4,473 research outputs found
Dynamics of the Young Binary LMC Cluster NGC 1850
In this paper we have examined the age and internal dynamics of the young
binary LMC cluster NGC 1850 using BV CCD images and echelle spectra of 52
supergiants. Isochrone fits to a BV color-magnitude diagram revealed that the
primary cluster has an age of Myr while the secondary member
has Myr. BV surface brightness profiles were constructed out
to R 40 pc, and single-component King-Michie (KM) models were applied. The
total cluster luminosity varied from L = 2.60 - 2.65
L\sol\ and L = 1.25 - 1.35 as the anisotropy radius
varied from infinity to three times the scale radius with the isotropic models
providing the best agreement with the data. Of the 52 stars with echelle
spectra, a subset of 36 were used to study the cluster dynamics. The KM radial
velocity distributions were fitted to these velocities yielding total cluster
masses of 5.4 - 5.9 M\sol\ corresponding to M/L =
0.02 M\sol/L\sol\ or M/L = 0.05 M\sol/L\sol.
A rotational signal in the radial velocities has been detected at the 93\%
confidence level implying a rotation axis at a position angle of 100\deg. A
variety of rotating models were fit to the velocity data assuming cluster
ellipticities of . These models provided slightly better
agreement with the radial velocity data than the KM models and had masses that
were systematically lower by a few percent. The preferred value for the slope
of a power-law IMF is a relatively shallow, x = 0.29 \pmm{+0.3}{-0.8}
assuming the B-band M/L or x = 0.71 \pmm{+0.2}{-0.4} for the V-band.Comment: 41 pages (figures available via anonymous FTP as described below
On the Path-Integral Derivation of the Anomaly for the Hermitian Equivalent of the Complex -Symmetric Quartic Hamiltonian
It can be shown using operator techniques that the non-Hermitian
-symmetric quantum mechanical Hamiltonian with a "wrong-sign" quartic
potential is equivalent to a Hermitian Hamiltonian with a positive
quartic potential together with a linear term. A naive derivation of the same
result in the path-integral approach misses this linear term. In a recent paper
by Bender et al. it was pointed out that this term was in the nature of a
parity anomaly and a more careful, discretized treatment of the path integral
appeared to reproduce it successfully. However, on re-examination of this
derivation we find that a yet more careful treatment is necessary, keeping
terms that were ignored in that paper. An alternative, much simpler derivation
is given using the additional potential that has been shown to appear whenever
a change of variables to curvilinear coordinates is made in a functional
integral.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, no figure
Ca impurity in small mixed He-He clusters
The structure of small mixed helium clusters doped with one calcium atom has
been determined within the diffusion Monte Carlo framework. The results show
that the calcium atom sits at the He-He interface. This is in agreement
with previous studies, both experimental and theoretical, performed for large
clusters. A comparison between the results obtained for the largest cluster we
have considered for each isotope shows a clear tendency of the Ca atom to
reside in a deep dimple at the surface of the cluster for He clusters, and
to become fully solvated for He clusters. We have calculated the absorption
spectrum of Ca around the transition and have found that
it is blue-shifted from that of the free-atom transition by an amount that
depends on the size and composition of the cluster.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures. Accepted on Journal of Chemical Physic
Desorption Dynamics of Heavy Alkali Metal Atoms (Rb, Cs) off the Surface of Helium Nanodroplets
We present a combined ion imaging and density functional theory study of the
dynamics of the desorption process of rubidium and cesium atoms off the surface
of helium nanodroplets upon excitation of the perturbed and states,
respectively. Both experimental and theoretical results are well represented by
the pseudodiatomic model for effective masses of the helium droplet in the
desorption reaction of m_eff/m_He~10 (Rb) and 13 (Cs). Deviations from this
model are found for Rb excited to the 6p state. Photoelectron spectra indicate
that the dopant-droplet interaction induces relaxation into low-lying
electronic states of the desorbed atoms in the course of the ejection process.Comment: in press, J. Phys. Chem. A (2014
Utility of stabilized nitrogen fertilizers to reduce nitrate leaching under optimal management practices
Background: The inadequate application of nitrogen (N) to crops has increased the reactive N in the atmosphere and in the surface and ground waters. Stabilized N-fertilizers with nitrification (NI) and urease (UI) inhibitors have been proposed to reduce these environmental problems without affecting or even increasing crop productivity.
Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate, in a maize–maize–wheat rotation, if the use of the NI 3, 4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and the UIs N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and monocarbamide dihydrogen sulfate (MCDHS) reduces N leaching without compromising yield under optimal management of N and water.
Methods: The experiment was conducted in 24 drainage lysimeters with two soil types with contrasting water holding capacity under Mediterranean irrigated conditions. The fertilizer treatments were urea, urea with DMPP, urea with NBPT, and urea with MCDHS. For the maize crop, conventional fertilizer application was split into 6- and 13-leaf stages, whereas stabilized fertilizers were applied as a single application at the 6-leaf stage. All fertilizer treatments were applied at late tillering in the wheat crop.
Results: The soil mineral N was measured at the beginning and the end of each crop season, but no differences were found among fertilizer treatments. Differences in the volume of water drained or the cumulative mass of nitrate depending on the fertilizer were not significant (three-year treatment average of 200 L m-2 and 22 kg N ha-1 in the Deep soil, and 334 L m-2 and 40 kg N ha-1 in the Shallow type, respectively). No consistent significant differences were found in agronomic parameters (chlorophyll measurements, yield, and total N uptake) between the fertilizer treatments.
Conclusion: Based on the results, the use of stabilized N-fertilizer could be recommended to reduce the number of N applications in maize without compromising grain yield but with no advantages to reduce nitrate-leaching losses if N rates are managed properly under efficient irrigation management practices
A simple methodology to estimate plant volume in nitrous oxide emission studies
Closed-chamber methodology is widely used for the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agricultural systems. The volume displaced by plants inside chambers influences GHG flux estimation, although generally it is not discounted from chamber headspace in the calculation. A novel image analysis–based procedure is proposed to estimate plant volume and to assess its impact on nitrous oxide (N2O) flux estimations in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Rimbaud’) crop. A maximum of 2.2% of the 13-L chambers was displaced by plants, leading to a systematic 0.9% overestimation in cumulative N2O emissions if plant volume was not considered. Thus, plant canopy volume should be taken into account for improving the accuracy of emissions
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