Investigation of synchronous satellites for geodesy Quarterly progress report

Orbit calculations for synchronous geodetic satellites to observe continental drift and Chandler wobbl

Value distribution of the eigenfunctions and spectral determinants of quantum star graphs

We compute the value distributions of the eigenfunctions and spectral determinant of the Schrodinger operator on families of star graphs. The values of the spectral determinant are shown to have a Cauchy distribution with respect both to averages over bond lengths in the limit as the wavenumber tends to infinity and to averages over wavenumber when the bond lengths are fixed and not rationally related. This is in contrast to the spectral determinants of random matrices, for which the logarithm is known to satisfy a Gaussian limit distribution. The value distribution of the eigenfunctions also differs from the corresponding random matrix result. We argue that the value distributions of the spectral determinant and of the eigenfunctions should coincide with those of Seba-type billiards.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures. Final version incorporating referee's comments. Typos corrected, appendix adde

Intermediate wave-function statistics

We calculate statistical properties of the eigenfunctions of two quantum systems that exhibit intermediate spectral statistics: star graphs and Seba billiards. First, we show that these eigenfunctions are not quantum ergodic, and calculate the corresponding limit distribution. Second, we find that they can be strongly scarred by short periodic orbits, and construct sequences of states which have such a limit. Our results are illustrated by numerical computations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Final versio

Study of the global positioning system for maritime concepts/applications: Study of the feasibility of replacing maritime shipborne navigation systems with NAVSTAR

A geostationary reference satellite (REFSAT) that broadcasts every four seconds updated GPS satellite coordinates was developed. This procedure reduces the complexity of the GPS receiver. The economic and performance payoffs associated with replacing maritime stripborne navigation systems with NAVSTAR was quantified and the use of NAVSTAR for measurements of ocean currents in the broad ocean areas of the world was evaluated

No quantum ergodicity for star graphs

We investigate statistical properties of the eigenfunctions of the Schrodinger operator on families of star graphs with incommensurate bond lengths. We show that these eigenfunctions are not quantum ergodic in the limit as the number of bonds tends to infinity by finding an observable for which the quantum matrix elements do not converge to the classical average. We further show that for a given fixed graph there are subsequences of eigenfunctions which localise on pairs of bonds. We describe how to construct such subsequences explicitly. These constructions are analogous to scars on short unstable periodic orbits.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Applications of remote sensing to stream discharge predictions

A feasibility study has been initiated on the use of remote earth observations for augmenting stream discharge prediction for the design and/or operation of major reservoir systems, pumping systems and irrigation systems. The near-term objectives are the interpolation of sparsely instrumented precipitation surveillance networks and the direct measurement of water loss by evaporation. The first steps of the study covered a survey of existing reservoir systems, stream discharge prediction methods, gage networks and the development of a self-adaptive variation of the Kentucky Watershed model, SNOPSET, that includes snowmelt. As a result of these studies, a special three channel scanner is being built for a small aircraft, which should provide snow, temperature and water vapor maps for the spatial and temporal interpolation of stream gages

Assessment of geophysical flows for zero-gravity simulation

The results of research relating to the feasibility of using a low gravity environment to model geophysical flows are presented. Atmospheric and solid earth flows are considered. Possible experiments and their required apparatus are suggested

Radiation Damage and Recovery Properties of Common Plastics PEN (Polyethylene Naphthalate) and PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) Using a 137Cs Gamma Ray Source Up To 1 MRad and 10 MRad

Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene teraphthalate (PET) are cheap and common polyester plastics used throughout the world in the manufacturing of bottled drinks, containers for foodstuffs, and fibers used in clothing. These plastics are also known organic scintillators with very good scintillation properties. As particle physics experiments increase in energy and particle flux density, so does radiation exposure to detector materials. It is therefore important that scintillators be tested for radiation tolerance at these generally unheard of doses. We tested samples of PEN and PET using laser stimulated emission on separate tiles exposed to 1 MRad and 10 MRad gamma rays with a 137Cs source. PEN exposed to 1 MRad and 10 MRad emit 71.4% and 46.7% of the light of an undamaged tile, respectively, and maximally recover to 85.9% and 79.5% after 5 and 9 days, respectively. PET exposed to 1 MRad and 10 MRad emit 35.0% and 12.2% light, respectively, and maximally recover to 93.5% and 80.0% after 22 and 60 days, respectively

HATS-1b: The First Transiting Planet Discovered by the HATSouth Survey

We report the discovery of HATS-1b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the moderately bright V=12.05 G dwarf star GSC 6652-00186, and the first planet discovered by HATSouth, a global network of autonomous wide-field telescopes. HATS-1b has a period P~3.4465 d, mass Mp~1.86MJ, and radius Rp~1.30RJ. The host star has a mass of 0.99Msun, and radius of 1.04Rsun. The discovery light curve of HATS-1b has near continuous coverage over several multi-day periods, demonstrating the power of using a global network of telescopes to discover transiting planets.Comment: Submitted to AJ 10 pages, 5 figures, 6 table

Modern control concepts in hydrology

Two approaches to an identification problem in hydrology are presented based upon concepts from modern control and estimation theory. The first approach treats the identification of unknown parameters in a hydrologic system subject to noisy inputs as an adaptive linear stochastic control problem; the second approach alters the model equation to account for the random part in the inputs, and then uses a nonlinear estimation scheme to estimate the unknown parameters. Both approaches use state-space concepts. The identification schemes are sequential and adaptive and can handle either time invariant or time dependent parameters. They are used to identify parameters in the Prasad model of rainfall-runoff. The results obtained are encouraging and conform with results from two previous studies; the first using numerical integration of the model equation along with a trial-and-error procedure, and the second, by using a quasi-linearization technique. The proposed approaches offer a systematic way of analyzing the rainfall-runoff process when the input data are imbedded in noise