1,126 research outputs found
Instrumental oscillations in RHESSI count rates during solar flares
Aims: We seek to illustrate the analysis problems posed by RHESSI spacecraft
motion by studying persistent instrumental oscillations found in the
lightcurves measured by RHESSI's X-ray detectors in the 6-12 keV and 12-25 keV
energy range during the decay phase of the flares of 2004 November 4 and 6.
Methods: The various motions of the RHESSI spacecraft which may contribute to
the manifestation of oscillations are studied. The response of each detector in
turn is also investigated. Results: We find that on 2004 November 6 the
observed oscillations correspond to the nutation period of the RHESSI
instrument. These oscillations are also of greatest amplitude for detector 5,
while in the lightcurves of many other detectors the oscillations are small or
undetectable. We also find that the variation in detector pointing is much
larger during this flare than the counterexample of 2004 November 4.
Conclusions: Sufficiently large nutation motions of the RHESSI spacecraft lead
to clearly observable oscillations in count rates, posing a significant hazard
for data analysis. This issue is particularly problematic for detector 5 due to
its design characteristics. Dynamic correction of the RHESSI counts, accounting
for the livetime, data gaps, and the transmission of the bi-grid collimator of
each detector, is required to overcome this issue. These corrections should be
applied to all future oscillation studies.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
The Variability of Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 Galaxies at 1.6 microns
We present a study of Seyfert 1.5-2.0 galaxies observed at two epochs with
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 1.6 microns. We find that unresolved
nuclear emission from 9 of 14 nuclei varies at the level of 10-40% on
timescales of 0.7-14 months, depending upon the galaxy. A control sample of
Seyfert galaxies lacking unresolved sources and galaxies lacking Seyfert nuclei
show less than 3% instrumental variation in equivalent aperture measurements.
This proves that the unresolved sources are non-stellar and associated with the
central pc of active galactic nuclei. Unresolved sources in Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9
galaxies are not usually detected in HST optical surveys, however high angular
resolution infrared observations will provide a way to measure time delays in
these galaxies.Comment: accepted by ApJLetters (emulateapj latex
The Electron Scattering Region in Seyfert Nuclei
The electron scattering region (ESR) is one of important ingredients in
Seyfert nuclei because it makes possible to observe the hidden broad line
region (hereafter HBLR) in some type 2 Seyfert nuclei (hereafter S2s). However,
little is known about its physical and geometrical properties. Using the number
ratio of S2s with and without HBLR, we investigate statistically where the ESR
is in Seyfert nuclei. Our analysis suggests that the ESR is located at radius
between 0.01 pc and 0.1 pc from the central engine. We also
discuss a possible origin of the ESR briefly.Comment: 5 pages and 1 figure. The Astrophysical Journal (Letters), in pres
Wobbling Motion in Atomic Nuclei with Positive-Gamma Shapes
The three moments of inertia associated with the wobbling mode built on the
superdeformed states in 163Lu are investigated by means of the cranked shell
model plus random phase approximation to the configuration with an aligned
quasiparticle. The result indicates that it is crucial to take into account the
direct contribution to the moments of inertia from the aligned quasiparticle so
as to realize J_x > J_y in positive-gamma shapes. Quenching of the pairing gap
cooperates with the alignment effect. The peculiarity of the recently observed
163Lu data is discussed by calculating not only the electromagnetic properties
but also the excitation spectra.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Quasi-periodic pulsations in the gamma-ray emission of a solar flare
Copyright © 2010 American Astronomical Society / IOP PublishingQuasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) of gamma-ray emission with a period of about 40 s are found in a single loop X-class solar flare on 2005 January 1 at photon energies up to 2-6 MeV with the SOlar Neutrons and Gamma-rays (SONG) experiment aboard the CORONAS-F mission. The oscillations are also found to be present in the microwave emission detected with the Nobeyama Radioheliograph, and in the hard X-ray and low energy gamma-ray channels of RHESSI. Periodogram and correlation analysis shows that the 40 s QPPs of microwave, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray emission are almost synchronous in all observation bands. Analysis of the spatial structure of hard X-ray and low energy (80-225 keV) gamma-ray QPP with RHESSI reveals synchronous while asymmetric QPP at both footpoints of the flaring loop. The difference between the averaged hard X-ray fluxes coming from the two footpoint sources is found to oscillate with a period of about 13 s for five cycles in the highest emission stage of the flare. The proposed mechanism generating the 40 s QPP is a triggering of magnetic reconnection by a kink oscillation in a nearby loop. The 13 s periodicity could be produced by the second harmonics of the sausage mode of the flaring loop
Larval mortality rates and population dynamics of Lesser Sandeel (Ammodytes marinus) in the northwestern North Sea
Intense fishing of a stock of sandeels (Ammodytes marinus) on the sand banks off the Firth of Forth, northeast Scotland, during the 1990s led to a decline in catch per unit effort to uneconomic levels and collateral failures of piscivorous seabird breeding success at nearby colonies. A prohibition on fishing in 1999 was followed by a short-term recovery of stock biomass, but then a sustained decline to very low levels of abundance. Demographic survey data show that despite the decline in stock, recruit abundance was maintained implying an increasing larval survival rate, and that the stock decline was not due to recruitment failure. To verify this hypothesis we analysed a 10-year long data set of weekly catches of sandeel larvae at a nearby plankton monitoring site to determine the patterns of larval mortality and dispersal. We found that the loss rate of larvae up to 20 d age decreased over time, corresponding with the trend in survival rate implied by the stock demography data. The pattern of loss rate in relation to hatchling abundance implied that mortality may have been density dependent. Our study rules out increased larval mortality as the primary cause of decline in the sandeel stock
A Radio Study of the Seyfert Galaxy IC 5063: Evidence for Fast Gas Outflow
New radio continuum (8 GHz and 1.4 GHz) and HI 21 cm line observations of the
Seyfert 2 galaxy IC 5063 (PKS 2048-572) were obtained with the Australia
Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The 8 GHz image reveals a linear triple
structure (~4'', 1.5 kpc) oriented perpendicular to the optical polarization
position angle. It is aligned with the inner dust lane and shows strong
morphological association with the narrow emission line region (NLR). At 21 cm,
very broad (~700 km/s) HI absorption is observed against the strong continuum
source. This absorption is almost entirely blueshifted, indicating a fast net
outflow, but a faint and narrow redshifted component is also present. In IC
5063 we see clear evidence for strong shocks resulting from the radio
plasma-ISM interaction in the central few kpc. However, the energy flux in the
radio plasma is an order of magnitude smaller than the energy emitted in
emission lines. Thus, shocks are unlikely to account solely for the global
ionization of the emission line region, particularly at large distances.
The HI emission outlines a warped disk associated with the system of dust
lanes some ~2' (~38 kpc) in radius. The lack of kinematically disturbed gas
outside the central few kpc, coupled with the disk warp and close morphological
connection of the inner dust lanes and the large-scale ionized gas, support the
idea that the gas at large radii is photoionized by the central region, while
shadowing effects are important in defining its X-shaped morphology. The
kinematics of the ionized and of the neutral gas suggests the existence of a
dark halo.Comment: 18 pages, 8 Postscript figures, 3 jpeg figures, Postscript preprint
is available from http://jhufos.pha.jhu.edu/~zlatan/papers.htm
âWarrantâ revisited: Integrating mathematics teachersâ pedagogical and epistemological considerations into Toulminâs model for argumentation
In this paper, we propose an approach to analysing teacher arguments that takes into account field dependenceânamely, in Toulminâs sense, the dependence of warrants deployed in an argument on the field of activity to which the argument relates. Freeman, to circumvent issues that emerge when we attempt to determine the field(s) that an argument relates to, proposed a classification of warrants (a priori, empirical, institutional and evaluative). Our approach to analysing teacher arguments proposes an adaptation of Freemanâs classification that distinguishes between: epistemological and pedagogical a priori warrants, professional and personal empirical warrants, epistemological and curricular institutional warrants, and evaluative warrants. Our proposition emerged from analyses conducted in the course of a written response and interview study that engages secondary mathematics teachers with classroom scenarios from the mathematical areas of analysis and algebra. The scenarios are hypothetical, grounded on seminal learning and teaching issues, and likely to occur in actual practice. To illustrate our proposed approach to analysing teacher arguments here, we draw on the data we collected through the use of one such scenario, the Tangent Task. We demonstrate how teacher arguments, not analysed for their mathematical accuracy only, can be reconsidered, arguably more productively, in the light of other teacher considerations and priorities: pedagogical, curricular, professional and personal
Time-odd mean fields in the rotating frame: microscopic nature of nuclear magnetism
The microscopic role of nuclear magnetism in rotating frame is investigated
for the first time in the framework of the cranked relativistic mean field
theory. It is shown that nuclear magnetism modifies the expectation values of
single-particle spin, orbital and total angular momenta along the rotational
axis effectively creating additional angular momentum. This effect leads to the
increase of kinematic and dynamic moments of inertia at given rotational
frequency and has an impact on effective alignments.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Effects of crack tip geometry on dislocation emission and cleavage: A possible path to enhanced ductility
We present a systematic study of the effect of crack blunting on subsequent
crack propagation and dislocation emission. We show that the stress intensity
factor required to propagate the crack is increased as the crack is blunted by
up to thirteen atomic layers, but only by a relatively modest amount for a
crack with a sharp 60 corner. The effect of the blunting is far less
than would be expected from a smoothly blunted crack; the sharp corners
preserve the stress concentration, reducing the effect of the blunting.
However, for some material parameters blunting changes the preferred
deformation mode from brittle cleavage to dislocation emission. In such
materials, the absorption of preexisting dislocations by the crack tip can
cause the crack tip to be locally arrested, causing a significant increase in
the microscopic toughness of the crack tip. Continuum plasticity models have
shown that even a moderate increase in the microscopic toughness can lead to an
increase in the macroscopic fracture toughness of the material by several
orders of magnitude. We thus propose an atomic-scale mechanism at the crack
tip, that ultimately may lead to a high fracture toughness in some materials
where a sharp crack would seem to be able to propagate in a brittle manner.
Results for blunt cracks loaded in mode II are also presented.Comment: 12 pages, REVTeX using epsfig.sty. 13 PostScript figures. Final
version to appear in Phys. Rev. B. Main changes: Discussion slightly
shortened, one figure remove
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