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

Effects of Diversity on Multi-agent Systems: Minority Games

We consider a version of large population games whose agents compete for resources using strategies with adaptable preferences. The games can be used to model economic markets, ecosystems or distributed control. Diversity of initial preferences of strategies is introduced by randomly assigning biases to the strategies of different agents. We find that diversity among the agents reduces their maladaptive behavior. We find interesting scaling relations with diversity for the variance and other parameters such as the convergence time, the fraction of fickle agents, and the variance of wealth, illustrating their dynamical origin. When diversity increases, the scaling dynamics is modified by kinetic sampling and waiting effects. Analyses yield excellent agreement with simulations.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figures; minor improvements in content, added references; to be published in Physical Review

Steering random walks with kicked ultracold atoms

A kicking sequence of the atom optics kicked rotor at quantum resonance can be interpreted as a quantum random walk in momentum space. We show how to steer such a random walk by applying a random sequence of intensities and phases of the kicking lattice chosen according to a probability distribution. This distribution converts on average into the final momentum distribution of the kicked atoms. In particular, it is shown that a power-law distribution for the kicking strengths results in a L\'evy walk in momentum space and in a power-law with the same exponent in the averaged momentum distribution. Furthermore, we investigate the stability of our predictions in the context of a realistic experiment with Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: detailed study of random walks and their implementation with a Bose condensate, 12 pages, 7 figure

Policy instead of administration. Notes on the tension between central and local authorities in matters of education policy

Beim Aachener Bildungskongress des Deutschen Städtetages im November 2007 wurde in einer einmütig verabschiedeten Erklärung die "Erweiterung der kommunalen Kompetenzen und Steuerungsmöglichkeiten insbesondere im Schulbereich" gefordert. Als Perspektive hierfür sah man die "Schaffung kommunaler Bildungslandschaften im Sinne eines vernetzten Systems von Bildung, Erziehung und Betreuung." Entsprechende Forderungen werden von unterschiedlicher Seite seit langem aufgestellt, häufen sich aber in jüngster Zeit. Dieser Trend von der schulverwaltenden zur bildungspolitisch gestaltenden Kommune wird nachgezeichnet und den Ursachen, mit Blick auf die unterschiedlichen Rahmenbedingungen und Entwicklungen in einzelnen Bundesländern, nachgegangen. (DIPF/Orig.)The expansion of municipal responsibilities and control through educational networking, especially in the school area, was demanded unanimously at the Congress on Education of the Deutscher Städtetag in Aachen in November 2007. Similar demands have been made for a long time, but have increased recently. This article outlines the current change from a sheer administrative municipality to one that shapes education policy. Further more, the article will try to explain what caused this change by having a look at the different conditions and developments in the Länder. (DIPF/Orig.

High-Resolution Imaging of Texture and Microstructure by the Moving Detector Method

In order to describe texture and microstructure of a polycrystalline material completely, crystal orientation g={?1F?2} must be known in all points x={x1?x2?x3} of the material. This can be achieved by locationresolved diffraction of high-energy, i.e. short-wave, X-rays from synchrotron sources. Highest resolution in the orientation- as well as the location-coordinates can be achieved by three variants of a detector sweeping technique in which an area detector is continuously moved during exposure. This technique results in two-dimensionally continuous images which are sections and projections of the six-dimensional orientation location space. Further evaluation of these images depends on whether individual grains are resolved in them or not. Because of the high penetration depth of high-energy synchrotron radiation in matter, this technique is also, and particularly, suitable for the investigation of the interior of big samples.researc

Goldstone models in D+1 dimensions, D=3,4,5, supporting stable and zero topological charge solutions

We study finite energy static solutions to a global symmetry breaking Goldstone model described by an isovector scalar field in D+1 spacetime dimensions. Both topologically stable multisolitons with arbitrary winding numbers, and zero topological charge soliton--antisoliton solutions are constructed numerically in D=3,4,5. We have explored the types of symmetries the systems should be subjected to, for there to exist multisoliton and soliton--antisoliton pairs in D=3,4,5,6. These findings are underpinned by constructing numerical solutions in the $D\le 5$ examples. Subject to axial symmetry, only multisolitons of all topological charges exist in even D, and in odd D, only zero and unit topological charge solutions exist. Subjecting the system to weaker than axial symmetries, results in the existence of all the possibilities in all dimensions. Our findings apply also to finite 'energy' solutions to Yang--Mills and Yang-Mills--Higgs systems, and in principle also sigma models.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figure

First detection of ammonia in M82

We report the detection of the (J,K) = (1,1), (2,2), and (3,3) inversion lines of ammonia (NH3) towards the south--western molecular lobe in M82. The relative intensities of the ammonia lines are characterized by a rotational temperature of T_rot=29+/-5 K which implies an average kinetic temperature of T_kin~60 K. A Gaussian decomposition of the observed spectra indicates increasing kinetic temperatures towards the nucleus of M82, consistent with recent findings based on CO observations. The observations imply a very low NH3 abundance relative to H2, X(NH3)~5x10^(-10). We present evidence for a decreasing NH3 abundance towards the central active regions in M82 and interpret this abundance gradient in terms of photodissociation of NH3 in PDRs. The low temperature derived here from NH3 also explains the apparent underabundance of complex molecules like CH_3OH and HNCO, which has previously been reported.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ

A molecular line scan in the Hubble Deep Field North

We present a molecular line scan in the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N) that covers the entire 3mm window (79-115 GHz) using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. Our CO redshift coverage spans z2. We reach a CO detection limit that is deep enough to detect essentially all z>1 CO lines reported in the literature so far. We have developed and applied different line searching algorithms, resulting in the discovery of 17 line candidates. We estimate that the rate of false positive line detections is ~2/17. We identify optical/NIR counterparts from the deep ancillary database of the HDF-N for seven of these candidates and investigate their available SEDs. Two secure CO detections in our scan are identified with star-forming galaxies at z=1.784 and at z=2.047. These galaxies have colors consistent with the `BzK' color selection and they show relatively bright CO emission compared with galaxies of similar dust continuum luminosity. We also detect two spectral lines in the submillimeter galaxy HDF850.1 at z=5.183. We consider an additional 9 line candidates as high quality. Our observations also provide a deep 3mm continuum map (1-sigma noise level = 8.6 μJy/beam). Via a stacking approach, we find that optical/MIR bright galaxies contribute only to <50% of the SFR density at 1<z<3, unless high dust temperatures are invoked. The present study represents a first, fundamental step towards an unbiased census of molecular gas in `normal' galaxies at high-z, a crucial goal of extragalactic astronomy in the ALMA era

Multiwavelength characterisation of an ACT-selected, lensed dusty star-forming galaxy at z=2.64

We present \ci\,(2--1) and multi-transition $^{12}$CO observations of a dusty star-forming galaxy, ACT\,J2029+0120, which we spectroscopically confirm to lie at $z$\,=\,2.64. We detect CO(3--2), CO(5--4), CO(7--6), CO(8--7), and \ci\,(2--1) at high significance, tentatively detect HCO$^{+}$(4--3), and place strong upper limits on the integrated strength of dense gas tracers (HCN(4--3) and CS(7--6)). Multi-transition CO observations and dense gas tracers can provide valuable constraints on the molecular gas content and excitation conditions in high-redshift galaxies. We therefore use this unique data set to construct a CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED) of the source, which is most consistent with that of a ULIRG/Seyfert or QSO host object in the taxonomy of the \textit{Herschel} Comprehensive ULIRG Emission Survey. We employ RADEX models to fit the peak of the CO SLED, inferring a temperature of T$\sim$117 K and $n_{\text{H}_2}\sim10^5$ cm$^{-3}$, most consistent with a ULIRG/QSO object and the presence of high density tracers. We also find that the velocity width of the \ci\ line is potentially larger than seen in all CO transitions for this object, and that the $L'_{\rm C\,I(2-1)}/L'_{\rm CO(3-2)}$ ratio is also larger than seen in other lensed and unlensed submillimeter galaxies and QSO hosts; if confirmed, this anomaly could be an effect of differential lensing of a shocked molecular outflow.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Relationship between the procoagulatory activity and the lung maturity in amniotic fluid

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