3,135 research outputs found
Magellan Project: Evolving enhanced operations efficiency to maximize science value
Magellan has been one of NASA's most successful spacecraft, returning more science data than all planetary spacecraft combined. The Magellan Spacecraft Team (SCT) has maximized the science return with innovative operational techniques to overcome anomalies and to perform activities for which the spacecraft was not designed. Commanding the spacecraft was originally time consuming because the standard development process was envisioned as manual tasks. The Program understood that reducing mission operations costs were essential for an extended mission. Management created an environment which encouraged automation of routine tasks, allowing staff reduction while maximizing the science data returned. Data analysis and trending, command preparation, and command reviews are some of the tasks that were automated. The SCT has accommodated personnel reductions by improving operations efficiency while returning the maximum science data possible
Vibrational Study of 13C-enriched C60 Crystals
The infrared (IR) spectrum of solid C60 exhibits many weak vibrational modes.
Symmetry breaking due to 13C isotopes provides a possible route for optically
activating IR-silent vibrational modes. Experimental spectra and a
semi-empirical theory on natural abundance and 13C-enriched single crystals of
C60 are presented. By comparing the experimental results with the theoretical
results, we exclude this isotopic activation mechanism from the explanation for
weakly active fundamentals in the spectra.Comment: Accepted for Phys. Rev. B, typeset in REVTEX v3.0 in LaTeX.
Postscript file including figures is available at
http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~mmartin/papers/c13twocol2.ps File with
figures will be e-mailed by reques
A spin chain model with non-Hermitian interaction: the Ising quantum spin chain in an imaginary field
We investigate a lattice version of the Yang-Lee model which is characterized by a non-Hermitian quantum spin chain Hamiltonian. We propose a new way to implement PT-symmetry on the lattice, which serves to guarantee the reality of the spectrum in certain regions of values of the coupling constants. In that region of unbroken PT-symmetry we construct a Dyson map, a metric operator and find the Hermitian counterpart of the Hamiltonian for small values of the number of sites, both exactly and perturbatively. Besides the standard perturbation theory about the Hermitian part of the Hamiltonian, we also carry out an expansion in the second coupling constant of the model. Our constructions turns out to be unique with the sole assumption that the Dyson map is Hermitian. Finally we compute the magnetization of the chain in the z and x direction
Education and older adults at the University of the Third Age
This article reports a critical analysis of older adult education in Malta. In educational gerontology, a critical perspective demands the exposure of how relations of power and inequality, in their myriad forms, combinations, and complexities, are manifest in late-life learning initiatives. Fieldwork conducted at the University of the Third Age (UTA) in Malta uncovered the political nature of elder-learning, especially with respect to three intersecting lines of inequality - namely, positive aging, elitism, and gender. A cautionary note is, therefore, warranted at the dominant positive interpretations of UTAs since late-life learning, as any other education activity, is not politically neutral.peer-reviewe
Biological measurement beyond the quantum limit
Quantum noise places a fundamental limit on the per photon sensitivity
attainable in optical measurements. This limit is of particular importance in
biological measurements, where the optical power must be constrained to avoid
damage to the specimen. By using non-classically correlated light, we
demonstrated that the quantum limit can be surpassed in biological
measurements. Quantum enhanced microrheology was performed within yeast cells
by tracking naturally occurring lipid granules with sensitivity 2.4 dB beyond
the quantum noise limit. The viscoelastic properties of the cytoplasm could
thereby be determined with a 64% improved measurement rate. This demonstration
paves the way to apply quantum resources broadly in a biological context
Femtosecond Laser-Produced Plasma X-Rays from Periodically Modulated Surface Targets
We have studied theoretically and experimentally the x-ray production above 1 keV from femtosecond laser plasmas generated on periodically modulated surface targets. Laser energy coupling to plasma surface waves has been modeled using a numerical differential method. Almost total absorption of incident laser radiation is predicted for optimized interaction conditions. Silicon gratings have been irradiated by a 120fs Ti:sapphire laser at irradiances in excess of 1016 W/cm2. X-ray intensities above 1.5 keV (K-shell lines) have been measured as a function of the incidence angle. Results show a distinct x-ray emission maximum for the first order diffraction angle and are in good qualitative agreement with our theoretical predictions
Women's views on consent, counseling and confidentiality in PMTCT: a mixed-methods study in four African countries
Estimation of Prevalence of DSM-IV and Latent Class-Defined ADHD Subtypes in a Population-Based Sample of Child and Adolescent Twins
Quantum state discrimination: a geometric approach
We analyse the problem of finding sets of quantum states that can be
deterministically discriminated. From a geometric point of view this problem is
equivalent to that of embedding a simplex of points whose distances are maximal
with respect to the Bures distance (or trace distance). We derive upper and
lower bounds for the trace distance and for the fidelity between two quantum
states, which imply bounds for the Bures distance between the unitary orbits of
both states. We thus show that when analysing minimal and maximal distances
between states of fixed spectra it is sufficient to consider diagonal states
only. Hence considering optimal discrimination, given freedom up to unitary
orbits, it is sufficient to consider diagonal states. This is illustrated
geometrically in terms of Weyl chambers.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Recent Results from the BRAHMS Experiment
We present recent results obtained by the BRAHMS experiment at the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) for the systems of Au + Au and Cu + Cu
at \rootsnn{200} and at 62.4 GeV, and p + p at \rootsnn{200}. Nuclear
modification factors for Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions are presented. Analysis
of anti-particle to particle ratios as a function of rapidity and collision
energy reveal that particle populations at the chemical freeze-out stage for
heavy-ion reactions at and above SPS energies are controlled by the baryon
chemical potential. From the particle spectra we deduce significant radial
expansion ( 0.75), as expected for systems created with a large
initial energy density. We also measure the elliptic flow parameter
versus rapidity and \ptn. We present rapidity dependent ratios within
for Au + Au and Cu + Cu at \rootsnn{200}. \Raa is found to increase
with decreasing collision energy, decreasing system size, and when going
towards more peripheral collisions. However, \Raa shows only a very weak
dependence on rapidity (for ), both for pions and protons.Comment: 16 pages and 14 figures, proceedings for plenary talk at Quark Matter
2005, Budapest, Hungar
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