CFD and aeroelastic analysis of the MEXICO wind turbine

This paper presents an aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of the MEXICO wind turbine, using the compressible HMB solver of Liverpool. The aeroelasticity of the blade, as well as the effect of a low-Mach scheme were studied for the zero-yaw 15m/s wind case and steady- state computations. The wake developed behind the rotor was also extracted and compared with the experimental data, using the compressible solver and a low-Mach scheme. It was found that the loads were not sensitive to the Mach number effects, although the low-Mach scheme improved the wake predictions. The sensitivity of the results to the blade structural properties was also highlighted

Quantum dynamics of the avian compass

The ability of migratory birds to orient relative to the Earth's magnetic field is believed to involve a coherent superposition of two spin states of a radical electron pair. However, the mechanism by which this coherence can be maintained in the face of strong interactions with the cellular environment has remained unclear. This Letter addresses the problem of decoherence between two electron spins due to hyperfine interaction with a bath of spin 1/2 nuclei. Dynamics of the radical pair density matrix are derived and shown to yield a simple mechanism for sensing magnetic field orientation. Rates of dephasing and decoherence are calculated ab initio and found to yield millisecond coherence times, consistent with behavioral experiments

FUSE Observations of Intrinsic Absorption in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 509

We present far-ultraviolet spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 obtained in 1999 November with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Our data span the observed wavelength range 915-1185 A at a resolution of ~20 km/s. The spectrum shows a blue continuum, broad OVI 1032,1038 emission, and a broad CIII 977 emission line. Superposed on these emission components, we resolve associated absorption lines of OVI 1032,1038, CIII 977, and Lyman lines through Lzeta. Seven distinct kinematic components are present, spanning a velocity range of -440 to +170 km/s relative to the systemic velocity. The absorption is clustered in two groups, one centered at -370m km/s and another at the systemic velocity. The blue-shifted cluster may be associated with the extended line emission visible in deep images of Mrk 509 obtained by Phillips et al. Although several components appear to be saturated, they are not black at their centers. Partial covering or scattering permits ~7% of the broad-line or continuum flux to be unaffected by absorption. Of the multiple components, only one has the same ionization state and column density as highly ionized gas that produces the OVII and OVIII ionization edges in X-ray spectra of Mrk 509. This paper will appear in a special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters devoted to the first scientific results from the FUSE mission.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal (Letters). 4 pages, 3 color PostScript figures. Figures are best viewed and printed in color. Added acknowledgment that this is one of many papers to be published in a special issue of ApJL devoted to the first scientific results from the FUSE missio

Coronal loop hydrodynamics. The solar flare observedon November 12 1980 revisited: the UV line emission

We revisit a well-studied solar flare whose X-ray emission originating from a simple loop structure was observed by most of the instruments on board SMM on November 12 1980. The X-ray emission of this flare, as observed with the XRP, was successfully modeled previously. Here we include a detailed modeling of the transition region and we compare the hydrodynamic results with the UVSP observations in two EUV lines, measured in areas smaller than the XRP rasters, covering only some portions of the flaring loop (the top and the foot-points). The single loop hydrodynamic model, which fits well the evolution of coronal lines (those observed with the XRP and the \FeXXI 1354.1 \AA line observed with the UVSP) fails to model the flux level and evolution of the \OV 1371.3 \AA line.Comment: A&A, in press, 6 pages, 5 figure

Panchromatic Imaging of a Transitional Disk: The Disk of GM Aur in Optical and FUV Scattered Light

We have imaged GM Aur with HST, detected its disk in scattered light at 1400A and 1650A, and compared these with observations at 3300A, 5550A, 1.1 microns, and 1.6 microns. The scattered light increases at shorter wavelengths. The radial surface brightness profile at 3300A shows no evidence of the 24AU radius cavity that has been previously observed in sub-mm observations. Comparison with dust grain opacity models indicates the surface of the entire disk is populated with sub-micron grains. We have compiled an SED from 0.1 microns to 1 mm, and used it to constrain a model of the star+disk system that includes the sub-mm cavity using the Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer code by Barbara Whitney. The best-fit model image indicates that the cavity should be detectable in the F330W bandpass if the cavity has been cleared of both large and small dust grains, but we do not detect it. The lack of an observed cavity can be explained by the presence of sub-microns grains interior to the sub-mm cavity wall. We suggest one explanation for this which could be due to a planet of mass <9 Jupiter masses interior to 24 AU. A unique cylindrical structure is detected in the FUV data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel. It is aligned along the system semi-minor axis, but does not resemble an accretion-driven jet. The structure is limb-brightened and extends 190 +/- 35 AU above the disk midplane. The inner radius of the limb-brightening is 40 +/- 10 AU, just beyond the sub-millimeter cavity wall.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, accepted to Ap

Emission Line Galaxies in the STIS Parallel Survey I: Observations and Data Analysis

In the first three years of operation STIS obtained slitless spectra of approximately 2500 fields in parallel to prime HST observations as part of the STIS Parallel Survey (SPS). The archive contains almost 300 fields at high galactic latitude (|b|>30) with spectroscopic exposure times greater than 3000 seconds. This sample contains 220 fields (excluding special regions and requiring a consistent grating angle) observed between 6 June 1997 and 21 September 2000, with a total survey area of about 160 square arcminutes. At this depth, the SPS detects an average of one emission line galaxy per three fields. We present the analysis of these data, and the identification of 131 low to intermediate redshift galaxies detected by optical emission lines. The sample contains 78 objects with emission lines that we infer to be redshifted [OII]3727 emission at 0.43<z<1.7. The comoving number density of these objects is comparable to that of H-alpha emitting galaxies in the NICMOS parallel observations. One quasar and three probable Seyfert galaxies are detected. Many of the emission-line objects show morphologies suggestive of mergers or interactions. The reduced data are available upon request from the authors.Comment: 58 preprint pages, including 26 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

The Equivalence Principle in the Non-baryonic Regime

We consider the empirical validity of the equivalence principle for non-baryonic matter. Working in the context of the TH\epsilon\mu formalism, we evaluate the constraints experiments place on parameters associated with violation of the equivalence principle (EVPs) over as wide a sector of the standard model as possible. Specific examples include new parameter constraints which arise from torsion balance experiments, gravitational red shift, variation of the fine structure constant, time-dilation measurements, and matter/antimatter experiments. We find several new bounds on EVPs in the leptonic and kaon sectors.Comment: 22 pages, late

Evidence of a Supermassive Black Hole in the Galaxy NGC 1023 from the Nuclear Stellar Dynamics

We analyze the nuclear stellar dynamics of the SB0 galaxy NGC 1023, utilizing observational data both from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope and from the ground. The stellar kinematics measured from these long-slit spectra show rapid rotation (V = 70 km/s at a distance of 0.1 arcsec = 4.9 pc from the nucleus) and increasing velocity dispersion toward the nucleus (where sigma = 295 +/- 30 km/s). We model the observed stellar kinematics assuming an axisymmetric mass distribution with both two and three integrals of motion. Both modeling techniques point to the presence of a central dark compact mass (which presumably is a supermassive black hole) with confidence > 99%. The isotropic two-integral models yield a best-fitting black hole mass of (6.0 +/- 1.4) x 10^7 M_sun and mass-to-light ratio (M/L_V) of 5.38 +/- 0.08, and the goodness-of-fit (chi^2) is insensitive to reasonable values for the galaxy's inclination. The three-integral models, which non-parametrically fit the observed line-of-sight velocity distribution as a function of position in the galaxy, suggest a black hole mass of (3.9 +/- 0.4) x 10^7 M_sun and M/L_V of 5.56 +/- 0.02 (internal errors), and the edge-on models are vastly superior fits over models at other inclinations. The internal dynamics in NGC 1023 as suggested by our best-fit three-integral model shows that the velocity distribution function at the nucleus is tangentially anisotropic, suggesting the presence of a nuclear stellar disk. The nuclear line of sight velocity distribution has enhanced wings at velocities >= 600 km/s from systemic, suggesting that perhaps we have detected a group of stars very close to the central dark mass.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, accepted in the Astrophysical Journa

The Heavy Element Enrichment of Lyman alpha Clouds in the Virgo Supercluster

Using high S/N STIS echelle spectra (FWHM=7 km/s) of 3C 273, we constrain the metallicities of two Lya clouds in the vicinity of the Virgo cluster. We detect C II, Si II, and Si III absorption lines in the Lya absorber at z = 0.00530. Previous observations with FUSE have revealed Ly beta - Ly theta lines at this redshift, thereby accurately constraining N(H I). We model the ionization of the gas and derive [C/H] = -1.2^{+0.3}_{-0.2}, [Si/C] = 0.2+/-0.1, and log n_{H} = -2.8+/-0.3. The model implies a small absorber thickness, ~70 pc, and thermal pressure p/k ~ 40 cm^{-3} K. It is most likely that the absorber is pressure confined by an external medium because gravitational confinement would require a very high ratio of dark matter to baryonic matter. Based on Milky Way sight lines in which carbon and silicon abundances have been reliably measured in the same interstellar cloud (including new measurements presented herein), we argue that the overabundance of Si relative to C is not due to dust depletion. Instead, this probably indicates that the gas has been predominately enriched by Type II supernovae. Such enrichment is most plausibly provided by an unbound galactic wind, given the absence of galaxies within a projected distance of 100 kpc and the presence of galaxies capable of driving a wind at larger distances. We also constrain the metallicity and physical conditions of the Virgo absorber at z = 0.00337 based on detections of O VI and H I and an upper limit on C IV. If this absorber is collisionally ionized, the O VI/C IV limit requires T > 10^{5.3} K. For either collisional ionization or photoionization, we find that [O/H] > -2.0 at z = 0.00337.Comment: Final Ap.J. versio