8,534 research outputs found
The X-ray spectral properties of very-faint persistent neutron star X-ray binaries
AX J1754.2-2754, 1RXS J171824.2-402934 and 1RXH J173523.7-354013 are three
persistent neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries that display a 2--10 keV
accretion luminosity Lx of only (1-10)x1E34 erg s-1 (i.e., only ~0.005-0.05 %
of the Eddington limit). The phenomenology of accreting neutron stars which
accrete at such low accretion rates is not yet well known and the reason why
they have such low accretion rates is also not clear. Therefore, we have
obtained XMM-Newton data of these three sources and here we report our analysis
of the high-quality X-ray spectra we have obtained for them. We find that AX
J1754.2-2754 has Lx~1E35 erg s-1, while the other two have X-ray luminosities
about an order of magnitude lower. However, all sources have a similar,
relatively soft, spectrum with a photon index of 2.3-2.5, when the spectrum is
fitted with an absorbed power-law model. This model fits the data of AX
J1754.2-2754 adequately, but it cannot fit the data obtained for 1RXS
J171824.2-402934 and 1RXH J173523.7-354013. For those sources a clear soft
thermal component is needed to fit their spectra. This soft component
contributes 40% - 50% to the 0.5-10 keV flux of the sources. When including
this additional spectral component, the power-law photon indices are
significantly lower. It can be excluded that a similar component with similar
contributions to the 2-10 keV X-ray flux is present for AX J1754.2-2754,
indicating that the soft spectrum of this source is mostly due to the fact that
the power-law component itself is not hard. We note that we cannot excluded
that weaker soft component is present in the spectrum of this source which only
contributes up to ~25% to the 0.5-10 keV X-ray flux. We discuss our results in
the context of what is known of accreting neutron stars at very low accretion
rate.Comment: 9 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. Aceppted for publication in MNRA
XMM-Newton and Swift spectroscopy of the newly discovered very-faint X-ray transient IGR J17494-3030
A growing group of low-mass X-ray binaries are found to be accreting at
very-faint X-ray luminosities of <1E36 erg/s (2-10 keV). Once such system is
the new X-ray transient IGR J17494-3030. We present Swift and XMM-Newton
observations obtained during its 2012 discovery outburst. The Swift
observations trace the peak of the outburst, which reached a luminosity of ~7
E35 (D/8 kpc)^2 erg/s (2-10 keV). The XMM-Newton data were obtained when the
outburst had decayed to an intensity of ~ 8 E34 (D/8 kpc)^2 erg/s. The spectrum
can be described by a power-law with an index of ~1.7 and requires an
additional soft component with a black-body temperature of ~0.37 keV
(contributing ~20% to the total unabsorbed flux in the 0.5-10 keV band). Given
the similarities with high-quality spectra of very-faint neutron star low-mass
X-ray binaries, we suggest that the compact primary in IGR J17494-3030 is a
neutron star. Interestingly, the source intensity decreased rapidly during the
~12 hr XMM-Newton observation, which was accompanied by a decrease in inferred
temperature. We interpret the soft spectral component as arising from the
neutron star surface due to low-level accretion, and propose that the observed
decline in intensity was the result of a decrease in the mass-accretion rate
onto the neutron star.Comment: 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted in MNRAS letter, in pres
Summary and Outlook of the International Workshop on Aging Phenomena in Gaseous Detectors (DESY, Hamburg, October, 2001)
High Energy Physics experiments are currently entering a new era which
requires the operation of gaseous particle detectors at unprecedented high
rates and integrated particle fluxes. Full functionality of such detectors over
the lifetime of an experiment in a harsh radiation environment is of prime
concern to the involved experimenters. New classes of gaseous detectors such as
large-scale straw-type detectors, Micro-pattern Gas Detectors and related
detector types with their own specific aging effects have evolved since the
first workshop on wire chamber aging was held at LBL, Berkeley in 1986. In
light of these developments and as detector aging is a notoriously complex
field, the goal of the workshop was to provide a forum for interested
experimentalists to review the progress in understanding of aging effects and
to exchange recent experiences. A brief summary of the main results and
experiences reported at the 2001 workshop is presented, with the goal of
providing a systematic review of aging effects in state-of-the-art and future
gaseous detectors.Comment: 14 pages, 2 pictures. Presented at the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium
and Medical Imaging Conference, November 4-10, 2001, San Diego, USA.
Submitted to IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci (IEEE-TNS
A short review of "DGP Specteroscopy"
In this paper we provide a short review of the main results developed in
hep-th/0604086. We focus on linearised vacuum perturbations about the
self-accelerating branch of solutions in the DGP model. These are shown to
contain a ghost in the spectrum for any value of the brane tension. We also
comment on hep-th/0607099, where some counter arguments have been presented.Comment: Minor typos correcte
Increase in pertussis cases along with high prevalence of two emerging genotypes of Bordetella pertussis in PerĂș, 2012
As has occurred in many regions worldwide, in 2012 the incidence of pertussis increased in PerĂș. This epidemiologic situation has been associated with a waning vaccine-induced immunity and the adaptation of Bordetella pertussis to vaccine-induced immunity along with improved diagnostic methods. Methods: The study comprised a total of 840 pertussis-suspected cases reported in PerĂș during 2012. We summarize here the distribution of pertussis cases according to age and immunization status along with the immunization-coverage rate. Laboratory diagnosis was performed by culture test and real-time polymerase-chain reaction (PCR). B. pertussis bacteria recovered from infected patients were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and the DNA sequencing of the pertussis-toxin (promoter and subunit A), pertactin, and fimbriae (fim2 and fim3) genes. Results: From the total pertussis-suspected cases, 191 (22.7 %) infections were confirmed by real-time PCR and 18 through cultivation of B. pertussis (2.1 %), while one infection of B. parapertussis (0.11 %) was also detected by culture. Pertussis was significantly higher in patients that had had 0-3 vaccine doses (pentavalent vaccine alone) than in those who had had 4-5 vaccine doses (pentavalent plus DwPT boosters) at 94.3 vs. 5.7 %, respectively (p < 0.00001). The relative risk (RR) for patients with 4-5 doses compared to those with fewer than 4 doses or no dose was 0.23 (95 % Confidence Interval: 0.11-0.44), while the vaccine effectiveness was 77 % and coverage 50.5 %. Genetic analysis of B. pertussis isolates from different Peruvian regions detected two clonal groups as identified by PFGE. Those two groups corresponded to the B. pertussis genotypes emerging worldwide ptxP3-ptxA1-prn2 or 9-fim3-1 and ptxP3-ptxA1-prn2 or 9-fim3-2. Conclusions: Two emerging B. pertussis genotypes similar to isolates involved in worldwide epidemics were detected in PerĂș. Low vaccine coverage (<50 %) and genetic divergence between the vaccine-producing strain and the local isolates could contribute to this pertussal epidemic.Fil: Bailon, H. Instituto Nacional de Salud; PerĂșFil: LeĂłn-Janampa, N. Instituto Nacional de Salud; PerĂșFil: Padilla, C.. Instituto Nacional de Salud; PerĂșFil: Hozbor, Daniela Flavia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de BiotecnologĂa y BiologĂa Molecular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de BiotecnologĂa y BiologĂa Molecular; Argentin
Venture Capital for University Spin-Outs Companies in the context of University-based Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: an International Comparison
The objectives are, firstly, to identify the role of the university-focused intermediaries, specifically University-focused Venture Capital Firms (UVCs), in order to explain how they interact at the early stage of University Spin-out Companies (USOs) creation, particularly regarding knowledge sharing. Secondly, to analyse whether they change their position once the USO is developed, in the context of the dynamics of a university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem.Universidad de MĂĄlaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucĂa Tech
Shapes of clusters and groups of galaxies: Comparison of model predictions with observations
We study the properties of the 3-dimensional and projected shapes of haloes
using high resolution numerical simulations and observational data where the
latter comes from the 2PIGG (Eke et al. 2004) and SDSS-DR3GC group catalogues
(Merchan & Zandivarez 2005). We investigate the dependence of halo shape on
characteristics such as mass and number of members. In the 3-dimensional case,
we find a significant correlation between the mass and halo shape; massive
systems are more prolate than small haloes. We detect a source of strong
systematics in estimates of the triaxiality of a halo, which is found to be a
strong function of the number of members; LCDM haloes usually characterised by
triaxial shapes, slightly bent toward prolate forms, appear more oblate when
taking only a small subset of the halo particles. The ellipticities of observed
2PIGG and SDSS-DR3GC groups are found to be strongly dependent on the number of
group members, so that poor groups appear more elongated than rich ones.
However, this is again an artifact caused by poor statistics and not an
intrinsic property of the galaxy groups, nor an effect from observational
biases. We interpret these results with the aid of a GALFORM mock 2PIGG
catalogue. When comparing the group ellipticities in mock and real catalogues,
we find an excellent agreement between the trends of shapes with number of
group members. When carefully taking into account the effects of low number
statistics, we find that more massive groups are consistent with more elongated
shapes. Finally, our studies find no significant correlations between the shape
of observed 2PIGG or SDSS-DR3GC groups with the properties of galaxy members
such as colour or spectral type index.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRA
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