15,115 research outputs found
The Optimum Distance at which to Determine the Size of a Giant Air Shower
To determine the size of an extensive air shower it is not necessary to have
knowledge of the function that describes the fall-off of signal size from the
shower core (the lateral distribution function). In this paper an analysis with
a simple Monte Carlo model is used to show that an optimum ground parameter can
be identified for each individual shower. At this optimal core distance,
, the fluctuations in the expected signal, ,
due to a lack of knowledge of the lateral distribution function are minimised.
Furthermore it is shown that the optimum ground parameter is determined
primarily by the array geometry, with little dependence on the energy or zenith
angle of the shower or choice of lateral distribution function. For an array
such as the Pierre Auger Southern Observatory, with detectors separated by 1500
m in a triangular configuration, the optimum distance at which to measure this
characteristic signal is close to 1000 m
Magnetic cylindrical colloids at liquid interfaces exhibit non-volatile switching of their orientation in an external field
We study the orientation of magnetic cylindrical particles adsorbed at a liquid interface in an external field using analytical theory and high resolution finite element simulations. Cylindrical particles are interesting since they possess multiple locally stable orientations at the liquid interface so that the orientational transitions induced by an external field will not disappear when the external field is removed, i.e., the switching effect is \emph{non-volatile}. We show that, in the absence of an external field, as we reduce the aspect ratio of the cylinders below a critical value () the particles undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking from a stable side-on state to one of two equivalent stable tilted states, similar to the spontaneous magnetisation of a ferromagnet going through the Curie point. By tuning both the aspect ratio and contact angle of the cylinders, we show that it is possible to engineer particles that have one, two, three or four locally stable orientations. We also find that the magnetic responses of cylinders with one or two stable states are similar to that of paramagnets and ferromagnets respectively, while the magnetic response of systems with three or four stable states are even more complex and have no analogs in simple magnetic systems. Magnetic cylinders at liquid interfaces therefore provide a facile method for creating switchable functional monolayers where we can use an external field to induce multiple non-volatile changes in particle orientation and self-assembled structure
A data storage, retrieval and analysis system for endocrine research
This retrieval system builds, updates, retrieves, and performs basic statistical analyses on blood, urine, and diet parameters for the M071 and M073 Skylab and Apollo experiments. This system permits data entry from cards to build an indexed sequential file. Programs are easily modified for specialized analyses
Bird Population Changes Following the Establishment of a Diverse Stand of Woody Plants in a Former Crop Field in North Dakota, 1975– 2015
Changes in the coverage of trees and shrubs on the North Dakota landscape since Euro- American settlement have likely had a pronounced impact on bird species that favor woody vegetation. Long- term data sets on breeding bird populations in wooded habitats in North Dakota or in the Great Plains are scarce. In 1975 a wildlife habitat plot was established in a 10.5 ha cropland field with a long history of small- grain production. Th e objective of this article is to evaluate the successional changes in bird populations as the habitat at this site became more biologically and structurally complex aft er the establishment of a diverse stand of shrubs and trees. Between 1975 and 2015, 103 species or varieties of native and non- native trees, shrubs, or vines were planted in this wildlife habitat plot (hereaft er woodlot); 58.2% of those species were still present in 2016. Th e avian community in the woodlot increased in abundance and diversity as the woody vegetation increased in complexity and maturity, but the changes in abundance varied among ecological bird groups. Grassland bird abundance remained relatively constant but uncommon throughout the four decades aft er woody vegetation was first established. Bird species associated with shrublands and open woodlands and edges responded positively and showed the greatest increases in abundance during the 41- year period. Th e abundance of bird species associated with open areas with scattered trees or shrubs (i.e., savanna habitat) increased during the first half of the study but declined during the second half. Bird species associated with forest habitats were rare throughout the 41- year period, but their abundance increased during the most recent two decades. Results of this study are important for informing decisions about restoration efforts of riparian forests and other native wooded areas in the Great Plains and setting expectations for the time- scale required for the return of assemblages of species of woodland birds
A hybrid approach to space power control
Conventional control systems have traditionally been utilized for space-based power designs. However, the use of expert systems is becoming important for NASA applications. Rocketdyne has been pursuing the development of expert systems to aid and enhance control designs of space-based power systems. The need for integrated expert systems is vital for the development of autonomous power systems
From Microscales to Macroscales in 3D: Selfconsistent Equation of State for Supernova and Neutron Star Models
First results from a fully self-consistent, temperature-dependent equation of
state that spans the whole density range of neutron stars and supernova cores
are presented. The equation of state (EoS) is calculated using a mean-field
Hartree-Fock method in three dimensions (3D). The nuclear interaction is
represented by the phenomenological Skyrme model in this work, but the EoS can
be obtained in our framework for any suitable form of the nucleon-nucleon
effective interaction. The scheme we employ naturally allows effects such as
(i) neutron drip, which results in an external neutron gas, (ii) the variety of
exotic nuclear shapes expected for extremely neutron heavy nuclei, and (iii)
the subsequent dissolution of these nuclei into nuclear matter. In this way,
the equation of state is calculated across phase transitions without recourse
to interpolation techniques between density regimes described by different
physical models. EoS tables are calculated in the wide range of densities,
temperature and proton/neutron ratios on the ORNL NCCS XT3, using up to 2000
processors simultaneously.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures. Published in conference proceedings Journal of
Physics: Conference Series 46 (2006) 408. Extended version to be submitted to
Phys. Rev.
Connection between effective-range expansion and nuclear vertex constant or asymptotic normalization coefficient
Explicit relations between the effective-range expansion and the nuclear
vertex constant or asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) for the virtual
decay are derived for an arbitrary orbital momentum together with
the corresponding location condition for the () bound-state energy. They
are valid both for the charged case and for the neutral case. Combining these
relations with the standard effective-range function up to order six makes it
possible to reduce to two the number of free effective-range parameters if an
ANC value is known from experiment. Values for the scattering length, effective
range, and form parameter are determined in this way for the O+,
and He collisions in partial waves where a bound state
exists by using available ANCs deduced from experiments. The resulting
effective-range expansions for these collisions are valid up to energies larger
5 MeV.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
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