Two-temperature coronal flow above a thin disk

We extended the disk corona model (Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister 1994; Meyer, Liu, & Meyer-Hofmeister 2000a) to the inner region of galactic nuclei by including different temperatures in ions and electrons as well as Compton cooling. We found that the mass evaporation rate and hence the fraction of accretion energy released in the corona depend strongly on the rate of incoming mass flow from outer edge of the disk, a larger rate leading to more Compton cooling, less efficient evaporation and a weaker corona. We also found a strong dependence on the viscosity, higher viscosity leading to an enhanced mass flow in the corona and therefore more evaporation of gas from the disk below. If we take accretion rates in units of the Eddington rate our results become independent on the mass of the central black hole. The model predicts weaker contributions to the hard X-rays for objects with higher accretion rate like narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s), in agreement with observations. For luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) strong Compton cooling in the innermost corona is so efficient that a large amount of additional heating is required to maintain the corona above the thin disk.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. ApJ accepte

Effects of Crust Ingestion on Mixer Pump Performance in Tank

In August 1999, a workshop was held at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to discuss the effects of crust ingestion on mixer pump performance in Hanford Waste Tank 241-SY-101. The main purpose of the workshop was to evaluate the potential for crust ingestion to degrade mixing and/or damage the mixer pump. The need for a previously determined 12-inch separation between the top of the mixer pump inlet and the crust base was evaluated. Participants included a representative from the pump manufacturer, an internationally known expert in centrifugal pump theory, Hanford scientists and engineers, and operational specialists representing relevant fields of expertise. The workshop focused on developing an understanding of the pump design, addressing the physics of entrainment of solids and gases into the pump, and assessing the effects of solids and gases on pump performance. The major conclusions are summarized as follows: * Entrainment of a moderate amount of solids or gas from the crust should not damage the pump or reduce its lifetime, though mixing effectiveness will be somewhat reduced. * Air binding should not damage the pump. Vibration due to ingestion of gas, solids, and objects potentially could cause radial loads that might reduce the lifetime of bearings and seals. However, significant damage would require extreme conditions not associated with the small bubbles, fine solids, and chunks of relatively weak material typical of the crust. * The inlet duct extension opening, 235 inches from the tank bottom, should be considered the pump inlet, not the small gap at 262 inches. * A suction vortex exists at the inlet of all pumps. The characteristics of the inlet suction vortex in the mixer pump are very hard to predict, but its effects likely extend upward several feet. Because of this, the current 12-inch limit should be replaced with criteria based on actual monitored pump performance. The most obvious criterion (in addition to current operational constraints) is to monitor discharge pressure and cease pump operation if it falls below a predetermined amount. * There are no critically necessary tests to prove pump operability or performance before initiating the transfer and back-dilution sequence

Polarization observables in the longitudinal basis for pseudo-scalar meson photoproduction using a density matrix approach

The complete expression for the intensity in pseudo-scalar meson photoproduction with a polarized beam, target, and recoil baryon is derived using a density matrix approach that offers great economy of notation. A Cartesian basis with spins for all particles quantized along a single direction, the longitudinal beam direction, is used for consistency and clarity in interpretation. A single spin-quantization axis for all particles enables the amplitudes to be written in a manifestly covariant fashion with simple relations to those of the well-known CGLN formalism. Possible sign discrepancies between theoretical amplitude-level expressions and experimentally measurable intensity profiles are dealt with carefully. Our motivation is to provide a coherent framework for coupled-channel partial-wave analysis of several meson photoproduction reactions, incorporating recently published and forthcoming polarization data from Jefferson Lab.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Quantum entanglement distribution with 810 nm photons through telecom fibers

We demonstrate the distribution of polarization entangled photons of wavelength 810 nm through standard telecom fibers. This technique allows quantum communication protocols to be performed over established fiber infrastructure, and makes use of the smaller and better performing setups available around 800 nm, as compared to those which use telecom wavelengths around 1550 nm. We examine the excitation and subsequent quenching of higher-order spatial modes in telecom fibers up to 6 km in length, and perform a distribution of high quality entanglement (visibility 95.6%). Finally, we demonstrate quantum key distribution using entangled 810 nm photons over a 4.4 km long installed telecom fiber link.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

An Improbable Solution to the Underluminosity of 2M1207B: A Hot Protoplanet Collision Afterglow

We introduce an alternative hypothesis to explain the very low luminosity of the cool (L-type) companion to the ~25 M_Jup ~8 Myr-old brown dwarf 2M1207A. Recently, Mohanty et al. (2007) found that effective temperature estimates for 2M1207B (1600 +- 100 K) are grossly inconsistent with its lying on the same isochrone as the primary, being a factor of ~10 underluminous at all bands between I (0.8 um) and L' (3.6 um). Mohanty et al. explain this discrepency by suggesting that 2M1207B is an 8 M_Jup object surrounded by an edge-on disk comprised of large dust grains producing 2.5^m of achromatic extinction. We offer an alternative explanation: the apparent flux reflects the actual source luminosity. Given the temperature, we infer a small radius (~49,000 km), and for a range of plausible densities, we estimate a mass < M_Jup. We suggest that 2M1207B is a hot protoplanet collision afterglow and show that the radiative timescale for such an object is >~1% the age of the system. If our hypothesis is correct, the surface gravity of 2M1207B should be an order of magnitude lower than predicted by Mohanty et al. (2007).Comment: ApJ Letters, in press (11 pages