5,604 research outputs found
Spine-sheath layer radiative interplay in subparsec-scale jets and the TeV emission from M87
Simple one-zone homogeneous synchrotron self-Compton models have severe
difficulties in explaining the TeV emission observed in the radiogalaxy M87.
Also the site of the TeV emission region is uncertain: it could be the
unresolved jet close to the nucleus, analogously to what proposed for blazars,
or an active knot, called HST-1, tens of parsec away. We explore the
possibility that the TeV emission of M87 is produced in the misaligned subpc
scale jet. We base our modelling on a structured jet, with a fast spine
surrounded by a slower layer. In this context the main site responsible for the
emission of the TeV radiation is the layer, while the (debeamed) spine accounts
for the emission from the radio to the GeV band: therefore we expect a more
complex correlation with the TeV component than that expected in one-zone
scenarios, in which both components are produced by the same region. Observed
from small angles, the spine would dominate the emission, with an overall
Spectral Energy Distribution close to those of BL Lac objects with a
synchrotron peak located at low energy (LBLs).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
The old anticentre open cluster Berkeley 32: membership and fundamental parameters
We have obtained medium-low resolution spectroscopy and BVI CCD imaging of
Berkeley 32, an old open cluster which lies in the anticentre direction. From
the radial velocities of 48 stars in the cluster direction we found that 31 of
them, in crucial evolutionary phases, are probable cluster members, with an
average radial velocity of +106.7 (sigma = 8.5) km/s. From isochrone fitting to
the colour magnitude diagrams of Berkeley 32 we have obtained an age of 6.3
Gyr, (m-M)0 = 12.48 and E(B-V) = 0.10. The best fit is obtained with Z=0.008. A
consistent distance, (m-M)0 ~= 12.6 +/- 0.1, has been derived from the mean
magnitude of red clump stars with confirmed membership; we may assume (m-M)0 ~=
12.55 +/- 0.1. The colour magnitude diagram of the nearby field observed to
check for field stars contamination looks intriguingly similar to that of the
Canis Major overdensity.Comment: MNRAS, in press. Degraded resolution for Fig.
Near Infrared Spectroscopy of High Redshift Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Disappearing Narrow Line Regions and the Role of Accretion
We present new near infrared spectroscopic measurements for 29 luminous
high-z quasars and use the data to discuss the size and other properties of the
NLRs in those sources. The high resolution spectra have been used to carefully
model the Fe II blends and to provide reliable [O III], Fe II and Hb
measurements. We find that about 2/3 of all high luminosity sources show strong
[O III] lines while the remaining objects show no or very weak such line. While
weak [O III] emitters are also found among lower luminosity AGN, we argue that
the implications for very high luminosity objects are different. In particular,
we suggest that the averaging of these two populations in other works gave rise
to claims of a Baldwin relationship in [O III] which is not confirmed by our
data. We also argue that earlier proposed relations of the type R_NLR \propto
L_[O III]^{1/2}, where R_NLR is the NLR radius, are theoretically sound yet
they must break down for R_NLR exceeding a few kpc. This suggests that the NLR
properties in luminous sources are different from those observed in nearby AGN.
In particular, we suggest that some sources lost their very large, dynamically
unbound NLR while others are in a phase of violent star-forming events that
produce a large quantity of high density gas in the central kpc. This gas is
ionized and excited by the central radiation source and its spectroscopic
properties may be different from those observed in nearby, lower luminosity
NLRs. We also discuss the dependence of EW(Hb) and Fe II/Hb on L, M_BH, and
accretion rate for a large sample of AGNs. The strongest dependence of the two
quantities is on the accretion rate and the Fe II/Hb correlation is probably
due to the EW(Hb) dependence on accretion rate. We show the most extreme values
measured so far of Fe II/Hb and address its correlation with EW([O III]).Comment: 10 pages (emulateapj), 9 figures. Accepted by Ap
Focusing and imaging with increased numerical apertures through multimode fibers with micro-fabricated optics
The use of individual multimode optical fibers in endoscopy applications has
the potential to provide highly miniaturized and noninvasive probes for
microscopy and optical micromanipulation. A few different strategies have been
proposed recently, but they all suffer from intrinsically low resolution
related to the low numerical aperture of multimode fibers. Here, we show that
two-photon polymerization allows for direct fabrication of micro-optics
components on the fiber end, resulting in an increase of the numerical aperture
to a value that is close to 1. Coupling light into the fiber through a spatial
light modulator, we were able to optically scan a submicrometer spot (300 nm
FWHM) over an extended region, facing the opposite fiber end. Fluorescence
imaging with improved resolution is also demonstrated.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Linear Ramps of Interaction in the Fermionic Hubbard Model
We study the out of equilibrium dynamics of the Fermionic Hubbard Model
induced by a linear ramp of the repulsive interaction from the metallic
state through the Mott transition. To this extent we use a time dependent
Gutzwiller variational method and complement this analysis with the inclusion
of quantum fluctuations at the leading order, in the framework of a slave
spin theory. We discuss the dynamics during the ramp and the issue of
adiabaticity through the scaling of the excitation energy with the ramp
duration . In addition, we study the dynamics for times scales longer
than the ramp time, when the system is again isolated and the total energy
conserved. We establish the existence of a dynamical phase transition analogous
to the one present in the sudden quench case and discuss its properties as a
function of final interaction and ramp duration. Finally we discuss the role of
quantum fluctuations on the mean field dynamics for both long ramps, where spin
wave theory is sufficient, and for very short ramps, where a self consistent
treatment of quantum fluctuations is required in order to obtain relaxation.Comment: v2: 19 pages, 14 figures, published versio
Renormalized SO(5) symmetry in ladders with next-nearest-neighbor hopping
We study the occurrence of SO(5) symmetry in the low-energy sector of
two-chain Hubbard-like systems by analyzing the flow of the running couplings
(-ology) under renormalization group in the weak-interaction limit. It is
shown that SO(5) is asymptotically restored for low energies for rather general
parameters of the bare Hamiltonian. This holds also with inclusion of a
next-nearest-neighbor hopping which explicitly breaks particle-hole symmetry
provided one accounts for a different single-particle weight for the
quasiparticles of the two bands of the system. The physical significance of
this renormalized SO(5) symmetry is discussed.Comment: Final version: to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., sched. Mar. 9
Modelling mean radiant temperature in outdoor environments: Contrasting the approaches of different simulation tools
Global warming and increasing urbanization are expected to threaten public health in cities, by increasing the heat stress perceived by the inhabitants. Outdoor thermal comfort conditions are influenced by the material and the geometric features of the surrounding urban fabric at both the urban and building scales. In built environments, performance-aware design choices related to street paving or building façade can enhance outdoor thermal comfort in their surroundings. Reliable estimations of outdoor thermal comfort conditions are required to evaluate and control the micro-bioclimatic influences of different design choices. The mean radiant temperature is the physical variable that has the greatest influence on outdoor thermal comfort conditions during summertime. Since its calculation is complex, the available simulation tools employ different approaches and assumptions to estimate it, and potential users need to be aware of their capabilities and simplifications. This research compares the calculation procedures and assumptions of different performance simulation tools (i.e. ENVI-met, TRNSYS, Ladybug/Honeybee, CitySim, and SOLENE-microclimat) to predict the mean radiant temperature in outdoor spaces, based on the available information in the scientific literature. Their ability to account for different radiative components in both the longwave and shortwave spectra is summarized, and practical information regarding the degree of interoperability with the modelling environments and the level of geometrical detail of the virtual model supported by the tools is provided. This work aims to help potential users in the selection of the most appropriate performance tool, based on the requirement of their projects
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