136,782 research outputs found
Oscillatory instability of radiative shocks with multiple cooling processes
The stand-off shock formed in the accretion flow on to a stationary wall, such as the surface of a white dwarf, may be thermally unstable, depending on the cooling processes which dominate the post-shock flow. Some processes lead to instability, while others tend to stabilize the shock. We consider competition between the destabilizing influence of thermal bremsstrahlung cooling, and a stabilizing process which is a power law in density and temperature. Cyclotron cooling and processes which are of order 1, 3/2 and 2 in density are considered. The relative efficiency and power-law indices of the second mechanism are varied, and particular effects on the stability properties and frequencies of oscillation modes are examined
White dwarf masses in magnetic cataclysmic variables: Multi-temperature fits to Ginga data
One method of obtaining the mass of the white dwarf in magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) is through their hard X-ray spectra. However, previous mass estimates using this method give lower limits because the temperature of the plasma in the post-shock region (where the hard X-rays are emitted) is lower than the temperature of the shock itself. In AM Her systems, the additional cooling of the post-shock plasma by cyclotron emission will further lower the derived mass. Here we present estimates of the masses of the white dwarf in 13 mCVs derived using Ginga data and a model in which X-rays are emitted from a multi-temperature emission region with the appropriate temperature and density profile. We include in the model reflection from the surface of the white dwarf and a partially ionized absorber. We are able to achieve good fits to the data. We compare the derived masses with previous estimates and the masses for larger samples of isolated white dwarfs and those in CVs
Luminosity density estimation from redshift surveys and the mass density of the Universe
In most direct estimates of the mass density (visible or dark) of the
Universe, a central input parameter is the luminosity density of the Universe.
Here we consider the measurement of this luminosity density from red-shift
surveys, as a function of the yet undetermined characteristic scale R_H at
which the spatial distribution of visible matter tends to a well defined
homogeneity. Making the canonical assumption that the cluster mass to
luminosity ratio M/L is the universal one, we can estimate the total mass
density as a function \Omega_m(R_H,M/L). Taking the highest estimated cluster
value M/L ~300h and a conservative lower limit R_H > 20 Mpc/h, we obtain the
upper bound \Omega_m < 0.1 . We note that for values of the homogeneity scale
R_H in the range R_H ~ (90 +/- 45) hMpc, the value of \Omega_m may be
compatible with the nucleosynthesis inferred density in baryons.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figures. To be published in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
Accretion column eclipses in the X-ray pulsars GX 1+4 and RX J0812.4-3114
Sharp dips observed in the pulse profiles of three X-ray pulsars (GX 1+4, RX
J0812.4-3114 and A 0535+26) have previously been suggested to arise from
partial eclipses of the emission region by the accretion column occurring once
each rotation period. We present pulse-phase spectroscopy from Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer satellite observations of GX 1+4 and RX J0812.4-3114 which for
the first time confirms this interpretation. The dip phase corresponds to the
closest approach of the column axis to the line of sight, and the additional
optical depth for photons escaping from the column in this direction gives rise
to both the decrease in flux and increase in the fitted optical depth measured
at this phase. Analysis of the arrival time of individual dips in GX~1+4
provides the first measurement of azimuthal wandering of a neutron star
accretion column. The column longitude varies stochastically with standard
deviation 2-6 degrees depending on the source luminosity. Measurements of the
phase width of the dip both from mean pulse profiles and individual eclipses
demonstrates that the dip width is proportional to the flux. The variation is
consistent with that expected if the azimuthal extent of the accretion column
depends only upon the Keplerian velocity at the inner disc radius, which varies
as a consequence of the accretion rate Mdot.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted by MNRAS. Included reference
Investigating the Rotational Phase of Stellar Flares on M dwarfs Using K2 Short Cadence Data
We present an analysis of K2 short cadence data of 34 M dwarfs which have
spectral types in the range M0 - L1. Of these stars, 31 showed flares with a
duration between 10-90 min. Using distances obtained from Gaia DR2
parallaxes, we determined the energy of the flares to be in the range
erg. In agreement with previous studies
we find rapidly rotating stars tend to show more flares, with evidence for a
decline in activity in stars with rotation periods longer than 10 days.
The rotational modulation seen in M dwarf stars is widely considered to result
from a starspot which rotates in and out of view. Flux minimum is therefore the
rotation phase where we view the main starspot close to the stellar disk
center. Surprisingly, having determined the rotational phase of each flare in
our study we find none show any preference for rotational phase. We outline
three scenarios which could account for this unexpected finding. The
relationship between rotation phase and flare rate will be explored further
using data from wide surveys such as NGTS and TESS.Comment: Accepted main Journal MNRA
Excitons of Composite Fermions
The low-energy excitations of filled Landau levels (LL's) of electrons
involve promotion of a single electron from the topmost filled LL to the lowest
empty LL. These are called excitons or collective modes. The incompressible
fractional quantum Hall states are understood as filled LL's of composite
fermions, and the low-energy neutral excitations are excitons of composite
fermions. New techniques are developed to study large systems, which provide
detailed information about the dispersions of the composite fermion excitons.
In particular, it is found that the interaction energy of the exciton is well
described by the `unprojected' composite fermion theory.Comment: 40 pages including 13 postscript figures; accepted for publication in
Physical Review B (1996); related paper in cond-mat/951113
- …