2,024 research outputs found
A Strong X-Ray Burst from the Low Mass X-Ray Binary EXO0748-676
We have observed an unusually strong X-ray burst as a part of our regular
eclipse timing observations of the low mass binary system EXO0748-676. The
burst peak flux was 5.2x10^-8 ergs cm^-2 s^-1, approximately five times the
normal peak X-ray burst flux observed from this source by RXTE. Spectral fits
to the data strongly suggest that photospheric radius expansion occurred during
the burst. In this Letter we examine the properties of this X-ray burst, which
is the first example of a radius expansion burst from EXO0748-676 observed by
RXTE. We find no evidence for coherent burst oscillations. Assuming that the
peak burst luminosity is the Eddington luminosity for a 1.4 solar mass neutron
star we derive a distance to EXO0748-676 of 7.7 kpc for a helium-dominated
burst photosphere and 5.9 kpc for a hydrogen-dominated burst photosphere.Comment: 15 pages including 2 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in
the Astrophysical Journa
Detection of Pulsed X-ray Emission from PSR B1706-44
We report the first detection of pulsed X-ray emission from the young,
energetic radio and Gamma-ray pulsar PSR B1706-44. We find a periodic signal at
a frequency of f = 9.7588088 +/- 0.0000026 Hz (at epoch 51585.34104 MJD),
consistent with the radio ephemeris, using data obtained with the High
Resolution Camera on-board the Chandra X-ray Observatory}. The probability that
this detection is a chance occurrence is 3.5E-5 as judged by the Rayleigh test.
The folded light curve has a broad, single-peaked profile with a pulsed
fraction of 23% +/- 6%. This result is consistent the ROSAT PSPC upper limit of
< 18% after allowing for the ability of Chandra to resolve the pulsar from a
surrounding synchrotron nebula. We also fitted Chandra spectroscopic data on
PSR B1706-44, which require at least two components, e.g., a blackbody of
temperature T(infinity) between 1.51E6 K and 1.83E6 K and a power-law of Gamma
= 2.0 +/- 0.5. The blackbody radius at the nominal 2.5 kpc distance is only
R(infinity) = 3.6 +/- 0.9 km, indicating either a hot region on a cooler
surface, or the need for a realistic atmosphere model that would allow a lower
temperature and larger area. Because the power-law and blackbody spectra each
contribute more than 23% of the observed flux, it is not possible to decide
which component is responsible for the modulation in the spectrally unresolved
light curve.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Latex, emulateapj. Published version. Includes an
updated radio ephemeris and presents the absolute radio/X-ray phase alignmen
Totally Transparent: A Qualitative Study About the Impact of Farm Tours on Bloggers
Producers and agricultural organizations often struggle to effectively and efficiently communicate agricultural practices and values across the green divide. Additionally, producers and agricultural communication professionals must compete with inflammatory or misleading statements communicated to uninformed consumers via the blogosphere and rapidly disseminated on social media. Many organizations are beginning to implement agritourism events as a way of educating the consumer and influential bloggers. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of four bloggers who were invited to a three-day agritourism event. Results showed participants identified personal exposure to transparent farmers yielded an increase in knowledge and appreciation of farming practices that positively impacted their trust in the American farmer and food system. This study expands upon current research being conducted on agritourism events, transparency, and expectancy violations theory and suggests organizations structure agritourism events in such a way as to demonstrate transparency and positively violate the expectations bloggers may have regarding agricultural producers
On the Core of Dynamic Cooperative Games
We consider dynamic cooperative games, where the worth of coalitions varies
over time according to the history of allocations. When defining the core of a
dynamic game, we allow the possibility for coalitions to deviate at any time
and thereby to give rise to a new environment. A coalition that considers a
deviation needs to take the consequences into account because from the
deviation point on, the game is no longer played with the original set of
players. The deviating coalition becomes the new grand coalition which, in
turn, induces a new dynamic game. The stage games of the new dynamical game
depend on all previous allocation including those that have materialized from
the deviating time on.
We define three types of core solutions: fair core, stable core and credible
core. We characterize the first two in case where the instantaneous game
depends on the last allocation (rather than on the whole history of
allocations) and the third in the general case. The analysis and the results
resembles to a great extent the theory of non-cooperative dynamic games.Comment: 25 page
A multiwavelength study on the high-energy behaviour of Fermi/LAT pulsars
Using archival as well as freshly acquired data, we assess the X-ray
behaviour of the Fermi/LAT gamma-ray pulsars listed in the First Fermi source
catalog. After revisiting the relationships between the pulsars' rotational
energy losses and their X and gamma-ray luminosities, we focus on the
distance-indipendent gamma to X-ray flux ratios. When plotting our Fgamma/Fx
values as a function of the pulsars' rotational energy losses, one immediately
sees that pulsars with similar energetics have Fgamma/Fx spanning 3 decades.
Such spread, most probably stemming from vastly different geometrical
configurations of the X and gamma-ray emitting regions, defies any
straightforward interpretation of the plot. Indeed, while energetic pulsars do
have low Fgamma/Fx values, little can be said for the bulk of the Fermi neutron
stars. Dividing our pulsar sample into radio-loud and radio-quiet subsamples,
we find that, on average, radio-quiet pulsars do have higher values of
Fgamma/Fx, implying an intrinsec faintness of their X-ray emission and/or a
different geometrical configuration. Moreover, despite the large spread
mentioned above, statistical tests show a lower scatter in the radio-quiet
dataset with respect to the radio-loud one, pointing to a somewhat more
constrained geometry for the radio-quiet objects with respect to the radio-loud
ones.Comment: 39 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. To be published in Astrophysical
Journa
Chandra X-ray Observations of 12 Millisecond Pulsars in the Globular Cluster M28
We present a Chandra X-ray Observatory investigation of the millisecond
pulsars (MSPs) in the globular cluster M28 (NGC 6626). In what is one of the
deepest X-ray observations of a globular cluster, we firmly detect seven and
possibly detect two of the twelve known M28 pulsars. With the exception of PSRs
B1821-24 and J1824-2452H, the detected pulsars have relatively soft spectra,
with X-ray luminosities 10^30-31 ergs s^-1 (0.3-8 keV),similar to most
"recycled" pulsars in 47 Tucanae and the field of the Galaxy, implying thermal
emission from the pulsar magnetic polar caps. We present the most detailed
X-ray spectrum to date of the energetic PSR B1821-24. It is well described by a
purely non-thermal spectrum with spectral photon index 1.23 and luminosity
1.4x10^33Theta(D/5.5 kpc)^2 ergs s^-1 (0.3-8 keV), where Theta is the fraction
of the sky covered by the X-ray emission beam(s). We find no evidence for the
previously reported line emission feature around 3.3 keV, most likely as a
consequence of improvements in instrument calibration. The X-ray spectrum and
pulse profile of PSR B1821--24 suggest that the bulk of unpulsed emission from
this pulsar is not of thermal origin, and is likely due to low-level
non-thermal magnetospheric radiation, an unresolved pulsar wind nebula, and/or
small-angle scattering of the pulsed X-rays by interstellar dust grains. The
peculiar binary PSR J1824-2452H shows a relatively hard X-ray spectrum and
possible variability at the binary period, indicative of an intrabinary shock
formed by interaction between the relativistic pulsar wind and matter from its
non-degenerate companion star.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astophysical
Journa
Wireless Sensor Networks for Developmental and Flight Instrumentation
Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network and ZigBee Pro 2007 standards are finding increasing use in home automation and smart energy markets providing a framework for interoperable software. The Wireless Connections in Space Project, funded by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, is developing technology, metrics and requirements for next-generation spacecraft avionics incorporating wireless data transport. The team from Stennis Space Center and Mobitrum Corporation, working under a NASA SBIR grant, has developed techniques for embedding plug-and-play software into ZigBee WSN prototypes implementing the IEEE 1451 Transducer Electronic Datasheet (TEDS) standard. The TEDS provides meta-information regarding sensors such as serial number, calibration curve and operational status. Incorporation of TEDS into wireless sensors leads directly to building application level software that can recognize sensors at run-time, dynamically instantiating sensors as they are added or removed. The Ames Research Center team has been experimenting with this technology building demonstration prototypes for on-board health monitoring. Innovations in technology, software and process can lead to dramatic improvements for managing sensor systems applied to Developmental and Flight Instrumentation (DFI) aboard aerospace vehicles. A brief overview of the plug-and-play ZigBee WSN technology is presented along with specific targets for application within the aerospace DFI market. The software architecture for the sensor nodes incorporating the TEDS information is described along with the functions of the Network Capable Gateway processor which bridges 802.15.4 PAN to the TCP/IP network. Client application software connects to the Gateway and is used to display TEDS information and real-time sensor data values updated every few seconds, incorporating error detection and logging to help measure performance and reliability in relevant target environments. Test results from our prototype WSN running the Mobitrum software system are summarized and the implications to the scalability and reliability for DFI applications are discussed. Our demonstration system, incorporating sensors for life support system and structural health monitoring is described along with test results obtained by running the demonstration prototype in relevant environments such as the Wireless Habitat Testbed at Johnson Space Center in Houston. An operations concept for improved sensor process flow from design to flight test is outlined specific to the areas of Environmental Control and Life Support System performance characterization and structural health monitoring of human-rated spacecraft. This operations concept will be used to highlight the areas where WSN technology, particularly plug-and-play software based on IEEE 1451, can improve the current process, resulting in significant reductions in the technical effort, overall cost and schedule for providing DFI capability for future spacecraft. RELEASED
Human emotional response to energy visualisations
This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Past research has found that frequent energy usage feedback is an important factor in reducing home energy consumption, and that the sensory appeal and cognitive relevance of the feedback are key components of user engagement with energy systems. The visual design of the information interface is important not just due to its role in communicating data of cognitive relevance, but also because the choice of information type and format is important towards achieving interactive Hebbian learning. The objective of the current research study was to investigate the possible effect of image format on the human emotional response to scenes of energy systems, and to evaluate whether any gender related differences in emotional response occurred. An automated PC-based test was developed which utilised five visual image formats (Optical Gray-Scale, Optical Coloured, Optical Augmented, Infrared Gray-Scale and Infrared Blue-Red) and nine home energy scenes (hot water boiler, radiator, water faucet, kitchen oven, tea kettle, toaster, electrical connector, laptop computer and tea mug). The emotional response of the participant was measured in the automated test by means of a Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) which provided symbolic graphical representations of the human body under various degrees of emotional response, and associated Likert format rating scales for the valence and activation level of the emotional response. Comparison of the results obtained for the different visual scenes suggests that the greatest level of human emotional activation was achieved by the Infrared Blue-Red (thermal image) format, and that, generally, coloured images provided higher levels of emotional activation than gray-scale images. The increased activation achieved by the infrared images suggests attention capturing potential due to novelty, or due to the direct link to heat and energy, or both. Significant differences in emotional response (both activation and valence) were found to occur as a function of gender. The current results provide first guidance which a designer can use when choosing image spectrum and colours to represent energy systems on the displays of thermostats, smart meters and the energy devices.
Relevance to industry - The current results provide first guidance which a designer can use when choosing image spectrum and colours to represent energy systems on the displays of thermostats, smart meters and the energy devices. Such design guidance is currently lacking internationally but is of increasing importance due to the expansion of digital devices, internet services and the upcoming internet-of-things
The Identification of the X-ray Counterpart to PSR J2021+4026
We report the probable identification of the X-ray counterpart to the
gamma-ray pulsar PSR J2021+4026 using imaging with the Chandra X-ray
Observatory ACIS and timing analysis with the Fermi satellite. Given the
statistical and systematic errors, the positions determined by both satellites
are coincident. The X-ray source position is R.A. 20h21m30.733s, Decl. +40 deg
26 min 46.04sec (J2000) with an estimated uncertainty of 1.3 arsec combined
statistical and systematic error. Moreover, both the X-ray to gamma-ray and the
X-ray to optical flux ratios are sensible assuming a neutron star origin for
the X-ray flux. The X-ray source has no cataloged infrared-to-visible
counterpart and, through new observations, we set upper limits to its optical
emission of i' >23.0 mag and r' > 25.2mag. The source exhibits an X-ray
spectrum with most likely both a powerlaw and a thermal component. We also
report on the X-ray and visible light properties of the 43 other sources
detected in our Chandra observation.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
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