29,703 research outputs found
HST-FOS Observations of M87: Ly-a Emission from the Active Galactic Nucleus
The Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope was used to
obtain spectra of the central region of M87. These spectra cover the wavelength
range 1140 - 1606 Angstrom and have a resolution of about 1 Angstrom. The
nuclear continuum is clearly visible in the spectra. The only strong line that
is observed is Ly-alpha, which has a velocity width of about 3000 km/sec. There
is also a marginal detection of C IV 1549. The ratio of Ly-alpha to C IV in the
nuclear spectrum is at least a factor of 2 higher than in a spectrum taken at a
position on the disk about 0.6" away from the nucleus by Dopita et al. This
enhancement of Ly-alpha at the nucleus could point to significant differences
in the properties of the emitting gas and/or the excitation mechanism between
the outer and inner disk regions. The strength of the observed Ly-alpha places
limits on the properties of the absorbing gas present within M87. For instance,
if the hydrogen column at the systemic velocity of M87 is greater than about
10^18 cm^{-2} then it can cover only a small fraction of the line emitting
region. Spectra separated by 5 days show a 60% difference in the Ly-alpha flux,
but the same continuum level. This could be due to either a displacement
between the aperture positions for the two sets of observations, or it could be
due to intrinsic variability of the source. The current observations do not
strongly favor either of these alternatives. The observations do show, however,
that the Ly-alpha line is a useful tracer of kinematics in the M87 nucleus.Comment: 14 pages + 5 figures. LaTeX uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
Heun equation, Teukolsky equation, and type-D metrics
Starting with the whole class of type-D vacuum backgrounds with cosmological
constant we show that the separated Teukolsky equation for zero rest-mass
fields with spin (gravitational waves), (electromagnetic
waves) and (neutrinos) is an Heun equation in disguise.Comment: 27 pages, corrected typo in eq. (1
Extremal Black Hole/CFT Correspondence in (Gauged) Supergravities
We extend the investigation of the recently proposed Kerr/CFT correspondence
to large classes of rotating black hole solutions in gauged and ungauged
supergravities. The correspondence, proposed originally for four-dimensional
Kerr black holes, asserts that the quantum states in the near-horizon region of
an extremal rotating black hole are holographically dual to a two-dimensional
chiral theory whose Virasoro algebra arises as an asymptotic symmetry of the
near-horizon geometry. In fact in dimension D there are [(D-1)/2] commuting
Virasoro algebras. We consider a general canonical class of near-horizon
geometries in arbitrary dimension D, and show that in any such metric, the
[(D-1)/2] central charges each imply, via the Cardy formula, a microscopic
entropy that agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the associated
extremal black hole. In the remainder of the paper we show for most of the
known rotating black hole solutions of gauged supergravity, and for the
ungauged supergravity solutions with four charges in D=4 and three charges in
D=5, that their extremal near-horizon geometries indeed lie within the
canonical form. This establishes that in all these examples, the microscopic
entropies of the dual CFTs agree with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropies of the
extremal rotating black holes.Comment: 32 pages, references added and minor typos fixe
Control of gradient-driven instabilities using shear Alfv\'en beat waves
A new technique for manipulation and control of gradient-driven instabilities
through nonlinear interaction with Alfv\'en waves in a laboratory plasma is
presented. A narrow field-aligned density depletion is created in the Large
Plasma Device (LAPD), resulting in coherent unstable fluctuations on the
periphery of the depletion. Two independent kinetic Alfv\'en waves are launched
along the depletion at separate frequencies, creating a nonlinear beat-wave
response at or near the frequency of the original instability. When the
beat-wave has sufficient amplitude, the original unstable mode is suppressed,
leaving only the beat-wave response at a different frequency, generally at
lower amplitude.Comment: Submitted for Publication in Physical Review Letters. Revision 2
reflects changes suggested by referees for PRL submission. One figure
removed, several major changes to another figure, and a number of major and
minor changes to the tex
Sprayable low density ablator and application process
A sprayable, low density ablative composition is described consisting esentially of: (1) 100 parts by weight of a mixture of 25-65% by weight of phenolic microballoons, 0-20% by weight of glass microballoons, 4-10% by weight of glass fibers, 25-45% by weight of an epoxy-modified polyurethane resin, 2-4% by weight of a bentonite dispersing aid, and 1-2% by weight of an alcohol activator for the bentonite; (2) 1-10 parts by weight of an aromatic amine curing agent; and (3) 200-400 parts by weight of a solvent
Vibration isolation mounting system
A system is disclosed for mounting a vibration producing device onto a spacecraft structure and also for isolating the vibration forces thereof from the structure. The system includes a mount on which the device is securely mounted and inner and outer rings. The rings and mount are concentrically positioned. The system includes a base (secured to the structure) and a set of links which are interconnected by a set of torsion bars which allow and resist relative rotational movement therebetween. The set of links are also rotatably connected to a set of brackets which are rigidly connected to the outer ring. Damped leaf springs interconnect the inner and outer rings and the mount allow relative translational movement therebetween in X and Y directions. The links, brackets and base are interconnected and configured so that they allow and resist translational movement of the device in the Z direction so that in combination with the springs they provide absorption of vibrational energy produced by the device in all three dimensions while providing rotational stiffness about all three axes to prevent undesired rotational motions
Neutron Multiplicity Measurements of Target/Blanket Materials
To begin developing the database necessary for the validation and benchmarking of the LAHET component of the MCNPX code suite, the UNLV research program has set forth the following objectives. First, the current MCNPX suite will be used to develop models of multi-element neutron detector systems. These models of the detector systems will be incorporated into the design of detailed models for the entire detector-target system. These models will first be used to help design the irradiation experiments, and then will be used to model the behavior of the system. Irradiation experiments corresponding to the detector-target system models will be performed, and measurements of the neutron leakage from the targets will be acquired. High spatial resolution and position sensitive measurements of the source term volume will also be acquired. The results of the experimental campaign will be compared with the simulated system to evaluate the performance of the MCNPX model. This database will also be made available to the code designers to allow them to benchmark the LAHET component of the MCNPX code
Bogomol'nyi Limit For Magnetic Vortices In Rotating Superconductor
This work is the sequel of a previous investigation of stationary and
cylindrically symmetric vortex configurations for simple models representing an
incompressible non-relativistic superconductor in a rigidly rotating
background. In the present paper, we carry out our analysis with a generalized
Ginzburg-Landau description of the superconductor, which provides a
prescription for the radial profile of the normal density within the vortex.
Within this framework, it is shown that the Bogomol'nyi limit condition marking
the boundary between type I and type II behavior is unaffected by the rotation
of the background.Comment: 7 pages, uses RevTeX, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Modelling and performance of Nb SIS mixers in the 1.3 mm and 0.8 mm bands
We describe the modeling and subsequent improvements of SIS waveguide mixers for the 200-270 and 330-370 GHz bands (Blundell, Carter, and Gundlach 1988, Carter et al 1991). These mixers are constructed for use in receivers on IRAM radiotelescopes on Pico Veleta (Spain, Sierra Nevada) and Plateau de Bure (French Alps), and must meet specific requirements. The standard reduced height waveguide structure with suspended stripline is first analyzed and a model is validated through comparison with scale model and working scale measurements. In the first step, the intrinsic limitations of the standard mixer structure are identified, and the parameters are optimized bearing in mind the radioastronomical applications. In the second step, inductive tuning of the junctions is introduced and optimized for minimum noise and maximum bandwidth. In the 1.3 mm band, a DSB receiver temperature of less than 110 K (minimum 80 K) is measured from 180 through 260 GHz. In the 0.8 mm band, a DSB receiver temperature of less than 250 K (minimum 175 K) is obtained between 325 and 355 GHz. All these results are obtained with room-temperature optics and a 4 GHz IF chain having a 500 MHz bandwidth and a noise temperature of 14 K
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