13,761 research outputs found
Silicon and magnesium in planetary nebulae
The IUE satellite spectra of some planetary nebulae show features due to silicon and magnesium: Si III wavelengths 1883, 1892; Si IV wavelengths 1394, 1403; Mg II wavelengths 2796, 2804 and Mg V wavelengths 2784, 2929. With the aid of modeling techniques, the corresponding elemental abundances are found. In addition to previous observations of NGC 7662 and IC 418, data were found for NGC 2440, Hu 1-2, IC 2003 and IC 2165. Silicon appears depleted by up to an order of magnitude relative to the sun. Large variations of magnesium abundance are found, which are likely to reflect differing degrees of depletion due to grain formation
Elemental abundances in high-excitation planetary nebulae
The IUE satellite was used to obtain low dispersion spectra of the high excitation planetary nebulae IC 351, IC 2003, NGC 2022, IC 2165, NGC 2440, Hu 1-2, and IC 5217. Numerical modeling was undertaken to determine the chemical composition of these objects with particular emphasis on obtaining elemental carbon and nitrogen abundances. Large variations in the C/N ratio from object to object are suggested
Multi-wavelength Signatures of Cosmic Rays in the Milky Way
Cosmic rays (CRs) propagate in the Milky Way and interact with the
interstellar medium and magnetic fields. These interactions produce emissions
that span the electromagnetic spectrum, and are an invaluable tool for
understanding the intensities and spectra of CRs in distant regions, far beyond
those probed by direct CR measurements. We present updates on the study of CR
properties by combining multi-frequency observations of the interstellar
emission and latest CR direct measurements with propagation models.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of the 35th International Cosmic Ray
Conference, ICRC201
Scattered Lyman-alpha Radiation Around Sources Before Cosmological Reionization
The spectra of the first galaxies and quasars in the Universe should be
strongly absorbed shortward of their rest-frame Lyman-alpha wavelength by
neutral hydrogen (HI) in the intervening intergalactic medium. However, the
Lyman-alpha line photons emitted by these sources are not eliminated but rather
scatter until they redshift out of resonance and escape due to the Hubble
expansion of the surrounding intergalactic HI. We calculate the resulting
brightness distribution and the spectral shape of the diffuse Lyman-alpha line
emission around high redshift sources, before the intergalactic medium was
reionized. Typically, the Lyman-alpha photons emitted by a source at z=10
scatter over a characteristic angular radius of order 15 arcseconds around the
source and compose a line which is broadened and redshifted by about a thousand
km/s relative to the source. The scattered photons are highly polarized.
Detection of the diffuse Lyman-alpha halos around high redshift sources would
provide a unique tool for probing the neutral intergalactic medium before the
epoch of reionization. On sufficiently large scales where the Hubble flow is
smooth and the gas is neutral, the Lyman-alpha brightness distribution can be
used to determine the cosmological mass densities of baryons and matter.Comment: 21 pages, 5 Postscript figures, accepted by ApJ; figures 1--3
corrected; new section added on the detectability of Lyman alpha halos;
conclusions update
Monte Carlo Simulation of Lyman Alpha Scattering and Application to Damped Lyman Alpha Systems
A Monte Carlo code to solve the transfer of Lyman alpha (Lya) photons is
developed, which can predict the Lya image and two-dimensional Lya spectra of a
hydrogen cloud with any given geometry, Lya emissivity, neutral hydrogen
density distribution, and bulk velocity field. We apply the code to several
simple cases of a uniform cloud to show how the Lya image and emitted line
spectrum are affected by the column density, internal velocity gradients, and
emissivity distribution. We then apply the code to two models for damped Lya
absorption systems: a spherical, static, isothermal cloud, and a flattened,
axially symmetric, rotating cloud. If the emission is due to fluorescence of
the external background radiation, the Lya image should have a core
corresponding to the region where hydrogen is self-shielded. The emission line
profile has the characteristic double peak with a deep central trough. We show
how rotation of the cloud causes the two peaks to shift in wavelength as the
slit is perpendicular to the rotation axis, and how the relative amplitude of
the two peaks is changed. In reality, damped Lya systems are likely to have a
clumpy gas distribution with turbulent velocity fields, which should smooth the
line emission profile, but should still leave the rotation signature of the
wavelength shift across the system.Comment: 19 pages, 17 eps figures. One panel is added in Fig.1 to show the
recoil effect. Revisions are made in response to the referee's comments.
Accepted for publication in Ap
T Pyxidis: The First Cataclysmic Variable with a Collimated Jet
We present the first observational evidence for a collimated jet in a
cataclysmic variable system; the recurrent nova T Pyxidis. Optical spectra show
bipolar components of H with velocities , very similar
to those observed in the supersoft X-ray sources and in SS 433. We argue that a
key ingredient of the formation of jets in the supersoft X-ray sources and T
Pyx (in addition to an accretion disk threaded by a vertical magnetic field),
is the presence of nuclear burning on the surface of the white dwarf.Comment: 10 pages 2 figures to appear in ApJ Letter
Fault-tolerant quantum computation with high threshold in two dimensions
We present a scheme of fault-tolerant quantum computation for a local
architecture in two spatial dimensions. The error threshold is 0.75% for each
source in an error model with preparation, gate, storage and measurement
errors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2: A single 2D layer of qubits (simple square
lattice) with nearest-neighbor translation-invariant Ising interaction
suffices. Slightly improved threshol
The interpretation of the field angle dependence of the critical current in defect-engineered superconductors
We apply the vortex path model of critical currents to a comprehensive
analysis of contemporary data on defect-engineered superconductors, showing
that it provides a consistent and detailed interpretation of the experimental
data for a diverse range of materials. We address the question of whether
electron mass anisotropy plays a role of any consequence in determining the
form of this data and conclude that it does not. By abandoning this false
interpretation of the data, we are able to make significant progress in
understanding the real origin of the observed behavior. In particular, we are
able to explain a number of common features in the data including shoulders at
intermediate angles, a uniform response over a wide angular range and the
greater discrimination between individual defect populations at higher fields.
We also correct several misconceptions including the idea that a peak in the
angular dependence of the critical current is a necessary signature of strong
correlated pinning, and conversely that the existence of such a peak implies
the existence of correlated pinning aligned to the particular direction. The
consistency of the vortex path model with the principle of maximum entropy is
introduced.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
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