3,558 research outputs found
Annual and semiannual variations of vertical total electron content during high solar activity based on GPS observations
Annual, semiannual and seasonal variations of the Vertical Total Electron
Content (VTEC) have been investigated during high solar activity in 2000. In
this work we use Global IGS VTEC maps and Principal Component Analysis to
study spatial and temporal ionospheric variability. The behavior of VTEC
variations at two-hour periods, at noon and at night is analyzed. Particular
characteristics associated with each period and the geomagnetic regions are
highlighted.
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The variations at night are smaller than those obtained at noon. At noon it
is possible to see patterns of the seasonal variation at high latitude, and
patterns of the semiannual anomaly at low latitudes with a slow decrease
towards mid latitudes. At night there is no evidence of seasonal or annual
anomaly for any region, but it was possible to see the semiannual anomaly at
low latitudes with a sudden decrease towards mid latitudes. In general, the
semiannual behavior shows March–April equinox at least 40 % higher than
September one. Similarities and differences are analyzed also with regard to
the same analysis done for a period of low solar activity
Optimization in Gradient Networks
Gradient networks can be used to model the dominant structure of complex
networks. Previous works have focused on random gradient networks. Here we
study gradient networks that minimize jamming on substrate networks with
scale-free and Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi structure. We introduce structural
correlations and strongly reduce congestion occurring on the network by using a
Monte Carlo optimization scheme. This optimization alters the degree
distribution and other structural properties of the resulting gradient
networks. These results are expected to be relevant for transport and other
dynamical processes in real network systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Quantum dynamics of a vibrational mode of a membrane within an optical cavity
Optomechanical systems are a promising candidate for the implementation of
quantum interfaces for storing and redistributing quantum information. Here we
focus on the case of a high-finesse optical cavity with a thin vibrating
semitransparent membrane in the middle. We show that robust and stationary
optomechanical entanglement could be achieved in the system, even in the
presence of nonnegligible optical absorption in the membrane. We also present
some preliminary experimental data showing radiation-pressure induced optical
bistability.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Work presented at the conference QCMC 2010 held
on 19-23 July 2010 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australi
Quantum dynamics of a high-finesse optical cavity coupled with a thin semi-transparent membrane
We study the quantum dynamics of the cavity optomechanical system formed by a
Fabry-Perot cavity with a thin vibrating membrane at its center. We first
derive the general multimode Hamiltonian describing the radiation pressure
interaction between the cavity modes and the vibrational modes of the membrane.
We then restrict the analysis to the standard case of a single cavity mode
interacting with a single mechanical resonator and we determine to what extent
optical absorption by the membrane hinder reaching a quantum regime for the
cavity-membrane system. We show that membrane absorption does not pose serious
limitations and that one can simultaneously achieve ground state cooling of a
vibrational mode of the membrane and stationary optomechanical entanglement
with state-of-the-art apparatuses.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
The inelastic Takahashi hard-rod gas
We study a one-dimensional fluid of hard-rods interacting each other via
binary inelastic collisions and a short ranged square-well potential. Upon
tuning the depth and the sign of the well, we investigate the interplay between
dissipation and cohesive or repulsive forces. Molecular dynamics simulations of
the cooling regime indicate that the presence of this simple interparticle
interaction is sufficient to significantly modify the energy dissipation rates
expected by the Haff's law for the free cooling. The simplicity of the model
makes it amenable to an analytical approach based on the Boltzmann-Enskog
transport equation which allows deriving the behaviour of the granular
temperature. Furthermore, in the elastic limit, the model can be solved exactly
to provide a full thermodynamic description. A meaningful theoretical
approximation explaining the properties of the inelastic system in interaction
with a thermal bath can be directly extrapolated from the properties of the
corresponding elastic system, upon a proper re-definition of the relevant
observables. Simulation results both in the cooling and driven regime can be
fairly interpreted according to our theoretical approach and compare rather
well to our predictions.Comment: 14 pages RevTex, 9 eps figure
Temporal and diffraction effects in entanglement creation in an optical cavity
A practical scheme for entanglement creation between distant atoms located
inside a single-mode optical cavity is discussed. We show that the degree of
entanglement and the time it takes for the entanglement to reach its optimum
value is a sensitive function the initial conditions and the position of the
atoms inside the cavity mode. It is found that the entangled properties of the
two atoms can readily be extracted from dynamics of a simple two-level system.
Effectively, we engineer two coupled qubits whose the dynamics are analogous to
that of a driven single two-level system. It is found that spatial variations
of the coupling constants actually help to create transient entanglement which
may appear on the time scale much longer than that predicted for the case of
equal coupling constants. When the atoms are initially prepared in an entangled
state, they may remain entangled for all times. We also find that the
entanglement exhibits an interesting phenomenon of diffraction when the the
atoms are located between the nodes and antinodes of the cavity mode. The
diffraction pattern of the entanglement varies with time and we explain this
effect in terms of the quantum property of complementarity, which is manifested
as a tradeoff between the knowledge of energy of the exchanged photon versus
the evolution time of the system.Comment: Phys. Rev. A75, 042307 (2007
Evaluation of the hydro - Mechanical efficiency of external gear pumps
This paper proposes and describes a model for evaluating the hydro-mechanical efficiency of external gear machines. The model is built considering and evaluating the main friction losses in the machines, including the viscous friction losses at the tooth tip gap, at the bearing blocks-gears gaps, at the journal bearings, and the meshing loss. To calculate the shear stress at each gap interface, the geometry of the gap has to be known. For this reason, the actual position of the gears inside the pump casing and consequent radial pressure distribution are numerically calculated to evaluate the gap height at the tooth tips. Moreover, the variation of the tilt and reference height of the lateral gaps between the gears and the pump bushings are considered. The shear stresses within the lateral gaps are estimated, for different lateral heights and tilt values. At the journal bearings gaps, the half Sommerfeld solution has been applied. The meshing loss has been calculated according to the suggestion of the International Standards. The hydro-mechanical efficiency results are then discussed with reference to commercial pumps experimentally characterized by the authors in a previous work. The average percentage deviation from experimental data was around 2%, without considering the most critical operating conditions (high delivery pressure, low rotational speed). The limits of this approach are also explained. Finally, the role of each source of loss is discussed, considering different operating conditions and two values of fluid viscosity. Lateral gap losses and meshing loss are much more relevant in determining the hydro-mechanical efficiency variation in the pump's operating range, especially at a low delivery pressure. Moreover, while lateral gap losses increase with the rotational speed, the meshing loss shows the opposite behavior. The tooth tip gap losses are never as relevant, but they increase at high pressure. The journal bearings losses become comparable with the lateral and meshing ones at high delivery pressure values. Considering the pumps analyzed and the operating range of delivery pressure values and rotational speed values, the meshing loss made the mechanical efficiency vary in a percentage range of ±7%, with lateral losses in the range of about the ±15%, when also considering the extreme operating points (low speed, high pressure; high speed, low pressure). The weight of the lateral losses slightly reduced when we analyzed the higher temperature results, while the meshing losses slightly increased
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