530 research outputs found
A deficit of ultraluminous X-ray sources in luminous infrared galaxies
We present results from a Chandra study of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in a sample of 17 nearby (DL < 60 Mpc) luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), selected to have star formation rates (SFRs) in excess of 7 M⊙ yr−1 and low foreground Galactic column densities (NH ≲ 5 × 1020 cm−2). A total of 53 ULXs were detected and we confirm that this is a complete catalogue of ULXs for the LIRG sample. We examine the evolution of ULX spectra with luminosity in these galaxies by stacking the spectra of individual objects in three luminosity bins, finding a distinct change in spectral index at luminosity ∼2 × 1039 erg s−1. This may be a change in spectrum as 10 M⊙ black holes transit from an ∼ Eddington to a super-Eddington accretion regime, and is supported by a plausible detection of partially ionized absorption imprinted on the spectrum of the luminous ULX (LX ≈ 5 × 1039 erg s−1) CXOU J024238.9-000055 in NGC 1068, consistent with the highly ionized massive wind that we would expect to see driven by a super-Eddington accretion flow. This sample shows a large deficit in the number of ULXs detected per unit SFR (0.2 versus 2 ULXs, per M⊙ yr−1) compared to the detection rate in nearby (DL < 14.5 Mpc) normal star-forming galaxies. This deficit also manifests itself as a lower differential X-ray luminosity function normalization for the LIRG sample than for samples of other star-forming galaxies. We show that it is unlikely that this deficit is a purely observational effect. Part of this deficit might be attributable to the high metallicity of the LIRGs impeding the production efficiency of ULXs and/or a lag between the star formation starting and the production of ULXs; however, we argue that the evidence – including very low NULX/LFIR, and an even lower ULX incidence in the central regions of the LIRGs – shows that the main culprit for this deficit is likely to be the high column of gas and dust in these galaxies, that fuels the high SFR but also acts to obscure many ULXs from our view
Chiral Perturbation Theory and Nucleon Polarizabilities
Compton scattering offers in principle an intriguing new window on nucleon
structure. Existing experiments and future programs are discussed and the state
of theoretical understanding of such measurements is explored.Comment: 15 page standard Latex file---invited talk at Chiral Dynamics
Workshop, Mainz, Germany---typos correcte
Two-photon final states in peripheral heavy ion collisions
We discuss processes leading to two photon final states in peripheral heavy
ion collisions at RHIC. Due to the large photon luminosity we show that the
continuum subprocess can be observed with a
large number of events. We study this reaction when it is intermediated by a
resonance made of quarks or gluons and discuss its interplay with the continuum
process, verifying that in several cases the resonant process ovewhelms the
continuum one. It is also investigated the possibility of observing a scalar
resonance (the meson) in this process. Assuming for the the
mass and total decay width values recently reported by the E791 Collaboration
we show that RHIC may detect this particle in its two photon decay mode if its
partial photonic decay width is of the order of the ones discussed in the
literature.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Transverse Momentum in Semi-Inclusive Polarized Deep Inelastic Scattering and the Spin-Flavor Structure of the Proton
The non-valence spin-flavor structure of the nucleon extracted from
semi-inclusive measurements of polarized deep inelastic scattering depends
strongly on the transverse momentum of the detected hadrons which are used to
determine the individual polarized sea distributions. This physics may explain
the recent HERMES observation of a positively polarized strange sea through
semi-inclusive scattering, in contrast to the negative strange sea polarization
deduced from inclusive polarized deep inelastic scattering.Comment: 4 pages, revtex style, 2 figure
A gamma- and X-ray detector for cryogenic, high magnetic field applications
As part of an experiment to measure the spectrum of photons emitted in
beta-decay of the free neutron, we developed and operated a detector consisting
of 12 bismuth germanate (BGO) crystals coupled to avalanche photodiodes (APDs).
The detector was operated near liquid nitrogen temperature in the bore of a
superconducting magnet and registered photons with energies from 5 keV to 1000
keV. To enlarge the detection range, we also directly detected soft X-rays with
energies between 0.2 keV and 20 keV with three large area APDs. The
construction and operation of the detector is presented, as well as information
on operation of APDs at cryogenic temperatures
Pliocene and pleistocene volcanic interaction with cordilleran ice sheets, damming of the Yukon River and vertebrate palaeontology, Fort Selkirk volcanic group, west-central Yukon, Canada
Romeo Sherpa green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscriptNeogene volcanism in the Fort Selkirk area began with eruptions in the Wolverine Creek basin ca. 4.3 Ma
and persisted to ca. 3.0 Ma filling the ancestral Yukon River valley with at least 40 m of lava flows.
Activity at the Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa eruptive center overlapped with the last stages of the Wolverine Creek
eruptive centers. Hyaloclastic tuff was erupted between ca. 3.21 and 3.05 Ma. This eruption caused or
was coincident with damming of Yukon River. The first demonstrable incursion of a Cordilleran ice sheet
into the Fort Selkirk area was coincident with a second eruption of the Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa eruptive center
ca. 2.1 Ma. The Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa subglacial mound was erupted beneath at least 300 m of glacial ice (Ne
Ch’e Ddhäwa Glaciation). The Eruption of the Fort Selkirk center occurred between the last eruption of
Ne Ch’e Ddhäwa and Fort Selkirk Glaciation (ca. 2.1e1.5 Ma). Till and outwash from Fort Selkirk Glaciation
are conformably overlain by nonglacial sediments that contain the Fort Selkirk tephra (fission track
dated at ca. 1.5 Ma). These nonglacial sediments also preserve a short magnetic reversal (reversed to
normal) identified as the Gilsá polarity excursion. Temporal control and sedimentology constrain Fort
Selkirk Glaciation and the Fort Selkirk Local Fauna to marine isotope stage 54. Rapid and extensive
eruption of the Pelly eruptive center filled the Yukon River valley with 70 m of lava which buried these
glacial and nonglacial sediments and dammed Yukon River. Local striations and erratic pebbles occur on
the last of these lava flows. They document a subsequent incursion of glacial ice during the last 500 ka of
the Matuyama Chron (Forks Glaciation). The last major eruption of mafic lava occurred in the middle
Pleistocene west of (early Holocene) Volcano Mountain in basin of Black Creek: lava flowed down the
valley presently occupied by Black Creek and dammed Yukon River in the area of the Black Creek
confluence. This eruption predated the middle Pleistocene Reid Glaciation. Minor volcanism has
continued in this area since the middle Pleistocene at Volcano Mountain.Ye
Soft Photons in Hadron-Hadron Collisions: Synchrotron Radiation from the QCD Vacuum?
We discuss the production of soft photons in high energy hadron-hadron
collisions. We present a model where quarks and antiquarks in the hadrons emit
``synchrotron light'' when being deflected by the chromomagnetic fields of the
QCD vacuum, which we assume to have a nonperturbative structure. This gives a
source of prompt soft photons with frequencies in the c.m.
system of the collision in addition to hadronic bremsstrahlung. In comparing
the frequency spectrum and rate of ``synchrotron'' photons to experimental
results we find some supporting evidence for their existence. We make an
exclusive--inclusive connection argument to deduce from the ``synchrotron''
effect a behaviour of the neutron electric formfactor proportional
to for . We find this to be consistent with
available data. In our view, soft photon production in high energy
hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions as well as the behaviour of
electromagnetic hadron formfactors for low are thus sensitive probes of
the nonperturbative structure of the QCD vacuum.Comment: Heidelberg preprint HD-THEP-94-36, 31 pages, LaTeX + ZJCITE.sty
(included), 12 figures appended as uuencoded compressed ps-fil
Shadowing in Inelastic Scattering of Muons on Carbon, Calcium and Lead at Low XBj
Nuclear shadowing is observed in the per-nucleon cross-sections of positive
muons on carbon, calcium and lead as compared to deuterium. The data were taken
by Fermilab experiment E665 using inelastically scattered muons of mean
incident momentum 470 GeV/c. Cross-section ratios are presented in the
kinematic region 0.0001 < XBj <0.56 and 0.1 < Q**2 < 80 GeVc. The data are
consistent with no significant nu or Q**2 dependence at fixed XBj. As XBj
decreases, the size of the shadowing effect, as well as its A dependence, are
found to approach the corresponding measurements in photoproduction.Comment: 22 pages, incl. 6 figures, to be published in Z. Phys.
Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays
Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in , and
light quark () events from decays measured in the SLD experiment.
Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of
and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select
quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities:
,
, from
which we derived the differences between the total average charged
multiplicities of or quark events and light quark events: and . We compared
these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with
perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the
QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent
fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters
Virus infection and grazing exert counteracting influences on survivorship of native bunchgrass seedlings competing with invasive exotics
1. Invasive annual grasses introduced by European settlers have largely displaced native grassland vegetation in California and now form dense stands that constrain the establishment of native perennial bunchgrass seedlings. Bunchgrass seedlings face additional pressures from both livestock grazing and barley and cereal yellow dwarf viruses (B/CYDVs), which infect both young and established grasses throughout the state. 2. Previous work suggested that B/CYDVs could mediate apparent competition between invasive exotic grasses and native bunchgrasses in California. 3. To investigate the potential significance of virus-mediated mortality for early survivorship of bunchgrass seedlings, we compared the separate and combined effects of virus infection, competition and simulated grazing in a field experiment. We infected two species of young bunchgrasses that show different sensitivity to B/CYDV infection, subjected them to competition with three different densities of exotic annuals crossed with two clipping treatments, and monitored their growth and first-year survivorship. 4. Although virus infection alone did not reduce first-year survivorship, it halved the survivorship of bunchgrasses competing with exotics. Within an environment in which competition strongly reduces seedling survivorship (as in natural grasslands), virus infection therefore has the power to cause additional seedling mortality and alter patterns of establishment. 5. Surprisingly, clipping did not reduce bunchgrass survivorship further, but rather doubled it and disproportionately increased survivorship of infected bunchgrasses. 6. Together with previous work, these findings show that B/CYDVs can be potentially powerful elements influencing species interactions in natural grasslands. 7. More generally, our findings demonstrate the potential significance of multitrophic interactions in virus ecology. Although sometimes treated collectively as plant ‘predators’, viruses and herbivores may exert influences that are distinctly different, even counteracting
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