2,791 research outputs found
SN 2007gr: a Normal Type Ic Supernova with a Mildly Relativistic Radio Jet?
A nearby type Ic supernova, SN 2007gr was observed with the EVN in two epochs 60 days apart (second observation also included the Green Bank Telescope). In both cases one of the EVN stations was the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), which recorded the observational data not only in the VLBI mode, but also in its normal interferometric mode. Thus it provided an important reference observation. In the first epoch the fluxes measured by the VLBI network and the WSRT alone match well. However in the second epoch the peak brightness observed in the VLBI experiment is much lower than the total flux recorded by the WSRT. There could be multiple reasons for this discrepancy: a resolution effect, coherence losses in VLBI, or extended emission contaminating the WSRT measurement. With new WSRT observations we costrain the level of background emission and find that there is still a difference between the corrected total flux density and the VLBI peak brightness. If one assumes that this is dominated by resolution, this would correspond to an average apparent expansion speed of ~0.4c
High-z radio starbursts host obscured X-ray AGN
We use Virtual Observatory methods to investigate the association between
radio and X-ray emission at high redshifts. Fifty-five of the 92 HDF(N) sources
resolved by combining
MERLIN+VLA data were detected by Chandra, of which 18 are hard enough and
bright enough to be obscured AGN. The high-z population of microJy radio
sources is dominated by starbursts an order of magnitude more active and more
extended than any found at z<1 and at least a quarter of these simultaneously
host highly X-ray-luminous obscured AGN.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, To appear in the proceedings of 'At the Edge of
the Universe' (9-13 October 2006, Sintra, Portugal
AGN and starbursts at high redshift: High resolution EVN radio observations of the Hubble Deep Field
We present deep, wide-field European VLBI Network (EVN) 1.6 GHz observations
of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) region with a resolution of 0.025 arcseconds.
Above the 210 microJy/beam (5sigma) detection level, the EVN clearly detects
two radio sources in a field that encompasses the HDF and part of the Hubble
Flanking Fields (HFF). The sources detected are: VLA J123644+621133 (a z=1.013,
low-luminosity FR-I radio source located within the HDF itself) and VLA
J123642+621331 (a dust enshrouded, optically faint, z=4.424 starburst system).
A third radio source, J123646+621404, is detected at the 4sigma level. The VLBI
detections of all three sources suggest that most of the radio emission of
these particular sources (including the dusty starburst) is generated by an
embedded AGN.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; Accepted by Astron. & Astrophys Letters ... See
http://www.nfra.nl/~mag/hdf_evn.htm
Constraints on H_0 from the Central Velocity Dispersions of Lens Galaxies
We employ Schwarzschild's method of orbit modeling to constrain the mass
profiles of the central lens galaxies in Q0957+561 and PG 1115+080. We combine
the measured central projected stellar velocity dispersions of these galaxies
with the self-similar radial profiles of the rms velocity and of the
Gauss-Hermite moment h_4 observed in nearby galaxies for 0 < R < 2 R_eff. For
Q0957+561, we find a 16% uncertainty in the galaxy mass, and formal 2-sigma
limits on the Hubble constant of H_0 = (61 +13/-15) km/s/Mpc. For PG 1115+080,
we find that none of the viable lens models can be ruled out, so that H_0 is
not yet strongly constrained by this system.Comment: Revised version accepted by ApJ: slightly modified results for both
lens sytems. 18 pages, with 7 inline Postscript figures, LaTeX, aaspp4.sty;
postscript paper w/figs (490 kb) also available at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~romanow/orbit.post.v2.ps.g
The Sudden Death of the Nearest Quasar
Galaxy formation is significantly modulated by energy output from
supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies which grow in highly
efficient luminous quasar phases. The timescale on which black holes transition
into and out of such phases is, however, unknown. We present the first
measurement of the shutdown timescale for an individual quasar using X-ray
observations of the nearby galaxy IC 2497, which hosted a luminous quasar no
more than 70,000 years ago that is still seen as a light echo in `Hanny's
Voorwerp', but whose present-day radiative output is lower by at least 2 and
more likely by over 4 orders of magnitude. This extremely rapid shutdown
provides new insights into the physics of accretion in supermassive black
holes, and may signal a transition of the accretion disk to a radiatively
inefficient state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Astrophysical Journal Letters, in pres
Wind assessment for micro wind turbines in an urban environment
Wind flow in urban environments could be seen as a potential source of energy. This form of energy could be exploited by means of micro wind turbines placed along the existing infrastructures. To test this, an outdoor campaign was organised, which recorded the wind characteristics at different locations around a highway noise barrier in Delft, the Netherlands. The real-time data set was validated with a two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics study. Both the influence of the high turbulence and the inflow angle on the positioning of the micro wind turbines are assessed for the case of perpendicular flow towards the plane of the noise barrier. Results indicated that integrating micro wind turbines with the noise barriers proves advantageous due to the flow velocity increment downstream. Lastly, a noise assessment was conducted in order to determine the optimal spacing between micro wind turbines, which impacts its social acceptance
Micro-Jy radio sources in the z=0.83 cluster MS1054-03
An extremely deep 5 GHz radio observation is presented of the rich cluster
MS1054-03 at redshift z=0.83. 34 radio sources are detected down to a 32
micro-Jy (6 sigma), compared to about 25 expected from previous blank field
radio source count determinations; the sources giving rise to these excess
counts lie within 2 arcmins (700 kpc) of the cluster centre. Existing imaging
and spectroscopy has provided optical identifications for 21 of the radio
sources and redshifts for 11, of which 8 are confirmed cluster members. 4 of
these 8 confirmed cluster sources are associated with close galaxy pairs (10-25
kpc projected offset) of similar magnitude, implying that the radio source may
be triggered by an interaction. However, although MS1054-03 has a very high
fraction (17%) of on-going mergers (separations <~ 10 kpc), no radio emission
is detected towards any of these merger events, setting a mean upper limit of
10 Msun/yr for any star formation associated with these mergers. This supports
a hypothesis that low luminosity radio sources may be onset by initial weak
interactions rather than direct mergers. The host galaxies of the other four
confirmed cluster radio sources are all isolated, and show a range of
morphologies from early-type to Sc. A comparison between the emission line and
radio luminosities suggests that two of these four radio sources are
low-luminosity AGN, whilst for at least one of the other two the radio emission
is associated with on-going star formation. All of the radio sources associated
with the galaxy pairs appear more likely AGN than starburst origin. The overall
proportion of radio sources associated with AGN in this cluster (>75%) is
higher than at these flux density levels in the field (40-50%).Comment: 19 pages LaTeX, including 8 figures. Accepted for publication in
MNRAS. Version with higher resolution figures available from
http://www.roe.ac.uk/~pnb/papers.htm
What are the odds? Identifying factors related to competitive success in powerlifting
Background: The ability for athletes to gain a competitive advantage over their opponents is well recognised. At times, this advantage may be considered a marginal gain. However, in the context of competition, marginal advantages may be the difference between winning and losing. This investigation explores how competition factors influence the odds of competitive success (i.e. winning) in powerlifting (PL) to assist athletes and coaches in achieving a competitive advantage. Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of competition data from raw/classic, Australian powerlifting competitions 2010–2019 was conducted. Data included 10,599 competition entries (males: n = 6567 [62%], females: n = 4032 [38%]). Independent t-tests were used to compare continuous data between sexes or winners and non-winners at an event. Cohen’s d and the 95% confidence interval (d [95% CI]) were calculated. Univariate odds of winning an event based on independent variables (age [irrespective of category], sex, body weight and weight of first lift attempt [regardless of success]), were assessed by separate simple logistic regression. Results: When compared to males, the odds of winning for females were 50% greater (OR [95% CI] 1.500 [1.384, 1.625]; P \u3c 0.001). Athletes who had larger first lift attempts (Squat: + 7.0 kg P \u3c 0.001, Bench Press: + 3.2 kg P \u3c 0.001, and Deadlift: + 6.1 kg P \u3c 0.001and competed for a longer period (winners: 401 vs non-winners: 304 days, P \u3c 0.001) had an increased likelihood winning. Age was associated with increased odds of success for males (OR [95% CI] 1.014 [1.009, 1.019], P \u3c 0.001) per additional year of age for males, but not females (P = 0.509). Conclusions: Multiple factors appear to contribute to the likelihood of winning a PL competition. These results may help coaches to develop competition and training strategies that optimise athletes’ likelihood of competitive success in PL
Anharmonic double-phonon excitations in the interacting boson model
Double- vibrations in deformed nuclei are analyzed in the context of
the interacting boson model. A simple extension of the original version of the
model towards higher-order interactions is required to explain the observed
anharmonicities of nuclear vibrations. The influence of three- and four-body
interactions on the moments of inertia of ground- and -bands, and on
the relative position of single- and double- bands is studied
in detail. As an example of a realistic calculation, spectra and transitions of
the highly -anharmonic nuclei Dy, Er, and Er
are interpreted in this approach.Comment: 38 pages, TeX (ReVTeX). 15 ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
First e-VLBI observations of Cygnus X-3
We report the results of the first two 5 GHz e-VLBI observations of the X-ray
binary Cygnus X-3 using the European VLBI Network. Two successful observing
sessions were held, on 2006 April 20, when the system was in a quasi-quiescent
state several weeks after a major flare, and on 2006 May 18, a few days after
another flare. At the first epoch we detected faint emission probably
associated with a fading jet, spatially separated from the X-ray binary. The
second epoch in contrast reveals a bright, curved, relativistic jet more than
40 milliarcseconds in extent. In the first, and probably also second epochs,
the X-ray binary core is not detected, which may indicate a temporary
suppression of jet production as seen in some black hole X-ray binaries in
certain X-ray states. Spatially resolved polarisation maps at the second epoch
provide evidence of interaction between the ejecta and the surrounding medium.
These results clearly demonstrate the importance of rapid analysis of
long-baseline observations of transients, such as facilitated by e-VLBI.Comment: Accepted for publication as a letter in MNRA
- …