Modelling studies of wind field on urban environment

International audienceIncreasing load of air pollution in urban environment emphasises the need for detailed evaluation of wind characteristics that significantly affect the air quality of urban areas, especially, in large agglomerations. This paper includes analysis of urban wind climatology and estimation of wind profiles based on measurements of the new urban climate station located at the Eötvös University, observations of the meteorological station network of the Budapest agglomeration area, and multi-level wind measurements near Hegyhátsál. Furthermore, wind field modelling (using the WAsP linear spectral wind flow model) is presented over selected representative complex areas that demonstrates strong dependence between wind, height, topography, and roughness

The Polar Regions of Cassiopeia A: The Aftermath of a Gamma Ray Burst?

Probably not, but it is interesting nevertheless to investigate just how close Cas A might have come to generating such an event. Focusing on the northeast jet filaments, we analyze the polar regions of the recently acquired very deep 1 Ms Chandra X-ray observation. We infer that the so-called "jet" regions are indeed due to jets emanating from the explosion center, and not due to polar cavities in the circumstellar medium at the time of explosion. We place limits on the equivalent isotropic explosion energy in the polar regions (around 2.3 x 10^52 ergs), and the opening angle of the x-ray emitting ejecta (around 7 degrees), which give a total energy in the NE jet of order 10^50 ergs; an order of magnitude or more lower than inferred for "typical" GRBs. While the Cas A progenitor and explosion exhibit many of the features associated with GRB hosts, e.g. extensive presupernova mass loss and rotation, and jets associated with the explosion, we speculate that the recoil of the compact central object, with velocity 330 km/s, may have rendered the jet unstable. In such cases the jet rapidly becomes baryon loaded, if not truncated altogether. Although unlikely to have produced a gamma ray burst, the jets in Cas A suggest that such outflows may be common features of core-collapse SNe.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Ap

Movement-related beta and gamma synchronization of the supplementary and primary motor cortex measured in epilepsy patients during longterm video EEG monitoring with subdural electrodes [Abstract]

Introduction: Exploration of sensorimotor integration processes during movement regulation is crucial to understand the pathophysiology of movement disorders and the effect of neuromodulation therapy. In Parkinson’s disease, dysfunction of supplementary motor cortex (SMA) has a primary role in evoking typical symptoms. In this study we detected post-movement beta (PMBS) and gamma synchronization of the SMA and primary motor cortex with electrocorticography (ECoG) in patients with epilepsy. PMBS is an electrophysiological indicator of sensorimotor integration, its parameters alter differently in several movement disorders. Methods: ECoG in 3 patients with epilepsy was recorded during invasive preoperative long-term video EEG monitoring through subdural strip and grid electrodes placed on the SMA and lobulus paracentralis and the representation field of the hand area in the primary motor cortex. Patients were requested in the interictal period to repeat short flexions of each thumb thirty times voluntarily; the trials were averaged with respect to the offset of the brisk movements. Time-frequency analysis of power was performed with multitaper method. Results: Post-movement synchronization could be detected mainly in the gamma frequency band above SMA and in the beta band above primary motor cortex. Latencies of post-movement synchronization varied in the SMA and primary motor cortex. Conclusions: Activity of the SMA in the two hemispheres cannot be detected with electroencephalography or magnetoencephalography. In our study we showed the first time that post-movement synchronization appears mainly in the gamma band in the SMA. Evaluation of the latencies supports the hypothesis that post-movement synchronization indicates a motor network activity

Topology and Organization of the Salmonella typhimurium Type III Secretion Needle Complex Components

The correct organization of single subunits of multi-protein machines in a three dimensional context is critical for their functionality. Type III secretion systems (T3SS) are molecular machines with the capacity to deliver bacterial effector proteins into host cells and are fundamental for the biology of many pathogenic or symbiotic bacteria. A central component of T3SSs is the needle complex, a multiprotein structure that mediates the passage of effector proteins through the bacterial envelope. We have used cryo electron microscopy combined with bacterial genetics, site-specific labeling, mutational analysis, chemical derivatization and high-resolution mass spectrometry to generate an experimentally validated topographic map of a Salmonella typhimurium T3SS needle complex. This study provides insights into the organization of this evolutionary highly conserved nanomachinery and is the basis for further functional analysis

Development of a PbWO4 Detector for Single-Shot Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy at the GBAR Experiment

We have developed a PbWO4 (PWO) detector with a large dynamic range to measure the intensity of a positron beam and the absolute density of the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) cloud it creates. A simulation study shows that a setup based on such detectors may be used to determine the angular distribution of the emission and reflection of o-Ps to reduce part of the uncertainties of the measurement. These will allow to improve the precision in the measurement of the cross-section for the (anti)hydrogen formation by (anti)proton-positronium charge exchange and to optimize the yield of antihydrogen ion which is an essential parameter in the GBAR experiment

Spectroscopy Apparatus for the Measurement of The Hyperfine Structure of Antihydrogen

The ASACUSA CUSP collaboration at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) of CERN is planning to measure the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen using an atomic spectroscopy beamline. We describe here the latest developments on the spectroscopy apparatus developed to be coupled to the antihydrogen production setup (CUSP).Comment: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Low Energy Antiproton Physics (LEAP 2013) held in Uppsala, Sweden, 10 to 15 June, 201

Search for Axionlike and Scalar Particles with the NA64 Experiment

We carried out a model-independent search for light scalar (s) and pseudoscalar axionlike (a) particles that couple to two photons by using the high-energy CERN SPS H4 electron beam. The new particles, if they exist, could be produced through the Primakoff effect in interactions of hard bremsstrahlung photons generated by 100 GeV electrons in the NA64 active dump with virtual photons provided by the nuclei of the dump. The a(s) would penetrate the downstream HCAL module, serving as shielding, and would be observed either through their $a(s)\to\gamma \gamma$ decay in the rest of the HCAL detector or as events with large missing energy if the a(s) decays downstream of the HCAL. This method allows for the probing the a(s) parameter space, including those from generic axion models, inaccessible to previous experiments. No evidence of such processes has been found from the analysis of the data corresponding to $2.84\times10^{11}$ electrons on target allowing to set new limits on the $a(s)\gamma\gamma$-coupling strength for a(s) masses below 55 MeV.Comment: This publication is dedicated to the memory of our colleague Danila Tlisov. 7 pages, 5 figures, revised version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal