54,076 research outputs found
Minimal model of self-replicating nanocells: a physically embodied information-free scenario
The building of minimal self-reproducing systems with a physical embodiment
(generically called protocells) is a great challenge, with implications for
both theory and applied sciences. Although the classical view of a living
protocell assumes that it includes information-carrying molecules as an
essential ingredient, a dividing cell-like structure can be built from a
metabolism-container coupled system, only. An example of such a system, modeled
with dissipative particle dynamics, is presented here. This article
demonstrates how a simple coupling between a precursor molecule and surfactant
molecules forming micelles can experience a growth-division cycle in a
predictable manner, and analyzes the influence of crucial parameters on this
replication cycle. Implications of these results for origins of cellular life
and living technology are outlined.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Predicting floods in a large karst river basin by coupling PERSIANN-CCS QPEs with a physically based distributed hydrological model
In general, there are no long-term meteorological or hydrological data available for karst river basins. The lack of rainfall data is a great challenge that hinders the development of hydrological models. Quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) based on weather satellites offer a potential method by which rainfall data in karst areas could be obtained. Furthermore, coupling QPEs with a distributed hydrological model has the potential to improve the precision of flood predictions in large karst watersheds. Estimating precipitation from remotely sensed information using an artificial neural network-cloud classification system (PERSIANN-CCS) is a type of QPE technology based on satellites that has achieved broad research results worldwide. However, only a few studies on PERSIANN-CCS QPEs have occurred in large karst basins, and the accuracy is generally poor in terms of practical applications. This paper studied the feasibility of coupling a fully physically based distributed hydrological model, i.e., the Liuxihe model, with PERSIANN-CCS QPEs for predicting floods in a large river basin, i.e., the Liujiang karst river basin, which has a watershed area of 58 270 km-2, in southern China. The model structure and function require further refinement to suit the karst basins. For instance, the sub-basins in this paper are divided into many karst hydrology response units (KHRUs) to ensure that the model structure is adequately refined for karst areas. In addition, the convergence of the underground runoff calculation method within the original Liuxihe model is changed to suit the karst water-bearing media, and the Muskingum routing method is used in the model to calculate the underground runoff in this study. Additionally, the epikarst zone, as a distinctive structure of the KHRU, is carefully considered in the model. The result of the QPEs shows that compared with the observed precipitation measured by a rain gauge, the distribution of precipitation predicted by the PERSIANN-CCS QPEs was very similar. However, the quantity of precipitation predicted by the PERSIANN-CCS QPEs was smaller. A post-processing method is proposed to revise the products of the PERSIANN-CCS QPEs. The karst flood simulation results show that coupling the post-processed PERSIANN-CCS QPEs with the Liuxihe model has a better performance relative to the result based on the initial PERSIANN-CCS QPEs. Moreover, the performance of the coupled model largely improves with parameter re-optimization via the post-processed PERSIANN-CCS QPEs. The average values of the six evaluation indices change as follows: the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient increases by 14 %, the correlation coefficient increases by 15 %, the process relative error decreases by 8 %, the peak flow relative error decreases by 18 %, the water balance coefficient increases by 8 %, and the peak flow time error displays a 5 h decrease. Among these parameters, the peak flow relative error shows the greatest improvement; thus, these parameters are of page1506 the greatest concern for flood prediction. The rational flood simulation results from the coupled model provide a great practical application prospect for flood prediction in large karst river basins
Collective Flow Distributions and Nuclear Stopping in Heavy-ion Collisions at AGS, SPS and RHIC
We study the production of proton, antiproton and net-proton at \AGS, \SPS
and \RHIC within the framework non-uniform flow model(NUFM) in this paper. It
is found that the system of RHIC has stronger longitudinally non-uniform
feature than AGS and SPS, which means that nuclei at RHIC energy region is much
more transparent. The NUFM model provides a very good description of all proton
rapidity at whole AGS, SPS and RHIC. It is shown that our analysis relates
closely to the study of nuclear stopping and longitudinally non-uniform flow
distribution of experiment. This comparison with AGS and SPS help us to
understand the feature of particle stopping of thermal freeze-out at RHIC
experiment.Comment: 16 pages,7 figure
Origin of the X-ray Emission in the Nuclei of FR Is
We investigate the X-ray origin in FRIs using the multi-waveband high
resolution data of eight FR I sources, which have very low Eddington ratios. We
fit their multi-waveband spectrum using a coupled accretion-jet model. We find
that X-ray emission in the source with the highest L_X (~1.8*10^-4 L_Edd) is
from the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). Four sources with moderate
L_X(~several*10^-6 L_Edd) are complicated. The X-ray emission of one FR I is
from the jet, and the other three is from the sum of the jet and ADAF. The
X-ray emission in the three least luminous sources (L_X<1.0*10^-6L_Edd) is
dominated by the jet. These results roughly support the predictions of Yuan and
Cui(2005) where they predict that when the X-ray luminosity of the system is
below a critical value, the X-radiation will not be dominated by the emission
from the ADAF any longer, but by the jet. We also find that the accretion rates
in four sources must be higher than the Bondi rates, which implies that other
fuel supply (e.g., stellar winds) inside the Bondi radius should be important.Comment: 6 pages. To published in Journal of Physics, in proceedings of "The
Universe under the Microscope - Astrophysics at High Angular Resolution" (Bad
Honnef, Germany, April 2008), eds. R. Schoedel, A. Eckart, S. Pfalzner, and
E. Ro
The spectral energy distribution of galaxies at z > 2.5: Implications from the Herschel/SPIRE color-color diagram
We use the Herschel SPIRE color-color diagram to study the spectral energy
distribution (SED) and the redshift estimation of high-z galaxies. We compiled
a sample of 57 galaxies with spectroscopically confirmed redshifts and SPIRE
detections in all three bands at , and compared their average SPIRE
colors with SED templates from local and high-z libraries. We find that local
SEDs are inconsistent with high-z observations. The local calibrations of the
parameters need to be adjusted to describe the average colors of high-z
galaxies. For high-z libraries, the templates with an evolution from z=0 to 3
can well describe the average colors of the observations at high redshift.
Using these templates, we defined color cuts to divide the SPIRE color-color
diagram into different regions with different mean redshifts. We tested this
method and two other color cut methods using a large sample of 783
Herschel-selected galaxies, and find that although these methods can separate
the sample into populations with different mean redshifts, the dispersion of
redshifts in each population is considerably large. Additional information is
needed for better sampling.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The Gamma-Ray Detected Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 0323+342: Swift Monitoring and Suzaku Spectroscopy
As a radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1) detected by Fermi/LAT in
GeV -rays, 1H 0323+342 is a remarkable Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN)
showing properties characteristic of both NLS1s and blazars. Here we present
results of simultaneous X-ray and UV/optical monitoring observations on 1H
0323+342 taken with the UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and X-ray Telescope (XRT)
onboard the Swift satellite over six years from 2006. Overall, the object
showed statistically correlated variations in both the UV and X-ray bands on
timescales of years as well as on timescales of days. A deep Suzaku observation
reveals X-ray variability on timescales as short as a few tens of thousand
seconds, and an X-ray spectrum typical of Seyfert galaxies. The broad-band
spectral energy distribution, for which the data of UV and X-ray observations
taken on 2009 July 26-27 were used, can be well modeled with a simple one-zone
leptonic jet model plus accretion disk/corona emission. The latter is
predominantly responsible for the UV/optical and X-ray (0.3-10 keV) emission
and their observed variations. The correlated UV-X-ray variability on the
timescale of days is consistent with reprocessing of the X-ray radiation by the
accretion disk. The shortest timescale and large normalized excess variance of
the X-ray variability detected with Suzaku suggest a relatively small black
hole mass of the order of , consistent with the estimation based
on the broad H line in the optical.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures, in press, accepted by AJ (first submitted on
2014 July 7th
An MHD Model For Magnetar Giant Flares
Giant flares on soft gamma-ray repeaters that are thought to take place on
magnetars release enormous energy in a short time interval. Their power can be
explained by catastrophic instabilities occurring in the magnetic field
configuration and the subsequent magnetic reconnection. By analogy with the
coronal mass ejection (CME) events on the Sun, we develop a theoretical model
via an analytic approach for magnetar giant flares. In this model, the rotation
and/or displacement of the crust causes the field to twist and deform, leading
to flux rope formation in the magnetosphere and energy accumulation in the
related configuration. When the energy and helicity stored in the configuration
reach a threshold, the system loses its equilibrium, the flux rope is ejected
outward in a catastrophic way, and magnetic reconnection helps the catastrophe
develop to a plausible eruption. By taking SGR 1806 - 20 as an example, we
calculate the free magnetic energy released in such an eruptive process and
find that it is more than ergs, which is enough to power a giant
flare. The released free magnetic energy is converted into radiative energy,
kinetic energy and gravitational energy of the flux rope. We calculated the
light curves of the eruptive processes for the giant flares of SGR 1806 - 20,
SGR 0526-66 and SGR 1900+14, and compared them with the observational data. The
calculated light curves are in good agreement with the observed light curves of
giant flares.Comment: Accepted to Ap
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