1,386 research outputs found
Radiative thermal conduction fronts
The discovery of the O VI interstellar absorption lines in our Galaxy by the Copernicus observatory was a turning point in our understanding of the Interstellar Medium (ISM). It implied the presence of widespread hot (approx. 10 to the 6th power K) gas in disk galaxies. The detection of highly ionized species in quasi-stellar objects' absorption spectra may be the first indirect observation of this hot phase in external disk galaxies. Previous efforts to understand extensive O VI absorption line data from our Galaxy were not very successful in locating the regions where this absorption originates. The location at interfaces between evaporating ISM clouds and hot gas was favored, but recent studies of steady-state conduction fronts in spherical clouds by Ballet, Arnaud, and Rothenflug (1986) and Bohringer and Hartquist (1987) rejected evaporative fronts as the absorption sites. Researchers report here on time-dependent nonequilibrium calculations of planar conductive fronts whose properties match well with observations, and suggest reasons for the difference between the researchers' results and the above. They included magnetic fields in additional models, not reported here, and the conclusions are not affected by their presence
Data analysis of gravitational-wave signals from spinning neutron stars. V. A narrow-band all-sky search
We present theory and algorithms to perform an all-sky coherent search for
periodic signals of gravitational waves in narrow-band data of a detector. Our
search is based on a statistic, commonly called the -statistic,
derived from the maximum-likelihood principle in Paper I of this series. We
briefly review the response of a ground-based detector to the
gravitational-wave signal from a rotating neuron star and the derivation of the
-statistic. We present several algorithms to calculate efficiently
this statistic. In particular our algorithms are such that one can take
advantage of the speed of fast Fourier transform (FFT) in calculation of the
-statistic. We construct a grid in the parameter space such that
the nodes of the grid coincide with the Fourier frequencies. We present
interpolation methods that approximately convert the two integrals in the
-statistic into Fourier transforms so that the FFT algorithm can
be applied in their evaluation. We have implemented our methods and algorithms
into computer codes and we present results of the Monte Carlo simulations
performed to test these codes.Comment: REVTeX, 20 pages, 8 figure
Non-adiabatic spin torque investigated using thermally activated magnetic domain wall dynamics
Using transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the thermally
activated motion of domain walls (DWs) between two positions in permalloy
(Ni80Fe20) nanowires at room temperature. We show that this purely thermal
motion is well described by an Arrhenius law, allowing for a description of the
DW as a quasi-particle in a 1D potential landscape. By injecting small
currents, the potential is modified, allowing for the determination of the
non-adiabatic spin torque: the non-adiabatic coefficient is 0.010 +/- 0.004 for
a transverse DW and 0.073 +/- 0.026 for a vortex DW. The larger value is
attributed to the higher magnetization gradients present
Beam Alignment Techniques Based on the Current Multiplication Effect in Photoconductors Summary Technical Progress Report
Beam alignment techniques based on current multiplication effect in photoconductors for application to spacecraft communications syste
Supernova Ejecta in the Youngest Galactic Supernova Remnant G1.9+0.3
G1.9+0.3 is the youngest known Galactic supernova remnant (SNR), with an
estimated supernova (SN) explosion date of about 1900, and most likely located
near the Galactic Center. Only the outermost ejecta layers with free-expansion
velocities larger than about 18,000 km/s have been shocked so far in this
dynamically young, likely Type Ia SNR. A long (980 ks) Chandra observation in
2011 allowed spatially-resolved spectroscopy of heavy-element ejecta. We
denoised Chandra data with the spatio-spectral method of Krishnamurthy et al.,
and used a wavelet-based technique to spatially localize thermal emission
produced by intermediate-mass elements (IMEs: Si and S) and iron. The spatial
distribution of both IMEs and Fe is extremely asymmetric, with the strongest
ejecta emission in the northern rim. Fe Kalpha emission is particularly
prominent there, and fits with thermal models indicate strongly oversolar Fe
abundances. In a localized, outlying region in the northern rim, IMEs are less
abundant than Fe, indicating that undiluted Fe-group elements (including 56Ni)
with velocities larger than 18,000 km/s were ejected by this SN. But in the
inner west rim, we find Si- and S-rich ejecta without any traces of Fe, so
high-velocity products of O-burning were also ejected. G1.9+0.3 appears similar
to energetic Type Ia SNe such as SN 2010jn where iron-group elements at such
high free-expansion velocities have been recently detected. The pronounced
asymmetry in the ejecta distribution and abundance inhomogeneities are best
explained by a strongly asymmetric SN explosion, similar to those produced in
some recent 3D delayed-detonation Type Ia models.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ Letter
Nonuniform Expansion of the Youngest Galactic Supernova Remnant G1.9+0.3
We report measurements of X-ray expansion of the youngest Galactic supernova
remnant, G1.9+0.3, using Chandra observations in 2007, 2009, and 2011. The
measured rates strongly deviate from uniform expansion, decreasing radially by
about 60% along the X-ray bright SE-NW axis from 0.84% +/- 0.06% per yr to
0.52% +/- 0.03% per yr. This corresponds to undecelerated ages of 120-190 yr,
confirming the young age of G1.9+0.3, and implying a significant deceleration
of the blast wave. The synchrotron-dominated X-ray emission brightens at a rate
of 1.9% +/- 0.4% per yr. We identify bright outer and inner rims with the blast
wave and reverse shock, respectively. Sharp density gradients in either ejecta
or ambient medium are required to produce the sudden deceleration of the
reverse shock or the blast wave implied by the large spread in expansion ages.
The blast wave could have been decelerated recently by an encounter with a
modest density discontinuity in the ambient medium, such as found at a wind
termination shock, requiring strong mass loss in the progenitor. Alternatively,
the reverse shock might have encountered an order-of-magnitude density
discontinuity within the ejecta, such as found in pulsating delayed-detonation
Type Ia models. We demonstrate that the blast wave is much more decelerated
than the reverse shock in these models for remnants at ages similar to
G1.9+0.3. Similar effects may also be produced by dense shells possibly
associated with high-velocity features in Type Ia spectra. Accounting for the
asymmetry of G1.9+0.3 will require more realistic 3D Type Ia models.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, minor
revision
INTEGRAL observations of PSR B0540-69
PSR B0540-69 is often called an extragalactic 'twin' of the Crab pulsar in
the Large Magellanic Cloud. The pulsar is embedded in a synchrotron nebula in
the center of SNR 0540-69.3. It was discovered with the Einstein satellite with
P~50 ms, spin-down age of ~1500 years and a spin-down luminosity of ~10^38
erg/s. It has since been detected with all major X-ray telescopes. At X-ray
energies up to ~40 keV the latest observations were reported from RXTE and from
INTEGRAL (only spectrum) in the context of a survey of the LMC. Optical pulsed
emission and faint radio emission have also been found from PSR B0540-69. The
INTEGRAL analysis presented here is based on observations of the LMC obtained
in Jan. 2003 and Jan. 2004 with a total exposure of ~1.5 Ms. In the mosaic maps
from the total exposure (JEM-X and IBIS/ISGRI) a source at the location of PSR
B0540-69 is clearly visible up to energies of ~200 keV. After barycentric
correction and determination of the pulsar phases, based on theephemeris
available from contemporaneous RXTE data, the lightcurves show the
characteristic shape of a broad pulse up into the 40-100 keV band. At higher
energies no significant pulsation is detectable. We derive the spectrum of the
total source from the ISGRI data. The photon spectrum can be fitted with a
power law of index 2.22, which is compatible with the result found by Goetz et
al., 2006.Comment: Proceedings of the 363. WE-Heraeus Seminar on: Neutron Stars and
Pulsars (Posters and contributed talks) Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, Germany,
May.14-19, 2006, eds. W.Becker, H.H.Huang, MPE Report 291, pp.44-5
High-Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of SNR 1987A: Chandra LETG and HETG Observations in 2007
We present an extended analysis of the deep Chandra LETG and HETG
observations of the supernova remnant 1987A (SNR 1987A) carried out in 2007.
The global fits to the grating spectra show that the temperature of the X-ray
emitting plasma in the slower shocks in this system has remained stable for the
last three years, while that in the faster shocks has decreased. This
temperature evolution is confirmed by the first light curves of strong X-ray
emission lines and their ratios. On the other hand, bulk gas velocities
inferred from the X-ray line profiles are too low to account for the post-shock
plasma temperatures inferred from spectral fits. This suggests that the X-ray
emission comes from gas that has been shocked twice, first by the blast wave
and again by shocks reflected from the inner ring of SNR 1987A. A new model
that takes these considerations into account gives support to this physical
picture.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
Constraints on the luminosity of the stellar remnant in SNR1987A
We obtain photometric constraints on the luminosity of the stellar remnant in
SNR1987A using XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL data. The upper limit in the 2--10 keV
band based on the XMM-Newton data is L<5*10^{34}erg/s. We note, however, that
the optical depth of the envelope is still high in the XMM-Newton band,
therefore, this upper limit does not constrain the true unabsorbed luminosity
of the central source. The optical depth is expected to be small in the hard
X-ray band of the IBIS telescope aboard the INTEGRAL observatory, therefore it
provides an unobscured look at the stellar remnant. We did not detect
statistically significant emission from SN1987A in the 20-60 keV band with the
upper limit of L<1.1*10^{36}erg/s. We also obtained an upper limit on the mass
of radioactive 44Ti M(44Ti)<10^{-3}Msun.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter
- …