WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Jovian Trojans: Preliminary Results

We present the preliminary analysis of over 1739 known and 349 candidate Jovian Trojans observed by the NEOWISE component of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). With this survey the available diameters, albedos and beaming parameters for the Jovian Trojans have been increased by more than an order of magnitude compared to previous surveys. We find that the Jovian Trojan population is very homogenous for sizes larger than $\sim10$km (close to the detection limit of WISE for these objects). The observed sample consists almost exclusively of low albedo objects, having a mean albedo value of $0.07\pm0.03$. The beaming parameter was also derived for a large fraction of the observed sample, and it is also very homogenous with an observed mean value of $0.88\pm0.13$. Preliminary debiasing of the survey shows our observed sample is consistent with the leading cloud containing more objects than the trailing cloud. We estimate the fraction to be N(leading)/N(trailing) $\sim 1.4 \pm 0.2$, lower than the $1.6 \pm 0.1$ value derived by others.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal. Electronic table will be available at the publishers websit

Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE I: Preliminary Albedos and Diameters

We present initial results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a four-band all-sky thermal infrared survey that produces data well suited to measuring the physical properties of asteroids, and the NEOWISE enhancement to the WISE mission allowing for detailed study of Solar system objects. Using a NEATM thermal model fitting routine we compute diameters for over 100,000 Main Belt asteroids from their IR thermal flux, with errors better than 10%. We then incorporate literature values of visible measurements (in the form of the H absolute magnitude) to determine albedos. Using these data we investigate the albedo and diameter distributions of the Main Belt. As observed previously, we find a change in the average albedo when comparing the inner, middle, and outer portions of the Main Belt. We also confirm that the albedo distribution of each region is strongly bimodal. We observe groupings of objects with similar albedos in regions of the Main Belt associated with dynamical breakup families. Asteroid families typically show a characteristic albedo for all members, but there are notable exceptions to this. This paper is the first look at the Main Belt asteroids in the WISE data, and only represents the preliminary, observed raw size and albedo distributions for the populations considered. These distributions are subject to survey biases inherent to the NEOWISE dataset and cannot yet be interpreted as describing the true populations; the debiased size and albedo distributions will be the subject of the next paper in this series.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. Online table to also appear on the publisher's websit

Revising the age for the Baptistina asteroid family using WISE/NEOWISE data

We have used numerical routines to model the evolution of a simulated Baptistina family to constrain its age in light of new measurements of the diameters and albedos of family members from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. We also investigate the effect of varying the assumed physical and orbital parameters on the best-fitting age. We find that the physically allowed range of assumed values for the density and thermal conductivity induces a large uncertainty in the rate of evolution. When realistic uncertainties in the family members' physical parameters are taken into account we find the best-fitting age can fall anywhere in the range of 140-320 Myr. Without more information on the physical properties of the family members it is difficult to place a more firm constraint on Baptistina's age.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, accepted to Ap

Dynamical Symmetry Breaking in Planar QED

We investigate (2+1)-dimensional QED coupled with Dirac fermions both at zero and finite temperature. We discuss in details two-components (P-odd) and four-components (P-even) fermion fields. We focus on P-odd and P-even Dirac fermions in presence of an external constant magnetic field. In the spontaneous generation of the magnetic condensate survives even at infinite temperature. We also discuss the spontaneous generation of fermion mass in presence of an external magnetic field.Comment: 34 pages, 8 postscript figures, final version to appear on J. Phys.

Polarization selection rules for inter-Landau level transitions in epitaxial graphene revealed by infrared optical Hall effect

We report on polarization selection rules of inter-Landau level transitions using reflection-type optical Hall effect measurements from 600 to 4000 cm-1 on epitaxial graphene grown by thermal decomposition of silicon carbide. We observe symmetric and anti-symmetric signatures in our data due to polarization preserving and polarization mixing inter-Landau level transitions, respectively. From field-dependent measurements we identify that transitions in decoupled graphene mono-layers are governed by polarization mixing selection rules, whereas transitions in coupled graphene mono-layers are governed by polarization preserving selection rules. The selection rules may find explanation by different coupling mechanisms of inter-Landau level transitions with free charge carrier magneto-optic plasma oscillations

Atmospheric drivers of Greenland surface melt revealed by self-organizing maps

Recent acceleration in surface melt on the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) has occurred concurrently with a rapidly warming Arctic and has been connected to persistent, anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns over Greenland. To identify synoptic setups favoring enhanced GrIS surface melt and their decadal changes, we develop a summer Arctic synoptic climatology by employing self-organizing maps. These are applied to daily 500 hPa geopotential height fields obtained from the Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications reanalysis, 1979–2014. Particular circulation regimes are related to meteorological conditions and GrIS surface melt estimated with outputs from the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional. Our results demonstrate that the largest positive melt anomalies occur in concert with positive height anomalies near Greenland associated with wind, temperature, and humidity patterns indicative of strong meridional transport of heat and moisture. We find an increased frequency in a 500 hPa ridge over Greenland coinciding with a 63% increase in GrIS melt between the 1979–1988 and 2005–2014 periods, with 75.0% of surface melt changes attributed to thermodynamics, 17% to dynamics, and 8.0% to a combination. We also confirm that the 2007–2012 time period has the largest dynamic forcing relative of any period but also demonstrate that increased surface energy fluxes, temperature, and moisture separate from dynamic changes contributed more to melt even during this period. This implies that GrIS surface melt is likely to continue to increase in response to an ever warmer future Arctic, regardless of future atmospheric circulation patterns

High-spectral-resolution Fabry-Perot interferometers overcome fundamental limitations of present volcanic gas remote sensing techniques

Remote sensing (RS) of volcanic gases has become a central tool for studying volcanic activity. For instance, ultraviolet (UV) skylight spectroscopy with grating spectrographs (GS) enables SO2 (and, under favourable conditions, BrO) quantification in volcanic plumes from autonomous platforms at safe distances. These measurements can serve volcanic monitoring and they cover all stages of volcanic activity in long measurement time series, which substantially contributes to the refinement of theories on volcanic degassing. Infrared (IR) remote sensing techniques are able to measure further volcanic gases (e.g., HF, HCl, CO2, CO). However, the employed Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs) are intrinsically intricate and, due to limited resolving power or light throughput, mostly rely on either lamps, direct sun, or hot lava as light source, usually limiting measurements to individual field campaigns. We show that many limitations of grating spectrographs and Fourier transform spectrometer measurements can be overcome by Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) based spectrograph implementations. Compared to grating spectrographs and Fourier transform spectrometers, Fabry-Perot interferometer spectrographs reach a 1-3 orders of magnitude higher spectral resolution and superior light throughput with compact and stable set-ups. This leads to 1) enhanced sensitivity and selectivity of the spectral trace gas detection, 2) enables the measurement of so far undetected volcanic plume constituents [e.g., hydroxyl (OH) or sulfanyl (SH)], and 3) extends the range of gases that can be measured continuously using the sky as light source. Here, we present measurements with a shoe-box-size Fabry-Perot interferometer spectrograph (resolving power of ca. 150000), performed in the crater of Nyiragongo volcano. By analysing the light of a ultraviolet light emitting diode that is sent through the hot gas emission of an active lava flow, we reach an OH detection limit of about 20 ppb, which is orders of magnitude lower than the mixing ratios predicted by high-temperature chemical models. Furthermore, we introduce example calculations that demonstrate the feasibility of skylight-based remote sensing of HF and HCl in the short-wave infrared with Fabry-Perot interferometer spectrographs, which opens the path to continuous monitoring and data acquisition during all stages of volcanic activity. This is only one among many further potential applications of remote sensing of volcanic gases with high spectral resolution

Будівельна лихоманка на Київських схилах

Forty marine-terminating glaciers have been surveyed daily since 2000 using cloud-free MODIS visible imagery (Box and Decker 2011; http://bprc. osu.edu/MODIS/). The net area change of the 40 glaciers during the period of observation has been -1775 km2, with the 18 northernmost (>72°N) glaciers alone contributing to half of the net area change. In 2012, the northernmost glaciers lost a collective area of 255 km2, or 86% of the total net area change of the 40 glaciers surveyed. The six glaciers with the largest net area loss in 2012 were Petermann (-141 km2), 79 glacier (-27 km2), Zachariae (-26 km2), Steenstrup (-19 km2), Steensby (-16 km2, the greatest retreat since observations began), and Jakobshavn (-13 km2). While the total area change was negative in 2012, the area of four of the forty glaciers did increase relative to the end of the 2011 melt season. The anomalous advance of these four glaciers is not easily explained, as the mechanisms controlling the behavior of individual glaciers are uncertain due to their often unique geographic!settings

The extreme melt across the Greenland ice sheet in 2012

The discovery of the 2012 extreme melt event across almost the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet is presented. Data from three different satellite sensors – including the Oceansat-2 scatterometer, the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder – are combined to obtain composite melt maps, representing the most complete melt conditions detectable across the ice sheet. Satellite observations reveal that melt occurred at or near the surface of the Greenland ice sheet across 98.6% of its entire extent on 12 July 2012, including the usually cold polar areas at high altitudes like Summit in the dry snow facies of the ice sheet. This melt event coincided with an anomalous ridge of warm air that became stagnant over Greenland. As seen in melt occurrences from multiple ice core records at Summit reported in the published literature, such a melt event is rare with the last significant one occurring in 1889 and the next previous one around seven centuries earlier in the Medieval Warm Period. Given its rarity, the 2012 extreme melt across Greenland provides an exceptional opportunity for new studies in broad interdisciplinary geophysical research

[Arctic] Greenland ice sheet [in “State of the Climate in 2012”]

Melting at the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet set new records for extent and melt index (i.e., the number of days on which melting occurred multiplied by the area where melting was detected) for the period 1979–2012, according to passive microwave observations (e.g., Tedesco 2007, 2009; Mote and Anderson 1995). Melt extent reached ~97% of the ice sheet surface during a rare, ice-sheet-wide event on 11–12 July (Fig. 5.13a; Nghiem et al. 2012). This was almost four times greater than the average melt extent for 1981–2010. The 2012 standardized melting index (SMI, defined as the melting index minus its average and divided by its standard deviation) was +2.4, almost twice the previous record of about +1.3 set in 2010