The growth of structure in the intergalactic medium

A 'stochastic adhesion' model is introduced, with the purpose of describing the formation and evolution of mildly non-linear structures, such as sheets and filaments, in the intergalactic medium (IGM), after hydrogen reionization. The model is based on replacing the overall force acting on the baryon fluid – which results from the combination of local gravity, pressure gradients and Hubble drag – by a mock external force, self-consistently calculated from first-order perturbation theory. A small kinematic viscosity term prevents shell-crossing on small scales (which arises because of the approximate treatment of pressure gradients). The emerging scheme is an extension of the well-known adhesion approximation for the dark matter dynamics, from which it differs only by the presence of a small-scale 'random' force, characterizing the IGM. Our algorithm is the ideal tool to obtain the skeleton of the IGM distribution, which is responsible for the structure observed in the low column density Ly α forest in the absorption spectra of distant quasars.     

The regional ecology of elderly falls in Sweden

The study assesses exploratory the geography of the elderly fall in Sweden in relation to the ecology of the socio-demographic characteristics of the Swedes older population. Kendall Test is used to measure the association between elderly fall rates and demographic, socio-economic characteristics of the population, costs of elderly care and accessibility measures at county level. Results show a number of significant associations: high rates of the elderly fall are associated with high cost of the elderly care but also low rate of elderly fall and good accessibility to basic services (e.g., grocery store, health care and cash machines). The articles finalizes with reflections of the results and suggestions for future research.     

Transverse oscillations in solar spicules induced by propagating Alfvénic pulses

The excitation of Alfvénic waves in solar spicules by localized Alfvénic pulses is investigated. A set of incompressible MHD equations in the two-dimensional x–z plane with steady flows and sheared magnetic fields is solved. Stratification due to gravity and transition region between chromosphere and corona is taken into account. An initially localized Alfvénic pulse launched below the transition region can penetrate from transition region into the corona. We show that the period of the transversal oscillations is in agreement with those observed in spicules. Moreover, it is found that the excited Alfvénic waves spread during propagation along the spicule length, and suffer efficient damping of the oscillations amplitude. The damping time of the transverse oscillations increased with decreasing k _b values.     

Conceptual study of X-braced frames with different steel grades using cyclic half-scale tests

In this paper,an experimental and analytical study of two half-scale steel X-braced frames with equal nominal shear strength under cyclic loading is described.In these tests,all members except the braces are similar.The braces are made of various steel grades to monitor the effects of seismic excitation.Internal stiffeners are employed to limit the local buckling and increase the fracture life of the steel bracing.A heavy central core is introduced at the intersection of the braces to decrease their effective length.Recent seismic specifications are considered in the design of the X-braced frame members to verify their efficiency.The failure modes of the X-braced frames are also illustrated.It is observed that the energy dissipation capacity,ultimate load capacity and ductility of the system increase considerably by using lower grade steel and proposed detailing.Analytical modeling of the specimens using nonlinear finite element software supports the experimental findings.     

Geodetic evidence on segmentation of Cascadia subduction zone based on episodic tremors and slips using multivariate harmonic analysis of GPS time series

Episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events with different recurrence intervals have been observed in abundance all along the Cascadia subduction zone margin. Analysis of seismic records as well as Global Positioning System (GPS) time series of the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array (PANGA) has suggested three distinct coherent zones for the occurrence of these events. In this paper multivariate harmonic estimation has been deployed for further analysis of the segmentation in this area. Raw time series of 43 permanent GPS stations have been used for this purpose. The GPS stations have been geographically divided into three distinct groups including those in the northern, middle and southern parts of the study area. After the reduction of time series for the linear trend as well as annual and semiannual effects, the data series of each group has been analyzed using the multivariate harmonic estimation technique. Subsequently, different combinations of GPS stations including the stations located in the southern, northern and middle zones have been analyzed. Furthermore, the northern and middle, southern and middle as well as the northern and southern zone pair combinations have also been analyzed. The statistical measure devised for identifying the significant frequencies suggests common periods that are consistent with the recurrence intervals of the ETS events already reported for each of the above three geographic zones. Moreover, the method can provide geodetic evidence, in addition to geophysical ones, on the segmentation of ETSs, provided that the adopted time series are of a sufficient length. The geodetic evidence obtained in this research is consistent with the recurrence intervals as well as the boundaries obtained by the analysis of seismic records. Contrary to univariate harmonic estimation, multivariate approach using spatio-temporal correlation of the GPS time series is capable to detect those ETSs whose impacts on the time series are weak.     

Non-linear damping of visco-resistive Alfvén waves in solar spicules

Interaction of Alfvén waves with plasma inhomogeneities generates phase mixing which can lead to dissipate Alfvén waves and to heat the solar plasma. Here we study the dissipation of Alfvén waves by phase mixing due to viscosity and resistivity variations with height. We also consider nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations in our theoretical model. Non-linear terms of MHD equations include perturbed velocity, magnetic field, and density. To investigate the damping of Alfvén waves in a stratified atmosphere of solar spicules, we solve the non-linear MHD equations in the x–z plane. Our simulations show that the damping is enhanced due to viscosity and resistivity gradients. Moreover, energy variations is influenced due to nonlinear terms in MHD equations.