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  1. ABSTRACT

    The formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the Universe and its role in the properties of the galaxies is one of the open questions in astrophysics and cosmology. Though, traditionally, electromagnetic waves have been instrumental in direct measurements of SMBHs, significantly influencing our comprehension of galaxy formation, gravitational waves (GW) bring an independent avenue to detect numerous binary SMBHs in the observable Universe in the nano-Hertz range using the pulsar timing array observation. This brings a new way to understand the connection between the formation of binary SMBHs and galaxy formation if we can connect theoretical models with multimessenger observations namely GW data and galaxy surveys. Along these lines, we present here the first paper on this series based on romulus25 cosmological simulation on the properties of the host galaxies of SMBHs and propose on how this can be used to connect with observations of nano-Hertz GW signal and galaxy surveys. We show that the most dominant contribution to the background will arise from sources with high chirp masses which are likely to reside in low-redshift early-type galaxies with high stellar mass, largely old stellar population, and low star formation rate, and that reside at centres of galaxy groups and manifest evidence of recent mergers. The masses of the sources show a correlation with the halo mass and stellar mass of the host galaxies. This theoretical study will help in understanding the host properties of the GW sources and can help in establishing a connection with observations.

     
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  2. The engineering samples of the NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchip and NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips were tested using different benchmarks and scientific applications. The benchmarks include HPCC and HPCG. The real application-based benchmark includes AI-Benchmark-Alpha (a TensorFlow benchmark), Gromacs, OpenFOAM, and ROMS. The performance was compared to multiple Intel, AMD, ARM CPUs and several x86 with NVIDIA GPU systems. A brief energy efficiency estimate was performed based on TDP values. We found that in HPCC benchmark tests, the per-core performance of Grace is similar to or faster than AMD Milan cores, and the high core count often allows NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchip to have per-node performance similar to Intel Sapphire Rapids with High Bandwidth Memory: slower in matrix multiplication (by 17%) and FFT (by 6%), faster in Linpack (by 9%)). In scientific applications, the NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchip performance is slower by 6% to 18% in Gromacs, faster by 7% in OpenFOAM, and right between HBM and DDR modes of Intel Sapphire Rapids in ROMS. The combined CPU-GPU performance in Gromacs is significantly faster (by 20% to 117% faster) than any tested x86-NVIDIA GPU system. Overall, the new NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchip and NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchip Superchip are high-performance and most likely energy-efficient solutions for HPC centers. 
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  3. This EDI data package contains instructional materials necessary to teach Macrosystems EDDIE Module 6: Understanding Uncertainty in Ecological Forecasts, a ~3-hour educational module for undergraduates. Ecological forecasting is an emerging approach that provides an estimate of the future state of an ecological system with uncertainty, allowing society to prepare for changes in important ecosystem services. Forecast uncertainty is derived from multiple sources, including model parameters and driver data, among others. Knowing the uncertainty associated with a forecast enables forecast users to evaluate the forecast and make more informed decisions. This module will guide students through an exploration of the sources of uncertainty within an ecological forecast, how uncertainty can be quantified, and steps that can be taken to reduce the uncertainty in a forecast that students develop for a lake ecosystem, using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Students will visualize data, build a model, generate a forecast with uncertainty, and then compare the contributions of various sources of forecast uncertainty to total forecast uncertainty. The flexible, three-part (A-B-C) structure of this module makes it adaptable to a range of student levels and course structures. There are two versions of the module: an R Shiny application which does not require students to code, and an RMarkdown version which requires students to read and alter R code to complete module activities. The R Shiny application is published to shinyapps.io and is available at the following link: https://macrosystemseddie.shinyapps.io/module6/. GitHub repositories are available for both the R Shiny (https://github.com/MacrosystemsEDDIE/module6) and RMarkdown versions (https://github.com/MacrosystemsEDDIE/module6_R) of the module, and both code repositories have been published with DOIs to Zenodo (R Shiny version at https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10380759 and RMarkdown version at https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10380339). Readers are referred to the module landing page for additional information (https://serc.carleton.edu/eddie/teaching_materials/modules/module6.html). 
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  4. Abstract

    We are entering an era in which we will be able to detect and characterize hundreds of dwarf galaxies within the Local Volume. It is already known that a strong dichotomy exists in the gas content and star formation properties of field dwarf galaxies versus satellite dwarfs of larger galaxies. In this work, we study the more subtle differences that may be detectable in galaxies as a function of distance from a massive galaxy, such as the Milky Way. We compare smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations of dwarf galaxies formed in a Local Volume-like environment (several megaparsecs away from a massive galaxy) to those formed nearer to Milky Way–mass halos. We find that the impact of environment on dwarf galaxies extends even beyond the immediate region surrounding Milky Way–mass halos. Even before being accreted as satellites, dwarf galaxies near a Milky Way–mass halo tend to have higher stellar masses for their halo mass than more isolated galaxies. Dwarf galaxies in high-density environments also tend to grow faster and form their stars earlier. We show observational predictions that demonstrate how these trends manifest in lower quenching rates, higher Hifractions, and bluer colors for more isolated dwarf galaxies.

     
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  5. Abstract

    This paper summarizes the open community conventions developed by the Ecological Forecasting Initiative (EFI) for the common formatting and archiving of ecological forecasts and the metadata associated with these forecasts. Such open standards are intended to promote interoperability and facilitate forecast communication, distribution, validation, and synthesis. For output files, we first describe the convention conceptually in terms of global attributes, forecast dimensions, forecasted variables, and ancillary indicator variables. We then illustrate the application of this convention to the two file formats that are currently preferred by the EFI, netCDF (network common data form), and comma‐separated values (CSV), but note that the convention is extensible to future formats. For metadata, EFI's convention identifies a subset of conventional metadata variables that are required (e.g., temporal resolution and output variables) but focuses on developing a framework for storing information about forecast uncertainty propagation, data assimilation, and model complexity, which aims to facilitate cross‐forecast synthesis. The initial application of this convention expands upon the Ecological Metadata Language (EML), a commonly used metadata standard in ecology. To facilitate community adoption, we also provide a Github repository containing a metadata validator tool and several vignettes in R and Python on how to both write and read in the EFI standard. Lastly, we provide guidance on forecast archiving, making an important distinction between short‐term dissemination and long‐term forecast archiving, while also touching on the archiving of code and workflows. Overall, the EFI convention is a living document that can continue to evolve over time through an open community process.

     
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 23, 2024
  6. Compressible flow through arrays of circular micro-orifices was experimentally and numerically studied to better understand how the characteristic dimensions of micro-orifices used in macroscale fluidic systems using a plurality of micro-orifices impacts discharge coefficient. The studies were carried out with micro-orifice diameters ranging from 125 μm to 1000 μm, with the number of micro-orifices in an array ranging from 2 to 64, and at gauge inlet pressures ranging from 25 to 600 kPa venting to atmospheric pressure. Results showed `that micro-orifice diameter to thickness aspect ratio and wall profile were significant factors in determining discharge coefficient. The number of micro-orifices in a system was found to have negligible impact on discharge coefficient so long as the micro-orifices were separated by two diameters or more. When this spacing was maintained, two dimensional axisymmetric micro-orifice numerical studies produced discharge coefficients that agreed well with experimental data gathered on three dimensional micro-orifice arrays. The micro-orifice arrays produced discharge coefficients as high as 0.997 using photochemically etched micro-orifices, 0.981 using silicon etched micro-orifices, and 0.831 with drilled micro-orifices. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available October 1, 2024
  7. Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 30, 2024
  8. Abstract

    The capacity of arthropod populations to adapt to long-term climatic warming is currently uncertain. Here we combine theory and extensive data to show that the rate of their thermal adaptation to climatic warming will be constrained in two fundamental ways. First, the rate of thermal adaptation of an arthropod population is predicted to be limited by changes in the temperatures at which the performance of four key life-history traits can peak, in a specific order of declining importance: juvenile development, adult fecundity, juvenile mortality and adult mortality. Second, directional thermal adaptation is constrained due to differences in the temperature of the peak performance of these four traits, with these differences expected to persist because of energetic allocation and life-history trade-offs. We compile a new global dataset of 61 diverse arthropod species which provides strong empirical evidence to support these predictions, demonstrating that contemporary populations have indeed evolved under these constraints. Our results provide a basis for using relatively feasible trait measurements to predict the adaptive capacity of diverse arthropod populations to geographic temperature gradients, as well as ongoing and future climatic warming.

     
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  9. Free, publicly-accessible full text available September 1, 2024
  10. Abstract

    Galactic compact binaries with orbital periods shorter than a few hours emit detectable gravitational waves (GWs) at low frequencies. Their GW signals can be detected with the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Crucially, they may be useful in the early months of the mission operation in helping to validate LISA's performance in comparison to prelaunch expectations. We present an updated list of 55 candidate LISA-detectable binaries with measured properties, for which we derive distances based on Gaia Data Release 3 astrometry. Based on the known properties from electromagnetic observations, we predict the LISA detectability after 1, 3, 6, and 48 months using Bayesian analysis methods. We distinguish between verification and detectable binaries as being detectable after 3 and 48 months, respectively. We find 18 verification binaries and 22 detectable sources, which triples the number of known LISA binaries over the last few years. These include detached double white dwarfs, AM CVn binaries, one ultracompact X-ray binary, and two hot subdwarf binaries. We find that across this sample the GW amplitude is expected to be measured to ≈10% on average, while the inclination is expected to be determined with ≈15° precision. For detectable binaries, these average errors increase to ≈50% and ≈40°, respectively.

     
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