7,808 research outputs found
Optical and Infrared Spectroscopy of the type IIn SN 1998S : Days 3-127
We present contemporary infrared and optical spectroscopic observations of
the type IIn SN 1998S for the period between 3 and 127 days after discovery. In
the first week the spectra are characterised by prominent broad emission lines
with narrow peaks superimposed on a very blue continuum(T~24000K). In the
following two weeks broad, blueshifted absorption components appeared in the
spectra and the temperature dropped. By day 44, broad emission components in H
and He reappeared in the spectra. These persisted to 100-130d, becoming
increasingly asymmetric. We agree with Leonard et al. (2000) that the broad
emission lines indicate interaction between the ejecta and circumstellar
material (CSM) and deduce that progenitor of SN 1998S appears to have gone
through at least two phases of mass loss, giving rise to two CSM zones.
Examination of the spectra indicates that the inner zone extended to <90AU,
while the outer CSM extended from 185AU to over 1800AU. Analysis of high
resolution spectra shows that the outer CSM had a velocity of 40-50 km/s.
Assuming a constant velocity, we can infer that the outer CSM wind commenced
more than 170 years ago, and ceased about 20 years ago, while the inner CSM
wind may have commenced less than 9 years ago. During the era of the outer CSM
wind the outflow was high, >2x10^{-5}M_{\odot}/yr corresponding to a mass loss
of at least 0.003M_{\odot} and suggesting a massive progenitor. We also model
the CO emission observed in SN 1998S. We deduce a CO mass of ~10^{-3} M_{\odot}
moving at ~2200km/s, and infer a mixed metal/He core of ~4M_{\odot}, again
indicating a massive progenitor.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, accepted in MNRA
Collisionless shock acceleration of narrow energy spread ion beams from mixed species plasmas using 1 m lasers
Collisionless shock acceleration of protons and C ions has been
achieved by the interaction of a 10 W/cm, 1 m laser with a
near-critical density plasma. Ablation of the initially solid density target by
a secondary laser allowed for systematic control of the plasma profile. This
enabled the production of beams with peaked spectra with energies of 10-18
MeV/a.m.u. and energy spreads of 10-20 with up to 3x10 particles within
these narrow spectral features. The narrow energy spread and similar velocity
of ion species with different charge-to-mass ratio are consistent with
acceleration by the moving potential of a shock wave. Particle-in-cell
simulations show shock accelerated beams of protons and C ions with
energy distributions consistent with the experiments. Simulations further
indicate the plasma profile determines the trade-off between the beam charge
and energy and that with additional target optimization narrow energy spread
beams exceeding 100 MeV/a.m.u. can be produced using the same laser conditions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Accelerators and Beam
Two Large HI Shells in the Outer Galaxy near l=279 degrees
As part of a survey of HI 21-cm emission in the Southern Milky Way, we have
detected two large shells in the interstellar neutral hydrogen near l=279 deg.
The center velocities are +36 and +59 km/s, which puts the shells at kinematic
distances of 7 and 10 kpc. The larger shell is about 610 pc in diameter and
very empty, with density contrast of at least 15 between the middle and the
shell walls. It has expansion velocity of about 20 km/s and swept up mass of
several million solar masses. The energy indicated by the expansion may be as
high as 2.4 X 10^53 ergs. We estimate its age to be 15 to 20 million years. The
smaller shell has diameter of about 400 pc, expansion velocity about 10 km/s
and swept up mass of about 10^6 solar masses.
Morphologically both regions appear to be shells, with high density regions
mostly surrounding the voids, although the first appears to have channels of
low density which connect with the halo above and below the HI layer. They lie
on the edge of the Carina arm, which suggests that they may be expanding
horizontally into the interarm region as well as vertically out of the disk. If
this interpretation is correct, this is the first detection of an HI chimney
which has blown out of both sides of the disk.Comment: 21 pages, 14 jpeg figures, accepted for publication in A
Comprehensive health assessments during de-institutionalization: An observational study
Background: People with intellectual disability (ID) leaving institutions pass through a transition stage that makes them vulnerable to inadequate health care. They enter into community care under general practitioners (GPs) who are often untrained and inexperienced in their needs. Specifically designed health reviews may be of assistance to both them and their new GPs as they go through that phase
Can low-carbon urban development be pro-poor? The case of Kolkata, India
Fast-growing cities in the Global South have an important role to play in climate change mitigation. However, city governments typically focus on more pressing socio-economic needs, such as reducing urban poverty. To what extent can social, economic and climate objectives be aligned? Focusing on Kolkata in India, we consider the economic case for low-carbon urban development, and assess whether these this pathway could support wider social goals. We find that Kolkata could reduce its energy bill by 8.5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 20.7% by 2025, relative to business-as-usual trends, by exploiting readily available, economically attractive mitigation options. Some of these measures offer significant social benefits, particularly in terms of public health; others jeopardise low-income urban residentsâ livelihoods, housing and access to affordable services. Our findings demonstrate that municipal mitigation strategies need to be designed and delivered in collaboration with affected communities in order to minimise social costs and â possibly â achieve transformative change
Timing analysis for 20 millisecond pulsars in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
We present timing models for 20 millisecond pulsars in the Parkes Pulsar
Timing Array. The precision of the parameter measurements in these models has
been improved over earlier results by using longer data sets and modelling the
non-stationary noise. We describe a new noise modelling procedure and
demonstrate its effectiveness using simulated data. Our methodology includes
the addition of annual dispersion measure (DM) variations to the timing models
of some pulsars. We present the first significant parallax measurements for
PSRs J1024-0719, J1045-4509, J1600-3053, J1603-7202, and J1730-2304, as well as
the first significant measurements of some post-Keplerian orbital parameters in
six binary pulsars, caused by kinematic effects. Improved Shapiro delay
measurements have resulted in much improved pulsar mass measurements,
particularly for PSRs J0437-4715 and J1909-3744 with
and respectively. The improved orbital
period-derivative measurement for PSR J0437-4715 results in a derived distance
measurement at the 0.16% level of precision, pc, one of the
most fractionally precise distance measurements of any star to date.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Pleasure and pedagogy: the consumption of DVD add-ons among Irish teenagers
This article addresses the issue of young people and media use in the digital age, more specifically the interconnection between new media pleasures and pedagogy as they relate to the consumption of DVD add-ons. Arguing against the view of new media as having predominantly detrimental effects on young people, the authors claim that new media can enable young people to develop media literacy skills and are of the view that media literacy strategies must be based on an understanding and legitimating of young people's use patterns and pleasures. The discussion is based on a pilot research project on the use patterns and pleasures of use with a sample of Irish teenagers. They found that DVDs were used predominantly in the home context, and that, while there was variability in use between the groups, overall they developed critical literacy skills and competences which were interwoven into their social life and projects of identity construction. The authors suggest that these findings could be used to develop DVDs and their add-on features as a learning resource in the more formal educational setting and they go on to outline the potential teaching benefits of their use across a range of pedagogical areas
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