18,819 research outputs found
Selective Principal Component Extraction and Reconstruction: A Novel Method for Ground Based Exoplanet Spectroscopy
Context: Infrared spectroscopy of primary and secondary eclipse events probes
the composition of exoplanet atmospheres and, using space telescopes, has
detected H2O, CH4 and CO2 in three hot Jupiters. However, the available data
from space telescopes has limited spectral resolution and does not cover the
2.4 - 5.2 micron spectral region. While large ground based telescopes have the
potential to obtain molecular-abundance-grade spectra for many exoplanets,
realizing this potential requires retrieving the astrophysical signal in the
presence of large Earth-atmospheric and instrument systematic errors. Aims:
Here we report a wavelet-assisted, selective principal component extraction
method for ground based retrieval of the dayside spectrum of HD 189733b from
data containing systematic errors. Methods: The method uses singular value
decomposition and extracts those critical points of the Rayleigh quotient which
correspond to the planet induced signal. The method does not require prior
knowledge of the planet spectrum or the physical mechanisms causing systematic
errors. Results: The spectrum obtained with our method is in excellent
agreement with space based measurements made with HST and Spitzer (Swain et al.
2009b; Charbonneau et al. 2008) and confirms the recent ground based
measurements (Swain et al. 2010) including the strong 3.3 micron emission.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; excepted for publication by A&
Entropy and Area in Loop Quantum Gravity
Black hole thermodynamics suggests that the maximum entropy that can be
contained in a region of space is proportional to the area enclosing it rather
than its volume. I argue that this follows naturally from loop quantum gravity
and a result of Kolmogorov and Bardzin' on the the realizability of networks in
three dimensions. This represents an alternative to other approaches in which
some sort of correlation between field configurations helps limit the degrees
of freedom within a region. It also provides an approach to thinking about
black hole entropy in terms of states inside rather than on its surface.
Intuitively, a spin network complicated enough to imbue a region with volume
only lets that volume grow as quickly as the area bounding it.Comment: 7 pages, this essay received an Honourable Mention in the Gravity
Research Foundation Essay Competition 2005; reformatted for IJMP (accepted
for publication) with minor typographical corrections and some extended
discussio
Encountering soviet geography: oral histories of British geographical studies of the USSR and Eastern Europe 1945-1991
This paper considers the history of British geographical studies of the USSR and Eastern Europe 1945-1991, presenting material from a research project which has included thirty-two oral history interviews. Oral history is an especially fruitful research methodology in this context due to the distinct issues of formality and informality involved in researching the Soviet bloc. After discussing the nature of the subdiscipline and the Cold War context, including the role of the British state in shaping the field, the paper considers the role of formal academic meetings and exchanges, and the place of unofficial spaces of encounter in the formation of an intellectual culture. The paper concludes by reflecting on the merits of oral history in studies of the production of geographical knowledge
Corrugation-Induced First-Order Wetting: An Effective Hamiltonian Study
We consider an effective Hamiltonian description of critical wetting
transitions in systems with short-range forces at a corrugated (periodic) wall.
We are able to recover the results obtained previously from a `microscopic'
density-functional approach in which the system wets in a discontinuous manner
when the amplitude of the corrugations reaches a critical size A*. Using the
functional renormalization group, we find that A* becomes dependent on the
wetting parameter \omega in such a way as to decrease the extent of the
first-order regime. Nevertheless, we still expect wetting in the Ising model to
proceed in a discontinuous manner for small deviations of the wall from the
plane.Comment: 9 pages RevTex with 2 EPS figures. To appear in Eur. Phys. J.
An exact solution for two dimensional wetting with a corrugated wall
An exact solution of a two dimensional RSOS model of wetting at a corrugated
(periodic) wall is found using transfer matrix techniques. In contrast to
mean-field analysis of the same problem the wetting transition remains
second-order and occurs at a lower temperature than that of the planar system.
Comparison with numerical studies and other analytical approaches is made.Comment: 11 pages LaTex with 1 eps figure. To appear in J.Phys.
Coupled Hamiltonians and Three Dimensional Short-Range Wetting Transitions
We address three problems faced by effective interfacial Hamiltonian models
of wetting based on a single collective coordinate \ell representing the
position of the unbinding fluid interface. Problems (P1) and (P2) refer to the
predictions of non-universality at the upper critical dimension d=3 at critical
and complete wetting respectively which are not borne out by Ising model
simulation studies. (P3) relates to mean-field correlation function structure
in the underlying continuum Landau model. We investigate the hypothesis that
these concerns arise due to the coupling of order parameter fluctuations near
the unbinding interface and wall. For quite general choices of collective
coordinates X_i we show that arbitrary two-field models H[X_1,X_2] can recover
the required anomalous structure of mean-field correlation functions (P3). To
go beyond mean-field theory we introduce a set of Hamiltonians based on proper
collective coordinates s near the wall which have both interfacial and
spin-like components. We argue that an optimum model H[s,\ell] in which the
degree of coupling is controlled by an angle-like variable, best describes the
non-universality of the Ising model and investigate its critical behaviour. For
critical wetting the appropriate Ginzburg criterion shows that the true
asymptotic critical regime for the local susceptibility \chi_1 is dramatically
reduced consistent with observations of mean-field behaviour in simulations
(P1). For complete wetting the model yields a precise expression for the
temperature dependence of the renormalized critical amplitude \theta in good
agreement with simulations (P2). We highlight the importance of a new wetting
parameter which describes the physics that emerges due to the coupling effects.Comment: 34 pages, RevTex, 8 eps figures. To appear in Physica
- …