602 research outputs found
First exit times and residence times for discrete random walks on finite lattices
In this paper, we derive explicit formulas for the surface averaged first
exit time of a discrete random walk on a finite lattice. We consider a wide
class of random walks and lattices, including random walks in a non-trivial
potential landscape. We also compute quantities of interest for modelling
surface reactions and other dynamic processes, such as the residence time in a
subvolume, the joint residence time of several particles and the number of hits
on a reflecting surface.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
Another Non-segregated Blue Straggler Population in a Globular Cluster: the Case of NGC 2419
We have used a combination of ACS-HST high-resolution and wide-field SUBARU
data in order to study the Blue Straggler Star (BSS) population over the entire
extension of the remote Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419. The BSS population
presented here is among the largest ever observed in any stellar system, with
more than 230 BSS in the brightest portion of the sequence. The radial
distribution of the selected BSS is essentially the same as that of the other
cluster stars. In this sense the BSS radial distribution is similar to that of
omega Centauri and unlike that of all Galactic globular clusters studied to
date, which have highly centrally segregated distributions and, in most cases,
a pronounced upturn in the external regions. As in the case of omega Centauri,
this evidence indicates that NGC 2419 is not yet relaxed even in the central
regions. This observational fact is in agreement with estimated half-mass
relaxation time, which is of the order of the cluster age.Comment: in press in the Ap
High-latitude artificial aurora using the EISCAT high-gain HF facility
The EISCAT high-frequency (HF) transmitter facility at Ramfjord, Norway, has been used to accelerate F-region electrons sufficiently to excite the oxygen atoms and nitrogen molecules, resulting in optical emissions at 630, 557.7 and 427.8 nm. During O-mode transmissions at 5.423 MHz, using 630 MW effective radiated power, in the hours after sunset on 12 November 2001 several new observations were made, including: (1) The first high-latitude observation of an HF induced optical emission at 427.8 nm and (2) Optical rings being formed at HF on followed by their collapse into a central blob. Both discoveries remain unexplained with current theories
The surprising external upturn of the Blue Straggler radial distribution in M55
By combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground based observations, in
ultraviolet and optical bands, we study the Blue Straggler Star (BSS)
population of the low density galactic globular cluster M55 (NGC 6809) over its
entire radial extent. The BSS projected radial distribution is found to be
bimodal, with a central peak, a broad minimum at intermediate radii, and an
upturn at large radii. Similar bimodal distributions have been found in other
globular clusters (M3, 47 Tucanae, NGC 6752, M5), but the external upturn in
M55 is the largest found to date. This might indicate a large fraction of
primordial binaries in the outer regions of M55, which seems somehow in
contrast with the relatively low (\sim 10%) binary fraction recently measured
in the core of this cluster.Comment: in press on Ap
Relative Frequencies of Blue Stragglers in Galactic Globular Clusters: Constraints for the Formation Mechanisms
We discuss the main properties of the Galactic globular cluster (GC) blue
straggler stars (BSS), as inferred from our new catalog containing nearly 3000
BSS. The catalog has been extracted from the photometrically homogeneous V vs.
(B-V) color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) of 56 GCs, based on WFPC2 images of their
central cores. In our analysis we used consistent relative distances based on
the same photometry and calibration. The number of BSS has been normalized to
obtain relative frequencies (F_{BSS}) and specific densities (N_S) using
different stellar populations extracted from the CMD. The cluster F_{BSS} is
significantly smaller than the relative frequency of field BSS. We find a
significant anti-correlation between the BSS relative frequency in a cluster
and its total absolute luminosity (mass). There is no statistically significant
trend between the BSS frequency and the expected collision rate. F_{BSS} does
not depend on other cluster parameters, apart from a mild dependence on the
central density. PCC clusters act like normal clusters as far as the BSS
frequency is concerned. We also show that the BSS luminosity function for the
most luminous clusters is significantly different, with a brighter peak and
extending to brighter luminosities than in the less luminous clusters. These
results imply that the efficiency of BSS production mechanisms and their
relative importance vary with the cluster mass.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. accepted for publication in ApJ
The Apparent Fractal Conjecture: Scaling Features in Standard Cosmologies
This paper presents an analysis of the smoothness problem in cosmology by
focussing on the ambiguities originated in the simplifying hypotheses aimed at
observationally verifying if the large-scale distribution of galaxies is
homogeneous, and conjecturing that this distribution should follow a fractal
pattern in perturbed standard cosmologies. This is due to a geometrical effect,
appearing when certain types of average densities are calculated along the past
light cone. The paper starts reviewing the argument concerning the possibility
that the galaxy distribution follows such a scaling pattern, and the premises
behind the assumption that the spatial homogeneity of standard cosmology can be
observable. Next, it is argued that to discuss observable homogeneity one needs
to make a clear distinction between local and average relativistic densities,
and showing how the different distance definitions strongly affect them,
leading the various average densities to display asymptotically opposite
behaviours. Then the paper revisits Ribeiro's (1995: astro-ph/9910145) results,
showing that in a fully relativistic treatment some observational average
densities of the flat Friedmann model are not well defined at z ~ 0.1, implying
that at this range average densities behave in a fundamentally different manner
as compared to the linearity of the Hubble law, well valid for z < 1. This
conclusion brings into question the widespread assumption that relativistic
corrections can always be neglected at low z. It is also shown how some key
features of fractal cosmologies can be found in the Friedmann models. In view
of those findings, it is suggested that the so-called contradiction between the
cosmological principle, and the galaxy distribution forming an unlimited
fractal structure, may not exist.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX. This paper is a follow-up to
gr-qc/9909093. Accepted for publication in "General Relativity and
Gravitation
The Unimodal Distribution Of Blue Straggler Stars in M75 (NGC 6864)
We have used a combination of multiband high-resolution and wide-field
ground-based observations to image the Galactic globular cluster M75 (NGC
6864). The extensive photometric sample covers the entire cluster extension,
from the very central regions out to the tidal radius, allowing us to determine
the center of gravity and to construct the most extended star density profile
ever published for this cluster. We also present the first detailed star counts
in the very inner regions. The star density profile is well re-produced by a
standard King model with core radius r_c ~ 5.4" and intermediate-high
concentration c ~ 1.75. The present paper presents a detailed study of the BSS
population and its radial distribution. A total number of 62 bright BSSs (with
m_F255W < 21, corresponding to m_F555W < 20) has been identified, and they have
been found to be highly segregated in the cluster core. No significant upturn
in the BSS frequency has been observed in the outskirts of M75, in contrast to
several other clusters studied with the same technique. This observational fact
is quite similar to what has been found in M79 (NGC 1904) by Lanzoni et al.
(2007a). Indeed the BSS radial distributions in the two clusters is
qualitatively very similar, even if in M75 the relative BSS frequency seems to
decrease significantly faster than in M79: indeed it decreases by a factor of 5
(from 3.4 to 0.7) within 1 r_c. Such evidence indicate that the vast majority
of the cluster heavy stars (binaries) have already sunk to the core.Comment: ApJ accepted, 10 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
High-Speed PLIF Imaging of Hypersonic Transition over Discrete Cylindrical Roughness
In two separate test entries, advanced laser-based instrumentation has been developed and applied to visualize the hypersonic flow over cylindrical protrusions on a flat plate. Upstream of these trips, trace quantities of nitric oxide (NO) were seeded into the boundary layer. The protuberances were sized to force laminar-to-turbulent boundary layer transition. In the first test, a 10-Hz nitric oxide planar laser-induced fluorescence (NO PLIF) flow visualization system was used to provide wide-field-of-view, high-resolution images of the flowfield. The images had sub-microsecond time resolution. However these images, obtained with a time separation of 0.1 sec, were uncorrelated with each other. Fluorescent oil-flow visualizations were also obtained during this test. In the second experiment, a laser and camera system capable of acquiring NO PLIF measurements at 1 million frames per second (1 MHz) was used. This system had lower spatial resolution, and a smaller field of view, but the images were time correlated so that the development of the flow structures could be observed in time
Third order perturbations of a zero-pressure cosmological medium: Pure general relativistic nonlinear effects
We consider a general relativistic zero-pressure irrotational cosmological
medium perturbed to the third order. We assume a flat Friedmann background but
include the cosmological constant. We ignore the rotational perturbation which
decays in expanding phase. In our previous studies we discovered that, to the
second-order perturbation, except for the gravitational wave contributions, the
relativistic equations coincide exactly with the previously known Newtonian
ones. Since the Newtonian second-order equations are fully nonlinear, any
nonvanishing third and higher order terms in the relativistic analyses are
supposed to be pure relativistic corrections. In this work we derive such
correction terms appearing in the third order. Continuing our success in the
second-order perturbations we take the comoving gauge. We discover that the
third-order correction terms are of -order higher than the second-order
terms where is a gauge-invariant combination related to the
three-space curvature perturbation in the comoving gauge; compared with the
Newtonian potential we have to the linear
order. Therefore, the pure general relativistic effects are of -order
higher than the Newtonian ones. The corrections terms are independent of the
horizon scale and depend only on the linear order gravitational potential
perturbation strength. From the temperature anisotropy of cosmic microwave
background we have . Therefore, our present result reinforces our
previous important practical implication that near current era one can use the
large-scale Newtonian numerical simulation more reliably even as the simulation
scale approaches near the horizon.Comment: 9 pages, no figur
The binary fraction in the globular cluster M10 (NGC 6254): comparing core and outer regions
We study the binary fraction of the globular cluster M10 (NGC 6254) as a
function of radius from the cluster core to the outskirts, by means of a quan-
titative analysis of the color distribution of stars relative to the fiducial
main sequence. By taking advantage of two data-sets, acquired with the Advanced
Camera for Survey and the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble
Space Telescope, we have studied both the core and the external regions of the
cluster. The binary fraction is found to decrease from 14% within the core, to
1.5% in a region between 1 and 2 half-mass radii from the cluster centre. Such
a trend and the derived values are in agreement with previous results ob-
tained in clusters of comparable total magnitude. The estimated binary fraction
is sufficient to account for the suppression of mass segregation observed in
M10, without any need to invoke the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole
in its centre.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (22 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables
- …