6,120 research outputs found
Analysis of NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of Cyg X-1 in the hard state: evidence for a truncated disc geometry
The geometry of the accretion flow in black-hole X-ray binaries in the hard
state, in particular the position of the disc inner edge, has been a subject of
intense debate in recent years. We address this issue by performing a spectral
study of simultaneous observations of Cyg X-1 in the hard state by NuSTAR and
Suzaku. The same data were analysed before, and modelled by a lamppost
containing hybrid electrons and located very close to the horizon, which
emission was incident on a surrounding disc extending almost to the innermost
stable circular orbit. We re-analyse the incident continuum model and show that
it suffers from the lack of physical self-consistency. Still, the good fit to
the data provided by this model indicates that the real continuum has a similar
shape. We find it features a strong soft X-ray excess below a few keV, which we
model as a soft thermal-Comptonization component, in addition to the main hard
thermal-Compton component. This continuum model with reflection of both
components yields the overall lowest and has a geometry with a hot
inner accretion flow and a disc truncated at 13--20 gravitational
radii. On the other hand, we have also found spectral solution with a lamppost
at a large height and a disc that can extend to the innnermost stable circular
orbit, though somewhat statistically worse. Overall, we find the fitted
truncation radius depends on the assumed continuum and geometry.Comment: MNRAS, in pres
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FutureGRID: A Program for long-term research into GRID systems architecture
Proceedings of the 2003 UK e-Science All Hands Meeting, 31st August - 3rd September, Nottingham UKThis is a project to carry out research into long-term GRID architecture, in the University of Cambridge
Computer Laboratory and the Cambridge eScience Center, with support from the Microsoft Research
Laboratory, Cambridge.
It is part of a larger vision for future systems architectures for public computing platforms, including
both scientitic GRID and commodity level computing such as games, peer2peer computing and storage
services and so forth, based on work in the laboratories in recent years into massively scaleable distributed systems for storage, computation, content distribution and collaboration[26]
Valuation, Adverse Selection, and Market Collapses
We study a market for funding real investment where valuation—meaning investors devoting resources to acquiring information about future payoffs—creates an adverse selection problem. Unlike previous models, more valuation is associated with lower market prices and so greater returns to valuation. This strategic complementarity in the capacity to do valuation generates multiple equilibria. With multiple equilibria, the equilibrium without valuation is most efficient despite funding some unprofitable investments. Switches to valuation equilibria, valuation runs, look like credit crunches. A large investor can ensure the efficient equilibrium only if it can precommit to a price and potentially, only if subsidized
Improved Constraints on Isotropic Shift and Anisotropies of the Speed of Light using Rotating Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillators
We demonstrate that Michelson-Morley tests, which detect direction-dependent
anisotropies in the speed of light, can also be used to place limits upon
isotropic deviations of the vacuum speed of light from , as described by the
photon sector Standard Model Extension (SME) parameter . A
shift in the speed of light that is isotropic in one inertial frame implies
anisotropic shifts in others. Using observer Lorentz covariance, we derive the
time-dependent variations in the relative resonance frequencies of a pair of
electromagnetic resonators that would be generated by such a shift in the rest
frame of the Sun. A new analysis of a recent experimental test of relativity
using this result constrains with a precision of
. This represents the first constraint on
by a Michelson-Morley experiment and the first analysis
of a single experiment to simultaneously set limits on all nine
non-birefringent terms in the photon sector of the SME
Homoiterons and expansion in ribosomal RNAs
AbstractRibosomal RNAs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes feature numerous repeats of three or more nucleotides with the same nucleobase (homoiterons). In prokaryotes these repeats are much more frequent in thermophile compared to mesophile or psychrophile species, and have similar frequency in both large RNAs. These features point to use of prokaryotic homoiterons in stabilization of both ribosomal subunits. The two large RNAs of eukaryotic cytoplasmic ribosomes have expanded to a different degree across the evolutionary ladder. The big RNA of the larger subunit (60S LSU) evolved expansion segments of up to 2400 nucleotides, and the smaller subunit (40S SSU) RNA acquired expansion segments of not more than 700 nucleotides. In the examined eukaryotes abundance of rRNA homoiterons generally follows size and nucleotide bias of the expansion segments, and increases with GC content and especially with phylogenetic rank. Both the nucleotide bias and frequency of homoiterons are much larger in metazoan and angiosperm LSU compared to the respective SSU RNAs. This is especially pronounced in the tetrapod vertebrates and seems to culminate in the hominid mammals. The stability of secondary structure in polyribonucleotides would significantly connect to GC content, and should also relate to G and C homoiteron content. RNA modeling points to considerable presence of homoiteron-rich double-stranded segments especially in vertebrate LSU RNAs, and homoiterons with four or more nucleotides in the vertebrate and angiosperm LSU RNAs are largely confined to the expansion segments. These features could mainly relate to protein export function and attachment of LSU to endoplasmic reticulum and other subcellular networks
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