650 research outputs found
Uncertainty Estimates for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Data
Sources of uncertainty are reviewed for calculated atomic and molecular data
that are important for plasma modeling: atomic and molecular structure and
cross sections for electron-atom, electron-molecule, and heavy particle
collisions. We concentrate on model uncertainties due to approximations to the
fundamental many-body quantum mechanical equations and we aim to provide
guidelines to estimate uncertainties as a routine part of computations of data
for structure and scattering.Comment: 65 pages, 18 Figures, 3 Tables. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. Final
accepted versio
A sustainable path for space science
High-performance scientific satellites are currently the exclusive domain of government-funded agencies. The team behind the Twinkle Space Mission is developing a new class of small and sustainable science satellites that leverages recent innovations in the commercial space sector
Algebraic-matrix calculation of vibrational levels of triatomic molecules
We introduce an accurate and efficient algebraic technique for the
computation of the vibrational spectra of triatomic molecules, of both linear
and bent equilibrium geometry. The full three-dimensional potential energy
surface (PES), which can be based on entirely {\it ab initio} data, is
parameterized as a product Morse-cosine expansion, expressed in bond-angle
internal coordinates, and includes explicit interactions among the local modes.
We describe the stretching degrees of freedom in the framework of a Morse-type
expansion on a suitable algebraic basis, which provides exact analytical
expressions for the elements of a sparse Hamiltonian matrix. Likewise, we use a
cosine power expansion on a spherical harmonics basis for the bending degree of
freedom. The resulting matrix representation in the product space is very
sparse and vibrational levels and eigenfunctions can be obtained by efficient
diagonalization techniques. We apply this method to carbonyl sulfide OCS,
hydrogen cyanide HCN, water HO, and nitrogen dioxide NO. When we base
our calculations on high-quality PESs tuned to the experimental data, the
computed spectra are in very good agreement with the observed band origins.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, containg additional supporting information in
epaps.ps (results in tables, which are useful but not too important for the
paper
Evaluating on-land capture methods for monitoring a recently rediscovered seabird, the New Zealand Storm-Petrel Fregetta maoriana
We provide a first assessment of various on-land capture methods for a procellarid seabird, the New Zealand Storm-Petrel Fregetta maoriana, which had been presumed extinct but for which a breeding site has just been discovered on Little Barrier Island. In the vicinity of an active breeding site, playback only, also involving a newly isolated call from in situ deployed sound-recording devices, could efficiently be employed for capture, while light attraction in combination with playback achieved comparable capture success further afield. We consider that these findings can be relevant for breeding ground searches and capture operations in other storm-petrel species, and more generally in seabirds that visit their breeding sites at night
Periodic Chaotic Billiards: Quantum-Classical Correspondence in Energy Space
We investigate the properties of eigenstates and local density of states
(LDOS) for a periodic 2D rippled billiard, focusing on their quantum-classical
correspondence in energy representation. To construct the classical
counterparts of LDOS and the structure of eigenstates (SES), the effects of the
boundary are first incorporated (via a canonical transformation) into an
effective potential, rendering the one-particle motion in the 2D rippled
billiard equivalent to that of two-interacting particles in 1D geometry. We
show that classical counterparts of SES and LDOS in the case of strong chaotic
motion reveal quite a good correspondence with the quantum quantities. We also
show that the main features of the SES and LDOS can be explained in terms of
the underlying classical dynamics, in particular of certain periodic orbits. On
the other hand, statistical properties of eigenstates and LDOS turn out to be
different from those prescribed by random matrix theory. We discuss the quantum
effects responsible for the non-ergodic character of the eigenstates and
individual LDOS that seem to be generic for this type of billiards with a large
number of transverse channels.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure
Webteaching: sequencing of subject matter in relation to prior knowledge of pupils
Two experiments are discussed in which the sequencing procedure of webteaching is compared with a linear sequence for the presentation of text material.\ud
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In the first experiment variations in the level of prior knowledge of pupils were studied for their influence on the sequencing mode of text presentation. Prior knowledge greatly reduced the effect of the size of sequencing procedures.\ud
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In the second experiment pupils with a low level of prior knowledge studied a text, following either a websequence or a linear sequence. Webteaching was superior to linear teaching on a number of dependent variables. It is concluded that webteaching is an effective sequencing procedure in those cases where substantial new learning is required
Classical versus Quantum Structure of the Scattering Probability Matrix. Chaotic wave-guides
The purely classical counterpart of the Scattering Probability Matrix (SPM)
of the quantum scattering matrix is defined for 2D
quantum waveguides for an arbitrary number of propagating modes . We compare
the quantum and classical structures of for a waveguide
with generic Hamiltonian chaos. It is shown that even for a moderate number of
channels, knowledge of the classical structure of the SPM allows us to predict
the global structure of the quantum one and, hence, understand important
quantum transport properties of waveguides in terms of purely classical
dynamics. It is also shown that the SPM, being an intensity measure, can give
additional dynamical information to that obtained by the Poincar\`{e} maps.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Phase transition in the collisionless regime for wave-particle interaction
Gibbs statistical mechanics is derived for the Hamiltonian system coupling
self-consistently a wave to N particles. This identifies Landau damping with a
regime where a second order phase transition occurs. For nonequilibrium initial
data with warm particles, a critical initial wave intensity is found: above it,
thermodynamics predicts a finite wave amplitude in the limit of infinite N;
below it, the equilibrium amplitude vanishes. Simulations support these
predictions providing new insight on the long-time nonlinear fate of the wave
due to Landau damping in plasmas.Comment: 12 pages (RevTeX), 2 figures (PostScript
The effect of the impact of comet Shoemaker Levy‐9 on Jupiter's aurorae
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95050/1/grl8225.pd
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