22,885 research outputs found
SS Ari: a shallow-contact close binary system
Two CCD epochs of light minimum and a complete R light curve of SS Ari are
presented. The light curve obtained in 2007 was analyzed with the 2003 version
of the W-D code. It is shown that SS Ari is a shallow contact binary system
with a mass ratio and a degree of contact factor f=9.4(\pm0.8%). A
period investigation based on all available data shows that there may exist two
distinct solutions about the assumed third body. One, assuming eccentric orbit
of the third body and constant orbital period of the eclipsing pair results in
a massive third body with and P_3=87.00.278M_{\odot}$. Both of the cases
suggest the presence of an unseen third component in the system.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures and 5 table
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Influence of fluid temperature gradient on the flow within the shaft gap of a PLR pump
In nuclear power plants the primary-loop recirculation (PLR) pump circulates the high temperature/high-pressure coolant in order to remove the thermal energy generated within the reactor. The pump is sealed using the cold purge flow in the shaft seal gap between the rotating shaft and stationary casing, where different forms of Taylor–Couette flow instabilities develop. Due to the temperature difference between the hot recirculating water and the cold purge water (of order of 200 °C), the flow instabilities in the gap cause temperature fluctuations, which can lead to shaft or casing thermal fatigue cracks. The present work numerically investigated the influence of temperature difference and rotating speed on the structure and dynamics of the Taylor–Couette flow instabilities. The CFD solver used in this study was extensively validated against the experimental data published in the open literature. Influence of temperature difference on the fluid dynamics of Taylor vortices was investigated in this study. With large temperature difference, the structure of the Taylor vortices is greatly stretched at the interface region between the annulus gap and the lower recirculating cavity. Higher temperature difference and rotating speed induce lower fluctuating frequency and smaller circumferential wave number of Taylor vortices. However, the azimuthal wave speed remains unchanged with all the cases tested. The predicted axial location of the maximum temperature fluctuation on the shaft is in a good agreement with the experimental data, identifying the region potentially affected by the thermal fatigue. The physical understandings of such flow instabilities presented in this paper would be useful for future PLR pump design optimization
Long-term monitoring of Molonglo calibrators
Before and after every 12 hour synthesis observation, the Molonglo
Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) measures the flux densities of ~5
compact extragalactic radio sources, chosen from a list of 55 calibrators. From
1984 to 1996, the MOST made some 58 000 such measurements. We have developed an
algorithm to process this dataset to produce a light curve for each source
spanning this thirteen year period. We find that 18 of the 55 calibrators are
variable, on time scales between one and ten years. There is the tendency for
sources closer to the Galactic Plane to be more likely to vary, which suggests
that the variability is a result of refractive scintillation in the Galactic
interstellar medium. The sources with the flattest radio spectra show the
highest levels of variability, an effect possibly resulting from differing
orientations of the radio axes to the line of sight.Comment: 18 pages, 9 embedded EPS files. To appear in Publications of the
Astronomical Society of Australia. Data available electronically at
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/astrop/scan
Pattern formation in oscillatory complex networks consisting of excitable nodes
Oscillatory dynamics of complex networks has recently attracted great
attention. In this paper we study pattern formation in oscillatory complex
networks consisting of excitable nodes. We find that there exist a few center
nodes and small skeletons for most oscillations. Complicated and seemingly
random oscillatory patterns can be viewed as well-organized target waves
propagating from center nodes along the shortest paths, and the shortest loops
passing through both the center nodes and their driver nodes play the role of
oscillation sources. Analyzing simple skeletons we are able to understand and
predict various essential properties of the oscillations and effectively
modulate the oscillations. These methods and results will give insights into
pattern formation in complex networks, and provide suggestive ideas for
studying and controlling oscillations in neural networks.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
A unified approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation
This paper explores the use of a discrete singular convolution algorithm as a
unified approach for numerical integration of the Fokker-Planck equation. The
unified features of the discrete singular convolution algorithm are discussed.
It is demonstrated that different implementations of the present algorithm,
such as global, local, Galerkin, collocation, and finite difference, can be
deduced from a single starting point. Three benchmark stochastic systems, the
repulsive Wong process, the Black-Scholes equation and a genuine nonlinear
model, are employed to illustrate the robustness and to test accuracy of the
present approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation via a
time-dependent method. An additional example, the incompressible Euler
equation, is used to further validate the present approach for more difficult
problems. Numerical results indicate that the present unified approach is
robust and accurate for solving the Fokker-Planck equation.Comment: 19 page
Stochastic Physics, Complex Systems and Biology
In complex systems, the interplay between nonlinear and stochastic dynamics,
e.g., J. Monod's necessity and chance, gives rise to an evolutionary process in
Darwinian sense, in terms of discrete jumps among attractors, with punctuated
equilibrium, spontaneous random "mutations" and "adaptations". On an
evlutionary time scale it produces sustainable diversity among individuals in a
homogeneous population rather than convergence as usually predicted by a
deterministic dynamics. The emergent discrete states in such a system, i.e.,
attractors, have natural robustness against both internal and external
perturbations. Phenotypic states of a biological cell, a mesoscopic nonlinear
stochastic open biochemical system, could be understood through such a
perspective.Comment: 10 page
Localization Transition in a Ballistic Quantum Wire
The many-body wave-function of an interacting one-dimensional electron system
is probed, focusing on the low-density, strong interaction regime. The
properties of the wave-function are determined using tunneling between two
long, clean, parallel quantum wires in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, allowing
for gate-controlled electron density. As electron density is lowered to a
critical value the many-body state abruptly changes from an extended state with
a well-defined momentum to a localized state with a wide range of momentum
components. The signature of the localized states appears as discrete tunneling
features at resonant gate-voltages, corresponding to the depletion of single
electrons and showing Coulomb-blockade behavior. Typically 5-10 such features
appear, where the one-electron state has a single-lobed momentum distribution,
and the few-electron states have double-lobed distributions with peaks at . A theoretical model suggests that for a small number of particles (N<6),
the observed state is a mixture of ground and thermally excited spin states.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
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