Precision mass determinations with the electric mass filter

Mass determinations of medium weight elements with electric mass filter, and mass ratios of xenon isotope

Diurnal and annual variations of meteor rates at the arctic circle

Meteors are an important source for (a) the metal atoms of the upper atmosphere metal layers and (b) for condensation nuclei, the existence of which are a prerequisite for the formation of noctilucent cloud particles in the polar mesopause region. For a better understanding of these phenomena, it would be helpful to know accurately the annual and diurnal variations of meteor rates. So far, these rates have been little studied at polar latitudes. Therefore we have used the 33 MHz meteor radar of the ALOMAR observatory at 69&deg; N to measure the meteor rates at this location for two full annual cycles. This site, being within 3&deg; of the Arctic circle, offers in addition an interesting capability: The axis of its antenna field points (almost) towards the North ecliptic pole once each day of the year. In this particular viewing direction, the radar monitors the meteoroid influx from (almost) the entire ecliptic Northern hemisphere. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> We report on the observed diurnal variations (averaged over one month) of meteor rates and their significant alterations throughout the year. The ratio of maximum over minimum meteor rates throughout one diurnal cycle is in January and February about 5, from April through December 2.3&plusmn;0.3. If compared with similar measurements at mid-latitudes, our expectation, that the amplitude of the diurnal variation is to decrease towards the North pole, is not really borne out. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> Observations with the antenna axis pointing towards the North ecliptic pole showed that the rate of deposition of meteoric dust is substantially larger during the Arctic NLC season than the annual mean deposition rate. The daylight meteor showers of the Arietids, Zeta Perseids, and Beta Taurids supposedly contribute considerably to the June maximum of meteor rates. We note, though, that with the radar antenna pointing as described above, all three meteor radiants are close to the local horizon but all three radiants were detected

Locating disparities in machine learning

Machine learning can provide predictions with disparate outcomes, in which subgroups of the population (e.g., defined by age, gender, or other sensitive attributes) are systematically disadvantaged. In order to comply with upcoming legislation, practitioners need to locate such disparate outcomes. However, previous literature typically detects disparities through statistical procedures for when the sensitive attribute is specified a priori. This limits applicability in real-world settings where datasets are high dimensional and, on top of that, sensitive attributes may be unknown. As a remedy, we propose a data-driven framework called Automatic Location of Disparities (ALD) which aims at locating disparities in machine learning. ALD meets several demands from industry: ALD (1) is applicable to arbitrary machine learning classifiers; (2) operates on different definitions of disparities (e.g., statistical parity or equalized odds); and (3) deals with both categorical and continuous predictors even if disparities arise from complex and multi-way interactions known as intersectionality (e. g., age above 60 and female). ALD produces interpretable audit reports as output. We demonstrate the effectiveness of ALD based on both synthetic and real-world datasets. As a result, we empower practitioners to effectively locate and mitigate disparities in machine learning algorithms, conduct algorithmic audits, and protect individuals from discrimination

Climate mode simulation of North Atlantic polar lows in a limited area model

Polar lows are not properly resolved in global re-analyses. In order to describe the year-to-year variability and decadal trends in the formation of such mesoscale storms, atmospheric limited area models, which post-process re-analysis data, may be an appropriate tool. In this study we demonstrate the merits and potential of this approach. A series of 3-week long ensemble simulations of weather situations over the NE Atlantic with a limited area model/regional climate model (CLM) are examined. The model was driven with NCEP-NCAR re-analyses at the lateral and lower boundaries. Additionally, the spectral nudging technique was used to enforce the large-scale circulation, as given by the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis, on the simulation. The ensemble members differ by initial conditions taken from several consecutive days. In most of the cases, a polar low developed after a simulated time of about 2 weeks, that is, long after the initialization of the model calculations. The spectrally nudged version of the model is very insensitive to initial conditions. The observed polar lows were reproduced in all ensemble members. A reasonable correlation between the simulated polar low features and those derived from a satellite product (HOAPS-III) and operational high-resolution weather analyses (DWD) is found. The polar lows are considerably deepened compared to the driving NCEP-NCAR analysis, but the comparison with weather maps indicates some differences in detail. When CLM is run without the large-scale constraint of spectral nudging, considerable variability emerges across the different ensemble members and the observed polar low often does not emerge. [References: 42

The Cost of Fairness in AI: Evidence from E-Commerce

Contemporary information systems make widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI offers various benefits, it can also be subject to systematic errors, whereby people from certain groups (defined by gender, age, or other sensitive attributes) experience disparate outcomes. In many AI applications, disparate outcomes confront businesses and organizations with legal and reputational risks. To address these, technologies for so-called “AI fairness” have been developed, by which AI is adapted such that mathematical constraints for fairness are fulfilled. However, the financial costs of AI fairness are unclear. Therefore, the authors develop AI fairness for a real-world use case from e-commerce, where coupons are allocated according to clickstream sessions. In their setting, the authors find that AI fairness successfully manages to adhere to fairness requirements, while reducing the overall prediction performance only slightly. However, they find that AI fairness also results in an increase in financial cost. Thus, in this way the paper’s findings contribute to designing information systems on the basis of AI fairness

Elastic Behavior of a Two-dimensional Crystal near Melting

Using positional data from video-microscopy we determine the elastic moduli of two-dimensional colloidal crystals as a function of temperature. The moduli are extracted from the wave-vector-dependent normal mode spring constants in the limit $q\to 0$ and are compared to the renormalized Young's modulus of the KTHNY theory. An essential element of this theory is the universal prediction that Young's modulus must approach $16 \pi$ at the melting temperature. This is indeed observed in our experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Structure and evolution of rotationally and tidally distorted stars

This paper aims to study the configuration of two components caused by rotational and tidal distortions in the model of a binary system. The potentials of the two distorted components can be approximated to 2nd-degree harmonics. Furthermore, both the accretion luminosity ($\sigma_{i}$) and the irradiative luminosity are included in stellar structure equations. The equilibrium structure of rotationally and tidally distorted star is exactly a triaxial ellipsoids. A formula describing the isobars is presented, and the rotational velocity and the gravitational acceleration at the primary surface simulated. The results show the distortion at the outer layers of the primary increases with temporal variation and system evolution. Besides, it was observed that the luminosity accretion is unstable, and the curve of the energy-generation rate fluctuates after the main sequence in rotation sequences. The luminosity in rotation sequences is slightly weaker than that in non-rotation sequences. As a result, the volume expands slowly. Polar ejection is intensified by the tidal effect. The ejection of an equatorial ring may be favoured by both the opacity effect and the $g_{e}(\theta,\varphi)$-effect in the binary system.Comment: 10 pages, 17 figures,Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Noctilucent clouds and the mesospheric water vapour: The past decade

The topic of this paper is the sensitivity of the brightness of noctilucent clouds (NLC) on the ambient water vapour mixing ratio f(H2O). Firstly, we use state-of-the-art models of NLC layer formation to predict NLC brightness changes in response to changes in the 80km mixing ratio f(H2O) for the two cases of ground-based 532nm lidar observations at 69° N and for hemispheric satellite SBUV observations at 252nm wavelength. In this study, we include a re-evaluation of the sensitivity of NLC brightness to changes in solar Lyman α flux. Secondly, we review observations of episodic changes in f(H2O) and those in NLC brightness, the former being available since 1992, the latter since 1979. To this review, we add a new series of observations of f(H2O), performed in the Arctic summer at the ALOMAR observatory. The episodic change exhibited by the Arctic summer means of f(H2O) turns out to be quite different from all those derived from annual means of f(H2O). The latter indicate that since 1996 a significant reduction of annually averaged upper mesospheric water vapour has occurred at low, mid, and high latitudes. These decreases of f(H2O) have been observed over the same time period in which a slow increase of SBUV NLC albedo has occurred. From this scenario and additional arguments we conclude that the cause for the observed long-term increase in NLC albedo remains to be identified. We close with comments on the very different character of decadal variations in NLC brightness and occurrence rate

Observations of a noctilucent cloud above Logan, Utah (41.7oN, 111.8oW) in 1995

A Rayleigh-scatter lidar has been operated at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the Utah State University (USU) campus (41.7°N, 111.8°W) since August 1993. During the morning of 22 June 1995, lidar returns from a noctilucent cloud (NLC) were observed for approximately 1 hr, well away from the twilight periods when NLCs are visible. This detection of an NLC at this latitude shows that the first reported sighting, in 1999 (Wickwar et al., 2002), was not a unique occurrence. This 1995 observation differs from the 1999 one in that temperatures could be deduced. Near the 83-km NLC altitude the temperatures were found to be up to ∼23 K cooler than the 11-year June climatology for ALO. This analysis shows that these cool temperatures arose, not because the whole profile was cooler, but because of a major temperature oscillation or wave with a 22-km vertical wavelength and a ∼0.9 km/hr downward phase speed. This large-amplitude wave has many of the characteristics of the diurnal tide. However, the amplitude would have to be enhanced considerably. These lidar observations were supplemented by OH rotational temperature observations from approximately 87 km. These NLC observations equatorward of 50° have been suggested to be significant harbingers of global change. However, if that were the case, the mechanism is more complicated than a simple overall cooling or an increase in water vapor. Accordingly, we propose enhanced generation of gravity waves that would interact with the diurnal tide to produce a large-amplitude wave, the cold phase of which would give rise to low enough temperatures to produce the NLC. The gravity wave source might be orographic in the Mountain West or convective far to the east or south