1,082 research outputs found
Facility for fast neutron irradiation tests of electronics at the ISIS spallation neutron source
The VESUVIO beam line at the ISIS spallation neutron source was set up for neutron irradiation tests in the neutron energy range above 10âMeV. The neutron flux and energy spectrum were shown, in benchmark activation measurements, to provide a neutron spectrum similar to the ambient one at sea level, but with an enhancement in intensity of a factor of 107. Such conditions are suitable for accelerated testing of electronic components, as was demonstrated here by measurements of soft error rates in recent technology field programable gate arrays
The concentration-mass relation of clusters of galaxies from the OmegaWINGS survey
The relation between a cosmological halo concentration and its mass (cMr) is
a powerful tool to constrain cosmological models of halo formation and
evolution. On the scale of galaxy clusters the cMr has so far been determined
mostly with X-ray and gravitational lensing data. The use of independent
techniques is helpful in assessing possible systematics. Here we provide one of
the few determinations of the cMr by the dynamical analysis of the
projected-phase-space distribution of cluster members. Based on the WINGS and
OmegaWINGS data sets, we used the Jeans analysis with the MAMPOSSt technique to
determine masses and concentrations for 49 nearby clusters, each of which has
~60 spectroscopic members or more within the virial region, after removal of
substructures. Our cMr is in statistical agreement with theoretical predictions
based on LambdaCDM cosmological simulations. Our cMr is different from most
previous observational determinations because of its flatter slope and lower
normalization. It is however in agreement with two recent cMr obtained using
the lensing technique on the CLASH and LoCuSS cluster data sets. In the future
we will extend our analysis to galaxy systems of lower mass and at higher
redshifts.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics in press. 11 pages, 6 figure
Downscaling With an Unstructured Coastal-Ocean Model to the Goro Lagoon and the Po River Delta Branches
The Goro Lagoon Finite Element Model (GOLFEM) presented in this paper concentrates on the high-resolution downscaled model of the Goro Lagoon, along with five Po river branches and the coastal area of the Po delta in the northern Adriatic Sea (Italy) where crucial socio-economic activities take place. GOLFEM was validated by means of validation scores (bias â BIAS, root mean square error â RMSE, and mean absolute error â MAE) for the water level, current velocity, salinity and temperature measured at several fixed stations in the lagoon. The range of scores at the stations are: for temperature between â0.8 to +1.2°C, for salinity from â0.2 to 5 PSU, for sea level 0.1 m. The lagoon is dominated by an estuarine vertical circulation due to a double opening at the lagoon mouth and sustained by multiple sources of freshwater inputs. The non-linear interactions among the tidal forcing, the wind and the freshwater inputs affect the lagoon circulation at both seasonal and daily time scales. The sensitivity of the circulation to the forcings was analyzed with several sensitivity experiments done with the exclusion of the tidal forcing and different configurations of the river connections. GOLFEM was designed to resolve the lagoon dynamics at high resolution in order to evaluate the potential effects on the clam farming of two proposed scenarios of human intervention on the morphology of the connection with the sea. We calculated the changes of the lagoon current speed and salinity, and using opportune fitness indexes related to the clams physiology, we quantified analytically the effects of the interventions in terms of extension and persistence of areas of the clams optimal growth. The results demonstrate that the correct management of this kind of fragile environment relies on both long-term (intervention scenarios) and short-term (coastal flooding forecasts and potential anoxic conditions) modeling, based on a flexible tool that is able to consider all the recorded human interventions on the river connections. This study also demonstrates the importance of designing a seamless chain of models that are capable of integrating local effects into the coarser operational oceanographic models
OmegaWINGS: OmegaCAM@VST observations of WINGS galaxy clusters
The Wide-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS) is a wide-field
multi-wavelength survey of X-ray selected clusters at z =0.04-0.07. The
original 34'x34' WINGS field-of- view has now been extended to cover a 1 sq.deg
field with both photometry and spectroscopy. In this paper we present the
Johnson B and V-band OmegaCAM/VST observations of 46 WINGS clusters, together
with the data reduction, data quality and Sextractor photometric catalogs.
With a median seeing of 1arcs in both bands, our 25-minutes exposures in each
band typically reach the 50% completeness level at V=23.1 mag. The quality of
the astrometric and photometric accuracy has been verified by comparison with
the 2MASS as well as with SDSS astrometry, and SDSS and previous WINGS imaging.
Star/galaxy separation and sky-subtraction procedure have been tested comparing
with previous WINGS data.
The Sextractor photometric catalogues are publicly available at the CDS, and
will be included in the next release of the WINGS database on the VO together
with the OmegaCAM reduced images. These data form the basis for a large ongoing
spectroscopic campaign with AAOmega/AAT and is being employed for a variety of
studies. [abridged]Comment: submitted to A&
An active feedback recovery technique from disruption events induced by m=2 n=1 tearing modes in ohmically heated tokamak plasmas
We present experimental results of magnetic feedback control on the m=2, n=1
tearing mode in RFX-mod operated as a circular ohmically heated tokamak. The
feedback suppression of the non-resonant m=2, n=1 Resistive Wall Mode (RWM) in
q(a)<2 plasmas is a well-established result of RFX-mod. The control of the
tearing counterpart, which develops in q(a)>2 equilibrium, is instead a more
difficult issue. In fact, the disruption induced by a growing amplitude m=2,
n=1 tearing mode can be prevented by feedback only when the resonant surface
q=2 is close to the plasma edge, namely 2<q(a)<2.5, and the electron density
does not exceed approximately half of the Greenwald limit. A combined technique
of tearing mode and q(a) control has been therefore developed to recover the
discharge from the most critical conditions: the potentially disruptive tearing
mode is converted into the relatively benign RWM by suddenly decreasing q(a)
below 2. The experiments demonstrate the concept with 100% of successful cases.
The q(a) control has been performed through the plasma current, given the
capability of the toroidal loop-voltage power supply of RFX-mod. We also
propose a path for controlling q(a) by acting on the plasma shape, which could
be applied to medium size elongated tokamaks
Electromagnetic filaments and edge modifications induced by electrode biasing in the RFX-mod tokamak
Statistical features of edge turbulence in RFX-mod from Gas Puffing Imaging
Plasma density fluctuations in the edge plasma of the RFX-mod device are
measured through the Gas Puffing Imaging Diagnostics. Statistical features of
the signal are quantified in terms of the Probability Distribution Function
(PDF), and computed for several kinds of discharges. The PDFs from discharges
without particular control methods are found to be adequately described by a
Gamma function, consistently with the recent results by Graves et al [J.P.
Graves, et al, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 47, L1 (2005)]. On the other hand,
pulses with external methods for plasma control feature modified PDFs. A first
empirical analysis suggests that they may be interpolated through a linear
combination of simple functions. An inspection of the literature shows that
this kind of PDFs is common to other devices as well, and has been suggested to
be due to the simultaneous presence of different mechanisms driving
respectively coherent bursts and gaussian background turbulence. An attempt is
made to relate differences in the PDFs to plasma conditions such as the local
shift of the plasma column. A simple phenomenological model to interpret the
nature of the PDF and assign a meaning to its parameters is also developed.Comment: 27 pages. Published in PPC
Resistive g-modes in a reversed field pinch plasma
First direct experimental evidence of high frequency, high toroidal mode
number (n>20), magnetic fluctuations due to unstable resistive interchange
modes (g-modes) resonant in the edge region of a reversed field pinch (RFP)
plasma is presented. Experimental characterization of time and space
periodicities of the modes is provided by means of highly resolved in-vessel
edge and insertable magnetic diagnostics. It is found that the spectral mode
properties are in good agreement with the predictions of the theoretical linear
resistive magnetohydrodynamic stability analysis. A simple model is proposed
for the observed saturation levels of the modes.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter
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