Ramp wave loading experiments driven by heavy ion beams: a feasibility study

A new design for heavy-ion beam driven ramp wave loading experiments is suggested and analyzed. The proposed setup utilizes the long stopping ranges and the variable focal spot geometry of the high-energy uranium beams available at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research accelerator centers in Darmstadt, Germany. The release wave created by ion beams can be utilized to create a planar ramp loading of various samples. In such experiments, the predicted high pressure amplitudes (up to 10 Mbar) and short timescales of compression (<10 ns) will allow to test the time-dependent material deformation at unprecedented extreme conditions

Effects of confinement on the permanent electric-dipole moment of Xe atoms in liquid Xe

Searches for permanent electric-dipole moments (EDM) of atoms provide important constraints on competing extensions to the standard model of elementary particles. Recently proposed experiment with liquid $^{129}$Xe [M.V. Romalis and M.P. Ledbetter, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{87}, 067601 (2001)] may significantly improve present limits on the EDMs. To interpret experimental data in terms of CP-violating sources, one must relate measured atomic EDM to various model interactions via electronic-structure calculations. Here we study density dependence of atomic EDMs. The analysis is carried out in the framework of the cell model of the liquid coupled with relativistic atomic-structure calculations. We find that compared to an isolated atom, the EDM of an atom of liquid Xe is suppressed by about 40%

Impact of urban canopy parameters on a megacity’s modelled thermal environment

Urban canopy parameters (UCPs) are essential in order to accurately model the complex interplay between urban areas and their environment. This study compares three different approaches to define the UCPs for Moscow (Russia), using the COSMO numerical weather prediction and climate model coupled to TERRA_URB urban parameterization. In addition to the default urban description based on the global datasets and hard-coded constants (1), we present a protocol to define the required UCPs based on Local Climate Zones (LCZs) (2) and further compare it with a reference UCP dataset, assembled from OpenStreetMap data, recent global land cover data and other satellite imagery (3). The test simulations are conducted for contrasting summer and winter conditions and are evaluated against a dense network of in-situ observations. For the summer period, advanced approaches (2) and (3) show almost similar performance and provide noticeable improvements with respect to default urban description (1). Additional improvements are obtained when using spatially varying urban thermal parameters instead of the hard-coded constants. The LCZ-based approach worsens model performance for winter however, due to the underestimation of the anthropogenic heat flux (AHF). These results confirm the potential of LCZs in providing internationally consistent urban data for weather and climate modelling applications, as well as supplementing more comprehensive approaches. Yet our results also underline the continued need to improve the description of built-up and impervious areas and the AHF in urban parameterizations

Molecular CP-violating magnetic moment

A concept of CP-violating (T,P-odd) permanent molecular magnetic moments $\mu^{CP}$ is introduced. We relate the moments to the electric dipole moment of electron (eEDM) and estimate $\mu^{CP}$ for several diamagnetic polar molecules. The moments exhibit a steep, Z^5, scaling with the nuclear charge Z of the heavier molecular constituent. A measurement of the CP-violating magnetization of a polarized sample of heavy molecules may improve the present limit on eEDM by several orders of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, submitted to PR

Urban development of heat island territories and the health of the northern indigenous population

The paper considers the issues of urban development and climatic conditions of Sumburgh municipal entity of Purovsky district located in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The authors have carried out the correlation analysis of the climatic conditions in the environment of the region and the health status of the Nenets people living in the cold desert (tundra)

Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city

The Arctic has rapidly urbanized in recent decades with 2 million people currently living in more than a hundred cities north of 65∘&thinsp;N. These cities have a harsh but sensitive climate and warming here is the principle driver of destructive thawing, water leakages, air pollution and other detrimental environmental impacts. This study reports on the urban temperature anomaly in a typical Arctic city. This persistent warm anomaly reaches up to 11&thinsp;K in winter with the wintertime mean urban temperature being 1.9&thinsp;K higher on average in the city center than in the surrounding natural landscape. An urban temperature anomaly, also known as an urban heat island (UHI), was found using remote sensing and in situ temperature data. High-resolution (1&thinsp;km) model experiments run with and without an urban surface parameterization helped to identify the leading physical and geographical factors supporting a strong temperature anomaly in a cold climate. The statistical analysis and modeling suggest that at least 50&thinsp;% of this warm anomaly is caused by the UHI effect, driven mostly by direct anthropogenic heating, while the rest is created by natural microclimatic variability over the undulating relief of the area. The current UHI effect can be as large as the projected, and already amplified, warming for the region in the 21st century. In contrast to earlier reports, this study found that the wintertime UHI in the Arctic should be largely attributed to direct anthropogenic heating. This is a strong argument in support of energy efficiency measures, urban climate change mitigation policy and against high-density urban development in polar settlements. The complex pattern of thermal conditions, as revealed in this study, challenges urban planners to account for the observed microclimatic diversity in perspective sustainable development solutions.</p