1,322 research outputs found
Spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved ammonium, manganese, and silica fluxes from bottom sediments of Long Island Sound, U.S.A.
The flux of dissolved NH4+, Mn++, and Si(OH)4 from bottom sediments was measured directly at 14 stations throughout central and western Long Island Sound, U.S.AâŠ
Editor\u27s Commentary: The influence of deposit-feeding organisms on sediment stability and community trophic structure
This seminal paper by Donald Rhoads and David Young was a highly creative, interdisciplinary break from the standards of the time. It brought a new focus onto how benthic organisms modify sediment properties, potentially mediating interactions with other species, structuring community distributions, and governing coupling between sedimentary deposits and overlying waters..
Doppler Boosting, Superluminal Motion, and the Kinematics of AGN Jets
We discuss results from a decade long program to study the fine-scale
structure and the kinematics of relativistic AGN jets with the aim of better
understanding the acceleration and collimation of the relativistic plasma
forming AGN jets. From the observed distribution of brightness temperature,
apparent velocity, flux density, time variability, and apparent luminosity, the
intrinsic properties of the jets including Lorentz factor, luminosity,
orientation, and brightness temperature are discussed. Special attention is
given to the jet in M87, which has been studied over a wide range of
wavelengths and which, due to its proximity, is observed with excellent spatial
resolution.
Most radio jets appear quite linear, but we also observe curved non-linear
jets and non-radial motions. Sometimes, different features in a given jet
appear to follow the same curved path but there is evidence for ballistic
trajectories as well. The data are best fit with a distribution of Lorentz
factors extending up to gamma ~30 and intrinsic luminosity up to ~10^26 W/Hz.
In general, gamma-ray quasars may have somewhat larger Lorentz factors than non
gamma-ray quasars. Initially the observed brightness temperature near the base
of the jet extend up to ~5x10^13 K which is well in excess of the inverse
Compton limit and corresponds to a large excess of particle energy over
magnetic energy. However, more typically, the observed brightness temperatures
are ~2x10^11 K, i.e., closer to equipartition.Comment: 10 pages, 12 color figures; proceedings of the 5th Stromlo Symposium:
Disks, Winds, and Jets - from Planets to Quasars; accepted in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
MOJAVE: monitoring of jets in active galactic nuclei with VLBA experiments. V. Multi-epoch VLBA images
We present images from a long-term program (MOJAVE: Monitoring of Jets in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with VLBA Experiments) to survey the structure and evolution of parsec-scale jet phenomena associated with bright radio-loud active galaxies in the northern sky. The observations consist of 2424 15 GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images of a complete flux-density-limited sample of 135 AGNs above declination â20°, spanning the period 1994 August to 2007 September. These data were acquired as part of the MOJAVE and 2 cm Survey programs, and from the VLBA archive. The sample-selection criteria are based on multi-epoch parsec-scale (VLBA) flux density, and heavily favor highly variable and compact blazars. The sample includes nearly all the most prominent blazars in the northern sky, and is well suited for statistical analysis and comparison with studies at other wavelengths. Our multi-epoch and stacked-epoch images show 94% of the sample to have apparent one-sided jet morphologies, most likely due to the effects of relativistic beaming. Of the remaining sources, five have two-sided parsec-scale jets, and three are effectively unresolved by the VLBA at 15 GHz, with essentially all of the flux density contained within a few tenths of a milliarcsecond
X-ray emission from Planetary Nebulae. I. Spherically symmetric numerical simulations
(abridged) The interaction of a fast wind with a spherical Asymptotic Giant
Branch (AGB) wind is thought to be the basic mechanism for shaping
Pre-Planetary Nebulae (PPN) and later Planetary Nebulae (PN). Due to the large
speed of the fast wind, one expects extended X-ray emission from these objects,
but X-ray emission has only been detected in a small fraction of PNs and only
in one PPN. Using numerical simulations we investigate the constraints that can
be set on the physical properties of the fast wind (speed, mass-flux, opening
angle) in order to produce the observed X-ray emission properties of PPNs and
PNs. We combine numerical hydrodynamical simulations including radiative
cooling using the code FLASH with calculations of the X-ray properties of the
resulting expanding hot bubble using the atomic database ATOMDB. In this first
study, we compute X-ray fluxes and spectra using one-dimensional models.
Comparing our results with analytical solutions, we find some agreements and
many disagreements. In particular, we test the effect of different time
histories of the fast wind on the X-ray emission and find that it is determined
by the final stage of the time history during which the fast wind velocity has
its largest value. The disagreements which are both qualitative and
quantitative in nature argue for the necessity of using numerical simulations
for understanding the X-ray properties of PNs.Comment: 17 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ (July 27, 2006), uses
emulateap
The core shift effect in the blazar 3C 454.3
Opacity-driven shifts of the apparent VLBI core position with frequency (the
"core shift" effect) probe physical conditions in the innermost parts of jets
in active galactic nuclei. We present the first detailed investigation of this
effect in the brightest gamma-ray blazar 3C454.3 using direct measurements from
simultaneous 4.6-43 GHz VLBA observations, and a time lag analysis of 4.8-37
GHz lightcurves from the UMRAO, CrAO, and Metsahovi observations in 2007-2009.
The results support the standard Konigl model of jet physics in the VLBI core
region. The distance of the core from the jet origin r_c(nu), the core size
W(nu), and the lightcurve time lag DT(nu) all depend on the observing frequency
nu as r_c(nu)~W(nu)~ DT(nu)~nu^-1/k. The obtained range of k=0.6-0.8 is
consistent with the synchrotron self-absorption being the dominating opacity
mechanism in the jet. The similar frequency dependence of r_c(nu) and W(nu)
suggests that the external pressure gradient does not dictate the jet geometry
in the cm-band core region. Assuming equipartition, the magnetic field strength
scales with distance r as B = 0.4(r/1pc)^-0.8 G. The total kinetic power of
electron/positron jet is about 10^44 ergs/s.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 10 pages, 6 figure
Diffusion of organic and inorganic solutes through macrofaunal mucus secretions and tube linings in marine sediments
Transport models in sediments commonly assume that diffusion occurs through water saturated pore space and that diffusive properties are largely homogeneous and isotropic. The bioturbated zone of marine sediments is characterized by sediment pores filled with mucus gel and criss-crossed by organic membranes that line macrofaunal tubes and burrows. Diffusion experiments utilizing pedal mucus from the naticid snails, Neverita (=Polinices) duplicata and Euspira (=Lunatia) heros, and organic tube linings from the polychaetes Onuphis jenneri, Diopatra cupria, and Chaetopterus variopedatus, demonstrated that the diffusion of both organic and inorganic solutes is inhibited by these common biogenic components. Diffusion of porewater DOC and Brâ tracer through mucus is reduced by factors typically 3â8X relative to free solution. Diffusion rates of DOC and Brâ through mucus and tube linings demonstrate that both charge and size inhibition commonly occur, however, charge discrimination was not observed for a range of inorganic solutes within mucus cements formed by the polychaete Melinna cristata. Diffusion of polystyrene sulphonates having varied molecular weights shows that inhibition of diffusion by mucus gel increases regularly with molecular size. No size exclusion or cutoff was observed up to molecular weights of at least 100 kDa. Although increases of solution viscosity by mucus (up to ⌠170 mpoise), could explain solute diffusion inhibition to some extent, size and charge inhibition patterns imply that both mucus and tube linings behave as polyelectrolyte, fibrous meshworks with species specific properties (e.g. open channel patterns) rather than as polyelectrolyte solutions per se. The measured diffusion rates of bulk porewater DOC (0.387 cm2 dâ1, 5°C) and of specific polystyrene sulphonates in sea water are substantially higher than predicted by extrapolation from measurements in distilled water, presumably as a result of ionic strength effects on molecular conformations. The transport of solutes, particularly DOC, in the bioturbated zone is greatly complicated by the presence of semipermeable mucus secretions and tube linings. Differential inhibition by biogenic secretions of the transport of specific classes of organic molecules such as exoenzymes, may be especially important to understanding faunal adaptations, processes governing the remineralization of organic matter, and linkages between macrofauna and microbial activities
Cm-Wavelength Total Flux and Linear Polarization Properties of Radio-Loud BL Lacertae Objects
Results from a long-term program to quantify the range of behavior of the
cm-wavelength total flux and linear polarization variability properties of a
sample of 41 radio-loud BL Lac objects using weekly to tri-monthly observations
with the University of Michigan 26-m telescope operating at 14.5, 8.0, and 4.8
GHz are presented; these observations are used to identify class-dependent
differences between these BL Lacs and QSOs in the Pearson-Readhead sample. The
BL Lacs are found to be more highly variable in total flux density than the
QSOs, exhibiting changes that are often nearly-simultaneous and of comparable
amplitude at 14.5 and 4.8 GHz in contrast to the behavior in the QSOs and
supporting the existence of class-dependent differences in opacity within the
parsec-scale jet flows. Structure function analyses of the flux observations
quantify that a characteristic timescale is identifiable in only 1/3 of the BL
Lacs. The time-averaged fractional linear polarizations are only on the order
of a few percent and are consistent with the presence of tangled magnetic
fields within the emitting regions. In many sources a preferred long-term
orientation of the EVPA is present; when compared with the VLBI structural
axis, no preferred position angle difference is identified. The polarized flux
typically exhibits variability with timescales of months to a few years and
shows the signature of a propagating shock during several resolved outbursts.
The observations indicate that the source emission is predominately due to
evolving source components and support the occurrence of more frequent shock
formation in BL Lac parsec-scale flows than in QSO jets. The differences in
variability behavior and polarization between BL Lacs and QSOs can be explained
by differences in jet stability.Comment: 1 LaTex (aastex) file, 21 postscript figure files, 2 external LaTex
table files. To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
A historic jet-emission minimum reveals hidden spectral features in 3C 273
Aims. The aim of this work is to identify and study spectral features in the
quasar 3C 273 usually blended by its strong jet emission. Method. A historic
minimum in the sub-millimetre emission of 3C 273 triggered coordinated
multi-wavelength observations in June 2004. X-ray observations from the
INTEGRAL, XMM-Newton and RXTE satellites are complemented by ground-based
optical, infrared, millimetre and radio observations. The overall spectrum is
used to model the infrared and X-ray spectral components. Results. Three
thermal dust emission components are identified in the infrared. The dust
emission on scales from 1 pc to several kpc is comparable to that of other
quasars, as expected by AGN unification schemes. The observed weakness of the
X-ray emission supports the hypothesis of a synchrotron self-Compton origin for
the jet component. There is a clear soft-excess and we find evidence for a very
broad iron line which could be emitted in a disk around a Kerr black hole.
Other signatures of a Seyfert-like X-ray component are not detected.Comment: 4 pages. Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
On the O II ground configuration energy levels
The most accurate way to measure the energy levels for the O II 2p^3 ground
configuration has been from the forbidden lines in planetary nebulae. We
present an analysis of modern planetary nebula data that nicely constrain the
splitting within the ^2D term and the separation of this term from the ground
^4S_{3/2} level. We extend this method to H II regions using high-resolution
spectroscopy of the Orion nebula, covering all six visible transitions within
the ground configuration. These data confirm the splitting of the ^2D term
while additionally constraining the splitting of the ^2P term. The energies of
the ^2P and ^2D terms relative to the ground (^4S) term are constrained by
requiring that all six lines give the same radial velocity, consistent with
independent limits placed on the motion of the O+ gas and the planetary nebula
data.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Ap
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