3,260 research outputs found
Blazar Flaring Patterns (B-FlaP): Classifying Blazar Candidates of Uncertain type in the third Fermi-LAT catalog by Artificial Neural Networks
The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) is currently the most important facility
for investigating the GeV -ray sky. With Fermi LAT more than three
thousand -ray sources have been discovered so far. 1144 () of
the sources are active galaxies of the blazar class, and 573 () are
listed as Blazar Candidate of Uncertain type (BCU), or sources without a
conclusive classification. We use the Empirical Cumulative Distribution
Functions (ECDF) and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for a fast method of
screening and classification for BCUs based on data collected at -ray
energies only, when rigorous multiwavelength analysis is not available. Based
on our method, we classify 342 BCUs as BL Lacs and 154 as FSRQs, while 77
objects remain uncertain. Moreover, radio analysis and direct observations in
ground-based optical observatories are used as counterparts to the statistical
classifications to validate the method. This approach is of interest because of
the increasing number of unclassified sources in Fermi catalogs and because
blazars and in particular their subclass High Synchrotron Peak (HSP) objects
are the main targets of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
Mesoscale theory of grains and cells: crystal plasticity and coarsening
Solids with spatial variations in the crystalline axes naturally evolve into
cells or grains separated by sharp walls. Such variations are mathematically
described using the Nye dislocation density tensor. At high temperatures,
polycrystalline grains form from the melt and coarsen with time: the
dislocations can both climb and glide. At low temperatures under shear the
dislocations (which allow only glide) form into cell structures. While both the
microscopic laws of dislocation motion and the macroscopic laws of coarsening
and plastic deformation are well studied, we hitherto have had no simple,
continuum explanation for the evolution of dislocations into sharp walls. We
present here a mesoscale theory of dislocation motion. It provides a
quantitative description of deformation and rotation, grounded in a microscopic
order parameter field exhibiting the topologically conserved quantities. The
topological current of the Nye dislocation density tensor is derived from a
microscopic theory of glide driven by Peach-Koehler forces between dislocations
using a simple closure approximation. The resulting theory is shown to form
sharp dislocation walls in finite time, both with and without dislocation
climb.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Correlated Equilibria of Classical Strategic Games with Quantum Signals
Correlated equilibria are sometimes more efficient than the Nash equilibria
of a game without signals. We investigate whether the availability of quantum
signals in the context of a classical strategic game may allow the players to
achieve even better efficiency than in any correlated equilibrium with
classical signals, and find the answer to be positive.Comment: 8 pages, LaTe
Optical Emission Lines and the X-Ray Properties of Type 1 Seyfert Galaxies
In this contribution we report on the study of the optical emission lines and
X-ray spectra of a sample of Type 1 AGNs, collected at the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey database and observed by the XMM Newton satellite. Exploiting the
different instruments carried onboard XMM, we identify the spectral components
of the soft and hard energy bands (in the range from 0.3 keV up to 10 keV). The
properties of the X-ray continuum and of the Fe Kalpha line feature are
investigated in relation to the optical broad emission line profiles and
intensity ratios. The resulting picture of emission, absorption and reflection
processes is interpreted by means of a BLR structural model that was developed
on the basis of independent optical and radio observations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the VIII Serbian Conference on
Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics, accepted for publication on Baltic
Astronomy. Corrected typos in V
The Relation between Nuclear Activity and Stellar Mass in Galaxies
The existence of correlations between nuclear properties of galaxies, such as
the mass of their central black holes, and larger scale features, like the
bulge mass and luminosity, represent a fundamental constraint on galaxy
evolution. Although the actual reasons for these relations have not yet been
identified, it is widely believed that they could stem from a connection
between the processes that lead to black hole growth and stellar mass assembly.
The problem of understanding how the processes of nuclear activity and star
formation can affect each other became known to the literature as the
Starburst-AGN connection. Despite years of investigation, the physical
mechanisms which lie at the basis of this relation are known only in part. In
this work, we analyze the problem of star formation and nuclear activity in a
large sample of galaxies. We study the relations between the properties of the
nuclear environments and of their host galaxies. We find that the mass of the
stellar component within the galaxies of our sample is a critical parameter,
that we have to consider in an evolutionary sequence, which provides further
insight in the connection between AGN and star formation processes.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication on MNRAS. Reference to
the mass derivation procedure correcte
Optical counterparts of undetermined type -ray Active Galactic Nuclei with blazar-like Spectral Energy Distributions
During its first four years of scientific observations, the Fermi Large Area
Telescope (Fermi-LAT) detected 3033 -ray sources above a 4
significance level. Although most of the extra-Galactic sources are active
galactic nuclei (AGN) of the blazar class, other families of AGNs are observed
too, while a still high fraction of detections () remains with
uncertain association or classification. According to the currently accepted
interpretation, the AGN -ray emission arises from inverse Compton (IC)
scattering of low energy photons by relativistic particles confined in a jet
that, in the case of blazars, is oriented very close to our line of sight.
Taking advantage of data from radio and X-ray wavelengths, which we expect to
be produced together with -rays, providing a much better source
localization potential, we focused our attention on a sample of -ray
Blazar Candidates of Undetermined Type (BCUs), starting a campaign of optical
spectroscopic observations. The main aims of our investigation include a census
of the AGN families that contribute to -ray emission and a study of
their redshift distribution, with the subsequent implications on the intrinsic
source power. We furthermore analyze which -ray properties can better
constrain the nature of the source, thus helping in the study of objects not
yet associated with a reliable low frequency counterpart. In this communication
we report on the instruments and techniques used to identify the optical
counterparts of -ray sources, we give an overview on the status of our
work, and we discuss the implications of a large scale study of -ray
emitting AGNs.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the 10th Serbian Conference on
Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics. JOAA, accepte
Effective Elastic Moduli in Solids with High Crack Density
We investigate the weakening of elastic materials through randomly
distributed circles and cracks numerically and compare the results to
predictions from homogenization theories. We find a good agreement for the case
of randomly oriented cracks of equal length in an isotropic plane-strain medium
for lower crack densities; for higher densities the material is weaker than
predicted due to precursors of percolation. For a parallel alignment of cracks,
where percolation does not occur, we analytically predict a power law decay of
the effective elastic constants for high crack densities, and confirm this
result numerically.Comment: 8 page
Generation of an ultrastable 578 nm laser for Yb lattice clock
In this paper we described the development and the characterization of a 578 nm laser source to be the clock laser for an Ytterbium Lattice Optical clock. Two independent laser sources have been realized and the characterization of the stability with a beat note technique is presente
Are Boltzmann Plots of Hydrogen Balmer lines a tool for identifying a subclass of S1 AGN?
It is becoming clear that we can define two different types of nearby AGN
belonging to the Seyfert 1 class (S1), on the basis of the match of the
intensities of their Broad Balmer Lines (BBL) with the Boltzmann Plots (BP).
These two types of S1 galaxies, that we call BP-S1 and NoBP-S1, are
characterized, in first approximation, by Broad Line Regions (BLR) with
different structural and physical properties. In this communication, we show
that these features can be well pointed out by a multi-wavelength analysis of
the continuum and of the broad recombination Hydrogen lines, that we carry out
on a sample of objects detected at optical and X-ray frequencies. The
investigation is addressed to verify whether BP-S1 are the ideal candidates for
the study of the kinematical and structural properties of the BLR, in order to
derive reliable estimates of the mass of their central engine and to constrain
the properties of their nuclear continuum spectrum.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures (1 multi-paged). Accepted for publication on
Advances in Space Research. Contribution to the IX SCSLS
Point defect in solids: Shear dominance of the far-field energy
It is shown that the elastic energy far from a point defect in an isotropic
solid is mainly shear elastic energy. The calculation, which is based on a
standard dipole expansion, shows that no matter how large or small the bulk
modulus is compared to the shear modulus, less than 10% of the distant point
defect energy is associated with volume changes.Comment: Brief not
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