Performance Report: A timeline for the synchrotron calibration of AXAF

Presented herein are the known elements of the timeline for synchrotron reflectance calibrations of HRMA witness samples (Section 2). In Section 3, lists of measurements to be done on each witness flat are developed. The elements are then arranged into timelines for the three beamlines we expect to employ in covering the full 50-12,000 eV energy range (Section 4). Although the required AXAF operational range is only 0.1-10 keV, we must calibrate the extent to which radiation just outside this band may contaminate our in-band response. In Section 5, we describe the working relationships which exist with each of the beamlines, and estimate the time available for AXAF measurements on each. From the timelines and the available time, we calculate the number of flats which could be measured in full detail over the duration of the program for each beamline. A suggestion is made regarding a minimum required baselines of witness flats from each element coating run or qualification run to be used in the calibration. We intend that this suggestion open discussion of the issue of witness flat deployment

The x ray reflectivity of the AXAF VETA-I optics

The x-ray reflectivity of the VETA-I optic, the outermost shell of the AXAF x-ray telescope, with a bare Zerodur surface, is measured and compared with theoretical predictions. Measurements made at energies of 0.28, 0.9, 1.5, 2.1, and 2.3 keV are compared with predictions based on ray trace calculations. The data were obtained at the x-ray calibrations facility at Marshall Space Flight Center with an electron impact x-ray source located 528 m from the grazing incidence mirror. The source used photoelectric absorption filters to eliminate bremsstrahlung continuum. The mirror has a diameter of 1.2 m and a focal length of 10 m. The incident and reflected x-ray flux are detected using two proportional counters, one located in the incident beam of x-rays at the entrance aperture of the VETA-I, and the other in the focal plane behind an aperture of variable size. Results on the variation of the reflectivity with energy as well as the absolute value of the reflectivity are presented. We also present a synchrotron reflectivity measurement with high energy resolution over the range 0.26 to 1.8 keV on a flat Zerodur sample, done at NSLS. We present evidence for contamination of the flat by a thin layer of carbon on the surface, and the possibility of alteration of the surface composition of the VETA-I mirror perhaps by the polishing technique. The overall agreement between the measured and calculated effective area of VETA-I is between 2.6 percent and 10 percent, depending on which model for the surface composition is adopted. Measurements at individual energies deviate from the best-fitting calculation to 0.3 to 0.8 percent, averaging 0.6 percent at energies below the high energy cutoff of the mirror reflectivity, and are as high as 20.7 percent at the cutoff. We also discuss the approach to the final preflight calibration of the full AXAF flight mirror

The Chandra X-ray Observatory Resolves the X-ray Morphology and Spectra of a Jet in PKS 0637-752

The core-dominated radio-loud quasar PKS 0637-752 (z = 0.654) was the first celestial object observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, offering the early surprise of the detection of a remarkable X-ray jet. Several observations with a variety of detector configurations contribute to a total exposure time with the Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS; Garmire et al. 2000, in preparation) of about 100ks. A spatial analysis of all the available X-ray data, making use of Chandra's spatial resolving power of about 0.4 arcsec, reveals a jet that extends about 10 arcsec to the west of the nucleus. At least four X-ray knots are resolved along the jet, which contains about 5% of the overall X-ray luminosity of the source. Previous observations of PKS 0637-752 in the radio band (Tingay et al. 1998) had identified a kpc-scale radio jet extending to the West of the quasar. The X-ray and radio jets are similar in shape, intensity distribution, and angular structure out to about 9 arcsec, after which the X-ray brightness decreases more rapidly and the radio jet turns abruptly to the north. The X-ray luminosity of the total source is log Lx ~ 45.8 erg/s (2 - 10keV), and appears not to have changed since it was observed with ASCA in November 1996. We present the results of fitting a variety of emission models to the observed spectral distribution, comment on the non-existence of emission lines recently reported in the ASCA observations of PKS 0637-752, and briefly discuss plausible X-ray emission mechanisms.Comment: 24 pages, includes 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

A straw drift chamber spectrometer for studies of rare kaon decays

We describe the design, construction, readout, tests, and performance of planar drift chambers, based on 5 mm diameter copperized Mylar and Kapton straws, used in an experimental search for rare kaon decays. The experiment took place in the high-intensity neutral beam at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron of Brookhaven National Laboratory, using a neutral beam stop, two analyzing dipoles, and redundant particle identification to remove backgrounds

First Observation of the Rare Decay Mode K-long -> e+ e-

In an experiment designed to search for and study very rare two-body decay modes of the K-long, we have observed four examples of the decay K-long -> e+ e-, where the expected background is 0.17+-0.10 events. This observation translates into a branching fraction of 8.7^{+5.7}_{-4.1} X 10^{-12}, consistent with recent theoretical predictions. This result represents by far the smallest branching fraction yet measured in particle physics.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Chandra Observations of the Young Pulsar PSR B0540-69

The young pulsar PSR B0540-69 was one of the first targets observed with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The high angular resolution of Chandra allows us to resolve the compact nebula surrounding the pulsar. We have determined a position for PSR B0540-69 of R.A. = 05h 40m 11s.221, decl. = -69o 19' 54".98 (J2000) with a 1-sigma radial uncertainty of 0.7". Combining our measurements of the pulsar period with previous measurements covering a span of 12 years, we derive a braking index of 2.08. The spectrum of the pulsed emission is consistent with a power-law with a photon index of 1.83 +/- 0.13. The compact nebula has a softer spectrum with a photon index of 1.85 to 2.26.Comment: 12 pages, accepted by the Astrophysical Journa

Characterization of Inhibitor-Resistant Histone Deacetylase Activity in Plant-Pathogenic Fungi

HC-toxin, a cyclic peptide made by the filamentous fungus Cochliobolus carbonum, is an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC) from many organisms. It was shown earlier that the HDAC activity in crude extracts of C. carbonum is relatively insensitive to HC-toxin as well as to the chemically unrelated HDAC inhibitors trichostatin and D85, whereas the HDAC activity of Aspergillus nidulans is sensitive (G. Brosch et al., Biochemistry 40:12855-12863, 2001). Here we report that HC-toxin-resistant HDAC activity was present in other, but not all, plant-pathogenic Cochliobolus species but not in any of the saprophytic species tested. The HDAC activities of the fungi Alternaria brassicicola and Diheterospora chlamydosporia, which also make HDAC inhibitors, were resistant. The HDAC activities of all C. carbonum isolates tested, except one non-toxin-producing isolate, were resistant. In a cross between a sensitive isolate and a resistant isolate, resistance genetically cosegregated with HC-toxin production. When fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography, extracts of resistant and sensitive isolates and species had two peaks of HDAC activity, one that was fully HC-toxin resistant and a second that was larger and sensitive. The first peak was consistently smaller in extracts of sensitive fungi than in resistant fungi, but the difference appeared to be insufficiently large to explain the differential sensitivities of the crude extracts. Differences in mRNA expression levels of the four known HDAC genes of C. carbonum did not account for the observed differences in HDAC activity profiles. When mixed together, resistant extracts protected extracts of sensitive C. carbonum but did not protect other sensitive Cochlibolus species or Neurospora crassa. Production of this extrinsic protection factor was dependent on TOXE, the transcription factor that regulates the HC-toxin biosynthetic genes. The results suggest that C. carbonum has multiple mechanisms of self-protection against HC-toxin

Computergestuetzte Arbeitsvermittlung in Oesterreich, den Niederlanden, Grossbritannien und Schweden

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