5,509 research outputs found
Nuclear Energy and Proliferation: Problems, Observations, and Proposals
The paper addresses policy issues related to the relationship between nuclear energy and proliferation, arguing for increased safeguards to secure such technology; it also examines the legal and political background of United States nuclear policy
A combined R-matrix eigenstate basis set and finite-differences propagation method for the time-dependent Schr\"{od}dinger equation: the one-electron case
In this work we present the theoretical framework for the solution of the
time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation (TDSE) of atomic and molecular systems
under strong electromagnetic fields with the configuration space of the
electron's coordinates separated over two regions, that is regions and
. In region the solution of the TDSE is obtained by an R-matrix basis
set representation of the time-dependent wavefunction. In region a grid
representation of the wavefunction is considered and propagation in space and
time is obtained through the finite-differences method. It appears this is the
first time a combination of basis set and grid methods has been put forward for
tackling multi-region time-dependent problems. In both regions, a high-order
explicit scheme is employed for the time propagation. While, in a purely
hydrogenic system no approximation is involved due to this separation, in
multi-electron systems the validity and the usefulness of the present method
relies on the basic assumption of R-matrix theory, namely that beyond a certain
distance (encompassing region ) a single ejected electron is distinguishable
from the other electrons of the multi-electron system and evolves there (region
II) effectively as a one-electron system. The method is developed in detail for
single active electron systems and applied to the exemplar case of the hydrogen
atom in an intense laser field.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, submitte
Valuing Access to our Public Lands: A Unique Public Good Pricing Experiment
We report the findings of a unique nation-wide experiment to price access to our public lands. In 2004, the U.S. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act mandated the creation of a new annual pass to cover all federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or access fee. Our task was to assist federal policymakers in determining an appropriate price for this new pass. Toward that end, we administered a contingent valuation phone survey to over 3700 households to estimate households willingness to pay (WTP) for the new pass at a variety of different prices. Our innovative experimental design allows us to estimate the degree of hypothetical bias in the sample and calibrate our WTP estimates to reflect actual purchasing decisions. In a sample of the general U.S. population most of whom have little experience with similar federal passes respondents tend to greatly exaggerate their WTP for the pass when contrasted with previous pass sales. A sample of recent pass purchasers, however, exhibits little bias. This confirms recent research showing that market experience can be an effective means to mitigate hypothetical bias.Land Economics/Use,
The Local Nanohertz Gravitational-Wave Landscape From Supermassive Black Hole Binaries
Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in the 10 million to 10 billion
range form in galaxy mergers, and live in galactic nuclei with large
and poorly constrained concentrations of gas and stars. There are currently no
observations of merging SMBHBs--- it is in fact possible that they stall at
their final parsec of separation and never merge. While LIGO has detected high
frequency GWs, SMBHBs emit GWs in the nanohertz to millihertz band. This is
inaccessible to ground-based interferometers, but possible with Pulsar Timing
Arrays (PTAs). Using data from local galaxies in the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey,
together with galaxy merger rates from Illustris, we find that there are on
average sources emitting GWs in the PTA band, and binaries
which will never merge. Local unresolved SMBHBs can contribute to GW background
anisotropy at a level of , and if the GW background can be
successfully isolated, GWs from at least one local SMBHB can be detected in 10
years.Comment: submitted to Nature Astronomy (reformatted for arXiv
Detection of fast radio transients with multiple stations: a case study using the Very Long Baseline Array
Recent investigations reveal an important new class of transient radio
phenomena that occur on sub-millisecond timescales. Often transient surveys'
data volumes are too large to archive exhaustively. Instead, an on-line
automatic system must excise impulsive interference and detect candidate events
in real-time. This work presents a case study using data from multiple
geographically distributed stations to perform simultaneous interference
excision and transient detection. We present several algorithms that
incorporate dedispersed data from multiple sites, and report experiments with a
commensal real-time transient detection system on the Very Long Baseline Array
(VLBA). We test the system using observations of pulsar B0329+54. The
multiple-station algorithms enhanced sensitivity for detection of individual
pulses. These strategies could improve detection performance for a future
generation of geographically distributed arrays such as the Australian Square
Kilometre Array Pathfinder and the Square Kilometre Array.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for Ap
Calculation of the Density of States Using Discrete Variable Representation and Toeplitz Matrices
A direct and exact method for calculating the density of states for systems
with localized potentials is presented. The method is based on explicit
inversion of the operator . The operator is written in the discrete
variable representation of the Hamiltonian, and the Toeplitz property of the
asymptotic part of the obtained {\it infinite} matrix is used. Thus, the
problem is reduced to the inversion of a {\it finite} matrix
XO-5b: A Transiting Jupiter-sized Planet With A Four Day Period
The star XO-5 (GSC 02959-00729, V=12.1, G8V) hosts a Jupiter-sized,
Rp=1.15+/-0.12 Rjup, transiting extrasolar planet, XO-5b, with an orbital
period of P=4.187732+/-0.00002 days. The planet mass (Mp=1.15+/-0.08 Mjup) and
surface gravity (gp=22+/-5 m/s^2) are significantly larger than expected by
empirical Mp-P and Mp-P-[Fe/H] relationships. However, the deviation from the
Mp-P relationship for XO-5b is not large enough to suggest a distinct type of
planet as is suggested for GJ 436b, HAT-P-2b, and XO-3b. By coincidence XO-5
overlies the extreme H I plume that emanates from the interacting galaxy pair
NGC 2444/NGC 2445 (Arp 143).Comment: 10 pages, 9 Figures, Submitted to Ap
Mechanism of Vanadium Leaching during Surface Weathering of Basic Oxygen Furnace Steel Slag Blocks: A Microfocus X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy Study
© 2017 American Chemical Society. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking slag is enriched in potentially toxic V which may become mobilized in high pH leachate during weathering. BOF slag was weathered under aerated and air-excluded conditions for 6 months prior to SEM/EDS and ΌXANES analysis to determine V host phases and speciation in both primary and secondary phases. Leached blocks show development of an altered region in which free lime and dicalcium silicate phases were absent and Ca-Si-H was precipitated (CaCO 3 was also present under aerated conditions). ΌXANES analyses show that V was released to solution as V(V) during dicalcium silicate dissolution and some V was incorporated into neo-formed Ca-Si-H. Higher V concentrations were observed in leachate under aerated conditions than in the air-excluded leaching experiment. Aqueous V concentrations were controlled by Ca 3 (VO 4 ) 2 solubility, which demonstrate an inverse relationship between Ca and V concentrations. Under air-excluded conditions Ca concentrations were controlled by dicalcium silicate dissolution and Ca-Si-H precipitation, leading to relatively high Ca and correspondingly low V concentrations. Formation of CaCO 3 under aerated conditions provided a sink for aqueous Ca, allowing higher V concentrations limited by kinetic dissolution rates of dicalcium silicate. Thus, V release may be slowed by the precipitation of secondary phases in the altered region, improving the prospects for slag reuse
A Radio Relic And A Search For The Central Black Hole In The Abell 2261 Brightest Cluster Galaxy
We present VLA images and HST/STIS spectra of sources within the center of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in Abell 2261. These observations were obtained to test the hypothesis that its extremely large, flat core reflects the ejection of its supermassive black hole. Spectra of three of the four most luminous knots embedded in the core were taken to test whether one may represent stars bound to a displaced massive black hole. The three knots have radial velocity offsets dV \u3c ~150 km/s from the BCG. Knots 2 and 3 show kinematics, colors, and stellar masses consistent with infalling low-mass galaxies or larger stripped cluster members. Large errors in the stellar velocity dispersion of Knot 1, however, mean that we cannot rule out the hypothesis that it hosts a high-mass black hole. A2261-BCG has a compact, relic radio-source offset by 6.5 kpc (projected) from the optical core\u27s center, but no active radio core that would pinpoint the galaxy\u27s central black hole to a tight 10 GHz flux limit 48 Myr ago, with an equipartition condition magnetic field of 15 uG. These observations are still consistent with the hypothesis that the nuclear black hole has been ejected from its core, but the critical task of locating the supermassive black hole or demonstrating that A2261-BCG lacks one remains to be done
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