Jets

This is a discussion of concentrated large-scale flows in planetary atmospheres and oceans, argued from the viewpoint of basic geophysical fluid dynamics. We give several elementary examples in which these flows form jets on rotating spheres. Jet formation occurs under a variety of circumstances: when flows driven by external stress have a rigid boundary which can balance the Coriolis force, and at which further concentration can be caused by the beta effect; when there are singular lines like the line of vanishing windstress or windstress-curl, or the Equator; when compact sources of momentum, heat or mass radiate jet-like beta plumes along latitude circles; when random external stirring of the fluid becomes organized by the beta effect into jets; when internal instability of the mass field generates zonal flow which then is concentrated into jets; when bottom topographic obstacles radiate jets, and when frontogenesis leads to shallow jet formation. Essential to the process of jet formation in stratified fluids is the baroclinic life cycle described in geostrophic turbulence studies; there, conversion from potential to kinetic energy generates eddy motions, and these convert to quasibarotropic motions which then radiate and induce jet-like large-scale circulation. Ideas of potential vorticity stirring by eddies generalize the notion of Rossby-wave radiation, showing how jets embedded in an ambient potential vorticity gradient (typically due to the spherical geometry of the rotating planet) gain eastward momentum while promoting broader, weaker westward circulation. Homogenization of potential vorticity is an important limit point, which many geophysical circulations achieve. This well-mixed state is found in subdomains of the terrestrial midlatitude oceans, the high-latitude circumpolar ocean, and episodically in the middle atmosphere. Homogenization expels potential vorticity gradients vertically to the top and bottom of the fluid, and sideways to the edges of flow domains or gyres; in both these ways is jet formation enhanced.     

Prospects and limitations of an isotope tracer technique for understanding sulfur cycling in forested and agro-ecosystems

Abstract Applications of isotopically distinct sulfur compounds have recently been used for tracing the fate of added sulfur in whole catchments or sub-compartments therein. Basic principles, the analytical methodology, and data evaluation for this isotope tracer technique are briefly described. We recommend that δ(34)S-values of applied and natural sulfur compounds in the investigated ecosystem should differ by more than 20‰ in order to successfully ascertain sulfur fluxes. Where possible, a high ratio of applied sulfur loads versus sulfur pool sizes in the ecosystem should also be realized in order to allow the assessment of sulfur transformations in the study area. Prospects and limitations of this isotope tracer technique are critically discussed by reviewing results from recently or currently conducted lysimeter and field experiments.     

Isotope anomalies of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen in peat from the area of the tunguska cosmic body explosion (1908)

Abstract Peat profiles from the area of the Tunguska explosion epicentre indicate significant carbon and hydrogen isotopic effects which are clearly associated with the zone of the 1908 "catastrophe", and which cannot be attributed to any known terrestrial processes. We explain them with the presence of extraterrestrial matter similar to carbonaceous chondrites or, more probably, to cometary matter. Initial data on nitrogen content and its isotope composition are consistent with the assumption of acid rainfall following the passage and explosion of the Tunguska cosmic body, as is known to have occurred during the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.     

Spectral investigation of cw rf-pumped atomic Xe laser with a slab geometry

A radiofrequency excited atomic Xe slab laser with an active volume of 2 × 10 × 300 mm³ using a quartz envelope containing the laser-gas mixture shows a stable cw performance with an output power of almost 1 W. The free-running system oscillates, depending on gas composition and density, on several lines between 1.73 and 3.51 m. Line competition phenomena are observed. Single-line oscillation yields more than 500 mW.     

Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect for finite-size targets

A rigorous evaluation of the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect for finite-size targets is performed within the path integral approach previously developed by the author [B. G. Zakharov, JETP Lett. 63, 952 (1996)]. The bremsstrahlung rate in QED is expressed through a solution of a two-dimensional Schrödinger equation with an imaginary potential. The boundary condition for this solution is formulated in terms of a product of the light-cone electron-photon wave function and the dipole cross section for scattering of an e ⁺ e ^? pair off an atom. Numerical calculations are performed for homogeneous and structured targets. Our predictions for the homogeneous target agree well with the photon spectrum measured recently at SLAC with 25-GeV electrons. The spectra obtained for the structured, two-segment targets exhibit interference minima and maxima.     

A Big Horizontal Solar Telescope of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences in the caucasus

This paper presents the Big Horizonal Solar Telescope of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences installed at the Peak Terskol high-altitude station near Elbrus (the main mirror diameter is 650 mm and the focal length is 17.5 m). The telescope is equipped with a five-camera spectrograph intended for photographic spectral observations of active regions in the solar atmosphere and photoelectric measurements of the solar spectra with high spectral and spatial resolution. The observation procedure is described, and the results of the quality analysis of the recorded spectra and of the early measurements are presented.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 39, No. 10, pp. 1326–1333, October, 1996.The authors wish to express their gratitude to C.I.Gandzha, V.V.Kul'beda, and Yu. M. Gavrilyuk from the Solar Physics Department of the PAO of the Ukrainian NAS and to the Board of Directors of the Observatory and of the High-Altitude Station for help in the development of the instrument.This paper is dedicated to the memory of E. A. Gurtovenko, D.Sc. in Phys. and Math., who initiated the installation of the telescope at Peak Terskol and who was the leader, an executor, and an observer in this project.     

On a multiplicative function on the set of shifted primes

It is proved that if ?(n) is a multiplicative function taking a valueζ on the set of primes such thatζ ³ = 1,ζ ≠ 1 and? ³(p ^r)=1 forr≥2, then there exists aθ ∈ (0, 1), for which $$|\sum\limits_{p \leqslant x} f (p + 1)| \leqslant \theta \pi (x)$$ , where $$\pi (x) = \sum\limits_{p \leqslant x} 1$$ .     

On the location parameter confidence intervals based on a random size sample from a partially known population

The problem of constructing confidence intervals of a fixed length for the location parameter based on a random size sample is considered. It is proposed to use the confidence interval $$\theta _p^* - u\sqrt p /\sigma< \theta< \theta _p^* + u\sqrt p /\sigma $$ , whereθ _p ^* is an adaptive estimator,σ ² is the Fisher information, and p^?1 is the mean of the sample size. Nonparametric bounds are given for the limit as p → 0 confidence probability. Bibliography: 5 titles.     

Nonfactorization and the decaysD s +→φπ +,φρ + andφl + ν l

Using the experimentally measured values ofx=A ₂(0)/A ₁(0) andy=V(0)/A ₁(0) and the measured ratiosR _st=Γ(D _s ⁺ →φl ⁺ ν _l)/Γ(D _ins ⁺ →φπ ⁺) andR _h=Γ(D _s ⁺ →φρ ⁺)/Γ(D _s ⁺ →φπ ⁺), we present evidence for significant nonfactorization contribution in the decay amplitude forD _s ⁺ →φπ ⁺. We analyze the role of nonfactorization inD _s ⁺ →φρ ⁺ and conclude that present data onR _h are consistent with factorization inD _s ⁺ →φρ ⁺. A measurement of polarization inD _s ⁺ →φρ ⁺ would greatly assist our analysis.     

1H NMR study on the inclusion of bicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes in cyclodextrins

- and -cyclodextrins were found to form 1:1 inclusion complexes with 2,6- and 2,9-substituted bicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes. The binding constants and the structure of the complexes were estimated from titration studies and 2D ROESY experiments.