412 research outputs found
Active Galaxies in the UV
In this article we present different aspects of AGN studies demonstrating the
importance of the UV spectral range. Most important diagnostic lines for
studying the general physical conditions as well as the metalicities in the
central broad line region in AGN are emitted in the UV. The UV/FUV continuum in
AGN excites not only the emission lines in the immediate surrounding but it is
responsible for the ionization of the intergalactic medium in the early stages
of the universe. Variability studies of the emission line profiles of AGN in
the UV give us information on the structure and kinematics of the immediate
surrounding of the central supermassive black hole as well as on its mass
itself.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, Ap&SS in pres
Runaway Events Dominate the Heavy Tail of Citation Distributions
Statistical distributions with heavy tails are ubiquitous in natural and
social phenomena. Since the entries in heavy tail have disproportional
significance, the knowledge of its exact shape is very important. Citations of
scientific papers form one of the best-known heavy tail distributions. Even in
this case there is a considerable debate whether citation distribution follows
the log-normal or power-law fit. The goal of our study is to solve this debate
by measuring citation distribution for a very large and homogeneous data. We
measured citation distribution for 418,438 Physics papers published in
1980-1989 and cited by 2008. While the log-normal fit deviates too strong from
the data, the discrete power-law function with the exponent does
better and fits 99.955% of the data. However, the extreme tail of the
distribution deviates upward even from the power-law fit and exhibits a
dramatic "runaway" behavior. The onset of the runaway regime is revealed
macroscopically as the paper garners 1000-1500 citations, however the
microscopic measurements of autocorrelation in citation rates are able to
predict this behavior in advance.Comment: 6 pages, 5 Figure
Search for the Proton Decay Mode proton to neutrino K+ in Soudan 2
We have searched for the proton decay mode proton to neutrino K+ using the
one-kiloton Soudan 2 high resolution calorimeter. Contained events obtained
from a 3.56 kiloton-year fiducial exposure through June 1997 are examined for
occurrence of a visible K+ track which decays at rest into mu+ nu or pi+ pi0.
We found one candidate event consistent with background, yielding a limit,
tau/B > 4.3 10^{31} years at 90% CL with no background subtraction.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 3 tables and 3 figures, Accepted by Physics Letters
Mirror quiescence and high-sensitivity position measurements with feedback
We present a detailed study of how phase-sensitive feedback schemes can be
used to improve the performance of optomechanical devices. Considering the case
of a cavity mode coupled to an oscillating mirror by the radiation pressure, we
show how feedback can be used to reduce the position noise spectrum of the
mirror, cool it to its quantum ground state, or achieve position squeezing.
Then, we show that even though feedback is not able to improve the sensitivity
of stationary position spectral measurements, it is possible to design a
nonstationary strategy able to increase this sensitivity.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure
The inflationary bispectrum with curved field-space
We compute the covariant three-point function near horizon-crossing for a
system of slowly-rolling scalar fields during an inflationary epoch, allowing
for an arbitrary field-space metric. We show explicitly how to compute its
subsequent evolution using a covariantized version of the separate universe or
"delta-N" expansion, which must be augmented by terms measuring curvature of
the field-space manifold, and give the nonlinear gauge transformation to the
comoving curvature perturbation. Nonlinearities induced by the field-space
curvature terms are a new and potentially significant source of
non-Gaussianity. We show how inflationary models with non-minimal coupling to
the spacetime Ricci scalar can be accommodated within this framework. This
yields a simple toolkit allowing the bispectrum to be computed in models with
non-negligible field-space curvature.Comment: 22 pages, plus appendix and reference
Supermassive Binaries and Extragalactic Jets
Some quasars show Doppler shifted broad emission line peaks. I give new
statistics of the occurrence of these peaks and show that, while the most
spectacular cases are in quasars with strong radio jets inclined to the line of
sight, they are also almost as common in radio-quiet quasars. Theories of the
origin of the peaks are reviewed and it is argued that the displaced peaks are
most likely produced by the supermassive binary model. The separations of the
peaks in the 3C 390.3-type objects are consistent with orientation-dependent
"unified models" of quasar activity. If the supermassive binary model is
correct, all members of "the jet set" (astrophysical objects showing jets)
could be binaries.Comment: 31 pages, PostScript, missing figure is in ApJ 464, L105 (see
http://www.aas.org/ApJ/v464n2/5736/5736.html
From thermal rectifiers to thermoelectric devices
We discuss thermal rectification and thermoelectric energy conversion from
the perspective of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical systems
theory. After preliminary considerations on the dynamical foundations of the
phenomenological Fourier law in classical and quantum mechanics, we illustrate
ways to control the phononic heat flow and design thermal diodes. Finally, we
consider the coupled transport of heat and charge and discuss several general
mechanisms for optimizing the figure of merit of thermoelectric efficiency.Comment: 42 pages, 22 figures, review paper, to appear in the Springer Lecture
Notes in Physics volume "Thermal transport in low dimensions: from
statistical physics to nanoscale heat transfer" (S. Lepri ed.
Further Experimental Studies of Two-Body Radiative \Upsilon Decays
Continuing our studies of radiative Upsilon(1S) decays, we report on a search
for Upsilon to gamma eta and Upsilon to gamma f_{J}(2220) in 61.3 pb^{-1} of
e^{+}e^{-} data taken with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage
Ring. For the gamma eta search the three decays of the eta meson to
pi^{+}pi^{-}pi^{0}, pi^{0}pi^{0}pi^{0}, and gamma gamma were investigated. We
found no candidate events in the two (3\pi)^{0} modes and no significant excess
over expected backgrounds in the gamma gamma mode to set a limit on the
branching fraction of B(Upsilon to gamma eta) < 2.1 x 10^{-5} at 90% C.L. The
three charged two-body final states h h-bar (h = pi^{+}, K^{+}, p) were
investigated for f_{J}(2220) production, with one, one, and two events found,
respectively. Limits at 90% C.L. of B(\Upsilon to gamma f_{J}) x B(f_{J} to h
h-bar) ~ 1.5 x 10^{-5} have been set for each of these modes. We compare our
results to measurements of other radiative Upsilon decays, to measurements of
radiative J/psi decays, and to theoretical predictions.Comment: 19 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to Physical Review
Overview of the Development of the Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission 12.5-kW Hall Thruster
NASA is developing mission concepts for a solar electric propulsion technology demonstration mission. A number of mission concepts are being evaluated including ambitious missions to near Earth objects. The demonstration of a high-power solar electric propulsion capability is one of the objectives of the candidate missions under consideration. In support of NASA's exploration goals, a number of projects are developing extensible technologies to support NASA's near and long term mission needs. Specifically, the Space Technology Mission Directorate Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission project is funding the development of a 12.5-kilowatt magnetically shielded Hall thruster system to support future NASA missions. This paper presents the design attributes of the thruster that was collaboratively developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The paper provides an overview of the magnetic, plasma, thermal, and structural modeling activities that were carried out in support of the thruster design. The paper also summarizes the results of the functional tests that have been carried out to date. The planned thruster performance, plasma diagnostics (internal and in the plume), thermal, wear, and mechanical tests are outlined
Update of the Search for the Neutrinoless Decay
We present an update of the search for the lepton family number violating
decay using a complete CLEO II data sample of 12.6 million
pairs. No evidence of a signal has been found and the
corresponding upper limit is \BR(\tau \to \mu\gamma) < 1.0 \times 10^{-6}
at 90% CL, significantly smaller than previous limits. All quoted results are
preliminary.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
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