3,793 research outputs found
A turbulence-driven model for heating and acceleration of the fast wind in coronal holes
A model is presented for generation of fast solar wind in coronal holes,
relying on heating that is dominated by turbulent dissipation of MHD
fluctuations transported upwards in the solar atmosphere. Scale-separated
transport equations include large-scale fields, transverse Alfvenic
fluctuations, and a small compressive dissipation due to parallel shears near
the transition region. The model accounts for proton temperature, density, wind
speed, and fluctuation amplitude as observed in remote sensing and in situ
satellite data.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ
X-Ray Determination of the Variable Rate of Mass Accretion onto TW Hydrae
Diagnostics of electron temperature (T_e), electron density (n_e), and
hydrogen column density (N_H) from the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating
spectrum of He-like Ne IX in TW Hydrae (TW Hya), in conjunction with a
classical accretion model, allow us to infer the accretion rate onto the star
directly from measurements of the accreting material. The new method introduces
the use of the absorption of Ne IX lines as a measure of the column density of
the intervening, accreting material. On average, the derived mass accretion
rate for TW Hya is 1.5 x 10^{-9} M_{\odot} yr^{-1}, for a stellar magnetic
field strength of 600 Gauss and a filling factor of 3.5%. Three individual
Chandra exposures show statistically significant differences in the Ne IX line
ratios, indicating changes in N_H, T_e, and n_e by factors of 0.28, 1.6, and
1.3, respectively. In exposures separated by 2.7 days, the observations
reported here suggest a five-fold reduction in the accretion rate. This
powerful new technique promises to substantially improve our understanding of
the accretion process in young stars
TW Hya: Spectral Variability, X-Rays, and Accretion Diagnostics
The nearest accreting T Tauri star, TW Hya was observed with spectroscopic
and photometric measurements simultaneous with a long se gmented exposure using
the CHANDRA satellite. Contemporaneous optical photometry from WASP-S indicates
a 4.74 day period was present during this time. Absence of a similar
periodicity in the H-alpha flux and the total X-ray flux points to a different
source of photometric variations. The H-alpha emission line appears
intrinsically broad and symmetric, and both the profile and its variability
suggest an origin in the post-shock cooling region. An accretion event,
signaled by soft X-rays, is traced spectroscopically for the first time through
the optical emission line profiles. After the accretion event, downflowing
turbulent material observed in the H-alpha and H-beta lines is followed by He I
(5876A) broadening. Optical veiling increases with a delay of about 2 hours
after the X-ray accretion event. The response of the stellar coronal emission
to an increase in the veiling follows about 2.4 hours later, giving direct
evidence that the stellar corona is heated in part by accretion. Subsequently,
the stellar wind becomes re-established. We suggest a model that incorporates
this sequential series of events: an accretion shock, a cooling downflow in a
supersonically turbulent region, followed by photospheric and later, coronal
heating. This model naturally explains the presence of broad optical and
ultraviolet lines, and affects the mass accretion rates determined from
emission line profiles.Comment: 61 pages; 22 figures; to appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Multivariate side-band subtraction using probabilistic event weights
A common situation in experimental physics is to have a signal which can not
be separated from a non-interfering background through the use of any cut. In
this paper, we describe a procedure for determining, on an event-by-event
basis, a quality factor (-factor) that a given event originated from the
signal distribution. This procedure generalizes the "side-band" subtraction
method to higher dimensions without requiring the data to be divided into bins.
The -factors can then be used as event weights in subsequent analysis
procedures, allowing one to more directly access the true spectrum of the
signal.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
A Deep Chandra X-ray Spectrum of the Accreting Young Star TW Hydrae
We present X-ray spectral analysis of the accreting young star TW Hydrae from
a 489 ks observation using the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating. The
spectrum provides a rich set of diagnostics for electron temperature T_e,
electron density N_e, hydrogen column density N_H, relative elemental
abundances and velocities and reveals its source in 3 distinct regions of the
stellar atmosphere: the stellar corona, the accretion shock, and a very large
extended volume of warm postshock plasma. The presence of Mg XII, Si XIII, and
Si XIV emission lines in the spectrum requires coronal structures at ~10 MK.
Lower temperature lines (e.g., from O VIII, Ne IX, and Mg XI) formed at 2.5 MK
appear more consistent with emission from an accretion shock. He-like Ne IX
line ratio diagnostics indicate that T_e = 2.50 +/- 0.25 MK and N_e = 3.0 +/-
0.2 x 10^(12) cm^(-3) in the shock. These values agree well with standard
magnetic accretion models. However, the Chandra observations significantly
diverge from current model predictions for the postshock plasma. This gas is
expected to cool radiatively, producing O VII as it flows into an increasingly
dense stellar atmosphere. Surprisingly, O VII indicates N_e = 5.7
^(+4.4}_(-1.2) x 10^(11) cm^(-3), five times lower than N_e in the accretion
shock itself, and ~7 times lower than the model prediction. We estimate that
the postshock region producing O VII has roughly 300 times larger volume, and
30 times more emitting mass than the shock itself. Apparently, the shocked
plasma heats the surrounding stellar atmosphere to soft X-ray emitting
temperatures and supplies this material to nearby large magnetic structures --
which may be closed magnetic loops or open magnetic field leading to mass
outflow. (Abridged)Comment: 13 pages (emulateapj style), 10 figures, ApJ, in pres
Heavy MSSM Higgs Bosons at CMS: "LHC wedge" and Higgs-Mass Precision
The search for MSSM Higgs bosons will be an important goal at the LHC. In
order to analyze the search reach of the CMS experiment for the heavy neutral
MSSM Higgs bosons, we combine the latest results for the CMS experimental
sensitivities based on full simulation studies with state-of-the-art
theoretical predictions of MSSM Higgs-boson properties. The experimental
analyses are done assuming an integrated luminosity of 30 or 60 fb^-1. The
results are interpreted as 5 \si discovery contours in MSSM M_A-tan_beta
benchmark scenarios. Special emphasis is put on the variation of the Higgs
mixing parameter mu. While the variation of mu can shift the prospective
discovery reach (and correspondingly the ``LHC wedge'' region) by about Delta
tan_beta= 10, the discovery reach is rather stable with respect to the impact
of other supersymmetric parameters. Within the discovery region we analyze the
accuracy with which the masses of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons can be
determined. An accuracy of 1-4% should be achievable, depending on M_A and
tan_beta.Comment: Talk given by G.W. at EPS07 (Manchester, July 2007) and talk given by
S.H. at SUSY07 (Karlsruhe, July 2007). 4 pages, 2 figure
Hyperdiffusion as a Mechanism for Solar Coronal Heating
A theory for the heating of coronal magnetic flux ropes is developed. The
dissipated magnetic energy has two distinct contributions: (1) energy injected
into the corona as a result of granule-scale, random footpoint motions, and (2)
energy from the large-scale, nonpotential magnetic field of the flux rope. The
second type of dissipation can be described in term of hyperdiffusion, a type
of magnetic diffusion in which the helicity of the mean magnetic field is
conserved. The associated heating rate depends on the gradient of the torsion
parameter of the mean magnetic field. A simple model of an active region
containing a coronal flux rope is constructed. We find that the temperature and
density on the axis of the flux rope are lower than in the local surroundings,
consistent with observations of coronal cavities. The model requires that the
magnetic field in the flux rope is stochastic in nature, with a perpendicular
length scale of the magnetic fluctuations of order 1000 km.Comment: 9 pages (emulateapj style), 4 figures, ApJ, in press (v. 679; June 1,
2008
Measuring the Higgs Sector
If we find a light Higgs boson at the LHC, there should be many observable
channels which we can exploit to measure the relevant parameters in the Higgs
sector. We use the SFitter framework to map these measurements on the parameter
space of a general weak-scale effective theory with a light Higgs state of mass
120 GeV. Our analysis benefits from the parameter determination tools and the
error treatment used in new--physics searches, to study individual parameters
and their error bars as well as parameter correlations.Comment: 45 pages, Journal version with comments from refere
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