7,207 research outputs found
The ASCA Spectrum of the Vela Pulsar Jet
ROSAT observations of the Vela pulsar and its surroundings revealed a
collimated X-ray feature almost 45' in length (Markwardt & Ogelman 1995),
interpreted as the signature ``cocoon'' of a one-sided jet from the Vela
pulsar. We report on a new ASCA observation of the Vela pulsar jet at its head,
the point where the jet is believed to interact with the supernova remnant. The
head is clearly detected, and its X-ray spectrum is remarkably similar to the
surrounding supernova remnant spectrum, extending to X-ray energies of at least
7 keV. A ROSAT+ASCA spectrum can be fit by two-component emission models but
not standard one-component models. The lower energy component is thermal and
has a temperature of 0.29+/-0.03 keV (1 sigma); the higher energy component can
be fit by either a thermal component of temperature ~4 keV or a power law with
photon index ~2.0. Compared to the ROSAT-only results, the mechanical
properties of the jet and its cocoon do not change much. If the observed
spectrum is that of a hot jet cocoon, then the speed of the jet is at least 800
km s^-1, depending on the angle of inclination. The mechanical power driving
the jet is >10^36 erg s^-1, and the mass flow rate at the head is > 10^-6 M_sun
yr^-1. We conclude that the jet must be entraining material all along its
length in order to generate such a large mass flow rate. We also explore the
possibility that the cocoon emission is synchrotron radiation instead of
thermal.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX in AAS v4.0 preprint style, two PS figures, accepted
for publication in the ApJ Letter
The orthogonal fitting procedure for determination of the empirical {\Sigma} - D relations for supernova remnants: application to starburst galaxy M82
The radio surface brightness-to-diameter ({\Sigma} - D) relation for
supernova remnants (SNRs) in the starburst galaxy M82 is analyzed in a
statistically more robust manner than in the previous studies that mainly
discussed sample quality and related selection effects. The statistics of data
fits in log {\Sigma} - log D plane are analyzed by using vertical (standard)
and orthogonal regressions. As the parameter values of D - {\Sigma} and
{\Sigma} - D fits are invariant within the estimated uncertainties for
orthogonal regressions, slopes of the empirical {\Sigma} - D relations should
be determined by using the orthogonal regression fitting procedure. Thus
obtained {\Sigma} - D relations for samples which are not under severe
influence of the selection effects could be used for estimating SNR distances.
Using the orthogonal regression fitting procedure {\Sigma} - D slope {\beta}
\approx 3.9 is obtained for the sample of 31 SNRs in M82. The results of
implemented Monte Carlo simulations show that the sensitivity selection effect
does not significantly influence the slope of M82 relation. This relation could
be used for estimation of distances to SNRs that evolve in denser interstellar
environment, with number denisty up to 1000 particles per cm3 .Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, no changes, previous version had a typo in
publication related comment, accepted for publication in Ap
Spectral pitch distance and microtonal melodies
We present an experiment designed to test the effectiveness of spectral pitch distance at modeling the degree of āaffinityā or āfitā of pairs of successively played tones or chords (spectral pitch distance is the cosine distance between salience-weighted, Gaussian-smoothed, pitch domain embeddings of spectral pitchesātypically the first eight to ten partials of a tone). The results of a previously conducted experiment, which collected ratings of the perceived similarity and fit of root-position major and minor triads, suggest the model works well for pairs of triads in standard 12-tone equal temperament tunings.
The new experiment has been designed to test the effectiveness of spectral pitch distance at modeling the affinity of tones in microtonal melodies where the partials of the tones can be variably tempered between being perfectly harmonic and perfectly matched to the underlying microtonal tuning. The use of microtonal tunings helps to disambiguate innate perceptual (psychoacoustical) responses from learned (cultural) responses.
Participants are presented with a software synthesizer containing two unlabeled controls: one adjusts the precise tuning of the tones; the other adjusts the extent to which the spectrum is tempered to match the tuning (as set by the first control). A selection of microtonal melodies are played in different tunings, and the participants adjust one, or both, controls until they find a āsweet spotā at which the music sounds most āin-tuneā and the notes best āfitā together. The results of these experiments will be presented and discussed
Recommended from our members
Metrics for pitch collections
Models of the perceived distance between pairs of pitch collections are a core component of broader models of the perception of tonality as a whole. Numerous different distance measures have been proposed, including voice-leading, psychoacoustic, and pitch and interval class distances; but, so far, there has been no attempt to bind these different measures into a single mathematical framework, nor to incorporate the uncertain or probabilistic nature of pitch perception (whereby tones with similar frequencies may, or may not, be heard as having the same pitch).
To achieve these aims, we embed pitch collections in novel multi-way expectation arrays, and show how metrics between such arrays can model the perceived dissimilarity of the pitch collections they embed. By modeling the uncertainties of human pitch perception, expectation arrays indicate the expected number of tones, ordered pairs of tones, ordered triples of tones and so forth, that are heard as having any given pitch, dyad of pitches, triad of pitches, and so forth. The pitches can be either absolute or relative (in which case the arrays are invariant with respect to transposition).
We provide a number of examples that show how the metrics accord well with musical intuition, and suggest some ways in which this work may be developed
Radio Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant G326.3-1.8 (MSH15-56)
High resolution radio observations of the composite supernova remnant (SNR)
G326.3-1.8 or MSH 15-56 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array show details
of both the shell and the bright plerion which is offset about 1/3 of the
distance from the center of the SNR to the shell. The shell appears to be
composed of thin filaments, typical of older shell SNRs. The central part of
the elongated plerion is composed of a bundle of parallel ridges which bulge
out at the ends and form a distinct ring structure on the northwestern end. The
magnetic field with a strength of order 45 microGauss, is directed along the
axis of the ridges but circles around the northwestern ring. This plerion is
large and bright in the radio but is not detected in x-ray or optical
wavelengths. There is, however, a faint hard x-ray feature closer to the shell
outside the plerion. Perhaps if the supernova explosion left a rapidly moving
magnetar with large energy input but initially rapid decay of both relativistic
particles and magnetic field, the observed differences with wavelength could be
explained.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Ap
Drinking in pregnancy: shifting towards the 'precautionary' principle
Debate rages both in academic circles and in the media over communicating messages to the public regarding alcohol consumption during pregnancy. This chapter considers how research-based evidence is translated into risk communications through three key mechanisms: āofficialā publications and guidance issued by government departments or health authorities; websites run by advocacy groups; and midwives at the front line in delivering advice to women. The focus is on the UK, and, to a lesser extent, other countries (USA, Australia, New Zealand), where the ārisk narrativeā around drinking in pregnancy and pressures towards adopting the āprecautionary principleā have emerged and strengthened over recent decades
Hex Playerāa virtual musical controller
In this paper, we describe a playable musical interface for tablets and multi-touch tables. The interface is a generalized keyboard, inspired by the Thummer, and consists of an array of virtual buttons. On a generalized keyboard, any given interval always has the same shape (and therefore fingering); furthermore, the fingering is consistent over a broad range of tunings. Compared to a physical generalized keyboard, a virtual version has some advantagesānotably, that the spatial location of the buttons can be transformed by shears and rotations, and their colouring can be changed to reflect their musical function in different scales.
We exploit these flexibilities to facilitate the playing not just of conventional Western scales but also a wide variety of microtonal generalized diatonic scales known as moment of symmetry, or well-formed, scales. A user can choose such a scale, and the buttons are automatically arranged so their spatial height corresponds to their pitch, and buttons an octave apart are always vertically above each other. Furthermore, the most numerous scale steps run along rows, while buttons within the scale are light-coloured, and those outside are dark or removed.
These features can aid beginners; for example, the chosen scale might be the diatonic, in which case the pianoās familiar white and black colouring of the seven diatonic and five chromatic notes is used, but only one scale fingering need ever be learned (unlike a piano where every key needs a different fingering). Alternatively, it can assist advanced composers and musicians seeking to explore the universe of unfamiliar microtonal scales
Radio Observations of the Supernova Remnant Candidate G312.5-3.0
The radio images from the Parkes-MIT-NRAO (PMN) Southern Sky Survey at 4850
MHz have revealed a number of previously unknown radio sources. One such
source, G312.5-3.0 (PMN J1421-6415), has been observed using the
multi-frequency capabilities of the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at
frequencies of 1380 MHz and 2378 MHz. Further observations of the source were
made using the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) at a frequency
of 843 MHz. The source has an angular size of 18 arcmin and has a distinct
shell structure. We present the reduced multi-frequency observations of this
source and provide a brief argument for its possible identification as a
supernova remnant.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
- ā¦