623 research outputs found
A Direct Upper Limit on the Density of Cosmological Dust from the Absence of an X-ray Scattering Halo around the z=4.3 QSO 1508+5714
We report on the results of a search for an intergalactic X-ray dust
scattering halo in a deep observation of the bright, high-redshift quasar QSO
1508+5714 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We do not detect such a halo. Our
result implies an upper limit on the density of diffuse, large-grained
intergalactic dust of Omega_ dust < 2 x 10^-6, assuming a characteristic grain
size of 1micron. The result demonstrates the sensitivity of this technique for
detecting very small amounts of intergalactic dust which are very hard to
detect otherwise. This will allow us to put important constraints on systematic
effects induced by extinction on the interpretation of the SN Ia Hubble
Diagram, as well as on the amount and properties of cosmological dust being
expelled into the intergalactic medium at early z~2 times.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. to appear in ApJ, vol. 651, Nov. 200
The Next Geminga: Deep Multiwavelength Observations of a Neutron Star Identified with 3EG J1835+5918
We describe Chandra, HST, and radio observations that reveal a radio-quiet
but magnetospherically active neutron star in the error circle of the
high-energy gamma-ray source 3EG J1835+5918, the brightest of the unidentified
EGRET sources at high Galactic latitude. A Chandra ACIS-S spectrum of the
ultrasoft X-ray source RX J1836.2+5925, suggested by Mirabal & Halpern as the
neutron star counterpart of 3EG J1835+5918, requires two components: a
blackbody of T~3x10^5 K and a hard tail that can be parameterized as a power
law of photon index Gamma~2. An upper limit of d < 800 pc can be derived from
the blackbody fit under an assumption of R = 10 km. Deep optical imaging with
the HST STIS CCD failed to detect this source to a limit of V > 28.5, thus
f_X/f_V > 6000 and d > 250 pc assuming the X-ray fitted temperature for the
full surface. Repeated observations with the 76 m Lovell telescope at Jodrell
Bank place an upper limit of < 0.1 mJy on the flux density at 1400 MHz for a
pulsar with P > 0.1 s, and < 0.25 mJy for a ~10 ms pulsar at the location of RX
J1836.2+5925. All of this evidence points to an older, possibly more distant
version of the highly efficient gamma-ray pulsar Geminga, as the origin of the
gamma-rays from 3EG J1835+5918.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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Discovery of a z=6.1 Radio-Loud Quasar in the NDWFS
From examination of only 4 deg^2 of sky in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) region, we have identified the first radio-loud quasar at a redshift z>6. The object, FIRST J1427385+331241, was discovered by matching the FLAMEX IR survey to FIRST survey radio sources with NDWFS counterparts. One candidate z>6 quasar was found, and spectroscopy with the Keck II telescope confirmed its identification, yielding a redshift z=6.12. The object is a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasar with an optical luminosity of M_B ~ -26.9 and a radio-to-optical flux ratio ~ 60. Two MgII absorptions systems are present at redshifts of z=2.18 and z=2.20. We briefly discuss the implications of this discovery for the high-redshift quasar population
The 3-53 keV Spectrum of the Quasar 1508+5714: X-rays from z = 4.3
We present a high-quality X-ray spectrum in the 3--53 keV rest-frame band of
the radio-loud quasar 1508+5714, by far the brightest known X-ray source at z >
4. A simple power-law model with an absorption column density equal to the
Galactic value in the direction of the source provides an excellent and fully
adequate fit to the data; the measured power-law photon index Gamma = 1.42
(+0.13,-0.10). Upper limits to Fe K alpha line emission and Compton-reflection
components are derived. We offer evidence for both X-ray and radio variability
in this object and provide the first contemporaneous radio spectrum (alpha =
-0.25). The data are all consistent with a picture in which the emission from
this source is dominated by a relativistically beamed component in both the
X-ray and radio bands.Comment: 8 pages, TeX, 2 postscript figures; to appear in ApJ Letter
Upper Critical Field in a Spin-Charge Separated Superconductor
It is demonstrated that the spatial decay of the pair propagator in a
Luttinger liquid with spin charge separation contains a logarithmic correction
relative to the free fermi gas result in a finite interval between the spin and
charge thermal lengths. It is argued that similar effects can be expected in
higher dimensional systems with spin charge separation and that the temperature
dependence of the upper critical field curve is a probe of this
effect.Comment: 3 pages, postscript file (compressed and uuencoded
Intrinsic profiles and capillary waves at homopolymer interfaces: a Monte Carlo study
A popular concept which describes the structure of polymer interfaces by
``intrinsic profiles'' centered around a two dimensional surface, the ``local
interface position'', is tested by extensive Monte Carlo simulations of
interfaces between demixed homopolymer phases in symmetric binary (AB)
homopolymer blends, using the bond fluctuation model. The simulations are done
in an LxLxD geometry. The interface is forced to run parallel to the LxL planes
by imposing periodic boundary conditions in these directions and fixed boundary
conditions in the D direction, with one side favoring A and the other side
favoring B. Intrinsic profiles are calculated as a function of the ``coarse
graining length'' B by splitting the system into columns of size BxBxD and
averaging in each column over profiles relative to the local interface
position. The results are compared to predictions of the self-consistent field
theory. It is shown that the coarse graining length can be chosen such that the
interfacial width matches that of the self-consistent field profiles, and that
for this choice of B the ``intrinsic'' profiles compare well with the
theoretical predictions.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.
New superconducting phases in field-induced organic superconductor lambda-(BETS)2FeCl4
We derive the parallel upper critical field, Hc2, as a function of the
temperature T in quasi-2D organic compound lambda-(BETS)2FeCl4, accounting for
the formation of the nonuniform LOFF state. To further check the 2D LOFF model
we propose to study the Hc2(T) curve at low T in tilted fields, where the
vortex state is described by the high Landau level functions characterized by
the index n. We predict a cascade of first order transitions between vortex
phases with different n, between phases with different types of the symmetry at
given n and the change of the superconducting transition from the second order
to the first order as FeCl4 ions are replaced partly by GaCl4 ions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PR
Fourth Order Algorithms for Solving the Multivariable Langevin Equation and the Kramers Equation
We develop a fourth order simulation algorithm for solving the stochastic
Langevin equation. The method consists of identifying solvable operators in the
Fokker-Planck equation, factorizing the evolution operator for small time steps
to fourth order and implementing the factorization process numerically. A key
contribution of this work is to show how certain double commutators in the
factorization process can be simulated in practice. The method is general,
applicable to the multivariable case, and systematic, with known procedures for
doing fourth order factorizations. The fourth order convergence of the
resulting algorithm allowed very large time steps to be used. In simulating the
Brownian dynamics of 121 Yukawa particles in two dimensions, the converged
result of a first order algorithm can be obtained by using time steps 50 times
as large. To further demostrate the versatility of our method, we derive two
new classes of fourth order algorithms for solving the simpler Kramers equation
without requiring the derivative of the force. The convergence of many fourth
order algorithms for solving this equation are compared.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
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