Inertial-range kinetic turbulence in pressure-anisotropic astrophysical plasmas

A theoretical framework for low-frequency electromagnetic (drift-)kinetic turbulence in a collisionless, multi-species plasma is presented. The result generalises reduced magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) and kinetic RMHD (Schekochihin et al. 2009) for pressure-anisotropic plasmas, allowing for species drifts---a situation routinely encountered in the solar wind and presumably ubiquitous in hot dilute astrophysical plasmas (e.g. intracluster medium). Two main objectives are achieved. First, in a non-Maxwellian plasma, the relationships between fluctuating fields (e.g., the Alfven ratio) are order-unity modified compared to the more commonly considered Maxwellian case, and so a quantitative theory is developed to support quantitative measurements now possible in the solar wind. The main physical feature of low-frequency plasma turbulence survives the generalisation to non-Maxwellian distributions: Alfvenic and compressive fluctuations are energetically decoupled, with the latter passively advected by the former; the Alfvenic cascade is fluid, satisfying RMHD equations (with the Alfven speed modified by pressure anisotropy and species drifts), whereas the compressive cascade is kinetic and subject to collisionless damping. Secondly, the organising principle of this turbulence is elucidated in the form of a generalised kinetic free-energy invariant. It is shown that non-Maxwellian features in the distribution function reduce the rate of phase mixing and the efficacy of magnetic stresses; these changes influence the partitioning of free energy amongst the various cascade channels. As the firehose or mirror instability thresholds are approached, the dynamics of the plasma are modified so as to reduce the energetic cost of bending magnetic-field lines or of compressing/rarefying them. Finally, it is shown that this theory can be derived as a long-wavelength limit of non-Maxwellian slab gyrokinetics.Comment: 61 pages, accepted to Journal of Plasma Physics; Abstract abridge

Influence of convection and biomass burning outflow on tropospheric chemistry over the tropical Pacific

Observations over the tropics from the Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A Experiment are analyzed using a one-dimensional model with an explicit formulation for convective transport. Adopting tropical convective mass fluxes from a general circulation model (GCM) yields a large discrepancy between observed and simulated CH3I concentrations. Observations of CH3I imply the convective mass outflux to be more evenly distributed with altitude over the tropical ocean than suggested by the GCM. We find that using a uniform convective turnover lifetime of 20 days in the upper and middle troposphere enables the model to reproduce CH3I observations. The model reproduces observed concentrations of H2O2 and CH3OOH. Convective transport of CH3OOH from the lower troposphere is estimated to account for 40-80% of CH3OOH concentrations in the upper troposphere. Photolysis of CH3OOH transported by convection more than doubles the primary HOx source and increases OH concentrations and O3 production by 10-50% and 0.4 ppbv d-1, respectively, above 11 km. Its effect on the OH concentration and O3 production integrated over the tropospheric column is, however, small. The effects of pollutant import from biomass burning regions are much more dominant. Using C2H2 as a tracer, we estimate that biomass burning outflow enhances O3 concentrations, O3 production, and concentrations of NOx and OH by 60%, 45%, 75%, and 7%, respectively. The model overestimates HNO3 concentrations by about a factor of 2 above 4 km for the upper one-third quantile of C2H2 data while it generally reproduces HNO3 concentrations for the lower and middle one-third quantiles of C2H2 data. Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union

Theory and design of uniform concentric circular arrays with frequency invariant characteristics

This paper proposes a new digital beamformer for uniform concentric circular array (UCCA) having nearly frequency invariant (FI) characteristics. The basic principle is to transform the received signals to the phase mode and remove the frequency dependency of the individual phase mode through the use of a digital beamforming network. The far field pattern of the array is determined by a set of weights and it is approximately invariant over a wide range of frequencies. Compared with FI uniform circular array (UCA), FI UCCAs are able to achieve a wider bandwidth. Design examples are given to demonstrate the principle of the proposed UCCA-FIB and its application to broadband DOA estimation of coherent sources. © 2005 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Analysis and Modeling of High-Power Phosphor-Coated White Light-Emitting Diodes With a Large Surface Area

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A semi-definite programming (SDP) method for designing IIR sharp cut-off digital filters using frequency-response masking

IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems Proceedings, Vancouver, Canada, 23-26 May 2004This paper studies the design of frequency response masking (FRM) filters with infinite duration impulse response (IIR) model and masking sub-filters. They are useful in realizing sharp cutoff digital filters with low passband delays. The designs of the model and masking filters are carried out by means of semidefinite programming (SDP) and model order reduction. Design results show that low complexity FRM filters with low passband delay can be obtained.published_or_final_versio

Theory and design of uniform concentric spherical arrays with frequency invariant characteristics

IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, Toulouse, France, 14-19 May 2006This paper proposes a new digital beamformer for uniform concentric spherical array (UCSA) having nearly frequency invariant (FI) characteristics. The basic principle is to transform the received signals to the phase mode and remove the frequency dependency of the individual phase mode through the use of a digital beamforming network. It is shown that the far field pattern of the array is determined by a set of weights and it is approximately invariant over a wide range of frequencies. FI UCSAs are electronic steerable in both the azimuth angle and elevation angle, unlike their concentric circular array counterpart. A design example is given to demonstrate the design and performance of the proposed FI UCSA. © 2006 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Selection bias in build-operate-transfer transportation project appraisals

Recent empirical studies have found widespread inaccuracies in traffic forecasts despite the fact that travel demand forecasting models have been significantly improved over the past few decades. We suspect that an intrinsic selection bias may exist in the competitive project appraisal process, in addition to the many other factors that contribute to inaccurate traffic forecasts. In this paper, we examine the potential for selection bias in the governmental process of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) transportation project appraisals. Although the simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria is typically used in practice, traffic flow estimate is usually a key criterion in these appraisals. For the purposes of this paper, we focus on the selection bias associated with the highest flow estimate criterion. We develop two approaches to quantify the level and chance of inaccuracy caused by selection bias: the expected value approach and the probability approach. The expected value approach addresses the question “to what extent is inaccuracy caused by selection bias?”. The probability approach addresses the question “what is the chance of inaccuracy due to selection bias?”. The results of this analysis confirm the existence of selection bias when a government uses the highest traffic forecast estimate as the priority criterion for BOT project selection. In addition, we offer some insights into the relationship between the extent/chance of inaccuracy and other related factors. We do not argue that selection bias is the only reason for inaccurate traffic forecasts in BOT projects; however, it does appear that it could be an intrinsic factor worthy of further attention and investigation.postprin

Stability study of the TCP-RED system using detrended fluctuation analysis

Author name used in this publication: Chi K. TseRefereed conference paper2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Power Flow Analysis and Critical Design Issues of Retrofit Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Light Bulb

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