120 research outputs found
TIROS-N Cosmic Ray study
An experimental and analytical study was performed on the impact of galactic cosmic rays on the TIROS-N satellite memory in orbit. Comparisons were made of systems equipped with the Harris HMI-6508 1 x 1024 CMOS/bulk RAM and the RCA CDP-1821 1 x 1024 bit CMOS/SOS RAM. Based upon the experimental results, estimated bit error rates were determined. These were at least 8.0 bit errors/day for a 300 kilobit memory with the HMI-6508 and .014 bit errors/day with the CDF-1821. It was also estimated that the HMI-6508 latchup rate in orbit is at least two orders of magnitude less than the bit error rates; the CDP-1821 will not latchup
Gamma-Ray Background from Structure Formation in the Intergalactic Medium
The universe is filled with a diffuse and isotropic extragalactic background
of gamma-ray radiation, containing roughly equal energy flux per decade in
photon energy between 3 MeV-100 GeV. The origin of this background is one of
the unsolved puzzles in cosmology. Less than a quarter of the gamma-ray flux
can be attributed to unresolved discrete sources, but the remainder appears to
constitute a truly diffuse background whose origin has hitherto been
mysterious. Here we show that the shock waves induced by gravity during the
formation of large-scale structure in the intergalactic medium, produce a
population of highly-relativistic electrons with a maximum Lorentz factor above
10^7. These electrons scatter a small fraction of the microwave background
photons in the present-day universe up to gamma-ray energies, thereby providing
the gamma-ray background. The predicted diffuse flux agrees with the observed
background over more than four decades in photon energy, and implies a mean
cosmological density of baryons which is consistent with Big-Bang
nucleosynthesis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Nature. (Press embargo
until published.
Schwarzschild black hole lensing
We study strong gravitational lensing due to a Schwarzschild black hole.
Apart from the primary and the secondary images we find a sequence of images on
both sides of the optic axis; we call them {\em relativistic images}. These
images are formed due to large bending of light near r = 3M (the closest
distance of approach r_o is greater than 3M). The sources of the entire
universe are mapped in the vicinity of the black hole by these images. For the
case of the Galactic supermassive ``black hole'' they are formed at about 17
microarcseconds from the optic axis. The relativistic images are not resolved
among themselves, but they are resolved from the primary and secondary images.
However the relativistic images are very much demagnified unless the observer,
lens and source are very highly aligned. Due to this and some other
difficulties the observation of these images does not seem to be feasible in
near future. However, it would be a great success of the general theory of
relativity in a strong gravitational field if they ever were observed and it
would also give an upper bound, r_o = 3.21 M, to the compactness of the lens,
which would support the black hole interpretation of the lensing object.Comment: RevTex, 5 eps files are included, observational difficulties are
discussed and there are some changes in presentatio
Magnetic fields in protoplanetary disks
Magnetic fields likely play a key role in the dynamics and evolution of
protoplanetary discs. They have the potential to efficiently transport angular
momentum by MHD turbulence or via the magnetocentrifugal acceleration of
outflows from the disk surface, and magnetically-driven mixing has implications
for disk chemistry and evolution of the grain population. However, the weak
ionisation of protoplanetary discs means that magnetic fields may not be able
to effectively couple to the matter. I present calculations of the ionisation
equilibrium and magnetic diffusivity as a function of height from the disk
midplane at radii of 1 and 5 AU. Dust grains tend to suppress magnetic coupling
by soaking up electrons and ions from the gas phase and reducing the
conductivity of the gas by many orders of magnitude. However, once grains have
grown to a few microns in size their effect starts to wane and magnetic fields
can begin to couple to the gas even at the disk midplane. Because ions are
generally decoupled from the magnetic field by neutral collisions while
electrons are not, the Hall effect tends to dominate the diffusion of the
magnetic field when it is able to partially couple to the gas.
For a standard population of 0.1 micron grains the active surface layers have
a combined column of about 2 g/cm^2 at 1 AU; by the time grains have aggregated
to 3 microns the active surface density is 80 g/cm^2. In the absence of grains,
x-rays maintain magnetic coupling to 10% of the disk material at 1 AU (150
g/cm^2). At 5 AU the entire disk thickness becomes active once grains have
aggregated to 1 micron in size.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figs, aastex.cls. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysics & Space Science. v3 corrects bibliograph
Magnetorotational collapse of massive stellar cores to neutron stars: Simulations in full general relativity
We study magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects arising in the collapse of
magnetized, rotating, massive stellar cores to proto-neutron stars (PNSs). We
perform axisymmetric numerical simulations in full general relativity with a
hybrid equation of state. The formation and early evolution of a PNS are
followed with a grid of 2500 x 2500 zones, which provides better resolution
than in previous (Newtonian) studies. We confirm that significant differential
rotation results even when the rotation of the progenitor is initially uniform.
Consequently, the magnetic field is amplified both by magnetic winding and the
magnetorotational instability (MRI). Even if the magnetic energy E_EM is much
smaller than the rotational kinetic energy T_rot at the time of PNS formation,
the ratio E_EM/T_rot increases to 0.1-0.2 by the magnetic winding. Following
PNS formation, MHD outflows lead to losses of rest mass, energy, and angular
momentum from the system. The earliest outflow is produced primarily by the
increasing magnetic stress caused by magnetic winding. The MRI amplifies the
poloidal field and increases the magnetic stress, causing further angular
momentum transport and helping to drive the outflow. After the magnetic field
saturates, a nearly stationary, collimated magnetic field forms near the
rotation axis and a Blandford-Payne type outflow develops along the field
lines. These outflows remove angular momentum from the PNS at a rate given by
\dot{J} \sim \eta E_EM C_B, where \eta is a constant of order 0.1 and C_B is a
typical ratio of poloidal to toroidal field strength. As a result, the rotation
period quickly increases for a strongly magnetized PNS until the degree of
differential rotation decreases. Our simulations suggest that rapidly rotating,
magnetized PNSs may not give rise to rapidly rotating neutron stars.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Shapiro Effect as a Possible Cause of the Low-Frequency Pulsar Timing Noise in Globular Clusters
A prolonged timing of millisecond pulsars has revealed low-frequency
uncorrelated noise, presumably of astrophysical origin, in the pulse arrival
time (PAT) residuals for some of them. In most cases, pulsars in globular
clusters show a low-frequency modulation of their rotational phase and spin
rate. The relativistic time delay of the pulsar signal in the curved space time
of randomly distributed and moving globular cluster stars (the Shapiro effect)
is suggested as a possible cause of this modulation.
Given the smallness of the aberration corrections that arise from the
nonstationarity of the gravitational field of the randomly distributed ensemble
of stars under consideration, a formula is derived for the Shapiro effect for a
pulsar in a globular cluster. The derived formula is used to calculate the
autocorrelation function of the low-frequency pulsar noise, the slope of its
power spectrum, and the behavior of the statistic that characterizes
the spectral properties of this noise in the form of a time function. The
Shapiro effect under discussion is shown to manifest itself for large impact
parameters as a low-frequency noise of the pulsar spin rate with a spectral
index of n=-1.8 that depends weakly on the specific model distribution of stars
in the globular cluster. For small impact parameters, the spectral index of the
noise is n=-1.5.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure
Pulsar Timing and its Application for Navigation and Gravitational Wave Detection
Pulsars are natural cosmic clocks. On long timescales they rival the
precision of terrestrial atomic clocks. Using a technique called pulsar timing,
the exact measurement of pulse arrival times allows a number of applications,
ranging from testing theories of gravity to detecting gravitational waves. Also
an external reference system suitable for autonomous space navigation can be
defined by pulsars, using them as natural navigation beacons, not unlike the
use of GPS satellites for navigation on Earth. By comparing pulse arrival times
measured on-board a spacecraft with predicted pulse arrivals at a reference
location (e.g. the solar system barycenter), the spacecraft position can be
determined autonomously and with high accuracy everywhere in the solar system
and beyond. We describe the unique properties of pulsars that suggest that such
a navigation system will certainly have its application in future astronautics.
We also describe the on-going experiments to use the clock-like nature of
pulsars to "construct" a galactic-sized gravitational wave detector for
low-frequency (f_GW ~1E-9 - 1E-7 Hz) gravitational waves. We present the
current status and provide an outlook for the future.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Vol 63: High Performance Clocks,
Springer Space Science Review
The Interstellar Environment of our Galaxy
We review the current knowledge and understanding of the interstellar medium
of our galaxy. We first present each of the three basic constituents - ordinary
matter, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields - of the interstellar medium, laying
emphasis on their physical and chemical properties inferred from a broad range
of observations. We then position the different interstellar constituents, both
with respect to each other and with respect to stars, within the general
galactic ecosystem.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures (including 3 figures in 2 parts
Cosmic rays and molecular clouds
This paper deals with the cosmic-ray penetration into molecular clouds and
with the related gamma--ray emission. High energy cosmic rays interact with the
dense gas and produce neutral pions which in turn decay into two gamma rays.
This makes molecular clouds potential sources of gamma rays, especially if they
are located in the vicinity of a powerful accelerator that injects cosmic rays
in the interstellar medium. The amplitude and duration in time of the
cosmic--ray overdensity around a given source depend on how quickly cosmic rays
diffuse in the turbulent galactic magnetic field. For these reasons, gamma-ray
observations of molecular clouds can be used both to locate the sources of
cosmic rays and to constrain the properties of cosmic-ray diffusion in the
Galaxy.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the San Cugat Forum on Astrophysics
2012, 27 pages, 10 figure
The Formation and Evolution of the First Massive Black Holes
The first massive astrophysical black holes likely formed at high redshifts
(z>10) at the centers of low mass (~10^6 Msun) dark matter concentrations.
These black holes grow by mergers and gas accretion, evolve into the population
of bright quasars observed at lower redshifts, and eventually leave the
supermassive black hole remnants that are ubiquitous at the centers of galaxies
in the nearby universe. The astrophysical processes responsible for the
formation of the earliest seed black holes are poorly understood. The purpose
of this review is threefold: (1) to describe theoretical expectations for the
formation and growth of the earliest black holes within the general paradigm of
hierarchical cold dark matter cosmologies, (2) to summarize several relevant
recent observations that have implications for the formation of the earliest
black holes, and (3) to look into the future and assess the power of
forthcoming observations to probe the physics of the first active galactic
nuclei.Comment: 39 pages, review for "Supermassive Black Holes in the Distant
Universe", Ed. A. J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publisher
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