6,435 research outputs found
Comment on "Pulsar Velocities and Neutrino Oscillations"
In a recent Letter, Kusenko and Segre proposed a new mechanism to explain the
observed proper motions of pulsars. Their mechanism was based on the asymmetric
neutrino emission induced by neutrino oscillations in the protoneutron star
magnetic field. In this note I point out that their estimate of the asymmetry
in the neutrino emission is incorrect. A proper calculation shows that their
mechanism at least requires a magnetic field of 10**16 G in order to produce
the observed average pulsar velocity.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe
Theoretical Spectral Models of the Planet HD 209458b with a Thermal Inversion and Water Emission Bands
We find that a theoretical fit to all the HD 209458b data at secondary
eclipse requires that the dayside atmosphere of HD 209458b have a thermal
inversion and a stratosphere. This inversion is caused by the capture of
optical stellar flux by an absorber of uncertain origin that resides at
altitude. One consequence of stratospheric heating and temperature inversion is
the flipping of water absorption features into emission features from the near-
to the mid-infrared and we see evidence of such a water emission feature in the
recent HD 209458b IRAC data of Knutson et al. In addition, an upper-atmosphere
optical absorber may help explain both the weaker-than-expected Na D feature
seen in transit and the fact that the transit radius at 24 m is smaller
than the corresponding radius in the optical. Moreover, it may be a factor in
why HD 209458b's optical transit radius is as large as it is. We speculate on
the nature of this absorber and the planets whose atmospheres may, or may not,
be affected by its presence.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters on August 28, 2007, six
pages in emulateapj forma
Instabilities in neutrino-plasma density waves
One examines the interaction and possible resonances between supernova
neutrinos and electron plasma waves. The neutrino phase space distribution and
its boundary regions are analyzed in detail. It is shown that the boundary
regions are too wide to produce non-linear resonant effects. The growth or
damping rates induced by neutrinos are always proportional to the neutrino flux
and .Comment: 9 pages, a few words modified to match PRD publicatio
Theoretical Support for the Hydrodynamic Mechanism of Pulsar Kicks
The collapse of a massive star's core, followed by a neutrino-driven,
asymmetric supernova explosion, can naturally lead to pulsar recoils and
neutron star kicks. Here, we present a two-dimensional, radiation-hydrodynamic
simulation in which core collapse leads to significant acceleration of a
fully-formed, nascent neutron star (NS) via an induced, neutrino-driven
explosion. During the explosion, a ~10% anisotropy in the low-mass,
high-velocity ejecta lead to recoil of the high-mass neutron star. At the end
of our simulation, the NS has achieved a velocity of ~150 km s and is
accelerating at ~350 km s, but has yet to reach the ballistic regime.
The recoil is due almost entirely to hydrodynamical processes, with anisotropic
neutrino emission contributing less than 2% to the overall kick magnitude.
Since the observed distribution of neutron star kick velocities peaks at
~300-400 km s, recoil due to anisotropic core-collapse supernovae
provides a natural, non-exotic mechanism with which to obtain neutron star
kicks.Comment: Replaced with Phys. Rev. D accepted versio
Distances to the high galactic latitude molecular clouds G192-67 and MBM 23-24
We report on distance determinations for two high Galactic latitude cloud
complexes, G192-67 and MBM 23-24. No distance determination exists in the
literature for either cloud. Thirty-four early type stars were observed towards
the two clouds, more than half of which have parallaxes measured by the
Hipparcos satellite. For the remaining stars we have made spectroscopic
distance estimates. The data consist of high resolution echelle spectra
centered on the Na I D lines, and were obtained over six nights at the Coude
Feed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Interstellar absorption lines
were detected towards some of the stars, enabling estimates of the distances to
the clouds of 109 +/- 14 pc for G192-67, and of 139 +/- 33 pc for MBM 23-24. We
discuss the relationship of these clouds to other ISM features such as the
Local Hot Bubble and the local cavity in neutral hydrogen.Comment: 15 pages, 6 embedded figures, to be published in the ApJ Vol. 516,
No.
Mu and Tau Neutrino Thermalization and Production in Supernovae: Processes and Timescales
We investigate the rates of production and thermalization of and
neutrinos at temperatures and densities relevant to core-collapse
supernovae and protoneutron stars. Included are contributions from electron
scattering, electron-positron annihilation, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, and
nucleon scattering. For the scattering processes, in order to incorporate the
full scattering kinematics at arbitrary degeneracy, the structure function
formalism developed by Reddy et al. (1998) and Burrows and Sawyer (1998) is
employed. Furthermore, we derive formulae for the total and differential rates
of nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung for arbitrary nucleon degeneracy in
asymmetric matter. We find that electron scattering dominates nucleon
scattering as a thermalization process at low neutrino energies
( MeV), but that nucleon scattering is always faster
than or comparable to electron scattering above MeV. In
addition, for g cm, MeV, and
neutrino energies MeV, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung always
dominates electron-positron annihilation as a production mechanism for
and neutrinos.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX (RevTeX), 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Also
to be found at anonymous ftp site http://www.astrophysics.arizona.edu; cd to
pub/thompso
Strong Water Absorption in the Dayside Emission Spectrum of the Planet HD 189733b
Recent observations of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b did not reveal the
presence of water in the emission spectrum of the planet. Yet models of such
'Hot Jupiter' planets predict an abundance of atmospheric water vapour.
Validating and constraining these models is crucial for understanding the
physics and chemistry of planetary atmospheres in extreme environments.
Indications of the presence of water in the atmosphere of HD 189733b have
recently been found in transmission spectra, where the planet's atmosphere
selectively absorbs the light of the parent star, and in broadband photometry.
Here we report on the detection of strong water absorption in a high
signal-to-noise, mid-infrared emission spectrum of the planet itself. We find
both a strong downturn in the flux ratio below 10 microns and discrete spectral
features that are characteristic of strong absorption by water vapour. The
differences between these and previous observations are significant and admit
the possibility that predicted planetary-scale dynamical weather structures
might alter the emission spectrum over time. Models that match the observed
spectrum and the broadband photometry suggest that heat distribution from the
dayside to the night side is weak. Reconciling this with the high night side
temperature will require a better understanding of atmospheric circulation or
possible additional energy sources.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, published in Natur
Science-based restoration monitoring of coastal habitats, Volume Two: Tools for monitoring coastal habitats
Healthy coastal habitats are not only important ecologically; they also support healthy coastal communities and improve the quality of people’s lives. Despite their many benefits and values, coastal habitats have been systematically modified, degraded, and destroyed throughout the United States and its protectorates beginning with European colonization in the 1600’s (Dahl 1990). As a result, many coastal habitats around the United States are in desperate need of restoration. The monitoring of restoration projects, the focus of this document, is necessary to ensure that restoration efforts are successful, to further the science, and to increase the efficiency of future restoration efforts
Focus history of the Hubble Space Telescope: Launch to May 1993
Since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) the secondary mirror of the telescope has been moved several times in order to collimate the telescope and also to define a position of best focus. In addition to these moves the focus position changes over time because of water desorption by the graphite epoxy in the metering truss. The authors report here the focus history of the telescope based on a knowledge of the mirror moves made and an analysis of desorption monitoring data obtained by the Faint Object Camera (FOC) in the F/96 mode and of the routine calibration data obtained by the Wide Field and Planetary Cameras. Focus values are extracted using two different methods. In the first method the distance between the center of the point spread function (PSF) and the shadows of the pads supporting the HST primary mirror are related to the focus error. In the second method an analytical formula for the PSF with variable aberration coefficients is fitted to the data. Focus positions derived from the two methods show good agreement. The data show that a desorption of about 83 microns has taken place since Aug. 16, 1990. The desorption has clearly not leveled off as expected from the trend of the earlier data. Long term variations of the secondary mirror position of approximately 3-15 microns from the 'best' focus position have been observed. Variations of the order of 2-5 microns over an orbital period have also been noted. Focus changes resulting from secondary mirror movements greater than approximately 5 microns changes the point spread function significantly and makes deconvolution and quantitative measurements difficult
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