2,973 research outputs found
Mapping isoprene emissions over North America using formaldehyde column observations from space
We present a methodology for deriving emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) using space-based column observations of formaldehyde (HCHO) and apply it to data from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument over North America during July 1996. The HCHO column is related to local VOC emissions, with a spatial smearing that increases with the VOC lifetime. Isoprene is the dominant HCHO precursor over North America in summer, and its lifetime (≃1 hour) is sufficiently short that the smearing can be neglected. We use the Goddard Earth Observing System global 3-D model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-CHEM) to derive the relationship between isoprene emissions and HCHO columns over North America and use these relationships to convert the GOME HCHO columns to isoprene emissions. We also use the GEOS-CHEM model as an intermediary to validate the GOME HCHO column measurements by comparison with in situ observations. The GEOS-CHEM model including the Global Emissions Inventory Activity (GEIA) isoprene emission inventory provides a good simulation of both the GOME data (r2 = 0.69, n = 756, bias = +11%) and the in situ summertime HCHO measurements over North America (r2 = 0.47, n = 10, bias = −3%). The GOME observations show high values over regions of known high isoprene emissions and a day-to-day variability that is consistent with the temperature dependence of isoprene emission. Isoprene emissions inferred from the GOME data are 20% less than GEIA on average over North America and twice those from the U.S. EPA Biogenic Emissions Inventory System (BEIS2) inventory. The GOME isoprene inventory when implemented in the GEOS-CHEM model provides a better simulation of the HCHO in situ measurements than either GEIA or BEIS2 (r2 = 0.71, n = 10, bias = −10%)
Bi-stable tunneling current through a molecular quantum dot
An exact solution is presented for tunneling through a negative-U d-fold
degenerate molecular quantum dot weakly coupled to electrical leads. The tunnel
current exhibits hysteresis if the level degeneracy of the negative-U dot is
larger than two (d>2). Switching occurs in the voltage range V1 < V < V2 as a
result of attractive electron correlations in the molecule, which open up a new
conducting channel when the voltage is above the threshold bias voltage V2.
Once this current has been established, the extra channel remains open as the
voltage is reduced down to the lower threshold voltage V1. Possible
realizations of the bi-stable molecular quantum dots are fullerenes, especially
C60, and mixed-valence compounds.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. (v2) Figure updated to compare the current
hysteresis for degeneracies d=4 and d>>1 of the level in the dot, minor
corrections in the text. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Characteristics of tropospheric ozone depletion events in the Arctic spring: analysis of the ARCTAS, ARCPAC, and ARCIONS measurements and satellite BrO observations
Arctic ozone depletion events (ODEs) are caused by halogen catalyzed ozone loss. In situ chemistry, advection of ozone-poor air mass, and vertical mixing in the lower troposphere are important factors affecting ODEs. To better characterize the ODEs, we analyze the combined set of surface, ozonesonde, and aircraft in situ measurements of ozone and bromine compounds during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS), the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC), and the Arctic Intensive Ozonesonde Network Study (ARCIONS) experiments (April 2008). Tropospheric BrO columns retrieved from satellite measurements and back trajectory calculations are also used to investigate the characteristics of observed ODEs. In situ observations from these field experiments are inadequate to validate tropospheric BrO columns derived from satellite measurements. In view of this difficulty, we construct an ensemble of tropospheric column BrO estimates from two satellite (OMI and GOME-2) measurements and with three independent methods of calculating stratospheric BrO columns. Furthermore, we select analysis methods that do not depend on the absolute magnitude of column BrO, such as time-lagged correlation analysis of ozone and tropospheric column BrO, to understand characteristics of ODEs. Time-lagged correlation analysis between in situ (surface and ozonesonde) measurements of ozone and satellite derived tropospheric BrO columns indicates that the ODEs are due to either local halogen-driven ozone loss or short-range (∼1 day) transport from nearby regions with ozone depletion. The effect of in situ ozone loss is also evident in the diurnal variation difference between low (10th and 25th percentiles) and higher percentiles of surface ozone concentrations at Alert, Canada. Aircraft observations indicate low-ozone air mass transported from adjacent high-BrO regions. Correlation analyses of ozone with potential temperature and time-lagged tropospheric BrO column show that the vertical extent of local ozone loss is surprisingly deep (1–2 km) at Resolute and Churchill, Canada. The unstable boundary layer during ODEs at Churchill could potentially provide a source of free-tropospheric BrO through convective transport and explain the significant negative correlation between free-tropospheric ozone and tropospheric BrO column at this site
Status of the Super-B factory Design
The SuperB international team continues to optimize the design of an
electron-positron collider, which will allow the enhanced study of the origins
of flavor physics. The project combines the best features of a linear collider
(high single-collision luminosity) and a storage-ring collider (high repetition
rate), bringing together all accelerator physics aspects to make a very high
luminosity of 10 cm sec. This asymmetric-energy collider
with a polarized electron beam will produce hundreds of millions of B-mesons at
the (4S) resonance. The present design is based on extremely low
emittance beams colliding at a large Piwinski angle to allow very low
without the need for ultra short bunches. Use of crab-waist
sextupoles will enhance the luminosity, suppressing dangerous resonances and
allowing for a higher beam-beam parameter. The project has flexible beam
parameters, improved dynamic aperture, and spin-rotators in the Low Energy Ring
for longitudinal polarization of the electron beam at the Interaction Point.
Optimized for best colliding-beam performance, the facility may also provide
high-brightness photon beams for synchrotron radiation applications
Casimir Force between a Dielectric Sphere and a Wall: A Model for Amplification of Vacuum Fluctuations
The interaction between a polarizable particle and a reflecting wall is
examined. A macroscopic approach is adopted in which the averaged force is
computed from the Maxwell stress tensor. The particular case of a perfectly
reflecting wall and a sphere with a dielectric function given by the Drude
model is examined in detail. It is found that the force can be expressed as the
sum of a monotonically decaying function of position and of an oscillatory
piece. At large separations, the oscillatory piece is the dominant
contribution, and is much larger than the Casimir-Polder interaction that
arises in the limit that the sphere is a perfect conductor. It is argued that
this enhancement of the force can be interpreted in terms of the frequency
spectrum of vacuum fluctuations. In the limit of a perfectly conducting sphere,
there are cancellations between different parts of the spectrum which no longer
occur as completely in the case of a sphere with frequency dependent
polarizability. Estimates of the magnitude of the oscillatory component of the
force suggest that it may be large enough to be observable.Comment: 18pp, LaTex, 7 figures, uses epsf. Several minor errors corrected,
additional comments added in the final two sections, and references update
Communications Biophysics
Contains reports on six research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-02
Spontaneous emission of an atom placed near a nanobelt of elliptical cross-section
Spontaneous emission of an atom (molecule) placed near a nanocylinder of
elliptical cross-section of an arbitrary composition is studied. The analytical
expressions have been obtained for the radiative and nonradiative channels of
spontaneous decay and investigated in details.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figure
Coherent radiation from neutral molecules moving above a grating
We predict and study the quantum-electrodynamical effect of parametric
self-induced excitation of a molecule moving above the dielectric or conducting
medium with periodic grating. In this case the radiation reaction force
modulates the molecular transition frequency which results in a parametric
instability of dipole oscillations even from the level of quantum or thermal
fluctuations. The present mechanism of instability of electrically neutral
molecules is different from that of the well-known Smith-Purcell and transition
radiation in which a moving charge and its oscillating image create an
oscillating dipole.
We show that parametrically excited molecular bunches can produce an easily
detectable coherent radiation flux of up to a microwatt.Comment: 4 page
Anisotropic flow in 4.2A GeV/c C+Ta collisions
Anisotropic flow of protons and negative pions in 4.2A GeV/c C+Ta collisions
is studied using the Fourier analysis of azimuthal distributions. The protons
exhibit pronounced directed flow. Directed flow of pions is positive in the
entire rapidity interval and indicates that the pions are preferentially
emitted in the reaction plane from the target to the projectile. The elliptic
flow of protons and negative pions is close to zero. Comparison with the
quark-gluon-string model (QGSM) and relativistic transport model (ART 1.0) show
that they both yield a flow signature similar to the experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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