471 research outputs found
Spinning Dust Emission: Effects of irregular grain shape, transient heating and comparison with WMAP results
Planck is expected to answer crucial questions on the early Universe, but it
also provides further understanding on anomalous microwave emission. Electric
dipole emission from spinning dust grains continues to be the favored
interpretation of anomalous microwave emission. In this paper, we present a
method to calculate the rotational emission from small grains of irregular
shape with moments of inertia . We show that a torque-free
rotating irregular grain with a given angular momentum radiates at multiple
frequency modes. The resulting spinning dust spectrum has peak frequency and
emissivity increasing with the degree of grain shape irregularity, which is
defined by . We discuss how the orientation of dipole moment
\bmu in body coordinates affects the spinning dust spectrum for different
regimes of internal thermal fluctuations. We show that the spinning dust
emissivity for the case of strong thermal fluctuations is less sensitive to the
orientation of \bmu than in the case of weak thermal fluctuations. We
calculate spinning dust spectra for a range of gas density and dipole moment.
The effect of compressible turbulence on spinning dust emission intensity is
investigated. We show that the emission intensity in a turbulent medium
increases by a factor from 1.2-1.4 relative to that in a uniform medium, as
sonic Mach number increases from 2-7. Finally, spinning dust parameters
are constrained by fitting our improved model to five-year {\it Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe} cross-correlation foreground spectra, for both the
H-correlated and 100 m-correlated emission spectra.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures, relation to molecular rotation spectra added,
accepted by Astrophysical Journa
Diel activity of the endangered trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) in the Murrumbidgee River.
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Photogrammetric Analysis of the 2013 El Reno Tornado Combined with Mobile X-Band Polarimetric Radar Data
Abstract
This study presents rapid-scanning X-band polarimetric radar data combined with photogrammetry of the El Reno tornado of 31 May 2013. The relationship between the hook echo, weak-echo hole (WEH), weak-echo column (WEC), and the rotational couplet with the visual characteristics of the tornado are shown. For the first time, cross-correlation coefficient (ρhv) and differential reflectivity (ZDR) data are included in the photogrammetric analyses. The tornado was accompanied by a large tornadic debris signature (TDS) with a diameter ~2 km wide during the analysis time. The center of the TDS was not collocated with the WEH and the rotational couplet. Instead, the TDS was displaced ~1 km to the north and within the weak-echo notch of the hook echo. A “debris overhang” was identified in vertical cross sections of the ρhv fields. The overhang was located in a weak-echo trench and a notch of high ρhv, consistent with the position of the tornado updraft. The updraft was hypothesized to be carrying small debris particles to heights that produced the overhang signature. A U-shaped band of high ρhv and ZDR was resolved in a vertical cross section and positioned at the periphery of the WEC during one of the analysis times. It was proposed that the band formed as a result of hydrometeors encircling the WEC while being surrounded on all sides by relatively hydrometeor-free air. The characteristics of the scatterers within the WEC were resolved and believed to be composed of a low concentration of very small, randomly oriented, debris particles, even in the presence of strong centrifuging, and a general absence of hydrometeors
Genetic partitioning of interleukin-6 signalling in mice dissociates Stat3 from Smad3-mediated lung fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease that is unresponsive to current therapies and characterized by excessive collagen deposition and subsequent fibrosis. While inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6, are elevated in IPF, the molecular mechanisms that underlie this disease are incompletely understood, although the development of fibrosis is believed to depend on canonical transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling. We examined bleomycin-induced inflammation and fibrosis in mice carrying a mutation in the shared IL-6 family receptor gp130. Using genetic complementation, we directly correlate the extent of IL-6-mediated, excessive Stat3 activity with inflammatory infiltrates in the lung and the severity of fibrosis in corresponding gp130757F mice. The extent of fibrosis was attenuated in B lymphocyte-deficient gp130757F;µMT−/− compound mutant mice, but fibrosis still occurred in their Smad3−/− counterparts consistent with the capacity of excessive Stat3 activity to induce collagen 1α1 gene transcription independently of canonical TGF-β/Smad3 signalling. These findings are of therapeutic relevance, since we confirmed abundant STAT3 activation in fibrotic lungs from IPF patients and showed that genetic reduction of Stat3 protected mice from bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis
Partitioning Schemes and Non-Integer Box Sizes for the Box-Counting Algorithm in Multifractal Analysis
We compare different partitioning schemes for the box-counting algorithm in
the multifractal analysis by computing the singularity spectrum and the
distribution of the box probabilities. As model system we use the Anderson
model of localization in two and three dimensions. We show that a partitioning
scheme which includes unrestricted values of the box size and an average over
all box origins leads to smaller error bounds than the standard method using
only integer ratios of the linear system size and the box size which was found
by Rodriguez et al. (Eur. Phys. J. B 67, 77-82 (2009)) to yield the most
reliable results.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure
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Aerial Damage Survey of the 2013 El Reno Tornado Combined with Mobile Radar Data
A detailed damage survey of the El Reno, Oklahoma, tornado of 31 May 2013 combined with rapid-scanning data recorded from two mobile radars is presented. One of the radars was equipped with polarimetric capability. The relationship between several suction vortices visually identified in pictures with the high-resolution Doppler velocity data and swath marks in fields is discussed. The suction vortices were associated with small shear features in Doppler velocity and a partial ringlike feature of high spectral width. For the first time, a suction vortex that created a swath mark in a field was visually identified in photographs and high-definition video while the rotational couplet was tracked by radar. A dual-Doppler wind synthesis of the tornadic circulation at low levels near the location of several storm chaser fatalities resolved ground-relative wind speeds in excess of 90 m s−1, greater than the minimum speed for EF5 damage. The vertical vorticity analysis revealed a rapid transition from a single tornadic vortex centered on the weak-echo hole (WEH) to suction vortices surrounding the WEH and collocated with the ring of enhanced radar reflectivities. Several bands/zones of enhanced convergence were resolved in the wind syntheses. One of the bands was associated with an internal or secondary rear-flank gust front. An inner band of convergence appeared to be a result of the positive bias in tornado-relative radial velocity owing to centrifuging of large lofted debris swirling within the tornado. An outer band of convergence formed at the northern edge of a region of strong inflow that was lofting small debris and dust into the storm
Generalized Inverse Participation Numbers in Metallic-Mean Quasiperiodic Systems
From the quantum mechanical point of view, the electronic characteristics of
quasicrystals are determined by the nature of their eigenstates. A practicable
way to obtain information about the properties of these wave functions is
studying the scaling behavior of the generalized inverse participation numbers
with the system size . In particular, we
investigate -dimensional quasiperiodic models based on different
metallic-mean quasiperiodic sequences. We obtain the eigenstates of the
one-dimensional metallic-mean chains by numerical calculations for a
tight-binding model. Higher dimensional solutions of the associated generalized
labyrinth tiling are then constructed by a product approach from the
one-dimensional solutions. Numerical results suggest that the relation
holds for these models. Using the
product structure of the labyrinth tiling we prove that this relation is always
satisfied for the silver-mean model and that the scaling exponents approach
this relation for large system sizes also for the other metallic-mean systems.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Validating variation in radio-signal strength as an index of aquatic fauna activity
Abstract. Studying biological rhythms of activity and determining the external factors that influence behaviour of animals can be challenging in many aquatic habitats. We investigated the validity of using variations in radio-signal strength to quantify changes in activity of radio-tagged aquatic fauna on a small spatial scale under controlled conditions in the field. We monitored short-term activity (<1 min) of two aquatic species, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Murray River crayfish (Euastacus armatus), that differ markedly in their primary mode of movement. Simultaneous video monitoring confirmed that active and inactive periods for both species could be accurately determined by radio-telemetry, as were specific behaviours exhibited by trout. We were also able to quantify activity based on different radio-tag (coil and trailing whip antennas) and receiving antenna configurations (yagi and gap-loop antennas); however, we recommend use of control tags to provide reference data. Variation in radio-signal strength represents a valid means of monitoring activity of moderately site-attached aquatic species
The Efficiency of Grain Alignment in Dense Interstellar Clouds: A Reassessment of Constraints from Near Infrared Polarization
A detailed study of interstellar polarization efficiency toward molecular
clouds is used to attempt discrimination between grain alignment mechanisms in
dense regions of the ISM. Background field stars are used to probe polarization
efficiency in quiescent regions of dark clouds, yielding a dependence on visual
extinction well-represented by a power law. No significant change in this
behavior is observed in the transition region between the diffuse outer layers
and dense inner regions of clouds, where icy mantles are formed, and we
conclude that mantle formation has little or no effect on the efficiency of
grain alignment. Young stellar objects generally exhibit greater polarization
efficiency compared with field stars at comparable extinctions, displaying
enhancements by factors of up to 6. Of the proposed alignment mechanisms, that
based on radiative torques appears best able to explain the data. The
attenuated external radiation field accounts for the observed polarization in
quiescent regions, and radiation from the embedded stars themselves may enhance
alignment in the lines of sight to YSOs. Enhancements in polarization
efficiency observed in the ice features toward several YSOs are of greatest
significance, as they demonstrate efficient alignment in cold molecular clouds
associated with star formation
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