Should One Use the Ray-by-Ray Approximation in Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations?

We perform the first self-consistent, time-dependent, multi-group calculations in two dimensions (2D) to address the consequences of using the ray-by-ray+ transport simplification in core-collapse supernova simulations. Such a dimensional reduction is employed by many researchers to facilitate their resource-intensive calculations. Our new code (F{\sc{ornax}}) implements multi-D transport, and can, by zeroing out transverse flux terms, emulate the ray-by-ray+ scheme. Using the same microphysics, initial models, resolution, and code, we compare the results of simulating 12-, 15-, 20-, and 25-M$_{\odot}$ progenitor models using these two transport methods. Our findings call into question the wisdom of the pervasive use of the ray-by-ray+ approach. Employing it leads to maximum post-bounce/pre-explosion shock radii that are almost universally larger by tens of kilometers than those derived using the more accurate scheme, typically leaving the post-bounce matter less bound and artificially more "explodable." In fact, for our 25-M$_{\odot}$ progenitor, the ray-by-ray+ model explodes, while the corresponding multi-D transport model does not. Therefore, in two dimensions the combination of ray-by-ray+ with the axial sloshing hydrodynamics that is a feature of 2D supernova dynamics can result in quantitatively, and perhaps qualitatively, incorrect results.Comment: Updated and revised text; 13 pages; 13 figures; Accepted to Ap.

Sisyphus effects in a microwave-excited flux-qubit resonator system

Sisyphus amplification, familiar from quantum optics, has recently been reported as a mechanism to explain the enhanced quality factor of a classical resonant (tank) circuit coupled to a superconducting flux qubit. Here we present data from a coupled system, comprising a quantum mechanical rf SQUID (flux qubit) reactively monitored by an ultrahigh quality factor noise driven rf resonator and excited by microwaves. The system exhibits enhancement of the tank-circuit resonance, bringing it significantly closer (within 1%) to the lasing limit, than previously reported results. 2010 The American Physical Society

Where do uncertainties reside within environmental risk assessments? Expert opinion on uncertainty distributions for pesticide risks to surface water organisms

A reliable characterisation of uncertainties can aid uncertainty identification during environmental risk assessments (ERAs). However, typologies can be implemented inconsistently, causing uncertainties to go unidentified. We present an approach based on nine structured elicitations, in which subject-matter experts, for pesticide risks to surface water organisms, validate and assess three dimensions of uncertainty: its level (the severity of uncertainty, ranging from determinism to ignorance); nature (whether the uncertainty is epistemic or aleatory); and location (the data source or area in which the uncertainty arises). Risk characterisation contains the highest median levels of uncertainty, associated with estimating, aggregating and evaluating the magnitude of risks. Regarding the locations in which uncertainty is manifest, data uncertainty is dominant in problem formulation, exposure assessment and effects assessment. The comprehensive description of uncertainty described will enable risk analysts to prioritise the required phases, groups of tasks, or individual tasks within a risk analysis according to the highest levels of uncertainty, the potential for uncertainty to be reduced or quantified, or the types of location-based uncertainty, thus aiding uncertainty prioritisation during environmental risk assessments. In turn, it is expected to inform investment in uncertainty reduction or targeted risk management action

Cross-classified sampling: some estimation theory

For a population represented as a two-way array, we consider sampling via the product of independent row and column samples. Theory is presented for the estimation of a population total under alternative methods of sampling the rows and columns

Rhythms of Locomotion Expressed by Limulus polyphemus, the American Horseshoe Crab: I. Synchronization by Artificial Tides

Limulus polyphemus, the American horseshoe crab, has an endogenous clock that drives circatidal rhythms of locomotor activity. In this study, we examined the ability of artificial tides to entrain the locomotor rhythms of Limulus in the laboratory. In experiments one and two, the activity of 16 individuals of L. polyphemus was monitored with activity boxes and “running wheels.” When the crabs were exposed to artificial tides created by changes in water depth, circatidal rhythms were observed in animals exposed to 12.4-h “tidal” cycles of either water depth changes (8 of 8 animals) or inundation (7 of 8 animals). In experiment three, an additional 8 animals were exposed to water depth changes under cyclic conditions of light and dark and then monitored for 10 days with no imposed artificial tides. Most animals (5) clearly synchronized their activity to the imposed artificial tidal cycles, and 3 of these animals showed clear evidence of entrainment after the artificial tides were terminated. Overall, these results demonstrate that the endogenous tidal clock that influences locomotion in Limulus can be entrained by imposed artificial tides. In the laboratory, these tidal cues override the influence of light/dark cycles. In their natural habitat, where both tidal and photoperiod inputs are typically always present, their activity rhythms are likely to be much more complex

The cart before the horse? Exploring the potential of ePortfolios in a Western Australian medical school

In 2014, the School of Medicine Fremantle of the University of Notre Dame Australia initiated a study to explore the curriculum underpinning portfolios used by first-year medical students. The School had used portfolios since 2005 and judged it timely to consider digital technologies as a mechanism to enhance student learning and improve efficiencies. A qualitative approach was adopted that investigated how the curriculum intersected with two ePortfolio platforms: Blackboard and Mahara. Data pertaining to the way in which Blackboard and Mahara ePortfolio platforms supported existing curriculum were collected from students through focus groups and tutors via interviews. As a measure of comparison, data were also collected from students and tutors who used the existing paper-based portfolio system. Findings confirmed that the curriculum should shape the way in which technology solutions are interpreted and implemented. It is posited that low-tech solutions are sometimes most appropriate for the curriculum context. However, exploring the potential of digital technologies helped the School to imagine other possibilities for curriculum renewal. Indeed, one outcome of the research was the development of a plan to re-invigorate portfolios, shifting the current task-based emphasis to one which recognizes the key role of reflection. The study may be of interest to teachers and managers seeking to explore ePortfolios as part of broader curriculum renewal initiatives

Contribution of seasonal sub-Antarctic surface water variability to millennial-scale changes in atmospheric CO<inf>2</inf> over the last deglaciation and Marine Isotope Stage 3

The Southern Ocean is thought to have played a key role in past atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2,atm) changes. Three main factors are understood to control the Southern Ocean's influence on CO2,atm, via their impact on surface ocean pCO2 and therefore regional ocean–atmosphere CO2 fluxes: 1) the efficiency of air–sea gas exchange, which may be attenuated by seasonal- or annual sea-ice coverage or the development of a shallow pycnocline; 2) the supply of CO2-rich water masses from the sub-surface and the deep ocean, which is associated with turbulent mixing and surface buoyancy- and/or wind forcing; and 3) biological carbon fixation, which depends on nutrient availability and is therefore influenced by dust deposition and/or upwelling. In order to investigate the possible contributions of these processes to millennial-scale CO2,atm variations during the last glacial and deglacial periods, we make use of planktonic foraminifer census counts and stable oxygen- and carbon isotope measurements in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) from marine sediment core MD07-3076Q in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic. These data are interpreted on the basis of a comparison of core-top and modern seawater isotope data, which permits an assessment of the seasonal biases and geochemical controls on the stable isotopic compositions of G. bulloides and N. pachyderma (s.). Based on a comparison of our down-core results with similar data from the Southeast Atlantic (Cape Basin) we infer past basin-wide changes in the surface hydrography of the sub-Antarctic Atlantic. We find that millennial-scale rises in CO2,atm over the last 70 ka are consistently linked with evidence for increased spring upwelling, and enhanced summer air–sea exchange in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic. Parallel evidence for increased summer export production would suggest that seasonal changes in upwelling and air–sea exchange exerted a dominant influence on surface pCO2 in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic. These results underline the role of Southern Ocean dynamics, in particular their seasonal variations, in driving millennial-scale variations in CO2,atm.This work was supported by the Gates Cambridge Trust, the Royal Society and NERC grant NE/J010545/1.This was originally published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters (J Gottschalk, LC Skinner, C Waelbroeck, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2015, 411, 87-99