Pré-seleção de sítios astronômicos por imagens de satélites meteorológicos

A Astronomia, como origem e, talvez, como fim de todas as Ciências, sempre esteve voltada à observação dos astros e à busca de novas técnicas e instrumentos que permitissem ampliar os limites e a qualidade destas observações. Dessa busca resultou o desenvolvimento do telescópio óptico, em 1608, por Galileu Galilei. Com o passar dos anos, esse instrumento foi sofrendo incontáveis aperfeiçoamentos, chegando aos nossos dias como um aparelho preciso e de sofisticada tecnologia. Apesar das fronteiras observacionais terem avançado para além do espectro visível, o telescópio óptico ainda é indispensável à Astronomia. O Brasil, embora não apresente condições meteorológicas ideais para observações astronômicas, possui observatórios ópticos de razoável qualidade, como o Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, LNA, em Minas Gerais, entre outros. Em seu extremo sul, no entanto, o País carece de bons instrumentos ópticos, destacando-se unicamente o telescópio da UFRGS instalado no Observatório do Morro Santana, em Porto Alegre. O aumento da iluminação artificial na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre e, conseqüentemente, da claridade do céu noturno tem praticamente inviabilizado a operação do Observatório. Assim, a escolha de novos locais para a futura instalação de telescópios ópticos no Estado é imprescindível. Acrescenta-se a isto o fato do ciclo climático desta região diferenciarse daquele das demais regiões do País, fato relevante, dado que um dos fatores determinantes na escolha de novos sítios para telescópios ópticos é a taxa de nebulosidade. Levantamentos in situ de nebulosidade são longos e custosos. Como alternativa, neste trabalho foi realizado um estudo estatístico do Estado, a partir da montagem de um banco de 472 imagens noturnas dos satélites GOES e MeteoSat. A combinação das imagens, por processo de superposição e cálculo de valores médios de contagens (brilho), à escala de pixel, forneceu informações em nível de préseleção, ou indicativo, de locais com altas taxas de noites claras. Foram cobertos os períodos de 1994-1995 e 1998-1999, com focalização nas áreas em torno de Bom Jesus, Vacaria e Caçapava do Sul. Como controle, foi também monitorada a área em torno do LNA em Minas Gerais. Ademais da demonstração metodológica, os dados orbitais indicaram que, na média destes anos, estas áreas são adequadas à instalação de observatórios astronômicos, pela conjugação dos fatores de nebulosidade e altitude.

Uma análise teórica da evolução da rotação estelar

In the past 50 years, large efforts have been made toward the understanding of the stellar evolution. In the observational context, large sets of precise measurements of projected rotational velocity were produced, in particular by the Natal and Geneva groups. From these data, it is now possible to establish the behavior of stellar rotation from the turnoff to the red giant branch. In addition, these data have shown the role of tidal effects on stellar rotation in close binary systems. Nevertheless, relatively little attention has been paid to theoretical studies on the evolution of rotation along the HR Diagram, a topic itself directly associated to the evolution of the stars. Basically, there are two reasons for such a fact, (i) spherical symmetry is not assumed, what leads to a substantial increase in the numerical complexity of equations and (ii) non rotating models have been very successful in explaining relevant observational data, including the mass-luminosity relation and chemical abundances. In spite of these facts, it is clear that considerable work remains to be done on the role of rotation in the later stages of the evolution, where clear disagreements arise from confrontations between theoretical predictions and observations. In the present work we study the evolutionary behavior of stellar rotation along the HR Diagram, taking into account constraint conditions issued from recent observational survey of rotational velocity carried out with high precision procedures and new evolutionary codes

Os Polímeros como Sistemas Complexos

Neste trabalho, através de simulações computacionais, identificamos os fenômenos físicos associados ao crescimento e a dinâmica de polímeros como sistemas complexos exibindo comportamentos não linearidades, caos, criticalidade auto-organizada, entre outros. No primeiro capítulo, iniciamos com uma breve introdução onde descrevemos alguns conceitos básicos importantes ao entendimento do nosso trabalho. O capítulo 2 consiste na descrição do nosso estudo da distribuição de segmentos num polímero ramificado. Baseado em cálculos semelhantes aos usados em cadeias poliméricas lineares, utilizamos o modelo de crescimento para polímeros ramificados (Branched Polymer Growth Model - BPGM) proposto por Lucena et al., e analisamos a distribuição de probabilidade dos monômeros num polímero ramificado em 2 dimensões, até então desconhecida. No capítulo seguinte estudamos a classe de universalidade dos polímeros ramificados gerados pelo BPGM. Utilizando simulações computacionais em 3 dimensões do modelo proposto por Lucena et al., calculamos algumas dimensões críticas (dimensões fractal, mínima e química) para tentar elucidar a questão da classe de universalidade. Ainda neste Capítulo, descrevemos um novo modelo para a simulação de polímeros ramificados que foi por nós desenvolvido de modo a poupar esforço computacional. Em seguida, no capítulo 4 estudamos o comportamento caótico do crescimento de polímeros gerados pelo BPGM. Partimos de polímeros criticamente organizados e utilizamos uma técnica muito semelhante aquela usada em transições de fase em Modelos de Ising para estudar propagação de danos chamada de Distância de Hamming. Vimos que a distância de Hamming para o caso dos polímeros ramificados se comporta como uma lei de potência, indicando um caráter não-extensivo na dinâmica de crescimento. No Capítulo 5 analisamos o movimento molecular de cadeias poliméricas na presença de obstáculos e de gradientes de potenciais. Usamos um modelo generalizado de reptação para estudar a difusão de polímeros lineares em meios desordenados. Investigamos a evolução temporal destas cadeias em redes quadradas e medimos os tempos característicos de transporte t. Finalizamos esta dissertação com um capítulo contendo a conclusão geral denoss o trabalho (Capítulo 6), mais dois apêndices (Apêndices A e B) contendo a fenomenologia básica para alguns conceitos que utilizaremos ao longo desta tese (Fractais e Percolação respectivamente) e um terceiro e ´ultimo apêndice (Apêndice C) contendo uma descrição de um programa de computador para simular o crescimentos de polímeros ramificados em uma rede quadrada

Modelos analíticos para rádio fontes extragalácticas

The great majority of analytical models for extragalactic radio sources suppose self-similarity and can be classified into three types: I, II and III. We have developed a model that represents a generalization of most models found in the literature and showed that these three types are particular cases. The model assumes that the area of the head of the jet varies with the jet size according to a power law and the jet luminosity is a function of time. As it is usually done, the basic hypothesis is that there is an equilibrium between the pressure exerted both by the head of the jet and the cocoon walls and the ram pressure of the ambient medium. The equilibrium equations and energy conservation equation allow us to express the size and width of the source and the pressure in the cocoon as a power law and find the respective exponents. All these assumptions can be used to calculate the evolution of the source size, width and radio luminosity. This can then be compared with the observed width-size relation for radio lobes and the power-size (P-D) diagram of both compact (GPS and CSS) and extended sources from the 3CR catalogue. In this work we introduce two important improvement as compared with a previous work: (1)We have put together a larger sample of both compact and extended radio sources

Aspectos dinâmicos da água versus álcool e acetona por técnicas de congelamento

Water still represents, on its critical properties and phase transitions, a problem of current scientific interest, as a consequence of the countless open questions and of the inadequacy of the existent theoretical models, mainly related to the different solid and liquid phases that this substance possesses. For example, there are 13 known crystalline forms of water, and also amorphous phases. One of them, the amorphous ice of very high density (VHDA), was just recently observed. Other example is the anomalous behavior in the macroscopic density, which presents a maximum at the temperature of 277 K. In order to experimentally investigate the behavior of one of the liquid-solid phase transitions, the anomaly in its density and also the metastability, we used three different cooling techniques and, as comparison systems, we made use of the solvents: acetone and ethyl alcohol. The first studied cooling system employ a Peltier plate, a device recently developed, which makes use of small cubes made up of semiconductors to change heat among two surfaces; the second system is a commercial refrigerator, similar to the residential ones. Finally, the liquid nitrogen technique, which is used to refrigerate the samples in a container, in two ways: a very fast and other one, almost static. In those three systems, three Beckers of aluminum were used (with a volume of 80 ml, each), containing water, alcohol and acetone. They were closed and maintained at atmospheric pressure. Inside of each Becker were installed three thermocouples, disposed along the vertical axis of the Beckers, one close to the inferior surface, other to the medium level and the last one close the superior surface. A system of data acquisition was built via virtual instrumentation using as a central equipment a Data-Acquisition board. The temperature data were collected by the three thermocouples in the three Beckers, simultaneously, in function of freezing time. We will present the behavior of temperature versus freezing time for the three substances. The results show the characterization of the transitions of the liquid

Medidas e análise estatística em sinais bioelétricos sobre pontos de acupuntura

In the 20th century, the acupuncture has spread on occident as a complementary practice of heath care. This fact has motivated the international scientific community to invest in research that seek to understand why acupuncture works. In this work we compare statistically volt age fluctuation of bioelectric signals caught on the skin at an acupuncture point (IG 4) another nearby on acupuncture point. The acquisition of these signals was performed utilizing an electronic interface with a computer, which was based on an instrumentation amplifier designed with adequate specifications to this end. On the collected signals from a sample of 30 volunteers we have calculated major statistics and submitted them to pairing t-test with significance leveI a = O, 05. We have estimated to bioelectric signals the following parameters: standard deviation, asymmetry and curtose. Moreover, we have calculated the self-correlation function matched by on exponential curve we have observed that the signal decays more rapidly from a non-acupoint then from an acupoint. This fact is an indicative of the existence of information in the acupoint

Propriedades magnéticas de nanopartículas de ferro em substratos antiferromagnéticos

The effect of finite size on the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic particles systems is a recurrent subject. One of the aspects wide investigated is the superparamagnetic limit where the temperature destroys the magnetic order of ferromagnetic small particles. Above the block temperature the thermal value of the magnetic moment of the particle vanishes, due to thermal fluctuations. The value of the blocking temperature diminishes when the size of the particle is reduced, reflecting the reduction of the anisotropy energy barrier between the uniform states along the uniaxial axis. The increasing demand for high density magnetic media has recently attracted great research interest in periodic arrangements of nanometric ferromagnetics particles, approach in the superparamagnetic limit. An interesting conjecture is the possibility of stabilization of the magnetic order of small ferromagnetic particles (F) by interface coupling with antiferromagnetic (AF) substrate. These F/AF systems may also help to elucidate some details of the effect of exchange bias, because the effect of interface roughness and the paper of domain walls, either in the substrate or the particle, are significantly reduced. We investigate the magnetic phases of small ferromagnetic particles on a antiferromagnetic substrate. We use a self-consistent local field method, incorporating the interface field and the dipole interaction between the spins of the ferromagnetic particle. Our results indicate that increasing the area of the interface favors the formation of the uniform state. Howere above a critical height value appears a state non-uniform is formed where the spins of in the particle s free surface are rotated with respect to the interface spins direction. We discuss the impact of the competition between the dipolar and interface field on the magnetic charge, that controls the field of flux leakage of the particle, and on the format of the hysteresis curves. Our results indicate that the liquid magnetic charge is not a monotonically increasing function of the height of the particle. The exchange bias may display anomalous features, induced for the dipolar field of the spins near the F/AF interface

Dinâmica Estocástica e Cosmologia: alguns resultados analíticos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Análise estatística de padrões sísmicos: decomposição em multiescala

O processamento de registros sísmicos é uma tarefa muito importante dentro da Geofísica e que representa um desafio permanente na exploração de petróleo. Embora esses sinais forneçam uma imagem adequada da estrutura geológica do subsolo, eles são contaminados por ruídos e, o ground roll é a componente principal. Este fato exige um esforço grande para o desenvolvimento de metodologias para filtragem, Dentro desse contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar um método de remoção do ruído ground roll fazendo uso de ferramentas da Física Estatística. No método, a Análise em Ondeletas é combinada com a Transformada de Karhunen-Loève para a remoção em uma região bem localizada. O processo de filtragem começa com a Decomposição em Multiescala. Essa técnica permite uma representação em tempo-escala fazendo uso das ondeletas discretas implementadas a filtros de reconstrução perfeita. O padrão sísmico original fica representado em multipadrões: um por escala. Assim, pode-se atenuar o ground roll como uma operação cirúrgica em cada escala, somente na região onde sua presença é forte, permitindo preservar o máximo de informações relevantes. A atenuação é realizada pela definição de um fator de atenuação Af. Sua escolha é feita pelo comportamento dos modos de energia da Transformada de Karhunen-Loève. O ponto correspondendo a um mínimo de energia do primeiro modo é identificado como um fator de atenuação ótimo

Aplicações da teoria da percolação à modelagem e simulação de reservatórios de petróleo

In this thesis we study some problems related to petroleum reservoirs using methods and concepts of Statistical Physics. The thesis could be divided percolation problem in random multifractal support motivated by its potential application in modelling oil reservoirs. We develped an heterogeneous and anisotropic grid that followin two parts. The first one introduce a study of the percolations a random multifractal distribution of its sites. After, we determine the percolation threshold for this grid, the fractal dimension of the percolating cluster and the critical exponents ß and v. In the second part, we propose an alternative systematic of modelling and simulating oil reservoirs. We introduce a statistical model based in a stochastic formulation do Darcy Law. In this model, the distribution of permeabilities is localy equivalent to the basic model of bond percolation

Propriedades Físicas do Semicondutor Bi2Te3

Thermoelectric Refrigerators (TEC Thermoelectric Cooling) are solid-state heat pumps used in applications where stabilization of temperature cycles or cooling below the room temperature are required. TEC are based on thermoelectric devices, and these in turn, are based on the Peltier effect, which is the production of a difference in temperature when an electric current is applied to a junction formed by two non-similar materials. This is one of the three thermoelectric effects and is a typical semiconductor junction phenomenon. The thermoelectric efficiency, known as Z thermoelectric or merit figure is a parameter that measures the quality of a thermoelectric device. It depends directly on electrical conductivity and inversely on the thermal conductivity. Therefore, good thermoelectric devices have typically high values of electrical conductivity and low values of thermal conductivity. One of the most common materials in the composition of thermoelectric devices is the semiconductor bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and its alloys. Peltier plates made up by crystals of semiconductor P-type and N-type are commercially available for various applications in thermoelectric systems. In this work, we characterize the electrical properties of bismuth telluride through conductivity/resistivity of the material, and X-rays power diffraction and magnetoresistance measurements. The results were compared with values taken from specific literature. Moreover, two techniques of material preparation, and applications in refrigerators, are discussed

Propagação de danos em sistemas cooperativos: propriedades termodinâmicas

High-precision calculations of the correlation functions and order parameters were performed in order to investigate the critical properties of several two-dimensional ferro- magnetic systems: (i) the q-state Potts model; (ii) the Ashkin-Teller isotropic model; (iii) the spin-1 Ising model. We deduced exact relations connecting specific damages (the difference between two microscopic configurations of a model) and the above mentioned thermodynamic quanti- ties which permit its numerical calculation, by computer simulation and using any ergodic dynamics. The results obtained (critical temperature and exponents) reproduced all the known values, with an agreement up to several significant figures; of particular relevance were the estimates along the Baxter critical line (Ashkin-Teller model) where the exponents have a continuous variation. We also showed that this approach is less sensitive to the finite-size effects than the standard Monte-Carlo method. This analysis shows that the present approach produces equal or more accurate results, as compared to the usual Monte Carlo simulation, and can be useful to investigate these models in circumstances for which their behavior is not yet fully understood

O Modelo de Ising inomogêneo: uma interrupção contínua entre as redes quadrada e triangular.

The ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic Ising model on a two dimensional inhomogeneous lattice characterized by two exchange constants (J1 and J2) is investigated. The lattice allows, in a continuous manner, the interpolation between the uniforme square (J2 = 0) and triangular (J2 = J1) lattices. By performing Monte Carlo simulation using the sequential Metropolis algorithm, we calculate the magnetization and the magnetic susceptibility on lattices of differents sizes. Applying the finite size scaling method through a data colappse, we obtained the critical temperatures as well as the critical exponents of the model for several values of the parameter α = J2 J1 in the [0, 1] range. The ferromagnetic case shows a linear increasing behavior of the critical temperature Tc for increasing values of α. Inwhich concerns the antiferromagnetic system, we observe a linear (decreasing) behavior of Tc, only for small values of α; in the range [0.6, 1], where frustrations effects are more pronunciated, the critical temperature Tc decays more quickly, possibly in a non-linear way, to the limiting value Tc = 0, cor-responding to the homogeneous fully frustrated antiferromagnetic triangular case.

Efeitos de interface em bicamadas magnéticas acopladas

We have developed a theoretical study of magnetic bilayers composed by a ferromagnetic film grown in direct contact on an antiferromagnetic one. We have investigated the interface effects in this systems due to the interfilms coupling. We describe the interface effects by a Heisenberg like coupling with an additional unidirectional anisotropy. In the first approach we assume that the magnetic layers are thick enough to be described by the bulk parameters and they are coupled through the interaction between the magnetic moments located at the interface. We use this approach to calculate the modified dynamical response of each material. We use the magnetic permeability of the layers (with corrections introduced by interface interactions) to obtain a correlation between the interface characteristics and the physical behavior of the magnetic excitations propagating in the system. In the second model, we calculated an effective susceptibility of the system considering a nearly microscopical approach. The dynamic response obtained by this approach was used to study the modifications in the spectrum of the polaritons and its consequences on the attenuated total reflection (ATR). In addition, we have calculated the oblique reflectivity. We compare our result with those obtained for the dispersion relation of the magnetostatic modes in these systems

Modelos auto-similares para rádio fontes extragalácticas.

This work is a detailed study of self-similar models for the expansion of extragalactic radio sources. A review is made of the definitions of AGN, the unified model is discussed and the main characteristics of double radio sources are examined. Three classification schemes are outlined and the self-similar models found in the literature are studied in detail. A self-similar model is proposed that represents a generalization of the models found in the literature. In this model, the area of the head of the jet varies with the size of the jet with a power law with an exponent γ. The atmosphere has a variable density that may or may not be spherically symmetric and it is taken into account the time variation of the cinematic luminosity of the jet according to a power law with an exponent h. It is possible to show that models Type I, II and III are particular cases of the general model and one also discusses the evolution of the sources radio luminosity. One compares the evolutionary curves of the general model with the particular cases and with the observational data in a P-D diagram. The results show that the model allows a better agreement with the observations depending on the appropriate choice of the model parameters.