10,697 research outputs found
Numerical simulations of a flux rope ejection
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the most violent phenomena observed on the Sun. One of the most successful models to explain CMEs is the flux rope ejection model, where a magnetic flux rope is expelled from the solar corona after a long phase along which the flux rope stays in equilibrium while magnetic energy is being accumulated. However, still many questions are outstanding on the detailed mechanism of the ejection and observations continuously provide new data to interpret and put in the context. Currently, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) are providing new insights into the early phase of CME evolution. In particular, observations show the ejection of magnetic flux ropes from the solar corona and how they evolve into CMEs. However, these observations are difficult to interpret in terms of basic physical mechanisms and quantities, thus, we need to compare equivalent quantities to test and improve our models. In our work, we intend to bridge the gap between models and observations with our model of flux rope ejection where we consistently describe the full life span of a flux rope from its formation to ejection. This is done by coupling the global non-linear force-free model (GNLFFF) built to describe the slow low- ÎČ formation phase, with a full MHD simulation run with the software MPI-AMRVAC, suitable to describe the fast MHD evolution of the flux rope ejection that happens in a heterogeneous ÎČ regime. We also explore the parameter space to identify the conditions upon which the ejection is favoured (gravity stratification and magnetic field intensity) and we produce synthesised AIA observations (171 Ă
and 211 Ă
). To carry this out, we run 3D MHD simulation in spherical coordinates where we include the role of thermal conduction and radiative losses, both of which are important for determining the temperature distribution of the solar corona during a CME. Our model of flux rope ejection is successful in realistically describing the entire life span of a flux rope and we also set some conditions for the backgroud solar corona to favour the escape of the flux rope, so that it turns into a CME. Furthermore, our MHD simulation reproduces many of the features found in the AIA observations.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
A missense mutation in the ÎłD crystallin gene (CRYGD) associated with autosomal dominant coral-like cataract linked to chromosome 2q
Stellar Differential Rotation and Coronal Timescales
We investigate the timescales of evolution of stellar coronae in response to
surface differential rotation and diffusion. To quantify this we study both the
formation time and lifetime of a magnetic flux rope in a decaying bipolar
active region. We apply a magnetic flux transport model to prescribe the
evolution of the stellar photospheric field, and use this to drive the
evolution of the coronal magnetic field via a magnetofrictional technique.
Increasing the differential rotation (i.e. decreasing the equator-pole lap
time) decreases the flux rope formation time. We find that the formation time
is dependent upon the geometric mean of the lap time and the surface diffusion
timescale. In contrast, the lifetime of flux ropes are proportional to the lap
time. With this, flux ropes on stars with a differential rotation of more than
eight times the solar value have a lifetime of less than two days. As a
consequence, we propose that features such as solar-like quiescent prominences
may not be easily observable on such stars, as the lifetimes of the flux ropes
which host the cool plasma are very short. We conclude that such high
differential rotation stars may have very dynamical coronae
Process of designing robust, dependable, safe and secure software for medical devices: Point of care testing device as a case study
This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Copyright © 2013 Sivanesan Tulasidas et al. This paper presents a holistic methodology for the design of medical device software, which encompasses of a new way of eliciting requirements, system design process, security design guideline, cloud architecture design, combinatorial testing process and agile project management. The paper uses point of care diagnostics as a case study where the software and hardware must be robust, reliable to provide accurate diagnosis of diseases. As software and software intensive systems are becoming increasingly complex, the impact of failures can lead to significant property damage, or damage to the environment. Within the medical diagnostic device software domain such failures can result in misdiagnosis leading to clinical complications and in some cases death. Software faults can arise due to the interaction among the software, the hardware, third party software and the operating environment. Unanticipated environmental changes and latent coding errors lead to operation faults despite of the fact that usually a significant effort has been expended in the design, verification and validation of the software system. It is becoming increasingly more apparent that one needs to adopt different approaches, which will guarantee that a complex software system meets all safety, security, and reliability requirements, in addition to complying with standards such as IEC 62304. There are many initiatives taken to develop safety and security critical systems, at different development phases and in different contexts, ranging from infrastructure design to device design. Different approaches are implemented to design error free software for safety critical systems. By adopting the strategies and processes presented in this paper one can overcome the challenges in developing error free software for medical devices (or safety critical systems).Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund
Magnetic structure and charge ordering in Fe3BO5 ludwigite
The crystal and magnetic structures of the three-leg ladder compound Fe3BO5
have been investigated by single crystal x-ray diffraction and neutron powder
diffraction. Fe3BO5 contains two types of three-leg spin ladders. It shows a
charge ordering transition at 283 K, an antiferromagnetic transition at 112 K,
ferromagnetism below 70 K and a weak ferromagnetic behavior below 40K. The
x-ray data reveal a smooth charge ordering and an incomplete charge
localization down to 110K. Below the first magnetic transition, the first type
of ladders orders as ferromagnetically coupled antiferromagnetic chains, while
below 70K the second type of ladders orders as antiferromagnetically coupled
ferromagnetic chains
The Exact Ground State of the Frenkel-Kontorova Model with Repeated Parabolic Potential: I. Basic Results
The problem of finding the exact energies and configurations for the
Frenkel-Kontorova model consisting of particles in one dimension connected to
their nearest-neighbors by springs and placed in a periodic potential
consisting of segments from parabolas of identical (positive) curvature but
arbitrary height and spacing, is reduced to that of minimizing a certain convex
function defined on a finite simplex.Comment: 12 RevTeX pages, using AMS-Fonts (amssym.tex,amssym.def), 6
Postscript figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.
The Apparent Madness of Crowds: Irrational collective behavior emerging from interactions among rational agents
Standard economic theory assumes that agents in markets behave rationally.
However, the observation of extremely large fluctuations in the price of
financial assets that are not correlated to changes in their fundamental value,
as well as the extreme instance of financial bubbles and crashes, imply that
markets (at least occasionally) do display irrational behavior. In this paper,
we briefly outline our recent work demonstrating that a market with interacting
agents having bounded rationality can display price fluctuations that are {\em
quantitatively} similar to those seen in real markets.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Proceedings of International Workshop
on "Econophysics of Stock Markets and Minority Games" (Econophys-Kolkata II),
Feb 14-17, 200
Stationary and moving breathers in a simplified model of curved alpha--helix proteins
The existence, stability and movability of breathers in a model for
alpha-helix proteins is studied. This model basically consists a chain of
dipole moments parallel to it. The existence of localized linear modes brings
about that the system has a characteristic frequency, which depends on the
curvature of the chain. Hard breathers are stable, while soft ones experiment
subharmonic instabilities that preserve, however the localization. Moving
breathers can travel across the bending point for small curvature and are
reflected when it is increased. No trapping of breathers takes place.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
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