865 research outputs found
The circulation of Prince William Sound
There are no author-identified significant results in this report
Canonical Transformation Path to Gauge Theories of Gravity
In this paper, the generic part of the gauge theory of gravity is derived,
based merely on the action principle and on the general principle of
relativity. We apply the canonical transformation framework to formulate
geometrodynamics as a gauge theory. The starting point of our paper is
constituted by the general De~Donder-Weyl Hamiltonian of a system of scalar and
vector fields, which is supposed to be form-invariant under (global) Lorentz
transformations. Following the reasoning of gauge theories, the corresponding
locally form-invariant system is worked out by means of canonical
transformations. The canonical transformation approach ensures by construction
that the form of the action functional is maintained. We thus encounter amended
Hamiltonian systems which are form-invariant under arbitrary spacetime
transformations. This amended system complies with the general principle of
relativity and describes both, the dynamics of the given physical system's
fields and their coupling to those quantities which describe the dynamics of
the spacetime geometry. In this way, it is unambiguously determined how spin-0
and spin-1 fields couple to the dynamics of spacetime.
A term that describes the dynamics of the free gauge fields must finally be
added to the amended Hamiltonian, as common to all gauge theories, to allow for
a dynamic spacetime geometry. The choice of this "dynamics Hamiltonian" is
outside of the scope of gauge theory as presented in this paper. It accounts
for the remaining indefiniteness of any gauge theory of gravity and must be
chosen "by hand" on the basis of physical reasoning. The final Hamiltonian of
the gauge theory of gravity is shown to be at least quadratic in the conjugate
momenta of the gauge fields -- this is beyond the Einstein-Hilbert theory of
General Relativity.Comment: 16 page
The circulation of Prince William Sound
There are no author-identified significant results in this report
The International DOVETAIL Program
The "Deep Ocean Ventilation Through Antarctic Intermediate Layers"(DOVETAIL) program is an international field and modeling study of thedense deep and bottom waters of the northwestern Weddell Sea. Aprimary program goal has been to estimate the volume transport andpathways of these waters, long considered to be a major source ofAntarctic Bottom Water, as they escape from the Weddell Sea over andthrough the South Scotia Ridge into the Scotia Sea. Corollary goalsare to assess modification of the stratification during passage throughthe narrow, steep-sided and irregular channels that transect the Ridge.The program has evolved, since its start in 1997 as a primarily process-oriented project, into a multiyear observational study of the northwesternWeddell Sea-southern Scotia Sea including the Weddell-ScotiaConfluence region. An additional program goal has, therefore, becomethe estimation of interannual variability in the physical system. Thisvolume contains a collection of papers that present recent field andmodel-derived results from the DOVETAIL program
Physical Oceanographic Observations in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait
During February 1972, scientific personnel operating from the Louis S. St. Laurent obtained the first winter oceanographic temperature and salinity data from Baffin Bay. Six oceanographic stations were occupied: one in central Baffin Bay; a second in eastern Baffin Bay southeast of the first; and a cross-section of 4 stations in southern Davis Strait .... The temperature and salinity data were obtained using discrete samples from Knudsen bottles, equipped with deep-sea reversing thermometers, and an in situ recording salinity/temperature/depth unit (STD). Temperatures and salinities determined from the discrete water samples were used to calibrate the STD and correct it for drift, while the STD was used to detect fine structure in the vertical distributions of temperature and salinity. ... The temperatures presented ... were those obtained from the reversing thermometers. ... they are presented here in comparison with summer data from the same region .... While it is not possible to draw quantitative conclusions from the small amount of available information, it appears that the deep vertical distributions of temperature and salinity in central and southeastern Baffin Bay and Davis Strait may not undergo significant seasonal variation. Observed near-surface variations may be accounted for qualitatively by a combination of winter cooling, freezing and convective mixing and summer meltwater addition. The apparent constancy of flow through Davis Strait is of particular interest. It has been demonstrated that for sufficient heat to be present in the water column for prevention of ice formation in the open lead in northern Baffin Bay known as the North Water, northerly flow of warm water (>0°C) would have to be greater than observed during the summer months. That this does not appear to be the case strengthens the hypothesis... that the open water is due to a southward advection of ice by winds and currents rather than by heat from the water column preventing formation of the ice
The Infrared Extinction Law at Extreme Depth in a Dark Cloud Core
We combined sensitive near-infrared data obtained with ground-based imagers
on the ESO NTT and VLT telescopes with space mid-infrared data acquired with
the IRAC imager on the Spitzer Space Telescope to calculate the extinction law
A_\lambda/A_K as a function of \lambda between 1.25 and 7.76 micron to an
unprecedented depth in Barnard 59, a star forming, dense core located in the
Pipe Nebula. The ratios A_\lambda/A_K were calculated from the slopes of the
distributions of sources in color-color diagrams \lambda-K vs. H-K. The
distributions in the color-color diagrams are fit well with single slopes to
extinction levels of A_K ~ 7 (A_V ~ 59 mag). Consequently, there appears to be
no significant variation of the extinction law with depth through the B59 line
of sight. However, when slopes are translated into the relative extinction
coefficients A_\lambda/A_K, we find an extinction law which departs from the
simple extrapolation of the near-infrared power law extinction curve, and
agrees more closely with a dust extinction model for a cloud with a total to
selective absorption R_V=5.5 and a grain size distribution favoring larger
grains than those in the diffuse ISM. Thus, the difference we observe could be
possibly due to the effect of grain growth in denser regions. Finally, the
slopes in our diagrams are somewhat less steep than those from the study of
Indebetouw et al. (2005) for clouds with lower column densities, and this
indicates that the extinction law between 3 and 8 micron might vary slightly as
a function of environment.Comment: 22 pages manuscript, 4 figures (2 multipart), 1 tabl
Young Brown Dwarfs in the Core of the W3 Main Star-Forming Region
We present the results of deep and high-resolution (FWHM ~ 0".35) JHK NIR
observations with the Subaru telescope, to search for very low mass young
stellar objects (YSOs) in the W3 Main star-forming region. The NIR survey
covers an area of ~ 2.6 arcmin^2 with 10-sigma limiting magnitude exceeding 20
mag in the JHK bands. The survey is sensitive enough to provide unprecedented
details in W3 IRS 5 region and reveals a census of the stellar population down
to objects below the hydrogen-burning limit. We construct JHK color-color (CC)
and J-H/J and H-K/K color-magnitude (CM) diagrams to identify very low
luminosity YSOs and to estimate their masses. Based on these CC and CM
diagrams, we identified a rich population of embedded YSO candidates with
infrared excesses (Class I and Class II), associated with the W3 Main region. A
large number of red sources (H-K > 2) have also been detected around W3 Main.
We argue that these red stars are most probably pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars
with intrinsic color excesses. Based on the comparison between theoretical
evolutionary models of very low-mass PMS objects with the observed CM diagram,
we find there exists a substantial substellar population in the observed
region. The mass function (MF) does not show the presence of cutoff and sharp
turnover around the substellar limit, at least at the hydrogen-burning limit.
Furthermore, the MF slope indicates that the number ratio of young brown dwarfs
and hydrogen-burning stars in the W3 Main is probably higher than those in
Trapezium and IC 348. The presence of mass segregation, in the sense that
relatively massive YSOs lie near the cluster center, is seen. The estimated
dynamical evolution time indicates that the observed mass segregation in the W3
Main may be the imprint of the star formation process.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
DNA methylation age is accelerated in alcohol dependence.
Alcohol dependence (ALC) is a chronic, relapsing disorder that increases the burden of chronic disease and significantly contributes to numerous premature deaths each year. Previous research suggests that chronic, heavy alcohol consumption is associated with differential DNA methylation patterns. In addition, DNA methylation levels at certain CpG sites have been correlated with age. We used an epigenetic clock to investigate the potential role of excessive alcohol consumption in epigenetic aging. We explored this question in five independent cohorts, including DNA methylation data derived from datasets from blood (n = 129, n = 329), liver (n = 92, n = 49), and postmortem prefrontal cortex (n = 46). One blood dataset and one liver tissue dataset of individuals with ALC exhibited positive age acceleration (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0069, respectively), whereas the other blood and liver tissue datasets both exhibited trends of positive age acceleration that were not significant (p = 0.83 and p = 0.57, respectively). Prefrontal cortex tissue exhibited a trend of negative age acceleration (p = 0.19). These results suggest that excessive alcohol consumption may be associated with epigenetic aging in a tissue-specific manner and warrants further investigation using multiple tissue samples from the same individuals
Global X-ray properties of the Orion Nebula region
Based on the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP) observation, we establish
the global X-ray properties of the stellar population associated with the Orion
Nebula. Three components contribute roughly equally to the integrated COUP
luminosity in the hard (2-8 keV) X-ray band: several OB stars, 822 lightly
obscured cool stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC), and 559 heavily obscured
stars. ONC stars 0.5-2 pc from the center show a spatial asymmetry consistent
with violent relaxation in the stellar dynamics. The obscured COUP sources
concentrate around both OMC-1 molecular cores; these small-scale structures
indicate ages t < 0.1 Myr. The X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of the lightly
obscured sample is roughly lognormal in shape. The obscured population is
deficient in lower-luminosity stars, perhaps due to localized circumstellar
material. Mass-stratified XLFs show that one-third of the Orion Nebula region
hard-band emission is produced by the bright O6 star theta-1 Ori C and half is
produced by lower mass pre-main sequence stars with masses 0.3 < M < 3 Mo. Very
low mass stars contribute little to the cluster X-ray emission.
Using the hard band emission, we show that young stellar clusters like the
ONC can be readily detected and resolved with Chandra across the Galactic disk,
even in the presence of heavy obscuration. The Orion Nebula sample is a
valuable template for studies of distant clusters. For example, the peak of the
XLF shape can serve as a standard candle for a new distance measure to distant
young stellar clusters, and the presence of a neon emission line complex around
1 keV can serve as a diagnostic for young stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements,
Special Issue on the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP). 11 pages, 7
figures. See http://www.astro.psu.edu/coup for an overview of COU
- …