4,479 research outputs found
Data-Optimized Coronal Field Model: I. Proof of Concept
Deriving the strength and direction of the three-dimensional (3D) magnetic
field in the solar atmosphere is fundamental for understanding its dynamics.
Volume information on the magnetic field mostly relies on coupling 3D
reconstruction methods with photospheric and/or chromospheric surface vector
magnetic fields. Infrared coronal polarimetry could provide additional
information to better constrain magnetic field reconstructions. However,
combining such data with reconstruction methods is challenging, e.g., because
of the optical-thinness of the solar corona and the lack and limitations of
stereoscopic polarimetry. To address these issues, we introduce the
Data-Optimized Coronal Field Model (DOCFM) framework, a model-data fitting
approach that combines a parametrized 3D generative model, e.g., a magnetic
field extrapolation or a magnetohydrodynamic model, with forward modeling of
coronal data. We test it with a parametrized flux rope insertion method and
infrared coronal polarimetry where synthetic observations are created from a
known "ground truth" physical state. We show that this framework allows us to
accurately retrieve the ground truth 3D magnetic field of a set of force-free
field solutions from the flux rope insertion method. In observational studies,
the DOCFM will provide a means to force the solutions derived with different
reconstruction methods to satisfy additional, common, coronal constraints. The
DOCFM framework therefore opens new perspectives for the exploitation of
coronal polarimetry in magnetic field reconstructions and for developing new
techniques to more reliably infer the 3D magnetic fields that trigger solar
flares and coronal mass ejections.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
Exploring DCO as a tracer of thermal inversion in the disk around the Herbig Ae star HD163296
We aim to reproduce the DCO emission in the disk around HD163296 using a
simple 2D chemical model for the formation of DCO through the cold
deuteration channel and a parametric treatment of the warm deuteration channel.
We use data from ALMA in band 6 to obtain a resolved spectral imaging data cube
of the DCO =3--2 line in HD163296 with a synthesized beam of
0."53 0."42. We adopt a physical structure of the disk from the
literature that reproduces the spectral energy distribution. We then apply a
simplified chemical network for the formation of DCO that uses the physical
structure of the disk as parameters along with a CO abundance profile, a
constant HD abundance and a constant ionization rate. Finally, from the
resulting DCO abundances, we calculate the non-LTE emission using the 3D
radiative transfer code LIME. The observed DCO emission is reproduced by a
model with cold deuteration producing abundances up to .
Warm deuteration, at a constant abundance of , becomes
fully effective below 32 K and tapers off at higher temperatures, reproducing
the lack of DCO inside 90 AU. Throughout the DCO emitting zone a CO
abundance of is found, with 99\% of it frozen out below
19 K. At radii where both cold and warm deuteration are active, warm
deuteration contributes up to 20\% of DCO, consistent with detailed
chemical models. The decrease of DCO at large radii is attributed to a
temperature inversion at 250 AU, which raises temperatures above values where
cold deuteration operates. Increased photodesorption may also limit the radial
extent of DCO. The corresponding return of the DCO layer to the
midplane, together with a radially increasing ionization fraction, reproduces
the local DCO emission maximum at 260 AU.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted 7th July 201
DCO, DCN and ND reveal three different deuteration regimes in the disk around the Herbig Ae star HD163296
The formation pathways of deuterated species trace different regions of
protoplanetary disks and may shed light into their physical structure. We aim
to constrain the radial extent of main deuterated species; we are particularly
interested in spatially characterizing the high and low temperature pathways
for enhancing deuteration of these species. We observed the disk surrounding
the Herbig Ae star HD 163296 using ALMA in Band 6 and obtained resolved
spectral imaging data of DCO (=3-2), DCN (=3-2) and ND
(=3-2). We model the radial emission profiles of DCO, DCN and
ND, assuming their emission is optically thin, using a parametric model
of their abundances and radial excitation temperature estimates. DCO can be
described by a three-region model, with constant-abundance rings centered at 70
AU, 150 AU and 260 AU. The DCN radial profile peaks at about ~60 AU and
ND is seen in a ring at ~160 AU. Simple models of both molecules using
constant abundances reproduce the data. Assuming reasonable average excitation
temperatures for the whole disk, their disk-averaged column densities (and
deuterium fractionation ratios) are 1.6-2.6 cm
(0.04-0.07), 2.9-5.2 cm (0.02) and 1.6-2.5 cm (0.34-0.45) for DCO, DCN and ND, respectively.
Our simple best-fit models show a correlation between the radial location of
the first two rings in DCO and the DCN and ND abundance
distributions that can be interpreted as the high and low temperature
deuteration pathways regimes. The origin of the third DCO ring at 260 AU is
unknown but may be due to a local decrease of ultraviolet opacity allowing the
photodesorption of CO or due to thermal desorption of CO as a consequence of
radial drift and settlement of dust grains
Neutrino Emission from Magnetized Proto-Neutron Stars in Relativistic Mean Field Theory
We make a perturbative calculation of neutrino scattering and absorption in
hot and dense hyperonic neutron-star matter in the presence of a strong
magnetic field. We find that the absorption cross-sections show a remarkable
angular dependence in that the neutrino absorption strength is reduced in a
direction parallel to the magnetic field and enhanced in the opposite
direction. This asymmetry in the neutrino absorbtion can be as much as 2.2 % of
the entire neutrino momentum for an interior magnetic field of \sim 2 x 10^{17}
G. We estimate the pulsar kick velocities associated with this asymmetry in a
fully relativistic mean-field theory formulation. We show that the kick
velocities calculated here are comparable to observed pulsar velocities.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1009.097
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis with a New Neutron Lifetime
We show that the predicted primordial helium production is significantly
reduced when new measurements of the neutron lifetime and the implied
enhancement in the weak reaction rates are included in big-bang
nucleosynthesis. Therefore, even if a narrow uncertainty in the observed helium
abundance is adopted, this brings the constraint on the baryon-to-photon ratio
from BBN and the observed helium into better accord with the independent
determination of the baryon content deduced from the WMAP spectrum of power
fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background,and measurements of primordial
deuterium in narrow-line quasar absorption systems at high redshift.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to Physical Review D, Revised per
referee's suggestion
Effect of Long-lived Strongly Interacting Relic Particles on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
It has been suggested that relic long-lived strongly interacting massive
particles (SIMPs, or particles) existed in the early universe. We study
effects of such long-lived unstable SIMPs on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)
assuming that such particles existed during the BBN epoch, but then decayed
long before they could be detected. The interaction strength between an
particle and a nucleon is assumed to be similar to that between nucleons. We
then calculate BBN in the presence of the unstable neutral charged
particles taking into account the capture of particles by nuclei to form
-nuclei. We also study the nuclear reactions and beta decays of -nuclei.
We find that SIMPs form bound states with normal nuclei during a relatively
early epoch of BBN. This leads to the production of heavy elements which remain
attached to them. Constraints on the abundance of particles during BBN
are derived from observationally inferred limits on the primordial light
element abundances. Particle models which predict long-lived colored particles
with lifetimes longer than 200 s are rejected based upon these
constraints.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Constraints on Resonant Particle Production during Inflation from the Matter and CMB Power Spectra
We analyze the limits on resonant particle production during inflation based
upon the power spectrum of fluctuations in matter and the cosmic microwave
background. We show that such a model is consistent with features observed in
the matter power spectrum deduced from galaxy surveys and damped Lyman-alpha
systems at high redshift. It also provides an alternative explanation for the
excess power observed in the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background
fluctuations in the range of 1000 < l < 3500. For our best-fit models, epochs
of resonant particle creation reenter the horizon at wave numbers ~ 0.4 and/or
0.2 (h/Mpc). The amplitude and location of these features correspond to the
creation of fermion species of mass ~ 1-2 Mpl during inflation with a coupling
constant between the inflaton field and the created fermion species of near
unity. Although the evidence is marginal, if this interpretation is correct,
this could be one of the first observational hints of new physics at the Planck
scale.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Phys. Rev. D15, in Press, Septermber 15 (2004)
Issu
Simulating the Hot X-ray Emitting Gas in Elliptical Galaxies
We study the chemo-dynamical evolution of elliptical galaxies and their hot
X-ray emitting gas using high-resolution cosmological simulations. Our Tree
N-body/SPH code includes a self-consistent treatment of radiative cooling, star
formation, supernovae feedback, and chemical enrichment. We present a series of
LCDM cosmological simulations which trace the spatial and temporal evolution of
heavy element abundance patterns in both the stellar and gas components of
galaxies. X-ray spectra of the hot gas are constructed via the use of the
vmekal plasma model, and analysed using XSPEC with the XMM EPN response
function. Simulation end-products are quantitatively compared with the
observational data in both the X-ray and optical regime. We find that radiative
cooling is important to interpret the observed X-ray luminosity, temperature,
and metallicity of the interstellar medium of elliptical galaxies. However,
this cooled gas also leads to excessive star formation at low redshift, and
therefore results in underlying galactic stellar populations which are too blue
with respect to observations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The IGM/Galaxy
Connection - The Distribution of Baryons at z=0", ed. M. Putman & J.
Rosenberg; High resolution version is available at
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/dkawata/research/papers.htm
Quasar Proper Motions and Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves
We report observational upper limits on the mass-energy of the cosmological
gravitational-wave background, from limits on proper motions of quasars.
Gravitational waves with periods longer than the time span of observations
produce a simple pattern of apparent proper motions over the sky, composed
primarily of second-order transverse vector spherical harmonics. A fit of such
harmonics to measured motions yields a 95%-confidence limit on the mass-energy
of gravitational waves with frequencies <2e-9 Hz, of <0.11/h*h times the
closure density of the universe.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure. Also available at
http://charm.physics.ucsb.edu:80/people/cgwinn/cgwinn_group/index.htm
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