494 research outputs found
Models and Fréchet kernels for frequency-(in)dependent Q
We present a new method for the modelling of frequency-dependent and frequency-independent Q in time-domain seismic wave propagation. Unlike previous approaches, attenuation models are constructed such that Q as a function of position in the Earth appears explicitly as a parameter in the equations of motion. This feature facilitates the derivation of Fréchet kernels for Q using adjoint techniques. Being simple products of the forward strain field and the adjoint memory variables, these kernels can be computed with no additional cost, compared to Fréchet kernels for elastic properties. The same holds for Fréchet kernels for the power-law exponent of frequency-dependent Q, that we derive as well. To illustrate our developments, we present examples from regional- and global-scale time-domain wave propagatio
Seismic wave propagation in fully anisotropic axisymmetric media
We present a numerical method to compute 3-D elastic waves in fully anisotropic axisymmetric media. This method is based on a decomposition of the wave equation into a series of uncoupled 2-D equations for which the dependence of the wavefield on the azimuth can be solved analytically. Four independent equations up to quadrupole order appear as solutions for moment-tensor sources located on the symmetry axis while single forces can be accommodated by two separate solutions up to dipole order. This decomposition gives rise to an efficient solution of the 3-D wave equation in a 2-D axisymmetric medium. First, we prove the validity of the decomposition of the wavefield in the presence of general anisotropy. Then we use it to derive the reduced 2-D equations of motions and discretize them using the spectral element method. Finally, we benchmark the numerical implementation for global wave propagation at 1 Hz and consider inner core anisotropy as an application for high-frequency wave propagation in anisotropic media at frequencies up to 2 H
Optimized viscoelastic wave propagation for weakly dissipative media
The representation of viscoelastic media in the time domain becomes more challenging with greater bandwidth of the propagating waves and number of travelled wavelengths. With the continuously increasing computational power, more extreme parameter regimes become accessible, which requires the reassessment and improvement of the standard ‘memory variable' methods to implement attenuation in time-domain seismic wave-propagation methods. In this paper, we propose a method to minimize the error in the wavefield for a fixed complexity of the anelastic medium. This method consists of defining an appropriate misfit criterion based on a first-order analysis of how errors in the discretized medium propagate into errors in the wavefield and a simulated annealing optimization scheme to find the globally optimal parametrization. Furthermore, we derive an analytical time-stepping scheme for the memory variables that encode the strain history of the medium. Then we develop the coarse grained memory variable approach for the spectral element method (SEM) and benchmark it using the 2.5-D code AxiSEM for global body waves up to 1 Hz. Showing very good agreement with a reference solution, it also leads to a speedup of a factor of 5 in the anelastic part of the code (factor 2 in total) in this 2.5-D approach. A factor of ≈15 (3 in total) can be expected for the 3-D case compared to conventional implementation
Strain rotation coupling and its implications on the measurement of rotational ground motions
Spatial derivatives of the seismic wave field are known to be sensitive to various site effects (e.g., cavity effects, topography, and geological inhomogeneities). In this study, the focus is on strain rotation coupling that can cause significant differences between point measurements compared to array-derived rotational motions. The strain rotation coupling constants are estimated based on finite element simulations for inhomogeneous media as well as for the 3D topography around Wettzell, Germany (the location of the G ring laser). Using collocated array and ring laser data, the coupling constants of the ring laser itself are shown to be small. Several examples are shown to illustrate the order of magnitude that strain-induced rotation might have on the seismograms in the near field of volcanoes as well as in the far field and in the low-frequency spectrum (free oscillations
The Westerbork HI Survey of spiral and irregular galaxies III: HI observations of early-type disk galaxies
We present HI observations of 68 early-type disk galaxies from the WHISP
survey. They have morphological types between S0 and Sab and absolute B-band
magnitudes between -14 and -22. These galaxies form the massive, high
surface-brightness extreme of the disk galaxy population, few of which have
been imaged in HI before.
The HI properties of the galaxies in our sample span a large range; the
average values of M_HI/L_B and D_HI/D_25 are comparable to the ones found in
later-type spirals, but the dispersions around the mean are larger. No
significant differences are found between the S0/S0a and the Sa/Sab galaxies.
Our early-type disk galaxies follow the same HI mass-diameter relation as
later-type spiral galaxies, but their effective HI surface densities are
slightly lower than those found in later-type systems.
In some galaxies, distinct rings of HI emission coincide with regions of
enhanced star formation, even though the average gas densities are far below
the threshold of star formation derived by Kennicutt (1989). Apparently,
additional mechanisms, as yet unknown, regulate star formation at low surface
densities.
Many of the galaxies in our sample have lopsided gas morphologies; in most
cases this can be linked to recent or ongoing interactions or merger events.
Asymmetries are rare in quiescent galaxies. Kinematic lopsidedness is rare,
both in interacting and isolated systems.
In the appendix, we present an atlas of the HI observations: for all galaxies
we show HI surface density maps, global profiles, velocity fields and radial
surface density profiles.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. A version with
the full atlas can be downloaded from
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~edo/WHISPIII.ps.gz (gzipped postscript, 9.3Mb
The Cold and Hot Gas Content of Fine-Structure E and S0 Galaxies
We investigate trends of the cold and hot gas content of early-type galaxies
with the presence of optical morphological peculiarities, as measured by the
fine-structure index (Sigma). HI mapping observations from the literature are
used to track the cold-gas content, and archival ROSAT PSPC data are used to
quantify the hot-gas content. We find that E and S0 galaxies with a high
incidence of optical peculiarities are exclusively X-ray underluminous and,
therefore, deficient in hot gas. In contrast, more relaxed galaxies with little
or no signs of optical peculiarities span a wide range of X-ray luminosities.
That is, the X-ray excess anticorrelates with Sigma. There appears to be no
similar trend of cold-gas content with either fine-structure index or X-ray
content. The fact that only apparently relaxed E and S0 galaxies are strong
X-ray emitters is consistent with the hypothesis that after strong disturbances
such as a merger hot-gas halos build up over a time scale of several gigayears.
This is consistent with the expected mass loss from stars.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in A
The Contribution of HI-Rich Galaxies to the Damped Absorber Population at z=0
We present a study of HI-rich galaxies in the local universe selected from
blind emission-line surveys. These galaxies represent the emission-line
counterparts of local damped Lyman-alpha systems. We find that the HI
cross-section of galaxies is drawn from a large range of galaxy masses below
M_star, 66% of the area comes from galaxies in the range 8.5 < Log M_star <
9.7. Both because of the low mass galaxy contribution, and because of the range
of galaxy types and luminosities at any given HI mass, the galaxies
contributing to the HI cross-section are not exclusively L_star spirals, as is
often expected. The optical and near infrared counterparts of these galaxies
cover a range of types (from spirals to irregulars), luminosities (from L_star
to <0.01 L_star), and surface brightnesses. The range of optical and near
infrared properties as well as the kinematics for this population are
consistent with the properties for the low-z damped Lyman-alpha absorbers. We
also show that the number of HI-rich galaxies in the local universe does not
preclude evolution of the low-z damped absorber population, but it is
consistent with no evolution.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. To appear in "Extragalactic Gas at Low Redshift"
(ASP Conf. Series, Weymann Conf.
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