Research on a ferroacoustic information storage system

Mill-processed media and thin films for improving speed and data densities for ferroacoustic memory information storage uni

Research on a ferroacoustic information storage system Final report, 10 Jun. - 10 Dec. 1964

Ferroacoustic memory storage description and thin film testing for improved speed and data densit

Turbulent convection: comparing the moment equations to numerical simulations

The non-local hydrodynamic moment equations for compressible convection are compared to numerical simulations. Convective and radiative flux typically deviate less than 20% from the 3D simulations, while mean thermodynamic quantities are accurate to at least 2% for the cases we have investigated. The moment equations are solved in minutes rather than days on standard workstations. We conclude that this convection model has the potential to considerably improve the modelling of convection zones in stellar envelopes and cores, in particular of A and F stars.Comment: 10 pages (6 pages of text including figure captions + 4 figures), Latex 2e with AAS Latex 5.0 macros, accepted for publication in ApJ

What causes the large extensions of red-supergiant atmospheres? Comparisons of interferometric observations with 1-D hydrostatic, 3-D convection, and 1-D pulsating model atmospheres

We present the atmospheric structure and the fundamental parameters of three red supergiants, increasing the sample of RSGs observed by near-infrared spectro-interferometry. Additionally, we test possible mechanisms that may explain the large observed atmospheric extensions of RSGs. We carried out spectro-interferometric observations of 3 RSGs in the near-infrared K-band with the VLTI/AMBER instrument at medium spectral resolution. To comprehend the extended atmospheres, we compared our observational results to predictions by available hydrostatic PHOENIX, available 3-D convection, and new 1-D self-excited pulsation models of RSGs. Our near-infrared flux spectra are well reproduced by the PHOENIX model atmospheres. The continuum visibility values are consistent with a limb-darkened disk as predicted by the PHOENIX models, allowing us to determine the angular diameter and the fundamental parameters of our sources. Nonetheless, in the case of V602 Car and HD 95686, the PHOENIX model visibilities do not predict the large observed extensions of molecular layers, most remarkably in the CO bands. Likewise, the 3-D convection models and the 1-D pulsation models with typical parameters of RSGs lead to compact atmospheric structures as well, which are similar to the structure of the hydrostatic PHOENIX models. They can also not explain the observed decreases in the visibilities and thus the large atmospheric molecular extensions. The full sample of our RSGs indicates increasing observed atmospheric extensions with increasing luminosity and decreasing surface gravity, and no correlation with effective temperature or variability amplitude, which supports a scenario of radiative acceleration on Doppler-shifted molecular lines.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

The intermediate-age globular cluster NGC 1783 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present Hubble Space Telescope ACS deep photometry of the intermediate-age globular cluster NGC 1783 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. By using this photometric dataset, we have determined the degree of ellipticity of the cluster ($\epsilon$=0.14$\pm$0.03) and the radial density profile. This profile is well reproduced by a standard King model with an extended core (r_c=24.5'') and a low concentration (c=1.16), indicating that the cluster has not experienced the collapse of the core. We also derived the cluster age, by using the Pisa Evolutionary Library (PEL) isochrones, with three different amount of overshooting (namely, $\Lambda_{os}$=0.0, 0.10 and 0.25). From the comparison of the observed Color-Magnitude Diagram (CMD) and Main Sequence (MS) Luminosity Function (LF) with the theoretical isochrones and LFs, we find that only models with the inclusion of some overshooting ($\Lambda_{os}$=0.10-0.25) are able to reproduce the observables. By using the magnitude difference $\delta V_{SGB}^{He-Cl}=0.90$ between the mean level of the He-clump and the flat region of the SGB, we derive an age $\tau$=1.4$\pm$0.2 Gyr.Comment: Accepted to publication by A

Stellar Hydrodynamics in Radiative Regions

We present an analysis of the response of a radiative region to waves generated by a convective region of the star; this wave treatment of the classical problem of ``overshooting'' gives extra mixing relative to the treatment traditionally used in stellar evolutionary codes. The interface between convectively stable and unstable regions is dynamic and nonspherical, so that the nonturbulent material is driven into motion, even in the absence of ``penetrative overshoot.'' These motions may be described by the theory of nonspherical stellar pulsations, and are related to motion measured by helioseismology. Multi-dimensional numerical simulations of convective flow show puzzling features which we explain by this simplified physical model. Gravity waves generated at the interface are dissipated, resulting in slow circulation and mixing seen outside the formal convection zone. The approach may be extended to deal with rotation and composition gradients. Tests of this description in the stellar evolution code TYCHO produce carbon stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), an isochrone age for the Hyades and three young clusters with lithium depletion ages from brown dwarfs, and lithium and beryllium depletion consistent with observations of the Hyades and Pleiades, all without tuning parameters. The insight into the different contributions of rotational and hydrodynamic mixing processes could have important implications for realistic simulation of supernovae and other questions in stellar evolution.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa