Structural transitions of ion strings in quantum potentials

We analyse the stability and dynamics of an ion chain confined inside a high-finesse optical resonator. When the dipolar transition of the ions strongly couples to one cavity mode, the mechanical effects of light modify the chain properties close to a structural transition. We focus on the linear chain close to the zigzag instability and show that linear and zigzag arrays are bistable for certain strengths of the laser pumping the cavity. For these regimes the chain is cooled into one of the configurations by cavity-enhanced photon scattering. The excitations of these structures mix photonic and vibrational fluctuations, which can be entangled at steady state. These features are signalled by Fano-like resonances in the spectrum of light at the cavity output.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figs - version to appear in PR

Revealing local failed supernovae with neutrino telescopes

We study the detectability of neutrino bursts from nearby direct black hole-forming collapses (failed supernovae) at Megaton detectors. Due to their high energetics, these bursts could be identified - by the time coincidence of N >= 2 or N >= 3 events within a ~ 1 s time window - from as far as ~ 4-5 Mpc away. This distance encloses several supernova-rich galaxies, so that failed supernova bursts could be detected at a rate of up to one per decade, comparable to the expected rate of the more common, but less energetic, neutron star-forming collapses. Thus, the detection of a failed supernova within the lifetime of a Mt detector is realistic. It might give the first evidence of direct black hole formation, with important implications on the physics of this phenomenon.Comment: LaTeX, 4 pages, 4 figures; minor changes to the text, results unchange

Testing neutrino spectra formation in collapsing stars with the diffuse supernova neutrino flux

I address the question of what can be learned from the observation of the diffuse supernova neutrino flux in the precision phase, at next generation detectors of Megaton scale. An analytical study of the spectrum of the diffuse flux shows that, above realistic detection thresholds of 10 MeV or higher, the spectrum essentially reflects the exponential-times-polynomial structure of the original neutrino spectrum at the emission point. There is only a weak (tens of per cent) dependence on the power \beta describing the growth of the supernova rate with the redshift. Different original neutrino spectra correspond to large differences in the observed spectrum of events at a water Cerenkov detector: for typical supernova rates, the ratio of the numbers of events in the first and second energy bins (of 5 MeV width) varies in the interval 1.5 - 4.3 for pure water (energy threshold 18 MeV) and in the range 1 - 2.5 for water with Gadolinium (10 MeV threshold). In the first case discrimination would be difficult due to the large errors associated with background. With Gadolinium, instead, the reduction of the total error down to 10-20 % level would allow spectral sensitivity, with a dramatic improvement of precision with respect to the SN1987A data. Even in this latter case, for typical neutrino luminosity the dependence on \beta is below sensitivity, so that it can be safely neglected in data analysis.Comment: LaTeX, 10 pages, 5 figures; details added to fig. 5 and related text, minor modifications to the text, references added. Version in press in Phys.Rev.D

Quasinormal modes for the Vaidya metric

We consider here scalar and electromagnetic perturbations for the Vaidya metric in double-null coordinates. Such an approach allows one to go a step further in the analysis of quasinormal modes for time-dependent spacetimes. Some recent results are refined, and a new non-stationary behavior corresponding to some sort of inertia for quasinormal modes is identified. Our conclusions can enlighten some aspects of the wave scattering by black holes undergoing some mass accretion processes.Comment: V2: 6 pages, 5 figure

The first report of South American edrioasteroids and the paleoecology and ontogeny of rhenopyrgid echinoderms

A new species of rhenopyrgid edrioasteroid Rhenopyrgus piojoensis sp. nov. is described form the Silurian (Lower Lud− low) Los Espejos Formation in the Precordillera of Argentina. This species is the first reported edrioasteroid from South America. Rhenopyrgids are widely distributed in Ordovician through Devonian deposits of most continents. Numerous juvenile specimens show that the general bodyplan is organized early in ontogeny and that the pedenculate zone lengthens with age. Phylogenetic analysis shows that rhenopyrgids are more closely related to edrioasterid edrioasteroids such as edrioblastoids and cyathocystids than to pyrgocystid isorophids.Fil: Sumrall, Colin D.. University of Tennessee; Estados UnidosFil: Heredia, Susana Emma. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Cecilia María. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mestre García, Ana Isabel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Kelvin-Helmholtz versus Hall Magneto-shear instability in astrophysical flows

We study the stability of shear flows in a fully ionized plasma. Kelvin-Helmholtz is a well known, macroscopic and ideal shear-driven instability. In sufficiently low density plasmas, also the microscopic Hall magneto-shear instability can take place. We performed three-dimensional simulations of the Hall-MHD equations where these two instabilities are present, and carried out a comparative study. We find that when the shear flow is so intense that its vorticity surpasses the ion-cyclotron frequency of the plasma, the Hall magneto-shear instability is not only non-negligible, but it actually displays growth rates larger than those of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability

Biología y ecología del calamar Dosidicus gigas (Cephalopoda) en aguas chilenas: una revisión

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.ABSTRACT. The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is the most abundant cephalopod species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, which supports the biggest cephalopod fishery in the world. Due to its growing economic importance, the population growth and distributional expansion of this squid is being increasingly studied. Nevertheless, some basic features of the biology of D. gigas are still unknown or have been poorly investigated. In this review we summarize the known information regarding the biology and ecology of this species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean; we focus on the Chilean region in order to propose hypotheses and research lines for a better understanding the life history of this organism. Available data on the size structure, reproduction and genetics of D. gigas allows us to propose hypotheses related to the squid's life history traits. Based on the current literature and publications of colleagues, we propose two hypotheses regarding the effect of spatial variation on the life history of D. gigas. Hypothesis 1: Squids mature at large sizes and spawn in oceanic waters with warm temperatures where paralarvae and juveniles develop. Immature squids migrate near shore to feed, grow and mature, and then return to the offshore sites to spawn. Hypothesis 2: Alternatively, juvenile D. gigas in the oceanic zone do not migrate to coastal waters and mature at small sizes compared to individuals living near the coast that mature at larger size and migrate to oceanic waters to spawn. We provide background information about the feeding behavior and parasitism of this species, suggesting that D. gigas is an important trophic link in the southeastern Pacific marine ecosystem. However, more studies on the feeding habits, reproduction and parasite load are needed not only to test hypotheses proposed in this study, but also to advance the overall knowledge of this species.RESUMEN. Dosidicus gigas, es el calamar más abundante en el Pacífico suroriental, manteniendo la mayor pesquería mundial de cefalópodos. Su creciente importancia económica, ha motivado el aumento de estudios asociados al crecimiento de sus poblaciones y su expansión geográfica. Sin embargo, algunas características biológicas básicas de esta especie son desconocidas o escasamente estudiadas. En esta revisión, se resume la información sobre la biología y ecología de esta especie para el Pacífico suroriental y se proponen hipótesis y líneas de investigación para el mejor entendimiento de su historia de vida. Los datos sobre estructura de tamaños, reproducción y aspectos genéticos de la especie, permiten avanzar en las hipótesis relacionadas con la historia de vida de estos rasgos. Hipótesis 1: Los calamares maduran a gran tamaño y desovan en aguas oceánicas con temperaturas cálidas, donde paralarvas y juveniles se desarrollan. Los calamares inmaduros migran hacia la costa para alimentarse, crecer y madurar, y luego vuelven a los sitios en alta mar para desovar. Hipótesis 2: Alternativamente, los juveniles de D. gigas en la zona oceánica no migran a las aguas costeras y maduran pequeños en comparación a los individuos que viven cerca de la costa que maduran a un tamaño más grande y migran a las aguas oceánicas para desovar. Se proponen dos hipótesis acerca de la variación espacial de la historia de vida. Además, se proporciona el marco relativo a la alimentación y parasitismo del calamar, que coloca a D. gigas como un importante nexo trófico en los ecosistemas marinos del Pacífico suroriental. No obstante, se necesitan más estudios relacionados con alimentación, reproducción y carga parasitaria del calamar para poner a prueba las hipótesis propuestas en este trabajo.http://ref.scielo.org/hpft7

The Stellar CME-flare relation: What do historic observations reveal?

Solar CMEs and flares have a statistically well defined relation, with more energetic X-ray flares corresponding to faster and more massive CMEs. How this relation extends to more magnetically active stars is a subject of open research. Here, we study the most probable stellar CME candidates associated with flares captured in the literature to date, all of which were observed on magnetically active stars. We use a simple CME model to derive masses and kinetic energies from observed quantities, and transform associated flare data to the GOES 1--8~\AA\ band. Derived CME masses range from $\sim 10^{15}$ to $10^{22}$~g. Associated flare X-ray energies range from $10^{31}$ to $10^{37}$~erg. Stellar CME masses as a function of associated flare energy generally lie along or below the extrapolated mean for solar events. In contrast, CME kinetic energies lie below the analogous solar extrapolation by roughly two orders of magnitude, indicating approximate parity between flare X-ray and CME kinetic energies. These results suggest that the CMEs associated with very energetic flares on active stars are more limited in terms of the ejecta velocity than the ejecta mass, possibly because of the restraining influence of strong overlying magnetic fields and stellar wind drag. Lower CME kinetic energies and velocities present a more optimistic scenario for the effects of CME impacts on exoplanets in close proximity to active stellar hosts.Comment: 23 pages, 3 tables, 4 figures, accepted by Ap

Family Preservation: The Parents’ Perceptions

This research documents the perspective of 100 parents who had an open case with the Department of Children and Family Service’s (DCFS) regarding their family’s well-being, reasons for referral and satisfaction with services. Two DCFS services, Family Preservation (FP) and routine Family Maintenance (FM) were examined using standardized instruments. Parents’ responses regarding reasons for involvement with the system differed from DCFS administrative data. FP parents had more children, were more likely to be monolingual Spanish speakers, and perceived greater improvement in discipline and emotional care of children and housing than FM parents. FP parents reported being satisfied with services. Implications include supporting community based culturally competent FP programs