X-ray Variability and Period Determinations in the Eclipsing Polar DP Leo

An analysis of ROSAT observations for the eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic binary DP Leo provides constraints on the origin, size, temperature, variability and structure of the soft X-ray emission region on the surface of the white dwarf. These data, when combined with prior observations, show a progression of approximately 2 degrees per year in the impact position of the accretion stream onto the white dwarf. One explanation for the observed drift in stream position is that a magnetic activity cycle on the secondary produces orbital period oscillations. These oscillations result in an orbital period which cycles above and below the rotational period of the nearly synchronous white dwarf. The accretion stream and X-ray emission regions are modeled to fit the observational data. A distance to the system is also calculated. [An erroneous value for the cyclotron luminosity, included in an earlier paper version of the preprint, is corrected here.]Comment: uuencoded PostScript file (25 pages) + 8 figures available by anonymous ftp to ftp.astro.psu.edu (in the directory /pub/robinson), to appear in ApJ, PSU preprint 1994-1

Resonant systems for dynamic evaluation of pressure transducers

Tests were conducted with contrived inlet modulated sinusoidal pressure generator to study possible use in calibrating pressure sensors. Results indicate concept is feasible and applicable to transducer evaluation

Resonant systems for dynamic transducer evaluations Final report

Resonant systems for dynamic transducer evaluation

The Productivity Impact of Skills in English Manufacturing, 2001: Evidence from Plant-Level Matched Data

Microeconomic analyses of productivity for the UK have generally not been able to control for the quality of the labour input, primarily due to data availability, and yet the supply of suitably skilled labour is thought to be a major contributing factor to productivity levels. This paper combines the Annual Respondents Database with the Employers’ Skills Survey for 2001, which allows for a more detailed analysis of the role of skills in determining plant level productivity. Using an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function, the analysis shows that plants experiencing skills shortages were generally less productive than those who did not perceive a skills gap, having controlled for industry and regional effects. In more detail, the analysis reveals some interesting results: the impact that skills gaps have on productivity vary by industry, and higher qualifications do not always result in higher productivity, although innovative plants are seen to be on average 5 per cent more productive, as a result of their more qualified workforce.

Meteorological data collection via ERTS-A data retransmission facilities

The author has identified the following significant results. Two meteorological data acquisition systems were built to support hydrometeorological programs related to flow forecasting. Data errors were detected in the stream level formation; these errors were caused by sensor difficulties

The Transmission Property of the Discrete Heisenberg Ferromagnetic Spin Chain

We present a mechanism for displaying the transmission property of the discrete Heisenberg ferromagnetic spin chain (DHF) via a geometric approach. By the aid of a discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger-like equation which is the discrete gauge equivalent to the DHF, we show that the determination of transmitting coefficients in the transmission problem is always bistable. Thus a definite algorithm and general stochastic algorithms are presented. A new invariant periodic phenomenon of the non-transmitting behavior for the DHF, with a large probability, is revealed by an adoption of various stochastic algorithms.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Study of fast response thermocouple measurement of temperatures in cryogenic gases

Thermocouples fabricated from uninsulated small diameter wire have fast reproducible response times. The thermocouple is thermally isolated from its supports by making the leads of sufficient length so that the heat conduction down the leads is small and assuming that the leads adjacent to the junction are subjected to the same thermal conditions

The Global Star Formation Rate from the 1.4 GHz Luminosity Function

The decimetric luminosity of many galaxies appears to be dominated by synchrotron emission excited by supernova explosions. Simple models suggest that the luminosity is directly proportional to the rate of supernova explosions of massive stars averaged over the past 30 Myr. The proportionality may be used together with models of the evolving 1.4 GHz luminosity function to estimate the global star formation rate density in the era z < 1. The local value is estimated to be 0.026 solar masses per year per cubic megaparsec, some 50% larger than the value inferred from the Halpha luminosity density. The value at z ~ 1 is found to be 0.30 solar masses per year per cubic megaparsec. The 10-fold increase in star formation rate density is consistent with the increase inferred from mm-wave, far-infrared, ultra-violet and Halpha observations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Astrophysical Journal Letters (in press); new PS version has improved figure placemen

Some aspects of algorithm performance and modeling in transient analysis of structures

The status of an effort to increase the efficiency of calculating transient temperature fields in complex aerospace vehicle structures is described. The advantages and disadvantages of explicit algorithms with variable time steps, known as the GEAR package, is described. Four test problems, used for evaluating and comparing various algorithms, were selected and finite-element models of the configurations are described. These problems include a space shuttle frame component, an insulated cylinder, a metallic panel for a thermal protection system, and a model of the wing of the space shuttle orbiter. Results generally indicate a preference for implicit over explicit algorithms for solution of transient structural heat transfer problems when the governing equations are stiff (typical of many practical problems such as insulated metal structures)