69 research outputs found
Seasonal Water "Pump" in the Atmosphere of Mars: Vertical Transport to the Thermosphere
We present results of simulations with the Max Planck Institute general
circulation model (MPI-MGCM) implementing a hydrological cycle scheme. The
simulations reveal a seasonal water "pump" mechanism responsible for the upward
transport of water vapor. This mechanism occurs in high latitudes above
60 of the southern hemisphere at perihelion, when the upward branch of
the meridional circulation is particularly strong. A combination of the mean
vertical flux with variations induced by solar tides facilitates penetration of
water across the "bottleneck" at approximately 60 km. The meridional
circulation then transports water across the globe to the northern hemisphere.
Since the intensity of the meridional cell is tightly controlled by airborne
dust, the water abundance in the thermosphere strongly increases during dust
storms.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Ultra high-Q WGM microspheres from ZBLAN for the mid-IR band
The advantages of high-quality-factor whispering gallery mode microresonators
can be applied to develop novel photonic devices for the mid-IR range. ZBLAN
(glass based on heavy metal fluorides) is one of the most promising materials
to be used for this purpose due to low optical losses in the mid-IR. We
developed original fabrication method based on melting of commercially
available ZBLAN-based optical fiber to produce high-Q ZBLAN microspheres with
the diameters of 250 to 350 m. We effectively excited whispering gallery
modes in these microspheres and demonstrated high quality factor both at 1.55
m and 2.64 m. Intrinsic quality factor at telecom wavelength was
shown which is defined by the material losses in ZBLAN.
In the mid-IR at 2.64 m we demonstrated record quality factor in ZBLAN
exceeding which is comparable to the highest values of the Q-factor
among all materials in the mid-IR
Optimization of laser stabilization via self-injection locking to a whispering-gallery-mode microresonator: experimental study
Self-injection locking of a diode laser to a high-quality-factor
microresonator is widely used for frequency stabilization and linewidth
narrowing. We constructed several microresonator-based laser sources with
measured instantaneous linewidths of 1 Hz and used them for investigation and
implementation of the self-injection locking effect. We studied analytically
and experimentally the dependence of the stabilization coefficient on tunable
parameters such as locking phase and coupling rate. It was shown that precise
control of the locking phase allows fine tuning of the generated frequency from
the stabilized laser diode. We also showed that it is possible for such laser
sources to realize fast continuous and linear frequency modulation by injection
current tuning inside the self-injection locking regime. We conceptually
demonstrate coherent frequency-modulated continuous wave LIDAR over a distance
of 10 km using such a microresonator-stabilized laser diode in the
frequency-chirping regime and measure velocities as low as sub-micrometer per
second in the unmodulated case. These results could be of interest for
cutting-edge technology applications such as space debris monitoring and
long-range object classification, high resolution spectroscopy and others
Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model in e+e- Interactions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV
A search for the lightest neutral scalar and neutral pseudoscalar Higgs
bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is performed using 176.4
pb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by L3 at a center-of-mass energy of
189 GeV. No signal is observed, and the data are consistent with the expected
Standard Model background. Lower limits on the masses of the lightest neutral
scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs bosons are given as a function of tan(beta).
Lower mass limits for tan(beta)>1 are set at the 95% confidence level to be m_h
> 77.1 GeV and m_A > 77.1 GeV
Measurement of Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- -> W+W- at root(s)=189GeV
We investigate Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) in W-pair production at
root(s)=189GeV using the L3 detector at LEP. We observe BEC between particles
from a single W decay in good agreement with those from a light-quark Z decay
sample. We investigate their possible existence between particles coming from
different W's. No evidence for such inter-W BEC is found
Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model in e+e- Interactions at root(s)=192-202GeV
A search for the lightest neutral CP-even and the neutral CP-odd Higgs bosons
of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is performed using 233.2 pb-1 of
integrated luminosity collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass
energies 192-202 GeV. No signal is observed and lower mass limits are given as
a function of tan(beta) for two scalar top mixing hypotheses. For tan(beta)
greater than 0.8, they are mh > 83.4 GeV and mA > 83.8 GeV at 95 % confidence
level
Martian dust storm impact on atmospheric H<sub>2</sub>O and D/H observed by ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Global dust storms on Mars are rare but can affect the Martian atmosphere for several months. They can cause changes in atmospheric dynamics and inflation of the atmosphere, primarily owing to solar heating of the dust. In turn, changes in atmospheric dynamics can affect the distribution of atmospheric water vapour, with potential implications for the atmospheric photochemistry and climate on Mars. Recent observations of the water vapour abundance in the Martian atmosphere during dust storm conditions revealed a high-altitude increase in atmospheric water vapour that was more pronounced at high northern latitudes, as well as a decrease in the water column at low latitudes. Here we present concurrent, high-resolution measurements of dust, water and semiheavy water (HDO) at the onset of a global dust storm, obtained by the NOMAD and ACS instruments onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. We report the vertical distribution of the HDO/H O ratio (D/H) from the planetary boundary layer up to an altitude of 80 kilometres. Our findings suggest that before the onset of the dust storm, HDO abundances were reduced to levels below detectability at altitudes above 40 kilometres. This decrease in HDO coincided with the presence of water-ice clouds. During the storm, an increase in the abundance of H2O and HDO was observed at altitudes between 40 and 80 kilometres. We propose that these increased abundances may be the result of warmer temperatures during the dust storm causing stronger atmospheric circulation and preventing ice cloud formation, which may confine water vapour to lower altitudes through gravitational fall and subsequent sublimation of ice crystals. The observed changes in H2O and HDO abundance occurred within a few days during the development of the dust storm, suggesting a fast impact of dust storms on the Martian atmosphere
No detection of methane on Mars from early ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter observations
The detection of methane on Mars has been interpreted as indicating that geochemical or biotic activities could persist on Mars today. A number of different measurements of methane show evidence of transient, locally elevated methane concentrations and seasonal variations in background methane concentrations. These measurements, however, are difficult to reconcile with our current understanding of the chemistry and physics of the Martian atmosphere, which-given methane's lifetime of several centuries-predicts an even, well mixed distribution of methane. Here we report highly sensitive measurements of the atmosphere of Mars in an attempt to detect methane, using the ACS and NOMAD instruments onboard the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter from April to August 2018. We did not detect any methane over a range of latitudes in both hemispheres, obtaining an upper limit for methane of about 0.05 parts per billion by volume, which is 10 to 100 times lower than previously reported positive detections. We suggest that reconciliation between the present findings and the background methane concentrations found in the Gale crater would require an unknown process that can rapidly remove or sequester methane from the lower atmosphere before it spreads globally
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