4,194 research outputs found
Nuclear Spirals in the inner Milky Way
We use hydrodynamical simulations to construct a new coherent picture for the
gas flow in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), the region of our Galaxy within
. We relate connected structures observed in
data cubes of molecular tracers to nuclear spiral arms. These arise naturally
in hydrodynamical simulations of barred galaxies, and are similar to those that
can be seen in external galaxies such as NGC4303 or NGC1097. We discuss a
face-on view of the CMZ including the position of several prominent molecular
clouds, such as Sgr B2, the and
clouds, the polar arc, Bania Clump 2 and Sgr C. Our model is also consistent
with the larger scale gas flow, up to , thus providing a
consistent picture of the entire Galactic bar region.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 12 pages, 12 figure
Applications of a Venus thermospheric circulation model
A variety of Pioneer Venus observations suggest a global scale, day-to-night Venus thermospheric circulation. Model studies of the dynamics and energetics of the Venus thermosphere are presented in order to address new driving, mixing and cooling mechanisms for an improved model simulation. The adopted approach was to reexamine the circulation by first using a previous two dimensional code to quantify those physical processes which can be inferred from the Pioneer Venus observations. Specifically, the model was used to perform sensitivity studies to determine the degree to which eddy cooling, eddy or wave drag, eddy diffusion and 15 micrometer radiational cooling are necessary to bring the model temperature and composition fields into agreement with observations. Three EUV heating cases were isolated for study. Global temperature and composition fields in good agreement with Pioneer data were obtained. Large scale horizontal winds 220 m/s were found to be consistent with the observed cold nightside temperatures and dayside bulges of O, CO and CO2. Observed dayside temperatures were obtained by using a 7 to 19% EUV heating efficiency profile. The enhanced 15 micrometer cooling needed for thermal balance is obtained using the best rate coefficient available for atomic O collisional excitation of CO2(0,1,0). Eddy conduction was not found to be a viable cooling mechanism due to the weakened global circulation. The strong 15 micrometer damping and low EUV efficiency imply a very weak dependence of the general circulation to solar cycle variability. The NCAR terrestrial thermospheric general circulation model was adapted for Venus inputs using the above two dimensional model parameters, to give a three dimensional benchmark for future Venus modelling work
Suppression of Quantum Scattering in Strongly Confined Systems
We demonstrate that scattering of particles strongly interacting in three
dimensions (3D) can be suppressed at low energies in a quasi-one-dimensional
(1D) confinement. The underlying mechanism is the interference of the s- and
p-wave scattering contributions with large s- and p-wave 3D scattering lengths
being a necessary prerequisite. This low-dimensional quantum scattering effect
might be useful in "interacting" quasi-1D ultracold atomic gases, guided atom
interferometry, and impurity scattering in strongly confined quantum wire-based
electronic devices.Comment: 3 figs, Phys. Rev. Lett. (early November issue
Unified model of voltage/current mode control to predict saddle-node bifurcation
A unified model of voltage mode control (VMC) and current mode control (CMC)
is proposed to predict the saddle-node bifurcation (SNB). Exact SNB boundary
conditions are derived, and can be further simplified in various forms for
design purpose. Many approaches, including steady-state, sampled-data, average,
harmonic balance, and loop gain analyses are applied to predict SNB. Each
approach has its own merits and complement the other approaches.Comment: Submitted to International Journal of Circuit Theory and Applications
on December 23, 2010; Manuscript ID: CTA-10-025
A theoretical explanation for the Central Molecular Zone asymmetry
It has been known for more than thirty years that the distribution of
molecular gas in the innermost 300 parsecs of the Milky Way, the Central
Molecular Zone, is strongly asymmetric. Indeed, approximately three quarters of
molecular emission comes from positive longitudes, and only one quarter from
negative longitudes. However, despite much theoretical effort, the origin of
this asymmetry has remained a mystery. Here we show that the asymmetry can be
neatly explained by unsteady flow of gas in a barred potential. We use
high-resolution 3D hydrodynamical simulations coupled to a state-of-the-art
chemical network. Despite the initial conditions and the bar potential being
point-symmetric with respect to the Galactic Centre, asymmetries develop
spontaneously due to the combination of a hydrodynamical instability known as
the "wiggle instability" and the thermal instability. The observed asymmetry
must be transient: observations made tens of megayears in the past or in the
future would often show an asymmetry in the opposite sense. Fluctuations of
amplitude comparable to the observed asymmetry occur for a large fraction of
the time in our simulations, and suggest that the present is not an exceptional
moment in the life of our Galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Videos of the simulations are
available at http://www.ita.uni-heidelberg.de/~mattia/download.htm
Screening effects in the electron-optical phonon interaction
We show that recently reported unusual hardening of optical phonons
renormalized by the electron-phonon interaction is due to the neglect of
screening effects. When the electron-ion interaction is properly screened
optical phonons soften in three dimension. It is important that for
short-wavelength optical phonons screening is static while for long-wavelength
optical phonons screening is dynamic. In two-dimensional and one-dimensional
cases due to crossing of the nonperturbed optical mode with gapless plasmons
the spectrum of renormalized optical phonon-plasmon mode shows split momentum
dependence.Comment: 7 page
Mutual information between geomagnetic indices and the solar wind as seen by WIND : implications for propagation time estimates
The determination of delay times of solar wind conditions at the sunward libration point to effects on Earth is investigated using mutual information. This measures the amount of information shared between two timeseries. We consider the mutual information content of solar wind observations, from WIND, and the geomagnetic indices. The success of five commonly used schemes for estimating interplanetary propagation times is examined. Propagation assuming a fixed plane normal at 45 degrees to the GSE x-axis (i.e. the Parker Spiral estimate) is found to give optimal mutual information. The mutual information depends on the point in space chosen as the target for the propagation estimate, and we find that it is maximized by choosing a point in the nightside rather than dayside magnetosphere. In addition, we employ recurrence plot analysis to visualize contributions to the mutual information, this suggests that it appears on timescales of hours rather than minutes
Photochemistry in the arctic free troposphere: NOx budget and the role of odd nitrogen reservoir recycling
The budget of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the arctic free troposphere is calculated with a constrained photochemical box model using aircraft observations from the Tropospheric O3 Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign between February and May. Peroxyacetic nitric anhydride (PAN) was observed to be the dominant odd nitrogen species (NOy) in the arctic free troposphere and showed a pronounced seasonal increase in mixing ratio. When constrained to observed acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) mixing ratios, the box model calculates unrealistically large net NOx losses due to PAN formation (62pptv/day for May, 1-3km). Thus, given our current understanding of atmospheric chemistry, these results cast doubt on the robustness of the CH3CHO observations during TOPSE. When CH3CHO was calculated to steady state in the box model, the net NOx loss to PAN was of comparable magnitude to the net NOx loss to HNO3 (NO2 reaction with OH) for spring conditions. During the winter, net NOx loss due to N2O5 hydrolysis dominates other NOx loss processes and is near saturation with respect to further increases in aerosol surface area concentration. NOx loss due to N2O5 hydrolysis is sensitive to latitude and month due to changes in diurnal photolysis (sharp day-night transitions in winter to continuous sun in spring for the arctic). Near NOx sources, HNO4 is a net sink for NOx; however, for more aged air masses HNO4 is a net source for NOx, largely countering the NOx loss to PAN, N2O5 and HNO3. Overall, HNO4 chemistry impacts the timing of NOx decay and O3 production; however, the cumulative impact on O3 and NOx mixing ratios after a 20-day trajectory is minimal. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Photochemistry in the arctic free troposphere: Ozone budget and its dependence on nitrogen oxides and the production rate of free radicals
Abstract. Local ozone production and loss rates for the arctic free troposphere (58–85 ◦ N, 1–6 km, February–May) during the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign were calculated using a constrained photochemical box model. Estimates were made to assess the importance of local photochemical ozone production relative to transport in accounting for the springtime maximum in arctic free tropospheric ozone. Ozone production and loss rates from our diel steady-state box model constrained by median observations were first compared to two point box models, one run to instantaneous steady-state and the other run to diel steady-state. A consistent picture of local ozone photochemistry was derived by all three box models suggesting that differences between the approaches were not critical. Our model-derived ozone production rates increased by a factor of 28 in the 1–3 km layer and a factor of 7 in the 3–6 km layer between February and May. The arctic ozone budget required net import of ozone into the arctic free troposphere throughout the campaign; however, the transport term exceeded the photochemical production only in the lower free troposphere (1–3 km) between February and March. Gross ozone production rates were calculated to increase linearly with NOx mixing ratios up to ∼300 pptv in February and for NOx mixing ratio
Minimum Thermal Conductivity of Superlattices
The phonon thermal conductivity of a multilayer is calculated for transport
perpendicular to the layers. There is a cross over between particle transport
for thick layers to wave transport for thin layers. The calculations shows that
the conductivity has a minimum value for a layer thickness somewhat smaller
then the mean free path of the phonons.Comment: new results added, to appear in PR
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