2,269 research outputs found
Travelling convection vortices in the ionosphere map to the central plasma sheet
International audienceWe investigate the magnetospheric domain responsible for the generation of ionospheric travelling convection vortices (TCV) by comparing the location of the TCV to the locations of the low-altitude particle-precipitation boundaries deduced from the DMSP satellite measurements. For three very well documented TCV events we are able to identify suitable satellite passes, in the sense that for each event we can identify two to three passes occurring close to the TCV observation in both time and space. In all three cases the comparisons place the TCV centres at or equatorward of the central plasma sheet/boundary plasma sheet precipitation boundary. Thus our results indicate that the field-aligned currents related to the TCV originate in the plasma sheet rather than at the magnetopause or in the low-latitude boundary layer, as previous studies suggest
The Wide-field High-resolution Infrared TElescope (WHITE)
The Wide-field High-resolution Infrared TElescope (WHITE) will be dedicated
in the first years of its life to carrying out a few (well focused in terms of
science objectives and time) legacy surveys.
WHITE would have an angular resolution of ~0.3'' homogeneous over ~0.7 sq.
deg. in the wavelength range 1 - 5 um, which means that we will very
efficiently use all the available observational time during night time and day
time. Moreover, the deepest observations will be performed by summing up
shorter individual frames. We will have a temporal information that can be used
to study variable objects.
The three key science objectives of WHITE are : 1) A complete survey of the
Magellanic Clouds to make a complete census of young stellar objects in the
clouds and in the bridge and to study their star formation history and the link
with the Milky Way. The interaction of the two clouds with our Galaxy might the
closest example of a minor merging event that could be the main driver of
galaxy evolution in the last 5 Gyrs. 2) The building of the first sample of
dusty supernovae at z<1.2 in the near infrared range (1-5 um) to constrain the
equation of state from these obscured objects, study the formation of dust in
galaxies and build the first high resolution sample of high redshift galaxies
observed in their optical frame 3) A very wide weak lensing survey over that
would allow to estimate the equation of state in a way that would favourably
compete with space projects.Comment: Invited talk to the 2nd ARENA Conference : "The Astrophysical Science
Cases at Dome C" Potsdam 17-21 September, 200
The k=2 string tension in four dimensional SU(N) gauge theories
We calculate the k=2 string tensions in SU(4) and SU(5) gauge theories in 3+1
dimensions, and compare them to the k=1 fundamental string tensions. We find,
from the continuum extrapolation of our lattice calculations, that
K(k=2)/K(k=1) = 1.40(8) in the SU(4) gauge theory, and that K(k=2)/K(k=1) =
1.56(10) in SU(5). We remark upon the way this might constrain the dynamics of
confinement and the intriguing implications it might have for the mass spectrum
of SU(N) gauge theories. We also note that these results agree closely with the
MQCD-inspired conjecture that the SU(N) string tensions satisfy K(k)/K(1) =
sin(k.pi/N)/sin(pi/N).Comment: 10 page
New Wrinkles on an Old Model: Correlation Between Liquid Drop Parameters and Curvature Term
The relationship between the volume and surface energy coefficients in the
liquid drop A^{-1/3} expansion of nuclear masses is discussed. The volume and
surface coefficients in the liquid drop expansion share the same physical
origin and their physical connection is used to extend the expansion with a
curvature term. A possible generalization of the Wigner term is also suggested.
This connection between coefficients is used to fit the experimental nuclear
masses. The excellent fit obtained with a smaller number of parameters
validates the assumed physical connection.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Investigating the auroral electrojets with low altitude polar orbiting satellites
International audienceThree geomagnetic satellite missions currently provide high precision magnetic field measurements from low altitude polar orbiting spacecraft. We demonstrate how these data can be used to determine the intensity and location of the horizontal currents that flow in the ionosphere, predominantly in the auroral electrojets. First, we examine the results during a recent geomagnetic storm. The currents derived from two satellites at different altitudes are in very good agreement, which verifies good stability of the method. Further, a very high degree of correlation (correlation coefficients of 0.8?0.9) is observed between the amplitudes of the derived currents and the commonly used auroral electrojet indices based on magnetic measurements at ground. This points to the potential of defining an auroral activity index based on the satellite observations, which could be useful for space weather monitoring. A specific advantage of the satellite observations over the ground-based magnetic measurements is their coverage of the Southern Hemisphere, as well as the Northern. We utilize this in an investigation of the ionospheric currents observed in both polar regions during a period of unusually steady interplanetary magnetic field with a large negative Y-component. A pronounced asymmetry is found between the currents in the two hemispheres, which indicates real inter-hemispheric differences beyond the mirror-asymmetry between hemispheres that earlier studies have revealed. The method is also applied to another event for which the combined measurements of the three satellites provide a comprehensive view of the current systems. The analysis hereof reveals some surprising results concerning the connection between solar wind driver and the resulting ionospheric currents. Specifically, preconditioning of the magnetosphere (history of the interplanetary magnetic field) is seen to play an important role, and in the winther hemisphere, it seems to be harder to drive currents on the nightside than on the dayside
Simulation of cellular irradiation with the CENBG microbeam line using GEANT4
Light-ion microbeams provide a unique opportunity to irradiate biological
samples at the cellular level and to investigate radiobiological effects at low
doses of high LET ionising radiation. Since 1998 a single-ion irradiation
facility has been developed on the focused horizontal microbeam line of the
CENBG 3.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator. This setup delivers in air single
protons and alpha particles of a few MeV onto cultured cells, with a spatial
resolution of a few microns, allowing subcellular targeting. In this paper, we
present results from the use of the GEANT4 toolkit to simulate cellular
irradiation with the CENBG microbeam line, from the entrance to the microprobe
up to the cellular medium.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, presented at the 2003 IEEE-NSS conference,
Portland, OR, USA, October 20-24, 200
Size Matters: Origin of Binomial Scaling in Nuclear Fragmentation Experiments
The relationship between measured transverse energy, total charge recovered
in the detector, and size of the emitting system is investigated. Using only
very simple assumptions, we are able to reproduce the observed binomial
emission probabilities and their dependences on the transverse energy.Comment: 14 pages, including 4 figure
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