On significance of VLBI/Gaia position offsets

We have cross matched the Gaia Data Release 1 secondary dataset that contains positions of 1.14 billion objects against the most complete to date catalogue of VLBI positions of 11.4 thousand sources, almost exclusively active galactic nuclei. We found 6,064 matches, i.e. 53% radio objects. The median uncertainty of VLBI positions is a factor of 4 smaller than the median uncertainties of their optical counterparts. Our analysis shows that the distribution of normalized arc lengths significantly deviates from Rayleigh shape with an excess of objects with small normalized arc lengths and with a number of outliers. We found that 6% matches have radio optical offsets significant at 99% confidence level. Therefore, we conclude there exists a population of objects with genuine offsets between centroids of radio and optical emission.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables; accepted by MNRAS Letters; full electronic versions of 2 tables are available from the preprint source; text and tables are updated, a figure adde

Dipolar gases in quasi one-dimensional geometries

We analyze the physics of cold dipolar gases in quasi one-dimensional geometries, showing that the confinement-induced scattering resonances produced by the transversal trapping are crucially affected by the dipole-dipole interaction. As a consequence, the dipolar interaction may drastically change the properties of quasi-1D dipolar condensates, even for situations in which the dipolar interaction would be completely overwhelmed by the short-range interactions in a 3D environment.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure

OIM analysis of microstructure and texture of a TRIP assisted steel after static and dynamic deformation

TRIP-assisted steel with a composition of 0.2%C, 1.6%Mn, 1.5%Al was studied in the undeformed state, after the application of 10 and 30 % static tensile strain parallel to rolling the direction of the sheet and after dynamic (Hopkinson) fracture test. Detailed examination of the microstructure and microtexture by means of electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) was carried out in order to quantify the microstructural constituents and to study the strain distribution. The microtexture evolution and the distribution of the specific texture components between the BCC and FCC phases were studied as a function of the external strain and the strain mode-static or dynamic. The strain localization and strain distribution between the structural constituents were quantified based on local misorientation maps. The full constraint Taylor model was used to predict the texture changes in the material and the results were compared to the experimental findings. Comparing the local misorientation data it was found that at low strains the ferrite accommodates approximately 10 times more deformation than the retained austenite. The strain localizes initially on the BCC-FCC phase boundaries and is then spread in the BCC constituents (ferrite and bainite) creating a deformation skeleton in the BCC phase. It was found that the observed texture changes in the measured retained austenite texture after deformation do not correspond exactly to the model prediction. The austenite texture components which were predicted by the Taylor model were not found in the measured austenite texture after deformation which means that they are first transformed to martensite, which is considered as an indication for the selective transformation of austenite under strain

The VLBA Calibrator Search for the BeSSeL Survey

We present the results of a survey of radio continuum sources near the Galactic plane using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Our observations are designed to identify compact extragalactic sources of milliarcsecond size that can be used for parallax measurements in the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy Survey. We selected point sources from the NVSS and CORNISH catalogs with flux densities above 30 mJy and within 1.5\degr of known maser targets. Of the 1529 sources observed, 199 were detected. For sources detected on 3 or more baselines, we determined accurate positions and evaluated their quality as potential calibrators. Most of the 1330 sources that were not detected with the VLBA are probably of extragalactic origin.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Table 3 is available on the homepage of the BeSSeL survey: http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/abrunthaler/BeSSeL/index.shtm

The Schwarzschild black hole as a point particle

The description of a point mass in general relativity (GR) is given in the framework of the field formulation of GR where all the dynamical fields, including the gravitational field, are considered in a fixed background spacetime. With the use of stationary (not static) coordinates non-singular at the horizon, the Schwarzschild solution is presented as a point-like field configuration in a whole background Minkowski space. The requirement of a stable $\eta$-causality stated recently in [J.B.Pitts and W.C.Schieve, Found. Phys., v. 34, 211 (2004)] is used essentially as a criterion for testing configurations.Comment: LATEX, 8 pages, no figure