173,748 research outputs found
Precise near-earth navigation with GPS: A survey of techniques
The tracking accuracy of the low earth orbiters (below about 3000 km altitude) can be brought below 10 cm with a variety of differential techniques that exploit the Global Positioning System (GPS). All of these techniques require a precisely known global network of GPS ground receivers and a receiver aboard the user satellite, and all simultaneously estimate the user and GPS satellite orbits. Three basic approaches are the geometric, dynamic, and nondynamic strategies. The last combines dynamic GPS solutions with a geometric user solution. Two powerful extensions of the nondynamic strategy show considerable promise. The first uses an optimized synthesis of dynamics and geometry in the user solution, while the second uses a novel gravity-adjustment method to exploit data from repeat ground tracks. These techniques will offer sub-decimeter accuracy for dynamically unpredictable satellites down to the lowesst possible altitudes
An extended finite element method with smooth nodal stress
The enrichment formulation of double-interpolation finite element method
(DFEM) is developed in this paper. DFEM is first proposed by Zheng \emph{et al}
(2011) and it requires two stages of interpolation to construct the trial
function. The first stage of interpolation is the same as the standard finite
element interpolation. Then the interpolation is reproduced by an additional
procedure using the nodal values and nodal gradients which are derived from the
first stage as interpolants. The re-constructed trial functions are now able to
produce continuous nodal gradients, smooth nodal stress without post-processing
and higher order basis without increasing the total degrees of freedom. Several
benchmark numerical examples are performed to investigate accuracy and
efficiency of DFEM and enriched DFEM. When compared with standard FEM,
super-convergence rate and better accuracy are obtained by DFEM. For the
numerical simulation of crack propagation, better accuracy is obtained in the
evaluation of displacement norm, energy norm and the stress intensity factor
Calculating the relative entropy of entanglement
We extend Vedral and Plenio's theorem (theorem 3 in Phys. Rev. A 57, 1619) to
a more general case, and obtain the relative entropy of entanglement for a
class of mixed states, this result can also follow from Rains' theorem 9 in
Phys. Rev. A 60, 179.Comment: 2 pages, RevTex, an important reference adde
Study of pickup of cometary ions in turbulent solar winds
The influence of moderately strong magnetic disturbances on the ion pickup process near a comet is studied by a test-particle method. The research is motivated by recent observations with ICE and Giotto at Giacobini-Zinner and Halley. In this numerical study, the intrinsic hydromagnetic turbulence is modelled based on the Giotto and ICE data. The time evolution of the distribution function of the newborn ions is investigated. It is found that, when the level of the intrinsic turbulence is sufficiently high, the pickup ions can form a shell distribution function rapidly. The typical time scale for such a process is of the order of a couple of ion gyroperiods. On the other hand, if the turbulence is not strong, the pickup ions usually form an incomplete shell in the initial stage. The results seem to be consistent with available observations
Deriving a geocentric reference frame for satellite positioning and navigation
With the advent of Earth-orbiting geodetic satellites, nongeocentric datums or reference frames have become things of the past. Accurate geocentric three-dimensional positioning is now possible and is of great importance for various geodetic and oceanographic applications. While relative positioning accuracy of a few centimeters has become a reality using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), the uncertainty in the offset of the adopted coordinate system origin from the geocenter is still believed to be on the order of 1 meter. Satellite laser ranging (SLR), however, is capable of determining this offset to better than 10 cm, but this is possible only after years of measurements. Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements provide a powerful tool for an accurate determination of this origin offset. Two strategies are discussed. The first strategy utilizes the precise relative positions that were predetermined by VLBI to fix the frame orientation and the absolute scaling, while the offset from the geocenter is determined from GPS measurements. Three different cases are presented under this strategy. The reference frame thus adopted will be consistent with the VLBI coordinate system. The second strategy establishes a reference frame by holding only the longitude of one of the tracking sites fixed. The absolute scaling is determined by the adopted gravitational constant (GM) of the Earth; and the latitude is inferred from the time signature of the Earth rotation in the GPS measurements. The coordinate system thus defined will be a geocentric Earth-fixed coordinate system
Membrane topology of the ArsB protein, the membrane subunit of an anion-translocating ATPase
The ars operon of the conjugative R-factor R773 encodes an oxyanion pump that catalyzes extrusion of arsenicals from cells of Escherichia coli. The oxyanion translocation ATPase is composed of two polypeptides, the catalytic ArsA protein and the intrinsic membrane protein, ArsB. The topology of regions of the ArsB protein in the inner membrane was determined using a variety of gene fusions. Random gene fusions with lacZ and phoA were generated using transposon mutagenesis. A series of gene fusions with blaM were constructed in vitro using a beta-lactamase fusion vector. To localize individual segments of the ArsB protein, a ternary fusion method was developed, where portions of the arsB gene were inserted in-frame between the coding regions for two heterologous proteins, in this case a portion of a newly identified arsD gene and the blaM sequence encoding the mature beta-lactamase. The location of a periplasmic loop was determined from V8 protease digestion of an ArsA-ArsB chimera. From analysis of data from 26 fusions, a topological model of the ArsB protein with 12 membrane-spanning regions is proposed
Accelerating charging dynamics in sub-nanometer pores
Having smaller energy density than batteries, supercapacitors have
exceptional power density and cyclability. Their energy density can be
increased using ionic liquids and electrodes with sub-nanometer pores, but this
tends to reduce their power density and compromise the key advantage of
supercapacitors. To help address this issue through material optimization, here
we unravel the mechanisms of charging sub-nanometer pores with ionic liquids
using molecular simulations, navigated by a phenomenological model. We show
that charging of ionophilic pores is a diffusive process, often accompanied by
overfilling followed by de-filling. In sharp contrast to conventional
expectations, charging is fast because ion diffusion during charging can be an
order of magnitude faster than in bulk, and charging itself is accelerated by
the onset of collective modes. Further acceleration can be achieved using
ionophobic pores by eliminating overfilling/de-filling and thus leading to
charging behavior qualitatively different from that in conventional, ionophilic
pores
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