2,576 research outputs found
Landslides density map of S. Miguel Island, Azores archipelago
International audienceThe Azores archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean and is composed of nine volcanic islands. S. Miguel, the largest one, is formed by three active, E-W trending, trachytic central volcanoes with caldera (Sete Cidades, Fogo and Furnas). Chains of basaltic cinder cones link those major volcanic structures. An inactive trachytic central volcano (Povoação) and an old basaltic volcanic complex (Nordeste) comprise the easternmost part of the island. Since the settlement of the island early in the 15th century, several destructive landslides triggered by catastrophic rainfall episodes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occurred in different areas of S. Miguel. One unique event killed thousands of people in 1522. Houses and bridges were destroyed, roads were cut, communications, water and energy supply systems became frequently disrupted and areas of fertile land were often buried by mud. Based on (1) historical documents, (2) aerial photographs and (3) field observations, landslide sites were plotted on a topographic map, in order to establish a landslide density map for the island. Data obtained showed that landslide hazard is higher on (1) the main central volcanoes where the thickness of unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits is considerable high and (2) the old basaltic volcanic complex, marked by deep gullies developed on thick sequences of lava flows. In these areas, caldera walls, fault scarps, steep valley margins and sea cliffs are potentially hazardous
Surface crossover exponent for branched polymers in two dimensions
Transfer-matrix methods on finite-width strips with free boundary conditions
are applied to lattice site animals, which provide a model for randomly
branched polymers in a good solvent. By assigning a distinct fugacity to sites
along the strip edges, critical properties at the special (adsorption) and
ordinary transitions are assessed. The crossover exponent at the adsorption
point is estimated as , consistent with recent
predictions that exactly for all space dimensionalities.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX with Institute of Physics macros, to appear in
Journal of Physics
Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in three-state mixed Potts ferro-antiferromagnets
We study three-state Potts spins on a square lattice, in which all bonds are
ferromagnetic along one of the lattice directions, and antiferromagnetic along
the other. Numerical transfer-matrix are used, on infinite strips of width
sites, . Based on the analysis of the ratio of scaled mass
gaps (inverse correlation lengths) and scaled domain-wall free energies, we
provide strong evidence that a critical (Kosterlitz-Thouless) phase is present,
whose upper limit is, in our best estimate, . From analysis
of the (extremely anisotropic) nature of excitations below , we argue that
the critical phase extends all the way down to T=0. While domain walls parallel
to the ferromagnetic direction are soft for the whole extent of the critical
phase, those along the antiferromagnetic direction seem to undergo a softening
transition at a finite temperature. Assuming a bulk correlation length varying,
for , as , , we attempt finite-size scaling plots of our finite-width
correlation lengths. Our best results are for . We propose a
scenario in which such inconsistency is attributed to the extreme narrowness of
the critical region.Comment: 11 pages, 6 .eps figures, LaTeX with IoP macros, to be published in J
Phys
Identificação molecular de Hypsipyla grandella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) por marcador mitocondrial.
Pair of Heavy-Exotic-Quarks at LHC
We study the production and signatures of heavy exotic quarks pairs at LHC in
the framework of the vector singlet model (VSM), vector doublet model (VDM) and
fermion-mirror-fermion (FMF) model. The pair production cross sections for the
electroweak and strong sector are computed.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. accept at Int. Jour. of Mod. Phy
On surface properties of two-dimensional percolation clusters
The two-dimensional site percolation problem is studied by transfer-matrix
methods on finite-width strips with free boundary conditions. The relationship
between correlation-length amplitudes and critical indices, predicted by
conformal invariance, allows a very precise determination of the surface
decay-of-correlations exponent, , consistent with
the analytical value . It is found that a special transition does
not occur in the case, corroborating earlier series results. At the ordinary
transition, numerical estimates are consistent with the exact value
for the irrelevant exponent.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX with Institute of Physics macros, to appear in Journal
of Physics
Geant4-related R&D for new particle transport methods
A R&D project has been launched in 2009 to address fundamental methods in
radiation transport simulation and revisit Geant4 kernel design to cope with
new experimental requirements. The project focuses on simulation at different
scales in the same experimental environment: this set of problems requires new
methods across the current boundaries of condensed-random-walk and discrete
transport schemes. An exploration is also foreseen about exploiting and
extending already existing Geant4 features to apply Monte Carlo and
deterministic transport methods in the same simulation environment. An overview
of this new R&D associated with Geant4 is presented, together with the first
developments in progress.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in proceedings of the Nuclear Science Symposium
and Medical Imaging Conference 2009, Orland
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