Structure and Dynamics of a Phase-Separating Active Colloidal Fluid

We examine a minimal model for an active colloidal fluid in the form of self-propelled Brownian hard spheres that interact purely through excluded volume. Despite the absence of an aligning interaction, this system shows the signature behaviors of an active fluid, including anomalous number fluctuations and phase separation behavior. Using simulations and analytic modeling, we quantify the phase diagram and separation kinetics. The dense phase is a unique material that we call an active hexatic, which exhibits the structural signatures of a crystalline solid near the crystal-hexatic transition point, but the rheological and transport properties associated with a viscoelastic fluid.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Estimation of vegetation cover at subpixel resolution using LANDSAT data

The present report summarizes the various approaches relevant to estimating canopy cover at subpixel resolution. The approaches are based on physical models of radiative transfer in non-homogeneous canopies and on empirical methods. The effects of vegetation shadows and topography are examined. Simple versions of the model are tested, using the Taos, New Mexico Study Area database. Emphasis has been placed on using relatively simple models requiring only one or two bands. Although most methods require some degree of ground truth, a two-band method is investigated whereby the percent cover can be estimated without ground truth by examining the limits of the data space. Future work is proposed which will incorporate additional surface parameters into the canopy cover algorithm, such as topography, leaf area, or shadows. The method involves deriving a probability density function for the percent canopy cover based on the joint probability density function of the observed radiances

Use of LANDSAT images of vegetation cover to estimate effective hydraulic properties of soils

The estimation of the spatially variable surface moisture and heat fluxes of natural, semivegetated landscapes is difficult due to the highly random nature of the vegetation (e.g., plant species, density, and stress) and the soil (e.g., moisture content, and soil hydraulic conductivity). The solution to that problem lies, in part, in the use of satellite remotely sensed data, and in the preparation of those data in terms of the physical properties of the plant and soil. The work was focused on the development and testing of a stochastic geometric canopy-soil reflectance model, which can be applied to the physically-based interpretation of LANDSAT images. The model conceptualizes the landscape as a stochastic surface with bulk plant and soil reflective properties. The model is particularly suited for regional scale investigations where the quantification of the bulk landscape properties, such as fractional vegetation cover, is important on a pixel by pixel basis. A summary of the theoretical analysis and the preliminary testing of the model with actual aerial radiometric data is provided

Possible Magnetic Activity in the Low Mass X-ray Binary EXO 0748-676

We report evidence of magnetic activity associated with the secondary star in the EXO 0748-676 low mass X-ray binary system. An analysis of a sequence of five consecutive X-ray eclipses observed during December 2003 with the RXTE satellite brings out a feature occurring during ingress we interpret as the X-ray photoelectric absorption shadow, as seen by an observer at Earth, of a plasma structure suspended above the surface of the secondary star. The light curve feature consists of an initial drop in count rate to near zero (the absorption shadow) with a very short rebound to a significant fraction of the pre-ingress count rate and then a final plunge to totality over a total time scale of ~25 s. The ingress feature persists for at least 5 consecutive orbital periods (a total of ~19 hr), and possibly up to 5 days in our data. Our data also show significant post-egress dipping during this eclipse sequence, unusual for this source, indicating possible secondary star mass ejection during this episode.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters; 11 Pages including 3 figures and 1 tabl

The structure of red-infrared scattergrams of semivegetated landscapes

A physically based linear stochastic geometric canopy soil reflectance model is presented for characterizing spatial variability of semivegetated landscapes at subpixel and regional scales. Landscapes are conceptualized as stochastic geometric surfaces, incorporating not only the variability in geometric elements, but also the variability in vegetation and soil background reflectance which can be important in some scenes. The model is used to investigate several possible mechanisms which contribute to the often observed characteristic triangular shape of red-infrared scattergrams of semivegetated landscapes. Scattergrams of simulated and semivegetated scenes are analyzed with respect to the scales of the satellite pixel and subpixel components. Analysis of actual aerial radiometric data of a pecan orchard is presented in comparison with ground observations as preliminary confirmation of the theoretical results