2,185 research outputs found
Multiple scattering of polarized radiation by non-spherical grains: first results
We present the first numerical radiative transfer simulation of multiple
light scattering in dust configurations containing aligned non-spherical
(spheroidal) dust grains. Such models are especially important if one wants to
explain the circular polarization of light, observed in a variety of
astronomical objects. The radiative transfer problem is solved on the basis of
the Monte Carlo method. Test simulations, confirming the correct numerical
implementation of the scattering mechanism, are presented. As a first
application, we investigate the linear and circular polarization of light
coming from a spherical circumstellar shell. This shell contains perfectly
aligned prolate or oblate spheroidal grains. The most remarkable features of
the simulated linear polarization maps are so-called polarization null points
where the reversal of polarization occurs. They appear in the case when the
grain alignment axis is perpendicular to the line of sight. The maps of
circular polarization have a sector-like structure with maxima at the ends of
lines inclined to the grain alignment axis by \pm 45\degr.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, accepted by A&
Exploring the IronâBinding Potential of the Ocean Using a Combined pH and DOC Parameterization
The major part of dissolved iron (DFe) in seawater is bound to organic matter, which prevents iron from adsorptive removal by sinking particles and essentially regulates the residence time of DFe and its availability for marine biota. Characteristics of ironâbinding ligands highly depend on their biological origin and physicoâchemical properties of seawater which may intensely alter under ongoing climate change. To understand environmental controls on the iron binding, we applied a function of pH and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to describe changes in the binding strength of organic ligands in a global biogeochemical model (REcoM). This function was derived based on calculations using a thermodynamic chemical speciation model NICA. This parameterization considerably improved the modeled DFe distribution, particularly in the surface Pacific and the global mesopelagic and deep waters, compared to our previous model simulations with a constant ligand or one prognostic ligand. This indicates that the organic binding of iron is apparently controlled by seawater pH in addition to its link to organic matter. We tested further the response of this control to environmental changes in a simulation with future pH of a high emission scenario. The response of the binding potential shows a complex pattern in different regions and is regulated by factors that have opposite effects on the binding potential. The relative contributions of these factors can change over time by a continual change of environmental conditions. A dynamic feedback system therefore needs to be considered to predict the marine iron cycle under ongoing climate change
The steady state load of five firefighting tasks
Purpose. Physiologic demands of five common tasks in firefighting have been examined. Methods. Eight male volunteers, being dressed up as smoke divers (+21 kg extra load), carried out the following tasks at constant pace for 5 min: Walking at 1.4 m·sâ1, walking (all walks at the same speed) while carrying a 10 kg ladder, walking carrying two hose packs of 16 kg together, walking carrying a 32 kg spreader tool, finally climbing up and down a ladder at preset pace. A 5 min break separated each exercise. Heart rate, O2-uptake and ventilation were measured continuously, and blood lactate con-centration was recorded after each task. Results. The end-exercise heart rate rose from 108 to 180 bpm from first to last task, blood lactate concentration rose from 1 to 7 mmol·Lâ1, O2-uptake rose from 19 to 48 ml·kgâ1·minâ1, and ventilation rose from 38 to 124 L·minâ1. Discussion. Walking was an easy task even when dressed up as a smoke diver. Adding loads increased demands; ladder climbing taxed >90% of the subjectsâ aerobic power. Conclusions. The physiologic demands varied considera-bly between different tasks.acceptedVersio
The Signature of Primordial Grain Growth in the Polarized Light of the AU Mic Debris Disk
We have used the Hubble Space Telescope/ACS coronagraph to make polarization
maps of the AU Mic debris disk. The fractional linear polarization rises
monotonically from about 0.05 to 0.4 between 20 and 80 AU. The polarization is
perpendicular to the disk, indicating that the scattered light originates from
micron sized grains in an optically thin disk. Disk models, which
simultaneously fit the surface brightness and polarization, show that the inner
disk (< 40-50 AU) is depleted of micron-sized dust by a factor of more than
300, which means that the disk is collision dominated. The grains have high
maximum linear polarization and strong forward scattering. Spherical grains
composed of conventional materials cannot reproduce these optical properties. A
Mie/Maxwell-Garnett analysis implicates highly porous (91-94%) particles. In
the inner Solar System, porous particles form in cometary dust, where the
sublimation of ices leaves a "bird's nest" of refractory organic and silicate
material. In AU Mic, the grain porosity may be primordial, because the dust
"birth ring" lies beyond the ice sublimation point. The observed porosities
span the range of values implied by laboratory studies of particle coagulation
by ballistic cluster-cluster aggregation. To avoid compactification, the upper
size limit for the parent bodies is in the decimeter range, in agreement with
theoretical predictions based on collisional lifetime arguments. Consequently,
AU Mic may exhibit the signature of the primordial agglomeration process
whereby interstellar grains first assembled to form macroscopic objects.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, ApJ, in pres
High-resolution spectroscopy of QY Sge -- An obscured RV Tauri variable?
The first high-resolution optical spectra of QY Sge are presented and
discussed. Menzies & Whitelock (1988) on the basis of photometry and
low-resolution spectra suggested that this G0I supergiant was obscured by dust
and seen only by scattered light from a circumstellar reflection nebula. The
new spectra confirm and extend this picture. Photospheric lines are unusually
broad indicating scattering of photons from dust in the stellar wind. Presence
of very broad Na D emission lines is confirmed. Sharp emission lines from low
levels of abundant neutral metal atoms are reported for the first time. An
abundance analysis of photospheric lines shows that the stellar atmosphere is
of approximately solar composition but with highly condensible (e.g., Sc and
Ti) elements depleted by factors of 5 to 10.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
An equatorial wind from the massive young stellar object S140 IRS 1
The discovery of the second equatorial ionized stellar wind from a massive
young stellar object is reported. High resolution radio continuum maps of S140
IRS 1 reveal a highly elongated source that is perpendicular to the larger
scale bipolar molecular outflow. This picture is confirmed by location of a
small scale monopolar near-IR reflection nebula at the base of the blueshifted
lobe. A second epoch of observations over a five year baseline show little
ordered outward proper motion of clumps as would have been expected for a jet.
A third epoch, taken only 50 days after the second, did show significant
changes in the radio morphology. These radio properties can all be understood
in the context of an equatorial wind driven by radiation pressure from the
central star and inner disc acting on the gas in the surface layers of the disc
as proposed by Drew et al. (1998). This equatorial wind system is briefly
compared with the one in S106IR, and contrasted with other massive young
stellar objects that drive ionized jets.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, accepted by ApJ, minor changes in light of
referees repor
Confidence intervals for posterior intercepts, with application to the PIAAC literacy survey.
For variance component models, it is often the posterior estimate of
the random effect (âposterior interceptâ) rather than the estimate of the fixed
effect parameters, which is of main interest. This is the case, for instance, when
ranking regionâwise mortality rates (where the crude, regional rates are unreliable
due to small observed counts) or for the construction of educational league tables
from complex sample surveys. However, in order to be able to decide whether
two clusterâlevel units can actually be distinguished, it is clear that one needs a
measure of variability of these posterior intercepts. We present an exploration
of methods to address this issue which appears to be still undeveloped in the
context of the model class considered
The evolutionary status of the semiregular variable QYSge
Repeated spectroscopic observations made with the 6m telescope of yielded new
data on the radial-velocity variability of the anomalous yellow supergiant
QYSge. The strongest and most peculiar feature in its spectrum is the complex
profile of NaI D lines, which contains a narrow and a very wide emission
components. The wide emission component can be seen to extend from -170 to +120
km/s, and at its central part it is cut by an absorption feature, which, in
turn, is split into two subcomponents by a narrow (16km/s at r=2.5) emission
peak. An analysis of all the Vr values leads us to adopt for the star a
systemic velocity of Vr=-21.1 km/s, which corresponds to the position of the
narrow emission component of NaI. The locations of emission-line features of
NaI D lines are invariable, which point to their formation in regions that are
external to the supergiant's photosphere. Differential line shifts of about
10km/s are revealed. The absorption lines in the spectrum of QYSge have a
substantial width of FWHM~45 km/s. The method of model atmospheres is used to
determine the following parameters: Teff=6250K, lg g=2.0, and microturbulence
Vt=4.5km/s. The metallicity of the star is found to be somewhat higher than the
solar one with an average overabundance of iron-peak elements of [Met/H]=+0.20.
The star is found to be slightly overabundant in carbon and nitrogen,
[C/Fe]=+0.25, [N/Fe]=+0.27. The alpha-process elements Mg, Si, and Ca are
slightly overabundant [alpha/H]=+0.12. The strong sodium excess, [Na/Fe]=+0.75,
is likely to be due to the dredge-up of the matter processed in the NeNa cycle.
Heavy elements of the s-process are underabundant relative to the Sun. On the
whole, the observed properties of QYSge do not give grounds for including this
star into the group of RCrB or RVTau-type type objects.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables; accepted by Astrophys. Bulleti
UV Circular Polarisation in Star Formation Regions : The Origin of Homochirality?
Ultraviolet circularly polarised light has been suggested as the initial cause of the homochirality of organic molecules in terrestrial organisms, via enantiomeric selection of prebiotic molecules by asymmetric photolysis. We present a theoretical investigation of mechanisms by which ultraviolet circular polarisation may be produced in star formation regions. In the scenarios considered here, light scattering produces only a small percentage of net circular polarisation at any point in space, due to the forward throwing nature of the phase function in the ultraviolet. By contrast, dichroic extinction can produce a fairly high percentage of net circular polarisation (âŒ10%) and may therefore play a key role in producing an enantiomeric excessPeer reviewe
- âŠ