1,993 research outputs found
A fireworks model for Gamma-Ray Bursts
The energetics of the long duration GRB phenomenon is compared with models of
a rotating Black Hole (BH) in a strong magnetic field generated by an accreting
torus. A rough estimate of the energy extracted from a rotating BH with the
Blandford-Znajek mechanism is obtained with a very simple assumption: an
inelastic collision between the rotating BH and the torus. The GRB energy
emission is attributed to an high magnetic field that breaks down the vacuum
around the BH and gives origin to a e+- fireball. Its subsequent evolution is
hypothesized, in analogy with the in-flight decay of an elementary particle, to
evolve in two distinct phases. The first one occurs close to the engine and is
responsible of energizing and collimating the shells. The second one consists
of a radiation dominated expansion, which correspondingly accelerates the
relativistic photon--particle fluid and ends at the transparency time. This
mechanism simply predicts that the observed Lorentz factor is determined by the
product of the Lorentz factor of the shell close to the engine and the Lorentz
factor derived by the expansion. An anisotropy in the fireball propagation is
thus naturally produced, whose degree depends on the bulk Lorentz factor at the
end of the collimation phase.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Neutronization During Type Ia Supernova Simmering
Prior to the incineration of a white dwarf (WD) that makes a Type Ia
supernova (SN Ia), the star "simmers" for ~1000 years in a convecting, carbon
burning region. We have found that weak interactions during this time increase
the neutron excess by an amount that depends on the total quantity of carbon
burned prior to the explosion. This contribution is in addition to the
metallicity (Z) dependent neutronization through the 22Ne abundance (as studied
by Timmes, Brown, & Truran). The main consequence is that we expect a floor to
the level of neutronization that dominates over the metallicity contribution
when Z/Z_\odot<2/3, and it can be important for even larger metallicities if
substantial energy is lost to neutrinos via the convective Urca process. This
would mask any correlations between SN Ia properties and galactic environments
at low metallicities. In addition, we show that recent observations of the
dependences of SNe Ia on galactic environments make it clear that metallicity
alone cannot provide for the full observed diversity of events.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 5 pages, 4
figure
Broad band spectral properties of Seyfert 1 galaxies observed with BeppoSAX
We will present some results on the broad--band observations of BeppoSAX of
the bright Seyfert galaxies NGC 4151 and NGC 5548.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Proc. of the 32 COSPAR Ass., Session E1.1 "Broad
Band X-Ray Spectra of Cosmic Sources, ed.s K. Makishima, L. Piro, T.
Takahashi, Advances in Space Research, in pres
Expression of Bcl-2 in canine osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignancy of bone. It is responsible for 80-85% of the primary bone tumors affecting dogs and it is characterized by aggressive and invasive behavior, with a high metastatic potential. Several studies on cancer and related tumorigenesis, show an involvement of the mechanisms of programmed cell death and cell survival. Many signals seem to be involved in the related mechanism of autophagy and in particular, our interest is focused on the expression of a family of Bcl-2 that seems to be involved either in the control of biomolecular mechanisms like autophagy and apoptosis. In this study we investigated the expression of Bcl-2 in different cases of spontaneous canine osteosarcoma and the related preliminary results are described. We found Bcl-2 activity was increased in OS tissue compared to normal bone tissue. These results suggested that Bcl-2 activity may play an important role in the formation of OS and as a diagnostic for neoplastic activity. However, further research is needed to confirm the role of Bcl-2 activity in OS in canines.Keywords: Autophagy, Bcl-2, Dog, Osteosarcom
The Energy Dependence of Neutron Star Surface Modes and X-ray Burst Oscillations
We calculate the photon energy dependence of the pulsed amplitude of neutron
star (NS) surface modes. Simple approximations demonstrate that it depends most
strongly on the bursting NS surface temperature. This result compares well with
full integrations that include Doppler shifts from rotation and general
relativistic corrections to photon propagation. We show that the energy
dependence of type I X-ray burst oscillations agrees with that of a surface
mode, lending further support to the hypothesis that they originate from
surface waves. The energy dependence of the pulsed emission is rather
insensitive to the NS inclination, mass and radius, or type of mode, thus
hindering constraints on these parameters. We also show that, for this
energy-amplitude relation, the majority of the signal (relative to the noise)
comes in the 2-25 keV band, so that the current burst oscillation searches with
the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer are close to optimal. The critical test of the
mode hypothesis for X-ray burst oscillations would be a measurement of the
energy dependence of burst oscillations from an accreting millisecond pulsar.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 6 pages, 5
figures (revised version: no changes to text, just edited author list
BeppoSAX observations of Mrk 841 and Mrk335
We present and discuss BeppoSAX observations of Mrk841 and Mrk335, two
Seyfert 1 galaxies in which previous observations have established the presence
of soft excesses. We confirm the soft excess in both sources, even if for
Mrk~841 a warm absorber provides a fit almost as good as the one with a true
excess. As far as the hard X-ray continuum is concerned, a Comptonization model
provides a fit as good as a power law and a physically sound solution for
Mrk841. For Mrk335, the Comptonization model gives a result which is somewhat
better on statistical ground, but rather problematic on physical ground. The
most interesting results regard the reprocessing components. For Mrk841 we find
a very large reflection continuum but an almost normal iron line equivalent
width even if, within the errors, a solution in which both components are a
factor ~2 larger than expected for an accretion disc is still marginally
acceptable. If this is the case, an anisotropy of the primary emission seems
the best explanation. On the contrary, in Mrk335 we find a very large iron line
EW but a reflection component not accordingly large. In this case, the best
solution seems to be in terms of reflection from an ionized disc.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Modeling the Optical Afterglow of GRB 030329
The best-sampled afterglow light curves are available for GRB 030329. A
distinguishing feature of this event is the obvious rebrightening at around 1.6
days after the burst. Proposed explanations for the rebrightening mainly
include the two-component jet model and the refreshed shock model, although a
sudden density-jump in the circumburst environment is also a potential choice.
Here we re-examine the optical afterglow of GRB 030329 numerically in light of
the three models. In the density-jump model, no obvious rebrightening can be
produced at the jump moment. Additionally, after the density jump, the
predicted flux density decreases rapidly to a level that is significantly below
observations. A simple density-jump model thus can be excluded. In the
two-component jet model, although the observed late afterglow (after 1.6 days)
can potentially be explained as emission from the wide-component, the emergence
of this emission actually is too slow and it does not manifest as a
rebrightening as previously expected. The energy-injection model seems to be
the most preferred choice. By engaging a sequence of energy-injection events,
it provides an acceptable fit to the rebrightening at d, as well as
the whole observed light curve that extends to d. Further studies on
these multiple energy-injection processes may provide a valuable insight into
the nature of the central engines of gamma-ray bursts.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures; a few references added and minor word changes;
now accepted for publication in Ap
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