8,446 research outputs found
The use of the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate cosmic ray vertical cutoff rigidities for different epochs of the geomagnetic field
Secular changes in the geomagnetic field between 1955 and 1980 have been large enough to produce significant differences in both the verical cutoff rigidities and in the L-value for a specified position. A useful relationship employing the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate vertical cutoff rigidities has been derived for the twenty-five year period
The Gaia Ultra-Cool Dwarf Sample -- II : Structure at the end of the main sequence
© 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We identify and investigate known late M, L, and T dwarfs in the Gaia second data release. This sample is being used as a training set in the Gaia data processing chain of the ultracool dwarfs work package. We find 695 objects in the optical spectral range M8–T6 with accurate Gaia coordinates, proper motions, and parallaxes which we combine with published spectral types and photometry from large area optical and infrared sky surveys. We find that 100 objects are in 47 multiple systems, of which 27 systems are published and 20 are new. These will be useful benchmark systems and we discuss the requirements to produce a complete catalogue of multiple systems with an ultracool dwarf component. We examine the magnitudes in the Gaia passbands and find that the G BP magnitudes are unreliable and should not be used for these objects. We examine progressively redder colour–magnitude diagrams and see a notable increase in the main-sequence scatter and a bivariate main sequence for old and young objects. We provide an absolute magnitude – spectral subtype calibration for G and G RP passbands along with linear fits over the range M8–L8 for other passbands.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Unusual light spectra from a two-level atom in squeezed vacuum
We investigate the interaction of an atom with a multi-channel squeezed
vacuum. It turns out that the light coming out in a particular channel can have
anomalous spectral properties, among them asymmetry of the spectrum, absence of
the central peak as well as central hole burning for particular parameters. As
an example plane-wave squeezing is considered. In this case the above phenomena
can occur for the light spectra in certain directions. In the total spectrum
these phenomena are washed out.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures (included via epsf
The GSC-II-based survey of ancient cool white dwarfs I. The sample of spectroscopically confirmed WDs
The GSC-II white dwarf survey was designed to identify faint and high proper
motion objects, which we used to define a new and independent sample of cool
white dwarfs. With this survey we aim to derive new constraints on the halo
white dwarf space density. Also, these data can provide information on the age
of thick disk and halo through the analysis of the luminosity function. On the
basis of astrometric and photometric parameters, we selected candidates with mu
> 0.28 as/yr and R_F > 16 in an area of 1150 square degrees. Then, we separated
white dwarfs from late type dwarfs and subdwarfs by means of the reduced proper
motion diagram. Finally, spectroscopic follow-up observations were carried out
to confirm the white dwarf nature of the selected candidates. We found 41 white
dwarfs of which 24 are new discoveries. Here we present the full sample and for
each object provide positions, absolute proper motions, photometry, and
spectroscopy.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, submitted to A&
Estimating the change in asymptotic direction due to secular changes in the geomagnetic field
The concept of geomagnetic optics, as described by the asymptotic directions of approach, is extremely useful in the analysis of cosmic radiation data. However, when changes in cutoff occur as a result of evolution in the geomagnetic field, there are corresponding changes in the asymptotic cones of acceptance. A method is introduced of estimating the change in the asymptotic direction of approach for vertically incident cosmic ray particles from a reference set of directions at a specific epoch by considering the change in the geomagnetic cutoff
A comparison of the distribution of pneumococcal types in systemic disease and the upper respiratory tract in adults and children
The serotype distribution of 874 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae was determined in relation to patients' age and to frequency of isolation from systemic disease. Types 14 and 18, in pre-school children, and types 1, 4, 7, 8 and 12 in patients over 5 years of age were significantly associated with systemic disease whereas type 23 in pre-school children, and type 6 in older patients was associated with upper respiratory tract carriage. No significant difference was found in the incidence of other types in systemic disease compared to upper respiratory tract carriage. Fifteen diagnostic pneumococcal antisera (to types 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 23) sufficed for typing 87% of strains
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