4,568 research outputs found
Spatial distribution and broad-band spectral characteristics of the diffuse X-ray background, 0.1 - 1.0 keV
Preliminary maps covering more than 85 percent of the sky are presented for three energy bands: the B band, the C band, and the M band. The study was undertaken to find evidence that most of the diffuse X-ray background at energies less than 1 keV is local to the galaxy and that it is most probably due to thermal radiation from a low density plasma which fills a substantial fraction of interstellar space. A preliminary analysis of the data is provided including a report that most of the B and C band flux has a common origin, probably in a 10 to the 6th power K region surrounding the Sun, and that most of the M band flux does not originate from the same material
Limits on soft X-ray flux from distant emission regions
The all-sky soft X-ray data of McCammon et al. and the new N sub H survey (Stark et al. was used to place limits on the amount of the soft X-ray diffuse background that can originate beyond the neutral gas of the galactic disk. The X-ray data for two regions of the sky near the galactic poles are shown to be uncorrelated with 21 cm column densities. Most of the observed x-ray flux must therefore originate on the near side of the most distant neutral gas. The results from these regions are consistent with X-ray emission from a locally isotropic, unabsorbed source, but require large variations in the emission of the local region over large angular scales
The soft X-ray diffuse background
Maps of the diffuse X-ray background intensity covering essentially the entire sky with approx. 7 deg spatial resolution are presented for seven energy bands. The data were obtained on a series of ten sounding rocket flights conducted over a seven-year period. The different nature of the spatial distributions in different bands implies at least three distinct origins for the diffuse X-rays, none of which is well-understood. At energies or approx. 2000 eV, an isotropic and presumably extraglalactic 500 and 1000 eV, an origin which is at least partially galactic seems called for. At energies 284 eV, the observed intensity is anticorrelated with neutral hydrogen column density, but we find it unlikely that this anticorrelation is simply due to absorption of an extragalactic or halo source
Epitaxial growth and surface reconstruction of CrSb(0001)
Smooth CrSb(0001) films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MnSb(0001) – GaAs(111) substrates. CrSb(0001) shows (2 × 2), triple domain (1 × 4) and (√3×√3)R30° reconstructed surfaces as well as a (1 × 1) phase. The dependence of reconstruction on substrate temperature and incident fluxes is very similar to MnSb(0001)
A Theory for the Radius of the Transiting Giant Planet HD 209458b
Using a full frequency-dependent atmosphere code that can incorporate
irradiation by a central primary star, we calculate self-consistent boundary
conditions for the evolution of the radius of the transiting planet HD 209458b.
Using a well-tested extrasolar giant planet evolutionary code, we then
calculate the behavior of this planet's radius with age. The measured radius is
in fact a transit radius that resides high in HD 209458b's inflated atmosphere.
Using our derived atmospheric and interior structures, we find that irradiation
plus the proper interpretation of the transit radius can yield a theoretical
radius that is within the measured error bars. We conclude that if HD 209458b's
true transit radius is at the lower end of the measured range, an extra source
of core heating power is not necessary to explain the transit observations.Comment: 6 pages in emulateapj format, plus 2 figures (one color), accepted to
the Astrophysical Journa
Mu and Tau Neutrino Thermalization and Production in Supernovae: Processes and Timescales
We investigate the rates of production and thermalization of and
neutrinos at temperatures and densities relevant to core-collapse
supernovae and protoneutron stars. Included are contributions from electron
scattering, electron-positron annihilation, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, and
nucleon scattering. For the scattering processes, in order to incorporate the
full scattering kinematics at arbitrary degeneracy, the structure function
formalism developed by Reddy et al. (1998) and Burrows and Sawyer (1998) is
employed. Furthermore, we derive formulae for the total and differential rates
of nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung for arbitrary nucleon degeneracy in
asymmetric matter. We find that electron scattering dominates nucleon
scattering as a thermalization process at low neutrino energies
( MeV), but that nucleon scattering is always faster
than or comparable to electron scattering above MeV. In
addition, for g cm, MeV, and
neutrino energies MeV, nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung always
dominates electron-positron annihilation as a production mechanism for
and neutrinos.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX (RevTeX), 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Also
to be found at anonymous ftp site http://www.astrophysics.arizona.edu; cd to
pub/thompso
Pulsational Analysis of the Cores of Massive Stars and its Relevance to Pulsar Kicks
The mechanism responsible for the natal kicks of neutron stars continues to
be a challenging problem. Indeed, many mechanisms have been suggested, and one
hydrodynamic mechanism may require large initial asymmetries in the cores of
supernova progenitor stars. Goldreich, Lai, & Sahrling (1997) suggested that
unstable g-modes trapped in the iron (Fe) core by the convective burning layers
and excited by the -mechanism may provide the requisite asymmetries.
We perform a modal analysis of the last minutes before collapse of published
core structures and derive eigenfrequencies and eigenfunctions, including the
nonadiabatic effects of growth by nuclear burning and decay by both neutrino
and acoustic losses. In general, we find two types of g-modes: inner-core
g-modes, which are stabilized by neutrino losses and outer-core g-modes which
are trapped near the burning shells and can be unstable. Without exception, we
find at least one unstable g-mode for each progenitor in the entire mass range
we consider, 11 M_{\sun} to 40 M_{\sun}. More importantly, we find that the
timescales for growth and decay are an order of magnitude or more longer than
the time until the commencement of core collapse. We conclude that the
-mechanism may not have enough time to significantly amplify core
g-modes prior to collapse.Comment: 32 pages including 12 color figures and 2 tables, submitted to Ap
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