18,150 research outputs found
Lost City meteorite: Its recovery and a comparison with other fireballs
Lost City meteoroid trajectory analysis and determination of original mas
Photographic observations of 10 artificial meteors
Photographic observation of artificial meteo
Lost City meteorite - It's recovery and a comparison with other fireballs
Photographic and trajectory data for Lost City meteor and establishment of calibration of mass scale of other meteor
A nonpolynomial Schroedinger equation for resonantly absorbing gratings
We derive a nonlinear Schroedinger equation with a radical term, in the form
of the square root of (1-|V|^2), as an asymptotic model of the optical medium
built as a periodic set of thin layers of two-level atoms, resonantly
interacting with the electromagnetic field and inducing the Bragg reflection. A
family of bright solitons is found, which splits into stable and unstable
parts, exactly obeying the Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion. The soliton with the
largest amplitude, which is |V| = 1, is found in an explicit analytical form.
It is a "quasi-peakon", with a discontinuity of the third derivative at the
center. Families of exact cnoidal waves, built as periodic chains of
quasi-peakons, are found too. The ultimate solution belonging to the family of
dark solitons, with the background level |V| = 1, is a dark compacton, also
obtained in an explicit analytical form. Those bright solitons which are
unstable destroy themselves (if perturbed) attaining the critical amplitude,
|V| = 1. The dynamics of the wave field around this critical point is studied
analytically, revealing a switch of the system into an unstable phase.
Collisions between bright solitons are investigated too. The collisions between
fast solitons are quasi-elastic, while slowly moving ones merge into breathers,
which may persist or perish (in the latter case, also by attaining |V| = 1).Comment: Physical Review A, in pres
A Search for New Physics with the BEACON Mission
The primary objective of the Beyond Einstein Advanced Coherent Optical
Network (BEACON) mission is a search for new physics beyond general relativity
by measuring the curvature of relativistic space-time around Earth. This
curvature is characterized by the Eddington parameter \gamma -- the most
fundamental relativistic gravity parameter and a direct measure for the
presence of new physical interactions. BEACON will achieve an accuracy of 1 x
10^{-9} in measuring the parameter \gamma, thereby going a factor of 30,000
beyond the present best result involving the Cassini spacecraft. Secondary
mission objectives include: (i) a direct measurement of the "frame-dragging"
and geodetic precessions in the Earth's rotational gravitomagnetic field, to
0.05% and 0.03% accuracy correspondingly, (ii) first measurement of gravity's
non-linear effects on light and corresponding 2nd order spatial metric's
effects to 0.01% accuracy. BEACON will lead to robust advances in tests of
fundamental physics -- this mission could discover a violation or extension of
general relativity and/or reveal the presence of an additional long range
interaction in physics. BEACON will provide crucial information to separate
modern scalar-tensor theories of gravity from general relativity, probe
possible ways for gravity quantization, and test modern theories of
cosmological evolution.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 2 table
Probing neutrino mass hierarchies and with supernova neutrinos
We investigate the feasibility of probing the neutrino mass hierarchy and the
mixing angle with the neutrino burst from a future supernova. An
inverse power-law density with varying is adopted in the
analysis as the density profile of a typical core-collapse supernova. The
survival probabilities of and are shown to reduce to
two-dimensional functions of and . It is found that in the
parameter space, the 3D plots of the probability
functions exhibit highly non-trivial structures that are sensitive to the mass
hierarchy, the mixing angle , and the value of . The conditions
that lead to observable differences in the 3D plots are established. With the
uncertainty of considered, a qualitative analysis of the Earth matter
effect is also included.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures. Ref [11] added, and some typos correcte
On the possibility of q-scaling in high energy production processes
It has been noticed recently that transverse momenta (p_T) distributions
observed in high energy production processes exhibit remarkably universal
scaling behaviour. This is the case when a suitable variable replaces the usual
p_T. On the other hand, it is also widely known that transverse momentum
distributions in general follow a power-like Tsallis distribution, rather than
an exponential Boltzmann-Gibbs, with a (generally energy dependent)
nonextensivity parameter q. Here we show that it is possible to choose a
suitable variable such that all the data can be fitted by the same Tsallis
distribution (with the same, energy independent value of the q-parameter). Thus
they exhibit q-scaling.Comment: Final version, accepted by J.Phys.
Dynamical Characterization of Galaxies at z~4-6 via Tilted Ring Fitting to ALMA [CII] Observations
Until recently, determining the rotational properties of galaxies in the
early universe (z>4, Universe age <1.5Gyr) was impractical, with the exception
of a few strongly lensed systems. Combining the high resolution and sensitivity
of ALMA at (sub-) millimeter wavelengths with the typically high strength of
the [CII] 158um emission line from galaxies and long-developed dynamical
modeling tools raises the possibility of characterizing the gas dynamics in
both extreme starburst galaxies and normal star forming disk galaxies at z~4-7.
Using a procedure centered around GIPSY's ROTCUR task, we have fit tilted ring
models to some of the best available ALMA [CII] data of a small set of
galaxies: the MS galaxies HZ9 & HZ10, the Damped Lyman-alpha Absorber (DLA)
host galaxy ALMA J0817+1351, the submm galaxies AzTEC/C159 and COSMOS
J1000+0234, and the quasar host galaxy ULAS J1319+0950. This procedure directly
derives rotation curves and dynamical masses as functions of radius for each
object. In one case, we present evidence for a dark matter halo of O(10^11)
solar masses. We present an analysis of the possible velocity dispersions of
AzTEC/C159 and ULAS J1319+0950 based on matching simulated observations to the
integrated [CII] line profiles. Finally, we test the effects of observation
resolution and sensitivity on our results. While the conclusions remain limited
at the resolution and signal-to-noise ratios of these observations, the results
demonstrate the viability of the modeling tools at high redshift, and the
exciting potential for detailed dynamical analysis of the earliest galaxies, as
ALMA achieves full observational capabilities.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
Astrometric Methods and Instrumentation to Identify and Characterize Extrasolar Planets: A Review
I present a review of astrometric techniques and instrumentation utilized to
search for, detect, and characterize extra-solar planets. First, I briefly
summarize the properties of the present-day sample of extrasolar planets, in
connection with predictions from theoretical models of planet formation and
evolution. Next, the generic approach to planet detection with astrometry is
described, with significant discussion of a variety of technical, statistical,
and astrophysical issues to be faced by future ground-based as well as
space-borne efforts in order to achieve the required degree of measurement
precision. After a brief summary of past and present efforts to detect planets
via milli-arcsecond astrometry, I then discuss the planet-finding capabilities
of future astrometric observatories aiming at micro-arcsecond precision.
Lastly, I outline a number experiments that can be conducted by means of
high-precision astrometry during the next decade, to illustrate its potential
for important contributions to planetary science, in comparison with other
indirect and direct methods for the detection and characterization of planetary
systems.Comment: 61 pages, 8 figures, PASP, accepted (October 2005 issue
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