Comparison of aerosol optical depths from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura with results from airborne sunphotometry, other space and ground measurements during MILAGRO/INTEX-B

Airborne sunphotometer measurements are used to evaluate retrievals of extinction aerosol optical depth (AOD) from spatially coincident and temporally near-coincident measurements by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the Aura satellite during the March 2006 Megacity Initiative-Local And Global Research Observations/Phase B of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (MILAGRO/INTEX-B). The 14-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS) flew on nine missions over the Gulf of Mexico and four in or near the Mexico City area. Retrievals of AOD from near-coincident AATS and OMI measurements are compared for three flights over the Gulf of Mexico for flight segments when the aircraft flew at altitudes 60–70 m above sea level, and for one flight over the Mexico City area where the aircraft was restricted to altitudes ~320–800 m above ground level over the rural area and ~550–750 m over the city. OMI-measured top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectances are routinely inverted to yield aerosol products such as AOD and aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) using two different retrieval algorithms: a near-UV (OMAERUV) and a multiwavelength (OMAERO) technique. This study uses the archived Collection 3 data products from both algorithms. In particular, AATS and OMI AOD comparisons are presented for AATS data acquired in 20 OMAERUV retrieval pixels (15 over water) and 19 OMAERO pixels (also 15 over water). At least four pixels for one of the over-water coincidences and all pixels for the over-land case were cloud-free. Coincident AOD retrievals from 17 pixels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard Aqua are available for two of the over-water flights and are shown to agree with AATS AODs to within root mean square (RMS) differences of 0.00–0.06, depending on wavelength. Near-coincident ground-based AOD measurements from ground-based sun/sky radiometers operated as part of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) at three sites in and near Mexico City are also shown and are generally consistent with the AATS AODs (which exclude any AOD below the aircraft) both in magnitude and spectral dependence. The OMAERUV algorithm retrieves AODs corresponding to a non-absorbing aerosol model for all three over-water comparisons whereas the OMAERO algorithm retrieves best-fit AODs corresponding to an absorbing biomass-burning aerosol model for two of the three over-water cases. For the four cloud-free pixels in one over-water coincidence (10 March), the OMAERUV retrievals underestimate the AATS AODs by ~0.20, which exceeds the expected retrieval uncertainty, but retrieved AODs agree with AATS values within uncertainties for the other two over-water events. When OMAERO retrieves AODs corresponding to a biomass-burning aerosol over water, the values significantly overestimate the AATS AODs (by up to 0.55). For the Mexico City coincidence, comparisons are presented for a non-urban region ~50–70 km northeast of the city and for a site near the center of the city. OMAERUV retrievals are consistent with AERONET AOD magnitudes for the non-urban site, but are nearly double the AATS and AERONET AODs (with differences of up to 0.29) in the center of the city. Corresponding OMAERO retrievals exceed the AATS and/or AERONET AODs by factors of 3 to 10

A new method for deriving aerosol solar radiative forcing and its first application within MILAGRO/INTEX-B

We introduce a method for deriving aerosol spectral radiative forcing along with single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, and surface albedo from airborne vertical profile measurements of shortwave spectral irradiance and spectral aerosol optical thickness. The new method complements the traditional, direct measurement of aerosol radiative forcing efficiency from horizontal flight legs below gradients of aerosol optical thickness, and is particularly useful over heterogeneous land surfaces and for homogeneous aerosol layers where the horizontal gradient method is impractical. Using data collected by the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) and the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14) during the MILAGRO (Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations) experiment, we validate an over-ocean spectral aerosol forcing efficiency from the new method by comparing with the traditional method. Retrieved over-land aerosol optical properties are compared with in-situ measurements and AERONET retrievals. The spectral forcing efficiencies over ocean and land are remarkably similar and agree with results from other field experiments

Hysteresis and Avalanches in the Random Anisotropy Ising Model

The behaviour of the Random Anisotropy Ising model at T=0 under local relaxation dynamics is studied. The model includes a dominant ferromagnetic interaction and assumes an infinite anisotropy at each site along local anisotropy axes which are randomly aligned. Two different random distributions of anisotropy axes have been studied. Both are characterized by a parameter that allows control of the degree of disorder in the system. By using numerical simulations we analyze the hysteresis loop properties and characterize the statistical distribution of avalanches occuring during the metastable evolution of the system driven by an external field. A disorder-induced critical point is found in which the hysteresis loop changes from displaying a typical ferromagnetic magnetization jump to a rather smooth loop exhibiting only tiny avalanches. The critical point is characterized by a set of critical exponents, which are consistent with the universal values proposed from the study of other simpler models.Comment: 40 pages, 21 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Neutron skin of 208^{208}Pb from Coherent Pion Photoproduction

Information on the size and shape of the neutron skin on $^{208}$Pb has been extracted from coherent pion photoproduction cross sections measured using the Crystal Ball together with the Glasgow tagger at the MAMI electron beam facility. On exploitation of an interpolated fit of a theoretical model to the measured cross sections the half-height radius and diffuseness of the neutron distribution are found to be 6.70$\pm 0.03(stat)$ fm and 0.55$\pm 0.01(stat)$$^{+0.02}_{-0.03}(sys)$ fm respectively, corresponding to a neutron skin thickness $\Delta r_{np}$=0.15$\pm 0.03(stat)$$^{+0.01}_{-0.03}(sys)$ fm. The results give the first successful extraction of a neutron skin with an electromagnetic probe and indicate the skin of $^{208}$Pb has a halo character. The measurement provides valuable new constraints on both the structure of nuclei and the equation of state for neutron-rich matter.Comment: 4 figures 5 pages. Version submitted to journal. Includes additional studies of systematic effects in the extracted diffuseness, which led to a small increase in the quoted systematic error. These additional studies are discussed in the revised manuscript. Also includes minor editorial improvements to the tex

Monitoring Fast Superconducting Qubit Dynamics Using A Neural Network

Weak measurements of a superconducting qubit produce noisy voltage signals that are weakly correlated with the qubit state. To recover individual quantum trajectories from these noisy signals, traditional methods require slow qubit dynamics and substantial prior information in the form of calibration experiments. Monitoring rapid qubit dynamics, e.g., during quantum gates, requires more complicated methods with increased demand for prior information. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an alternative method for accurately tracking rapidly driven superconducting qubit trajectories that uses a long short-term memory (LSTM) artificial neural network with minimal prior information. Despite few training assumptions, the LSTM produces trajectories that include qubit-readout resonator correlations due to a finite detection bandwidth. In addition to revealing rotated measurement eigenstates and a reduced measurement rate in agreement with theory for a fixed drive, the trained LSTM also correctly reconstructs evolution for an unknown drive with rapid modulation. Our work enables new applications of weak measurements with faster or initially unknown qubit dynamics, such as the diagnosis of coherent errors in quantum gates

K2-137 b: an Earth-sized planet in a 4.3-hour orbit around an M-dwarf

We report the discovery from K2 of a transiting terrestrial planet in an ultra-short-period orbit around an M3-dwarf. K2-137 b completes an orbit in only 4.3 hours, the second-shortest orbital period of any known planet, just 4 minutes longer than that of KOI 1843.03, which also orbits an M-dwarf. Using a combination of archival images, AO imaging, RV measurements, and light curve modelling, we show that no plausible eclipsing binary scenario can explain the K2 light curve, and thus confirm the planetary nature of the system. The planet, whose radius we determine to be 0.89 +/- 0.09 Earth radii, and which must have a iron mass fraction greater than 0.45, orbits a star of mass 0.463 +/- 0.052 Msol and radius 0.442 +/- 0.044 Rsol.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

T and F asymmetries in π0 photoproduction on the proton

The γp→π0p reaction was studied at laboratory photon energies from 425 to 1445 MeV with a transversely polarized target and a longitudinally polarized beam. The beam-target asymmetry F was measured for the first time and new high precision data for the target asymmetry T were obtained. The experiment was performed at the photon tagging facility of the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) using the Crystal Ball and TAPS photon spectrometers. The polarized cross sections were expanded in terms of associated Legendre functions and compared to recent predictions from several partial-wave analyses. The impact of the new data on our understanding of the underlying partial-wave amplitudes and baryon resonance contributions is discussed

Measurements of 12C(→γ,pp) photon asymmetries for Eγ= 200–450 MeV

The 12C (→γ ,pp) reaction has been studied in the photon energy range 200-450 MeV at the Mainz microtron MAMI-C, where linearly polarised photons were energy-tagged using the Glasgow-Mainz Tagged Photon Spectrometer and protons were detected in the Crystal Ball detector. The photon asymmetry Σ has been measured over a wider Eγ range than previous measurements. The strongest asymmetries were found at low missing energies where direct emission of nucleon pairs is expected. Cuts on the difference in azimuthal angles of the two ejected protons increased the magnitude of the observed asymmetries. At low missing energies the Σ data exhibit a strong angular dependence, similar to deuteron photodisintegration

Measurement of the Electric Form Factor of the Neutron at Q^2 = 0.3-0.8 (GeV/c)^2

The electric form factor of the neutron, G_En, has been measured at the Mainz Microtron by recoil polarimetry in the quasielastic D(e_pol,e'n_pol)p reaction. Three data points have been extracted at squared four-momentum transfers Q^2 = 0.3, 0.6 and 0.8 (GeV/c)^2. Corrections for nuclear binding effects have been applied.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in EPJ

Determination of the Dalitz plot parameter alpha for the decay eta->3pi^0 with the Crystal Ball at MAMI-B

A precise measurement of the Dalitz plot parameter, alpha, for the eta->3pi^0 decay is presented. The experiment was performed with the Crystal Ball and TAPS large acceptance photon detectors at the tagged photon beam facility of the MAMI-B electron accelerator in Mainz. High statistics of 1.8*10^6 eta->3pi^0 events were obtained, giving the result alpha = -0.032 +/- 0.002(stat) +/- 0.002(syst).Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, published in the online-first section of EPJ A, included changes referees asked for, added DO