187 research outputs found
Research and development of high-performance light-weight fuel cell electrodes final report, nov. 1, 1963 - oct. 31, 1964
High performance light weight fuel cell electrode developmen
Magnetic fields of low-mass main sequences stars: Nonlinear dynamo theory and mean-field numerical simulations
Our theoretical and numerical analysis have suggested that for low-mass main
sequences stars (of the spectral classes from M5 to G0) rotating much faster
than the sun, the generated large-scale magnetic field is caused by the
mean-field dynamo, whereby the dynamo is modified
by a weak differential rotation. Even for a weak differential rotation, the
behaviour of the magnetic activity is changed drastically from aperiodic regime
to nonlinear oscillations and appearance of a chaotic behaviour with increase
of the differential rotation. Periods of the magnetic cycles decrease with
increase of the differential rotation, and they vary from tens to thousand
years. This long-term behaviour of the magnetic cycles may be related to the
characteristic time of the evolution of the magnetic helicity density of the
small-scale field. The performed analysis is based on the mean-field numerical
simulations of the and dynamos and a developed
nonlinear theory of dynamo.Comment: 13 page
Fast X-ray Transients and Their Connection to Gamma-Ray Bursts
Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) with timescales from seconds to hours have been
seen by numerous space instruments. We have assembled archival data from
Ariel-5, HEAO-1 (A-1 and A-2), WATCH, ROSAT, and Einstein to produce a global
fluence-frequency relationship for these events. Fitting the log N-log S
distribution over several orders of magnitude to simple power law we find a
slope of -1.0. The sources of FXTs are undoubtedly heterogeneous, the -1 power
law is an approximate result of the summation of these multiple sources. Two
major contributions come from gamma-ray bursts and stellar flares.
Extrapolating from the BATSE catalog of GRBs, we find that the fraction of
X-ray flashes that can be the X-ray counterparts of gamma-ray bursts is a
function of fluence. Certainly most FXTs are not counterparts of standard
gamma-ray bursts. The fraction of FXTs from non-GRB sources, such as magnetic
stars, is greatest for the faintest FXTs. Our understanding of the FXT
phenomenon remains limited and would greatly benefit from a large, homogeneous
data set, which requires a wide-field, sensitive instrument.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure
A Spectroscopic Survey of a Sample of Active M Dwarfs
A moderate resolution spectroscopic survey of Fleming's sample of 54 X-ray
selected M dwarfs with photometric distances less than 25 pc is presented.
Radial and rotation velocities have been measured by fits to the H-alpha
profiles. Radial velocities have been measured by cross correlation. Artificial
broadening of an observed spectrum has produced a relationship between H-alpha
FWHM and rotation speed, which we use to infer rotation speeds for the entire
sample by measurement of the H-alpha emission line. We find 3 ultra-fast
rotators (UFRs, vsini > 100km/s), and 8 stars with 30 < vsini < 100 km/s. The
UFRs have variable emission. Cross-correlation velocities measured for
ultra-fast rotators (UFRs) are shown to depend on rotation speed and the
filtering used. The radial velocity dispersion of the sample is 17 km/s. A new
double emission line spectroscopic binary with a period of 3.55 days has been
discovered, and another known one is in the sample. Three other objects are
suspected spectroscopic binaries, and at least six are visual doubles. The only
star in the sample observed to have significant lithium is a known TW Hya
Association member, TWA 8A. These results show that there are a number of young
(< 10^8 yr) and very young (< 10^7 yr) low mass stars in the immediate solar
neighbourhood. The H-alpha activity strength does not depend on rotation speed.
Our fast rotators are less luminous than similarly fast rotators in the
Pleiades. They are either younger than the Pleiades, or gained angular momentum
in a different way.Comment: 38 pages incl. 14 figures and 4 tables, plus 12 pages of table for
electronic journal only; LaTeX, aastex.cls. Accepted 07/18/02 for publication
in The Astronomical Journa
Statistical properties of SGR 1900+14 bursts
We study the statistics of soft gamma repeater (SGR) bursts, using a data
base of 187 events detected with BATSE and 837 events detected with RXTE PCA,
all from SGR 1900+14 during its 1998-1999 active phase. We find that the
fluence or energy distribution of bursts is consistent with a power law of
index 1.66, over 4 orders of magnitude. This scale-free distribution resembles
the Gutenberg-Richter Law for earthquakes, and gives evidence for
self-organized criticality in SGRs. The distribution of time intervals between
successive bursts from SGR 1900+14 is consistent with a log-normal
distribution. There is no correlation between burst intensity and the waiting
times till the next burst, but there is some evidence for a correlation between
burst intensity and the time elapsed since the previous burst. We also find a
correlation between the duration and the energy of the bursts, but with
significant scatter. In all these statistical properties, SGR bursts resemble
earthquakes and solar flares more closely than they resemble any known
accretion-powered or nuclear-powered phenomena. Thus our analysis lends support
to the hypothesis that the energy source for SGR bursts is internal to the
neutron star, and plausibly magnetic.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
A stellar flare during the transit of the extrasolar planet OGLE-TR-10b
We report a stellar flare occurring during a transit of the exoplanet OGLE-TR-10b, an event not previously reported in the literature. This reduces the observed transit depth, particularly in the u'-band, but flaring could also be significant in other bands and could lead to incorrect planetary parameters. We suggest that OGLE-TR-10a is an active planet-hosting star and has an unusually high X-ray luminosity
Magnetic fields of low-mass main sequences stars: non-linear dynamo theory and mean-field numerical simulations
Our theoretical and numerical analysis have suggested that for low-mass main sequences stars (of the spectral classes from M5 to G0) rotating much faster than the Sun, the generated large-scale magnetic field is caused by the mean-field α2 dynamo, whereby the α2 dynamo is modified by a weak differential rotation. Even for a weak differential rotation, the behaviour of the magnetic activity is changed drastically from aperiodic regime to non-linear oscillations and appearance of a chaotic behaviour with increase of the differential rotation. Periods of the magnetic cycles decrease with increase of the differential rotation, and they vary from tens to thousand years. This long-term behaviour of the magnetic cycles may be related to the characteristic time of the evolution of the magnetic helicity density of the small-scale field. The performed analysis is based on the mean-field simulations (MFS) of the α2 and α2 dynamos and a developed non-linear theory of α2 dynamo. The applied MFS model was calibrated using turbulent parameters typical for the solar convective zone. © 2023 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 21-72-20067The work of NK and NS was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 21-72-20067). IR acknowledges the hospitality of NORDITA
Lucky Imaging survey for southern M dwarf binaries
While M dwarfs are the most abundant stars in the Milky Way, there is still
large uncertainty about their basic physical properties (mass, luminosity,
radius, etc.) as well as their formation environment. Precise knowledge of
multiplicity characteristics and how they change in this transitional mass
region, between Sun-like stars on the one side and very low mass stars and
brown dwarfs on the other, provide constraints on low mass star and brown dwarf
formation. In the largest M dwarf binary survey to date, we search for
companions to active, and thus preferentially young, M dwarfs in the solar
neighbourhood. We study their binary/multiple properties, such as the
multiplicity frequency and distributions of mass ratio and separation, and
identify short period visual binaries, for which orbital parameters and hence
dynamical mass estimates can be derived in the near future. The observations
are carried out in the SDSS i' and z' band using the Lucky Imaging camera
AstraLux Sur at the ESO 3.5 m New Technology Telescope. In the first part of
the survey, we observed 124 M dwarfs of integrated spectral types M0-M6 and
identified 34 new and 17 previously known companions to 44 stars. We derived
relative astrometry and component photometry for these systems. More than half
of the binaries have separations smaller than 1 arcsec and would have been
missed in a simply seeing-limited survey. Correcting our sample for selection
effects yields a multiplicity fraction of 32+/-6% for 108 M dwarfs within 52 pc
and with angular separations of 0.1-6.0 arcsec, corresponding to projected
separation 3-180 AU at median distance 30 pc. Compared to early-type M dwarfs
(M>0.3M_Sun), later type (and hence lower mass) M dwarf binaries appear to have
closer separations, and more similar masses.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. Minor corrections and changes. Revised to match
accepted A&A versio
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