Correlated Spectral and Temporal Variability in the High-Energy Emission from Blazars

Blazar flare data show energy-dependent lags and correlated variability between optical/X-ray and GeV-TeV energies, and follow characteristic trajectories when plotted in the spectral-index/flux plane. This behavior is qualitatively explained if nonthermal electrons are injected over a finite time interval in the comoving plasma frame and cool by radiative processes. Numerical results are presented which show the importance of the effects of synchrotron self-Compton cooling and plasmoid deceleration. The use of INTEGRAL to advance our understanding of these systems is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, uses epsf.sty, rotate.sty Invited paper in "The Extreme Universe," 3rd INTEGRAL Workshop, 14-18 September 1998, Taorimina, Ital

Optically Thin Core Accretion: How Planets Get Their Gas in Nearly Gas-Free Disks

Models of core accretion assume that in the radiative zones of accreting gas envelopes, radiation diffuses. But super-Earths/sub-Neptunes (1-4$R_\oplus$, 2-20$M_\oplus$) point to formation conditions that are optically thin: their modest gas masses are accreted from short-lived and gas-poor nebulae reminiscent of the transparent cavities of transitional disks. Planetary atmospheres born in such environments can be optically thin to both incident starlight and internally generated thermal radiation. We construct time-dependent models of such atmospheres, showing that super-Earths/sub-Neptunes can accrete their $\sim$1%-by-mass gas envelopes, and super-puffs/sub-Saturns their $\sim$20%-by-mass envelopes, over a wide range of nebular depletion histories requiring no fine tuning. Although nascent atmospheres can exhibit stratospheric temperature inversions effected by atomic Fe and various oxides that absorb strongly at visible wavelengths, the rate of gas accretion remains controlled by the radiative-convective boundary (rcb) at much greater pressures. For dusty envelopes, the temperature at the rcb $T_{\rm rcb} \simeq 2500$ K is still set by ${\rm H}_2$ dissociation; for dust-depleted envelopes, $T_{\rm rcb}$ tracks the temperature of the visible or thermal photosphere, whichever is deeper, out to at least $\sim$5 AU. The rate of envelope growth remains largely unchanged between the old radiative diffusion models and the new optically thin models, reinforcing how robustly super-Earths form as part of the endgame chapter in disk evolution.Comment: accepted to MNRAS, new section 4.2 connects our formation scenario of super-Earths to atmospheric mass los

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black hole accretion

We discuss the results of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, using a pseudo-Newtonian potential, of thin disk (h/r ~ 0.1) accretion onto black holes. We find (i) that magnetic stresses persist within the marginally stable orbit, and (ii) that the importance of those stresses for the dynamics of the flow depends upon the strength of magnetic fields in the disk outside the last stable orbit. Strong disk magnetic fields (alpha > 0.1) lead to a gross violation of the zero-torque boundary condition at the last stable orbit, while weaker fields (alpha ~ 0.01) produce results more akin to traditional models for thin disk accretion onto black holes. Fluctuations in the magnetic field strength in the disk could lead to changes in the radiative efficiency of the flow on short timescales.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in proceedings, 20th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, eds J.C. Wheeler and H. Marte

An Outer Gap Model of High-Energy Emission from Rotation-Powered Pulsars

We describe a refined calculation of high energy emission from rotation-powered pulsars based on the Outer Gap model of Cheng, Ho \&~Ruderman (1986a,b). We have improved upon previous efforts to model the spectra from these pulsars (e. g. Cheng, et al. 1986b; Ho 1989) by following the variation in particle production and radiation properties with position in the outer gap. Curvature, synchrotron and inverse-Compton scattering fluxes vary significantly over the gap and their interactions {\it via} photon-photon pair production build up the radiating charge populations at varying rates. We have also incorporated an approximate treatment of the transport of particle and photon fluxes between gap emission zones. These effects, along with improved computations of the particle and photon distributions, provide very important modifications of the model gamma-ray flux. In particular, we attempt to make specific predictions of pulse profile shapes and spectral variations as a function of pulse phase and suggest further extensions to the model which may provide accurate computations of the observed high energy emissions.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, for figures send request to [email protected]

Evaluating the Interest-Rate Risk of Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Loans

This paper evaluates the interest-rate risk inherent in an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) with sporadic rate adjustments and possibly binding periodic and life-of-loan rate change constraints. Simulation analysis forecasts ARM cash flows, determines the probability that constraints will hold, and partitions the loan into fixed and variable components. Simulation parameters are then altered to measure the impact of changes in contract terms and market conditions on the interest-rate risk of a typical ARM loan. Interest-rate sensitivity is found to be significantly less than that of fixed-rate loans and remarkably insensitive to changes in loan margins or initial loan rates after the first few years of an ARM's life. Therefore, it is not surprising that lenders have used these features to lure borrowers to ARMs. Periodic rate change limits and volatility in the underlying index are the only factors that influence the interest-rate risk of an existing ARM in a substantive way.