The Quest for Unity: General Relativity and Unitary Field Theories

Einstein searched for unifying principles, from special and general theories of relativity to a unitary field theory, still incomplete. Several alternative approaches to a unitary theory suggest the difficulty of this problem. Page 9

Feeding Versus Feedback in NGC1068 probed with Gemini NIFS. I. Excitation

We present emission-line flux distributions and ratios for the inner 200pc of the narrow-line region of the Seyfert2 galaxy NGC1068, using observations obtained with the Gemini Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) in the J, H and K bands at a spatial resolution of 10pc and spectral resolution of 5300. The molecular gas emission - traced by the K-band H_2 emission lines - outlines an off-centered circumnuclear ring with a radius of 100pc showing thermal excitation. The ionized gas emission lines show flux distributions mostly outlining the previously known [OIII]5007 ionization bicone. But while the flux distributions in the HI and HeII emission lines are very similar to that observed in [OIII], the flux distribution in the [FeII] emission lines is more extended and broader than a cone close to the nucleus, showing a "double bowl" or `hourglass" structure". This difference is attributed to the fact that the [FeII] emission, besides coming from the fully ionized region, comes also from the more extended partially ionized regions, in gas excited mainly by X-rays from the active galactic nucleus. A contribution to the [FeII] emission from shocks along the bicone axis to NE and SW of the nucleus is also supported by the enhancement of the [FeII](1.2570)/[PII](1.1885) and [FeII](1.2570)/Pabeta emission-line ratios at these locations and is attributed to the interaction of the radio jet with the NLR. The mass of ionized gas in the inner 200pc of NGC1068 is MHII~2.2E4 M_Sun, while the mass of the H2 emitting gas is only M_{H2}~29M_Sun. Taking into account the dominant contribution of the cold molecular gas, we obtain an estimate of the total molecular gas mass of Mcold~2E7 M_Sun.Comment: accepeted for publication in MNRA

Volumetric bounds on subsurface fluid substitution using 4D seismic time shifts with an application at Sleipner, North Sea

A method is presented for the volumetric estimation of subsurface fluid substitution based on the analysis of 4D seismic time shifts. Since time shifts cannot resolve for fluid saturation and layer thickness simultaneously without additional constraints, mass estimates are derived from the complete set of possible fluid saturations and layer thicknesses. The method considers velocity-saturation relationships that range from uniform fluid mixing to patchy fluid mixing. Based on a generalized velocity-saturation relationship that is parameterized by the degree of patchiness, explicit upper and lower fluid mass bounds are provided. We show that the inherent ambiguity between fluid saturation, fluid mixing, and layer thickness has a severe impact on the convergence of these mass bounds. That is, fluid substitution scenarios with patchy fluid mixing and roughly linear velocity-saturation relationships allow for more accurate fluid quantification than scenarios associated with uniform mixing. Application of the method to two 4D seismic monitor data sets from Sleipner results in CO2 mass bounds that are consistent with the true injected masses of CO2. Moreover, a linear relationship between progressively developing 4D time shifts and known injected CO2 mass is observed, suggesting that the evolving patterns of fluid saturation and fluid mixing in the CO2 plume have remained roughly constant with time

Ganztagsgrundschulen auf dem Weg zu Konzepten individueller Förderung. Ein Fortbildungsbaustein des BLK-Verbundprojekts "Lernen für den GanzTag"

Individuelle Förderung ist ein zentraler Anspruch schulischer Bildung und Erziehung, für den Ganztagsschulen besonders günstige Rahmenbedingungen ermöglichen. Dennoch ergeben sich bei der Entwicklung schulspezifischer Konzepte individueller Förderung in Offenen Ganztagsgrundschulen (OGS) aus Sicht der Organisationsentwicklung einige Herausforderungen, für deren Bearbeitung das Modul „Individuelle Förderung in der Offenen Ganztagsschule im Primarbereich“ des BLK-Verbundprojekts „Lernen für den GanzTag“ eine Handreichung sein will. (DIPF/Orig.

A Catalog of Hardware Acceleration Techniques for Real-Time Reconfigurable System on Chip

The new technology of reconfigurable System-on-Chip is shown to be a good match to the requirements of real-time embedded systems. In particular, the judicious use of specialised data processing peripherals can reduce the CPU load significantly and greatly ease the task of guaranteeing that real-time deadlines are met in complex multi-processing real-time systems. A catalog of other possible uses for the reconfigurable logic resources on such a chip which can assist in improving real-time system performance is also presented

Effect of reduced ambient pressure and atmospheric composition on material removal mechanisms of steel and aluminum by means of high-speed laser processing

Balancing processes require highly precise mass corrections especially in case of high-speed turning rotors. Material removal by means of cw-mode laser radiation represents a novel approach for industrial balancing applications in order to achieve sufficient removal rates. Thereby, spatter formation was identified as primary removal mechanism. In this study, the effect of reduced ambient pressures and atmospheres with varying concentrations of argon, nitrogen and oxygen on spatter formation and loss of mass were investigated for AISI304 (1.4301, X5CrNi18-10) and EN AW-2618 (DIN 3.1924) under the use of a 400W single mode-fiber laser