4,521 research outputs found
GALEX ultraviolet observations of stellar variability in the Hyades and Pleiades clusters
We present GALEX near ultraviolet (NUV:1750 - 2750A) and far ultraviolet
(FUV: 1350 - 1750A) imaging observations of two 1.2 degree diameter fields in
the Hyades and Pleiades open clusters in order to detect possible UV
variability of the member stars. We have performed a detailed software search
for short-term UV flux variability during these observations of the approx 400
sources detected in each of the Hyades and Pleiades fields to identify
flare-like (dMe) stellar objects. This search resulted in the detection of 16
UV variable sources, of which 13 can be directly associated with probable
M-type stars. The other UV sources are G-type stars and one newly discovered RR
Lyrae star, USNOB1.0 1069-0046050, of period 0.624 day and distance 4.5-7.0
kpc. Light curves of photon flux versus time are shown for 7 flare events
recorded on six probable dMe stars. UV energies for these flares span the range
2E27 to 5E29 erg, with a corresponding NUV variability change of 1.82 mag. Only
one of these flare events (on the star Cl* Melotte 25 LH129) can definitely be
associated with an origin on a member the Hyades cluster itself. Finally, many
of our M-type candidates show long periods of enhanced UV activity but without
the associated rapid increase in flux that is normally associated with a flare
event. However, the total UV energy output during such periods of increased
activity is greater than that of many short-term UV flares. These intervals of
enhanced low-level UV activity concur with the idea that, even in quiescence,
the UV emission from dMe stars may be related to a superposition of many small
flare events possessing a wide range of energies.Comment: PASP Submitte
Particles in RSOS paths
We introduce a new representation of the paths of the Forrester-Baxter RSOS
models which represents the states of the irreducible modules of the minimal
models M(p',p). This representation is obtained by transforming the RSOS paths,
for the cases p> 2p'-2, to new paths for which horizontal edges are allowed at
certain heights. These new paths are much simpler in that their weight is
nothing but the sum of the position of the peaks. This description paves the
way for the interpretation of the RSOS paths in terms of fermi-type charged
particles out of which the fermionic characters could be obtained
constructively. The derivation of the fermionic character for p'=2 and p=kp'+/-
1 is outlined. Finally, the particles of the RSOS paths are put in relation
with the kinks and the breathers of the restricted sine-Gordon model.Comment: 15 pages, few typos corrected, version publishe
Energy and width measurements of low-Z pionic X-ray transitions
High resolution spectrometric measurement of energy and natural line widths of 2p-1s pionic X ray transitions, as well as muonic transition energies in Li, Be, B, and C isotope
A new measurement of the lifetime of the positive pion
Digital timing method for measuring positive pion lifetim
Near-threshold electron injection in the laser-plasma wakefield accelerator leading to femtosecond bunches
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the UK EPSRC (grant no. EP/J018171/1), the EU FP7 programmes: the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project, the Laserlab-Europe (no. 284464), and the EUCARD-2 project (no. 312453).The laser-plasma wakefield accelerator is a compact source of high brightness, ultra-short duration electron bunches. Self-injection occurs when electrons from the background plasma gain sufficient momentum at the back of the bubble-shaped accelerating structure to experience sustained acceleration. The shortest duration and highest brightness electron bunches result from self-injection close to the threshold for injection. Here we show that in this case injection is due to the localized charge density build-up in the sheath crossing region at the rear of the bubble, which has the effect of increasing the accelerating potential to above a critical value. Bunch duration is determined by the dwell time above this critical value, which explains why single or multiple ultra-short electron bunches with little dark current are formed in the first bubble. We confirm experimentally, using coherent optical transition radiation measurements, that single or multiple bunches with femtosecond duration and peak currents of several kiloAmpere, and femtosecond intervals between bunches, emerge from the accelerator.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of UV Oscillations in WZ Sagittae During the Decline from Outburst
We present a time series analysis of Hubble Space Telescope observations of
WZ Sge obtained in 2001 September, October, November and December as WZ Sge
declined from its 2001 July superoutburst. Previous analysis of these data
showed the temperature of the white dwarf decreased from ~29,000 K to ~18,000
K. In this study we binned the spectra over wavelength to yield ultraviolet
light curves at each epoch that were then analyzed for the presence of the
well-known 27.87 s and 28.96 s oscillations. We detect the 29 s periodicity at
all four epochs, but the 28 s periodicity is absent. The origin of these
oscillations has been debated since their discovery in the 1970s and competing
hypotheses are based on either white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsations or
magnetically-channelled accretion onto a rotating white dwarf. By analogy with
the ZZ Ceti stars, we argue that the non-radial g-mode pulsation model demands
a strong dependence of pulse period on the white dwarf's temperature. However,
these observations show the 29 s oscillation is independent of the white
dwarf's temperature. Thus we reject the white dwarf non-radial g-mode pulsation
hypothesis as the sole origin of the oscillations. It remains unclear if
magnetically-funnelled accretion onto a rapidly rotating white dwarf (or belt
on the white dwarf) is responsible for producing the oscillations. We also
report the detection of a QPO with period ~18 s in the September light curve.
The amplitudes of the 29 s oscillation and the QPO vary erratically on short
timescales and are not correlated with the mean system brightness nor with each
other.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Ap
Chirped pulse Raman amplification in plasma
Raman amplification in plasma has been proposed to be a promising method of amplifying short radiation pulses. Here, we investigate chirped pulse Raman amplification (CPRA) where the pump pulse is chirped and leads to spatiotemporal distributed gain, which exhibits superradiant scaling in the linear regime, usually associated with the nonlinear pump depletion and Compton amplification regimes. CPRA has the potential to serve as a high-efficiency high-fidelity amplifier/compressor stage
Pepper-pot emittance measurement of laser-plasma wakefield accelerated electrons
The transverse emittance is an important parameter governing the brightness of an electron beam. Here we present the first pepper-pot measurement of the transverse emittance for a mono-energetic electron beam from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator, carried out on the Advanced Laser-Plasma High Energy Accelerators towards X-Rays (ALPHA-X) beam line. Mono-energetic electrons are passed through an array of 52 mu m diameter holes in a tungsten mask. The pepper-pot results set an upper limit for the normalised emittance at 5.5 +/- 1 pi mm mrad for an 82 MeV beam
Local height probabilities in a composite Andrews-Baxter-Forrester model
We study the local height probabilities in a composite height model, derived
from the restricted solid-on-solid model introduced by Andrews, Baxter and
Forrester, and their connection with conformal field theory characters. The
obtained conformal field theories also describe the critical behavior of the
model at two different critical points. In addition, at criticality, the model
is equivalent to a one-dimensional chain of anyons, subject to competing two-
and three-body interactions. The anyonic-chain interpretation provided the
original motivation to introduce the composite height model, and by obtaining
the critical behaviour of the composite height model, the critical behaviour of
the anyonic chains is established as well. Depending on the overall sign of the
hamiltonian, this critical behaviour is described by a diagonal coset-model,
generalizing the minimal models for one sign, and by Fateev-Zamolodchikov
parafermions for the other.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures; v2: expanded introduction, references added and
other minor change
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