243 research outputs found
Ocean-rafted pumice constrains postglacial relative sea-level and supports Holocene ice cap survival
Distally deposited tephra from explosive volcanic eruptions can be a powerful tool for precise dating and correlation of sedimentary archives and landforms. However, the morphostratigraphic and chronological potential of ocean-rafted pumice has been under-utilized considering its long observational history and widespread distribution on modern and palaeo-shorelines around the world. Here we analyze the geochemical composition and elevation data of 60 samples of ocean-rafted pumice collected since 1958 from raised beaches on Svalbard. Comparison of pumice data with postglacial relative sea-level history suggests eight distinct pumice rafting events throughout the North Atlantic during the Middle and Late Holocene. Analyzed ocean-rafted pumice exhibit consistent silicic composition characteristic of deposits from Iceland’s volcanic system, Katla. Eruption-triggered jökulhlaups are key drivers of the transport of pumice from the Katla caldera to beyond the coast of Iceland and into the surface currents of the North Atlantic Ocean. Thus, the correlation of distinct, high-concentration pumice horizons from Katla deposited along raised Middle Holocene beach ridges in Svalbard further advocates for the persistence of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap through the Holocene thermal maximum
“Trunk-like” heavy ion structures observed by the Van Allen Probes
Dynamic ion spectral features in the inner magnetosphere are the observational signatures of ion acceleration, transport, and loss in the global magnetosphere. We report “trunk-like” ion structures observed by the Van Allen Probes on 2 November 2012. This new type of ion structure looks like an elephant's trunk on an energy-time spectrogram, with the energy of the peak flux decreasing Earthward. The trunks are present in He+ and O+ ions but not in H+. During the event, ion energies in the He+ trunk, located at L = 3.6–2.6, magnetic local time (MLT) = 9.1–10.5, and magnetic latitude (MLAT) = −2.4–0.09°, vary monotonically from 3.5 to 0.04 keV. The values at the two end points of the O+ trunk are energy = 4.5–0.7 keV, L = 3.6–2.5, MLT = 9.1–10.7, and MLAT = −2.4–0.4°. Results from backward ion drift path tracings indicate that the trunks are likely due to (1) a gap in the nightside ion source or (2) greatly enhanced impulsive electric fields associated with elevated geomagnetic activity. Different ion loss lifetimes cause the trunks to differ among ion species
Simultaneous solution of Kompaneets equation and Radiative Transfer equation in the photon energy range 1 - 125 KeV
Radiative transfer equation in plane parallel geometry and Kompaneets
equation is solved simultaneously to obtain theoretical spectrum of 1-125 KeV
photon energy range. Diffuse radiation field is calculated using
time-independent radiative transfer equation in plane parallel geometry, which
is developed using discrete space theory (DST) of radiative transfer in a
homogeneous medium for different optical depths. We assumed free-free emission
and absorption and emission due to electron gas to be operating in the medium.
The three terms and where is photon phase density and , in Kompaneets equation and those due to
free-free emission are utilized to calculate the change in the photon phase
density in a hot electron gas. Two types of incident radiation are considered:
(1) isotropic radiation with the modified black body radiation [1] and
(2) anisotropic radiation which is angle dependent. The emergent radiation at
and reflected radiation are calculated by using the
diffuse radiation from the medium. The emergent and reflected radiation contain
the free-free emission and emission from the hot electron gas. Kompaneets
equation gives the changes in photon phase densities in different types of
media. Although the initial spectrum is angle dependent, the Kompaneets
equation gives a spectrum which is angle independent after several Compton
scattering times.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures, Accepte
Electron transport and energy relaxation in dilute magnetic alloys
We consider the effect of the RKKY interaction between magnetic impurities on
the electron relaxation rates in a normal metal. The interplay between the RKKY
interaction and the Kondo effect may result in a non-monotonic temperature
dependence of the electron momentum relaxation rate, which determines the Drude
conductivity. The electron phase relaxation rate, which determines the
magnitude of the weak localization correction to the resistivity, is also a
non-monotonic function of temperature. For this function, we find the
dependence of the position of its maximum on the concentration of magnetic
impurities. We also relate the electron energy relaxation rate to the
excitation spectrum of the system of magnetic impurities. The energy relaxation
determines the distribution function for the out-of-equilibrium electrons.
Measurement of the electron distribution function thus may provide information
about the excitations in the spin glass phase.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Approximating a Behavioural Pseudometric without Discount for<br> Probabilistic Systems
Desharnais, Gupta, Jagadeesan and Panangaden introduced a family of
behavioural pseudometrics for probabilistic transition systems. These
pseudometrics are a quantitative analogue of probabilistic bisimilarity.
Distance zero captures probabilistic bisimilarity. Each pseudometric has a
discount factor, a real number in the interval (0, 1]. The smaller the discount
factor, the more the future is discounted. If the discount factor is one, then
the future is not discounted at all. Desharnais et al. showed that the
behavioural distances can be calculated up to any desired degree of accuracy if
the discount factor is smaller than one. In this paper, we show that the
distances can also be approximated if the future is not discounted. A key
ingredient of our algorithm is Tarski's decision procedure for the first order
theory over real closed fields. By exploiting the Kantorovich-Rubinstein
duality theorem we can restrict to the existential fragment for which more
efficient decision procedures exist
Singularities In Scalar-Tensor Cosmologies
In this article, we examine the possibility that there exist special
scalar-tensor theories of gravity with completely nonsingular FRW solutions.
Our investigation in fact shows that while most probes living in such a
Universe never see the singularity, gravity waves always do. This is because
they couple to both the metric and the scalar field, in a way which effectively
forces them to move along null geodesics of the Einstein conformal frame. Since
the metric of the Einstein conformal frame is always singular for
configurations where matter satisfies the energy conditions, the gravity wave
world lines are past inextendable beyond the Einstein frame singularity, and
hence the geometry is still incomplete, and thus singular. We conclude that the
singularity cannot be entirely removed, but only be made invisible to most, but
not all, probes in the theory.Comment: 23 pages, latex, no figure
Wavy Strings: Black or Bright?
Recent developments in string theory have brought forth a considerable
interest in time-dependent hair on extended objects. This novel new hair is
typically characterized by a wave profile along the horizon and angular
momentum quantum numbers in the transverse space. In this work, we
present an extensive treatment of such oscillating black objects, focusing on
their geometric properties. We first give a theorem of purely geometric nature,
stating that such wavy hair cannot be detected by any scalar invariant built
out of the curvature and/or matter fields. However, we show that the tidal
forces detected by an infalling observer diverge at the `horizon' of a black
string superposed with a vibration in any mode with . The same
argument applied to longitudinal () waves detects only finite tidal
forces. We also provide an example with a manifestly smooth metric, proving
that at least a certain class of these longitudinal waves have regular
horizons.Comment: 45 pages, latex, no figure
UHECR as Decay Products of Heavy Relics? The Lifetime Problem
The essential features underlying the top-down scenarii for UHECR are
discussed, namely, the stability (or lifetime) imposed to the heavy objects
(particles) whatever they be: topological and non-topological solitons,
X-particles, cosmic defects, microscopic black-holes, fundamental strings. We
provide an unified formula for the quantum decay rate of all these objects as
well as the particle decays in the standard model. The key point in the
top-down scenarii is the necessity to adjust the lifetime of the heavy object
to the age of the universe. This ad-hoc requirement needs a very high
dimensional operator to govern its decay and/or an extremely small coupling
constant. The natural lifetimes of such heavy objects are, however, microscopic
times associated to the GUT energy scale (sim 10^{-28} sec. or shorter). It is
at this energy scale (by the end of inflation) where they could have been
abundantly formed in the early universe and it seems natural that they decayed
shortly after being formed.Comment: 11 pages, LaTex, no figures, updated versio
Pion emission from the T2K replica target: method, results and application
The T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan needs precise
predictions of the initial neutrino flux. The highest precision can be reached
based on detailed measurements of hadron emission from the same target as used
by T2K exposed to a proton beam of the same kinetic energy of 30 GeV. The
corresponding data were recorded in 2007-2010 by the NA61/SHINE experiment at
the CERN SPS using a replica of the T2K graphite target. In this paper details
of the experiment, data taking, data analysis method and results from the 2007
pilot run are presented. Furthermore, the application of the NA61/SHINE
measurements to the predictions of the T2K initial neutrino flux is described
and discussed.Comment: updated version as published by NIM
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