24,575 research outputs found
A new method for treating optimal trajectories with restricted segments
New method for treating optimal trajectorie
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Remote sensing of intertidal morphological change in Morecambe Bay, U.K., between 1991 and 2007
Tidal Flats are important examples of extensive areas of natural environment that remain relatively unaffected by man. Monitoring of tidal flats is required for a variety of purposes. Remote sensing has become an established technique for the measurement of topography over tidal flats. A further requirement is to measure topographic changes in order to measure sediment budgets. To date there have been few attempts to make quantitative estimates of morphological change over tidal flat areas. This paper illustrates the use of remote sensing to measure quantitative and qualitative changes in the tidal flats of Morecambe Bay during the relatively long period 1991–2007. An understanding of the patterns of sediment transport within the Bay is of considerable interest for coastal management and defence purposes. Tidal asymmetry is considered to be the dominant cause of morphological change in the Bay, with the higher currents associated with the flood tide being the main agency moulding the channel system. Quantitative changes were measured by comparing a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the intertidal zone formed using the waterline technique applied to satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from 1991–1994, to a second DEM constructed from airborne laser altimetry data acquired in 2005. Qualitative changes were studied using additional SAR images acquired since 2003. A significant movement of sediment from below Mean Sea Level (MSL) to above MSL was detected by comparing the two Digital Elevation Models, though the proportion of this change that could be ascribed to seasonal effects was not clear. Between 1991 and 2004 there was a migration of the Ulverston channel of the river Leven north-east by about 5 km, followed by the development of a straighter channel to the west, leaving the previous channel decoupled from the river. This is thought to be due to independent tidal and fluvial forcing mechanisms acting on the channel. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of remote sensing for measurement of long-term morphological change in tidal flat areas. An alternative use of waterlines as partial bathymetry for assimilation into a morphodynamic model of the coastal zone is also discussed
One- and two-particle microrheology
We study the dynamics of rigid spheres embedded in viscoelastic media and
address two questions of importance to microrheology. First we calculate the
complete response to an external force of a single bead in a homogeneous
elastic network viscously coupled to an incompressible fluid. From this
response function we find the frequency range where the standard assumptions of
microrheology are valid. Second we study fluctuations when embedded spheres
perturb the media around them and show that mutual fluctuations of two
separated spheres provide a more accurate determination of the complex shear
modulus than do the fluctuations of a single sphere.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Evolving UK policy on diversity in the armed services: multiculturalism and its discontents
Reflecting a generally multiculturalist rhetoric, UK policy in this area has hitherto focussed on enhancing the degree to which the armed services represent or reflect the ethnic makeup of the UK population. Ambitious targets have been set and some progress made in moving towards them. However, the dynamics of population change, together with the diverse preferences of ethno-religious minorities, have meant that the goal of representativeness has remained out of reach. At the same time, the armed services have continued to struggle with an ongoing recruitment problem while the volume of operational commitments has shown little sign of reducing
Non-linear and quantum optics of a type II OPO containing a birefringent element Part 1: Classical operation
We describe theoretically the main characteristics of the steady state regime
of a type II Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) containing a birefringent
plate. In such a device the signal and idler waves are at the same time
linearly coupled by the plate and nonlinearly coupled by the
crystal. This mixed coupling allows, in some well-defined range of the control
parameters, a frequency degenerate operation as well as phase locking between
the signal and idler modes. We describe here a complete model taking into
account all possible effects in the system, \emph{i.e.} arbitrary rotation of
the waveplate, non perfect phase matching, ring and linear cavities. This model
is able to explain the detailed features of the experiments performed with this
system.Comment: To be published in EPJ
Optical and Infrared Light Curves of the Eclipsing X-ray Binary V395 Car = 2S 0921-630
We present results of optical and infrared photometric monitoring of the
eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary V395 Car (2S 0921-630). Our observations reveal
a clear, repeating orbital modulation with an amplitude of about one magnitude
in B, and V and a little less in J. Combining our data with archival
observations spanning about 20 years, we derive an updated ephemeris with
orbital period 9.0026+/-0.0001d. We attribute the modulation to a combination
of the changing aspect of the irradiated face of the companion star and
eclipses of the accretion disk around the neutron star. Both appear to be
necessary as a secondary eclipse of the companion star is clearly seen. We
model the B, V, and J lightcurves using a simple model of an accretion disk and
companion star and find a good fit is possible for binary inclinations of
82.2+/-1.0 degrees. We estimate the irradiating luminosity to be about 8x10^35
erg/s, in good agreement with X-ray constraints.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA
Correlation functions, null polygonal Wilson loops, and local operators
We consider the ratio of the correlation function of n+1 local operators over
the correlator of the first n of these operators in planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills
theory, and consider the limit where the first n operators become pairwise null
separated. By studying the problem in twistor space, we prove that this is
equivalent to the correlator of a n-cusp null polygonal Wilson loop with the
remaining operator in general position, normalized by the expectation value of
the Wilson loop itself, as recently conjectured by Alday, Buchbinder and
Tseytlin. Twistor methods also provide a BCFW-like recursion relation for such
correlators. Finally, we study the natural extension where n operators become
pairwise null separated with k operators in general position. As an example, we
perform an analysis of the resulting correlator for k=2 and discuss some of the
difficulties associated to fixing the correlator completely in the strong
coupling regime.Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures. v2: typos corrected and references added; v3:
published versio
HST followup observations of two bright z ~ 8 candidate galaxies from the BoRG pure-parallel survey
We present followup imaging of two bright (L > L*) galaxy candidates at z > 8
from the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies (BoRG) survey with the F098M filter
on HST/WFC3. The F098M filter provides an additional constraint on the flux
blueward of the spectral break, and the observations are designed to
discriminate between low- and high-z photometric redshift solutions for these
galaxies. Our results confirm one galaxy, BoRG 0116+1425 747, as a highly
probable z ~ 8 source, but reveal that BoRG 0116+1425 630 - previously the
brightest known z > 8 candidate (mAB = 24.5) - is likely to be a z ~ 2
interloper. As this source was substantially brighter than any other z > 8
candidate, removing it from the sample has a significant impact on the derived
UV luminosity function in this epoch. We show that while previous BoRG results
favored a shallow power-law decline in the bright end of the luminosity
function prior to reionization, there is now no evidence for departure from a
Schechter function form and therefore no evidence for a difference in galaxy
formation processes before and after reionization.Comment: Accepted by ApJL, 7 pages, 4 figure
The Cosmic Microwave Background & Inflation, Then & Now
Boomerang, Maxima, DASI, CBI and VSA significantly increase the case for
accelerated expansion in the early universe (the inflationary paradigm) and at
the current epoch (dark energy dominance), especially when combined with data
on high redshift supernovae (SN1) and large scale structure (LSS). There are
``7 pillars of Inflation'' that can be shown with the CMB probe, and at least
5, and possibly 6, of these have already been demonstrated in the CMB data: (1)
a large scale gravitational potential; (2) acoustic peaks/dips; (3) damping due
to shear viscosity; (4) a Gaussian (maximally random) distribution; (5)
secondary anisotropies; (6) polarization. A 7th pillar, anisotropies induced by
gravity wave quantum noise, could be too small. A minimal inflation parameter
set, \omega_b,\omega_{cdm}, \Omega_{tot}, \Omega_Q,w_Q,n_s,\tau_C, \sigma_8},
is used to illustrate the power of the current data. We find the CMB+LSS+SN1
data give \Omega_{tot} =1.00^{+.07}_{-.03}, consistent with (non-baroque)
inflation theory. Restricting to \Omega_{tot}=1, we find a nearly scale
invariant spectrum, n_s =0.97^{+.08}_{-.05}. The CDM density, \Omega_{cdm}{\rm
h}^2 =.12^{+.01}_{-.01}, and baryon density, \Omega_b {\rm h}^2 =
>.022^{+.003}_{-.002}, are in the expected range. (The Big Bang nucleosynthesis
estimate is 0.019\pm 0.002.) Substantial dark (unclustered) energy is inferred,
\Omega_Q \approx 0.68 \pm 0.05, and CMB+LSS \Omega_Q values are compatible with
the independent SN1 estimates. The dark energy equation of state, crudely
parameterized by a quintessence-field pressure-to-density ratio w_Q, is not
well determined by CMB+LSS (w_Q < -0.4 at 95% CL), but when combined with SN1
the resulting w_Q < -0.7 limit is quite consistent with the w_Q=-1 cosmological
constant case.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, in Theoretical Physics, MRST 2002: A Tribute to
George Libbrandt (AIP), eds. V. Elias, R. Epp, R. Myer
Radiation risks from large solar energetic particle events
Solar energetic particles (SEPs) constitute a radiation hazard to both humans and hardware in space. Over the past few years there have been significant advances in our knowledge of the composition and energy spectra of SEP events, leading to new insights into the conditions that contribute to the largest events. This paper summarizes the energy spectra and frequency of large SEP events, and discusses the interplanetary conditions that affect the intensity of the largest events
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