange of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and biogenic aerosols formed from its atmospheric oxidation, such as methanesulfonic acid (MSA). This study examines relationships between changes in total sea ice extent north of 70 degrees N and atmospheric MSA measurement at Alert, Nunavut, during 1980-2009; at Barrow, Alaska, during 1997-2008; and at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, for 1991-2004. During the 1980-1989 and 1990-1997 periods, summer (July-August) and June MSA concentrations at Alert decreased. In general, MSA concentrations increased at all locations since 2000 with respect to 1990 values, specifically during June and summer at Alert and in summer at Barrow and Ny-Alesund. Our results show variability in MSA at all sites is related to changes in the source strengths of DMS, possibly linked to changes in sea ice extent as well as to changes in atmospheric transport patterns. Since 2000, a late spring increase in atmospheric MSA at the three sites coincides with the northward migration of the marginal ice edge zone where high DMS emissions from ocean to atmosphere have previously been reported. Significant negative correlations are found between sea ice extent and MSA concentrations at the three sites during the spring and June. These results suggest that a decrease in seasonal ice cover influencing other mechanisms of DMS production could lead to higher atmospheric MSA concentrations
Evidence of Fragmenting Dust Particles from Near-Simultaneous Optical and Near-IR Photometry and Polarimetry of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
We report imaging polarimetry of segments B and C of the Jupiter-family Comet
73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 in the I and H bandpasses at solar phase angles of
approximately 35 and 85deg. The level of polarization was typical for active
comets, but larger than expected for a Jupiter-family comet. The polarimetric
color was slightly red (dP/dL = +1.2 +/- 0.4) at a phase angle of ~ 35deg and
either neutral or slightly blue at a phase angle of ~ 85deg. Observations
during the closest approach from 2006 May 11-13 achieved a resolution of 35 km
at the nucleus. Both segments clearly depart from a 1/rho surface brightness
for the first 50 - 200 km from the nucleus. Simulations of radiation driven
dust dynamics can reproduce some of the observed coma morphology, but only with
a wide distribution of initial dust velocities (at least a factor of 10) for a
given grain radius. Grain aggregate breakup and fragmentation are able to
reproduce the observed profile perpendicular to the Sun-Comet axis, but fit the
observations less well along this axis (into the tail). The required
fragmentation is significant, with a reduction in the mean grain aggregate size
by about a factor of 10. A combination of the two processes could possibly
explain the surface brightness profile of the comet.Comment: 40 pages including 11 figure
Brief Amici Curiae Legal Scholars of Sex and Gender In Support of Plaintiff-Appellant
This amicus brief was filed in Griffith v. El Paso County, Colorado, case no. 23-1135 (10th Circuit) in support of appellant Darlene Griffith. Amici curiae are legal scholars of sex and gender. They offerexpertise in their personal capacities to assist the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in assessing whether the El Paso County Sheriff officials violated Ms. Griffith’s Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection when they refused to house Ms. Griffith, a transgender woman, in the women\u27s unit of the El Paso County Jail as a pretrial detainee
Detection of lensing substructure using ALMA observations of the dusty galaxy SDP.81
We study the abundance of substructure in the matter density near galaxies
using ALMA Science Verification observations of the strong lensing system
SDP.81. We present a method to measure the abundance of subhalos around
galaxies using interferometric observations of gravitational lenses. Using
simulated ALMA observations, we explore the effects of various systematics,
including antenna phase errors and source priors, and show how such errors may
be measured or marginalized. We apply our formalism to ALMA observations of
SDP.81. We find evidence for the presence of a
subhalo near one of the images, with a significance of in a joint
fit to data from bands 6 and 7; the effect of the subhalo is also detected in
both bands individually. We also derive constraints on the abundance of dark
matter subhalos down to , pushing down to the
mass regime of the smallest detected satellites in the Local Group, where there
are significant discrepancies between the observed population of luminous
galaxies and predicted dark matter subhalos. We find hints of additional
substructure, warranting further study using the full SDP.81 dataset
(including, for example, the spectroscopic imaging of the lensed carbon
monoxide emission). We compare the results of this search to the predictions of
CDM halos, and find that given current uncertainties in the host halo
properties of SDP.81, our measurements of substructure are consistent with
theoretical expectations. Observations of larger samples of gravitational
lenses with ALMA should be able to improve the constraints on the abundance of
galactic substructure.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, Comments are welcom
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