4,162 research outputs found
Further evidence for intra-night optical variability of radio-quiet quasars
Although well established for BL Lac objects and radio-loud quasars, the
occurrence of intra-night optical variability (INOV) in radio-quiet quasars is
still debated, primarily since only a handful of INOV events with good
statistical significance, albeit small amplitude, have been reported so far.
This has motivated us to continue intra-night optical monitoring of bona-fide
radio-quiet quasars (RQQs). Here we present the results for a sample of 11 RQQs
monitored by us on 19 nights. On 5 of these nights a given RQQ was monitored
simultaneously from two well separated observatories. In all, two clear cases
and two probable case of INOV were detected. From these data, we estimate an
INOV duty cycle of 8% for RQQs which would increase to 19% if the
`probable variable' cases are also included. Such comparatively small INOV duty
cycles for RQQs, together with the small INOV amplitudes (1%), are in
accord with the previously deduced characteristics of this phenomenon.Comment: 15 Pages, 4 Tables, 24 Figures; Accepted in BAS
Symmetry structure and phase transitions
We study chiral symmetry structure at finite density and temperature in the
presence of external magnetic field and gravity, a situation relevant in the
early Universe and in the core of compact stars.
We then investigate the dynamical evolution of phase transition in the
expanding early Universe and possible formation of quark nuggets and their
survival.Comment: Plenary talk given at the 4th. ICPAQGP held at Jaipur, India from Nov
26-30, 2001.laTex 2e file with 8 ps figures and 12 page
Extragalactic radio sources with sharply inverted spectrum at metre wavelengths
We present the first results of a systematic search for the rare
extragalactic radio sources showing an inverted (integrated) spectrum, with
spectral index , a previously unexplored spectral domain. The
search is expected to yield strong candidates for , for which
the standard synchrotron self-absorption (characterized by a single power-law
energy distribution of relativistic electron population) would not be a
plausible explanation, even in an ideal case of a perfectly homogeneous source
of incoherent synchrotron radiation. Such sharply inverted spectra, if found,
would require alternative explanations, e.g., free-free absorption, or
non-standard energy distribution of relativistic electrons which differs from a
power-law (e.g., Maxwellian).
The search was carried out by comparing two sensitive low-frequency radio
surveys made with sub-arcminute resolution, namely, the WISH survey at 352 MHz
and TGSS/DR5 at 150 MHz. The overlap region between these two surveys contains
7056 WISH sources classified as `single' and brighter than 100 mJy at 352 MHz.
We focus here on the seven of these sources for which we find .
Two of these are undetected at 150 MHz and are particularly good candidates for
. Five of the seven sources exhibit a
`Gigahertz-Peaked-Spectrum' (GPS).Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Neutrino opacity in magnetised hot and dense nuclear matter
We study the neutrino interaction rates in hot matter at high densities in
the presence of uniform magnetic field. The neutrino cross-sections involving
both the charged current absorption and neutral current scattering reactions on
baryons and leptons have been considered. We have in particular considered the
interesting case when the magnetic field is strong enough to completely
polarise the protons and electrons in supernovae and neutron stars. The opacity
in such a situation is considerably modified and the cross-section develops
anisotropy. This has implications for phenomenon invoked in the literature to
explain the observed pulsar kicks.Comment: 22 latex pages and 7 postscript figure
A novel bacterial isolate Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as living factory for synthesis of gold nanoparticles
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The synthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) has received considerable attention with their potential applications in various life sciences related applications. Recently, there has been tremendous excitement in the study of nanoparticles synthesis by using some natural biological system, which has led to the development of various biomimetic approaches for the growth of advanced nanomaterials. In the present study, we have demonstrated the synthesis of gold nanoparticles by a novel bacterial strain isolated from a site near the famous gold mines in India. A promising mechanism for the biosynthesis of GNPs by this strain and their stabilization via charge capping was investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A bacterial isolate capable of gold nanoparticle synthesis was isolated and identified as a novel strain of <it>Stenotrophomonas malophilia </it>(AuRed02) based on its morphology and an analysis of its 16S rDNA gene sequence. After 8 hrs of incubation, monodisperse preparation of gold nanoparticles was obtained. Gold nanoparticles were characterized and found to be of ~40 nm size. Electrophoresis, Zeta potential and FTIR measurements confirmed that the particles are capped with negatively charged phosphate groups from NADP rendering them stable in aqueous medium.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The process of synthesis of well-dispersed nanoparticles using a novel microorganism isolated from the gold enriched soil sample has been reported in this study, leading to the development of an easy bioprocess for synthesis of GNPs. This is the first study in which an extensive characterization of the indigenous bacterium isolated from the actual gold enriched soil was conducted. Promising mechanism for the biosynthesis of GNPs by the strain and their stabilization via charge capping is suggested, which involves an NADPH-dependent reductase enzyme that reduces Au<sup>3+ </sup>to Au<sup>0 </sup>through electron shuttle enzymatic metal reduction process.</p
Little Higgs model effects in
Though the predictions of the Standard Model (SM) are in excellent agreement
with experiments there are still several theoretical problems associated with
the Higgs sector of the SM, where it is widely believed that some ``{\it new
physics}'' will take over at the TeV scale. One beyond the SM theory which
resolves these problems is the Little Higgs (LH) model. In this work we have
investigated the effects of the LH model on \gggg scattering
\cite{Choudhury:2006xa}.Comment: Talk given at LCWS06, Bangalore, 4 pages (style files included
Dynamical evolution of the Universe in the quark-hadron phase transition and possible nugget formation
We study the dynamics of first-order phase transition in the early Universe
when it was old with quarks and gluons condensing into hadrons.
We look at how the Universe evolved through the phase transition in small as
well as large super cooling scenario, specifically exploring the formation of
quark nuggets and their possible survival. The nucleation of the hadron phase
introduces new distance scales in the Universe, which we estimate along with
the hadron fraction, temperature, nucleation time etc. It is of interest to
explore whether there is a relic signature of this transition in the form of
quark nuggets which might be identified with the recently observed dark objects
in our galactic halo and account for the Dark Matter in the Universe at
present.Comment: LaTeX file with four postscript figure
Origin of Complex Quantum Amplitudes and Feynman's Rules
Complex numbers are an intrinsic part of the mathematical formalism of
quantum theory, and are perhaps its most mysterious feature. In this paper, we
show that the complex nature of the quantum formalism can be derived directly
from the assumption that a pair of real numbers is associated with each
sequence of measurement outcomes, with the probability of this sequence being a
real-valued function of this number pair. By making use of elementary symmetry
conditions, and without assuming that these real number pairs have any other
algebraic structure, we show that these pairs must be manipulated according to
the rules of complex arithmetic. We demonstrate that these complex numbers
combine according to Feynman's sum and product rules, with the modulus-squared
yielding the probability of a sequence of outcomes.Comment: v2: Clarifications, and minor corrections and modifications. Results
unchanged. v3: Minor changes to introduction and conclusio
Photon-Neutrino Interactions in Magnetic Field through Neutrino Magnetic Moment
We study the neutrino-photon processes like in
the presence of uniform external magnetic field for the case when neutrinos can
couple to the electromagnetic field directly through their dipole magnetic
moment and obtain the stellar energy loss. The process would be of special
relevance in astrophysical situations where standard left-handed neutrinos are
trapped and the right handed neutrinos produced through the spin flip
interaction induced by neutrino magnetic moment alone can freely stream out.Comment: LaTex2e file, 9 page
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