8,288 research outputs found
Propagation of Light Elements in the Galaxy
The origin and evolution of isotopes of the lightest elements H2, He3, Li,
Be, B in the universe is a key problem in such fields as astrophysics of CR,
Galactic evolution, non-thermal nucleosynthesis, and cosmological studies. One
of the major sources of these species is spallation by CR nuclei in the
interstellar medium. On the other hand, it is the B/C ratio in CR and Be10
abundance which are used to fix the propagation parameters and thus the
spallation rate. We study the production and Galactic propagation of isotopes
of elements Z<6 using the numerical propagation code GALPROP and updated
production cross sections.Comment: 4 pages, 6 ps-figures, tsukuba.sty, to appear in the Proc. 28th
International Cosmic Ray Conference (Tsukuba, Japan 2003). More details can
be found at http://www.gamma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/~aws/aws.htm
Experimental study of the stability and flow characteristics of floating liquid columns confined between rotating disks
A low Bond number simulation technique was used to establish the stability limits of cylindrical and conical floating liquid columns under conditions of isorotation, equal counter rotation, rotation of one end only, and parallel axis offset. The conditions for resonance in cylindrical liquid columns perturbed by axial, sinusoidal vibration of one end face are also reported. All tests were carried out under isothermal conditions with water and silicone fluids of various viscosities. A technique for the quantitative measurement of stream velocity within a floating, isothermal, liquid column confined between rotatable disks was developed. In the measurement, small, light scattering particles were used as streamline markers in common arrangement, but the capability of the measurement was extended by use of stereopair photography system to provide quantitative data. Results of velocity measurements made under a few selected conditions, which established the precision and accuracy of the technique, are given. The general qualitative features of the isothermal flow patterns under various conditions of end face rotation resulting from both still photography and motion pictures are presented
Inverse Compton Emission from Galactic Supernova Remnants: Effect of the Interstellar Radiation Field
The evidence for particle acceleration in supernova shells comes from
electrons whose synchrotron emission is observed in radio and X-rays. Recent
observations by the HESS instrument reveal that supernova remnants also emit
TeV gamma-rays; long awaited experimental evidence that supernova remnants can
accelerate cosmic rays up to the ``knee'' energies. Still, uncertainty exists
whether these gamma-rays are produced by electrons via inverse Compton
scattering or by protons via neutral pion decay. The multi-wavelength spectra
of supernova remnants can be fitted with both mechanisms, although a preference
is often given to neutral pion decay due to the spectral shape at very high
energies. A recent study of the interstellar radiation field indicates that its
energy density, especially in the inner Galaxy, is higher than previously
thought. In this paper we evaluate the effect of the interstellar radiation
field on the inverse Compton emission of electrons accelerated in a supernova
remnant located at different distances from the Galactic Centre. We show that
contribution of optical and infra-red photons to the inverse Compton emission
may exceed the contribution of cosmic microwave background and in some cases
broaden the resulted gamma-ray spectrum. Additionally, we show that if a
supernova remnant is located close to the Galactic Centre its gamma-ray
spectrum will exhibit a ``universal'' cutoff at very high energies due to the
Klein-Nishina effect and not due to the cut-off of the electron spectrum. As an
example, we apply our calculations to the supernova remnants RX J1713.7-3946
and G0.9+0.1 recently observed by HESS.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Uses emulateapj.cls. Accepted by ApJ
EGRET Observations of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission in Orion: Analysis Through Cycle 6
We present a study of the high-energy diffuse emission observed toward Orion
by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton
Gamma-Ray Observatory. The total exposure by EGRET in this region has increased
by more than a factor of two since a previous study. A simple model for the
diffuse emission adequately fits the data; no significant point sources are
detected in the region studied ( to and ) in either the composite dataset or in two separate
groups of EGRET viewing periods considered. The gamma-ray emissivity in Orion
is found to be for E > 100 MeV,
and the differential emissivity is well-described as a combination of
contributions from cosmic-ray electrons and protons with approximately the
local density. The molecular mass calibrating ratio is .Comment: 16 pages, including 5 figures. 3 Tables as three separate files.
Latex document, needs AASTEX style files. Accepted for publication in Ap
Development of a theory of the spectral reflectance of minerals, part 2
Theory of diffuse reflectance of particulate media including garnet, glass, corundum powders, and mixture
Balloon-borne radiometer measurement of Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude stratospheric HNO3 profiles spanning 12 years
Low-resolution atmospheric thermal emission spectra collected by balloon-borne radiometers over the time span of 1990–2002 are used to retrieve vertical profiles of HNO3, CFC-11 and CFC-12 volume mixing ratios between approximately 10 and 35 km altitude. All of the data analyzed have been collected from launches from a Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude site, during late summer, when stratospheric dynamic variability is at a minimum. The retrieval technique incorporates detailed forward modeling of the instrument and the radiative properties of the atmosphere, and obtains a best fit between modeled and measured spectra through a combination of onion-peeling and global optimization steps. The retrieved HNO3 profiles are consistent over the 12-year period, and are consistent with recent measurements by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer satellite instrument. This suggests that, to within the errors of the 1990 measurements, there has been no significant change in the HNO3 summer mid-latitude profile
Propagation of cosmic-ray nucleons in the Galaxy
We describe a method for the numerical computation of the propagation of
primary and secondary nucleons, primary electrons, and secondary positrons and
electrons. Fragmentation and energy losses are computed using realistic
distributions for the interstellar gas and radiation fields, and diffusive
reacceleration is also incorporated. The models are adjusted to agree with the
observed cosmic-ray B/C and 10Be/9Be ratios. Models with diffusion and
convection do not account well for the observed energy dependence of B/C, while
models with reacceleration reproduce this easily. The height of the halo
propagation region is determined, using recent 10Be/9Be measurements, as >4 kpc
for diffusion/convection models and 4-12 kpc for reacceleration models. For
convection models we set an upper limit on the velocity gradient of dV/dz < 7
km/s/kpc. The radial distribution of cosmic-ray sources required is broader
than current estimates of the SNR distribution for all halo sizes. Full details
of the numerical method used to solve the cosmic-ray propagation equation are
given.Comment: 15 pages including 23 ps-figures and 3 tables, latex2e, uses
emulateapj.sty (ver. of 11 May 1998, enclosed), apjfonts.sty, timesfonts.sty.
To be published in ApJ 1998, v.509 (December 10 issue). More details can be
found at http://www.gamma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/~aws/aws.html Some references
are correcte
The Distance to the Soft Gamma Repeater SGR 1627-41
We report millimeter observations of the line of sight to the recently
discovered Soft Gamma Repeater, SGR 1627-41, which has been tentatively
associated with the supernova remnant SNR G337.0-0.1 Among the eight molecular
clouds along the line of sight to SGR 1627-41, we show that SNR G337.0-0.1 is
probably interacting with one of the most massive giant molecular clouds (GMC)
in the Galaxy, at a distance of 11 kpc from the sun. Based on the high
extinction to the persistent X-ray counterpart of SGR 1627-41, we present
evidence for an association of this new SGR with the SNR G337.0-0.1; they both
appear to be located on the near side of the GMC. This is the second SGR
located near an extraordinarily massive GMC. We suggest that SGR 1627-41 is a
neutron star with a high transverse velocity (~ 1,000 \kms) escaping the young
(~ 5,000 years) supernova remnant G337.0-0.1Comment: 17 pages, including 2 figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal Letter
The Mass Function of Super Giant Molecular Complexes and Implications for Forming Young Massive Star Clusters in the Antennae (NGC 4038/39)
We have used previously published observations of the CO emission from the
Antennae (NGC 4038/39) to study the detailed properties of the super giant
molecular complexes with the goal of understanding the formation of young
massive star clusters. Over a mass range from 5E6 to 9E8 solar masses, the
molecular complexes follow a power-law mass function with a slope of -1.4 +/-
0.1, which is very similar to the slope seen at lower masses in molecular
clouds and cloud cores in the Galaxy. Compared to the spiral galaxy M51, which
has a similar surface density and total mass of molecular gas, the Antennae
contain clouds that are an order of magnitude more massive. Many of the
youngest star clusters lie in the gas-rich overlap region, where extinctions as
high as Av~100 imply that the clusters must lie in front of the gas. Combining
data on the young clusters, thermal and nonthermal radio sources, and the
molecular gas suggests that young massive clusters could have formed at a
constant rate in the Antennae over the last 160 Myr and that sufficient gas
exists to sustain this cluster formation rate well into the future. However,
this conclusion requires that a very high fraction of the massive clusters that
form initially in the Antennae do not survive as long as 100 Myr. Finally, we
compare our data with two models for massive star cluster formation and
conclude that the model where young massive star clusters form from dense cores
within the observed super giant molecular complexes is most consistent with our
current understanding of this merging system. (abbreviated)Comment: 40 pages, four figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Gas and Dust in the Taffy Galaxies: Ugc12914/15
We present a comprehensive study of the dust and gas properties in the
after-head-on-collision UGC12914/15 galaxy system using multi-transition CO
data and SCUBA sub-mm continuum images at both 450 and 850m. CO(3-2) line
emission was detected in the disks of UGC 12914 and UGC 12915 as well as in a
bridge connecting the two galaxies. Dust emission at 450m was detected for
the first time in the two galactic disks and in the connecting bridge. Using an
LVG excitation analysis model we have obtained good estimates of the physical
parameters in different regions of this system and the amount of molecular gas
was found to be 3-4 times lower than that estimated by other investigators
using the standard Galactic CO-to-H2 conversion factor. Comparing with the dust
mass derived from the SCUBA data, we found that the gas-to-dust ratio was
comparable to the Galactic value in the two galaxy disks but a factor of ~3
higher in the bridge. The physical condition of the molecular gas in the bridge
is comparable to that in the diffuse clouds in our Galaxy. Our result is
consistent with the scenario that the bridge molecular gas originated from the
disk molecular clouds and has been drawn out of the galactic disks due to
direct cloud-cloud collision.
Our data indicate that the global star formation efficiency (SFE) in UGC
12915 is comparable to that of normal spiral galaxies, and the SFE is 40% lower
in UGC 12914 than in UGC 12915. Little star formation activity was found in the
bridge except in an HII region adjacent to the disk of UGC 12915.Comment: Accepted by AJ. 45 pages, 10 figures (Fig 1-5 and Fig 7 in gif
format
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