189 research outputs found
Cost characteristics of tilt-rotor, conventional air and high speed rail short-haul intercity passenger service
The cost analysis done to support an assessment of the potential for a small tilt-rotor aircraft to operate in short-haul intercity passenger service is described in detail. Anticipated costs of tilt-rotor air service were compared to the costs of two alternatives: conventional air and high speed rail (HSR). Costs were developed for corridor service, varying key market characteristics including distance, passenger volumes, and minimum frequency standards. The resulting cost vs output information can then be used to compare modal costs for essentially identical service quality and passenger volume or for different service levels and volumes for each mode, as appropriate. Extensive sensitivity analyses are performed. The cost-output features of these technologies are compared. Tilt-rotor is very attractive compared to HSR in terms of costs over the entire range of volume. It also has costs not dramatically different from conventional air, but tilt-rotor costs are generally higher. Thus some of its other advantages, such as the VTOL capability, must offset the cost disadvantage for it to be a preferred or competitive mode in any given market. These issues are addressed in the companion report which considers strategies for tilt-rotor development in commercial air service
A strategy for advancing tilt-rotor technology
Tilt-rotor technology has many features which make it a very promising development in aviation which might have application to a wide variety of transportation and logistics situations. However, aside from military applications and rather specialized industrial applications, little is known regarding the potential of tilt-rotor for commercial transportation and hence it is difficult to plan a development program which would gain support and be likely to produce a stream of significant benefits. The purpose is to attempt to provide some of this information in a manner that would be useful for preparing a strategy for development of tilt-rotor aircraft technology. Specifically, the objectives were: to identify promising paths of development and deployment of tilt-rotor aircraft technology in the air transportation system considering both benefits and disbenefits, and to identify any particular groups that are likely to benefit significantly and propose plans for gaining their support of research and development of this technology. Potential advantages of the tilt-rotor technology in the context of air transportation as a door-to-door system were identified, and then promising paths of development of such tilt-rotor systems were analyzed. These then lead to recommendations for specific studies, information dissemination and development of awareness of the tilt-rotor among specific transport-related groups
Mid-infrared spectra of differentiated meteorites (achondrites): Comparison with astronomical observations of dust in protoplanetary and debris disks
Mid-infrared (5 micron to 25 micron) transmission/absorption spectra of
differentiated meteorites (achondrites) were measured to permit comparison with
astronomical observations of dust in different stages of evolution of young
stellar objects. In contrast to primitive chondrites, achondrites underwent
heavy metamorphism and/or extensive melting and represent more advanced stages
of planetesimal evolution. Spectra were obtained from primitive achondrites
(acapulcoite, winonaite, ureilite, and brachinite) and differentiated
achondrites (eucrite, diogenite, aubrite, and mesosiderite silicates). The
ureilite and brachinite show spectra dominated by olivine features, and the
diogenite and aubrite by pyroxene features. The acapulcoite, winonaite,
eucrite, and mesosiderite silicates exhibit more complex spectra, reflecting
their multi-phase bulk mineralogy. Mixtures of spectra of the primitive
achondrites and differentiated achondrites in various proportions show good
similarities to the spectra of the few Myr old protoplanetary disks HD104237A
and V410 Anon 13. A spectrum of the differentiated mesosiderite silicates is
similar to the spectra of the mature debris disks HD172555 and HD165014. A
mixture of spectra of the primitive ureilite and brachinite is similar to the
spectrum of the debris disk HD113766. The results raise the possibility that
materials produced in the early stage of planetesimal differentiation occur in
the protoplanetary and debris disks
Mid-infrared spectra of the shocked Murchison CM chondrite: comparison with astronomical observations of dust in debris disks
We present laboratory mid-infrared transmission/absorption spectra obtained from matrix of the hydrated Murchison CM meteorite experimentally shocked at peak pressures of 10-49 GPa, and compare them to astronomical observations of circumstellar dust in different stages of the formation of planetary systems. The laboratory spectra of the Murchison samples exhibit characteristic changes in the infrared features. A weakly shocked sample (shocked at 10 GPa) shows almost no changes from the unshocked sample dominated by hydrous silicate (serpentine). Moderately shocked samples (21-34 GPa) have typical serpentine features gradually replaced by bands of amorphous material and olivine with increasing shock pressure. A strongly shocked sample (36 GPa) shows major changes due to decomposition of the serpentine and due to devolatilization. A shock melted sample (49 GPa) shows features of olivine recrystallized from melted material. The infrared spectra of the shocked Murchison samples show similarities to astronomical spectra of dust in various young stellar objects and debris disks. The spectra of highly shocked Murchison samples (36 and 49 GPa) are similar to those of dust in the debris disks of HD113766 and HD69830, and the transitional disk of HD100546. The moderately shocked samples (21-34 GPa) exhibit spectra similar to those of dust in the debris disks of Beta Pictoris and BD+20307, and the transitional disk of GM Aur. An average of the spectra of all Murchison samples (0-49 GPa) has a similarity to the spectrum of the older proto-planetary disk of SU Auriga. In the gas-rich transitional and protoplanetary disks, the abundances of amorphous silicates and gases have widely been considered to be a primary property. However, our study suggests that impact processing may play a significant role in generating secondary amorphous silicates and gases in those disks. Infrared spectra of the shocked Murchison samples also show similarities to the dust fromcomets (C/2002 V1, C/2001 RX14, 9P/Tempel 1, and Hale Bopp), suggesting that the comets also contain shocked Murchison-like material
Abundances of the elements in the solar system
A review of the abundances and condensation temperatures of the elements and
their nuclides in the solar nebula and in chondritic meteorites. Abundances of
the elements in some neighboring stars are also discussed.Comment: 42 pages, 11 tables, 8 figures, chapter, In Landolt- B\"ornstein, New
Series, Vol. VI/4B, Chap. 4.4, J.E. Tr\"umper (ed.), Berlin, Heidelberg, New
York: Springer-Verlag, p. 560-63
Forward-Backward Asymmetry in Top Quark Production in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
Reconstructable final state kinematics and charge assignment in the reaction
ppbar->ttbar allows tests of discrete strong interaction symmetries at high
energy. We define frame dependent forward-backward asymmetries for the outgoing
top quark in both the ppbar and ttbar rest frames, correct for experimental
distortions, and derive values at the parton-level. Using 1.9/fb of ppbar
collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV recorded with the CDF II detector at the
Fermilab Tevatron, we measure forward-backward top quark production asymmetries
in the ppbar and ttbar rest frames of A_{FB,pp} = 0.17 +- 0.08 and A_{FB,tt} =
0.24 +- 0.14.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.Lett, corrected references
and change of tex
Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF
Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for
indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on
particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with
the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers
gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section
physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional
algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps"
that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth
procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This
combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at
sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D
Rapid Communication
Measurement of the fraction of t-tbar production via gluon-gluon fusion in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a measurement of the ratio of t-tbar production cross section via
gluon-gluon fusion to the total t-tbar production cross section in p-pbar
collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV at the Tevatron. Using a data sample with an
integrated luminosity of 955/pb recorded by the CDF II detector at Fermilab, we
select events based on the t-tbar decay to lepton+jets. Using an artificial
neural network technique we discriminate between t-tbar events produced via
q-qbar annihilation and gluon-gluon fusion, and find
Cf=(gg->ttbar)/(pp->ttbar)<0.33 at the 68% confidence level. This result is
combined with a previous measurement to obtain the most precise measurement of
this quantity, Cf=0.07+0.15-0.07.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of Resonance Parameters of Orbitally Excited Narrow B^0 Mesons
We report a measurement of resonance parameters of the orbitally excited
(L=1) narrow B^0 mesons in decays to B^{(*)+}\pi^- using 1.7/fb of data
collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The mass and width
of the B^{*0}_2 state are measured to be m(B^{*0}_2) =
5740.2^{+1.7}_{-1.8}(stat.) ^{+0.9}_{-0.8}(syst.) MeV/c^2 and \Gamma(B^{*0}_2)
= 22.7^{+3.8}_{-3.2}(stat.) ^{+3.2}_{-10.2}(syst.) MeV/c^2. The mass difference
between the B^{*0}_2 and B^0_1 states is measured to be
14.9^{+2.2}_{-2.5}(stat.) ^{+1.2}_{-1.4}(syst.) MeV/c^2, resulting in a B^0_1
mass of 5725.3^{+1.6}_{-2.2}(stat.) ^{+1.4}_{-1.5}(syst.) MeV/c^2. This is
currently the most precise measurement of the masses of these states and the
first measurement of the B^{*0}_2 width.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, 1 table. Submitted to Phys.Rev.Let
Solar System Abundances of the Elements
Representative abundances of the chemical elements for use as a solar
abundance standard in astronomical and planetary studies are summarized.
Updated abundance tables for solar system abundances based on meteorites and
photospheric measurements are presented.Comment: 46 pages; 5 figures; 8 tables; In: Principles and Perspectives in
Cosmochemistry.Lecture Notes of the Kodai School on 'Synthesis of Elements in
Stars' held at Kodaikanal Observatory, India, April 29 - May 13, 2008 (Aruna
Goswami and B. Eswar Reddy eds.) Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings,
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2010, p. 379-417 (ISBN 978-3-642-10351-3),
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