Detection of off-pulse emission from PSR B0525+21 and PSR B2045-16

We report the detection of off-pulse emission from two long period pulsars PSR B0525+21 and PSR B2045-16 using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We recorded high time resolution interferometric data at 325 MHz and gated the data offline to separate the on- and off-pulse sections of the pulsar. On imaging the two temporal sections separately, we detected a point source in the off-pulse images of both the pulsars coincident with the pulsar locations in the on-pulse images. The long periods (3.75 and 1.96 s respectively) and low spin-down energies (E ~ 10exp(31) erg s-1) of the two pulsars argue against a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) origin for the off-pulse emission. The derived estimates of the ISM particle density required to drive a PWN do not support such an interpretation. A magnetospheric origin for the off-pulse emission raises questions regarding the location of the emission region, which is an important input into pulsar emission models.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

Handling of uncertain soil data with geostatistical methods for limit state considerations in geotechnics

In der Dissertation werden die Unsicherheiten von Baugrundkenngrößen für die Erstellung von geologischen Halbraummodellen auf der Grundlage geostatistischer Methoden entgegen dem bislang üblichen Herangehen mit einbezogen. Infolge der unsicheren Kenngrößen ist das abgeleitete Halbraummodell aus unsicheren geologischen Homogenbereichen zusammengesetzt. In einem probabilistischen Sicherheitsnachweis werden die unsicheren Parameter der Grenzzustandsgleichung und das unsichere geologische Modell gemeinsam betrachtet. Die geostatistischen Methoden sind unterteilt in die experimentelle und theoretische Variographie sowie das Kriging. Die Berücksichtigung von unsicheren Eingangskenngrößen für die geologische Modellbildung führt zu Variogrammfunktionen mit unsicheren Parametern. Bis zum experimentellen Variogramm sind die Variogrammparameter und deren Unsicherheit analytisch nachvollziehbar beziehungsweise abschätzbar. In den weiteren Teilschritten der geostatistischen Modellbildung ist der Einfluss unsicherer Kenngrößen auf Teilergebnisse nur numerisch nachzuvollziehen. Für die umfangreichen Simulationen stand keine Software zur Verfügung. Als Teilleistung dieser Arbeit wurde hierfür die eigenständige Anwendung „GeoStat“ erstellt. Sie ermöglicht die Berechnung und Auswertung der Fortpflanzung von Unsicherheiten auf numerischem Weg in beliebigen Teilschritten bis hin zur geologischen Modellbildung. Mit dem Übergang vom experimentellen zum theoretischen Variogramm sind wesentliche Zusammenhänge zwischen der Unsicherheit der Kenngrößen und der Unsicherheiten der Parameter für das sphärische, das exponentielle und das Gauß’sche Modell mit den Ergebnissen aus GeoStat ableitbar. Der Schwellenwert dieser Funktionen ist proportional zur relativen Kenngrößenunsicherheit. Eine Abschätzung der oberen Schranke des Schwellenwertes und dessen Unsicherheit wird angegeben. Die Reichweite ist ein charakteristischer Kennwert des Untersuchungsgebietes. Die Parameterunsicherheiten der Variogrammfunktionen wirken sich in Relation zur Kenngrößenunsicherheit nur gering auf den Prognosewert am unbeprobten Ort infolge des Kriging aus. Die Varianz des Prognosewertes ist geringer als die Kenngrößenvarianzen, aber nicht vernachlässigbar klein. Es ist grundsätzlich zu unterscheiden, ob die Kenngrößenvarianzen ausschließlich durch unsichere Parameter der theoretischen Variogrammfunktion repräsentiert oder deren Eigenvarianzen zusätzlich im Kriging berücksichtigt werden. Mit der alleinigen Berücksichtigung der unsicheren theoretischen Variogrammparameter wird die Standardabweichung der Krigingprognose unterschätzt. Sie haben maßgeblichen Einfluss auf die Krigingvarianz als Modellvarianz und deren Standardabweichung. Mit der Einbeziehung der Kenngrößenunsicherheiten kann die Standardabweichung der Prognose realistischer simuliert werden. Sie hat keinen direkten Einfluss auf die Krigingvarianz. Der abgeleitete Unsicherheitsplot, ein Resultat dieser Arbeit, kombiniert die Modellunsicherheit des Krigings und die Varianz des Prognosewertes im unbeprobten Untersuchungsgebiet auf der Grundlage des Varianzenfortpflanzungsgesetzes. Für geotechnische Sicherheitsnachweise ist neben der Informationsdichte auch die Optimierung des geologischen Modells wesentlich. Dieses ist vom auszuwertenden Grenzzustand auf der Grundlage eines Sicherheitsnachweises abhängig, so dass vor der geostatistischen Baugrundmodellierung die Sensitivität der in den Grenzzustand eingehenden Kenngrößen zu untersuchen ist. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass die Erhöhung der Datengesamtheit für die geologische Modellbildung nur dann sinnvoll ist, wenn parallel die Unsicherheit der relevanten Kenngrößen im Sicherheitsnachweis innerhalb der unsicheren Homogenbereiche reduziert wird. Für den Referenzstandort führen äquivalent zur Berücksichtigung der unsicheren Steifemoduln die unsicheren Halbraummodelle zur erheblichen Zunahme der erforderlichen Fundamentabmessungen. Die Unsicherheit der Steifemoduln war maßgebender als die Unsicherheiten des Halbraummodells, obwohl die Datenbasis für die geostatistische Modellierung gering war. Bisher werden in probabilistischen Sicherheitsnachweisen zwar unsichere Kenngrößen, jedoch deterministische geologische Modelle betrachtet. Die unsicheren Kenngrößen innerhalb der Homogenbereiche eines geologischen Modells haben im aufgezeigten Sicherheitsnachweis zwar den maßgebenden Einfluss, doch sind die Unsicherheiten im geologischen Modell nicht zu vernachlässigen. Wege und Grenzen der Berücksichtigung dieses kombinierten Einflusses werden mit dieser Arbeit untersucht und aufgezeigt. Das Anwendungsbeispiel zeigt, dass die optimale geologische Modellbildung spezifisch für den Sicherheitsnachweis vorzunehmen ist. Werden die Unsicherheiten der Kenngrößen innerhalb der Homogenbereiche und unsicheren geologischen Modelle berücksichtigt, wird ein schärferes Abbild der Realität erreicht.In this dissertation uncertain soil data will be considerated as basis for the preparation of geological semispace models using geostatistical methods. As consequence of uncertain characteristic quantities the derived semispace model is composed of uncertain geological homogeneous layers. The uncertain parameters inside the limit state assumption and the uncertain semispace model will be combined for evaluations of an exemplary probabilistic limit state. The geostatistical methods can be subdivided in experimental variogram, theoretical variogram and kriging. The consideration of uncertain input values results in variogram functions with uncertain parameters. In the beginning the uncertainties can be described analytically. In general only numerical methods can be used for further analyses. For the necessary extensive range of simulations no suitable software applications exist. Hence as part of the dissertation the application “GeoStat” was developed. It enabled the calculation and evaluation of the uncertainty propagation in any sections. The parameter uncertainties of the variogram functions in relationship to the uncertainties of the characteristic values are normally secondary, but they can’t be neglected. It is to distinguish whether the uncertainty of the characteristic values will be considerated directly or trough the uncertain parameter of the theoretical variogram function. The latter assumption underestimates the variance of the kriging results. But the integration of the characteristic value uncertainty enables a better projection of the reality. Subsequently in the uncertainty plot as one result of the dissertation the model uncertainty (the krigingvariance) and the uncertainty of the kriging prognosis were combined. For geotechnical calculations is beside the information density also the optimization of the geological model essential. This depends on the chosen limit state function. Therefore in front of the geostatistical subsoil modelling the sensitivity of each integrated parameter is to investigate. It could be shown that the enlargement of the available soil data set is only useful when parallel the uncertainty of the relevant characteristic quantities will be reduced. Up to now in probabilistic limit state analyses the uncertain quantities will be considerated in connection with discrete subsoil models. The uncertain quantities inside the homogenous layers are dominant but the uncertainties of the semispace model are not negligible. Directions and borders in consideration of the combined influence were investigated. The example underlined that an optimal geological modelling depends from the chosen limit state assumption as well as the combined handling of uncertain characteristic values with uncertain homogeneous models lead to a better projection of reality

2018 Bird Strike Committee USA Meeting

Offshore Aviation in Brazil Since1980 Air passenger and cargo transport to offshore platforms began in the 1980s. The largest customer in Brazil is PETROBRAS, which ranked fifth in 2011 among the largest publicly traded oil companies in the world. Air passenger and Cargo Transport Medical Evacuation Helicopter Maintenance Helicopter Transport of External Cargo

Non-rigidity of spherical inversive distance circle packings

We give a counterexample of Bowers-Stephenson's conjecture in the spherical case: spherical inversive distance circle packings are not determined by their inversive distances.Comment: 6 pages, one pictur

Climatic induced changes of radiological and chemical properties in an uranium tailing deposit – Equipment and first results -

Monitoring systems usually used to control tailings, primarily pore water pressure gages and observation wells, are not self evidently representative for mechanical considerations. Therefore an effective risk assessment and risk management is necessary to get additional information to determine indicators for critical situations. Several tailings observations showed an alteration in chemical and radiological parameters during rising saturation induced by climatic changes. These parameters are appropriate to stress indices. A systematically research on correlations between changes in stress indices and the phreatic surface is part of the research activities of the Bauhaus University in Weimar. The contribution presents the principle of this kind of monitoring, the soil mechanical background, details of the equipment and first results

Kinetic and Dynamic Delaunay tetrahedralizations in three dimensions

We describe the implementation of algorithms to construct and maintain three-dimensional dynamic Delaunay triangulations with kinetic vertices using a three-simplex data structure. The code is capable of constructing the geometric dual, the Voronoi or Dirichlet tessellation. Initially, a given list of points is triangulated. Time evolution of the triangulation is not only governed by kinetic vertices but also by a changing number of vertices. We use three-dimensional simplex flip algorithms, a stochastic visibility walk algorithm for point location and in addition, we propose a new simple method of deleting vertices from an existing three-dimensional Delaunay triangulation while maintaining the Delaunay property. The dual Dirichlet tessellation can be used to solve differential equations on an irregular grid, to define partitions in cell tissue simulations, for collision detection etc.Comment: 29 pg (preprint), 12 figures, 1 table Title changed (mainly nomenclature), referee suggestions included, typos corrected, bibliography update

Studies of the horizontal inhomogeneities in NO2 concentrations above a shipping lane using ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements and validation with airborne imaging DOAS measurements

This study describes a novel application of an “onion-peeling” approach to multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements of shipping emissions aiming at investigating the strong horizontal inhomogeneities in NO2 over a shipping lane. To monitor ship emissions on the main shipping route towards the port of Hamburg, a two-channel (UV and visible) MAX-DOAS instrument was deployed on the island Neuwerk in the German Bight, 6–7 km south of the main shipping lane. Utilizing the fact that the effective light path length in the atmosphere depends systematically on wavelength, simultaneous measurements and DOAS retrievals in the UV and visible spectral ranges are used to probe air masses at different horizontal distances to the instrument to estimate two-dimensional pollutant distributions. Two case studies have been selected to demonstrate the ability to derive the approximate plume positions in the observed area. A situation with northerly wind shows high NO2 concentrations close to the measurement site and low values in the north of the shipping lane. The opposite situation with southerly wind, unfavorable for the on-site in situ instrumentation, demonstrates the ability to detect enhanced NO2 concentrations several kilometers away from the instrument. Using a Gaussian plume model, in-plume NO2 volume mixing ratios can be derived from the MAX-DOAS measurements. For validation, a comparison to airborne imaging DOAS measurements during the NOSE campaign in July 2013 is performed, showing good agreement between the approximate plume position derived from the onion-peeling MAX-DOAS and the airborne measurements as well as between the derived in-plume NO2 volume mixing ratios (VMRs)

Polariton bandstructure of disordered metallic photonic crystal slabs

We analyze the influence of disorder on the polaritonic bandstructure of metallic photonic crystal slabs. Different disorder types with varying next-neighbor correlations and disorder amounts are implemented. Angle-resolved transmission measurements allow to determine the relation of bandstructure and disorder. It is found that uncorrelated disorder retains the bandstructure and only reduces the splitting between the gaps. Correlated disorder, however, leads to the complete destruction of the bandstructure for moderate disorder amounts due to the excitation of different modes. We present a model that shows a good agreement with the measurements

The subpulse modulation properties of pulsars at 92 cm and the frequency dependence of subpulse modulation

A large sample of pulsars has been observed to study their subpulse modulation at an observing wavelength (when achievable) of both 21 and 92 cm using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. In this paper we present the 92-cm data and a comparison is made with the already published 21-cm results. We analysed 191 pulsars at 92 cm using fluctuation spectra. The sample of pulsars is as unbiased as possible towards any particular pulsar characteristics. For 15 pulsars drifting subpulses are discovered for the first time and 26 of the new drifters found in the 21-cm data are confirmed. We discovered nulling for 8 sources and 8 pulsars are found to intermittently emit single pulses that have pulse energies similar to giant pulses. It is estimated that at least half of the total population of pulsars have drifting subpulses when observations with a high enough signal-to-noise ratio would be available. It could well be that the drifting subpulse mechanism is an intrinsic property of the emission mechanism itself, although for some pulsars it is difficult or impossible to detect. Drifting subpulses are in general found at both frequencies, although the chance of detecting drifting subpulses is possibly slightly higher at 92 cm. It appears that the youngest pulsars have the most disordered subpulses and the subpulses become more and more organized into drifting subpulses as the pulsar ages. The correlations with the modulation indices are argued to be consistent with the picture in which the radio emission can be divided in a drifting subpulse signal plus a quasi-steady signal which becomes, on average, stronger at high observing frequencies. The measured values of P3 at the two frequencies are highly correlated, but there is no evidence for a correlation with other pulsar parameters.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, astro-ph version is missing 191 figures due to file size restrictions. Please download the appendix from http://www.astron.nl/~stappers/wiki/doku.php?id=resources:publication

Modeling the Sources and Chemistry of Polar Tropospheric Halogens (Cl, Br, and I) Using the CAM-Chem Global Chemistry-Climate Model

31 pags., 12 figs., 6 tabs. -- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0. -- jame20925-sup-0001_Supporting_Information.pdfCurrent chemistry climate models do not include polar emissions and chemistry of halogens. This work presents the first implementation of an interactive polar module into the very short-lived (VSL) halogen version of the Community Atmosphere Model with Chemistry (CAM-Chem) model. The polar module includes photochemical release of molecular bromine, chlorine, and interhalogens from the sea-ice surface, and brine diffusion of iodine biologically produced underneath and within porous sea-ice. It also includes heterogeneous recycling of inorganic halogen reservoirs deposited over fresh sea-ice surfaces and snow-covered regions. The polar emission of chlorine, bromine, and iodine reach approximately 32, 250, and 39 Gg/year for Antarctica and 33, 271, and 4 Gg/year for the Arctic, respectively, with a marked seasonal cycle mainly driven by sunlight and sea-ice coverage. Model results are validated against polar boundary layer measurements of ClO, BrO, and IO, and satellite BrO and IO columns. This validation includes satellite observations of IO over inner Antarctica for which an iodine “leapfrog” mechanism is proposed to transport active iodine from coastal source regions to the interior of the continent. The modeled chlorine and bromine polar sources represent up to 45% and 80% of the global biogenic VSL and VSL emissions, respectively, while the Antarctic sea-ice iodine flux is ~10 times larger than that from the Southern Ocean. We present the first estimate of the contribution of polar halogen emissions to the global tropospheric halogen budget. CAM-Chem includes now a complete representation of halogen sources and chemistry from pole-to-pole and from the Earth's surface up to the stratopause.This study has been funded by the European Research Council Executive Agency under the European Union′s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program (Project “ERC‐2016‐COG 726349 CLIMAHAL”) and supported by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) of Spain. Computing resources, support, and data storage are provided and maintained by the Computational and Information System Laboratory from the National Center of Atmospheric Research (CISL,2017). R. P. F. would like to thank CONICET, ANPCyT (PICT 2015‐0714), UNCuyo (SeCTyP M032/3853), and UTN (PID 4920‐194/2018) for the financial support. Partial funding for this work was provided by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) project (PE18200). The contributions of the University of Bremen have been supported by the State of Bremen, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Aerospace (DLR), and the European Space Agency (ESA). We gratefully acknowledge the funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) —Projektnummer 268020496—TRR 172, within the Transregional Collaborative Research Center “ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes,and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3 ” in subproject C03 as well as the support by the University of Bremen Institutional Strategy Measure M8 in the framework of the DFG Excellence Initiative