Relationship between frontal dust storms and transient eddy activity in the northern hemisphere of Mars as observed by Mars Global Surveyor

We have compiled a catalog of frontal dust storms in the northern hemisphere using Mars Orbiter Camera daily global maps spanning ~2.3 Martian years of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) observations (from 1999 to 2003). The most vigorous frontal storms that flush dust to the low latitudes occur in early-mid fall and mid-late winter, away from the northern winter solstice. While many streaks are observed in the polar hood during the winter solstice period, no frontal dust storms are observed in the vicinity of the north polar region. We have also analyzed simultaneous MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) temperature data and found statistically significant negative temperature anomalies associated with frontal storms. In the lowest scale height of the atmosphere, the geographical and seasonal distributions of temperature standard deviations associated with transient variations agree well with the distributions of frontal storms. The correlation deteriorates with increasing altitude, suggesting that lower-level temperature waves are associated with the frontal dust storms. Specifically, eastward traveling m = 3 waves with periods of 2–3 sols appear to be closely related to the development of flushing frontal storms

Suppression or enhancement of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov order in a one-dimensional optical lattice with particle correlated tunnelling

We study through controlled numerical simulation the ground state properties of spin-polarized strongly interacting fermi gas in an anisotropic optical lattice, which is described by an effective one-dimensional general Hubbard model with particle correlated hopping rate. We show that the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) type of state, while enhanced by a negative correlated hopping rate, can be completely suppressed by positive particle correlated hopping, yielding to an unusual magnetic phase even for particles with on-site attractive interaction We also find several different phase separation patterns for these atoms in an inhomogeneous harmonic trap, depending on the correlated hopping rate

Localized gap soliton trains of Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical lattice

We develop a systematic analytical approach to study the linear and nonlinear solitary excitations of quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in an optical lattice. For the linear case, the Bloch wave in the $nth$ energy band is a linear superposition of Mathieu's functions $ce_{n-1}$ and $se_n$; and the Bloch wave in the $nth$ band gap is a linear superposition of $ce_n$ and $se_n$. For the nonlinear case, only solitons inside the band gaps are likely to be generated and there are two types of solitons -- fundamental solitons (which is a localized and stable state) and sub-fundamental solitons (which is a lacalized but unstable state). In addition, we find that the pinning position and the amplitude of the fundamental soliton in the lattice can be controlled by adjusting both the lattice depth and spacing. Our numerical results on fundamental solitons are in quantitative agreement with those of the experimental observation [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf92}, 230401 (2004)]. Furthermore, we predict that a localized gap soliton train consisting of several fundamental solitons can be realized by increasing the length of the condensate in currently experimental conditions.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publicaiton in PR

Control of spin coherence in semiconductor double quantum dots

We propose a scheme to manipulate the spin coherence in vertically coupled GaAs double quantum dots. Up to {\em ten} orders of magnitude variation of the spin relaxation and {\em two} orders of magnitude variation of the spin dephasing can be achieved by a small gate voltage applied vertically on the double dot. Specially, large variation of spin relaxation still exists at 0 K. In the calculation, the equation-of-motion approach is applied to obtain the electron decoherence time and all the relevant spin decoherence mechanisms, such as the spin-orbit coupling together with the electron--bulk-phonon scattering, the direct spin-phonon coupling due to the phonon-induced strain, the hyperfine interaction and the second-order process of electron-phonon scattering combined with the hyperfine interaction, are included. The condition to obtain the large variations of spin coherence is also addressed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR

Virtual integration platform for computational fluid dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools used in shipbuilding industry involve multiple disciplines, such as resistance, manoeuvring, and cavitation. Traditionally, the analysis was performed separately and sequentially in each discipline, which often resulted in conflict and inconsistency of hydrodynamic prediction. In an effort to solve such problems for future CFD computations, a Virtual Integration Platform (VIP) has been developed in the University of Strathclyde within two EU FP6 projects - VIRTUE and SAFEDOR1. The VIP provides a holistic collaborative environment for designers with features such as Project/Process Management, Distributed Tools Integration, Global Optimisation, Version Management, and Knowledge Management. These features enhance collaboration among customers, ship design companies, shipyards, and consultancies not least because they bring together the best expertise and resources around the world. The platform has been tested in seven European ship design companies including consultancies. Its main functionalities along with advances are presented in this paper with two industrial applications

Migration paths saturations in meta-epidemic systems

In this paper we consider a simple two-patch model in which a population affected by a disease can freely move. We assume that the capacity of the interconnected paths is limited, and thereby influencing the migration rates. Possible habitat disruptions due to human activities or natural events are accounted for. The demographic assumptions prevent the ecosystem to be wiped out, and the disease remains endemic in both populated patches at a stable equilibrium, but possibly also with an oscillatory behavior in the case of unidirectional migrations. Interestingly, if infected cannot migrate, it is possible that one patch becomes disease-free. This fact could be exploited to keep disease-free at least part of the population

Property testing of unitary operators

In this paper, we systematically study property testing of unitary operators. We first introduce a distance measure that reflects the average difference between unitary operators. Then we show that, with respect to this distance measure, the orthogonal group, quantum juntas (i.e. unitary operators that only nontrivially act on a few qubits of the system) and Clifford group can be all efficiently tested. In fact, their testing algorithms have query complexities independent of the system's size and have only one-sided error. Then we give an algorithm that tests any finite subset of the unitary group, and demonstrate an application of this algorithm to the permutation group. This algorithm also has one-sided error and polynomial query complexity, but it is unknown whether it can be efficiently implemented in general