7,924 research outputs found
Monte Carlo calculations of diatomic molecule gas flows including rotational mode excitation
The direct simulation Monte Carlo method was used to solve the Boltzmann equation for flows of an internally excited nonequilibrium gas, namely, of rotationally excited homonuclear diatomic nitrogen. The semi-classical transition probability model of Itikawa was investigated for its ability to simulate flow fields far from equilibrium. The behavior of diatomic nitrogen was examined for several different nonequilibrium initial states that are subjected to uniform mean flow without boundary interactions. A sample of 1000 model molecules was observed as the gas relaxed to a steady state starting from three specified initial states. The initial states considered are: (1) complete equilibrium, (2) nonequilibrium, equipartition (all rotational energy states are assigned the mean energy level obtained at equilibrium with a Boltzmann distribution at the translational temperature), and (3) nonequipartition (the mean rotational energy is different from the equilibrium mean value with respect to the translational energy states). In all cases investigated the present model satisfactorily simulated the principal features of the relaxation effects in nonequilibrium flow of diatomic molecules
Confirming the Detection of an Intergalactic X-ray Absorber Toward PKS 2155-304
We present new observations on PKS 2155-304 with the Chandra Low Energy
Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETG), using the Advanced CCD Imaging
Spectrometer (ACIS). We confirm the detection of an absorption line plausibly
identified as OVIII Ly-alpha from the warm-hot intergalactic medium associated
with a small group of galaxies along the line of sight, as originally reported
by Fang et al. 2002 (here after FANG02). Combining the previous observations in
FANG02 and five new, long observations on the same target, we increase the
total exposure time by a factor of three, and the total counts per resolution
element by a factor of five. The measured line equivalent width is smaller than
that observed in FANG02, but still consistent at 90% confidence. We also
analyze the XMM-Newton observations on the same target, as well as observations
using the Chandra LETG and the High Resolution Camera (HRC) combination. These
observations have been used to challenge our reported detection. While no line
is seen in either the XMM-Newton and the Chandra LETG+HRC data, we find that
our result is consistent with the upper limits from both data sets. We
attribute the non-detection to (1) higher quality of the Chandra LETG+ACIS
spectrum, and (2) the rather extended wings of the line spread functions of
both the XMM RGS and the Chandra LETG+HRC. We discuss the implication of our
observation on the temperature and density of the absorber. We also confirm the
detection of z ~ 0 OVII absorption and, comparing with previous Chandra
analysis, we obtain much tighter constraints on the line properties.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Steady and nonsteady supersonic turbulent afterbody flow
The effect of the specific heat ratio gamma of the incoming ideal gas on the flow properties, especially on pressure distributions along the base and sting surfaces and on reattachment distance, was investigated. The specific heat ratios considered were gamma = 1.2, 1.4, and 1.667. Also, effects of other major parameters, such as eddy-viscosity coefficient (or effective Reynolds number) and Mach number, on the afterbody pressure and reattachment distance were studied and are discussed. Evolution of shock induced flow and stabilization time were examined and are discussed for a transient problem. The important influence of the flow-field geometry, pressure distributions, and reattachment distance on the aerodynamics radiative heat transfer for an atmosphere entry probe in high speed flight are briefly described
X-Ray Emission from the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium
The number of detected baryons in the Universe at z<0.5 is much smaller than
predicted by standard big bang nucleosynthesis and by the detailed observation
of the Lyman alpha forest at red-shift z=2. Hydrodynamical simulations indicate
that a large fraction of the baryons today is expected to be in a ``warm-hot''
(10^5-10^7K) filamentary gas, distributed in the intergalactic medium. This
gas, if it exists, should be observable only in the soft X-ray and UV bands.
Using the predictions of a particular hydrodynamic model, we simulated the
expected X-ray flux as a function of energy in the 0.1-2 keV band due to the
Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), and compared it with the flux from local
and high red-shift diffuse components. Our results show that as much as 20% of
the total diffuse X-ray background (DXB) in the energy range 0.37-0.925keV
could be due to X-ray flux from the WHIM, 70% of which comes from filaments at
redshift z between 0.1 and 0.6. Simulations done using a FOV of 3', comparable
with that of Suzaku and Constellation-X, show that in more than 20% of the
observations we expect the WHIM flux to contribute to more than 20% of the DXB.
These simulations also show that in about 10% of all the observations a single
bright filament in the FOV accounts, alone, for more than 20% of the DXB flux.
Red-shifted oxygen lines should be clearly visible in these observations.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
Rhythmic Motion of a Droplet under a DC Electric Field
The effect of a stationary electric field on a water droplet with a diameter
of several tens micrometers in oil was examined. Such a droplet exhibits
repetitive translational motion between the electrodes in a spontaneous manner.
The state diagram of this oscillatory motion was deduced; at 0-20 V the droplet
is fixed at the surface of the electrode, at 20-70 V the droplet exhibits
small-amplitude oscillatory motion between the electrodes, and at 70-100 V the
droplet shows large-amplitude periodic motion between the electrodes. The
observed rhythmic motion is explained in a semi-quantitative manner by using
differential equations, which includes the effect of charging the droplet under
an electric field. We also found that twin droplets exhibit synchronized
rhythmic motion between the electrodes
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