4,039 research outputs found
Type I X-ray Bursts at Low Accretion Rates
Neutron stars, with their strong surface gravity, have interestingly short
timescales for the sedimentation of heavy elements. Recent observations of
unstable thermonuclear burning (observed as X-ray bursts) on the surfaces of
slowly accreting neutron stars ( of the Eddington rate) motivate us to
examine how sedimentation of CNO isotopes affects the ignition of these bursts.
We further estimate the burst development using a simple one-zone model with a
full reaction network. We report a region of mass accretion rates for weak H
flashes. Such flashes can lead to a large reservoir of He, the unstable burning
of which may explain some observed long bursts (duration s).Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the proceedings of the conference
"The Multicoloured Landscape of Compact Objects and Their Explosive
Origins'', 2006 June 11--24, Cefalu, Sicily (Italy), to be published by AI
Hydrodynamic Thermonuclear Runaways in Superbursts
We calculate the thermal and dynamical evolution of the surface layers of an
accreting neutron star during the rise of a superburst. For the first few hours
following unstable 12C ignition, the nuclear energy release is transported by
convection. However, as the base temperature rises, the heating time becomes
shorter than the eddy turnover time and convection becomes inefficient. This
results in a hydrodynamic nuclear runaway, in which the heating time becomes
shorter than the local dynamical time. Such hydrodynamic burning can drive
shock waves into the surrounding layers and may be the trigger for the normal
X-ray burst found to immediately precede the onset of the superburst in both
cases where the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer was observing.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (emulateapj), accepted to ApJ Letter
Cooling of the crust in the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary MXB 1659-29
In quasi-persistent neutron star transients, long outbursts cause the neutron
star crust to be heated out of thermal equilibrium with the rest of the star.
During quiescence, the crust then cools back down. Such crustal cooling has
been observed in two quasi-persistent sources: KS 1731-260 and MXB 1659-29.
Here we present an additional Chandra observation of MXB 1659-29 in quiescence,
which extends the baseline of monitoring to 6.6 yr after the end of the
outburst. This new observation strongly suggests that the crust has thermally
relaxed, with the temperature remaining consistent over 1000 days. Fitting the
temperature cooling curve with an exponential plus constant model we determine
an e-folding timescale of 465 +/- 25 days, with the crust cooling to a constant
surface temperature of kT = 54 +/- 2 eV (assuming D=10 kpc). From this, we
infer a core temperature in the range 3.5E7-8.3E7 K (assuming D=10 kpc), with
the uncertainty due to the surface composition. Importantly, we tested two
neutron star atmosphere models as well as a blackbody model, and found that the
thermal relaxation time of the crust is independent of the chosen model and the
assumed distance.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJL, 4 pages, 1 figure
Non-Cointegration and Econometric Evaluation of Models of Regional Shift and Share
This paper tests for cointegration between regional output of an industry and national output of the same industry. An equilibrium economic theory is presented to argue for the plausibility of cointegration, however, regional economic forecasting using the shift and share framework often acts as if cointegration does not exist. Data analysis on broad industrial sectors for 20 states finds very little evidence for cointegration. Forecasting models with and without imposing cointegration are than constructed and used to forecast out of sample. The simplest, non-cointegrating models are the best.
A Preliminary Look at State Structures for Regulating Financial Services
Within the past thirty-five years approximately fifty nations have consolidated their financial regulatory agencies into either a single integrated agency or into two semi-integrated agencies. The United States has resisted this trend, due in part to a concern that the costs of such significant consolidation would exceed its benefits. The existing studies that compare the costs of the consolidated regulators around the world with the United States regime have often been discounted because they have been unable to control for differences in culture and regulatory intensity between those other countries and the United States. This article attempts to address this problem by examining the costs of six different regulatory structures used by states within the United States, which range from separate agencies for each financial services industry to a single agency that regulates all financial services. As a result, this study provides a better picture of whether consolidation within the United States might result in any cost savings
ILL as Acquisitions: Implementing and Integrating POD in a Research Library
This paper describes Virginia Tech\u27s implementation of a purchaseâonâdemand (POD) program designed to complement the traditional interlibrary loan workflow. POD can offer a way to obtain otherwise unavailable or unlendable content or to get many items at lower cost than a typical borrowing transaction. POD also offers another means of building the collection through purchases of materials we know will get at least one use. We share key details of our program from pilot phase to its broader integration into the acquisitions workflow
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