3,036 research outputs found
Loop measures and the Gaussian free field
Loop measures and their associated loop soups are generally viewed as arising
from finite state Markov chains. We generalize several results to loop measures
arising from potentially complex edge weights. We discuss two applications:
Wilson's algorithm to produce uniform spanning trees and an isomorphism theorem
due to Le Jan.Comment: 20 page
A new culture method for biochemical studies of the circadian clock
A new culture method for biochemical studies of the circadian cloc
Flux density measurements of a complete sample of faint blazars
We performed observations with the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope to
measure flux densities and polarised emission of sources selected from the
"Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey" (DXRBS) to better define their spectral index
behaviour in the radio band, with the aim to construct a homogeneous sample of
blazars. Sources were observed at four different frequencies with the
Effelsberg 100-m telescope. We complemented these measurements with flux
density data at 1.4GHz derived from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey.The spectral
indices of a sample of faint blazars were computed making use of almost
simultaneous measurements. Sixty-six percent of the sources can be classified
as "bona fide" blazars. Seven objects show a clearly inverted spectral index.
Seventeen sources previously classified as flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs)
are actually steep spectrum radio quasars (SSRQs). The flux densities obtained
with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope at 5GHz are compared with the flux
densities listed in the Green Bank GB6 survey and in the Parkes-MIT-NRAO PMN
catalogue. About 43% of the sources in our sample exhibit flux density
variations on temporal scales of 19 or 22 years. We confirm that 75 out of 103
sources of the DXRBS are indeed FSRQs. Twenty-seven sources show a spectral
index steeper than -0.5 and should be classified as SSRQs. Polarised emission
was detected for 36 sources at 4.85GHz. The median value of the percentage of
polarised emission is (5.8+-0.9$)%. Five sources show rotation measure (RM)
values >200 rad m^-2.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Month-Timescale Optical Variability in the M87 Jet
A previously inconspicuous knot in the M87 jet has undergone a dramatic
outburst and now exceeds the nucleus in optical and X-ray luminosity.
Monitoring of M87 with the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory
during 2002-2003, has found month-timescale optical variability in both the
nucleus and HST-1, a knot in the jet 0.82'' from the nucleus. We discuss the
behavior of the variability timescales as well as spectral energy distribution
of both components. In the nucleus, we see nearly energy-independent
variability behavior. Knot HST-1, however, displays weak energy dependence in
both X-ray and optical bands, but with nearly comparable rise/decay timescales
at 220 nm and 0.5 keV. The flaring region of HST-1 appears stationary over
eight months of monitoring. We consider various emission models to explain the
variability of both components. The flares we see are similar to those seen in
blazars, albeit on longer timescales, and so could, if viewed at smaller
angles, explain the extreme variability properties of those objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Lett., in pres
The magnetic field and geometry of the oblique shock in the jet of 3C 346
We investigate the brightest regions of the kpc-scale jet in the powerful
radio galaxy 3C 346, using new optical HST ACS/F606W polarimetry together with
Chandra X-ray data and 14.9 GHz and 22.5 GHz VLA radio polarimetry. The jet
shows a close correspondence in optical and radio morphology, while the X-ray
emission shows an 0.80 +/- 0.17 kpc offset from the optical and radio peak
positions. Optical and radio polarimetry show the same apparent magnetic field
position angle and fractional polarization at the brightest knot, where the jet
undergoes a large kink of almost 70 degrees in the optical and radio images.
The apparent field direction here is well-aligned with the new jet direction,
as predicted by earlier work that suggested the kink was the result of an
oblique shock. We have explored models of the polarization from oblique shocks
to understand the geometry of the 3C 346 jet, and find that the upstream flow
is likely to be highly relativistic (0.91 +0.05 / -0.07 c), where the plane of
the shock front is inclined at an angle of 51 (+/- 11) degrees to the upstream
flow which is at an angle 14 (+8 / -7) degrees to our line of sight. The actual
deflection angle of the jet in this case is only 22 degrees.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by MNRA
Ultraviolet HST Observations of the Jet in M87
We present new ultraviolet photometry of the jet in M87 obtained from HST
WFPC2 imaging. We combine these ultraviolet data with previously published
photometry for the knots of the jet in radio, optical, and X-ray, and fit three
theoretical synchrotron models to the full data set. The synchrotron models
consistently overpredict the flux in the ultraviolet when fit over the entire
dataset. We show that if the fit is restricted to the radio through ultraviolet
data, the synchrotron models can provide a good match to the data. The break
frequencies of these fits are much lower than previous estimates. The implied
synchrotron lifetimes for the bulk of the emitting population are longer than
earlier work, but still much shorter than the estimated kinematic lifetimes of
the knots. The observed X-ray flux cannot be successfully explained by the
simple synchrotron models that fit the ultraviolet and optical fluxes. We
discuss the possible implications of these results for the physical properties
of the M87 jet. We also observe increased flux for the HST-1 knot that is
consistent with previous results for flaring. This observation fills in a
significant gap in the time coverage early in the history of the flare, and
therefore sets constraints on the initial brightening of the flare.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ, changed
lightcurve and caption in Figure
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