22,526 research outputs found
Development and flight evaluation of active controls in the L-1011
Active controls in the Lockheed L-1011 for increased energy efficiency are discussed. Active wing load alleviation for extended span, increased aspect ratio, and active stability augmentation with a smaller tail for reduced drag and weight are among the topics considered. Flight tests of active wing load alleviation on the baseline aircraft and moving-base piloted simulation developing criteria for stability augmentation are described
Hadronic model for radio-to-TeV gamma-ray emission from PSR B1259-63
We discuss the implications of the recent X-ray and TeV gamma-ray
observations of the PSR B1259-63 system (a young rotation powered pulsar
orbiting a Be star) for the theoretical models of interaction of pulsar and
stellar winds. We show that previously considered models in which the pulsar
wind is purely electron loaded have problems to account for the observed
behaviour of the system in the TeV and X-ray bands. We develop a model in which
the broad band (radio, X-ray and high energy gamma-ray) emission from the
binary system is produced in result of collisions of GeV-TeV energy protons
accelerated by the pulsar wind and interacting with the stellar disk. In this
model the high energy gamma-rays are produced in the decays of secondary
neutral pions, while radio and X-ray emission are synchrotron and inverse
Compton emission produced by low-energy (< 100 MeV) electrons from the decays
of secondary charged pi mesons. This model can explain not only the observed
energy spectra, but also the correlations between TeV, X-ray and radio emission
components.Comment: Proceeding of "The multi messenger approach to high energy gamma ray
sources", Barcelona, June 200
Origin of the transient unpulsed radio emission from the PSR B1259-63 binary system
We discuss the interpretation of transient, unpulsed radio emission detected
from the unique pulsar/Be-star binary system PSR B1259-63. Extensive monitoring
of the 1994 and 1997 periastron passages has shown that the source flares over
a 100-day interval around periastron, varying on time-scales as short as a day
and peaking at 60 mJy (~100 times the apastron flux density) at 1.4 GHz.
Interpreting the emission as synchrotron radiation, we show that (i) the
observed variations in flux density are too large to be caused by the shock
interaction between the pulsar wind and an isotropic, radiatively driven,
Be-star wind, and (ii) the radio emitting electrons do not originate from the
pulsar wind. We argue instead that the radio electrons originate from the
circumstellar disk of the Be star and are accelerated at two epochs, one before
and one after periastron, when the pulsar passes through the disk. A simple
model incorporating two epochs of impulsive acceleration followed by
synchrotron cooling reproduces the essential features of the radio light curve
and spectrum and is consistent with the system geometry inferred from pulsed
radio data.Comment: To be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters 7 pages, 1
postscript figur
Kertesz on Fat Graphs?
The identification of phase transition points, beta_c, with the percolation
thresholds of suitably defined clusters of spins has proved immensely fruitful
in many areas of statistical mechanics. Some time ago Kertesz suggested that
such percolation thresholds for models defined in field might also have
measurable physical consequences for regions of the phase diagram below beta_c,
giving rise to a ``Kertesz line'' running between beta_c and the bond
percolation threshold, beta_p, in the M, beta plane.
Although no thermodynamic singularities were associated with this line it
could still be divined by looking for a change in the behaviour of high-field
series for quantities such as the free energy or magnetisation. Adler and
Stauffer did precisely this with some pre-existing series for the regular
square lattice and simple cubic lattice Ising models and did, indeed, find
evidence for such a change in high-field series around beta_p. Since there is a
general dearth of high-field series there has been no other work along these
lines.
In this paper we use the solution of the Ising model in field on planar
random graphs by Boulatov and Kazakov to carry out a similar exercise for the
Ising model on random graphs (i.e. coupled to 2D quantum gravity). We generate
a high-field series for the Ising model on random graphs and examine
its behaviour for evidence of a Kertesz line
Synchronized voltage contrast display analysis system
An apparatus and method for comparing internal voltage potentials of first and second operating electronic components such as large scale integrated circuits (LSI's) in which voltage differentials are visually identified via an appropriate display means are described. More particularly, in a first embodiment of the invention a first and second scanning electron microscope (SEM) are configured to scan a first and second operating electronic component respectively. The scan pattern of the second SEM is synchronized to that of the first SEM so that both simultaneously scan corresponding portions of the two operating electronic components. Video signals from each SEM corresponding to secondary electron signals generated as a result of a primary electron beam intersecting each operating electronic component in accordance with a predetermined scan pattern are provided to a video mixer and color encoder
Examples of mathematical modeling tales from the crypt
Mathematical modeling is being increasingly recognized within the biomedical sciences as an important tool that can aid the understanding of biological systems. The heavily regulated cell renewal cycle in the colonic crypt provides a good example of how modeling can be used to find out key features of the system kinetics, and help to explain both the breakdown of homeostasis and the initiation of tumorigenesis. We use the cell population model by Johnston et al. (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 4008-4013, to illustrate the power of mathematical modeling by considering two key questions about the cell population dynamics in the colonic crypt. We ask: how can a model describe both homeostasis and unregulated growth in tumorigenesis; and to which parameters in the system is the model most sensitive? In order to address these questions, we discuss what type of modeling approach is most appropriate in the crypt. We use the model to argue why tumorigenesis is observed to occur in stages with long lag phases between periods of rapid growth, and we identify the key parameters
On the proportion of cancer stem cells in a tumour
It is now generally accepted that cancers contain a sub-population, the cancer stem cells (CSCs), which initiate and drive a tumour’s growth. At least until recently it has been widely assumed that only a small proportion of the cells in a tumour are CSCs. Here we use a mathematical model, supported by experimental evidence, to show that such an assumption is unwarranted. We show that CSCs may comprise any possible proportion of the tumour, and that the higher the proportion the more aggressive the tumour is likely to be
Theory of high-energy emission from the pulsar/Be-star system PSR 125963 I: radiation mechanisms and interaction geometry
We study the physical processes of the PSR B1259-63 system containing a 47 ms
pulsar orbiting around a Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. Motivated by the
results of a multiwavelength campaign during the January 1994 periastron
passage of PSR B1259-63, we discuss several issues regarding the mechanism of
high-energy emission. Unpulsed power law emission from the this system was
detected near periastron in the energy range 1-200 keV. We find that the
observed high energy emission from the PSR B1259-63 system is not compatible
with accretion or propeller-powered emission. Shock-powered high-energy
emission produced by the pulsar/outflow interaction is consistent with all high
energy observations. By studying the evolution of the pulsar cavity we
constrain the magnitude and geometry of the mass outflow outflow of the Be
star. The pulsar/outflow interaction is most likely mediated by a collisionless
shock at the internal boundary of the pulsar cavity. The system shows all the
characteristics of a {\it binary plerion} being {\it diffuse} and {\it compact}
near apastron and periastron, respectively. The PSR B1259-63 cavity is subject
to different radiative regimes depending on whether synchrotron or inverse
Compton (IC) cooling dominates the radiation of electron/positron pairs
advected away from the inner boundary of the pulsar cavity. The highly
non-thermal nature of the observed X-ray/gamma-ray emission near periastron
establishes the existence of an efficient particle acceleration mechanism
within a timescale shown to be less than s. A synchrotron/IC
model of emission of e\pm-pairs accelerated at the inner shock front of the
pulsar cavity and adiabatically expanding in the MHD flow provides an excellent
explanation of the observed time variableX-ray flux and spectrum from the PSRComment: 68 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophys. J. on Aug. 26,
199
Marijuana and Youth
This paper contains the first estimates of the price sensitivity of the prevalence of youth marijuana use. Survey data on marijuana use by high school seniors from the Monitoring the Future Project are combined with data on marijuana prices and potency from the Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Intelligence or Intelligence Division. Our estimates of the price elasticity of annual marijuana participation range from 0.06 to 0.47, while those for thirty day participation range from 0.002 to 0.69. These estimates clearly imply that changes in the real, quality adjusted price of marijuana contributed significantly to the trends in youth marijuana use between 1982 and 1998, particularly during the contraction in use from 1982 to 1992. Similarly, changes in youth perceptions of the harms associated with regular marijuana use had a substantial impact on both the contraction in use during the 1982 though 1992 period and the subsequent expansion in use after 1992. These findings underscore the usefulness of considering price in addition to more traditional determinants in any analysis of marijuana consumption decisions made by youths.
Spin-down evolution and radio disappearance of the magnetar PSR J16224950
We report on 2.4 yr of radio timing measurements of the magnetar PSR
J16224950 using the Parkes telescope, between 2011 November and 2014 March.
During this period the torque on the neutron star (inferred from the rotational
frequency derivative) varied greatly, though much less erratically than in the
2 yr following its discovery in 2009. During the last year of our measurements
the frequency derivative decreased in magnitude monotonically by 20\%, to a
value of s, a factor of 8 smaller than when
discovered. The flux density continued to vary greatly during our monitoring
through 2014 March, reaching a relatively steady low level after late 2012. The
pulse profile varied secularly on a similar timescale as the flux density and
torque. A relatively rapid transition in all three properties is evident in
early 2013. After PSR J16224950 was detected in all of our 87 observations
up to 2014 March, we did not detect the magnetar in our resumed monitoring
starting in 2015 January and have not detected it in any of the 30 observations
done through 2016 September.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap
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