226 research outputs found

    The Geometry of Integrable and Superintegrable Systems

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    The group of automorphisms of the geometry of an integrable system is considered. The geometrical structure used to obtain it is provided by a normal form representation of integrable systems that do not depend on any additional geometrical structure like symplectic, Poisson, etc. Such geometrical structure provides a generalized toroidal bundle on the carrier space of the system. Non--canonical diffeomorphisms of such structure generate alternative Hamiltonian structures for complete integrable Hamiltonian systems. The energy-period theorem provides the first non--trivial obstruction for the equivalence of integrable systems

    Stopping of Charged Particles in a Magnetized Classical Plasma

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    The analytical and numerical investigations of the energy loss rate of the test particle in a magnetized electron plasma are developed on the basis of the Vlasov-Poisson equations, and the main results are presented. The Larmor rotation of a test particle in a magnetic field is taken into account. The analysis is based on the assumption that the energy variation of the test particle is much less than its kinetic energy. The obtained general expression for stopping power is analyzed for three cases: (i) the particle moves through a collisionless plasma in a strong homogeneous magnetic field; (ii) the fast particle moves through a magnetized collisionless plasma along the magnetic field; and (iii) the particle moves through a magnetized collisional plasma across a magnetic field. Calculations are carried out for the arbitrary test particle velocities in the first case, and for fast particles in the second and third cases. It is shown that the rate at which a fast test particle loses energy while moving across a magnetic field may be much higher than the loss in the case of motion through plasma without magnetic field.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

    The X-ray absorbing column density of a complete sample of bright Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts

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    A complete sample of bright Swift Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) has been recently selected by Salvaterra et al. (2011). The sample has a high level of completeness in redshift (91%). We derive here the intrinsic absorbing X-ray column densities of these GRBs making use of the Swift X-ray Telescope data. This distribution has a mean value of log(NH/cm-2)=21.7+-0.5. This value is consistent with the distribution of the column densities derived from the total sample of GRBs with redshift. We find a mild increase of the intrinsic column density with redshift. This can be interpreted as due to the contribution of intervening systems along the line of sight. Making use of the spectral index connecting optical and X-ray fluxes at 11 hr (beta_OX), we investigate the relation of the intrinsic column density and the GRB `darkness'. We find that there is a very tight correlation between dark GRBs and high X-ray column densities. This clearly indicates that the dark GRBs are formed in a metal-rich environment where dust must be present.Comment: MNRAS, 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

    A complete sample of bright Swift Long Gamma-Ray Bursts: Sample presentation, Luminosity Function and evolution

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    We present a carefully selected sub-sample of Swift Long Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs), that is complete in redshift. The sample is constructed by considering only bursts with favorable observing conditions for ground-based follow-up searches, that are bright in the 15-150 keV Swift/BAT band, i.e. with 1-s peak photon fluxes in excess to 2.6 ph s^-1 cm^-2. The sample is composed by 58 bursts, 52 of them with redshift for a completeness level of 90%, while another two have a redshift constraint, reaching a completeness level of 95%. For only three bursts we have no constraint on the redshift. The high level of redshift completeness allows us for the first time to constrain the GRB luminosity function and its evolution with cosmic times in a unbiased way. We find that strong evolution in luminosity (d_l=2.3\pm 0.6) or in density (d_d=1.7\pm 0.5) is required in order to account for the observations. The derived redshift distribution in the two scenarios are consistent with each other, in spite of their different intrinsic redshift distribution. This calls for other indicators to distinguish among different evolution models. Complete samples are at the base of any population studies. In future works we will use this unique sample of Swift bright GRBs to study the properties of the population of long GRBs.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables; ApJ in pres

    The afterglow and host galaxy of GRB 090205: evidence for a Ly-alpha emitter at z=4.65

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    Gamma-ray bursts have been proved to be detectable up to distances much larger than any other astrophysical object, providing the most effective way, complementary to ordinary surveys, to study the high redshift universe. To this end, we present here the results of an observational campaign devoted to the study of the high-z GRB 090205. We carried out optical/NIR spectroscopy and imaging of GRB 090205 with the ESO-VLT starting from hours after the event up to several days later to detect the host galaxy. We compared the results obtained from our optical/NIR observations with the available Swift high-energy data of this burst. Our observational campaign led to the detection of the optical afterglow and host galaxy of GRB 090205 and to the first measure of its redshift, z=4.65. Similar to other, recent high-z GRBs, GRB 090205 has a short duration in the rest-frame with T_{90,rf}=1.6 s, which suggests the possibility that it might belong to the short GRBs class. The X-ray afterglow of GRB 090205 shows a complex and interesting behaviour with a possible rebrightening at 500-1000s from the trigger time and late flaring activity. Photometric observations of the GRB 090205 host galaxy argue in favor of a starburst galaxy with a stellar population younger than ~ 150 Myr. Moreover, the metallicity of Z > 0.27 Z_Sun derived from the GRB afterglow spectrum is among the highest derived from GRB afterglow measurement at high-z, suggesting that the burst occurred in a rather enriched envirorment. Finally, a detailed analysis of the afterglow spectrum shows the existence of a line corresponding to Lyman-alpha emission at the redshift of the burst. GRB 090205 is thus hosted in a typical Lyman-alpha emitter (LAE) at z=4.65. This makes the GRB 090205 host the farthest GRB host galaxy, spectroscopically confirmed, detected to date.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics; 8 pages, 7 figure
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