2,272 research outputs found
The University of Michigan Centimeter-Band All Stokes Blazar Monitoring Program: Single-Dish Polarimetry as a Probe of Parsec-Scale Magnetic Fields
The University of Michigan 26-m paraboloid was dedicated to obtaining linear
polarization and total flux density observations of blazars from the mid-1960s
until June 2012 providing an unprecedented record tracking centimeter-band
variability over decades at 14.5, 8.0, and 4.8 GHz for both targeted objects
and members of flux-limited samples. In the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s,
and during the last decade of the program, observations were additionally
obtained of circular polarization for a small sample of radio-bright (S>5Jy),
active sources. Key program results include evidence supporting class-dependent
differences in the magnetic field geometry of BL Lac and QSO jets,
identification of linear polarization changes temporally associated with flux
outbursts supporting a shock-in-jet scenario, and determination of the spectral
evolution of the Stokes V amplitude and polarity for testing proposed models.
Recent radiative transfer modeling during large flares supports a jet scenario
with a kinetically-dominated, relativistic flow at parsec scales with embedded
turbulent magnetic fields and dynamically-weak ordered components which may be
helical; the circular polarization observations are consistent with
linear-to-circular mode conversion within this turbulent jet environment.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the conference "Polarised Emission
from Astrophysical Jets", June 12-16, 2017, Ierapetra, Greece, eds. E.
Angelakis, M. Boettcher, and J.-L. Gome
Atomic resolved material displacement on graphite surfaces by scanning tunnelling microscopy
Atomic scale modifications and subsequent atomic resolution imaging has been achieved on the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface in air. Application of short pulse voltages, above a minimum threshold voltage of 3.5 V, across the tunneling gap results in the displacement of a layer or more of atoms to form a hole and create a neighboring mound or âânanodotââ from the displaced atoms. We have found a correlation between the hole and âânanodotââ volume at the atomic level and observe an asymmetric displacement of material in all cases of feature creation. Nanofeatures as small as four carbon atoms at beta sites have been created. Our experimental observations are consistent with the modification process depending on the gradient in the electric field induced by the rise time of the bias pulse voltage and not the pulse duration. Interesting faceting behavior has also been observed around some hole edges. Tip bias pulsing sometimes induced a tip, and not a surface modification, resulting in a change in the observed tunneling image
Constraints on Blazar Jet Conditions During Gamma-Ray Flaring from Radiative Transfer Modeling
As part of a program to investigate jet flow conditions during GeV gamma-ray
flares detected by Fermi, we are using UMRAO multi-frequency, centimeter-band
total flux density and linear polarization monitoring observations to constrain
radiative transfer models incorporating propagating shocks orientated at an
arbitrary angle to the flow direction. We describe the characteristics of the
model, illustrate how the data are used to constrain the models, and present
results for three program sources with diverse characteristics: PKS 0420-01, OJ
287, and 1156+295. The modeling of the observed spectral behavior yields
information on the sense, strength and orientation of the shocks producing the
radio-band flaring; on the energy distribution of the radiating particles; and
on the observer's viewing angle with respect to the jet independent of VLBI
data. We present evidence that, while a random component dominates the jet
magnetic field, a distinguishing feature of those radio events with an
associated gamma-ray flare is the presence of a weak but non-negligible ordered
magnetic field component along the jet axis.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of "The Innermost
Regions of Relativistic Jets and Their Magnetic Fields", Granada, Spai
Changes in surface mass balance and summer temperature from 1961â1990 to 1991â2020 for 37 glaciers with long records
The Cross-Wavelet Transform and Analysis of Quasiperiodic Behavior in the Pearson-Readhead VLBI Survey Sources
We introduce an algorithm for applying a cross-wavelet transform to analysis
of quasiperiodic variations in a time-series, and introduce significance tests
for the technique. We apply a continuous wavelet transform and the
cross-wavelet algorithm to the Pearson-Readhead VLBI survey sources using data
obtained from the University of Michigan 26-m parabloid at observing
frequencies of 14.5, 8.0, and 4.8 GHz. Thirty of the sixty-two sources were
chosen to have sufficient data for analysis, having at least 100 data points
for a given time-series. Of these thirty sources, a little more than half
exhibited evidence for quasiperiodic behavior in at least one observing
frequency, with a mean characteristic period of 2.4 yr and standard deviation
of 1.3 yr. We find that out of the thirty sources, there were about four time
scales for every ten time series, and about half of those sources showing
quasiperiodic behavior repeated the behavior in at least one other observing
frequency.Comment: Revised version, accepted by ApJ. 17 pages, 13 figures, color figures
included as gifs, seperate from the text. The addition of statistical
significance tests has resulted in modifying the technique and results, but
the broad conclusion remain the same. A high resolution version may be found
at http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/obs/radiotel/prcwdata.htm
Reconciling diverse lacustrine and terrestrial system response to penultimate deglacial warming in southern Europe
Unlike the most recent deglaciation, the regional expression of climate changes during the penultimate deglaciation remains understudied, even though it led into a period of excess warmth with estimates of global average temperature 1â2 °C, and sea level âŒ6 m, above pre-industrial values. We present the first complete high-resolution southern European diatom record capturing the penultimate glacial-interglacial transition, from Lake Ioannina (northwest Greece). It forms part of a suite of proxies selected to assess the character and phase relationships of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem response to rapid climate warming, and to resolve apparent conflicts in proxy evidence for regional paleohydrology. The diatom data suggest a complex penultimate deglaciation driven primarily by multiple oscillations in lake level, and provide firm evidence for the regional influence of abrupt changes in North Atlantic conditions. There is diachroneity in lake and terrestrial ecosystem response to warming at the onset of the last interglacial, with an abrupt increase in lake level occurring âŒ2.7 k.y. prior to sustained forest expansion with peak precipitation. We identify the potentially important role of direct input of snow melt and glacial meltwater transfer to the subterranean karst system in response to warming, which would cause rising regional groundwater levels. This explanation, and the greater sensitivity of diatoms to subtle changes in temperature, reconciles the divergent lacustrine and terrestrial proxy evidence and highlights the sensitivity of lakes situated in mountainous karstic environments to past climate warming
Rapid thinning of the Welsh Ice Cap at 20â19 ka based on 10Be ages
New 10Be ages from the summits of three mountain areas of North Wales reveal a very similar exposure timing as the Welsh Ice Cap thinned after the global Last Glacial Maximum. Eight bedrock and one boulder sample gave a combined arithmetic mean exposure age of 19.08 ± 0.80 ka (4.2%, 1Ï). Similar exposure ages over a 320 m vertical range (824 to 581 m altitude) show that ice cap thinning was very rapid and spatially uniform. Using the same production rate and scaling scheme, we recalculated six published 10Be exposure ages from the nearby Arans, which also covered a similar elevation range from 608 to 901 m and obtained an arithmetic mean of 19.41 ± 1.45 ka (7.5%, 1Ï). The average exposure age of all 15 accepted deglaciation ages is 19.21 ± 1.07 (5.6%, 1Ï). The complete dataset from North Wales provides very strong evidence indicating that these summits became exposed as nunataks at 20â19 ka. This result provides important insight to the magnitude of ice surface lowering and behavior of the Welsh Ice Cap during the last deglaciation that can be compared to other ice masses that made up the British-Irish Ice Sheet.</jats:p
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