731 research outputs found
Dust Devil Tracks
Dust devils that leave dark- or light-toned tracks are common on Mars and they can also be found on the Earthâs surface. Dust devil tracks (hereinafter DDTs) are ephemeral surface features with mostly sub-annual lifetimes. Regarding their size, DDT widths can range between âŒ1 m and âŒ1 km, depending on the diameter of dust devil that created the track, and DDT lengths range from a few tens of meters to several kilometers, limited by the duration and horizontal ground speed of dust devils. DDTs can be classified into three main types based on their morphology and albedo in contrast to their surroundings; all are found on both planets: (a) dark continuous DDTs, (b) dark cycloidal DDTs, and (c) bright DDTs. Dark continuous DDTs are the most common type on Mars. They are characterized by their relatively homogenous and continuous low albedo surface tracks. Based on terrestrial and martian in situ studies, these DDTs most likely form when surficial dust layers are removed to expose larger-grained substrate material (coarse sands of â„500 ÎŒm in diameter). The exposure of larger-grained materials changes the photometric properties of the surface; hence leading to lower albedo tracks because grain size is photometrically inversely proportional to the surface reflectance. However, although not observed so far, compositional differences (i.e., color differences) might also lead to albedo contrasts when dust is removed to expose substrate materials with mineralogical differences. For dark continuous DDTs, albedo drop measurements are around 2.5 % in the wavelength range of 550â850 nm on Mars and around 0.5 % in the wavelength range from 300â1100 nm on Earth. The removal of an equivalent layer thickness around 1 ÎŒm is sufficient for the formation of visible dark continuous DDTs on Mars and Earth. The next type of DDTs, dark cycloidal DDTs, are characterized by their low albedo pattern of overlapping scallops. Terrestrial in situ studies imply that they are formed when sand-sized material that is eroded from the outer vortex area of a dust devil is redeposited in annular patterns in the central vortex region. This type of DDT can also be found in on Mars in orbital image data, and although in situ studies are lacking, terrestrial analog studies, laboratory work, and numerical modeling suggest they have the same formation mechanism as those on Earth. Finally, bright DDTs are characterized by their continuous track pattern and high albedo compared to their undisturbed surroundings. They are found on both planets, but to date they have only been analyzed in situ on Earth. Here, the destruction of aggregates of dust, silt and sand by dust devils leads to smooth surfaces in contrast to the undisturbed rough surfaces surrounding the track. The resulting change in photometric properties occurs because the smoother surfaces have a higher reflectance compared to the surrounding rough surface, leading to bright DDTs. On Mars, the destruction of surficial dust-aggregates may also lead to bright DDTs. However, higher reflective surfaces may be produced by other formation mechanisms, such as dust compaction by passing dust devils, as this may also cause changes in photometric properties. On Mars, DDTs in general are found at all elevations and on a global scale, except on the permanent polar caps. DDT maximum areal densities occur during spring and summer in both hemispheres produced by an increase in dust devil activity caused by maximum insolation. Regionally, dust devil densities vary spatially likely controlled by changes in dust cover thicknesses and substrate materials. This variability makes it difficult to infer dust devil activity from DDT frequencies. Furthermore, only a fraction of dust devils leave tracks. However, DDTs can be used as proxies for dust devil lifetimes and wind directions and speeds, and they can also be used to predict lander or rover solar panel clearing events. Overall, the high DDT frequency in many areas on Mars leads to drastic albedo changes that affect large-scale weather patterns
Classical Open String Models in 4-Dim Minkowski Spacetime
Classical bosonic open string models in fourdimensional Minkowski spacetime
are discussed. A special attention is paid to the choice of edge conditions,
which can follow consistently from the action principle. We consider
lagrangians that can depend on second order derivatives of worldsheet
coordinates. A revised interpretation of the variational problem for such
theories is given. We derive a general form of a boundary term that can be
added to the open string action to control edge conditions and modify
conservation laws. An extended boundary problem for minimal surfaces is
examined. Following the treatment of this model in the geometric approach, we
obtain that classical open string states correspond to solutions of a complex
Liouville equation. In contrast to the Nambu-Goto case, the Liouville potential
is finite and constant at worldsheet boundaries. The phase part of the
potential defines topological sectors of solutions.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, preprint TPJU-28-93 (the previous version was
truncated by ftp...
Vanishing corrections on the intermediate scale and implications for unification of forces
In two-step breaking of a class of grand unified theories including SO(10),we
prove a theorem showing that the scale where the Pati-Salam gauge
symmetry with parity breaks down to the standard gauge group,has vanishing
corrections due to all sources emerging from higher scales such as
the one-loop and all higher loop effects,the GUT-threshold,gravitational
smearing,and string threshold effects. Implications of such a scale for the
unification of gauge couplings with small Majorana neutrino masses are
discussed.In string inspired SO(10) we show that ,needed for neutrino masses,with the GUT scale can
be realized provided certain particle states in the predicted spectum are
light.Comment: 21 pages, Late
A Classification of 3-Family Grand Unification in String Theory I. The SO(10) and E_6 Models
We give a classification of 3-family SO(10) and E_6 grand unification in
string theory within the framework of conformal field theory and asymmetric
orbifolds. We argue that the construction of such models in the heterotic
string theory requires certain Z_6 asymmetric orbifolds that include a Z_3
outer-automorphism, the latter yielding a level-3 current algebra for the grand
unification gauge group SO(10) or E_6. We then classify all such Z_6 asymmetric
orbifolds that result in models with a non-abelian hidden sector. All models
classified in this paper have only one adjoint (but no other higher
representation) Higgs field in the grand unified gauge group. In addition, all
of them are completely anomaly free. There are two types of such 3-family
models. The first type consists of the unique SO(10) model with SU(2) X SU(2) X
SU(2) as its hidden sector (which is not asymptotically-free at the string
scale). This SO(10) model has 4 left-handed and 1 right-handed 16s. The second
type is described by a moduli space containing 17 models (distinguished by
their massless spectra). All these models have an SU(2) hidden sector, and 5
left-handed and 2 right-handed families in the grand unified gauge group. One
of these models is the unique E_6 model with an asymptotically-free SU(2)
hidden sector. The others are SO(10) models, 8 of them with an asymptotically
free hidden sector at the string scale.Comment: 35 pages, Revtex 3.0, one eps figure (to appear in Phys. Rev. D
Validation of a small-animal PET simulation using GAMOS: a Geant4-based framework
onte Carlo-based modelling is a powerful tool to help in the design and optimization of positron emission tomography (PET) systems. The performance of these systems depends on several parameters, such as detector physical characteristics, shielding or electronics, whose effects can be studied on the basis of realistic simulated data. The aim of this paper is to validate a comprehensive study of the Raytest ClearPET small-animal PET scanner using a new Monte Carlo simulation platform which has been developed at CIEMAT (Madrid, Spain), called GAMOS (GEANT4-based Architecture for Medicine-Oriented Simulations). This toolkit, based on the GEANT4 code, was originally designed to cover multiple applications in the field of medical physics from radiotherapy to nuclear medicine, but has since been applied by some of its users in other fields of physics, such as neutron shielding, space physics, high energy physics, etc. Our simulation model includes the relevant characteristics of the ClearPET system, namely, the double layer of scintillator crystals in phoswich configuration, the rotating gantry, the presence of intrinsic radioactivity in the crystals or the storage of single events for an off-line coincidence sorting. Simulated results are contrasted with experimental acquisitions including studies of spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction and count rates in accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 4-2008 protocol. Spatial resolution results showed a discrepancy between simulated and measured values equal to 8.4% (with a maximum FWHM difference over all measurement directions of 0.5 mm). Sensitivity results differ less than 1% for a 250â750 keV energy window. Simulated and measured count rates agree well within a wide range of activities, including under electronic saturation of the system (the measured peak of total coincidences, for the mouse-sized phantom, was 250.8 kcps reached at 0.95 MBq mLâ1 and the simulated peak was 247.1 kcps at 0.87 MBq mLâ1). Agreement better than 3% was obtained in the scatter fraction comparison study. We also measured and simulated a mini-Derenzo phantom obtaining images with similar quality using iterative reconstruction methods. We concluded that the overall performance of the simulation showed good agreement with the measured results and validates the GAMOS package for PET applications. Furthermore, its ease of use and flexibility recommends it as an excellent tool to optimize design features or image reconstruction techniques
Planck-Scale Unification and Dynamical Symmetry Breaking
We explore the possibility of unification of gauge couplings near the Planck
scale in models of extended technicolor. We observe that models of the form G X
SU(3)_c X SU(2)_L X U(1)_Y cannot be realized, due to the presence of massless
neutral Goldstone bosons (axions) and light charged pseudo-Goldstone bosons;
thus, unification of the known forces near the Planck scale cannot be achieved.
The next simplest possibility, G X SU(4)_{PS} X SU(2)_L X U(1)_{T_{3R}}, cannot
lead to unification of the Pati-Salam and weak gauge groups near the Planck
scale. However, superstring theory provides relations between couplings at the
Planck scale without the need for an underlying grand-unified gauge group,
which allows unification of the SU(4) and SU(2) couplings.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, FERMILAB-PUB-93/262-
GATE : a simulation toolkit for PET and SPECT
Monte Carlo simulation is an essential tool in emission tomography that can
assist in the design of new medical imaging devices, the optimization of
acquisition protocols, and the development or assessment of image
reconstruction algorithms and correction techniques. GATE, the Geant4
Application for Tomographic Emission, encapsulates the Geant4 libraries to
achieve a modular, versatile, scripted simulation toolkit adapted to the field
of nuclear medicine. In particular, GATE allows the description of
time-dependent phenomena such as source or detector movement, and source decay
kinetics. This feature makes it possible to simulate time curves under
realistic acquisition conditions and to test dynamic reconstruction algorithms.
A public release of GATE licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License
can be downloaded at the address http://www-lphe.epfl.ch/GATE/
In-Sample and Out-of-Sample Prediction of Stock Market Bubbles: Cross-Sectional Evidence
When a Factor is Measured with Error: The Role of Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Identifying and Estimating Linear Factor Models
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