Collisions Between Gravity-Dominated Bodies: 1. Outcome Regimes and Scaling Laws

Collisions are the core agent of planet formation. In this work, we derive an analytic description of the dynamical outcome for any collision between gravity-dominated bodies. We conduct high-resolution simulations of collisions between planetesimals; the results are used to isolate the effects of different impact parameters on collision outcome. During growth from planetesimals to planets, collision outcomes span multiple regimes: cratering, merging, disruption, super-catastrophic disruption, and hit-and-run events. We derive equations (scaling laws) to demarcate the transition between collision regimes and to describe the size and velocity distributions of the post-collision bodies. The scaling laws are used to calculate maps of collision outcomes as a function of mass ratio, impact angle, and impact velocity, and we discuss the implications of the probability of each collision regime during planet formation. The analytic collision model presented in this work will significantly improve the physics of collisions in numerical simulations of planet formation and collisional evolution. (abstract abridged)Comment: Version 3, accepted to ApJ in Nov. 2011 published online Dec. 2011. Abstract abridge

Very-large-scale motions in rough-bed open-channel flow

Acknowledgements The study has been supported by two EPSRC/UK grants, ‘High-resolution numerical and experimental studies of turbulence-induced sediment erosion and near-bed transport’ (EP/G056404/1) and ‘Bed friction in rough-bed free-surface flows: a theoretical framework, roughness regimes, and quantification’ (EP/K041169/1). Discussions with I. Marusic and comments of three anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A closed-form solution for noise contours

An analytical approach for generating noise contours that overcome the difficulties of existing programs is described. This approach is valid for arbitrarily complex paths and reveals the importance of various factors that influence contour shape and size. The calculations are simple enough to be implemented on a small, hand-held programmable calculator, and a program for the HP-67 calculator is illustrated. The method is fast, simple, and gives the area, the contour, and its extremities for arbitrary flight paths for both takeoffs and landings

Optimal guidance and control for investigating aircraft noise-impact reduction

A methodology for investigating the reduction of community noise impact is reported. This report is concerned with the development of two models to provide data: a guidance generator and an aircraft control generator suitable for various current and advanced types of aircraft. The guidance generator produces the commanded path information from inputs chosen by an operator from a graphic scope display of a land-use map of the terminal area. The guidance generator also produces smoothing at the junctions of straight-line paths.The aircraft control generator determines the optimal set of the available controls such that the aircraft will follow the commanded path. The solutions for the control functions are given and shown to be dependent on the class of aircraft to be considered, that is, whether the thrust vector is rotatable and whether the thrust vector affects the aerodynamic forces. For the class of aircraft possessing a rotatable thrust vector, the solution is redundant; this redundancy is removed by the additional condition that the noise inpact be minimized. Information from both the guidance generator and the aircraft control generator is used by the footprint program to construct the noise footprint

Erosive Hit-and-Run Impact Events: Debris Unbound

Erosive collisions among planetary embryos in the inner solar system can lead to multiple remnant bodies, varied in mass, composition and residual velocity. Some of the smaller, unbound debris may become available to seed the main asteroid belt. The makeup of these collisionally produced bodies is different from the canonical chondritic composition, in terms of rock/iron ratio and may contain further shock-processed material. Having some of the material in the asteroid belt owe its origin from collisions of larger planetary bodies may help in explaining some of the diversity and oddities in composition of different asteroid groups.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Morphology investigation on direct current pulsed gas tungsten arc welded additive layer manufactured Ti6Al4V alloy

The effects of pulsed gas tungsten arc weldingparameters on the morphology of additive layer manufacturedTi6Al4V has been investigated in this study. Thepeak/ base current ratio and pulse frequency are found tohave no significant effect on the refinement of prior betagrain size. However, it is found that the wire feed ratehas a considerable effect on the prior beta grainrefinement at a given heat input. This is due to the extrawire input being able to supply many heterogeneousnucleation sites and also results in a negative temperaturegradient in the front of the liquidus which blocks thecolumnar growth and changes the columnar growth toequiaixal growth

From quantum circuits to adiabatic algorithms

This paper explores several aspects of the adiabatic quantum computation model. We first show a way that directly maps any arbitrary circuit in the standard quantum computing model to an adiabatic algorithm of the same depth. Specifically, we look for a smooth time-dependent Hamiltonian whose unique ground state slowly changes from the initial state of the circuit to its final state. Since this construction requires in general an n-local Hamiltonian, we will study whether approximation is possible using previous results on ground state entanglement and perturbation theory. Finally we will point out how the adiabatic model can be relaxed in various ways to allow for 2-local partially adiabatic algorithms as well as 2-local holonomic quantum algorithms.Comment: Version accepted by and to appear in Phys. Rev.

A portable Ku-band front-end test package for beam-waveguide antenna performance evaluation

A 34-m beam-waveguide (BWG) antenna has been built a Deep Space Station 13 (DDS 13) in the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. This antenna is designed to be efficient at X-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, and it is the first NASA tracking antenna to use a BWG design. The design of a Ku-band test package for the new BWG antenna at 11.7-12.2 GHz is presented. Results of linear polarization measurements with the test package on the ground are also presented. This report is the fifth in a series of articles concerned with test package design and performance