52,517 research outputs found
SPH simulations of irradiation-driven warped accretion discs and the long periods in X-ray binaries
We present three dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)
calculations of irradiation-driven warping of accretion discs. Initially
unwarped planar discs are unstable to the radiation reaction when the disc is
illuminated by a central radiation source. The disc warps and tilts and
precesses slowly in a retrograde direction; its shape continuously flexes in
response to the changing orientation of the Roche potential. We simulate ten
systems: eight X-ray binaries, one cataclysmic variable (CV), and a `generic'
low mass X-ray binary (LMXB). We adopt system parameters from observations and
tune a single parameter: our model X-ray luminosity () to reproduce the
observed or inferred super-orbital periods. Without exception, across a wide
range of parameter space, we find an astonishingly good match between the
observed and the model . We conclude irradiation-driven warping
is the mechanism underlying the long periods in X-ray binaries. Our Her X-1
simulation simultaneously reproduces the observed , the "main-" and
"short-high" X-ray states and the orbital inclination. Our simulations of SS
433 give a maximum warp angle of , a good match to the cone
traced by the jets, but this angle is reached only in the outer disc. In all
cases, the overall disc tilt is less than \degrees{13} and the maximum disc
warp is less than and or equal to \degrees{21}.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, shorter abstract (24 lines limit
Time-Resolved Intraband Relaxation of Strongly-Confined Electrons and Holes in Colloidal PbSe Nanocrystals
The relaxation of strongly-confined electrons and holes between 1P and 1S
levels in colloidal PbSe nanocrystals has been time-resolved using femtosecond
transient absorption spectroscopy. In contrast to II-VI and III-V semiconductor
nanocrystals, both electrons and holes are strongly confined in PbSe
nanocrystals. Despite the large electron and hole energy level spacings (at
least 12 times the optical phonon energy), we consistently observe picosecond
time-scale relaxation. Existing theories of carrier relaxation cannot account
for these experimental results. Mechanisms that could possibly circumvent the
phonon bottleneck in IV-VI quantum dots are discussed
Safety verification of a fault tolerant reconfigurable autonomous goal-based robotic control system
Fault tolerance and safety verification of control
systems are essential for the success of autonomous robotic
systems. A control architecture called Mission Data System
(MDS), developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, takes
a goal-based control approach. In this paper, a method for
converting goal network control programs into linear hybrid
systems is developed. The linear hybrid system can then be
verified for safety in the presence of failures using existing
symbolic model checkers. An example task is simulated in
MDS and successfully verified using HyTech, a symbolic model
checking software for linear hybrid systems
Lower bounds for polynomials using geometric programming
We make use of a result of Hurwitz and Reznick, and a consequence of this
result due to Fidalgo and Kovacec, to determine a new sufficient condition for
a polynomial of even degree to be a sum of
squares. This result generalizes a result of Lasserre and a result of Fidalgo
and Kovacec, and it also generalizes the improvements of these results given in
[6]. We apply this result to obtain a new lower bound for , and we
explain how can be computed using geometric programming. The lower
bound is generally not as good as the lower bound introduced
by Lasserre and Parrilo and Sturmfels, which is computed using semidefinite
programming, but a run time comparison shows that, in practice, the computation
of is much faster. The computation is simplest when the highest degree
term of has the form , , . The
lower bounds for established in [6] are obtained by evaluating the
objective function of the geometric program at the appropriate feasible points
Estimation over Communication Networks: Performance Bounds and Achievability Results
This paper considers the problem of estimation over communication networks. Suppose a sensor is taking measurements of a dynamic process. However the process needs to be estimated at a remote location connected to the sensor through a network of communication links that drop packets stochastically. We provide a framework for computing the optimal performance in the sense of expected error covariance. Using this framework we characterize the dependency of the performance on the topology of the network and the packet dropping process. For independent and memoryless packet dropping processes we find the steady-state error for some classes of networks and obtain lower and upper bounds for the performance of a general network. Finally we find a necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of the estimate error covariance for general networks with spatially correlated and Markov type dropping process. This interesting condition has a max-cut interpretation
Wind-shearing in gaseous protoplanetary disks and the evolution of binary planetesimals
One of the first stages of planet formation is the growth of small
planetesimals. This early stage occurs much before the dispersal of most of the
gas from the protoplanetary disk. Due to their different aerodynamic
properties, planetesimals of different sizes and shapes experience different
drag forces from the gas during this time. Such differential forces produce a
wind-shearing (WISH) effect between close by, different size planetesimals. For
any two planetesimals, a WISH radius can be considered, at which the
differential acceleration due to the wind becomes greater than the mutual
gravitational pull between the planetesimals. We find that the WISH radius
could be much smaller than the Hill radius, i.e. WISH could play a more
important role than tidal perturbations by the star. Here we study the WISH
radii for planetesimal pairs of different sizes and compare the effects of wind
and gravitational shearing (drag force vs. gravitational tidal force). We then
discuss the role of WISH for the stability and survival of binary
planetesimals. Binaries are sheared apart by the wind if they are wider than
their WISH radius. WISH-stable binaries can inspiral and possibly coalesce due
to gas drag. Here, we calculate the WISH radius and the gas drag-induced merger
timescale, providing stability and survival criteria for gas-embedded binary
planetesimals. Our results suggest that even WISH-stable binaries may merge in
times shorter than the lifetime of the gaseous disk. This may constrain
currently observed binary planetesimals to have formed far from the star or at
a late stage after the dispersal of most of the disk gas. We note that the WISH
radius may also be important for other processes such as planetesimal erosion
and planetesimal encounters and collisions in a gaseous environment.Comment: ApJ, in pres
Hydrodynamic modelling of accretion flows
In the proceedings of this, and of several recent close binary conferences,
there have been several contributions describing smoothed particle
hydrodynamics simulations of accretion disks. It is apposite therefore to
review the numerical scheme itself with emphasis on its advantages for disk
modelling, and the methods used for modelling viscous processes.Comment: 3 pages, to appear in proceedings of IAU Colloquium 194: Compact
binaries in the galaxy and beyon
CHANDRA observations of the NGC 1550 galaxy group -- implication for the temperature and entropy profiles of 1 keV galaxy groups
We present a detailed \chandra study of the galaxy group NGC 1550. For its
temperature (1.370.01 keV) and velocity dispersion ( 300 km
s), the NGC 1550 group is one of the most luminous known galaxy groups
(L = 1.65 erg s within 200 kpc, or 0.2 \rv).
We find that within kpc, where the gas cooling time is less than a
Hubble time, the gas temperature decreases continuously toward the center,
implying the existence of a cooling core. The temperature also declines beyond
100 kpc (or 0.1 \rv). There is a remarkable similarity of the
temperature profile of NGC 1550 with those of two other 1 keV groups with
accurate temperature determination. The temperature begins to decline at 0.07 -
0.1 \rv, while in hot clusters the decline begins at or beyond 0.2 \rv. Thus,
there are at least some 1 keV groups that have significantly different
temperature profiles from those of hot clusters, which may reflect the role of
non-gravitational processes in ICM/IGM evolution. NGC 1550 has no isentropic
core in its entropy profile, in contrast to the predictions of `entropy-floor'
simulations. We compare the scaled entropy profiles of three 1 keV groups
(including NGC 1550) and three 2 - 3 keV groups. The scaled entropy profiles of
1 keV groups show much larger scatter than those of hotter systems, which
implies varied pre-heating levels. We also discuss the mass content of the NGC
1550 group and the abundance profile of heavy elements.Comment: emulateapj5.sty, 18 pages, 11 figures (including 4 color), to appear
in ApJ, v598, n1, 20 Nov 200
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Stratigraphical evidence of Elysium sea ice from HiRise images
Abstract not available
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