519 research outputs found
The effect of waste logistics on the environmental impact of road transport
Nowadays we should consider the wastes in a much wider sense as an expedient raw material
source. From a logistic point of view the fact that the flows of the second raw materials are not constant in the
waste logistics systems is a challenge. The quantity of the wastes of production, consumption and recycling are
varying in time and space. The arising municipal wastes usually can be found in smaller items then previously,
have relatively more utilization opportunity when they appear separated on the refuse dumps. Optimal cargos
should be organized by the environmental aspect of road transport services. Recently road transport is one of the
main polluters. With the internalisation of external costs of road transportation the price of waste as basis of
secondary raw material will increase. The article describes these problems and the methods of which can be used
for the solution
Quasiperiodic oscillations in a strong gravitational field around neutron stars testing braneworld models
The strong gravitational field of neutron stars in the brany universe could
be described by spherically symmetric solutions with a metric in the exterior
to the brany stars being of the Reissner-Nordstrom type containing a brany
tidal charge representing the tidal effect of the bulk spacetime onto the star
structure. We investigate the role of the tidal charge in orbital models of
high-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in neutron star
binary systems. We focus on the relativistic precession model. We give the
radial profiles of frequencies of the Keplerian (vertical) and radial epicyclic
oscillations. We show how the standard relativistic precession model modified
by the tidal charge fits the observational data, giving estimates of the
allowed values of the tidal charge and the brane tension based on the processes
going in the vicinity of neutron stars. We compare the strong field regime
restrictions with those given in the weak-field limit of solar system
experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure
Complex Langevin dynamics for dynamical QCD at nonzero chemical potential: a comparison with multi-parameter reweighting
We study lattice QCD at non-vanishing chemical potential using the complex
Langevin equation. We compare the results with multi-parameter reweighting both
from and phase quenched ensembles. We find a good agreement for lattice
spacings below 0.15 fm. On coarser lattices the complex Langevin
approach breaks down. Four flavors of staggered fermions are used on
and 8 lattices. For one ensemble we also use two flavors to investigate the
effects of rooting.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, PRD version, minor change
Humpy LNRF-velocity profiles in accretion discs orbiting nearly extreme Kerr black holes. A possible relation to QPOs
Change of sign of the LNRF-velocity gradient has been found for accretion
discs orbiting rapidly rotating Kerr black holes with spin a > 0.9953 for
Keplerian discs and a > 0.99979 for marginally stable thick discs. Aschenbach
(2004) has identified the maximal rate of change of the orbital velocity within
the "humpy" profile with a locally defined critical frequency of disc
oscillations, but it has been done in a coordinate-dependent form. We define
the critical "humpy" frequency H in general relativistic, coordinate
independent form, and relate the frequency defined in the LNRF to distant
observers. At radius of its definition, so-called "humpy" radius r_h, the
"humpy" frequency H is compared to the radial (R) and vertical (V) epicyclic
frequencies and the orbital frequency of the disc. For Keplerian thin discs, we
show that the epicyclic resonance radii r_31 and r_41 (with V:R = 3:1 or 4:1)
are located in vicinity of r_h where efficient triggering of oscillations with
frequencies ~ H could be expected. Asymptotically (for 1-a < 10^(-4)) the ratio
of the epicyclic and Keplerian frequencies and the humpy frequency is nearly
constant, i.e., almost independent of spin, being for the radial epicyclic
frequency R:H ~ 3:2. For thick discs the situation is more complex due to
dependence on distribution of the specific angular momentum l determining the
disc properties. For l = const tori and 1-a < 10^(-6) the frequency ratios of
the humpy frequency and the orbital and epicyclic frequencies are again nearly
constant and independent of both a and l, being for the radial epicyclic
frequency R:H close to 4. In the limiting case of very slender tori (l ~ l_ms)
the epicyclic resonance radius r_41 ~ r_h for spin 1-a < 2x10^(-4).Comment: 11 pages,10 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
LNRF-velocity hump-induced oscillations of a Keplerian disc orbiting near-extreme Kerr black hole: A possible explanation of high-frequency QPOs in GRS 1915+105
At least four high-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) at frequencies
41Hz, 67Hz, 113Hz, and 167Hz were reported in a binary system GRS 1915+105
hosting near-extreme Kerr black hole with a dimensionless spin a>0.98. We use
the idea of oscillations induced by the hump of the orbital velocity profile
(related to locally non-rotating frames - LNRF) in discs orbiting near-extreme
Kerr black holes, which are characterized by a "humpy frequency" f_h, that
could excite the radial and vertical epicyclic oscillations with frequencies
f_r, f_v. Due to non-linear resonant phenomena the combinational frequencies
are allowed as well. Assuming mass M=14.8M_sun and spin a=0.9998 for the GRS
1915+105 Kerr black hole, the model predicts frequencies f_h=41Hz, f_r=67Hz,
(f_h+f_r)=108Hz, (f_v-f_r)=170Hz corresponding quite well to the observed ones.
For black-hole parameters being in good agreement with those given
observationally, the forced resonant phenomena in non-linear oscillations,
excited by the "hump-induced" oscillations in a Keplerian disc, can explain
high-frequency QPOs in GRS 1915+105 within the range of observational errors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics, added references, corrected typo
Disc-oscillation resonance and neutron star QPOs: 3:2 epicyclic orbital model
The high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HF QPOs) that appear in the
X-ray fluxes of low-mass X-ray binaries remain an unexplained phenomenon. Among
other ideas, it has been suggested that a non-linear resonance between two
oscillation modes in an accretion disc orbiting either a black hole or a
neutron star plays a role in exciting the observed modulation. Several possible
resonances have been discussed. A particular model assumes resonances in which
the disc-oscillation modes have the eigenfrequencies equal to the radial and
vertical epicyclic frequencies of geodesic orbital motion. This model has been
discussed for black hole microquasar sources as well as for a group of neutron
star sources. Assuming several neutron (strange) star equations of state and
Hartle-Thorne geometry of rotating stars, we briefly compare the frequencies
expected from the model to those observed. Our comparison implies that the
inferred neutron star radius "RNS" is larger than the related radius of the
marginally stable circular orbit "rms" for nuclear matter equations of state
and spin frequencies up to 800Hz. For the same range of spin and a strange star
(MIT) equation of state, the inferrred radius RNS is roughly equal to rms. The
Paczynski modulation mechanism considered within the model requires that RNS <
rms. However, we find this condition to be fulfilled only for the strange
matter equation of state, masses below one solar mass, and spin frequencies
above 800Hz. This result most likely falsifies the postulation of the neutron
star 3:2 resonant eigenfrequencies being equal to the frequencies of geodesic
radial and vertical epicyclic modes. We suggest that the 3:2 epicyclic modes
could stay among the possible choices only if a fairly non-geodesic accretion
flow is assumed, or if a different modulation mechanism operates.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures (in colour), accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
The relationship between syllable repertoire similarity and pairing success in a passerine bird species with complex song
Repertoire size, i.e. the number of unique song elements that an individual possesses, is thought to be an important target of female preference. However, the use of repertoire size reflects how researchers work with complex songs; while it does not necessary describe biological functions, as listeners of song may also rely on song composition. Specific syllables may have coherent consequences for mate attraction because they are costly to produce, mediate syllable sharing or indicate the dialect of origin. We tested for the relationship between song composition and pairing success in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). We applied a tree-clustering method to hierarchically classify males based on the degree of repertoire overlap, and then used a phylogenetic approach to assess the degree by which pairing speed matches the hierarchically structured song data. We found that males using similar syllables also find a breeding partner at a similar speed. Partitioning the variance components of pairing speed, we detected that the consequences of particular syllables for mating are repeatable across males. When assessing the role of repertoire similarity in mediating direct syllable sharing, we derived a positive relationship between the physical distance between pairs of males and their repertoire overlap implying that neighboring males avoid copying each other's song. Finally, we were unable to demonstrate that syllables related to higher mating success are more common in the population, which would support mechanisms based on female preference for local songs. Our results imply that individual-specific song organization may be relevant for sexual selection. Ă© 2011 Elsevier Ltd.Peer Reviewe
Initiation and Early Kinematic Evolution of Solar Eruptions
We investigate the initiation and early evolution of 12 solar eruptions,
including six active region hot channel and six quiescent filament eruptions,
which were well observed by the \textsl{Solar Dynamics Observatory}, as well as
by the \textsl{Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory} for the latter. The
sample includes one failed eruption and 11 coronal mass ejections, with
velocities ranging from 493 to 2140~km~s. A detailed analysis of the
eruption kinematics yields the following main results. (1) The early evolution
of all events consists of a slow-rise phase followed by a main-acceleration
phase, the height-time profiles of which differ markedly and can be best fit,
respectively, by a linear and an exponential function. This indicates that
different physical processes dominate in these phases, which is at variance
with models that involve a single process. (2) The kinematic evolution of the
eruptions tends to be synchronized with the flare light curve in both phases.
The synchronization is often but not always close. A delayed onset of the
impulsive flare phase is found in the majority of the filament eruptions (5 out
of 6). This delay, and its trend to be larger for slower eruptions, favor ideal
MHD instability models. (3) The average decay index at the onset heights of the
main acceleration is close to the threshold of the torus instability for both
groups of events (although based on a tentative coronal field model for the hot
channels), suggesting that this instability initiates and possibly drives the
main acceleration.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 24 pages, 12 figures, 3 table
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