25,394 research outputs found
GMRT Low Frequency Observations of Extrasolar Planetary Systems
Extrasolar planets are expected to emit detectable low frequency radio
emission. In this paper we present results from new low frequency observations
of two extrasolar planetary systems (Epsilon Eridani and HD 128311) taken at
150 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). These two systems have
been chosen because the stars are young (with ages < 1 Gyr) and are likely to
have strong stellar winds, which will increase the expected radio flux. The
planets are massive (presumably) gas giant planets in longer period orbits, and
hence will not be tidally locked to their host star (as is likely to be the
case for short period planets) and we would expect them to have a strong
planetary dynamo and magnetic field. We do not detect either system, but are
able to place tight upper limits on their low frequency radio emission, at
levels comparable to the theoretical predictions for these systems. From these
observations we have a 2.5sigma limit of 7.8 mJy for Epsilon Eri and 15.5 mJy
for HD 128311. In addition, these upper limits also provide limits on the low
frequency radio emission from the stars themselves. These results are discussed
and also the prospects for the future detection of radio emission from
extrasolar planets.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The number of negative modes of the oscillating bounces
The spectrum of small perturbations about oscillating bounce solutions
recently discussed in the literature is investigated. Our study supports quite
intuitive and expected result: the bounce with N nodes has exactly N
homogeneous negative modes. Existence of more than one negative modes makes
obscure the relation of these oscillating bounce solutions to the false vacuum
decay processes.Comment: LaTex, 6 pages, including 3 figure
Acoustics of tachyon Fermi gas
We consider a Fermi gas of free tachyons as a continuous medium and find
whether it satisfies the causality condition. There is no stable tachyon matter
with the particle density below critical value and the Fermi momentum
that depends on the tachyon mass . The pressure
and energy density cannot be arbitrary small, but the situation is
not forbidden. Existence of shock waves in tachyon gas is also discussed. At
low density the tachyon matter remains stable but no shock wave
do survive.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures (color
ASCA observations of type-2 Seyfert galaxies: II. The Importance of X-ray Scattering and Reflection
We discuss the importance of X-ray scattering and Compton reflection in
type-2 Seyfert galaxies, based upon the analysis of ASCA observations of 25
such sources. Consideration of the iron Kalpha, [O III] line and X-ray
variability suggest that NGC 1068, NGC 4945, NGC 2992, Mrk 3, Mrk 463E and Mrk
273 are dominated by reprocessed X-rays. We examine the properties of these
sources in more detail.
We find that the iron Kalpha complex contains significant contributions from
neutral and high-ionization species of iron. Compton reflection, hot gas and
starburst emission all appear to make significant contributions to the observed
X-ray spectra.
Mrk 3 is the only source in this subsample which does not have a significant
starburst contamination. The ASCA spectrum below 3 keV is dominated by hot
scattering gas with U_X ~ 5, N_H ~ 4 x 10^23 cm^-2. This material is more
highly ionized than the zone of material comprising the warm absorber seen in
Seyfert~1 galaxies, but may contain a contribution from shock-heated gas
associated with the jet. Estimates of the X-ray scattering fraction cover 0.25
- 5%. The spectrum above 3 keV appears to be dominated by a Compton reflection
component although there is evidence that the primary continuum component
becomes visible close to 10 keV.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures. LaTeX with encapsulated postscript. To appear in
the Astrophysical Journal. Also available via
http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/~george/papers/gnt_s2p2/abstract.htm
The effect of tip shields on a horizontal tail surface
A series of experiments made in the wind tunnel of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aeronautics, New York University, on the effect of tip shields on a horizontal tail surface are described and discussed. It was found that some aerodynamic gain can be obtained by the use of tip shields though it is considered doubtful whether their use would be practical
A Highly Doppler Blueshifted Fe-K Emission Line in the High-Redshift QSO PKS 2149-306
We report the results from an \asca observation of the QSO PKS 2149-306
(z=2.345). We detect an emission line centered at keV in the quasar
frame. Line emission at this energy has not been observed in any other active
galaxy or quasar to date. We present evidence rejecting the possibility that
this line is the result of instrumental artifacts, or a serendipitous source.
The most likely explanation is blueshifted Fe-K emission (the EW is 300+/-200
eV, QSO frame). Bulk velocities of the order of 0.75c are implied by the data.
We show that Fe-K line photons originating in an accretion disk and
Compton-scattering off a leptonic can account for the emission line. Curiously,
if the emission-line feature recently discovered in another quasar PKS
0637752, , is blueshifted Ovii, the Doppler factor is the same
(~2.7) for both.Comment: 15 pages plus 3 figures. Latex with separate .ps files (Accepted by
Astrophysical Journal Letters
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