1,622 research outputs found
Relativistic spectroscopy of the extreme NLS1 IRAS13224-3809
The narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) IRAS 13224-3809 is the most X-ray variable
active galactic nucleus (AGN), exhibiting 0.3-10 keV flux changes of over an
order of magnitude within an hour. We report on the results of the 1.5 Ms 2016
XMM-Newton/NuSTAR observing campaign, which revealed the presence of a 0.24c
ultra-fast outflow in addition to the well-known strong relativistic
reflection. We also summarise other key results of the campaign, such as the
first detection of a non-linear RMS-flux relation in an accreting source,
correlations between outflow absorption strength/velocity and source flux, and
a disconnect between the X-ray and UV emission. Our results are consistent with
a scenario where a disk wind is launched close to the black hole, imprinting
absorption features into the spectrum and variability.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, contributed talk at "Revisiting narrow-line
Seyfert 1 galaxies and their place in the Universe" (Padova, April 2018).
Accepted for publication in Proceedings of Science, PoS(NLS1-2018)03
Revealing the X-ray Variability of AGN with Principal Component Analysis
We analyse a sample of 26 active galactic nuclei with deep XMM-Newton
observations, using principal component analysis (PCA) to find model
independent spectra of the different variable components. In total, we identify
at least 12 qualitatively different patterns of spectral variability, involving
several different mechanisms, including five sources which show evidence of
variable relativistic reflection (MCG-6-30-15, NGC 4051, 1H 0707-495, NGC 3516
and Mrk 766) and three which show evidence of varying partial covering neutral
absorption (NGC 4395, NGC 1365, and NGC 4151). In over half of the sources
studied, the variability is dominated by changes in a power law continuum, both
in terms of changes in flux and power law index, which could be produced by
propagating fluctuations within the corona. Simulations are used to find unique
predictions for different physical models, and we then attempt to qualitatively
match the results from the simulations to the behaviour observed in the real
data. We are able to explain a large proportion of the variability in these
sources using simple models of spectral variability, but more complex models
may be needed for the remainder. We have begun the process of building up a
library of different principal components, so that spectral variability in AGN
can quickly be matched to physical processes. We show that PCA can be an
extremely powerful tool for distinguishing different patterns of variability in
AGN, and that it can be used effectively on the large amounts of high-quality
archival data available from the current generation of X-ray telescopes.Comment: 25 pages, 27 figures, accepted to MNRAS. Analysis code available on
request to lead author. Edit: Rogue table remove
Women rebuilding lives post-disaster: innovative community practices for building resilience and promoting sustainable development
Disasters result in devastating human, economic, and environmental effects. The paper highlights women's active participation in community-based disaster recovery efforts drawing from the results of the ‘Rebuilding Lives Post-disaster: Innovative Community Practices for Sustainable Development’ by an international research partnership. Two case studies are presented from Pakistan and the USA to demonstrate how women contribute to building resilience and promoting sustainable development in diverse post-disaster contexts. The policy and practice implications are relevant for discussions regarding the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and framework
From dimers to the solid-state: Distributed intermolecular force-fields for pyridine
A.A. thanks A.W.E. financial support through the EngDoc studentship from M3S Centre for Doctoral Training (EPSRC Grant No. EP/G036675/1). General computational infrastructure used is developed under No. EPSRC EP/K039229/1
NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of the hard state in Cygnus X-1: locating the inner accretion disk
We present simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR ) and
Suzaku observations of the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 in the hard state. This is
the first time this state has been observed in Cyg X-1 with NuSTAR, which
enables us to study the reflection and broad-band spectra in unprecedented
detail. We confirm that the iron line cannot be fit with a combination of
narrow lines and absorption features, and instead requires a relativistically
blurred profile in combination with a narrow line and absorption from the
companion wind. We use the reflection models of Garcia et al. (2014) to
simultaneously measure the black hole spin, disk inner radius, and coronal
height in a self-consistent manner. Detailed fits to the iron line profile
indicate a high level of relativistic blurring, indicative of reflection from
the inner accretion disk. We find a high spin, a small inner disk radius, and a
low source height, and rule out truncation to greater than three gravitational
radii at the 3{\sigma} confidence level. In addition, we find that the line
profile has not changed greatly in the switch from soft to hard states, and
that the differences are consistent with changes in the underlying reflection
spectrum rather than the relativistic blurring. We find that the blurring
parameters are consistent when fitting either just the iron line or the entire
broad-band spectrum, which is well modelled with a Comptonized continuum plus
reflection model.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Whither Evidentialist Reliabilism?
Evidentialism and Reliabilism are two of the main contemporary theories of epistemic justification. Some authors have thought that the theories are not incompatible with each other, and that a hybrid theory which incorporates elements of both should be taken into account. More recently, other authors have argued that the resulting theory is well- placed to deal with fine-grained doxastic attitudes (credences).
In this paper I review the reasons for adopting this kind of hybrid theory, paying attention to the case of credences and the notion of probability involved in their treatment. I argue that the notion of probability in question can only be an epistemic (or evidential) kind of probability. I conclude that the resulting theory will be incompatible with Reliabilism in one important respect: it cannot deliver on the reductivist promise of Reliabilism. I also argue that attention to the justification of basic beliefs reveals limitations in the Evidentialist framework as well. The theory that results from the right combination of Evidentialism and Reliabilism, therefore, is neither Evidentialist nor Reliabilist
Explaining Evidence Denial as Motivated Pragmatically Rational Epistemic Irrationality
This paper introduces a model for evidence denial that explains this behavior as a manifestation of rationality and it is based on the contention that social values (measurable as utilities) often underwrite these sorts of responses. Moreover, it is contended that the value associated with group membership in particular can override epistemic reason when the expected utility of a belief or belief system is great. However, it is also true that it appears to be the case that it is still possible for such unreasonable believers to reverse this sort of dogmatism and to change their beliefs in a way that is epistemically rational. The conjecture made here is that we should expect this to happen only when the expected utility of the beliefs in question dips below a threshold where the utility value of continued dogmatism and the associated group membership is no longer sufficient to motivate defusing the counter-evidence that tells against such epistemically irrational beliefs
Enhancement of electroporation facilitated immunogene therapy via T-reg depletion
Regulatory T cells (T-regs) can negatively impact tumor antigen-specific immune responses after infiltration into tumor tissue. However, depletion of T-regs can facilitate enhanced anti-tumor responses, thus augmenting the potential for immunotherapies. Here we focus on treating a highly aggressive form of cancer using a murine melanoma model with a poor prognosis. We utilize a combination of T-reg depletion and immunotherapy plasmid DNA delivered into the B16F10 melanoma tumor model via electroporation. Plasmids encoding murine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor and human B71 were transfected with electroporation into the tumor and transient elimination of T-regs was achieved with CD25-depleting antibodies (PC61). The combinational treatment effectively depleted T-regs compared to the untreated tumor and significantly reduced lung metastases. The combination treatment was not effective in increasing the survival, but only effective in suppression of metastases. These results indicate the potential for combining T-reg depletion with immunotherapy-based gene electrotransfer to decrease systemic metastasis and potentially enhance survival
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