20,717 research outputs found
Hyperaccretion Disks around Neutron Stars
(Abridged) We here study the structure of a hyperaccretion disk around a
neutron star. We consider a steady-state hyperaccretion disk around a neutron
star, and as a reasonable approximation, divide the disk into two regions,
which are called inner and outer disks. The outer disk is similar to that of a
black hole and the inner disk has a self-similar structure. In order to study
physical properties of the entire disk clearly, we first adopt a simple model,
in which some microphysical processes in the disk are simplified, following
Popham et al. and Narayan et al. Based on these simplifications, we
analytically and numerically investigate the size of the inner disk, the
efficiency of neutrino cooling, and the radial distributions of the disk
density, temperature and pressure. We see that, compared with the black-hole
disk, the neutron star disk can cool more efficiently and produce a much higher
neutrino luminosity. Finally, we consider an elaborate model with more physical
considerations about the thermodynamics and microphysics in the neutron star
disk (as recently developed in studying the neutrino-cooled disk of a black
hole), and compare this elaborate model with our simple model. We find that
most of the results from these two models are basically consistent with each
other.Comment: 44 pages, 10 figures, improved version following the referees'
comments, main conclusions unchanged, accepted for publication in Ap
Orientation and Workspace Analysis of the Multifingered Metamorphic Hand-Metahand
This paper introduces for the first time a metamorphic palm and presents a novel multifingered hand, known as Matahand, with a foldable and flexible palm that makes the hand adaptable and reconfigurable. The orientation and pose of the new robotic hand are enhanced by additional motion of the palm, and workspace of the robotic fingers is complemented with the palm motion. To analyze this enhanced workspace, this paper introduces finger-orientation planes to relate the finger orientation to palm various configurations. Normals of these orientation planes are used to construct a Gauss map. Adding an additional dimension, a 4-D ruled surface is generated to illustrate orientation and pose change of the hand, and an orientation–pose manifold is developed from the orientation–pose ruled surface. The orientation and workspace analysis are further developed by introducing a triangular palm workspace that evolves into a helical surface and is further developed into a 4-D representation. Simulations are presented to illustrate the characteristics of this new dexterous hand
Microbial communities and arsenic biogeochemistry at the outflow of an alkaline sulfide-rich hot spring.
Alkaline sulfide-rich hot springs provide a unique environment for microbial community and arsenic (As) biogeochemistry. In this study, a representative alkaline sulfide-rich hot spring, Zimeiquan in the Tengchong geothermal area, was chosen to study arsenic geochemistry and microbial community using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Over 0.26 million 16S rRNA sequence reads were obtained from 5-paired parallel water and sediment samples along the hot spring's outflow channel. High ratios of As(V)/AsSum (total combined arsenate and arsenite concentrations) (0.59-0.78), coupled with high sulfide (up to 5.87 mg/L), were present in the hot spring's pools, which suggested As(III) oxidation occurred. Along the outflow channel, AsSum increased from 5.45 to 13.86 μmol/L, and the combined sulfide and sulfate concentrations increased from 292.02 to 364.28 μmol/L. These increases were primarily attributed to thioarsenic transformation. Temperature, sulfide, As and dissolved oxygen significantly shaped the microbial communities between not only the pools and downstream samples, but also water and sediment samples. Results implied that the upstream Thermocrinis was responsible for the transformation of thioarsenic to As(III) and the downstream Thermus contributed to derived As(III) oxidation. This study improves our understanding of microbially-mediated As transformation in alkaline sulfide-rich hot springs
Semi-leptonic and Non-leptonic meson decays to charmed mesons
We study the semi-leptonic and non-leptonic weak decays which are
governed by the transitions. The branching ratios, CP
asymmetries (CPA) and polarization fractions (FA) of non-leptonic decays are
investigated in the factorization approximation. The
form factors are estimated in the Salpeter method. Our estimation on branching
ratios generally agree with the existent experimental data. For CPA and
polarizations, comparisons among the FA results, the perturbative QCD
predictions and experimental data are made.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figures, 5 table
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