385 research outputs found
The three-dimensional structure of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, from travel time tomography
A linear, travel time tomography study of the most active shield volcano of the world, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, was undertaken to determine the lateral heterogeneities produced by its intricate magmatic and tectonic environment. Kilauea provides an ideal setting to do tomography because of its dense seismograph array and many local earthquakes that allow excellent ray coverage of complex subsurface features. Local P wave data from ⌠12,295 events were inverted using a one-dimensional layered velocity model. Inversions were done for two cell sizes (5Ă5Ă5 km and 1Ă1Ă1 km) to resolve structural regions on different length scales. This study provided a view of the average velocity variations relative to a one-dimensional velocity model. Analysis and interpretation of the tomographic images allowed us to infer the following model. The main shallow magma reservoir is delineated by a slow velocity region southeast of the summit from 0 to 2 km depth. There is a distinct high velocity region centered northwest of the summit from 0 to 2 km depth that represents a cap of dense, intrusive dikes surrounding the magma chamber. We suggest that the shallow reservoir is a narrow, compartmentalized region of sills and dikes, centered just south-southeast of Halemaumau caldera. Below the main reservoir, the summit is imaged as a slightly fast region from 5 to 10 km in the coarse model indicating that the main conduit is structurally defined by an intrusive dike complex until about 10 km. The rift zones of Kilauea are imaged as major, high velocity entities, widening to the south with depth until 6 km. These fast anomalies are related to the sheeted dike complexes along the rifts. On a finer scale, slow anomalies suggest the presence of magma pockets centered at 0â2 km depth beneath Mauna Ulu, Makaopuhi and Puu Oo, along the east rift zone (ERZ). Two significant high velocity regions along the lower ERZ near Kalalua and Kaliu are inferred to represent intrusive barriers to magma injection along the shallow (0â4 km) ERZ conduit. The southwest rift zone may have an intrusive barrier related to a high velocity region just southwest of Mauna Iki. The Hilina and Kaoiki fault zones are imaged as slow features at shallow depths (< 5 km) related to the open fractures and scarps along the normal faults. The Koae fault system is imaged as a slightly fast shallow structure (< 6 km) possibly related to intrusive diking from the adjacent rift zones that fill and may even induce the extensional structures associated with this complex fault zone. Continued inversions with the immense amount of seismic data collected for Hawaiian events will allow the detailed development of a three-dimensional structural model for Kilauea. Such a model will be extremely useful to seismologists and petrologists alike for understanding the tectonic growth and magmatic evolution of this dynamic shield volcano
Absence of reflection as a function of the coupling constant
We consider solutions of the one-dimensional equation where is locally integrable, is integrable with supp, and
is a coupling constant. Given a family of solutions
which satisfy for all , we prove that the zeros of , the Wronskian of and , form a discrete set
unless . Setting , one sees that a particular
consequence of this result may be stated as: if the fixed energy scattering
experiment gives rise to a reflection coefficient
which vanishes on a set of couplings with an accumulation point, then .Comment: To appear in Journal of Mathematical Physic
HST Imaging Polarimetry of the Gravitational Lens FSC10214+4724
We present imaging polarimetry of the extremely luminous, redshift 2.3 IRAS
source FSC10214+4724. The observations were obtained with HST's Faint Object
Camera in the F437M filter, which is free of strong emission lines. The 0.7
arcsec long arc is unresolved to 0.04 arcsec FWHM in the transverse direction,
and has an integrated polarization of 28 +/- 3 percent, in good agreement with
ground-based observations. The polarization position angle varies along the arc
by up to 35 deg. The overall position angle is 62 +/- 3 deg east of north. No
counterimage is detected to B = 27.5 mag (), giving an observed arc to
counterimage flux ratio greater than 250, considerably greater than the flux
ratio of 100 measured previously in the I-band. This implies that the
configuration of the object in the source plane at the B-band is different from
that at I-band, and/or that the lensing galaxy is dusty.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomical
Journal, February 199
Investigating the medium range order in amorphous Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> coatings
Ion-beam sputtered amorphous heavy metal oxides, such as Ta2O5, are widely used as the high refractive index layer of highly reflective dielectric coatings. Such coatings are used in the ground based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), in which mechanical loss, directly related to Brownian thermal noise, from the coatings forms an important limit to the sensitivity of the LIGO detector. It has previously been shown that heat-treatment and TiO2 doping of amorphous Ta2O5 coatings causes significant changes to the levels of mechanical loss measured and is thought to result from changes in the atomic structure. This work aims to find ways to reduce the levels of mechanical loss in the coatings by understanding the atomic structure properties that are responsible for it, and thus helping to increase the LIGO detector sensitivity. Using a combination of Reduced Density Functions (RDFs) from electron diffraction and Fluctuation Electron Microscopy (FEM), we probe the medium range order (in the 2-3 nm range) of these amorphous coatings
Order within disorder: the atomic structure of ion-beam sputtered amorphous tantala (a-Ta2O5)
Amorphous tantala (a-Ta2O5) is a technologically important material often used in high-performance coatings. Understanding this material at the atomic level provides a way to further improve performance. This work details extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements of a-Ta2O5 coatings, where high-quality experimental data and theoretical fits have allowed a detailed interpretation of the nearest-neighbor distributions. It was found that the tantalum atom is surrounded by four shells of atoms in sequence; oxygen, tantalum, oxygen, and tantalum. A discussion is also included on how these models can be interpreted within the context of published crystalline Ta 2O5 and other a-T2O5 studies
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: The Cosmic Spectrum and Star-Formation History
We present a determination of the `Cosmic Optical Spectrum' of the Universe,
i.e. the ensemble emission from galaxies, as determined from the red-selected
Sloan Digital Sky Survey main galaxy sample and compare with previous results
of the blue-selected 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. Broadly we find good agreement
in both the spectrum and the derived star-formation histories. If we use a
power-law star-formation history model where star-formation rate out to z=1, then we find that of 2 to 3 is still the most
likely model and there is no evidence for current surveys missing large amounts
of star formation at high redshift. In particular `Fossil Cosmology' of the
local universe gives measures of star-formation history which are consistent
with direct observations at high redshift. Using the photometry of SDSS we are
able to derive the cosmic spectrum in absolute units (i.e.^{-1}^{-3}\Msun/\Lsun\omstars h = 0.0025\alpha\Msun^{-1}^{-3}$ today.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, ApJ in press (April 10th 2003
Holographic mesons in various dimensions
We calculate the spectrum of fluctuations of a probe Dk-brane in the
background of N Dp-branes, for k=p,p+2,p+4 and p< 5. The result corresponds to
the mesonic spectrum of a (p+1)-dimensional super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory
coupled to `dynamical quarks', i.e., fields in the fundamental representation
-- the latter are confined to a defect for k=p and p+2. We find a universal
behaviour where the spectrum is discrete and the mesons are deeply bound. The
mass gap and spectrum are set by the scale M ~ m_q/g_{eff}(m_q), where m_q is
the mass of the fundamental fields and g_{eff}(m_q) is the effective coupling
evaluated at the quark mass, i.e. g_{eff}^2(m_q)=g_{ym}^2 N m_q^{p-3}. We
consider the evolution of the meson spectra into the far infrared of
three-dimensional SYM, where the gravity dual lifts to M-theory. We also argue
that the mass scale appearing in the meson spectra is dictated by holography.Comment: 44 pages, 2 figures; v2: typos corrected, references adde
Order within disorder: The atomic structure of ion-beam sputtered amorphous tantala (a-Ta_2O_5)
Amorphous tantala (a-Ta_2O_5) is a technologically important material often used in high-performance coatings. Understanding this material at the atomic level provides a way to further improve performance. This work details extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements of a-Ta_2O_5 coatings, where high-quality experimental data and theoretical fits have allowed a detailed interpretation of the nearest-neighbor distributions. It was found that the tantalum atom is surrounded by four shells of atoms in sequence; oxygen, tantalum, oxygen, and tantalum. A discussion is also included on how these models can be interpreted within the context of published crystalline Ta 2O5 and other a-T_2O_5 studies
Atheisms and the purification of faith
Philosophers of religion have distinguished between ânegativeâ and âpositiveâ atheism. This article considers further conceptions of atheism, especially the idea that atheism can facilitate a faith in God purified of idolatrous assumptions. After introducing Bultmannâs contention that a âconscious atheistâ can find something transcendent in the world, this contention is interpreted through reflection on Ricoeurâs claim that the atheisms of Nietzsche and Freud serve to mediate a transition to a purified faith â a faith involving heightened receptivity to agapeic love. The troubling question of what differentiates atheism from belief in God is then discussed in the light of Simone Weilâs meditations on Godâs secret presence
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