5,072 research outputs found
Thermonuclear runaways in thick hydrogen rich envelopes of neutron stars
A Lagrangian, fully implicit, one dimensional hydrodynamic computer code was used to evolve thermonuclear runaways in the accreted hydrogen rich envelopes of 1.0 Msub solar neutron stars with radii of 10 km and 20 km. Simulations produce outbursts which last from about 750 seconds to about one week. Peak effective temeratures and luninosities were 26 million K and 80 thousand Lsub solar for the 10 km study and 5.3 millison and 600 Lsub solar for the 20 km study. Hydrodynamic expansion on the 10 km neutron star produced a precursor lasting about one ten thousandth seconds
Numerical simulation of the magnetospheric gate model for X-ray bursters
A Lagrangian, fully implicit, one dimensional hydrodynamic computer code was used to investigate the evolution of a gas cloud impacting the surface of a 20 km, 1 Msub solar neutron star. This gas is initially at rest with respect to the surface of the neutron star, extends to 185 km above the surface, and is optically thick. The infall results in a burst which lasts about 0.1 seconds and reached a peak luminosity and effective temperature of 240,000 Lsub solar and 9 million; respectively. The burst was followed by a phase of oscillations with a period 0.2 seconds
Hiding the complexity: building a distributed ATLAS Tier-2 with a single resource interface using ARC middleware
Since their inception, Grids for high energy physics have found management of data to be the most challenging aspect of operations. This problem has generally been tackled by the experiment's data management framework controlling in fine detail the distribution of data around the grid and the careful brokering of jobs to sites with co-located data. This approach, however, presents experiments with a difficult and complex system to manage as well as introducing a rigidity into the framework which is very far from the original conception of the grid.<p></p>
In this paper we describe how the ScotGrid distributed Tier-2, which has sites in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Durham, was presented to ATLAS as a single, unified resource using the ARC middleware stack. In this model the ScotGrid 'data store' is hosted at Glasgow and presented as a single ATLAS storage resource. As jobs are taken from the ATLAS PanDA framework, they are dispatched to the computing cluster with the fastest response time. An ARC compute element at each site then asynchronously stages the data from the data store into a local cache hosted at each site. The job is then launched in the batch system and accesses data locally.<p></p>
We discuss the merits of this system compared to other operational models and consider, from the point of view of the resource providers (sites), and from the resource consumers (experiments); and consider issues involved in transitions to this model
A Spectroscopic Survey of Subarcsecond Binaries in the Taurus-Auriga Dark Cloud with the Hubble Space Telescope
We report the results of a spectroscopic survey of 20 close T Tauri binaries
in the Taurus-Auriga dark cloud where the separations between primaries and
their secondaries are less than the typical size of a circumstellar disk around
a young star. Analysis of low-resolution and medium-resolution STIS spectra
yields the stellar luminosities, reddenings, ages, masses, mass accretion
rates, IR excesses, and emission line luminosities for each star in each pair.
We examine the ability of IR color excesses, H-alpha equivalent widths, [O I]
emission, and veiling to distinguish between weak emission and classical T
Tauri stars. Four pairs have one cTTs and one wTTs; the cTTs is the primary in
three of these systems. This frequency of mixed pairs among the close T Tauri
binaries is similar to the frequency of mixed pairs in wider young binaries.
Extinctions within pairs are usually similar; however, the secondary is more
heavily reddened than the primary in some systems, where it may be viewed
through the primary's disk. Mass accretion rates of primaries and secondaries
are strongly correlated, and H-alpha luminosities, IR excesses, and ages also
correlate within pairs. Primaries tend to have somewhat larger accretion rates
than their secondaries do, and are typically slightly older than their
secondaries according to three different sets of modern pre-main-sequence
evolutionary tracks. Age differences for XZ Tau and FS Tau, systems embedded in
reflection nebulae, are striking; the secondary in each pair is less massive
but more luminous than the primary. The stellar masses of the UY Aur and GG Tau
binaries measured from their rotating molecular disks are about 30% larger than
the masses inferred from the spectra and evolutionary tracks
Correlation between the spatial distribution of circumstellar disks and massive stars in the young open cluster NGC 6611. II: Cluster members selected with Spitzer/IRAC
Context: the observations of the proplyds in the Orion Nebula Cluster,
showing clear evidence of ongoing photoevaporation, have provided a clear proof
about the role of the externally induced photoevaporation in the evolution of
circumstellar disks. NGC 6611 is an open cluster suitable to study disk
photoevaporation, thanks to its large population of massive members and of
stars with disk. In a previous work, we obtained evidence of the influence of
the strong UV field generated by the massive cluster members on the evolution
of disks around low-mass Pre-Main Sequence members. That work was based on a
multi-band BVIJHK and X-ray catalog purposely compiled to select the cluster
members with and without disk. Aims: in this paper we complete the list of
candidate cluster members, using data at longer wavelengths obtained with
Spitzer/IRAC, and we revisit the issue of the effects of UV radiation on the
evolution of disks in NGC 6611. Methods: we select the candidate members with
disks of NGC 6611, in a field of view of 33'x34' centered on the cluster, using
IRAC color-color diagrams and suitable reddening-free color indices. Besides,
using the X-ray data to select Class III cluster members, we estimate the disks
frequency vs. the intensity of the incident radiation emitted by massive
members. Results: we identify 458 candidate members with circumstellar disks,
among which 146 had not been revealed in our previous work. Comparing of the
various color indices we used to select the cluster members with disk, we claim
that they detect the excesses due to the emission of the same physical region
of the disk: the inner rim at the dust sublimation radius. Our new results
confirm that UV radiation from massive stars affects the evolution of nearby
circumstellar disks.Comment: Accepted for publication at Astronomy & Astrophysic
Observations and simulations of recurrent novae: U Sco and V394 CrA
Observations and analysis of the Aug. 1987 outburst of the recurrent nova V394 CrA are presented. This nova is extremely fast and its outburst characteristics closely resemble those of the recurrent nova U Sco. Hydrodynamic simulations of the outbursts of recurrent novae were performed. Results as applied to the outbursts of V394 CrA and U Sco are summarized
The Discovery of a Companion to the Lowest Mass White Dwarf
We report the detection of a radial velocity companion to SDSS
J091709.55+463821.8, the lowest mass white dwarf currently known with
M~0.17Msun. The radial velocity of the white dwarf shows variations with a
semi-amplitude of 148.8 km/s and a period of 7.5936 hours, which implies a
companion mass of M > 0.28Msun. The lack of evidence of a companion in the
optical photometry forces any main-sequence companion to be smaller than
0.1Msun, hence a low mass main sequence star companion is ruled out for this
system. The companion is most likely another white dwarf, and we present
tentative evidence for an evolutionary scenario which could have produced it.
However, a neutron star companion cannot be ruled out and follow-up radio
observations are required to search for a pulsar companion.Comment: ApJ, in press. See the Press Release at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2007/pr200708.htm
A Hybrid N-body--Coagulation Code for Planet Formation
We describe a hybrid algorithm to calculate the formation of planets from an
initial ensemble of planetesimals. The algorithm uses a coagulation code to
treat the growth of planetesimals into oligarchs and explicit N-body
calculations to follow the evolution of oligarchs into planets. To validate the
N-body portion of the algorithm, we use a battery of tests in planetary
dynamics. Several complete calculations of terrestrial planet formation with
the hybrid code yield good agreement with previously published calculations.
These results demonstrate that the hybrid code provides an accurate treatment
of the evolution of planetesimals into planets.Comment: Astronomical Journal, accepted; 33 pages + 11 figure
Random on-board pixel sampling (ROPS) X-ray Camera
Recent advances in compressed sensing theory and algorithms offer new
possibilities for high-speed X-ray camera design. In many CMOS cameras, each
pixel has an independent on-board circuit that includes an amplifier, noise
rejection, signal shaper, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and optional
in-pixel storage. When X-ray images are sparse, i.e., when one of the following
cases is true: (a.) The number of pixels with true X-ray hits is much smaller
than the total number of pixels; (b.) The X-ray information is redundant; or
(c.) Some prior knowledge about the X-ray images exists, sparse sampling may be
allowed. Here we first illustrate the feasibility of random on-board pixel
sampling (ROPS) using an existing set of X-ray images, followed by a discussion
about signal to noise as a function of pixel size. Next, we describe a possible
circuit architecture to achieve random pixel access and in-pixel storage. The
combination of a multilayer architecture, sparse on-chip sampling, and
computational image techniques, is expected to facilitate the development and
applications of high-speed X-ray camera technology.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Presented in 19th iWoRI
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