4,778 research outputs found
Climate change in CCAFS regions: Recent trends, current projections, crop-climate suitability, and prospects for improved climate model information
Good climate projections for agriculture can help guide investments in risk management and adaptation. New reports offer insights into the reliability of future climate projections for agriculture, and show how to make the most of current data
Gravitational Waves from Axisymmetric, Rotational Stellar Core Collapse
We have carried out an extensive set of two-dimensional, axisymmetric,
purely-hydrodynamic calculations of rotational stellar core collapse with a
realistic, finite-temperature nuclear equation of state and realistic massive
star progenitor models. For each of the total number of 72 different
simulations we performed, the gravitational wave signature was extracted via
the quadrupole formula in the slow-motion, weak-field approximation. We
investigate the consequences of variation in the initial ratio of rotational
kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy and in the initial degree of
differential rotation. Furthermore, we include in our model suite progenitors
from recent evolutionary calculations that take into account the effects of
rotation and magnetic torques. For each model, we calculate gravitational
radiation wave forms, characteristic wave strain spectra, energy spectra, final
rotational profiles, and total radiated energy. In addition, we compare our
model signals with the anticipated sensitivities of the 1st- and 2nd-generation
LIGO detectors coming on line. We find that most of our models are detectable
by LIGO from anywhere in the Milky Way.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (v600, Jan.
2004). Revised version: Corrected typos and minor mistakes in text and
references. Minor additions to the text according to the referee's
suggestions, conclusions unchange
Mass transfer dynamics in double degenerate binary systems
We present a numerical study of the mass transfer dynamics prior to the
gravitational wave-driven merger of a double white dwarf system. Recently,
there has been some discussion about the dynamics of these last stages,
different methods seemed to provide qualitatively different results. While
earlier SPH simulations indicated a very quick disruption of the binary on
roughly the orbital time scale, more recent grid-based calculations find
long-lived mass transfer for many orbital periods. Here we demonstrate how
sensitive the dynamics of this last stage is to the exact initial conditions.
We show that, after a careful preparation of the initial conditions, the
reportedly short-lived systems undergo mass transfer for many dozens of orbits.
The reported numbers of orbits are resolution-biased and therefore represent
only lower limits to what is realized in nature. Nevertheless, the study shows
convincingly the convergence of different methods to very similar results.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, for associated movie files, see
http://pandora.jacobs-university.de/~mdan/WD_coalescences.htm, to appear in
Journal of Physics Conference Proceedings for the 16th European White Dwarf
Worksho
Magnetic properties of submicron Co islands and their use as artificial pinning centers
We report on the magnetic properties of elongated submicron magnetic islands
and their influence on a superconducting film. The magnetic properties were
studied by magnetization hysteresis loop measurements and scanning-force
microscopy. In the as-grown state, the islands have a magnetic structure
consisting of two antiparallel domains. This stable domain configuration has
been directly visualized as a 2x2-checkerboard pattern by magnetic-force
microscopy. In the remanent state, after magnetic saturation along the easy
axis, all islands have a single-domain structure with the magnetic moment
oriented along the magnetizing field direction. Periodic lattices of these Co
islands act as efficient artificial pinning arrays for the flux lines in a
superconducting Pb film deposited on top of the Co islands. The influence of
the magnetic state of the dots on their pinning efficiency is investigated in
these films, before and after the Co dots are magnetized.Comment: 6 pages including figure
Einstein boundary conditions for the 3+1 Einstein equations
In the 3+1 framework of the Einstein equations for the case of vanishing
shift vector and arbitrary lapse, we calculate explicitly the four boundary
equations arising from the vanishing of the projection of the Einstein tensor
along the normal to the boundary surface of the initial-boundary value problem.
Such conditions take the form of evolution equations along (as opposed to
across) the boundary for certain components of the extrinsic curvature and for
certain space-derivatives of the intrinsic metric. We argue that, in general,
such boundary conditions do not follow necessarily from the evolution equations
and the initial data, but need to be imposed on the boundary values of the
fundamental variables. Using the Einstein-Christoffel formulation, which is
strongly hyperbolic, we show how three of the boundary equations should be used
to prescribe the values of some incoming characteristic fields. Additionally,
we show that the fourth one imposes conditions on some outgoing fields.Comment: Revtex 4, 6 pages, text and references added, typos corrected, to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Warped Higgsless Models with IR--Brane Kinetic Terms
We examine a warped Higgsless model
in 5-- with IR(TeV)--brane kinetic terms. It is shown that adding a brane
term for the gauge field does not affect the scale (
TeV) where perturbative unitarity in is violated.
This term could, however, enhance the agreement of the model with the precision
electroweak data. In contrast, the inclusion of a kinetic term corresponding to
the custodial symmetry of the theory delays the unitarity violation
in scattering to energy scales of TeV for a significant
fraction of the parameter space. This is about a factor of 4 improvement
compared to the corresponding scale of unitarity violation in the Standard
Model without a Higgs. We also show that null searches for extra gauge bosons
at the Tevatron and for contact interactions at LEP II place non-trivial bounds
on the size of the IR-brane terms.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure
Cauchy boundaries in linearized gravitational theory
We investigate the numerical stability of Cauchy evolution of linearized
gravitational theory in a 3-dimensional bounded domain. Criteria of robust
stability are proposed, developed into a testbed and used to study various
evolution-boundary algorithms. We construct a standard explicit finite
difference code which solves the unconstrained linearized Einstein equations in
the 3+1 formulation and measure its stability properties under Dirichlet,
Neumann and Sommerfeld boundary conditions. We demonstrate the robust stability
of a specific evolution-boundary algorithm under random constraint violating
initial data and random boundary data.Comment: 23 pages including 3 figures and 2 tables, revte
Effects of boundary conditions on magnetization switching in kinetic Ising models of nanoscale ferromagnets
Magnetization switching in highly anisotropic single-domain ferromagnets has
been previously shown to be qualitatively described by the droplet theory of
metastable decay and simulations of two-dimensional kinetic Ising systems with
periodic boundary conditions. In this article we consider the effects of
boundary conditions on the switching phenomena. A rich range of behaviors is
predicted by droplet theory: the specific mechanism by which switching occurs
depends on the structure of the boundary, the particle size, the temperature,
and the strength of the applied field. The theory predicts the existence of a
peak in the switching field as a function of system size in both systems with
periodic boundary conditions and in systems with boundaries. The size of the
peak is strongly dependent on the boundary effects. It is generally reduced by
open boundary conditions, and in some cases it disappears if the boundaries are
too favorable towards nucleation. However, we also demonstrate conditions under
which the peak remains discernible. This peak arises as a purely dynamic effect
and is not related to the possible existence of multiple domains. We illustrate
the predictions of droplet theory by Monte Carlo simulations of two-dimensional
Ising systems with various system shapes and boundary conditions.Comment: RevTex, 48 pages, 13 figure
Recommended from our members
Proceedings of the Rank Forum on Vitamin D
The Rank Forum on Vitamin D was held on 2nd and 3rd July 2009 at the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. The workshop consisted of a series of scene-setting presentations to address the current issues and challenges concerning vitamin D and health, and included an open discussion focusing on the identification of the concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) (a marker of vitamin D status) that may be regarded as optimal, and the implications this process may have in the setting of future dietary reference values for vitamin D in the UK. The Forum was in agreement with the fact that it is desirable for all of the population to have a serum 25(OH)D concentration above 25 nmol/l, but it discussed some uncertainty about the strength of evidence for the need to aim for substantially higher concentrations (25(OH)D concentrations . 75 nmol/l). Any discussion of âoptimalâ concentration of serum 25(OH)D needs to define âoptimalâ with care since it is important to consider the normal distribution of requirements and the vitamin D needs for a wide range of outcomes. Current UK reference values concentrate on the requirements of particular subgroups of the population; this differs from the approaches used in other European countries where a wider range of age groups tend to be covered. With the re-emergence of rickets and the public health burden of low vitamin D status being already apparent, there is a need for urgent action from policy makers and risk managers. The Forum highlighted
concerns regarding the failure of implementation of existing strategies in the UK for achieving current vitamin D recommendations
- âŠ