3,025 research outputs found
The spectral catalogue of INTEGRAL gamma-ray bursts: results of the joint IBIS/SPI spectral analysis
We present the updated INTEGRAL catalogue of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed
between December 2002 and February 2012. The catalogue contains the spectral
parameters for 59 GRBs localized by the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System (IBAS). We
used the data from the two main instruments on board the INTEGRAL satellite:
the spectrometer SPI (SPectrometer on INTEGRAL) nominally covering the energy
range 18 keV - 8 MeV, and the imager IBIS (the Imager on Board the INTEGRAL
Satellite) operating in the range from 15 keV to 10 MeV. For the spectral
analysis we applied a new data extraction technique, developed in order to
explore the energy regions of highest sensitivity for both instruments, SPI and
IBIS. It allowed us to perform analysis of the GRB spectra over a broad energy
range and to determine the bursts' spectral peak energies. The spectral
analysis was performed on the whole sample of GRBs triggered by IBAS, including
all the events observed in period December 2002 - February 2012. The catalogue
contains the trigger times, burst coordinates, positional errors, durations and
peak fluxes for 28 unpublished GRBs observed between September 2008 and
February 2012. The light curves in 20 - 200 keV energy band of these events
were derived using IBIS data. We compare the prompt emission properties of the
INTEGRAL GRB sample with the BATSE and Fermi samples.Comment: 16 pages, 40 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Simulations of the Microwave Sky and of its ``Observations''
Here follows a preliminary report on the construction of fake millimeter and
sub-millimeter skies, as observed by virtual instruments, e.g. the COBRA/SAMBA
mission, using theoretical modeling and data extrapolations. Our goal is to
create maps as realistic as possible of the relevant physical contributions
which may contribute to the detected signals. This astrophysical modeling is
followed by simulations of the measurement process itself by a given
instrumental configuration. This will enable a precise determination of what
can and cannot be achieved with a particular experimental configuration, and
provide a feedback on how to improve the overall design. It is a key step on
the way to define procedures for the separation of the different physical
processes in the future observed maps. Note that this tool will also prove
useful in preparing and analyzing current (\eg\ balloon borne) Microwave
Background experiments. Keywords: Cosmology -- Microwave Background
Anisotropies.Comment: 6 pages of uuencoded compressed postscript (1.2 Mb uncompressed), to
appear in the proceedings of the meeting "Far Infrared and Sub-millimeter
Space Missions in the Next Decade'', Paris, France, Eds. M. Sauvage, Space
Science Revie
The FIR/submm window on galaxy formation
Our view on the deep universe has been so far biased towards optically bright
galaxies. Now, the measurement of the Cosmic Infrared Background in FIRAS and
DIRBE residuals, and the observations of FIR/submm sources by the ISOPHOT and
SCUBA instruments begin unveiling the ``optically dark side'' of galaxy
formation. Though the origin of dust heating is still unsolved, it appears very
likely that a large fraction of the FIR/submm emission is due to
heavily-extinguished star formation. Consequently, the level of the CIRB
implies that about 2/3 of galaxy/star formation in the universe is hidden by
dust shrouds. In this review, we introduce a new modeling of galaxy formation
and evolution that provides us with specific predictions in FIR/submm
wavebands. These predictions are compared with the current status of the
observations. Finally, the capabilities of current and forthcoming instruments
for all-sky and deep surveys of FIR/submm sources are briefly described.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 5 postscript figures, to appear in ``The Birth of
Galaxies'', 1999, B. Guiderdoni, F.R. Bouchet, T.X. Thuan & J. Tran Thanh Van
(eds), Editions Frontiere
Fast Evaluation of Interlace Polynomials on Graphs of Bounded Treewidth
We consider the multivariate interlace polynomial introduced by Courcelle
(2008), which generalizes several interlace polynomials defined by Arratia,
Bollobas, and Sorkin (2004) and by Aigner and van der Holst (2004). We present
an algorithm to evaluate the multivariate interlace polynomial of a graph with
n vertices given a tree decomposition of the graph of width k. The best
previously known result (Courcelle 2008) employs a general logical framework
and leads to an algorithm with running time f(k)*n, where f(k) is doubly
exponential in k. Analyzing the GF(2)-rank of adjacency matrices in the context
of tree decompositions, we give a faster and more direct algorithm. Our
algorithm uses 2^{3k^2+O(k)}*n arithmetic operations and can be efficiently
implemented in parallel.Comment: v4: Minor error in Lemma 5.5 fixed, Section 6.6 added, minor
improvements. 44 pages, 14 figure
Dynamics of pairwise motions
We derive a simple closed-form expression, relating \vs(r) -- the mean
relative velocity of pairs of galaxies at fixed separation -- to the
two-point correlation function of mass density fluctuations, . We
compare our analytic model for \vs(r) with N-body simulations, and find
excellent agreement in the entire dynamical range probed by the simulations
(0.1 \lsim \xi \lsim 1000). Our results can be used to estimate the
cosmological density parameter, \Om, directly from redshift-distance surveys,
like Mark III.Comment: 10 pages 2 Figs., submitted to ApJ Let
Kinetic theory for non-equilibrium stationary states in long-range interacting systems
We study long-range interacting systems perturbed by external stochastic
forces. Unlike the case of short-range systems, where stochastic forces usually
act locally on each particle, here we consider perturbations by external
stochastic fields. The system reaches stationary states where external forces
balance dissipation on average. These states do not respect detailed balance
and support non-vanishing fluxes of conserved quantities. We generalize the
kinetic theory of isolated long-range systems to describe the dynamics of this
non-equilibrium problem. The kinetic equation that we obtain applies to
plasmas, self-gravitating systems, and to a broad class of other systems. Our
theoretical results hold for homogeneous states, but may also be generalized to
apply to inhomogeneous states. We obtain an excellent agreement between our
theoretical predictions and numerical simulations. We discuss possible
applications to describe non-equilibrium phase transitions.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; v2: small changes, close to the published
versio
Ultrastructural Aspects of Spun Pea and Fababean Proteins
The ultrastructure of pea and fababean spun proteins has been studied by SEM and TEM as a function of dope pH and washing bath salt concentrations. The textural properties {mechanical resistance, moisture content) and diameter of the fibres have been determined.
Spinning was only possible when dope pH was higher than 11. An increase in dope pH from 11.5 to 13 induced a shear strength increase whereas the moisture content and the diameter of the fibres decreased . The structure of the fibres became more compact and changed from an aggregate of spherical particles to a tridimensional network. When dope pH was equal to 12. 6, the increase in washing bath salt content from 2 to 10 % NaCl produced more compact fibres.
At high dope pH, the protein aggregates were dissociated and the polypeptide chains were unfolded, which favoured the lining up of the macromolecules during the spinning process and increased the protein -protein interactions in the fibres.
High salt concentration in the washing baths produced a salting out effect which probably also enhanced the chain-chain interactions. Contrary to previous studies, protein strand orientation along the fibre axis and a double cortex-core structure have been demonstrated
Semi-analytic modelling of galaxy evolution in the IR/submm range
This paper proposes a new semi-analytic modelling of galaxy properties in the
IR/submm wavelength range, which is explicitly set in a cosmological framework.
This type of approach has had some success in reproducing the optical
properties of galaxies. We hereafter propose a simple extension to the IR/submm
range. We estimate the IR/submm luminosities of ``luminous UV/IR galaxies'',
and we explore how much star formation could be hidden in
heavily--extinguished, ``ultraluminous IR galaxies'' by designing a family of
evolutionary scenarios which are consistent with the current status of the
``cosmic constraints'', as well as with the IRAS luminosity function and faint
counts, but with different high-z IR luminosity densities. However, these
scenarios generate a Cosmic Infrared Background whose spectrum falls within the
range of the isotropic IR component detected by Puget et al. (1996) and
revisited by Guiderdoni et al. (1997). We give predictions for the faint galaxy
counts and redshift distributions at IR and submm wavelengths. The submm range
is very sensitive to the details of the evolutionary scenarios. As a result,
the on-going and forthcoming observations with ISO and SCUBA (and later with
SIRTF, SOFIA, FIRST and PLANCK) will put strong constraints on the evolution of
galaxies at z=1 and beyond.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 20 postscript figures, accepted for publication in
Month. Not. Roy. Astron. So
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