4,567 research outputs found
OH Maser sources in W49N: probing differential anisotropic scattering with Zeeman pairs
Our analysis of a VLBA 12-hour synthesis observations of the OH masers in
W49N has provided detailed high angular-resolution images of the maser sources,
at 1612, 1665 and 1667 MHz. The images, of several dozens of spots, reveal
anisotropic scatter broadening; with typical sizes of a few tens of
milli-arc-seconds and axial ratios between 1.5 to 3. The image position angles
oriented perpendicular to the galactic plane are interpreted in terms of
elongation of electron-density irregularities parallel to the galactic plane,
due to a similarly aligned local magnetic field. However, we find the apparent
angular sizes on the average a factor of 2.5 less than those reported by Desai
et al., indicating significantly less scattering than inferred earlier. The
average position angle of the scattered broadened images is also seen to
deviate significantly (by about 10 degrees) from that implied by the magnetic
field in the Galactic plane. More intriguingly, for a few Zeeman pairs in our
set, we find significant differences in the scatter broadened images for the
two hands of polarization, even when apparent velocity separation is less than
0.1 km/s. Here we present the details of our observations and analysis, and
discuss the interesting implications of our results for the intervening
anisotropic magneto-ionic medium, as well as a comparison with the expectations
based on earlier work.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium
287: "Cosmic masers - from OH to H0
Extended OH(1720 MHz) Maser Emission from Supernova Remnants
Compact OH(1720 MHz) masers have proven to be excellent signposts for the
interaction of supernova remnants with adjacent molecular clouds. Less
appreciated has been the weak, extended OH(1720 MHz) emission which accompanies
strong compact maser sources. Recent single-dish and interferometric
observations reveal the majority of maser-emitting supernova remnants have
accompanying regions of extended maser emission. Enhanced OH abundance created
by the passing shock is observed both as maser emission and absorption against
the strong background of the remnant. Modeling the observed OH profiles gives
an estimate of the physical conditions in which weak, extended maser emission
arises. I will discuss how we can realize the utility of this extended maser
emission, particularly the potential to measure the strength of the post-shock
magnetic field via Zeeman splitting over these large-scales.Comment: 5 Pages, 2 Figures, To appear in IAU 242, Astrophysical Masers and
Their Environments, eds. J. Chapman & W. Baa
PKS B1400-33: an unusual radio relic in a poor cluster
We present new arcminute resolution radio images of the low surface
brightness radio source PKS B1400-33 that is located in the poor cluster Abell
S753. The observations consist of 330 MHz VLA, 843 MHz MOST and 1398 and 2378
MHz ATCA data. These new images, with higher surface brightness sensitivity
than previous observations, reveal that the large scale structure consists of
extended filamentary emission bounded by edge-brightened rims. The source is
offset on one side of symmetrically distributed X-ray emission that is centered
on the dominant cluster galaxy NGC 5419. PKS B1400-33 is a rare example of a
relic in a poor cluster with radio properties unlike those of most relics and
halos observed in cluster environments.
The diffuse source appears to have had an unusual origin and we discuss
possible mechanisms. We examine whether the source could be re-energized relic
radio plasma or a buoyant synchrotron bubble that is a relic of activity in NGC
5419. The more exciting prospect is that the source is relic plasma preserved
in the cluster gaseous environment following the chance injection of a radio
lobe into the ICM as a result of activity in a galaxy at the periphery of the
cluster.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
Do Courts Change Politics? Heller and the Limits of Policy Feedback Effects
District of Columbia v. Heller was a landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court established that citizens have a constitutional right to possess firearms in their homes for self-protection. The 5-4 decision—along with the Court’s subsequent ruling in McDonald v. Chicago—upended the prevailing wisdom that the Second Amendment protected the right of the states to assemble militias for collective security. In this Article, we examine the effects of these rulings on gun regulation in the United States and, more to the point, on gun politics. We situate our analysis within several related theoretical frameworks, most notably those focused on policy feedback and on the role of courts in producing social change. We argue that the effects of Heller (together with the parallel decision in McDonald) have been rather limited. We examine the rulings’ first-order effects on pre-existing gun control laws, as well as second-order effects on a number of related outcomes. We find that Heller and its progeny have had generally small or non-existent impacts on gun policy, on the organizational capacities and political strategies of pro-gun and pro-regulation groups, and on public attitudes toward gun regulation. Our findings support a constrained view of the Court’s ability to drive social and political change. We conclude, however, by noting that recent developments—particularly hints that some Supreme Court Justices are eager to develop Second Amendment jurisprudence—have the potential to alter these conclusions
NGC 3576 and NGC 3603: Two Luminous Southern HII Regions Observed at High Resolution with the Australia Telescope Compact Array
NGC 3576 (G291.28-0.71; l=291.3o, b=-0.7o) and NGC 3603 (G291.58-0.43;
l=291.6o, b=-0.5o) are optically visible, luminous HII regions located at
distances of 3.0 kpc and 6.1 kpc, respectively. We present 3.4 cm Australian
Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) observations of these two sources in the
continuum and the H90a, He90a, C90a and H113b recombination lines with an
angular resolution of 7" and a velocity resolution of 2.6 km/s. All four
recombination lines are detected in the integrated profiles of the two sources.
Broad radio recombination lines are detected in both NGC 3576 (DV_{FWHM}>= 50
km/s) and NGC 3603 (DV_{FWHM}>=70 km/s). In NGC 3576 a prominent N-S velocity
gradient (~30 km/s/pc) is observed, and a clear temperature gradient (6000 K to
8000 K) is found from east to west, consistent with a known IR color gradient
in the source. In NGC 3603, the H90a, He90a and the H113b lines are detected
from 13 individual sources. The Y^+ (He/H) ratios in the two sources range from
0.08+/-0.04 to 0.26+/-0.10. We compare the morphology and kinematics of the
ionized gas at 3.4 cm with the distribution of stars, 10 micron emission and
H_2O, OH, and CH_3OH maser emission. These comparisons suggest that both NGC
3576 and NGC 3603 have undergone sequential star formation.Comment: 24 pages, 12 Postscript figure
The Radio Recovery of SN 1970G: The Continuing Radio Evolution of SN 1970G
Using the Very Large Array, we have detected radio emission from the site of
SN 1970G in the Sc galaxy M101. These observations are 31 years after the
supernova event, making SN 1970G the longest monitored radio supernova. With
flux densities of 0.12 +/- 0.020 mJy at 6 cm and 0.16 +/- 0.015 mJy at 20 cm,
the spectral index of -0.24 +/- 0.20 appears to have flattened somewhat when
compared with the previously reported value of -0.56 +/- 0.11, taken in 1990.
The radio emission at 20 cm has decayed since the 1990 observations with a
power-law index of beta_20cm = -0.28 +/- 0.13. We discuss the radio properties
of this source and compare them to those of other Type II radio supernovae.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table and 2 figures; To appear in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
High-resolution Observations of OH(1720 MHz) Masers Toward the Galactic Center
High-resolution VLA observations of 1720 MHz OH maser emission from Sgr A
East and the circumnuclear disk with spatial and spectral resolutions of
2\dasec5 1\dasec3 and 0.27 \kms are reported. This follow-up
observational study focuses on the recent discovery of a number of such OH
maser features and their intense circularly polarized maser lines detected
toward these Galactic center sources. The 1720 MHz maser line of OH arises from
collisionally excited gas behind a C-type shock and is an important diagnostic
of the interaction process that may occur between molecular clouds and
associated X-ray emitting shell-type supernova remnants. The present
observations have confirmed that the observed Stokes signal is due to
Zeeman splitting and that the OH masers are angularly broadened by the
scattering medium toward the Galactic center. The scale length of the magnetic
field fluctuations in the scattering medium toward the Galactic center is
estimated to be greater than 0.1-0.2 pc using the correlation of the position
angles of the scatter-broadened maser spots. In addition, the kinematics of the
maser spots associated with Sgr A East are used to place a 5 pc displacement
between this extended radio structure and the Galactic center.Comment: 13 pages, 2 Tables and 2 figures, to be published in Ap
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