794 research outputs found
Atmospheric transport and chemistry of trace gases in LMDz5B: evaluation and implications for inverse modelling
Representation of atmospheric transport is a major source of error in the estimation of greenhouse gas sources and sinks by inverse modelling. Here we assess the impact on trace gas mole fractions of the new physical parameterizations recently implemented in the atmospheric global climate model LMDz to improve vertical diffusion, mesoscale mixing by thermal plumes in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and deep convection in the troposphere. At the same time, the horizontal and vertical resolution of the model used in the inverse system has been increased. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of these developments on the representation of trace gas transport and chemistry, and to anticipate the implications for inversions of greenhouse gas emissions using such an updated model. Comparison of a one-dimensional version of LMDz with large eddy simulations shows that the thermal scheme simulates shallow convective tracer transport in the PBL over land very efficiently, and much better than previous versions of the model. This result is confirmed in three-dimensional simulations, by a much improved reproduction of the radon-222 diurnal cycle. However, the enhanced dynamics of tracer concentrations induces a stronger sensitivity of the new LMDz configuration to external meteorological forcings. At larger scales, the inter-hemispheric exchange is slightly slower when using the new version of the model, bringing them closer to observations. The increase in the vertical resolution (from 19 to 39 layers) significantly improves the representation of stratosphere/troposphere exchange. Furthermore, changes in atmospheric thermodynamic variables, such as temperature, due to changes in the PBL mixing modify chemical reaction rates, which perturb chemical equilibriums of reactive trace gases. One implication of LMDz model developments for future inversions of greenhouse gas emissions is the ability of the updated system to assimilate a larger amount of high-frequency data sampled at high-variability stations. Others implications are discussed at the end of the paper
Observation of magnetic circular dichroism in Fe L_{2,3} x-ray-fluorescence spectra
We report experiments demonstrating circular dichroism in the x-ray-fluorescence spectra of magnetic systems, as predicted by a recent theory. The data, on the L_{2,3} edges of ferromagnetic iron, are compared with fully relativistic local spin density functional calculations, and the relationship between the dichroic spectra and the spin-resolved local density of occupied states is discussed
Systematic theoretical study of the spin and orbital magnetic moments of 4d and 5d interfaces with Fe films
Results of ab initio calculations using the relativistic Local Spin Density
theory are presented for the magnetic moments of periodic 5d and 4d transition
metal interfaces with bcc Fe(001). In this systematic study we calculated the
layer-resolved spin and orbital magnetic moments over the entire series. For
the Fe/W(001) system, the Fe spin moment is reduced whilst its orbital moment
is strongly enhanced. In the W layers a spin moment is induced, which is
antiparallel to that of Fe in the first and fourth W layers but parallel to Fe
in the second and third W layers. The W orbital moment does not follow the spin
moment. It is aligned antiparallel to Fe in the first two W layers and changes
sign in the third and fourth W layers. Therefore, Hund's third rule is violated
in the first and third W layers, but not in the second and fourth W layers. The
trend in the spin and orbital moments over the 4d and 5d series for multilayers
is quite similar to previous impurity calculations. These observations strongly
suggest that these effects can be seen as a consequence of the hybridization
between 5d (4d) and Fe which is mostly due to band filling, and to a lesser
extent geometrical effects of either single impurity or interface
A wide angle tail radio galaxy in the COSMOS field: evidence for cluster formation
We have identified a complex galaxy cluster system in the COSMOS field via a
wide angle tail (WAT) radio galaxy consistent with the idea that WAT galaxies
can be used as tracers of clusters. The WAT galaxy, CWAT-01, is coincident with
an elliptical galaxy resolved in the HST-ACS image. Using the COSMOS
multiwavelength data set, we derive the radio properties of CWAT-01 and use the
optical and X-ray data to investigate its host environment. The cluster hosting
CWAT-01 is part of a larger assembly consisting of a minimum of four X-ray
luminous clusters within ~2 Mpc distance. We apply hydrodynamical models that
combine ram pressure and buoyancy forces on CWAT-01. These models explain the
shape of the radio jets only if the galaxy's velocity relative to the
intra-cluster medium (ICM) is in the range of about 300-550 km/s which is
higher than expected for brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in relaxed systems.
This indicates that the CWAT-01 host cluster is not relaxed, but is possibly
dynamically young. We argue that such a velocity could have been induced
through subcluster merger within the CWAT-01 parent cluster and/or
cluster-cluster interactions. Our results strongly indicate that we are
witnessing the formation of a large cluster from an assembly of multiple
clusters, consistent with the hierarchical scenario of structure formation. We
estimate the total mass of the final cluster to be approximately 20% of the
mass of the Coma cluster.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures; accepted for publication in ApJS, COSMOS
special issue; added color figure (Fig. 13) which was previously unavailabl
Resonant Auger spectroscopy at the L2,3 shake-up thresholds as a probe of electron correlation effects in nickel
The excitation energy dependence of the three-hole satellites in the
L3-M4,5M4,5 and L2-M4,5M4,5 Auger spectra of nickel metal has been measured
using synchrotron radiation. The satellite behavior in the non-radiative
emission spectra at the L3 and L2 thresholds is compared and the influence of
the Coster-Kronig channel explored. The three-hole satellite intensity at the
L3 Auger emission line reveals a peak structure at 5 eV above the L3 threshold
attributed to resonant processes at the 2p53d9 shake-up threshold. This is
discussed in connection with the 6-eV feature in the x-ray absorption spectrum.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; http://prb.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v58/i7/p3677_
Magnetic state of plutonium ion in metallic Pu and its compounds
By LDA+U method with spin-orbit coupling (LDA+U+SO) the magnetic state and
electronic structure have been investigated for plutonium in \delta and \alpha
phases and for Pu compounds: PuN, PuCoGa5, PuRh2, PuSi2, PuTe, and PuSb. For
metallic plutonium in both phases in agreement with experiment a nonmagnetic
ground state was found with Pu ions in f^6 configuration with zero values of
spin, orbital, and total moments. This result is determined by a strong
spin-orbit coupling in 5f shell that gives in LDA calculation a pronounced
splitting of 5f states on f^{5/2} and f^{7/2} subbands. A Fermi level is in a
pseudogap between them, so that f^{5/2} subshell is already nearly completely
filled with six electrons before Coulomb correlation effects were taken into
account. The competition between spin-orbit coupling and exchange (Hund)
interaction (favoring magnetic ground state) in 5f shell is so delicately
balanced, that a small increase (less than 15%) of exchange interaction
parameter value from J_H=0.48eV obtained in constrain LDA calculation would
result in a magnetic ground state with nonzero spin and orbital moment values.
For Pu compounds investigated in the present work, predominantly f^6
configuration with nonzero magnetic moments was found in PuCoGa5, PuSi2, and
PuTe, while PuN, PuRh2, and PuSb have f^5 configuration with sizeable magnetic
moment values. Whereas pure jj coupling scheme was found to be valid for
metallic plutonium, intermediate coupling scheme is needed to describe 5f shell
in Pu compounds. The results of our calculations show that both spin-orbit
coupling and exchange interaction terms in the Hamiltonian must be treated in a
general matrix form for Pu and its compounds.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX; changed discussion on reference pape
Measurement of mechanical vibrations excited in aluminium resonators by 0.6 GeV electrons
We present measurements of mechanical vibrations induced by 0.6 GeV electrons
impinging on cylindrical and spherical aluminium resonators. To monitor the
amplitude of the resonator's vibrational modes we used piezoelectric ceramic
sensors, calibrated by standard accelerometers. Calculations using the
thermo-acoustic conversion model, agree well with the experimental data, as
demonstrated by the specific variation of the excitation strengths with the
absorbed energy, and with the traversing particles' track positions. For the
first longitudinal mode of the cylindrical resonator we measured a conversion
factor of 7.4 +- 1.4 nm/J, confirming the model value of 10 nm/J. Also, for the
spherical resonator, we found the model values for the L=2 and L=1 mode
amplitudes to be consistent with our measurement. We thus have confirmed the
applicability of the model, and we note that calculations based on the model
have shown that next generation resonant mass gravitational wave detectors can
only be expected to reach their intended ultra high sensitivity if they will be
shielded by an appreciable amount of rock, where a veto detector can reduce the
background of remaining impinging cosmic rays effectively.Comment: Tex-Article with epsfile, 34 pages including 13 figures and 5 tables.
To be published in Rev. Scient. Instr., May 200
Control of nanoparticle size, reactivity and magnetic properties during the bioproduction of magnetite by Geobacter sulfurreducens
The bioproduction of nano-scale magnetite by Fe(III)-reducing bacteria offers a potentially tunable, environmentally benign route to magnetic nanoparticle synthesis. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to control the size of magnetite nanoparticles produced by Geobacter sulfurreducens, by adjusting the total biomass introduced at the start of the process. The particles have a narrow size distribution and can be controlled within the range of 10-50 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that controlled production of a number of different biominerals is possible via this method including goethite, magnetite and siderite, but their formation is strongly dependent upon the rate of Fe(III) reduction and total concentration and rate of Fe(II) produced by the bacteria during the reduction process. Relative cation distributions within the structure of the nanoparticles has been investigated by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and indicates the presence of a highly reduced surface layer which is not observed when magnetite is produced through abiotic methods. The enhanced Fe(II)-rich surface, combined with small particle size, has important environmental applications such as in the reductive bioremediation of organics, radionuclides and metals. In the case of Cr(VI), as a model high-valence toxic metal, optimised biogenic magnetite is able to reduce and sequester the toxic hexavalent chromium very efficiently in the less harmful trivalent form
Correlated optical, X-ray, and $-ray flaring activity seen with INTEGRAL during the 2015 outburst of V404 Cygni
Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics. © 2015 ESO.After 25 years of quiescence, the microquasar V404 Cyg entered a new period of activity in June 2015. This X-ray source is known to undergo extremely bright and variable outbursts seen at all wavelengths. It is therefore an object of prime interest to understand the accretion-ejection connections. These can, however, only be probed through simultaneous observations at several wavelengths. We made use of the INTEGRAL instruments to obtain long, almost uninterrupted observations from 2015 June 20th, 15:50 UTC to June 25th, 4:05 UTC, from the optical V-band, up to the soft γ-rays. V404 Cyg was extremely variable in all bands, with the detection of 18 flares with fluxes exceeding 6 Crab (20--40 keV) within 3 days. The flare recurrence can be as short as ∼ 20~min from peak to peak. A model-independent analysis shows that the >6 Crab flares have a hard spectrum. A simple 10--400 keV spectral analysis of the off-flare and flare periods shows that the variation in intensity is likely to be due to variations of a cut-off power law component only. The optical flares seem to be at least of two different types: one occurring in simultaneity with the X-ray flares, the other showing a delay greater than 10 min. The former could be associated with X-ray reprocessing by either an accretion disk or the companion star. We suggest that the latter are associated with plasma ejections that have also been seen in radio.Peer reviewe
Time-resolved imaging of magnetic vortex dynamics using holography with extended reference autocorrelation by linear differential operator
The magnetisation dynamics of the vortex core and Landau pattern of magnetic thin-film elements has been studied using holography with extended reference autocorrelation by linear differential operator (HERALDO). Here we present the first time-resolved x-ray measurements using this technique and investigate the structure and dynamics of the domain walls after excitation with nanosecond pulsed magnetic fields. It is shown that the average magnetisation of the domain walls has a perpendicular component that can change dynamically depending on the parameters of the pulsed excitation. In particular, we demonstrate the formation of wave bullet-like excitations, which are generated in the domain walls and can propagate inside them during the cyclic motion of the vortex core. Based on numerical simulations we also show that, besides the core, there are four singularities formed at the corners of the pattern. The polarisation of these singularities has a direct relation to the vortex core, and can be switched dynamically by the wave bullets excited with a magnetic pulse of specific parameters. The subsequent dynamics of the Landau pattern is dependent on the particular configuration of the polarisations of the core and the singularities
- …