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A procedure to aid in the deciding between four and five parameters in a Jensen's type bivariate gamma distribution is presented. It is based upon the CDF of the ratio of correlated gamma distributed variates. The criteria are posed in a test of hypothesis setting and results are presented.
The presence of an excess of low-energy antiprotons in the primary cosmic radiation has given rise to several possible explanations, some of which involve exotic processes such as mini-black holes and extragalactic antiparticles. The latter possibility is considered, and it is shown that there are interesting implications for the cosmic radiation at higher energies. Indeed, it may be possible to account for a previously puzzling feature of the cosmic ray spectrum (a 'bump' in the range between 10 to the 14th and 10 to the 15th eV) by hypothesizing a primary extragalactic origin for the bulk of the observed cosmic ray antiprotons, although such an explanation is not unique. In this model, most of the cosmic rays above 10 to the 15th eV are extragalactic. A method of testing this hypothesis experimentally is described.
The rotation period of Hyperion is determined here on the basis of a light-curve derived from low-resolution Voyager images taken over a two-month span. The data indicate a coherent 13-day spin period over 61 days, with the spin axis nearly parallel to the orbital plane. Since Hyperion is not in synchronous rotation, it cannot be used to test the hypothesis that dark dust spiralling inward on retrograde orbits causes the pronounced leading side/trailing side albedo asymmetry observed on the surface of Iapetus.
The hypothesis was tested that calcium, asymmetrically distributes in the root cap upon reorientation to gravity, affects auxin transport and thereby auxin distribution at the elongation zone. It is assumed that calcium exists in the root cap and is asymmetrically transported in root caps altered from a vertical to a horizontal position and that the meristem, the tissue immediately adjacent to the root cap and lying between the site of gravity perception and the site of gravity response, is essential for mediation of gravitropism. Tip calcium in root gravicurvature was implicated. The capstone evidence is that the root cap has the capacity to polarly translocate exogenous calcium downward when tissue is oriented horizontally, and that exogenous calcium, when supplied asymmetrically at the root tip, induces curvature and dictates the direction of curvature in both vertical and horizontal corn roots.
The high, dry valleys of the Ross Desert of Antarctic, characterized by extremely low temperatures, aridity and a depauperate biota, are used as an analog of the postulated extreme climates of other planetary bodies of the Solar System to test the hypothesis that if life could be supported by Ross, it might be possible where similar conditions prevail. The previously considered sterility of the Ross Desert soil ecosystem has yielded up an indigenous yeast, Cryptoccus vishniacci, which is able to resist the extremes of cold, wet and dry freezing, and long arid periods, while making minimal nutritional demands on the soil.
A phenomenology for gamma ray burst time histories is outlined. Order of their generally chaotic appearance is attempted, based on the speculation that any one burst event can be represented above 150 keV as a superposition of similarly shaped increases of varying intensity. The increases can generally overlap, however, confusing the picture, but a given event must at least exhibit its own limiting characteristic rise and decay times if the measurements are made with instruments having adequate temporal resolution. Most catalogued observations may be of doubtful or marginal utility to test this hypothesis, but some time histories from Helios-2, Pioneer Venus Orbiter and other instruments having one-to several-millisecond capabilities appear to provide consistency. Also, recent studies of temporally resolved Solar Maximum Mission burst energy spectra are entirely compatible with this picture. The phenomenology suggested here, if correct, may assist as an analytic tool for modelling of burst processes and possibly in the definition of burst source populations.
It may be possible to account for a previously puzzling feature - a bump in the energy range 10 to the 14th power eV to 10 to the 15th power - of the cosmic ray spectrum by hypothesizing a primary extragalactic origin for the bulk of the observed cosmic ray antiprotons, although such an explanation is not unique. In this model, most of the cosmic rays above 10 to the 15th power eV are extragalactic. A method is described of testing this hypothesis experimentally.
Low-energy non-thermal protons may have long lifetimes in coronal loops with low density and high temperature. If energy were stored in such protons in the initial phases of a solar flare, it could be released slowly during the later phases. Within the present observational limits for post-flare loops, this mechanism should be considered in addition to a field-line reconnection theory of the Kopp and Pneuman type. The thin-target gamma ray emission from the trapped protons is below present limits, but more sensitive observations can test the hypothesis.
The determination of the light curve (LC) of a geometrically scattering ellipsoid is considered in relation to the problem of investigating the physical properties of asteroids. A simple concise formula is derived for the area of a projection of an ellipsoid, and this expression is used to obtain a general formula for the projected, visible, illuminated area of a triaxial ellipsoid for arbitrary sun-earth-asteroid geometry. It is found that the LC of an ellipsoid has special properties that can be exploited to test the hypothesis that a given optical or radar LC could be due to a geometrically scattering ellipsoid.
A good case has recently been made that the unidentified infrared emission features arise from positively charged, partially hydrogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this letter it is suggested that these exceedingly stable ions are also the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands. Although a large variety of PAH isomers is possible, the more condensed forms are substantially more stable than the less condensed forms and are expected to be dominant in the harsh interstellar environment. While neutral PAHs do not absorb in the visible, their ionized counterparts do. Because of their low ionization potential, a substantial fraction of the interstellar PAHs will be ionized. Visible spectra of the most stable PAH cations isolated in glasses are compared directly to the interstellar band spectra. Although the laboratory spectra are on an extremely compressed scale and solid state shifts are present, the comparison is favorable. Since little information is available concerning the spectroscopic properties of these species in the gas phase, a considerable amount of laboratory and theoretical work is called for to test this hypothesis.
A technique is outlined that tests the hypothesis Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) image spectra are produced by mixtures of surface materials. This technique allows separation of AIS images into concentration images of spectral endmembers (e.g., surface materials causing spectral variation). Using a spectral reference library it was possible to uniquely identify these spectral endmembers with respect to the reference library and to calibrate the AIS images.
Near global comparisons were made between binned forms of SST obtained from different instruments, ship meteorological observations, and the output of a meteorological model. Binning hereinafter means gridding by simple summation of data values in a bin, which in this study was a 2 deg. x 2 deg. box or a 10 deg. x 10 box surrounding a grid node. In the binned comparisons, the question is asked: are the binned data from two instruments drawn from the same population? The first two measures of statistical moments of the populations are used to test the hypothesis that they are. Comparisons were also attempted between raw forms of the various SST retrievals, using a structure function analysis. The results of this analysis were relatively uninteresting and are therefore omitted.
Crustal anomaly detection with MAGSAT data is frustrated by the inherent resolving power of the data and by contamination from the external and core fields. The quality of the data might be tested by modeling specific tectonic features which produce anomalies that fall within the proposed resolution and crustal amplitude capabilities of the MAGSAT fields. To test this hypothesis, the north African hotspots associated with Ahaggar, Tibestia and Darfur have been modeled as magnetic induction anomalies due solely to shallower depth to the Curie isotherm surface beneath these features. The MAGSAT data were reduced by subtracting the external and core fields to isolate the scalar and vertical component crustal signals. The predicted model magnetic signal arising from the surface topography of the uplift and the Curie isotherm surface was calculated at MAGSAT altitudes by the Fourier transform technique modified to allow for variable magnetization. In summary it is suggested that the region beneath Ahaggar is associated with a strong thermal anomaly and the predicted anomaly best fits the associated MAGSAT anomaly if the African plate is moving in a northeasterly direction.
The mid-infrared spectrum of a continuously increasing number of stellar objects, planetary and reflection nebulae, H-II regions and extragalactic sources show a distinctive set of broad emission features at 3.3, 3.4, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.3 micron known collectively as the unidentified infrared emission bands. A model is summarized in which the bands arise from positively charged polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAH's) on the basis of their low ionization potential and the excellent agreement between the emission bands and laboratory spectra of auto exhaust which contains these types of molecules. The proposed presence of PAHs in such a variety of objects points to their presence in the interstellar medium. Out of a previously published collection of solid state PAH radical cation spectra five were selected on the basis of the unique thermodynamic stability of their carrier and compared directly to the wavelengths of the DIB's. Although the match seems quite favorable, strongly suggesting that PAH radicals are the long sought after carrier of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands, much laboratory work must be done to test this hypothesis.
The Sun accounts for the bulk of material in the solar system. Information on the isotopic composition of elements in the solar wind is therefore essential for an understanding of the contribution made by each nucleogenetic component that has been identified in meteorites. Recent work suggests that isotopic data on the solar wind may also help us to understand the physical process that is concentrating light elements at the solar surface. Refractory and volatile elements would behave alike under the conditions of solar fractionation. Prolonged exposure of foils at 1AU from the sun would be a relatively inexpensively way to collect the quantity of solar wind implanted refractory elements needed to test this hypothesis.
The Colorado Plateau (CP) basin and range (B & R) boundary is marked by a transition zone on the order of 75 to 150 km in width. As one moves westward across this transition from the CP interior to the B & R there is a variation in the surface topography, surface heat flow, Bouguer gravity, seismicity, and crustal structure. This transition extends eastward into the western CP from the Wastach-Hurricane fault line and is largely coincident with the high plateaus of Utah and the Wasatch Mountains. It has been suggested that this transition zone marks a thermal and tectonic encroachment of the CP by the B & R. A simple two dimensional numerical model of the thermal regime for the transition zone was constructed to test the hypothesis that the observed geophysical signatures across the transition are due to lateral heat conduction from steady state uniform extension within the B & R lithosphere. Surface heat flow, uplift due to flexure from thermal buoyant loading, and regional Bouguer gravity are computed for various extension rates, crustal structures, and compensation depths.
Results of calculations are given for three-dimensional models of the Io torus, to analyze the spectroscopic data reported by Morgan (1985). The calculations included variations in the torus plasma properties with longitude, latitude, and distance from Jupiter. The spectroscopic data are compared with the Oliversen's (S II) images and with the in situ measurements made by Voyager 1. The hypothesis is tested that the optical east-west variations reported in Morgan (1985) are consistent with the convective motions suggested by Barbosa and Kivelson (1983) and Ip and Goertz (1983). It is shown that the optical intensity asymmetry can be explained as a natural consequence of the suggested convective motions.
In a study that tests the hypothesis that magnetosheath magnetic fields are disturbed on plasma streamlines which are connected to the quasi-parallel bow shock, magnetometer observations from the ISEE 2 and IMP 8 spacecraft are used to investigate the dayside spatial distributions of fluctuating magnetosheath fields for different interplanetary field orientations. The results suggest that although other sources such as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and flux transfer processes probably contribute to the fluctuations in the magnetosheath field, the quasi-parallel shock source is an important contributor in the dayside region.