113 research outputs found
Report of the Dark Energy Task Force
Dark energy appears to be the dominant component of the physical Universe, yet there is no persuasive theoretical explanation for its existence or magnitude. The acceleration of the Universe is, along with dark matter, the observed phenomenon that most directly demonstrates that our theories of fundamental particles and gravity are either incorrect or incomplete. Most experts believe that nothing short of a revolution in our understanding of fundamental physics will be required to achieve a full understanding of the cosmic acceleration. For these reasons, the nature of dark energy ranks among the very most compelling of all outstanding problems in physical science. These circumstances demand an ambitious observational program to determine the dark energy properties as well as possible
On the influence of the cosmological constant on gravitational lensing in small systems
The cosmological constant Lambda affects gravitational lensing phenomena. The
contribution of Lambda to the observable angular positions of multiple images
and to their amplification and time delay is here computed through a study in
the weak deflection limit of the equations of motion in the Schwarzschild-de
Sitter metric. Due to Lambda the unresolved images are slightly demagnified,
the radius of the Einstein ring decreases and the time delay increases. The
effect is however negligible for near lenses. In the case of null cosmological
constant, we provide some updated results on lensing by a Schwarzschild black
hole.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; v2: extended discussion on the lens equation,
references added, results unchanged, in press on PR
NuSTAR discovery of a cyclotron line in KS 1947+300
We present a spectral analysis of three simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopy Telescope Array and Swift/XRT observations of the transient Be-neutron star binary KS 1947+300 taken during its outburst in 2013/2014. These broadband observations were supported by Swift/XRT monitoring snapshots every three days, which we use to study the evolution of the spectrum over the outburst. We find strong changes of the power-law photon index, which shows a weak trend of softening with increasing X-ray flux. The neutron star shows very strong pulsations with a period of P ≈ 18.8 s. The 0.8–79 keV broadband spectrum can be described by a power law with an exponential cutoff and a blackbody component at low energies. During the second observation we detect a cyclotron resonant scattering feature at 12.5 keV, which is absent in the phase-averaged spectra of observations 1 and 3. Pulse phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals that the strength of the feature changes strongly with pulse phase and is most prominent during the broad minimum of the pulse profile. At the same phases the line also becomes visible in the first and third observation at the same energy. This discovery implies that KS 1947+300 has a magnetic field strength of B ≈ 1.1 × 10^(12) (1 + z) G, which is at the lower end of known cyclotron line sources
Alameda County, CA November 7, 2000 general election summary report, including overvotes and blank ballots
Scan of summary report for the November 7, 2000 general election in Alameda County, CA, including blank and overvoted ballots
New Climate Model to Be Built from the Ground Up
News Stories ArchiveFacing the certainty of a changing climate coupled with the uncertainty that remains in predictions of how it will change, scientists and engineers from across the country are teaming up to build a ne..
Электронное Голосование и Электронная Демократия: Правовые Основы Развития и Взаимодействия (Electronic Voting and Electronic Democracy: Legal Foundations of Development and Interaction)
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