1,155 research outputs found
Observation of an energetic radiation burst from mountain-top thunderclouds
During thunderstorms on 2008 September 20, a simultaneous detection of gamma
rays and electrons was made at a mountain observatory in Japan located 2770 m
above sea level. Both emissions, lasting 90 seconds, were associated with
thunderclouds rather than lightning. The photon spectrum, extending to 10 MeV,
can be interpreted as consisting of bremsstrahlung gamma rays arriving from a
source which is 60 - 130 m in distance at 90% confidence level. The observed
electrons are likely to be dominated by a primary population escaping from an
acceleration region in the clouds.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
AKARI Detections of Hot Dust in Luminous Infrared Galaxies
We present a new sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified using the
catalog of the AKARI Mid-infrared(MIR) All-Sky Survey. Our MIR search has an
advantage in detecting AGNs that are obscured at optical wavelengths due to
extinction. We first selected AKARI 9micron excess sources with
F(9micron)/F(K_S)>2 where K_S magnitudes were taken from the Two Micron All Sky
Survey. We then obtained follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy with the
AKARI/IRC, to confirm that the excess is caused by hot dust. We also obtained
optical spectroscopy with the Kast Double Spectrograph on the Shane 3-m
telescope at Lick Observatory. On the basis of on these observations, we
detected hot dust with a characteristic temperature of ~500K in two luminous
infrared galaxies. The hot dust is suspected to be associated with AGNs that
exhibit their nonstellar activity not in the optical, but in the near- and
mid-infrared bands, i.e., they harbor buried AGNs. The host galaxy stellar
masses of 4-6 x 10^9 M_sun are small compared with the hosts in
optically-selected AGN populations. These objects were missed by previous
surveys, demonstrating the power of the AKARI MIR All-Sky Survey to widen AGN
searches to include more heavily obscured objects. The existence of multiple
dusty star clusters with massive stars cannot be completely ruled out with our
current data.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Dynamic ordering of driven vortex matter in the peak effect regime of amorphous MoGe films and 2H-NbSe2 crystals
Dynamic ordering of driven vortex matter has been investigated in the peak
effect regime of both amorphous MoGe films and 2H-NbSe2 crystals by mode
locking (ML) and dc transport measurements. ML features allow us to trace how
the shear rigidity of driven vortices evolves with the average velocity.
Determining the onset of ML resonance in different magnetic fields and/or
temperatures, we find that the dynamic ordering frequency (velocity) exhibits a
striking divergence in the higher part of the peak effect regime.
Interestingly, this phenomenon is accompanied by a pronounced peak of dynamic
critical current. Mapping out field-temperature phase diagrams, we find that
divergent points follow well the thermodynamic melting curve of the ideal
vortex lattice over wide field and/or temperature ranges. These findings
provide a link between the dynamic and static melting phenomena which can be
distinguished from the disorder induced peak effect.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Propagation of Hybrid Modes Coupled with Tilting Gaussian Beam Injected into the Corrugated Waveguide
The AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared All-Sky Survey
Context : AKARI is the first Japanese astronomical satellite dedicated to
infrar ed astronomy. One of the main purposes of AKARI is the all-sky survey
performed with six infrared bands between 9 and 200um during the period from
2006 May 6 to
2007 August 28. In this paper, we present the mid-infrared part (9um and 18um
b ands) of the survey carried out with one of the on-board instruments, the
Infrar ed Camera (IRC). Aims : We present unprecedented observational results
of the 9 and 18um AKARI al l-sky survey and detail the operation and data
processing leading to the point s ource detection and measurements. Methods :
The raw data are processed to produce small images for every scan and point
sources candidates, above the 5-sigma noise level per single scan, are der
ived. The celestial coordinates and fluxes of the events are determined
statisti cally and the reliability of their detections is secured through
multiple detect ions of the same source within milli-seconds, hours, and months
from each other. Results : The sky coverage is more than 90% for both bands. A
total of 877,091 s ources (851,189 for 9um, 195,893 for 18um) are confirmed and
included in the cur rent release of the point source catalogue. The detection
limit for point source s is 50mJy and 90mJy for the 9um and 18um bands,
respectively. The position accu racy is estimated to be better than 2".
Uncertainties in the in-flight absolute flux calibration are estimated to be 3%
for the 9um band and 4% for the 18um ban d. The coordinates and fluxes of
detected sources in this survey are also compar ed with those of the IRAS
survey and found to be statistically consistent.Comment: Accepted for publication in AandA AKARI special issu
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