17,276 research outputs found
Mode signature and stability for a Hamiltonian model of electron temperature gradient turbulence
Stability properties and mode signature for equilibria of a model of electron
temperature gradient (ETG) driven turbulence are investigated by Hamiltonian
techniques. After deriving the infinite families of Casimir invariants,
associated with the noncanonical Poisson bracket of the model, a sufficient
condition for stability is obtained by means of the Energy-Casimir method. Mode
signature is then investigated for linear motions about homogeneous equilibria.
Depending on the sign of the equilibrium "translated" pressure gradient, stable
equilibria can either be energy stable, i.e.\ possess definite linearized
perturbation energy (Hamiltonian), or spectrally stable with the existence of
negative energy modes (NEMs). The ETG instability is then shown to arise
through a Kre\u{\i}n-type bifurcation, due to the merging of a positive and a
negative energy mode, corresponding to two modified drift waves admitted by the
system. The Hamiltonian of the linearized system is then explicitly transformed
into normal form, which unambiguously defines mode signature. In particular,
the fast mode turns out to always be a positive energy mode (PEM), whereas the
energy of the slow mode can have either positive or negative sign
Principles For Aiding Complex Military Decision Making
Paper presented to the Second International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium, Monterey, Ca.The Tactical Decision Making Under Stress
(TADMUS) program is being conducted to
apply recent developments in decision theory
and human-system interaction technology
to the design of a decision support system
for enhancing tactical decision making
under the highly complex conditions involved
in anti-air warfare scenarios in littoral
environments. Our goal is to present decision
support information in a format that
minimizes any mismatches between the
cognitive characteristics of the human decision maker and the design and response
characteristics of the decision support system. Decision makers are presented with
decision support tools which parallel the
cognitive strategies they already employ,
thus reducing the number of decision making
errors. Hence, prototype display development has been based on decision making
models postulated by naturalistic
decision-making theory. Incorporating current
human-system interaction design
principles is expected to reduce cognitive
processing demands and thereby mitigate
decision errors caused by cognitive overload,
which have been documented through
research and experimentation. Topics include a discussion of: (1) the theoretical
background for the TADMUS program; (2)
a description of the cognitive tasks performed;
(3) the decision support and human-
system interaction design principles
incorporated to reduce the cognitive processing
load on the decision maker; and (4) a
brief description of the types of errors
made by decision makers and interpretations
of the cause of these errors based on
the cognitive psychology literature.Funding for the research cited in this paper was received from the Cognitive and Neural Science and Technology Division of the Office of Naval Research
High daily energy expenditure of incubating shorebirds on High Arctic tundra: a circumpolar study
1. Given the allometric scaling of thermoregulatory capacity in birds, and the cold and exposed Arctic environment, it was predicted that Arctic-breeding shorebirds should incur high costs during incubation. Using doubly labelled water (DLW), daily energy expenditure (DEE) during incubation was measured in eight shorebird species weighing between 29 and 142 g at various sites in the Eurasian and Canadian High Arctic. The results are compared with a compilation of similar data for birds at lower latitudes.
2. There was a significant positive correlation between species average DEE and body mass (DEE (kJ day−1) = 28·12 BM (g)^0·524, r^2 = 0·90). The slopes of the allometric regression lines for DEE on body mass of tundra-breeding birds and lower latitude species (a sample mostly of passerines but including several shorebirds) are similar (0·548 vs 0·545). DEE is about 50% higher in birds on the tundra than in temperate breeding areas.
3. Data for radiomarked Red Knots for which the time budgets during DLW measurements were known, indicated that foraging away from the nest on open tundra is almost twice as costly as incubating a four-egg clutch.
4. During the incubation phase in the High Arctic, tundra-breeding shorebirds appear to incur among the highest DEE levels of any time of the year. The rates of energy expenditure measured here are among the highest reported in the literature so far, reaching inferred ceilings of sustainable energy turnover rates.
Quahogs in Eastern North America: Part II, History by Province and State
The northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, ranges along the
Atlantic Coast of North America from the Canadian Maritimes to Florida, while the southern quahog, M. campechiensis,
ranges mostly from Florida to southern Mexico. The northern quahog was fished by native North Americans during prehistoric periods. They used the meats as food and the shells as scrapers and as utensils. The European colonists copied the Indians treading method, and they also used short
rakes for harvesting quahogs. The Indians of southern New England and Long Island, N.Y., made wampum from quahog shells, used it for ornaments and sold it to the colonists, who, in turn, traded it to other Indians for furs. During the late 1600’s, 1700’s, and 1800’s, wampum was made in small factories for eventual trading with Indians farther west for furs.
The quahoging industry has provided people in many coastal communities with a means of earning a livelihood and has
given consumers a tasty, wholesome food whether eaten raw, steamed, cooked in chowders, or as stuffed quahogs. More than a dozen methods and types of gear have been used in the last two centuries for harvesting quahogs. They include treading and using various types of rakes and dredges,
both of which have undergone continuous improvements in design. Modern dredges are equipped with hydraulic jets and one type has an escalator to bring the quahogs continuously to the boats. In the early 1900’s, most provinces and states
established regulations to conserve and maximize yields of their quahog stocks. They include a minimum size, now almost
universally a 38-mm shell width, and can include gear limitations and daily quotas.
The United States produces far more quahogs than either Canada or Mexico. The leading producer in Canada is Prince
Edward Island. In the United States, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island lead in quahog production in the north, while Virginia and North Carolina lead in the south. Connecticut and Florida were large producers in the 1990’s. The State of Tabasco leads in Mexican production. In the northeastern United States, the bays with large openings, and thus large exchanges of bay waters with ocean waters,
have much larger stocks of quahogs and fisheries than bays with small openings and water exchanges.
Quahog stocks in certified beds have been enhanced by transplanting stocks to them from stocks in uncertified waters and by planting seed grown in hatcheries, which grew in number from Massachusetts to Florida in the 1980’s and 1990’s
Modelling interfacial coupling in thin film magnetic exchange springs at finite temperature
This is the final version of the article. Available from the American Institute of Physics via the DOI in this record.We report a numerical study that demonstrates the interface layer between a soft and hard magnetic phase, the exchange transition layer, is the dominant factor that influences the magnetization reversal process at room temperature and long measurement times. It is found that the exchange transition layer thickness affects the magnetization reversal and the coupling of a bi-layer system by lowering the switching field and changing the angle dependent magnetization reversal. We show that the change in angle dependence of reversal is due to an increased incoherency in the lateral spin behavior. Changing the value of exchange coupling in the exchange transition layer affects only the angle dependent behavior and does not lower the switching field. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.We would like to thank the EPSRC for financial support under Grant Nos. EP/G032440/1 and EP/G032300/1, the WWTF Project MA09-029 and the Royal Society UF080837
The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, VII: The MIRI Detectors
The MIRI Si:As IBC detector arrays extend the heritage technology from the
Spitzer IRAC arrays to a 1024 x 1024 pixel format. We provide a short
discussion of the principles of operation, design, and performance of the
individual MIRI detectors, in support of a description of their operation in
arrays provided in an accompanying paper (Ressler et al. (2015)). We then
describe modeling of their response. We find that electron diffusion is an
important component of their performance, although it was omitted in previous
models. Our new model will let us optimize the bias voltage while avoiding
avalanche gain. It also predicts the fraction of the IR-active layer that is
depleted (and thus contributes to the quantum efficiency) as signal is
accumulated on the array amplifier. Another set of models accurately predicts
the nonlinearity of the detector-amplifier unit and has guided determination of
the corrections for nonlinearity. Finally, we discuss how diffraction at the
interpixel gaps and total internal reflection can produce the extended
cross-like artifacts around images with these arrays at short wavelengths, ~ 5
microns. The modeling of the behavior of these devices is helping optimize how
we operate them and also providing inputs to the development of the data
pipeline
On the formation and decay of a molecular ultracold plasma
Double-resonant photoexcitation of nitric oxide in a molecular beam creates a
dense ensemble of Rydberg states, which evolves to form a plasma of
free electrons trapped in the potential well of an NO spacecharge. The
plasma travels at the velocity of the molecular beam, and, on passing through a
grounded grid, yields an electron time-of-flight signal that gauges the plasma
size and quantity of trapped electrons. This plasma expands at a rate that fits
with an electron temperature as low as 5 K, colder that typically observed for
atomic ultracold plasmas. The recombination of molecular NO cations with
electrons forms neutral molecules excited by more than twice the energy of the
NO chemical bond, and the question arises whether neutral fragmentation plays a
role in shaping the redistribution of energy and particle density that directs
the short-time evolution from Rydberg gas to plasma. To explore this question,
we adapt a coupled rate-equations model established for atomic ultracold
plasmas to describe the energy-grained avalanche of electron-Rydberg and
electron-ion collisions in our system. Adding channels of Rydberg
predissociation and two-body, electron- cation dissociative recombination to
the atomic formalism, we investigate the kinetics by which this relaxation
distributes particle density and energy over Rydberg states, free electrons and
neutral fragments. The results of this investigation suggest some mechanisms by
which molecular fragmentation channels can affect the state of the plasma
Compact Brillouin devices through hybrid integration on Silicon
A range of unique capabilities in optical and microwave signal processing
have been demonstrated using stimulated Brillouin scattering. The desire to
harness Brillouin scattering in mass manufacturable integrated circuits has led
to a focus on silicon-based material platforms. Remarkable progress in
silicon-based Brillouin waveguides has been made, but results have been
hindered by nonlinear losses present at telecommunications wavelengths. Here,
we report a new approach to surpass this issue through the integration of a
high Brillouin gain material, As2S3, onto a silicon chip. We fabricated a
compact spiral device, within a silicon circuit, achieving an order of
magnitude improvement in Brillouin amplification. To establish the flexibility
of this approach, we fabricated a ring resonator with free spectral range
precisely matched to the Brillouin shift, enabling the first demonstration of
Brillouin lasing in a silicon integrated circuit. Combining active photonic
components with the SBS devices shown here will enable the creation of compact,
mass manufacturable optical circuits with enhanced functionality
- …