1,022 research outputs found
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
Morphologies of three-dimensional shear bands in granular media
We present numerical results on spontaneous symmetry breaking strain
localization in axisymmetric triaxial shear tests of granular materials. We
simulated shear band formation using three-dimensional Distinct Element Method
with spherical particles. We demonstrate that the local shear intensity, the
angular velocity of the grains, the coordination number, and the local void
ratio are correlated and any of them can be used to identify shear bands,
however the latter two are less sensitive. The calculated shear band
morphologies are in good agreement with those found experimentally. We show
that boundary conditions play an important role. We discuss the formation
mechanism of shear bands in the light of our observations and compare the
results with experiments. At large strains, with enforced symmetry, we found
strain hardening.Comment: 6 pages 5 figures, low resolution figures
A Parametric Study of Erupting Flux Rope Rotation. Modeling the "Cartwheel CME" on 9 April 2008
The rotation of erupting filaments in the solar corona is addressed through a
parametric simulation study of unstable, rotating flux ropes in bipolar
force-free initial equilibrium. The Lorentz force due to the external shear
field component and the relaxation of tension in the twisted field are the
major contributors to the rotation in this model, while reconnection with the
ambient field is of minor importance. Both major mechanisms writhe the flux
rope axis, converting part of the initial twist helicity, and produce rotation
profiles which, to a large part, are very similar in a range of shear-twist
combinations. A difference lies in the tendency of twist-driven rotation to
saturate at lower heights than shear-driven rotation. For parameters
characteristic of the source regions of erupting filaments and coronal mass
ejections, the shear field is found to be the dominant origin of rotations in
the corona and to be required if the rotation reaches angles of order 90
degrees and higher; it dominates even if the twist exceeds the threshold of the
helical kink instability. The contributions by shear and twist to the total
rotation can be disentangled in the analysis of observations if the rotation
and rise profiles are simultaneously compared with model calculations. The
resulting twist estimate allows one to judge whether the helical kink
instability occurred. This is demonstrated for the erupting prominence in the
"Cartwheel CME" on 9 April 2008, which has shown a rotation of \approx 115
degrees up to a height of 1.5 R_sun above the photosphere. Out of a range of
initial equilibria which include strongly kink-unstable (twist Phi=5pi), weakly
kink-unstable (Phi=3.5pi), and kink-stable (Phi=2.5pi) configurations, only the
evolution of the weakly kink-unstable flux rope matches the observations in
their entirety.Comment: Solar Physics, submitte
Production Technology and Competitiveness In the Hungarian Manufacturing Industry
Following the big transformations of the 1990s, enterprise structure and technological level seem to
have become stabilised in Hungary. Under these circumstances it is especially interesting to identify
the elements responsible for competitiveness in general, and the role technology plays in development
in particular, according to managers experienced in production and marketing. This empirical
study â based on in-depth interviews and field research â summarises characteristics of the technological
level in the sectors examined, role of technology and labour in production, effects of foreign
direct investment, relations between competition and firm-level factors determining competitiveness,
and concludes by summing up those most frequently mentioned proposals that should be incorporated
into economic policy according to managers. Main findings indicate that more qualified,
more intensive and cheaper labour can be substituted for high technology. The competitiveness of an
enterprise is not determined by technology alone, but rather by a combination of technology, the parameters
of available labour and the costs of investment increasing productivity. The insufficiency
of inter-company relations, together with a shortage of available assets necessary for investment
constitute the major threat undermining the competitiveness of enterprises in present-day Hungary
The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) in 2016-2017
This report summarizes the activities and achievements of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) from mid-2016 through to the end of 2017. During this period, the 13th Eurasian Grassland Conference took place in SighiĆoara, Romania, and the 14th conference was held in Riga, Latvia. The 10th EDGG Field Workshop on Biodiversity patterns across a precipitation gradient in the Central Apennine mountains was conducted in the Central Apennines, Italy, this time in addition to multi-scale sampling of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, also including one animal group (leaf hoppers). Apart from the quarterly issues of its own electronic journal (Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group), EDGG also finalised five grassland-related Special Features/Issues during the past 1.5 years in the following international journals: Applied Vegetation Science, Biodiversity and Conservation, Phytocoenologia, Tuexenia and Hacquetia. Beyond that, EDGG facilitated various national and supra-national vegetationplot databases of grasslands and established its own specialised database for standardised multi-scale plot data of Palaearctic grasslands (GrassPlot). © by Stephen Venn 2018.Peer reviewe
Universal persistence exponents in an extremally driven system
The local persistence R(t), defined as the proportion of the system still in
its initial state at time t, is measured for the Bak--Sneppen model. For 1 and
2 dimensions, it is found that the decay of R(t) depends on one of two classes
of initial configuration. For a subcritical initial state, R(t)\sim
t^{-\theta}, where the persistence exponent \theta can be expressed in terms of
a known universal exponent. Hence \theta is universal. Conversely, starting
from a supercritical state, R(t) decays by the anomalous form 1-R(t)\sim
t^{\tau_{\rm ALL}} until a finite time t_{0}, where \tau_{\rm ALL} is also a
known exponent. Finally, for the high dimensional model R(t) decays
exponentially with a non--universal decay constant.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
A new model for QPOs in accreting black holes: application to the microquasar GRS 1915+105
(abridged) In this paper we extend the idea suggested previously by Petri
(2005a,b) that the high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in
low-mass X-ray binaries may be explained as a resonant oscillation of the
accretion disk with a rotating asymmetric background (gravitational or
magnetic) field imposed by the compact object. Here, we apply this general idea
to black hole binaries. It is assumed that a test particle experiences a
similar parametric resonance mechanism such as the one described in paper I and
II but now the resonance is induced by the interaction between a spiral density
wave in the accretion disk, excited close to the innermost stable circular
orbit, and vertical epicyclic oscillations. We use the Kerr spacetime geometry
to deduce the characteristic frequencies of this test particle. The response of
the test particle is maximal when the frequency ratio of the two strongest
resonances is equal to 3:2 as observed in black hole candidates. Finally,
applying our model to the microquasar GRS 1915+105, we reproduce the correct
value of several HF-QPOs. Indeed the presence of the 168/113/56/42/28 Hz
features in the power spectrum time analysis is predicted. Moreover, based only
on the two HF-QPO frequencies, our model is able to constrain the mass and angular momentum of the accreting black hole.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Critical packing in granular shear bands
In a realistic three-dimensional setup, we simulate the slow deformation of
idealized granular media composed of spheres undergoing an axisymmetric
triaxial shear test. We follow the self-organization of the spontaneous strain
localization process leading to a shear band and demonstrate the existence of a
critical packing density inside this failure zone. The asymptotic criticality
arising from the dynamic equilibrium of dilation and compaction is found to be
restricted to the shear band, while the density outside of it keeps the memory
of the initial packing. The critical density of the shear band depends on
friction (and grain geometry) and in the limit of infinite friction it defines
a specific packing state, namely the \emph{dynamic random loose packing}
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