Regular Velocity Research Articles

A study of the wiggle morphology of HH 211 through numerical simulations

Recent high-resolution high-sensitivity observations of protostellar jets have shown many to possess deviations to their trajectories. HH 211 is one such example where sub-mm observations with the SMA have revealed a clear reflection-symmetric wiggle. The most likely explanation is that the HH 211 jet source could be moving as part of a protobinary system. Here we test this assumption by simulating HH 211 through 3D hydrodynamic jet propagation simulations using the PLUTO code with a molecular chemistry and cooling module, and initial conditions based on an analytical model derived from SMA observations. Our results show the reflection-symmetric wiggle can be recreated through the assumption of a jet source perturbed by binary motion at its base, and that a regular sinusoidal velocity variation in the jet beam can be close to matching the observed knot pattern. However, a more complex model with either additional heating from the protostar, or a shorter period velocity pulsation may be required to account for enhanced emission near the source, and weaker knot emission downstream. Position velocity diagrams along the pulsed jet beam show a complex structure with detectable signatures of knots and show caution must be exercised when interpreting radial velocity profiles through observations. Finally, we make predictions for future HH 211 observations with ALMA.

Analysis of Chemical Reaction Kinetics Behavior of Nitrogen Oxide During Air-staged Combustion in Pulverized Boiler

Because the air-staged combustion technology is one of the key technologies with low investment running costs and high emission reduction efficiency for the pulverized boiler, it is important to reveal the chemical reaction kinetics mechanism for developing various technologies of nitrogen oxide reduction emissions. At the present work, a three-dimensional mesh model of the large-scale four corner tangentially fired boiler furnace is established with the GAMBIT pre-processing of the FLUENT software. The partial turbulent premixed and diffusion flame was simulated for the air-staged combustion processing. Parameters distributions for the air-staged and no the air-staged were obtained, including in-furnace flow field, temperature field and nitrogen oxide concentration field. The results show that the air-staged has more regular velocity field, higher velocity of flue gas, higher turbulence intensity and more uniform temperature of flue gas. In addition, a lower negative pressure zone and lower O2 concentration zone is formed in the main combustion zone, which is conducive to the NO of fuel type reduced to N2, enhanced the effect of NOx reduction.

Stability and bifurcation for the Kuramoto model

We study the mean-field limit of the Kuramoto model of globally coupled oscillators. By studying the evolution in Fourier space and understanding the domain of dependence, we show a global stability result. Moreover, we can identify function norms to show damping of the order parameter for velocity distributions and perturbations in Wn,1 for n>1. Finally, for sufficiently regular velocity distributions we can identify exponential decay in the stable case and otherwise identify finitely many eigenmodes. For these eigenmodes we can show a center-unstable manifold reduction, which gives a rigorous tool to obtain the bifurcation behaviour. The damping is similar to Landau damping for the Vlasov equation.

Global chaotization of fluid particle trajectories in a sheared two-layer two-vortex flow.

In a two-layer quasi-geostrophic approximation, we study the irregular dynamics of fluid particles arising due to two interacting point vortices embedded in a deformation flow consisting of shear and rotational components. The two vortices are arranged within the bottom layer, but an emphasis is on the upper-layer fluid particle motion. Vortices moving in one layer induce stirring of passive scalars in the other layer. This is of interest since point vortices induce singular velocity fields in the layer they belong to; however, in the other layer, they induce regular velocity fields that generally result in a change in passive particle stirring. If the vortices are located at stagnation points, there are three different types of the fluid flow. We examine how properties of each flow configuration are modified if the vortices are displaced from the stagnation points and thus circulate in the immediate vicinity of these points. To that end, an analysis of the steady-state configurations is presented with an emphasis on the frequencies of fluid particle oscillations about the elliptic stagnation points. Asymptotic relations for the vortex and fluid particle zero-oscillation frequencies are derived in the vicinity of the corresponding elliptic points. By comparing the frequencies of fluid particles with the ones of the vortices, relations between the parameters that lead to enhanced stirring of fluid particles are established. It is also demonstrated that, if the central critical point is elliptic, then the fluid particle trajectories in its immediate vicinity are mostly stable making it harder for the vortex perturbation to induce stirring. Change in the type of the central point to a hyperbolic one enhances drastically the size of the chaotic dynamics region. Conditions on the type of the central critical point also ensue from the derived asymptotic relations.

Ionized gas kinematics of galaxies in the CALIFA survey

This work provides an overall characterization of the kinematic behavior of the ionized gas of the galaxies included in the Calar Alto Legacy Integral field Area (CALIFA), offering kinematic clues to potential users of this survey for including kinematical criteria for specific studies. From the first 200 galaxies observed by CALIFA, we present the 2D kinematic view of the 177 galaxies satisfying a gas detection threshold. After removing the stellar contribution, we used the cross-correlation technique to obtain the radial velocity of the dominant gaseous component. The main kinematic parameters were directly derived from the radial velocities with no assumptions on the internal motions. Evidence of the presence of several gaseous components with different kinematics were detected by using [OIII] profiles. Most objects in the sample show regular velocity fields, although the ionized-gas kinematics are rarely consistent with simple coplanar circular motions. 35% of the objects present evidence of a displacement between the photometric and kinematic centers larger than the original spaxel radii. Only 17% of the objects in the sample exhibit kinematic lopsidedness when comparing receding and approaching sides of the velocity fields, but most of them are interacting galaxies exhibiting nuclear activity. Early-type galaxies in the sample present clear photometric-kinematic misaligments. There is evidence of asymmetries in the emission line profiles suggesting the presence of kinematically distinct gaseous components at different distances from the nucleus. This work constitutes the first determination of the ionized gas kinematics of the galaxies observed in the CALIFA survey. The derived velocity fields, the reported kinematic peculiarities and the identification of the presence of several gaseous components might be used as additional criteria for selecting galaxies for specific studies.

On the Transport Equations with Singular/Regular Nonlocal Velocities

We consider the Cauchy problem for the transport equation $\theta_t +v\cdot \nabla \theta=0$ on $\Bbb R^N\times [0, \infty)$, where $v=- (\Lambda^{\alpha}R_1\theta, \ldots, \Lambda^{\alpha}R_N\theta)$ with $\Lambda=(-\Delta)^{\frac12}$ and $\{R_j\}_{j=1}^N$ the Riesz transforms. For $\alpha \in (0, 1]$ (singular velocities) we show the local well-posedness in $H^s (\Bbb R^N)$ for all $s>N/2+2$, $s\in \Bbb R$, while for $\alpha \in [-1, 0]$ (regular velocities) we prove local well-posedness in the lower order Sobolev spaces $H^s (\Bbb R^N)$, $s>N/2+1$, and finite time blow-up criterion. In the case $\alpha \in (-N, -1)$ we prove the global well-posedness in $H^s(\Bbb R^N)$, $s>\frac{N}{2}+1$, for nonnegative initial data. We also consider the Cauchy problem for a similar transport equation with the velocity given by convolution of $\theta$ by even kernels, $v=-(\Lambda^\alpha \theta, \Lambda^{\alpha} R_1R_2 \theta, \ldots , \Lambda^{\alpha} R_1R_N \theta )$. For $\alpha \in [-1, 0]$ the problem is locally ...

On the Finite-Time Splash and Splat Singularities for the 3-D Free-Surface Euler Equations

We prove that the 3-D free-surface incompressible Euler equations with regular initial geometries and velocity fields have solutions which can form a finite-time “splash” (or “splat”) singularity first introduced in Castro et al. (Splash singularity for water waves, http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.2120v2 , 2011), wherein the evolving 2-D hypersurface, the moving boundary of the fluid domain, self-intersects at a point (or on surface). Such singularities can occur when the crest of a breaking wave falls unto its trough, or in the study of drop impact upon liquid surfaces. Our approach is founded upon the Lagrangian description of the free-boundary problem, combined with a novel approximation scheme of a finite collection of local coordinate charts; as such we are able to analyze a rather general set of geometries for the evolving 2-D free-surface of the fluid. We do not assume the fluid is irrotational, and as such, our method can be used for a number of other fluid interface problems, including compressible flows, plasmas, as well as the inclusion of surface tension effects.

Mapping aortic hemodynamics using 3D cine phase contrast magnetic resonance parallel imaging: Evaluation of an anisotropic diffusion filter

To propose and evaluate an anisotropic diffusion filter to improve visualization and analysis of the thoracic aorta local hemodynamics from phase-contrast MRI sensitivity encoding imaging. The filter parameters were tailored to the phase-contrast MRI sensitivity encoding data, using a simple calibration procedure. The filter was applied to 20 phase-contrast MR image studies (five subjects acquired with four different sensitivity encoding reduction factors). The filter effect was estimated with respect to image quality (noise in velocity images, σ(n)), regularity of the velocity fields (divergence; relative error in velocity magnitude, and absolute error in flow direction), aorta flow pattern visualization (streamlines, secondary flows) and flow rate quantification. σ(n) decreased up to three times, divergence, error in velocity magnitude, and absolute error in flow direction decreased (by at least 313, 40, and 10%, respectively), indicating less noisy and more regular velocity fields after filtering. Streamline analysis confirmed the beneficial effect of anisotropic diffusion filter, both visually and quantitatively (streamline numbers increased by 207% in whole cardiac cycle and by 180% in systolic phase). A high correlation (r = 0.99) between the prefiltering and postfiltering aortic flow rate values was found. The anisotropic diffusion filter approach can be considered effective in improving the visualization and analysis of the thoracic aorta hemodynamics from phase-contrast MRI sensitivity encoding images.

The influence of start–stop transient velocity on the friction and wear behaviour of a hyper-eutectic Al–Si automotive alloy

As worldwide automotive ownership is set to exceed 2 billion vehicles by 2030 (Dargay et al., 2007 [1]), environmental and economical pressures on the automotive industry mean there is a trend to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions whilst simultaneously improving fuel economy. The use of electrical hybrid, start–stop idling and materials light-weighting are some of the technological solutions which can offer efficiency savings, however their combined use in a tribological context is less well understood. Interruption of piston sliding as a result of start–stop technology will simultaneously interrupt fluid film lubrication at the ring/liner interface. This could have implications on the friction and wear behaviour of Al–Si cylinder blocks, where scuffing can be an issue. In order to determine the effect of a start–stop velocity cycles on the lubricated friction and wear behaviour of a hyper-eutectic Al–Si liner, an interrupted reciprocating laboratory tribometer test programme was developed based upon the European Urban Cycle standard. Refined cast iron piston ring segments were slid at 23Hz frequency, 4MPa nominal contact pressure and 25mm stroke length against a conformal honed Alusil cylinder liner segment. Regular velocity interruptions at 60s intervals did not significantly inhibit the dynamic friction behaviour between the liner and the cast-iron piston ring segment, indicating that lubricant additive function was not significantly inhibited. However contact potential and FIB–SIMS depth profiles indicated that anti-wear tribo-film thickness was reduced as a result of start–stop cycling. Mass loss from the piston ring was also notably higher as a result of the interruption of elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication causing boundary conditions at re-start and subsequent 2-body abrasion by harder protruding Si particles. Specific wear rates for the Al–Si liner as a result of start–stop velocities were surprisingly lower compared to uninterrupted tests and was believed to be due to faster running-in of the piston ring surface. These results are discussed in terms of the viability of Al–Si as engine materials running start–stop technology.

Deep optical observations of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1413

Aims. We investigate the morphology and dynamics of the massive nearby galaxy cluster Abell 1413.Methods. Using wide field imaging and spectroscopic data obtained from observations at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and archival SDSS data, we build a sample of more than 250 galaxies covering a region centered on the cluster and extending to its outskirts on large scales.Results. We probe the cluster morphology analyzing the projected density distribution of galaxies and find a strong variation in the ellipticity of the distribution, from 0.8 at the center of the cluster down to ~0.35 at the periphery. This may be the tracer of a prolate global mass distribution, slightly attenuated in the collisional distribution of the gas. We also study the large scale environment, identifying several structures associated to the cluster and organized along the major axis in the North-South direction. From spectroscopic data we derive the velocity dispersion and we investigate the overall dynamics of the cluster. The regular velocity dispersion supports the case for a prolate cluster aligned in the plane of the sky and embedded in a larger scale structure.

A methodology for evaluation of vertical dispersion and dry deposition of atmospheric aerosols

A new approach to treatment of vertical dispersion and dry deposition of atmospheric aerosols is suggested for primary application in mesoscale to global atmospheric transport models. The vertical exchange scheme extends the resistance analogy formulated earlier for gaseous species and fine aerosols. The approach is based on the exact solution of the steady‐state equation for aerosol flux within a finite layer. The flux is expressed as a linear function of concentrations at the layer boundaries and accounts for the vertical inhomogeneity of the diffusion coefficient and the regular vertical velocity. The new dry deposition scheme accounts for physical properties of the air flow, surface and depositing particles. The flow is given by the vertical profile of exchange coefficient and characteristic velocity at the surface. The deposition rate to smooth surfaces is obtained via solution of the budget equation for particle mass. The transition from smooth to rough flow regime is considered. Rough surfaces are characterized by two length scales: the aerodynamic roughness and the “collection scale”, introduced in this paper. The collection scale incorporates the effective size of collectors and a ratio of the airflow velocity at the top of the roughness elements to the friction velocity. The particles are described by their physical size, relaxation time and Brownian diffusivity. The scheme was developed basing exclusively on wind‐tunnel and numerical experiments available from the literature, and reproduces them well. The data of outdoor experiments have noticeably larger uncertainties, which allowed only general evaluation of their agreement with the predictions.

A deterministic-statistical sea ice drift forecast model

Abstract A simple, blended mechanistic-statistical ice motion model is presented. The model requires regular synoptic-scale wind and ice velocity observations as input. It is intended as an ice forecast tool for offshore operators. We anticipate this model will be useful for short-term forecasts from a few hours up to roughly 5 days. Ice velocity is estimated and forecast as the sum of mechanistic components (fully dynamic free drift, slowly varying deep ocean currents, and tidal oscillations) and a statistical component that minimizes errors between the mechanistic components and recent observations. The free-drift model includes the inertial effects of the ocean mixed layer and describes the combined effects of wind forcing and inertial oscillations. Deep ocean currents are estimated as the average of recent mechanistic component model errors. Tidal velocity contributions can be input by filtering recent observations at tidal frequencies or by an independent model. The effects of ice stress divergence and other unmodeled physics are approximated using optimal linear interpolation. The statistical component is estimated from the difference between recent ice motion observations and the mechanistic components of the model. Its mean and variance are then held constant for the forecast period. Using 60 days of CEAREX drift data, we found the following accuracy statistics. Average ice velocity component forecasts were accurate to within 0.002–0.003 m/s for all forecast periods up to 5 days. Nowcasts had a vector standard deviation of about 0.06 m/s, and 5-day forecasts had a vector standard deviation of 0.14 m/s. Concurrent free-drift forecasts had similar average component errors, but nowcasts were accurate to about 0.08 m/s, although after 3 days they agreed with the blended model forecasts, since the optimal estimate approaches zero after this period.

The ATLAS3D project - III. A census of the stellar angular momentum within the effective radius of early-type galaxies: unveiling the distribution of fast and slow rotators

We provide a census of the apparent stellar angular momentum within 1 Re of a volume-limited sample of 260 early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the nearby Universe, using integral-field spectroscopy obtained in the course of the ATLAS3D project. We exploit the LambdaR parameter to characterise the existence of two families of ETGs: Slow Rotators which exhibit complex stellar velocity fields and often include stellar kinematically Distinct Cores (KDCs), and Fast Rotators which have regular velocity fields. Our complete sample of 260 ETGs leads to a new criterion to disentangle Fast and Slow Rotators which now includes a dependency on the apparent ellipticity (Epsilon). It separates the two classes significantly better than the previous prescription, and than a criterion based on V/Sigma: Slow Rotators and Fast Rotators have LambdaR lower and larger than kFSxSQRT(Epsilon), respectively, where kFS=0.31 for measurements made within 1 Re. We show that the vast majority of early-type galaxies are Fast Rotators: these have regular stellar rotation, with aligned photometric and kinematic axes (Paper II, Krajnovic et al. 2011}, include discs and often bars and represent 86% (224/260) of all early-type galaxies in the volume-limited ATLAS3D sample. Fast Rotators span the full range of apparent ellipticities from 0 to 0.85, and we suggest that they cover intrinsic ellipticities from about 0.35 to 0.85, the most flattened having morphologies consistent with spiral galaxies. Only a small fraction of ETGs are Slow Rotators representing 14% (36/260) of the ATLAS3D sample of ETGs. Of all Slow Rotators, 11% (4/36) exhibit two counter-rotating stellar disc-like components and are rather low mass objects (Mdyn<10^10.5 M_Sun). All other Slow Rotators (32/36) appear relatively round on the sky (Epsilon_e<0.4), tend to be massive (Mdyn>10^10.5 M_Sun), and often (17/32) exhibit KDCs.

Monitoring the growth dynamics of somatic traits based on a semi-longitudinal study

Possibilities of conducting longitudinal human growth studies are very limited, since it is necessary to monitor the probands for a long time. Another problem can be a loss of data currency, and the small size of the final sample. The solution can be a follow-up semi-longitudinal observation. This research is drawn up as a short longitudinal monitoring of 1925 children (990 boys, 935 girls), aged 6–15 years, at 20 elementary schools in four regions of the Czech Republic, which has been conducted at the same time. Data of repeatedly examined probands of a wide age range were acquired in a short time period. With the help of a linear regression model with mixed effect, the growth velocity curves of 12 somatic traits have been obtained. The timing, intensity and duration of separate growth spurts have been observed, as well as the mutual location of both points of growth velocity, local maxima and minima, and points of the maximal acceleration and deceleration. The results demonstrate that the velocity of characters with variable growth dynamics (skin-fold thicknesses, circumferences of limbs) – contrary to characters with regular growth velocity – have a higher number of partial growth spurts and an opposite course. In the period of separate growth velocity, peaks of somatic characters with regular growth dynamics reach points of partial local minima. In comparison to previous longitudinal studies of body height growth dynamics, the shift of both the beginning and the peak of boys’ and girls’ pubertal spurt, to a lower age can be found.

Regularity criteria for the Euler equations with nondecaying data

The local-in-time existence and uniqueness of strong solutions to the Euler equations in the whole space with nondecaying and certainly regular initial velocity are concerned. It is obtained that the spatial regularity of solutions coincides with that of initial velocity under the suitable setting of external forcing terms. Regularity criteria focusing into the vorticity are also discussed due to the similar arguments of Beale–Kato–Majda.

A kinematic study of the neutral and ionized gas in the irregular dwarf galaxies IC 4662 and NGC 5408★

Abridged. The feedback between massive stars and the interstellar medium is one of the most important processes in the evolution of dwarf galaxies. This interaction results in numerous neutral and ionised gas structures that have been found both in the disc and in the halo of these galaxies. However, their origin and fate are still poorly understood. We here present new HI and optical data of two nearby irregular dwarf galaxies: IC 4662 and NGC 5408. The HI line data were obtained with the ATCA and are part of the Local Volume HI Survey. They are complemented by optical images and spectroscopic data obtained with the ESO NTT and the ESO 3.6m telescope. Our main aim is to study the kinematics of the neutral and ionised gas components in order to search for outflowing gas structures and to make predictions about their fate. We find the HI gas envelopes of both galaxies to extend well beyond the optical discs. The optical disc is embedded into the central HI maximum in both galaxies. However, higher resolution HI maps show that the HI intensity peaks are typically offset from the prominent HII regions. While NGC 5408 shows a fairly regular HI velocity field, which allows us to derive a rotation curve, IC 4662 reveals a rather twisted HI velocity field, possibly caused by a recent merger event. We detect outflows with velocities between 20 and 60 km/s in our Halpha spectra of both galaxies, sometimes with HI counterparts of similar velocity. We suggest the existence of expanding superbubbles, especially in NGC 5408. This is also supported by the detection of FWHMs as high as 70 km/s in Halpha. In case of NGC 5408, we compare our results with the escape velocity of the galaxy, which shows that the measured expansion velocities are in all cases too low to allow the gas to escape from the gravitational potential of NGC 5408. This result is consistent with studies of other dwarf galaxies.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER MASERS IN STAR-FORMING REGIONS: CEPHEUS A AND W75 N

We have done a statistical analysis of Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data of water masers in the star-forming regions (SFRs) Cepheus A and W75 N, using correlation functions to study the spatial clustering and Doppler-velocity distribution of these masers. Two-point spatial correlation functions show a characteristic scale size for clusters of water maser spots < or ~1 AU, similar to the values found in other SFRs. This suggests that the scale for water maser excitation tends to be < or ~1 AU. Velocity correlation functions show power-law dependences with indices that can be explained by regular velocity fields, such as expansion and/or rotation. These velocity fields are similar to those indicated by the water maser proper-motion measurements; therefore, the velocity correlation functions appear to reveal the organized motion of water maser spots on scales larger than 1 AU.

Intermittency in the velocity distribution of heavy particles in turbulence

The statistics of velocity differences between pairs of heavy inertial point particles suspended in an incompressible turbulent flow is studied and found to be extremely intermittent. The problem is particularly relevant to the estimation of the efficiency of collisions among heavy particles in turbulence. We found that when particles are separated by distances within the dissipative subrange, the competition between regions with quiet regular velocity distributions and regions where very close particles have very different velocities (caustics) leads to a quasi bi-fractal behaviour of the particle velocity structure functions. Contrastingly, we show that for particles separated by inertial-range distances, the velocity-difference statistics can be characterized in terms of a local roughness exponent, which is a function of the scale-dependent particle Stokes number only. Results are obtained from high-resolution direct numerical simulations up to 20483 collocation points and with millions of particles for each Stokes number.

Doppler variance imaging for three-dimensional retina and choroid angiography

We demonstrate the use of Doppler variance (standard deviation) imaging for 3-D in vivo angiography in the human eye. In addition to the regular optical Doppler tomography velocity and structural images, we use the variance of blood flow velocity to map the retina and choroid vessels. Variance imaging is subject to bulk motion artifacts as in phase-resolved Doppler imaging, and a histogram-based method is proposed for bulk-motion correction in variance imaging. Experiments were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for 3-D vasculature imaging of human retina and choroid.

Limits on the Masses of Supermassive Black Holes in 105 Nearby Galaxies

Secure measurements of the mass of the central supermassive black hole, MBH, in external galaxies are traditionally obtained through the modeling of the stellar and/or gaseous kinematics, most often derived using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations in the optical domain. The modeling of the nuclear ionized-gas kinematics has led to accurate MBH measurements at a relatively cheap cost in terms of observation time compared to stellar-dynamical MBH determinations. But only a handful of the objects have turned out to have sufficiently regular gas velocity fields for the purpose of modeling. Nevertheless, the HST archive contains a yet untapped resource that can be used to better constrain the MBH budget across the different morphological types of galaxies, which consists of the vast number of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) spectra from which a central emission-line width can be measured. These data allow to put an upper limit on MBH for a large number of galaxies and promise to compensate for the lack of exact measurements when studying the MBH–host galaxy relationships.