9,318 research outputs found
Quasi-Periodic Oscillations and energy spectra from the two brightest Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources in M82
Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources are thought to be accreting black holes that
might host Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBH), proposed to exist by
theoretical studies, even though a firm detection (as a class) is still
missing. The brightest ULX in M82 (M82 X-1) is probably one of the best
candidates to host an IMBH. In this work we analyzed the data of the recent
release of observations obtained from M82 X-1 taken by XMM-Newton. We performed
a study of the timing and spectral properties of the source. We report on the
detection of (46+-2) mHz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) in the power
density spectra of two observations. A comparison of the frequency of these
high-frequency QPOs with previous detections supports the 1:2:3 frequency
distribution as suggested in other studies. We discuss the implications if the
(46+-2) mHz QPO detected in M82 X-1 is the fundamental harmonic, in analogy
with the High-Frequency QPOs observed in black hole binaries. For one of the
observations we have detected for the first time a QPO at 8 mHz (albeit at a
low significance), that coincides with a hardening of the spectrum. We suggest
that the QPO is a milli-hertz QPO originating from the close-by transient ULX
M82 X-2, with analogies to the Low-Frequency QPOs observed in black hole
binaries.Comment: 9 pages (with 4 figures and 4 tables). Accepted for publication in
MNRAS (26/09/13
Ultraluminous X-ray sources with flat-topped noise and QPO
We analyzed the X-ray power density spectra of five ultraluminous X-ray
sources (ULXs) NGC5408 X-1, NGC6946 X-1, M82 X-1, NGC1313 X-1 and IC342 X-1
that are the only ULXs which display both flat-topped noise (FTN) and
quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO). We studied the QPO frequencies, fractional
root-mean-square (rms) variability, X-ray luminosity and spectral hardness. We
found that the level of FTN is anti-correlated with the QPO frequency. As the
frequency of the QPO and brightness of the sources increase, their fractional
variability decreases. We propose a simple interpretation using the
spherizarion radius, viscosity time and -parameter as basic properties
of these systems. The main physical driver of the observed variability is the
mass accretion rate which varies >3 between different observations of the same
source. As the accretion rate decreases the spherization radius reduces and the
FTN plus the QPO move toward higher frequencies resulting in a decrease of the
fractional rms variability. We also propose that in all ULXs when the accretion
rate is low enough (but still super-Eddington) the QPO and FTN disappear.
Assuming that the maximum X-ray luminosity depends only on the black hole (BH)
mass and not on the accretion rate (not considering the effects of either the
inclination of the super-Eddington disc nor geometrical beaming of radiation)
we estimate that all the ULXs have about similar BH masses, with the exception
of M82 X-1, which might be 10 times more massive.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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Asymmetric Catalysis with Brønsted Acids: Experiments and Calculations
The research described herein focuses on enantioselective catalysis using BINOL-based Brønsted acids. The initial part of this work comprises the development of chiral phosphoric acids and N-triflylphosphoramides having alternative groups at the 3,3’- positions, different from the widely common aryl scaffolds. These motifs include heavily hindered silyl groups and aryl sulfones. Such catalysts were used to design enantioselective ring-closing reactions to furnish nitrogen-based heterocycles via iminium ions as reactive intermediates. Two of the transformations presented in this work include imino-Diels-Alder and Pictet-Spengler reactions. Moreover, a S,O-thioacetalization reaction to furnish 1,3-oxathiolanes enantioselectively is presented. In the latter project, after thorough and systematic screenings, it was noteworthy that the catalyst loading of N-triflylphosphoramides could be lowered down to 0.5 mol%, showcasing these catalysts as an efficient diversion from phosphoric acids in asymmetric synthesis.
In addition to the experimental work, computational investigations were conducted. Molecular modelling focused on accounting for the stereochemical output of an enantioselective aza-Darzens reaction that uses a bulky chiral BINOL-based phosphoric acid. For such, hybrid Quantum Mechanics / Molecular Mechanics methods—mostly the ONIOM approach to calculate such large systems with the whole catalyst structure—were used in order to find diastereomeric transition states and to understand how the catalyst induces chirality during the enantiodetermining step. Furthermore, through these DFT calculations, an alternative mode of activation for the imine substrate was envisaged, different from the usual N-H hydrogen bonding with the catalyst. Therein, the imine is protonated by the acid; however, the resulting iminium ion interacts with the catalyst through non-classical C-H hydrogen bonds. The calculated transition states for this quite unusual mode of activation showed to be the lowest in energy. Moreover, with such model, the predicted sense and amount of enantioinduction was in accordance with the values reported experimentally.CONACYT Cambridge Scholarship (reference: 600435/438243
Stars and brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster. III. OSIRIS/GTC low-resolution spectroscopy of variable sources
Context. Although many studies have been performed so far, there are still
dozens of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the young sigma Orionis open
cluster without detailed spectroscopic characterisation. Aims. We look for
unknown strong accretors and disc hosts that were undetected in previous
surveys. Methods. We collected low-resolution spectroscopy (R ~ 700) of ten
low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in sigma Orionis with OSIRIS at the Gran
Telescopio Canarias under very poor weather conditions. These objects display
variability in the optical, infrared, Halpha, and/or X-rays on time scales of
hours to years. We complemented our spectra with optical and near-/mid-infrared
photometry. Results. For seven targets, we detected lithium in absorption,
identified Halpha, the calcium doublet, and forbidden lines in emission, and/or
determined spectral types for the first time. We characterise in detail a
faint, T Tauri-like brown dwarf with an 18 h-period variability in the optical
and a large Halpha equivalent width of -125+/-15 AA, as well as two M1-type,
X-ray-flaring, low-mass stars, one with a warm disc and forbidden emission
lines, the other with a previously unknown cold disc with a large inner hole.
Conclusions. New unrevealed strong accretors and disc hosts, even below the
substellar limit, await discovery among the list of known sigma Orionis stars
and brown dwarfs that are variable in the optical and have no detailed
spectroscopic characterisation yet.Comment: A&A, in press (accepted for publication in section 14. Catalogs and
data of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Dominance Measuring Approach using Stochastic Weights
In this paper we propose an approach to obtain a ranking of alternatives in multicriteria decision-making problems when there is imprecision concerning the alternative performances, component utility functions and weights. We assume decision maker's preferences are represented by an additive multi-attribute utility function, in which weights are modeled by independent normal variables, the performance in each attribute for each alternative is an interval value and classes of utility functions are available for each attribute. The approach we propose is based on dominance measures, which are computed in a similar way that when the imprecision concerning weights is modeled by uniform distributions or by an ordinal relation. In this paper we will show how the approach can be applied when the imprecision concerning weights are represented by normal distributions. Extensions to other distributions, such as truncated normal or beta, can be feasible using Monte Carlo simulation techniques
Broad-band X-ray spectral evolution of GX 339-4 during a state transition
We report on X-ray and soft gamma-ray observations of the black-hole
candidate GX 339-4 during its 2007 outburst, performed with the RXTE and
INTEGRAL satellites. The hardness-intensity diagram of all RXTE/PCA data
combined shows a q-shaped track similar to that observed in previous
outbursts.The evolution in the diagram suggested that a transition from
hard-intermediate state to soft-intermediate state occurred, simultaneously
with INTEGRAL observations performed in March. The transition is confirmed by
the timing analysis presented in this work, which reveals that a weak type-A
quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) replaces a strong type-C QPO. At the same
time, spectral analysis shows that the flux of the high-energy component shows
a significant decrease in its flux. However, we observe a delay (roughly one
day) between variations of the spectral parameters of the high-energy component
and changes in the flux and timing properties. The changes in the high-energy
component can be explained either in terms the high-energy cut-off or in terms
of a variations in the reflection component. We compare our results with those
from a similar transition during the 2004 outburst of GX 339-4.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Main Journa
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