A Test of the Particle Paradigm in N-Body Simulations

We present results of tests of the evolution of small ``fluid elements'' in cosmological N--body simulations, to examine the validity of their treatment as particles. We find that even very small elements typically collapse along one axis while expanding along another, often to twice or more their initial comoving diameter. This represents a possible problem for high--resolution uses of such simulations.Comment: Uses aasms4.sty; accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Files available also at ftp://kusmos.phsx.ukans.edu/preprints/ates

Heat Sponge: A Concept for Mass-Efficient Heat Storage

The heat sponge is a device for mass-efficient storage of heat. It was developed to be incorporated in the substructure of a re-entry vehicle to reduce thermal- protection-system requirements. The heat sponge consists of a liquid/vapor mixture contained within a number of miniature pressure vessels that can be embedded within a variety of different types of structures. As temperature is increased, pressure in the miniature pressure vessels also increases so that heat absorbed through vaporization of the liquid is spread over a relatively large temperature range. Using water as a working fluid, the heat-storage capacity of the liquid/vapor mixture is many times higher than that of typical structural materials and is well above that of common phase change materials over a temperature range of 200 F to 700 F. The use of pure ammonia as the working fluid provides a range of application between 432 deg R and 730 deg R, or the use of the more practical water-ammonia solution provides a range of application between 432 deg R and 1160 deg R or in between that of water and pure ammonia. Prototype heat sponges were fabricated and characterized. These heat sponges consisted of 1.0-inch-diameter, hollow, stainless-steel spheres with a wall thickness of 0.020 inches which had varying percentages of their interior volumes filled with water and a water-ammonia solution. An apparatus to measure the heat stored in these prototype heat sponges was designed, fabricated, and verified. The heat-storage capacity calculated from measured temperature histories is compared to numerical predictions

Fundamental Discreteness Limitations of Cosmological N-Body Clustering Simulations

We explore some of the effects that discreteness and two-body scattering may have on N-body simulations with ``realistic'' cosmological initial conditions. We use an identical subset of particles from the initial conditions for a $128^3$ Particle-Mesh (PM) calculation as the initial conditions for a variety P$^3$M and Tree code runs. We investigate the effect of mass resolution (the mean interparticle separation) since most ``high resolution'' codes only have high resolution in gravitational force. The phase-insensitive two--point statistics, such as the power spectrum (autocorrelation) are somewhat affected by these variations, but phase-sensitive statistics show greater differences. Results converge at the mean interparticle separation scale of the lowest mass-resolution code. As more particles are added, but the force resolution is held constant, the P$^3$M and the Tree runs agree more and more strongly with each other and with the PM run which had the same initial conditions. This shows high particle density is necessary for correct time evolution, since many different results cannot all be correct. However, they do not so converge to a PM run which continued the fluctuations to small scales. Our results show that ignoring them is a major source of error on comoving scales of the missing wavelengths. This can be resolved by putting in a high particle density. Since the codes never agree well on scales below the mean comoving interparticle separation, we find little justification for quantitative predictions on this scale. Some measures vary by 50%, but others can be off by a factor of three or more. Our results suggest possible problems with the density of galaxy halos, formation of early generation objects such as QSO absorber clouds, etc.Comment: Revised version to be published in Astrophysical Journal. One figure changed; expanded discussion, more information on code parameters. Latex, 44 pages, including 19 figures. Higher resolution versions of Figures 10-15 available at: ftp://kusmos.phsx.ukans.edu/preprints/nbod

The Ellipticity and Orientation of Clusters of Galaxies from N-Body Experiments

In this study we use simulations of 128$^3$ particles to study the ellipticity and orientation of clusters of galaxies in N-body simulations of differing power-law initial spectra (P(k) \propto k^n ,n = +1, 0, -1, -2$), and density parameters ($\Omega_0 = 0.2$to 1.0). Furthermore, unlike most theoretical studies we mimic most observers by removing all particles which lie at distances greater than 2 1/h Mpc from the cluster center of mass. We computed the axial ratio and the principal axes using the inertia tensor of each cluster. The mean ellipticity of clusters increases strongly with increasing$n$. We also find that clusters tend to become more spherical at smaller radii. We compared the orientation of a cluster to the orientation of neighboring clusters as a function of distance (correlation). In addition, we considered whether a cluster's major axis tends to lie along the line connecting it to a neighboring cluster, as a function of distance (alignment). Both alignments and correlations were computed in three dimensions and in projection to mimic observational surveys. Our results show that significant alignments exist for all spectra at small separations ($D < 15 h^{-1}$Mpc) but drops off at larger distance in a strongly$n-$dependent way.Comment: 22 pages, requires aaspp4.sty, flushrt.sty, and epsf.sty Revised manuscript, accepted for publication in Ap

A Nested Grid Particle-Mesh Code for High Resolution Simulations of Gravitational Instability in Cosmology

I describe a nested-grid particle-mesh (NGPM) code designed to study gravitational instability in three-dimensions. The code is based upon a standard PM code. Within the parent grid I am able to define smaller sub-grids allowing us to substantially extend the dynamical range in mass and length. I treat the fields on the parent grid as background fields and utilize a one-way interactive meshing. Waves on the coarse parent grid are allowed to enter and exit the subgrid, but waves from the subgrid are precluded from effecting the dynamics of the parent grid. On the parent grid the potential is computed using a standard multiple Fourier transform technique. On the subgrid I use a Fourier transform technique to compute the subgrid potential at high resolution. I impose quasi-isolated boundary conditions on the subgrid using the standard method for generating isolated boundary conditions, but rather than using the isolated Green function I use the Ewald method to compute a Green function on the subgrid which possesses the full periodicity of the parent grid. I present a detailed discussion of my methodology and a series of code tests.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures included, uses mn.sty & epsf.sty. Accepted by MNRAS. This is the final refereed versio

De zoekende ondernemer; Een studie naar het netwerken in de agrosector

Het doel van het project 'het ontwikkelen en toetsen van interventietrajecten om het ondernemerschap in de agrarische sector te versterken, met speciale aandacht voor de versterking van netwerkcompetenties' is in vier stappen uitgewerkt. Allereerst is een theoretische verkenning uitgevoerd rond ondernemerschap(scompetenties), strategisch management en het netwerken. Vervolgens zijn diepte-interviews gehouden en is een uitgebreide interventiestudie uitgevoerd. Ten slotte zijn de ervaringen bij de opzet en uitvoering èn de bevindingen bediscussieerd met vertegenwoordigers van adviesorganisaties en kennisinstellingen. The aim of the project 'the development and testing of intervention trajectories aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, with special focus on strengthening networking competences' was developed in four steps. First of all, a theoretical study was conducted into entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial competences, strategic management and networking activities. This was followed by in-depth interviews and a detailed intervention study. Finally, the experiences in setting up and implementing the project as well as the findings were discussed with representatives of advisory organisations and educational institutions

A model for the postcollapse equilibrium of cosmological structure: truncated isothermal spheres from top-hat density perturbations

The postcollapse structure of objects which form by gravitational condensation out of the expanding cosmological background universe is a key element in the theory of galaxy formation. Towards this end, we have reconsidered the outcome of the nonlinear growth of a uniform, spherical density perturbation in an unperturbed background universe - the cosmological ``top-hat'' problem. We adopt the usual assumption that the collapse to infinite density at a finite time predicted by the top-hat solution is interrupted by a rapid virialization caused by the growth of small-scale inhomogeneities in the initial perturbation. We replace the standard description of the postcollapse object as a uniform sphere in virial equilibrium by a more self-consistent one as a truncated, nonsingular, isothermal sphere in virial and hydrostatic equilibrium, including for the first time a proper treatment of the finite-pressure boundary condition on the sphere. The results differ significantly from both the uniform sphere and the singular isothermal sphere approximations for the postcollapse objects. These results will have a significant effect on a wide range of applications of the Press-Schechter and other semi-analytical models to cosmology. The truncated isothermal sphere solution presented here predicts the virial temperature and integrated mass distribution of the X-ray clusters formed in the CDM model as found by detailed, 3D, numerical gas and N-body dynamical simulations remarkably well. This solution allows us to derive analytically the numerically-calibrated mass-temperature and radius-temperature scaling laws for X-ray clusters which were derived empirically by Evrard, Metzler and Navarro from simulation results for the CDM model. (Shortened)Comment: 29 pages, 7 ps figures, MNRAS-style, LaTeX. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Minor revisions only (including additional panel in Fig.3 and additional comparison with X-ray cluster simulations

Remote Infrared Imaging of the Space Shuttle During Hypersonic Flight: HYTHIRM Mission Operations and Coordination

The Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements (HYTHIRM) project has been responsible for obtaining spatially resolved, scientifically calibrated in-flight thermal imagery of the Space Shuttle Orbiter during reentry. Starting with STS-119 in March of 2009 and continuing through to the majority of final flights of the Space Shuttle, the HYTHIRM team has to date deployed during seven Shuttle missions with a mix of airborne and ground based imaging platforms. Each deployment of the HYTHIRM team has resulted in obtaining imagery suitable for processing and comparison with computational models and wind tunnel data at Mach numbers ranging from over 18 to under Mach 5. This paper will discuss the detailed mission planning and coordination with the NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center that the HYTHIRM team undergoes to prepare for and execute each mission

Beer-Lambert law along non-linear mean light pathways for the rational analysis of Photoplethysmography

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a technique that uses light to noninvasively obtain a volumetric measurement of an organ with each cardiac cycle. A PPG-based system emits monochromatic light through the skin and measures the fraction of the light power which is transmitted through a vascular tissue and detected by a photodetector. Part of thereby transmitted light power is modulated by the vascular tissue volume changes due to the blood circulation induced by the heart beating. This modulated light power plotted against time is called the PPG signal. Pulse Oximetry is an empirical technique which allows the arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2 – molar fraction) evaluation from the PPG signals. There have been many reports in the literature suggesting that other arterial blood chemical components molar fractions and concentrations can be evaluated from the PPG signals. Most attempts to perform such evaluation on empirical bases have failed, especially for components concentrations. This paper introduces a non-empirical physical model which can be used to analytically investigate the phenomena of PPG signal. Such investigation would result in simplified engineering models, which can be used to design validating experiments and new types of spectroscopic devices with the potential to assess venous and arterial blood chemical composition in both molar fractions and concentrations non-invasively