1,409 research outputs found
Effects of Cutoff Functions of Tersoff Potentials on Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Thermal Transport
Past molecular dynamics studies of thermal transport have predominantly used
Stillinger-Weber potentials. As materials continuously shrink, their properties
increasingly depend on defect and surface effects. Unfortunately,
Stillinger-Weber potentials are best used for diamond-cubic-like bulk crystals.
They cannot represent the energies of many metastable phases, nor can they
accurately predict the energetics of defective and surface regions. To study
nanostructured materials, where these regions can dominate thermal transport,
the accuracy of Tersoff potentials in representing these structures is more
desirable. Based upon an analysis of thermal transport in a GaN system, we
demonstrate that the cutoff function of the existing Tersoff potentials may
lead to problems in determining the thermal conductivity. To remedy this issue,
improved cutoff schemes are proposed and evaluated
The L_X--M relation of Clusters of Galaxies
We present a new measurement of the scaling relation between X-ray luminosity
and total mass for 17,000 galaxy clusters in the maxBCG cluster sample.
Stacking sub-samples within fixed ranges of optical richness, N_200, we measure
the mean 0.1-2.4 keV X-ray luminosity, , from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey.
The mean mass, , is measured from weak gravitational lensing of SDSS
background galaxies (Johnston et al. 2007). For 9 <= N_200 < 200, the data are
well fit by a power-law, /10^42 h^-2 erg/s = (12.6+1.4-1.3 (stat) +/- 1.6
(sys)) (/10^14 h^-1 M_sun)^1.65+/-0.13. The slope agrees to within 10%
with previous estimates based on X-ray selected catalogs, implying that the
covariance in L_X and N_200 at fixed halo mass is not large. The luminosity
intercent is 30%, or 2\sigma, lower than determined from the X-ray flux-limited
sample of Reiprich & Bohringer (2002), assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. This
difference could arise from a combination of Malmquist bias and/or systematic
error in hydrostatic mass estimates, both of which are expected. The intercept
agrees with that derived by Stanek et al. (2006) using a model for the
statistical correspondence between clusters and halos in a WMAP3 cosmology with
power spectrum normalization sigma_8 = 0.85. Similar exercises applied to
future data sets will allow constraints on the covariance among optical and hot
gas properties of clusters at fixed mass.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, MNRAS accepte
Nonthermal Emission from the Arches Cluster (G0.121+0.017) and the Origin of -ray Emission from 3EG J1746-2851
High resolution VLA observations of the Arches cluster near the Galactic
center show evidence of continuum emission at 3.6, 6, 20 and 90cm. The
continuum emission at 90cm is particularly striking because thermal
sources generally become optically thick at longer wavelengths and fall off in
brightness whereas non-thermal sources increase in brightness. It is argued
that the radio emission from this unique source has compact and diffuse
components produced by thermal and nonthermal processes, respectively. Compact
sources within the cluster arise from stellar winds of mass-losing stars (Lang,
Goss & Rodriguez 2001a) whereas diffuse emission is likely to be due to
colliding wind shocks of the cluster flow generating relativistic particles due
to diffuse shock acceleration. We also discuss the possibility that
-ray emission from 3EG J1746--2851, located within 3.3 of the Arches
cluster, results from the inverse Compton scattering of the radiation field of
the cluster.Comment: 15 pages, four figures, ApJL (in press
Towards More Accurate Molecular Dynamics Calculation of Thermal Conductivity. Case Study: GaN Bulk Crystals
Significant differences exist among literature for thermal conductivity of
various systems computed using molecular dynamics simulation. In some cases,
unphysical results, for example, negative thermal conductivity, have been
found. Using GaN as an example case and the direct non-equilibrium method,
extensive molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo analysis of the
results have been carried out to quantify the uncertainty level of the
molecular dynamics methods and to identify the conditions that can yield
sufficiently accurate calculations of thermal conductivity. We found that the
errors of the calculations are mainly due to the statistical thermal
fluctuations. Extrapolating results to the limit of an infinite-size system
tend to magnify the errors and occasionally lead to unphysical results. The
error in bulk estimates can be reduced by performing longer time averages using
properly selected systems over a range of sample lengths. If the errors in the
conductivity estimates associated with each of the sample lengths are kept
below a certain threshold, the likelihood of obtaining unphysical bulk values
becomes insignificant. Using a Monte-Carlo approach developed here, we have
determined the probability distributions for the bulk thermal conductivities
obtained using the direct method. We also have observed a nonlinear effect that
can become a source of significant errors. For the extremely accurate results
presented here, we predict a [0001] GaN thermal conductivity of 185 at 300 K, 102 at 500 K, and 74
at 800 K. Using the insights obtained in the work, we have achieved a
corresponding error level (standard deviation) for the bulk (infinite sample
length) GaN thermal conductivity of less than 10 , 5 , and 15 at 300 K, 500 K, and 800 K respectively
High-Resolution, Wide-Field Imaging of the Galactic Center Region at 330 MHz
We present a wide field, sub-arcminute resolution VLA image of the Galactic
Center region at 330 MHz. With a resolution of ~ 7" X 12" and an RMS noise of
1.6 mJy/beam, this image represents a significant increase in resolution and
sensitivity over the previously published VLA image at this frequency. The
improved sensitivity has more than tripled the census of small diameter sources
in the region, has resulted in the detection of two new Non Thermal Filaments
(NTFs), 18 NTF candidates, 30 pulsar candidates, reveals previously known
extended sources in greater detail, and has resulted in the first detection of
Sagittarius A* in this frequency range.
A version of this paper containing full resolution images may be found at
http://lwa.nrl.navy.mil/nord/AAAB.pdf.Comment: Astronomical Journal, Accepted 62 Pages, 21 Figure
A new perspective on GCRT J1745-3009
Two WSRT observations were performed and five archival VLA data were reduced
in order to redetect the enigmatic radio transient GCRT J1745-3009. The source
was not redetected. We were, however, able to extract important new information
from the discovery dataset. Our reanalysis excludes models that predict
symmetric bursts, but the transient white dwarf pulsar is favoured. Although we
now have more contraints on the properties of this source, we are still unsure
about its basic model.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
The social value of a QALY : raising the bar or barring the raise?
Background: Since the inception of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England,
there have been questions about the empirical basis for the cost-per-QALY threshold used by NICE and whether
QALYs gained by different beneficiaries of health care should be weighted equally. The Social Value of a QALY
(SVQ) project, reported in this paper, was commissioned to address these two questions. The results of SVQ were
released during a time of considerable debate about the NICE threshold, and authors with differing perspectives
have drawn on the SVQ results to support their cases. As these discussions continue, and given the selective use of
results by those involved, it is important, therefore, not only to present a summary overview of SVQ, but also for
those who conducted the research to contribute to the debate as to its implications for NICE.
Discussion: The issue of the threshold was addressed in two ways: first, by combining, via a set of models, the
current UK Value of a Prevented Fatality (used in transport policy) with data on fatality age, life expectancy and
age-related quality of life; and, second, via a survey designed to test the feasibility of combining respondentsâ
answers to willingness to pay and health state utility questions to arrive at values of a QALY. Modelling resulted in
values of ÂŁ10,000-ÂŁ70,000 per QALY. Via survey research, most methods of aggregating the data resulted in values
of a QALY of ÂŁ18,000-ÂŁ40,000, although others resulted in implausibly high values. An additional survey, addressing
the issue of weighting QALYs, used two methods, one indicating that QALYs should not be weighted and the
other that greater weight could be given to QALYs gained by some groups.
Summary: Although we conducted only a feasibility study and a modelling exercise, neither present compelling
evidence for moving the NICE threshold up or down. Some preliminary evidence would indicate it could be
moved up for some types of QALY and down for others. While many members of the public appear to be open to
the possibility of using somewhat different QALY weights for different groups of beneficiaries, we do not yet have
any secure evidence base for introducing such a system
Detection of Sagittarius A* at 330 MHz with the Very Large Array
We report the detection of Sagittarius A*, the radio source associated with
our Galaxy's central massive black hole, at 330 MHz with the Very Large Array.
Implications for the spectrum and emission processes of Sagittarius A* are
discussed and several hypothetical geometries of the central region are
considered.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Accepte
Ancient coins: cluster analysis applied to find a correlation between corrosion process and burial soil characteristics
Although it is well known that any material degrades faster when exposed to an aggressive environment as well as that "aggressive" cannot be univocally defined as depending also on the chemical-physical characteristics of material, few researches on the identification of the most significant parameters influencing the corrosion of metallic object are available
Measuring the mean and scatter of the X-ray luminosity -- optical richness relation for maxBCG galaxy clusters
Determining the scaling relations between galaxy cluster observables requires
large samples of uniformly observed clusters. We measure the mean X-ray
luminosity--optical richness (L_X--N_200) relation for an approximately
volume-limited sample of more than 17,000 optically-selected clusters from the
maxBCG catalog spanning the redshift range 0.1<z<0.3. By stacking the X-ray
emission from many clusters using ROSAT All-Sky Survey data, we are able to
measure mean X-ray luminosities to ~10% (including systematic errors) for
clusters in nine independent optical richness bins. In addition, we are able to
crudely measure individual X-ray emission from ~800 of the richest clusters.
Assuming a log-normal form for the scatter in the L_X--N_200 relation, we
measure \sigma_\ln{L}=0.86+/-0.03 at fixed N_200. This scatter is large enough
to significantly bias the mean stacked relation. The corrected median relation
can be parameterized by L_X = (e^\alpha)(N_200/40)^\beta 10^42 h^-2 ergs/s,
where \alpha = 3.57+/-0.08 and \beta = 1.82+/-0.05. We find that X-ray selected
clusters are significantly brighter than optically-selected clusters at a given
optical richness. This selection bias explains the apparently X-ray
underluminous nature of optically-selected cluster catalogs.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, revised after referee's comments. ApJ accepte
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