2,828 research outputs found
Cosmic ray measurements Final report
Balloon flight measurements of cosmic gamma radiation above 50 MeV in Northern Hemispher
A search for solar neutrons on a long duration balloon flight
The EOSCOR 3 detector, designed to measure the flux of solar neutrons, was flown on a long duration RACOON balloon flight from Australia during Jan. through Feb, 1983. The Circum-global flight lasted 22 days. No major solar activity occurred during the flight and thus only an upper limit to the solar flare neutrons flux is given. The atmospheric neutron response is compared with that obtained on earlier flights from Palestine, Texas
Observations of the Gas Reservoir around a Star Forming Galaxy in the Early Universe
We present a high signal-to-noise spectrum of a bright galaxy at z = 4.9 in
14 h of integration on VLT FORS2. This galaxy is extremely bright, i_850 =
23.10 +/- 0.01, and is strongly-lensed by the foreground massive galaxy cluster
Abell 1689 (z=0.18). Stellar continuum is seen longward of the Ly-alpha
emission line at ~7100 \AA, while intergalactic H I produces strong absorption
shortward of Ly-alpha. Two transmission spikes at ~6800 Angstroms (A) and ~7040
A are also visible, along with other structures at shorter wavelengths.
Although fainter than a QSO, the absence of a strong central ultraviolet flux
source in this star forming galaxy enables a measurement of the H I flux
transmission in the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the vicinity of a high
redshift object. We find that the effective H I optical depth of the IGM is
remarkably high within a large 14 Mpc (physical) region surrounding the galaxy
compared to that seen towards QSOs at similar redshifts. Evidently, this
high-redshift galaxy is located in a region of space where the amount of H I is
much larger than that seen at similar epochs in the diffuse IGM. We argue that
observations of high-redshift galaxies like this one provide unique insights on
the nascent stages of baryonic large-scale structures that evolve into the
filamentary cosmic web of galaxies and clusters of galaxies observed in the
present universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL (corrected typos
Estimating LGD Correlation
The paper proposes a new method to estimate correlation of account level Basle II Loss Given Default (LGD). The correlation determines the probability distribution of portfolio level LGD in the context of a copula model which is used to stress the LGD parameter as well as to estimate the LGD discount rate and other parameters. Given historical LGD observations we apply the maximum likelihood method to estimate the best correlation parameter. The method is applied and analyzed on a real large data set of unsecured retail account level LGDs and the corresponding monthly series of the average LGDs. The correlation estimate comes relatively close to the PD regulatory correlation. It is also tested for stability using the bootstrapping method and used in an efficient formula to estimate ex ante one-year stressed LGD, i.e. one-year LGD quantiles on any reasonable probability level
BIMA and Keck Imaging of the Radio Ring PKS 1830-211
We discuss BIMA (Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association) data and present new
high quality optical and near-IR Keck images of the bright radio ring PKS
1830-211. Applying a powerful new deconvolution algorithm we have been able to
identify both images of the radio source. In addition we recover an extended
source in the optical, consistent with the expected location of the lensing
galaxy. The source counterparts are very red, I-K=7, suggesting strong Galactic
absorption with additional absorption by the lensing galaxy at z=0.885, and
consistent with the detection of high redshift molecules in the lens.Comment: To be published in the ASP Conference Proceedings, 'Highly Redshifted
Radio Lines', Greenbank, W
Advanced secondary power system for transport aircraft
A concept for an advanced aircraft power system was identified that uses 20-kHz, 440-V, sin-wave power distribution. This system was integrated with an electrically powered flight control system and with other aircraft systems requiring secondary power. The resulting all-electric secondary power configuration reduced the empty weight of a modern 200-passenger, twin-engine transport by 10 percent and the mission fuel by 9 percent
Operating characteristics of a prototype high energy gamma-ray telescope
The field of gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range from ten to several hundred MeV is severely limited by the angular resolution that can be achieved by present instruments. The identification of some of the point sources found by the COS-B mission and the resolution of detailed structure existing in those sources may depend on the development of a new class of instrument. The coded aperture mask telescope, used successfully at X-ray energies hold the promise of being such an instrument. A prototype coded aperture telescope was operated in a tagged photon beam ranging in energy from 23 to 123 MeV. The purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of operating a coded aperture mask telescope in this energy region. Some preliminary results and conclusions drawn from some of the data resulting from this experiment are presented
Secondary gamma-ray production in a coded aperture mask
The application of the coded aperture mask to high energy gamma-ray astronomy will provide the capability of locating a cosmic gamma-ray point source with a precision of a few arc-minutes above 20 MeV. Recent tests using a mask in conjunction with drift chamber detectors have shown that the expected point spread function is achieved over an acceptance cone of 25 deg. A telescope employing this technique differs from a conventional telescope only in that the presence of the mask modifies the radiation field in the vicinity of the detection plane. In addition to reducing the primary photon flux incident on the detector by absorption in the mask elements, the mask will also be a secondary radiator of gamma-rays. The various background components in a CAMTRAC (Coded Aperture Mask Track Chamber) telescope are considered. Monte-Carlo calculations are compared with recent measurements obtained using a prototype instrument in a tagged photon beam line
CLASH-VLT: Testing the Nature of Gravity with Galaxy Cluster Mass Profiles
We use high-precision kinematic and lensing measurements of the total mass
profile of the dynamically relaxed galaxy cluster MACS J1206.2-0847 at
to estimate the value of the ratio between the two scalar
potentials in the linear perturbed Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker
metric.[...] Complementary kinematic and lensing mass profiles were derived
from exhaustive analyses using the data from the Cluster Lensing And Supernova
survey with Hubble (CLASH) and the spectroscopic follow-up with the Very Large
Telescope (CLASH-VLT). Whereas the kinematic mass profile tracks only the
time-time part of the perturbed metric (i.e. only ), the lensing mass
profile reflects the contribution of both time-time and space-space components
(i.e. the sum ). We thus express as a function of the mass
profiles and perform our analysis over the radial range . Using a spherical Navarro-Frenk-White mass profile, which
well fits the data, we obtain \eta(r_{200})=1.01\,_{-0.28}^{+0.31} at the
68\% C.L. We discuss the effect of assuming different functional forms for mass
profiles and of the orbit anisotropy in the kinematic reconstruction.
Interpreting this result within the well-studied modified gravity model,
the constraint on translates into an upper bound to the interaction
length (inverse of the scalaron mass) smaller than 2 Mpc. This tight constraint
on the interaction range is however substantially relaxed when
systematic uncertainties in the analysis are considered. Our analysis
highlights the potential of this method to detect deviations from general
relativity, while calling for the need of further high-quality data on the
total mass distribution of clusters and improved control on systematic effects.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, submitted to JCA
Genomic comparison of diverse Salmonella serovars isolated from swine.
Food animals act as a reservoir for many foodborne pathogens. Salmonella enterica is one of the leading pathogens that cause food borne illness in a broad host range including animals and humans. They can also be associated with a single host species or a subset of hosts, due to genetic factors associated with colonization and infection. Adult swine are often asymptomatic carriers of a broad range of Salmonella servoars and can act as an important reservoir of infections for humans. In order to understand the genetic variations among different Salmonella serovars, Whole Genome Sequences (WGS) of fourteen Salmonella serovars from swine products were analyzed. More than 75% of the genes were part of the core genome in each isolate and the higher fraction of gene assign to different functional categories in dispensable genes indicated that these genes acquired for better adaptability and diversity. High concordance (97%) was detected between phenotypically confirmed antibiotic resistances and identified antibiotic resistance genes from WGS. The resistance determinants were mainly located on mobile genetic elements (MGE) on plasmids or integrated into the chromosome. Most of known and putative virulence genes were part of the core genome, but a small fraction were detected on MGE. Predicted integrated phage were highly diverse and many harbored virulence, metal resistance, or antibiotic resistance genes. CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) patterns revealed the common ancestry or infection history among Salmonella serovars. Overall genomic analysis revealed a great deal of diversity among Salmonella serovars due to acquired genes that enable them to thrive and survive during infection
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