2,595 research outputs found
A Normal-Mode Approach to Jovian Atmospheric Dynamics
We propose a nonlinear, quasi-geostrophic, baroclinic model of Jovian atmospheric dynamics, in which vertical variations of velocity are represented by a truncated sum over a complete set of orthogonal functions obtained by a separation of variables of the linearized quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity equation. A set of equations for the time variation of the mode amplitudes in the nonlinear case is then derived. We show that for a planet with a neutrally stable, fluid interior instead of a solid lower boundary, the baroclinic mode represents motions in the interior, and is not affected by the baroclinic modes. One consequence of this is that a normal-mode model with one baroclinic mode is dynamically equivalent to a one layer model with solid lower topography. We also show that for motions in Jupiter's cloudy lower troposphere, the stratosphere behaves nearly as a rigid lid, so that the normal-mode model is applicable to Jupiter. We test the accuracy of the normal-mode model for Jupiter using two simple problem forced, vertically propagating Rossby waves, using two and three baroclinic modes and baroclinic instability, using two baroclinic modes. We find that the normal-road model provide qualitatively correct results, even with only a very limited number of vertical degrees of freedom
Formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in the presence of far ultraviolet radiation
Recent discoveries of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars like SMSS
J031300.36-670839.3 provide increasing observational insights into the
formation conditions of the first second-generation stars in the Universe,
reflecting the chemical conditions after the first supernova explosion. Here,
we present the first cosmological simulations with a detailed chemical network
including primordial species as well as C, C, O, O, Si, Si, and
Si following the formation of carbon-enhanced metal poor stars. The
presence of background UV flux delays the collapse from to and
cool the gas down to the CMB temperature for a metallicity of
Z/Z=10. This can potentially lead to the formation of lower mass
stars. Overall, we find that the metals have a stronger effect on the collapse
than the radiation, yielding a comparable thermal structure for large
variations in the radiative background. We further find that radiative
backgrounds are not able to delay the collapse for Z/Z=10 or a
carbon abundance as in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3.Comment: submitted to ApJ
Dark-matter halo mergers as a fertile environment for low-mass Population III star formation
While Population III stars are typically thought to be massive, pathways
towards lower-mass Pop III stars may exist when the cooling of the gas is
particularly enhanced. A possible route is enhanced HD cooling during the
merging of dark-matter halos. The mergers can lead to a high ionization degree
catalysing the formation of HD molecules and may cool the gas down to the
cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature. In this paper, we investigate
the merging of mini-halos with masses of a few 10 M and explore the
feasibility of this scenario. We have performed three-dimensional cosmological
hydrodynamics calculations with the ENZO code, solving the thermal and chemical
evolution of the gas by employing the astrochemistry package KROME. Our results
show that the HD abundance is increased by two orders of magnitude compared to
the no-merging case and the halo cools down to 60 K triggering
fragmentation. Based on Jeans estimates the expected stellar masses are about
10 M. Our findings show that the merging scenario is a potential
pathway for the formation of low-mass stars.Comment: Submitted to MNRA
The formation of massive primordial stars in the presence of moderate UV backgrounds
Radiative feedback from populations II stars played a vital role in early
structure formation. Particularly, photons below the Lyman limit can escape the
star forming regions and produce a background ultraviolet (UV) flux which
consequently may influence the pristine halos far away from the radiation
sources. These photons can quench the formation of molecular hydrogen by
photo-detachment of . In this study, we explore the impact of such
UV radiation on fragmentation in massive primordial halos of a few times ~M. To accomplish this goal, we perform high resolution
cosmological simulations for two distinct halos and vary the strength of the
impinging background UV field in units of . We further make use of
sink particles to follow the evolution for 10,000 years after reaching the
maximum refinement level. No vigorous fragmentation is observed in UV
illuminated halos while the accretion rate changes according to the thermal
properties. Our findings show that a few 100-10, 000 solar mass protostars are
formed when halos are irradiated by at and
suggest a strong relation between the strength of UV flux and mass of a
protostar. This mode of star formation is quite different from minihalos, as
higher accretion rates of about M/yr are observed by
the end of our simulations. The resulting massive stars are the potential
cradles for the formation of intermediate mass black holes at earlier cosmic
times and contribute to the formation of a global X-ray background.Comment: Submitted to APJ, comments are welcome. High resolution copy is
available at http://www.astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de/~mlatif/IMBHs_apj.pd
Causes of Decadal Climate Variability over the North Pacific and North America
The cause of decadal climate variability over the North Pacific Ocean and North America is investigated by the analysis of data from a multidecadal integration with a state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere model and observations. About one-third of the low-frequency climate variability in the region of interest can be attributed to a cycle involving unstable air-sea interactions between the subtropical gyre circulation in the North Pacific and the Aleutian low-pressure system. The existence of this cycle provides a basis for long-range climate forecasting over the western United States at decadal time scales
Recommended from our members
Evaluating e-Government services from a citizens' prespective: A reference process model
Evaluating and optimizing e-government services is imperative for governments especially due to the capacity of e-services to transform public administrations and assist the interactions of governments with citizens, businesses and other government agencies. Existing widely applied evaluation approaches neglect to incorporate citizensâ satisfaction measures. Several citizen satisfaction models and indicators have been suggested in academia; however a reference process model that can assist practitioners to apply these performance measures is missing. In this paper we draw upon the evaluation approach proposed by the EU funded project CEES and propose a reference process model that captures re-usable practices for e-government evaluation from a citizensâ perspective. The novelty of the proposed approach is that using DEA for evaluating the e-services the assessment results in suggestions for strategic improvement of the e-services.EU FP7 Marie Curie People Project âCEES - Citizen oriented Evaluation of E-Government Systemsâ (reference IAPP-2008-230658
How realistic UV spectra and X-rays suppress the abundance of direct collapse black holes
Observations of high redshift quasars at indicate that they harbor
supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of a billion solar masses. The direct collapse
scenario has emerged as the most plausible way to assemble SMBHs. The nurseries
for the direct collapse black holes are massive primordial halos illuminated
with an intense UV flux emitted by population II (Pop II) stars. In this study,
we compute the critical value of such a flux () for
realistic spectra of Pop II stars through three-dimensional cosmological
simulations. We derive the dependence of on the radiation
spectra, on variations from halo to halo, and on the impact of X-ray
ionization. Our findings show that the value of is a few
times and only weakly depends on the adopted radiation spectra in
the range between K. For three simulated halos
of a few times ~M, varies from . The impact of X-ray ionization is almost
negligible and within the expected scatter of for
background fluxes of . The computed estimates of
have profound implications for the quasar abundance at
as it lowers the number density of black holes forming through an
isothermal direct collapse by a few orders of magnitude below the observed
black holes density. However, the sites with moderate amounts of
cooling may still form massive objects sufficient to be compatible with
observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, comments are welcom
- âŚ