65,356 research outputs found
A theory of viscoplasticity accounting for internal damage
A constitutive theory for use in structural and durability analyses of high temperature isotropic alloys is presented. Constitutive equations based upon a potential function are determined from conditions of stability and physical considerations. The theory is self-consistent; terms are not added in an ad hoc manner. It extends a proven viscoplastic model by introducing the Kachanov-Rabotnov concept of net stress. Material degradation and inelastic deformation are unified; they evolve simultaneously and interactively. Both isotropic hardening and material degradation evolve with dissipated work which is the sum of inelastic work and internal work. Internal work is a continuum measure of the stored free energy resulting from inelastic deformation
Effects of ionizing radiation on CCD's
The effects of 1.2 MeV gamma radiation and 20 MeV electrons on the operational characteristics of CCDs are studied. The effects of ionizing radiation on the charge transfer efficiency, dark current, and input/output circuitry are described. The improved radiation hardness of buried channel CCDs is compared to surface channel results. Both ion implanted and epitaxial layer buried channel device results are included. The advantages of using a single thickness SiO2 gate dielectric are described. The threshold voltage shifts and surface state density changes of dry, steam, and HCl doped oxides are discussed. Recent results on the recovery times and total dose effects of high dose rate pulses of 20 MeV electrons are reported
Spectroastrometry of rotating gas disks for the detection of supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei. III. CRIRES observations of the Circinus galaxy
We present new CRIRES spectroscopic observations of BrGamma in the nuclear
region of the Circinus galaxy, obtained with the aim of measuring the black
hole (BH) mass with the spectroastrometric technique. The Circinus galaxy is an
ideal benchmark for the spectroastrometric technique given its proximity and
secure BH measurement obtained with the observation of its nuclear H2O maser
disk. The kinematical data have been analyzed both with the classical method
based on the analysis of the rotation curves and with the new method developed
by us and based on spectroastrometry. The classical method indicates that the
gas disk rotates in the gravitational potential of an extended stellar mass
distribution and a spatially unresolved mass of (1.7 +- 0.2) 10^7 Msun,
concentrated within r < 7 pc. The new method is capable of probing gas rotation
at scales which are a factor ~3.5 smaller than those probed by the rotation
curve analysis. The dynamical mass spatially unresolved with the
spectroastrometric method is a factor ~2 smaller, 7.9 (+1.4 -1.1) 10^6 Msun
indicating that spectroastrometry has been able to spatially resolve the
nuclear mass distribution down to 2 pc scales. This unresolved mass is still a
factor ~4.5 larger than the BH mass measurement obtained with the H2O maser
emission indicating that it has not been possible to resolve the sphere of
influence of the BH. Based on literature data, this spatially unresolved
dynamical mass distribution is likely dominated by molecular gas and it has
been tentatively identified with the circum-nuclear torus which prevents a
direct view of the central BH in Circinus. This mass distribution, with a size
of ~2pc, is similar in shape to that of the star cluster of the Milky Way
suggesting that a molecular torus, forming stars at a high rate, might be the
earlier evolutionary stage of the nuclear star clusters which are common in
late type spirals.Comment: A&A in press. We wish to honor the memory of our great friend and
colleague David Axon. He will be greatly missed by all of us. arXiv admin
note: text overlap with arXiv:1110.093
Viscoplastic constitutive relationships with dependence on thermomechanical history
Experimental evidence of thermomechanical history dependence in the cyclic hardening behavior of some common high-temperature structural alloys is presented with special emphasis on dynamic metallurgical changes. The inadequacy of formulating nonisothermal constitutive equations solely on the basis of isothermal testing is discussed. A representation of thermoviscoplasticity is proposed that qualitatively accounts for the observed hereditary behavior. This is achieved by formulating the scalar evolutionary equation in an established viscoplasticity theory to reflect thermomechanical path dependence. To assess the importance of accounting for thermomechanical history dependence in practical structural analyses, two qualitative models are specified: (1) formulated as if based entirely on isothermal information; (2) to reflect thermomechanical path dependence using the proposed thermoviscoplastic representation. Predictions of the two models are compared and the impact the calculated differences in deformation behavior may have on subsequent lifetime predictions is discussed
Design of a "Digital Atlas Vme Electronics" (DAVE) Module
ATLAS-SCT has developed a new ATLAS trigger card, 'Digital Atlas Vme
Electronics' ("DAVE"). The unit is designed to provide a versatile array of
interface and logic resources, including a large FPGA. It interfaces to both
VME bus and USB hosts. DAVE aims to provide exact ATLAS CTP (ATLAS Central
Trigger Processor) functionality, with random trigger, simple and complex
deadtime, ECR (Event Counter Reset), BCR (Bunch Counter Reset) etc. being
generated to give exactly the same conditions in standalone running as
experienced in combined runs. DAVE provides additional hardware and a large
amount of free firmware resource to allow users to add or change functionality.
The combination of the large number of individually programmable inputs and
outputs in various formats, with very large external RAM and other components
all connected to the FPGA, also makes DAVE a powerful and versatile FPGA
utility cardComment: 8 pages, 4 figures, TWEPP-2011; E-mail: [email protected]
Plant root proliferation in nitrogen-rich patches confers competitive advantage
Plants respond to environmental heterogeneity, particularly below ground, where spectacular root proliferations in nutrient-rich patches may occur. Such 'foraging' responses apparently maximize nutrient uptake and are now prominent in plant ecological theory. Proliferations in nitrogen-rich patches are difficult to explain adaptively, however. The high mobility of soil nitrate should limit the contribution of proliferation to N capture. Many experiments on isolated plants show only a weak relation between proliferation and N uptake. We show that N capture is associated strongly with proliferation during interspecific competition for finite, locally available, mixed N sources, precisely the conditions under which N becomes available to plants on generally infertile soils. This explains why N-induced root proliferation is an important resource-capture mechanism in N-limited plant communities and suggests that increasing proliferation by crop breeding or genetic manipulation will have a limited impact on N capture by well-fertilized monocultures
Sub-millimetre observations of hyperluminous infrared galaxies
We present sub-mm photometry for 11 Hyperluminous Infrared Galaxies (HLIRGs)
and use radiative transfer models for starbursts and AGN to investigate the IR
emission. In all sources both a starburst and AGN are required to explain the
IR emission. The mean starburst fraction is 35%, with a range spanning 80%
starburst dominated to 80% AGN dominated. In all cases the starburst dominates
at rest-frame wavelengths >50 microns, with star formation rates >500 solar
masses per year. The trend of increasing AGN fraction with increasing IR
luminosity seen in IRAS galaxies peaks in HLIRGs, and is not higher than the
fraction seen in bright ULIRGs. The AGN and starburst luminosities correlate,
suggesting that a common physical factor, plausibly the dust masses, governs
their luminosities. Our results suggest that the HLIRG population is comprised
both of ULIRG-like galaxy mergers, and of young galaxies going through their
maximal star formation periods whilst harbouring an AGN. The coeval AGN and
starburst activity in our sources implies that starburst and AGN activity, and
the peak starburst and AGN luminosities, can be coeval in active galaxies
generally. When extrapolated to high-z our sources have comparable sub-mm
fluxes to sub-mm survey sources. At least some sub-mm survey sources are
therefore likely to be comprised of similar galaxy populations to those found
in the HLIRG population. It is also plausible from these results that high-z
sub-mm sources harbour heavily obscured AGN. The differences in X-ray and
sub-mm properties between HLIRGs at z~1 and sub-mm sources at z~3 implies
evolution between the two epochs. Either the mean AGN obscuration level is
greater at z~3 than at z~1, or the fraction of IR-luminous sources at z~3 that
contain AGN is smaller than that at z~1.Comment: 15 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Gas Dynamics in the Barred Seyfert Galaxy NGC4151 - II. High Resolution HI Study
We present sensitive, high angular resolution (6" x 5") 21-cm observations of
the neutral hydrogen in the nearby barred Seyfert galaxy, NGC4151. These HI
observations, obtained using the VLA in B-configuration, are the highest
resolution to date of this galaxy, and reveal hitherto unprecedented detail in
the distribution and kinematics of the HI on sub-kiloparsec scales. A complete
analysis and discussion of the HI data are presented and the global properties
of the galaxy are related to the bar dynamics presented in Paper I.Comment: 13 pages including 9 figures and 3 tables; accepted for publication
in MNRA
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