199 research outputs found
Multi-frequency fine resolution imaging radar instrumentation and data acquisition
Development of a dual polarized L-band radar imaging system to be used in conjunction with the present dual polarized X-band radar is described. The technique used called for heterodyning the transmitted frequency from X-band to L-band and again heterodyning the received L-band signals back to X-band for amplification, detection, and recording
Low Mach Number Modeling of Type Ia Supernovae
We introduce a low Mach number equation set for the large-scale numerical
simulation of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs experiencing a thermonuclear
deflagration. Since most of the interesting physics in a Type Ia supernova
transpires at Mach numbers from 0.01 to 0.1, such an approach enables both a
considerable increase in accuracy and savings in computer time compared with
frequently used compressible codes. Our equation set is derived from the fully
compressible equations using low Mach number asymptotics, but without any
restriction on the size of perturbations in density or temperature. Comparisons
with simulations that use the fully compressible equations validate the low
Mach number model in regimes where both are applicable. Comparisons to
simulations based on the more traditional anelastic approximation also
demonstrate the agreement of these models in the regime for which the anelastic
approximation is valid. For low Mach number flows with potentially finite
amplitude variations in density and temperature, the low Mach number model
overcomes the limitations of each of the more traditional models and can serve
as the basis for an accurate and efficient simulation tool.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal 31 pages, 5
figures (some figures degraded in quality to conserve space
MAESTRO, CASTRO, and SEDONA -- Petascale Codes for Astrophysical Applications
Performing high-resolution, high-fidelity, three-dimensional simulations of
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) requires not only algorithms that accurately
represent the correct physics, but also codes that effectively harness the
resources of the most powerful supercomputers. We are developing a suite of
codes that provide the capability to perform end-to-end simulations of SNe Ia,
from the early convective phase leading up to ignition to the explosion phase
in which deflagration/detonation waves explode the star to the computation of
the light curves resulting from the explosion. In this paper we discuss these
codes with an emphasis on the techniques needed to scale them to petascale
architectures. We also demonstrate our ability to map data from a low Mach
number formulation to a compressible solver.Comment: submitted to the Proceedings of the SciDAC 2010 meetin
On the Hydrodynamic Interaction of Shock Waves with Interstellar Clouds. II. The Effect of Smooth Cloud Boundaries on Cloud Destruction and Cloud Turbulence
The effect of smooth cloud boundaries on the interaction of steady planar
shock waves with interstellar clouds is studied using a high-resolution local
AMR technique with a second-order accurate axisymmetric Godunov hydrodynamic
scheme. A 3D calculation is also done to confirm the results of the 2D ones. We
consider an initially spherical cloud whose density distribution is flat near
the cloud center and has a power-law profile in the cloud envelope. When an
incident shock is transmitted into a smooth cloud, velocity gradients in the
cloud envelope steepen the smooth density profile at the upstream side,
resulting in a sharp density jump having an arc-like shape. Such a ``slip
surface'' forms immediately when a shock strikes a cloud with a sharp boundary.
For smoother boundaries, the formation of slip surface and therefore the onset
of hydrodynamic instabilities are delayed. Since the slip surface is subject to
the Kelvin-Helmholtz and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, the shocked cloud is
eventually destroyed in cloud crushing times. After complete cloud
destruction, small blobs formed by fragmentation due to hydrodynamic
instabilities have significant velocity dispersions of the order of 0.1 ,
where is the shock velocity in the ambient medium. This suggests that
turbulent motions generated by shock-cloud interaction are directly associated
with cloud destruction. The interaction of a shock with a cold HI cloud should
lead to the production of a spray of small HI shreds, which could be related to
the small cold clouds recently observed by Stanimirovic & Heiles (2005). The
linewidth-size relation obtained from our 3D simulation is found to be
time-dependent. A possibility for gravitational instability triggered by shock
compression is also discussed.Comment: 62 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Ap
Direct Numerical Simulations of Type Ia Supernovae Flames II: The Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
A Type Ia supernova explosion likely begins as a nuclear runaway near the
center of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf. The outward propagating flame is
unstable to the Landau-Darrieus, Rayleigh-Taylor, and Kelvin-Helmholtz
instabilities, which serve to accelerate it to a large fraction of the speed of
sound. We investigate the Rayleigh-Taylor unstable flame at the transition from
the flamelet regime to the distributed-burning regime, around densities of
g/cc, through detailed, fully resolved simulations. A low Mach number,
adaptive mesh hydrodynamics code is used to achieve the necessary resolution
and long time scales. As the density is varied, we see a fundamental change in
the character of the burning--at the low end of the density range the
Rayleigh-Taylor instability dominates the burning, whereas at the high end the
burning suppresses the instability. In all cases, significant acceleration of
the flame is observed, limited only by the size of the domain we are able to
study. We discuss the implications of these results on the potential for a
deflagration to detonation transition.Comment: submitted to ApJ, some figures degraded due to size constraint
Relativistic MHD with Adaptive Mesh Refinement
This paper presents a new computer code to solve the general relativistic
magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) equations using distributed parallel adaptive mesh
refinement (AMR). The fluid equations are solved using a finite difference
Convex ENO method (CENO) in 3+1 dimensions, and the AMR is Berger-Oliger.
Hyperbolic divergence cleaning is used to control the
constraint. We present results from three flat space tests, and examine the
accretion of a fluid onto a Schwarzschild black hole, reproducing the Michel
solution. The AMR simulations substantially improve performance while
reproducing the resolution equivalent unigrid simulation results. Finally, we
discuss strong scaling results for parallel unigrid and AMR runs.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, 3 table
Adaptive Mesh Refinement for Characteristic Grids
I consider techniques for Berger-Oliger adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) when
numerically solving partial differential equations with wave-like solutions,
using characteristic (double-null) grids. Such AMR algorithms are naturally
recursive, and the best-known past Berger-Oliger characteristic AMR algorithm,
that of Pretorius & Lehner (J. Comp. Phys. 198 (2004), 10), recurses on
individual "diamond" characteristic grid cells. This leads to the use of
fine-grained memory management, with individual grid cells kept in
2-dimensional linked lists at each refinement level. This complicates the
implementation and adds overhead in both space and time.
Here I describe a Berger-Oliger characteristic AMR algorithm which instead
recurses on null \emph{slices}. This algorithm is very similar to the usual
Cauchy Berger-Oliger algorithm, and uses relatively coarse-grained memory
management, allowing entire null slices to be stored in contiguous arrays in
memory. The algorithm is very efficient in both space and time.
I describe discretizations yielding both 2nd and 4th order global accuracy.
My code implementing the algorithm described here is included in the electronic
supplementary materials accompanying this paper, and is freely available to
other researchers under the terms of the GNU general public license.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figures (40 eps figure files, 8 of them color; all are
viewable ok in black-and-white), 1 mpeg movie, uses Springer-Verlag svjour3
document class, includes C++ source code. Changes from v1: revised in
response to referee comments: many references added, new figure added to
better explain the algorithm, other small changes, C++ code updated to latest
versio
Skin-Test Screening and Tuberculosis Transmission among the Homeless1
We describe the implementation of a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) screening program that uses symptom screening and tuberculin skin testing in homeless shelters. We used the results of DNA fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to evaluate the effect of the program on TB incidence and transmission. After the program was implemented, the proportion of cases among homeless persons detected by screening activities increased, and the estimated TB incidence decreased from 510 to 121 cases per 100,000 population per year. Recent transmission, defined by DNA fingerprinting analysis as clustered patterns occurring within 2 years, decreased from 49% to 14% (p=0.03). Our results suggest that the shelter-based screening program decreased the incidence of TB by decreasing its transmission among the homeless
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Genetic Variation in DNA Repair Pathways and Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Molecular and genetic evidence suggests that DNA repair pathways may contribute to lymphoma susceptibility. Several studies have examined the association of DNA repair genes with lymphoma risk, but the findings from these reports have been inconsistent. Here we provide the results of a focused analysis of genetic variation in DNA repair genes and their association with the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). With a population of 1,297 NHL cases and 1,946 controls, we have performed a two-stage case/control association analysis of 446 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the genetic variation in 81 DNA repair genes. We found the most significant association with NHL risk in the ATM locus for rs227060 (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.13–1.43, p = 6.77×10−5), which remained significant after adjustment for multiple testing. In a subtype-specific analysis, associations were also observed for the ATM locus among both diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) and small lymphocytic lymphomas (SLL), however there was no association observed among follicular lymphomas (FL). In addition, our study provides suggestive evidence of an interaction between SNPs in MRE11A and NBS1 associated with NHL risk (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.34–0.77, p = 0.0002). Finally, an imputation analysis using the 1,000 Genomes Project data combined with a functional prediction analysis revealed the presence of biologically relevant variants that correlate with the observed association signals. While the findings generated here warrant independent validation, the results of our large study suggest that ATM may be a novel locus associated with the risk of multiple subtypes of NHL
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