Calculating the inherent visual structure of a landscape (inherent viewshed) using high-throughput computing

This paper describes a method of calculating the inherent visibility at all locations in a landscape (‘total viewshed’) by making use of redundant computer cycles. This approach uses a simplified viewshed program that is suitable for use within a distributed environment, in this case managed by the Condor system. Distributing the calculation in this way reduced the calculation time of our example from an estimated 34 days to slightly over 25 hours using a cluster of 43 workstations. Finally, we discuss the example ‘total viewshed’ raster for the Avebury region, and briefly highlight some of its implications

Thermodynamically consistent equilibrium properties of normal-liquid Helium-3

The high-precision data for the specific heat C_{V}(T,V) of normal-liquid Helium-3 obtained by Greywall, taken together with the molar volume V(T_0,P) at one temperature T_0, are shown to contain the complete thermodynamic information about this phase in zero magnetic field. This enables us to calculate the T and P dependence of all equilibrium properties of normal-liquid Helium-3 in a thermodynamically consistent way for a wide range of parameters. The results for the entropy S(T,P), specific heat at constant pressure C_P(T,P), molar volume V(T,P), compressibility kappa(T,P), and thermal expansion coefficient alpha(T,P) are collected in the form of figures and tables. This provides the first complete set of thermodynamically consistent values of the equilibrium quantities of normal-liquid Helium-3. We find, for example, that alpha(T,P) has a surprisingly intricate pressure dependence at low temperatures, and that the curves alpha(T,P) vs T do not cross at one single temperature for all pressures, in contrast to the curves presented in the comprehensive survey of helium by Wilks. Corrected in cond-mat/9906222v3: The sign of the coefficient d_0 was misprinted in Table I of cond-mat/9906222v1 and v2. It now correctly reads d_0=-7.1613436. All results in the paper were obtained with the correct value of d_0. (We would like to thank for E. Collin, H. Godfrin, and Y. Bunkov for finding this misprint.)Comment: 19 pages, 19 figures, 9 tables; published version; note added in proof; v3: misprint correcte

New objects in old structures: The Iron Age hoard of the Palacio III megalithic funerary complex (Almadén de la Plata, Seville, Spain)

Cultural contact, exchange and interaction feature high in the list of challenging topics of current research on European Prehistory. Not far off is the issue of the changing role of monuments in the making and maintaining of key cultural devices such as memory and identity. Addressing both these highly-debated issues from a science-based perspective, in this paper we look at an unusual case study set in southern Iberia and illustrate how these archaeological questions can benefit from robust materials-science approaches.We present the contextual, morphological and analytical study of an exceptional Early Iron Age hoard composed of a number of different (and mostly exotic) materials such as amber, quartz, silver and ceramic. This hoard, found under the fallen orthostat of a megalithic structure built at least 2000 years earlier, throws new light on long-distance exchange networks and the effect they could have had on the cultural identities and social relations of local Iberian Early Iron Age communities. Moreover, the archaeometric study reveals how diverse and distant the sources of these item are (Northern Europe to Eastern and Western Mediterranean raw materials, as well as local and eastern technologies), therefore raising questions concerning the social mechanisms used to establish change and resistance in contexts of colonial encounter

Reconnaissance of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet system in the Lyman-α\alpha line

The TRAPPIST-1 system offers the opportunity to characterize terrestrial, potentially habitable planets orbiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star. We performed a four-orbit reconnaissance with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope to study the stellar emission at Lyman-$\alpha$, to assess the presence of hydrogen exospheres around the two inner planets, and to determine their UV irradiation. We detect the Lyman-$\alpha$ line of TRAPPIST-1, making it the coldest exoplanet host star for which this line has been measured. We reconstruct the intrinsic line profile, showing that it lacks broad wings and is much fainter than expected from the stellar X-ray emission. TRAPPIST-1 has a similar X-ray emission as Proxima Cen but a much lower Ly-$\alpha$ emission. This suggests that TRAPPIST-1 chromosphere is only moderately active compared to its transition region and corona. We estimated the atmospheric mass loss rates for all planets, and found that despite a moderate extreme UV emission the total XUV irradiation could be strong enough to strip the atmospheres of the inner planets in a few billions years. We detect marginal flux decreases at the times of TRAPPIST-1b and c transits, which might originate from stellar activity, but could also hint at the presence of extended hydrogen exospheres. Understanding the origin of these Lyman-$\alpha$ variations will be crucial in assessing the atmospheric stability and potential habitability of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.Comment: Published in A&A as a Letter to the Edito

Local Field Effects on Magnetic Suppression of the Converging Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability

We examine how the suppression of the converging shockdriven Richtmyer-Meshkov instability by an applied magnetic field is dependent on the local magnetic field strength and orientation. In particular, we examine whether the extent of suppression can be reasonably predicted by a linear model for the planar case. This is done for cylindrically converging cases with a high perturbation wavenumber and two different initial magnetic field configurations

GALEX observations of quasar variability in the ultraviolet

Using archival observations recorded over a 5+ year timeframe with the NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite, we present a study of the ultraviolet (UV) variability of 4360 quasars of redshifts up to z=2.5 that have optical counterparts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5 spectroscopic catalog. The observed changes in both the far UV (FUV: 1350-1785A) and near UV (NUV: 1770-2830A) AB magnitudes as a function of time may help differentiate between models of the emission mechanisms thought to operate in these active galaxies. A list of NUV and FUV variable quasars was derived from the UV light-curves of sources with 5 or more observational visits by GALEX that spanned a time-frame greater than 3 months. By measuring the error in the derived mean UV magnitude from the series of GALEX observations for each source, quasars whose UV variability was greater than the 3-sigma variance from the mean observed value were deemed to be (intrinsically) UV variable. This conservative selection criterion (which was applied to both FUV and NUV observations) resulted in identifying 550 NUV and 371 FUV quasars as being statistically significant UV variable objects.Comment: A&A Accepted, spelling of author's name corrected (Neill

Effects of halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia on microcirculatory blood flow in musculocutaneous flaps

Hypoperfusion and necrosis in musculocutaneous flaps used for reconstruction of tissue defects is still a significant clinical problem. Although the causes of hypoperfusion are frequently surgical in nature, little is known about the effects of anaesthetic management on blood flow in flaps or the outcome of flap surgery. We compared in minipigs the effects of halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia in equipotent doses on microcirculatory blood flow (MBF) in the skin and muscle part of musculocutaneous flaps and also in intact (control) skin and muscle. Measurements were made during stable normovolaemic conditions and during mild to moderate hypovolaemia (withdrawal of 5%, 10% and 15% of total blood volume). Multi-channel laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to measure MBF and electromagnetic flowmetry (EMF) for total flap blood flow. During normovolaemic conditions there was no significant difference between the two groups in central haemodynamic or respiratory data. After 15% blood loss, however, there was a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure and cardiac output in the halothane group while there was no significant change in the isoflurane group (P < 0.05). MBF in control skin, control muscle and flap muscle remained approximately 10−15% higher in the isoflurane than in the halothane group throughout the study. In the isoflurane group, MBF in flap skin was unchanged during normovolaemia and there was less than 10% decrease during hypovolaemia. In the halothane group hypovolaemia caused a significant decrease in MBF in flap skin: 27% decrease after 5% blood loss, 45% decrease after 10% blood loss and 49% decrease after 15% blood loss compared with 5%, 20% and 21%, respectively, in intact skin. We conclude that during normovolaemic conditions MBF was well maintained in musculocutaneous flaps in minipigs both with halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia; however, during mild to moderate hypovolemia MBF decreased markedly in flap skin with halothane anaesthesia while it remained unchanged with isofluran

The transverse field Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in magnetohydrodynamics

The magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability is investigated for the case where the initial magnetic field is unperturbed and aligned with the mean interface location. For this initial condition, the magnetic field lines penetrate the perturbed density interface, forbidding a tangential velocity jump and therefore the presence of a vortex sheet. Through simulation, we find that the vorticity distribution present on the interface immediately after the shock acceleration breaks up into waves traveling parallel and anti-parallel to the magnetic field, which transport the vorticity. The interference of these waves as they propagate causes the perturbation amplitude of the interface to oscillate in time. This interface behavior is accurately predicted over a broad range of parameters by an incompressible linearized model derived presently by solving the corresponding impulse driven, linearized initial value problem. Our use of an equilibrium initial condition results in interface motion produced solely by the impulsive acceleration. Nonlinear compressible simulations are used to investigate the behavior of the transverse field magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, and the performance of the incompressible model, over a range of shock strengths, magnetic field strengths, perturbation amplitudes and Atwood numbers