1,448 research outputs found
Average spectral properties of galactic X-ray binaries with 3 years of MAXI data
The energy spectra of X-ray binaries (XRBs) have been investigated during the
last few decades with many observatories in different energy bands and with
different energy resolutions. However, these studies are carried out in
selected states of XRBs like during outbursts, transitions, quiescent states,
and are always done in limited time windows of pointed observations. It is now
possible to investigate the long term averaged spectra of a large number of
X-ray binaries with the all sky monitor MAXI, which also has a broad energy
band. Here we present the average spectral behaviour of a few representative
XRBs. The long term averaged spectrum of Cyg X-1 is described by a sum of two
power-laws having ~ 2.8 and ~ 1.2, along with a multi
color disk blackbody having an inner disk temperature of 0.5 keV, GX 301-2 is
described by a power-law with a high energy cut-off at ~ 15 keV and a
blackbody component at 0.2 keV and that of Aql X-1 is described by a multi
color disk blackbody at 2 keV and a power-law of ~ 2.2. We have also
constructed the combined X-ray spectrum of the X-ray binaries in the Milky Way,
which can be compared to the XRBs spectra of other galaxies observed with
Chandra and XMM-Newton. These measurements are also relevant to investigate the
X-ray interaction with the ISM and its contribution to the ionising X-ray
background in the early universe.Comment: To be published in ASI Conference Series on "Recent Trends in the
Study of Compact Objects: Theory and Observation
Temperature dependence of the ohmic conductivity and activation energy of Pb1+y(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 thin films
The ohmic conductivity of the sol-gel derived Pb1+y(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 thin films
(with the excess lead y=0.0 to 0.4) are investigated using low frequency small
signal alternate current (AC) and direct current (DC) methods. Its temperature
dependence shows two activation energies of 0.26 and 0.12 eV depending on
temperature range and excess Pb levels. The former is associated with Pb3+
acceptor centers, while the latter could be due to a different defect level yet
to be identified.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, PostScript. Submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Comparison among HB-inspired algorithms for continuous-spin systems and gauge fields
We propose a new local algorithm for the thermalization of n-vector spin
models, which can also be used in the numerical simulation of SU(N) lattice
gauge theories. The algorithm combines heat-bath (HB) and micro-canonical
updates in a single step -- as opposed to the hybrid overrelaxation method,
which alternates between the two kinds of update steps -- while preserving
ergodicity. We test our proposed algorithm in the case of the one-dimensional
4-vector spin model and compare its performance with the standard HB algorithm
and with other HB-inspired algorithms.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Work presented at the IV Brazilian Meeting on
Simulational Physics -- Ouro Preto - MG/Brazil, August 200
Influence of a dynamical gluon mass in the and forward scattering
We compute the tree level cross section for gluon-gluon elastic scattering
taking into account a dynamical gluon mass, and show that this mass scale is a
natural regulator for this subprocess cross section. Using an eikonal approach
in order to examine the relationship between this gluon-gluon scattering and
the elastic and channels, we found that the dynamical gluon
mass is of the same order of magnitude as the {\it ad hoc} infrared mass scale
underlying eikonalized QCD-inspired models. We argue that this
correspondence is not an accidental result, and that this dynamical scale
indeed represents the onset of non-perturbative contributions to the elastic
hadron-hadron scattering. We apply the eikonal model with a dynamical infrared
mass scale to obtain predictions for ,
, slope , and differential elastic
scattering cross section at Tevatron and CERN-LHC
energies.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures; misprints corrected and comments added. To
appear in Phys. Rev.
ASCA Observations of the Composite Warm Absorber in NGC 3516
We obtained X-ray spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC~3516 in March 1995
using ASCA. Simultaneous far-UV observations were obtained with HUT on the
Astro-2 shuttle mission. The ASCA spectrum shows a lightly absorbed power law
of energy index 0.78. The low energy absorbing column is significantly less
than previously seen. Prominent O~vii and O~viii absorption edges are visible,
but, consistent with the much lower total absorbing column, no Fe K absorption
edge is detectable. A weak, narrow Fe~K emission line from cold
material is present as well as a broad Fe~K line. These features are
similar to those reported in other Seyfert 1 galaxies. A single warm absorber
model provides only an imperfect description of the low energy absorption. In
addition to a highly ionized absorber with ionization parameter and
a total column density of , adding a lower
ionization absorber with and a total column of significantly improves the fit. The contribution of
resonant line scattering to our warm absorber models limits the Doppler
parameter to at 90\% confidence. Turbulence at the sound
speed of the photoionized gas provides the best fit. None of the warm absorber
models fit to the X-ray spectrum can match the observed equivalent widths of
all the UV absorption lines. Accounting for the X-ray and UV absorption
simultaneously requires an absorbing region with a broad range of ionization
parameters and column densities.Comment: 14 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses aaspp4.sty To appear in the
August 20, 1996, issue of The Astrophysical Journa
Biochemical Discrimination between Selenium and Sulfur 2: Mechanistic Investigation of the Selenium Specificity of Human Selenocysteine Lyase
Selenium is an essential trace element incorporated into selenoproteins as selenocysteine. Selenocysteine (Sec) lyases (SCLs) and cysteine (Cys) desulfurases (CDs) catalyze the removal of selenium or sulfur from Sec or Cys, respectively, and generally accept both substrates. Intriguingly, human SCL (hSCL) is specific for Sec even though the only difference between Sec and Cys is a single chalcogen atom
Negative Differential Resistivity and Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity effect in the diffusion limited current of ferroelectric thin film capacitors
We present a model for the leakage current in ferroelectric thin- film
capacitors which explains two of the observed phenomena that have escaped
satisfactory explanation, i.e. the occurrence of either a plateau or negative
differential resistivity at low voltages, and the observation of a Positive
Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity (PTCR) effect in certain samples in the
high-voltage regime. The leakage current is modelled by considering a
diffusion-limited current process, which in the high-voltage regime recovers
the diffusion-limited Schottky relationship of Simmons already shown to be
applicable in these systems
On Dwarf Galaxies as the Source of Intracluster Gas
Recent observational evidence for steep dwarf galaxy luminosity functions in
several rich clusters has led to speculation that their precursors may be the
source of the majority of gas and metals inferred from intracluster medium
(ICM) x-ray observations. Their deposition into the ICM is presumed to occur
through early supernovae-driven winds, the resultant systems reflecting the
photometric and chemical properties of the low luminosity dwarf spheroidals and
ellipticals we observe locally. We consider this scenario, utilising a
self-consistent model for spheroidal photo-chemical evolution and gas ejection
via galactic superwinds. Insisting that post-wind dwarfs obey the observed
colour-luminosity-metallicity relations, we conclude that the bulk of the ICM
gas and metals does not originate within their precursors.Comment: 43 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX, also available at
http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~gibson/publications.html, to appear in ApJ, Vol
473, 1997, in pres
Evolution of Multiphase Hot Interstellar Medium in Elliptical Galaxies
We present the results of a variety of simulations concerning the evolution
of multiphase (inhomogeneous) hot interstellar medium (ISM) in elliptical
galaxies. We assume the gases ejected from stars do not mix globally with the
circumferential gas. The ejected gas components evolve separately according to
their birth time, position, and origin. We consider cases where supernova
remnants (SNRs) mix with local ISM. The components with high metal abundance
and/or high density cool and drop out of the hot ISM gas faster than the other
components because of their high metal abundance and/or density. This makes the
average metal abundance of the hot ISM low. Furthermore, since the metal
abundance of mass-loss gas decreases with radius, gas inflow from outer region
makes the average metal abundance of the hot ISM smaller than that of mass-loss
gas in the inner region. As gas ejection rate of stellar system decreases, mass
fraction of mass-loss gas ejected at outer region increases in a galaxy. If the
mixing of SNRs is ineffective, our model predicts that observed [Si/Fe] and
[Mg/Fe] should decrease towards the galactic center because of strong iron
emission by SNRs. In the outer region, where the cooling of time of the ISM is
long, the selective cooling is ineffective and most of gas components remain
hot. Thus, the metal abundance of the ISM in this region directly reflects that
of the gas ejected from stars. Our model shows that supernovae are not
effective heating sources in the inner region of elliptical galaxies, because
most of the energy released by them radiates. Therefore, cooling flow is
established even if the supernova rate is high. Mixing of SNRs with ambient ISM
makes the energy transfer between supernova explosion and ambient ISM more
effective.Comment: 21 pages (AASTeX), 14 figures, accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
A List of Galaxies for Gravitational Wave Searches
We present a list of galaxies within 100 Mpc, which we call the Gravitational
Wave Galaxy Catalogue (GWGC), that is currently being used in follow-up
searches of electromagnetic counterparts from gravitational wave searches. Due
to the time constraints of rapid follow-up, a locally available catalogue of
reduced, homogenized data is required. To achieve this we used four existing
catalogues: an updated version of the Tully Nearby Galaxy Catalog, the Catalog
of Neighboring Galaxies, the V8k catalogue and HyperLEDA. The GWGC contains
information on sky position, distance, blue magnitude, major and minor
diameters, position angle, and galaxy type for 53,255 galaxies. Errors on these
quantities are either taken directly from the literature or estimated based on
our understanding of the uncertainties associated with the measurement method.
By using the PGC numbering system developed for HyperLEDA, the catalogue has a
reduced level of degeneracies compared to catalogues with a similar purpose and
is easily updated. We also include 150 Milky Way globular clusters. Finally, we
compare the GWGC to previously used catalogues, and find the GWGC to be more
complete within 100 Mpc due to our use of more up-to-date input catalogues and
the fact that we have not made a blue luminosity cut.Comment: Accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity, 13 pages,
7 figure
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