Device measures conductivity and velocity of ionized gas streams

Coaxial arrangement of primary coil and two sensing secondary coils contained inside slender quartz tube inserted into ionized stream permits simultaneous determination of conductivity and linear velocity. System results agree favorably with theory

Tracing the development of dust around evolved stars: The case of 47 Tuc

We observed mid-infrared (7.5-22 mum) spectra of AGB stars in the globular cluster 47 Tuc with the Spitzer telescope and find significant dust features of various types. Comparison of the characteristics of the dust spectra with the location of the stars in a logP-K-diagram shows that dust mineralogy and position on the AGB are related. A 13 mum feature is seen in spectra of low luminosity AGB stars. More luminous AGB stars show a broad feature at 11.5 mum. The spectra of the most luminous stars are dominated by the amorphous silicate bending vibration centered at 9.7 mum. For 47 Tuc AGB stars, we conclude that early on the AGB dust consisting primarily of Mg-, Al- and Fe oxides is formed. With further AGB evolution amorphous silicates become the dominant species.Comment: 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Time-oscillating Lyapunov modes and auto-correlation functions for quasi-one-dimensional systems

The time-dependent structure of the Lyapunov vectors corresponding to the steps of Lyapunov spectra and their basis set representation are discussed for a quasi-one-dimensional many-hard-disk systems. Time-oscillating behavior is observed in two types of Lyapunov modes, one associated with the time translational invariance and another with the spatial translational invariance, and their phase relation is specified. It is shown that the longest period of the Lyapunov modes is twice as long as the period of the longitudinal momentum auto-correlation function. A simple explanation for this relation is proposed. This result gives the first quantitative connection between the Lyapunov modes and an experimentally accessible quantity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Sds22 regulates aurora B activity and microtubule-kinetochore interactions at mitosis

Sds22 defines protein phosphatase 1 location and function at kinetochores and subsequent activity of aurora B in mitosis

Emergence of order in selection-mutation dynamics

We characterize the time evolution of a d-dimensional probability distribution by the value of its final entropy. If it is near the maximally-possible value we call the evolution mixing, if it is near zero we say it is purifying. The evolution is determined by the simplest non-linear equation and contains a d times d matrix as input. Since we are not interested in a particular evolution but in the general features of evolutions of this type, we take the matrix elements as uniformly-distributed random numbers between zero and some specified upper bound. Computer simulations show how the final entropies are distributed over this field of random numbers. The result is that the distribution crowds at the maximum entropy, if the upper bound is unity. If we restrict the dynamical matrices to certain regions in matrix space, for instance to diagonal or triangular matrices, then the entropy distribution is maximal near zero, and the dynamics typically becomes purifying.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Time-dependent mode structure for Lyapunov vectors as a collective movement in quasi-one-dimensional systems

Time dependent mode structure for the Lyapunov vectors associated with the stepwise structure of the Lyapunov spectra and its relation to the momentum auto-correlation function are discussed in quasi-one-dimensional many-hard-disk systems. We demonstrate mode structures (Lyapunov modes) for all components of the Lyapunov vectors, which include the longitudinal and transverse components of their spatial and momentum parts, and their phase relations are specified. These mode structures are suggested from the form of the Lyapunov vectors corresponding to the zero-Lyapunov exponents. Spatial node structures of these modes are explained by the reflection properties of the hard-walls used in the models. Our main interest is the time-oscillating behavior of Lyapunov modes. It is shown that the largest time-oscillating period of the Lyapunov modes is twice as long as the time-oscillating period of the longitudinal momentum auto-correlation function. This relation is satisfied irrespective of the particle number and boundary conditions. A simple explanation for this relation is given based on the form of the Lyapunov vector.Comment: 39 pages, 21 figures, Manuscript including the figures of better quality is available from http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~gary/Research.htm

Lyapunov spectra of billiards with cylindrical scatterers: comparison with many-particle systems

The dynamics of a system consisting of many spherical hard particles can be described as a single point particle moving in a high-dimensional space with fixed hypercylindrical scatterers with specific orientations and positions. In this paper, the similarities in the Lyapunov exponents are investigated between systems of many particles and high-dimensional billiards with cylindrical scatterers which have isotropically distributed orientations and homogeneously distributed positions. The dynamics of the isotropic billiard are calculated using a Monte-Carlo simulation, and a reorthogonalization process is used to find the Lyapunov exponents. The results are compared to numerical results for systems of many hard particles as well as the analytical results for the high-dimensional Lorentz gas. The smallest three-quarters of the positive exponents behave more like the exponents of hard-disk systems than the exponents of the Lorentz gas. This similarity shows that the hard-disk systems may be approximated by a spatially homogeneous and isotropic system of scatterers for a calculation of the smaller Lyapunov exponents, apart from the exponent associated with localization. The method of the partial stretching factor is used to calculate these exponents analytically, with results that compare well with simulation results of hard disks and hard spheres.Comment: Submitted to PR

Hopping dynamics for localized Lyapunov vectors in many-hard-disk systems

The dynamics of the localized region of the Lyapunov vector for the largest Lyapunov exponent is discussed in quasi-one-dimensional hard-disk systems at low density. We introduce a hopping rate to quantitatively describe the movement of the localized region of this Lyapunov vector, and show that it is a decreasing function of hopping distance, implying spatial correlation of the localized regions. This behavior is explained quantitatively by a brick accumulation model derived from hard-disk dynamics in the low density limit, in which hopping of the localized Lyapunov vector is represented as the movement of the highest brick position. We also give an analytical expression for the hopping rate, which is obtained us a sum of probability distributions for brick height configurations between two separated highest brick sites. The results of these simple models are in good agreement with the simulation results for hard-disk systems.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

From Lyapunov modes to the exponents for hard disk systems

We demonstrate the preservation of the Lyapunov modes by the underlying tangent space dynamics of hard disks. This result is exact for the zero modes and correct to order $\epsilon$ for the transverse and LP modes where $\epsilon$ is linear in the mode number. For sufficiently large mode numbers the dynamics no longer preserves the mode structure. We propose a Gram-Schmidt procedure based on orthogonality with respect to the centre space that determines the values of the Lyapunov exponents for the modes. This assumes a detailed knowledge of the modes, but from that predicts the values of the exponents from the modes. Thus the modes and the exponents contain the same information

The “hidden strength” of active citizenship: the involvement of local residents in public safety projects

The past two decades or so have seen a growing interest in 'active' (or 'responsible') citizenship within local public safety projects and programmes, but little is known about how such projects function in practice. Besides presenting theoretical debates on community safety projects, this article reports empirical insights into the wealth and variety of informal, citizen-based contributions, specifically to handling communal crime and disorder in Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands. Subsequently, it assesses the kind of lessons empirical studies provide about the importance of 'social capital' for public participation, the perils of social exclusion and the nature of relationships between citizens and professionals. It is argued that enthusiastic efforts of individual citizens are equally important, if not more so, than strong social ties. Moreover, in overall terms, active participation tends to have a significant bias in favour of the white, middle-aged, middle-class population. Finally, benevolent citizens regularly encounter professional barriers and bureaucratic ceilings that inhibit their desire to participate. All rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding, promoting genuine active citizenship is easier said than done. © The Author(s) 2011