3,919 research outputs found
Evidence for nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic-rays in the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi
Spectroscopic observations of the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS
Ophiuchi at both infrared (IR) and X-ray wavelengths have shown that the blast
wave has decelerated at a higher rate than predicted by the standard
test-particle adiabatic shock-wave model. Here we show that the observed
evolution of the nova remnant can be explained by the diffusive shock
acceleration of particles at the blast wave and the subsequent escape of the
highest energy ions from the shock region. Nonlinear particle acceleration can
also account for the difference of shock velocities deduced from the IR and
X-ray data. The maximum energy that accelerated electrons and protons can have
achieved in few days after outburst is found to be as high as a few TeV. Using
the semi-analytic model of nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration developed by
Berezhko & Ellison, we show that the postshock temperature of the shocked gas
measured with RXTE/PCA and Swift/XRT imply a relatively moderate acceleration
efficiency.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
XMM-Newton observations of Nova Sgr 1998
We report on X-ray observations of Nova Sagittarius 1998 (V4633 Sgr),
performed with XMM-Newton at three different epochs, 934, 1083 and 1265 days
after discovery. The nova was detected with the EPIC cameras at all three
epochs, with emission spanning the whole energy range from 0.2 to 10 keV.
The X-ray spectra do not change significantly at the different epochs, and
are well fitted for the first and third observations with a multi-temperature
optically thin thermal plasma, while lower statistics in the second
observations lead to a poorer fit. The thermal plasma emission is most probably
originated in the shock heated ejecta, with chemical composition similar to
that of a CO nova. However, we can not completely rule out reestablished
accretion as the origin of the emission. We also obtain upper limits for the
temperature and luminosity of a potential white dwarf atmospheric component,
and conclude that hydrogen burning had already turned-off by the time of our
observations.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures. Accepted in Astrophysical Journa
Testing the standard fireball model of GRBs using late X-ray afterglows measured by Swift
We show that all X-ray decay curves of GRBs measured by Swift can be fitted
using one or two components both of which have exactly the same functional form
comprised of an early falling exponential phase followed by a power law decay.
The 1st component contains the prompt gamma-ray emission and the initial X-ray
decay. The 2nd component appears later, has a much longer duration and is
present for ~80% of GRBs. It most likely arises from the external shock which
eventually develops into the X-ray afterglow. In the remaining ~20% of GRBs the
initial X-ray decay of the 1st component fades more slowly than the 2nd and
dominates at late times to form an afterglow but it is not clear what the
origin of this emission is.
The temporal decay parameters and gamma/X-ray spectral indices derived for
107 GRBs are compared to the expectations of the standard fireball model
including a search for possible "jet breaks". For ~50% of GRBs the observed
afterglow is in accord with the model but for the rest the temporal and
spectral indices do not conform to the expected closure relations and are
suggestive of continued, late, energy injection. We identify a few possible jet
breaks but there are many examples where such breaks are predicted but are
absent.
The time, T_a, at which the exponential phase of the 2nd component changes to
a final powerlaw decay afterglow is correlated with the peak of the gamma-ray
spectrum, E_peak. This is analogous to the Ghirlanda relation, indicating that
this time is in some way related to optically observed break times measured for
pre-Swift bursts.Comment: submitted to Ap
Astrophysical Fluids of Novae: High Resolution Pre-decay X-ray spectrum of V4743 Sagittarii
Eight X-ray observations of V4743 Sgr (2002), observed with Chandra and
XMM-Newton are presented. The nova turned off some time between days 301.9 and
371, and the X-ray flux subsequently decreased from day 301.9 to 526 following
an exponential decline time scale of days. We use the absorption
lines present in the SSS spectrum for diagnostic purposes, and characterize the
physics and the dynamics of the expanding atmosphere during the explosion of
the nova. The information extracted from this first stage is then used as input
for computing full photoionization models of the ejecta in V4743 Sgr. The SSS
spectrum is modeled with a simple black-body and multiplicative Gaussian lines,
which provides us of a general kinematical picture of the system, before it
decays to its faint phase (Ness et al. 2003). In the grating spectra taken
between days 180.4 and 370, we can resolve the line profiles of absorption
lines arising from H-like and He-like C, N, and O, including transitions
involving higher principal quantum numbers. Except for a few interstellar
lines, all lines are significantly blue-shifted, yielding velocities between
1000 and 6000 km/s which implies an ongoing mass loss. It is shown that
significant expansion and mass loss occur during this phase of the explosion,
at a rate . Our measurements show that the efficiency of the amount of
energy used for the motion of the ejecta, defined as the ratio between the
kinetic luminosity and the radiated luminosity , is
of the order of one.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures. Accepted in book: Recent Advances in Fluid
Dynamics with Environmental Applications, pp.365-39
EVM and Achievable Data Rate Analysis of Clipped OFDM Signals in Visible Light Communication
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been considered for
visible light communication (VLC) thanks to its ability to boost data rates as
well as its robustness against frequency-selective fading channels. A major
disadvantage of OFDM is the large dynamic range of its time-domain waveforms,
making OFDM vulnerable to nonlinearity of light emitting diodes (LEDs). DC
biased optical OFDM (DCO-OFDM) and asymmetrically clipped optical OFDM
(ACO-OFDM) are two popular OFDM techniques developed for the VLC. In this
paper, we will analyze the performance of the DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM signals in
terms of error vector magnitude (EVM), signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR), and
achievable data rates under both average optical power and dynamic optical
power constraints. EVM is a commonly used metric to characterize distortions.
We will describe an approach to numerically calculate the EVM for DCO-OFDM and
ACO-OFDM. We will derive the optimum biasing ratio in the sense of minimizing
EVM for DCO-OFDM. Additionally, we will formulate the EVM minimization problem
as a convex linear optimization problem and obtain an EVM lower bound against
which to compare the DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM techniques. We will prove that the
ACO-OFDM can achieve the lower bound. Average optical power and dynamic optical
power are two main constraints in VLC. We will derive the achievable data rates
under these two constraints for both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN)
channel and frequency-selective channel. We will compare the performance of
DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM under different power constraint scenarios
Multiwavelength Monitoring of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Akn 564. II. Ultraviolet Continuum and Emission-line Variability
We present results of an intensive two-month campaign of approximately daily
spectrophotometric monitoring of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Akn 564 with
HST. The fractional variability amplitude of the continuum variations between
1365-3000 A is ~6%, about a factor 3 less than that found in typical Seyfert 1
galaxies over a similar period of time. However, large amplitude, short
time-scale flaring behavior is evident, with trough-to-peak flux changes of
about 18% in approximately 3 days. We present evidence for wavelength-dependent
continuum time delays, with the variations at 3000 A lagging behind those at
1365 A by about 1 day. These delays may be interpreted as evidence for a
stratified continuum reprocessing region, possibly an accretion-disk structure.
The Lyman-alpha 1216 emission-line exhibits flux variations of about 1%
amplitude.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures. Accepted by Astrophysical Journa
Warfare, Fiscal Capacity, and Performance
We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal innovations, which persisted and helped to shape current fiscal institutions. Economic historians claim that greater fiscal capacity was the key long-run institutional change brought about by historical conflicts. Using casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to instrument for current fiscal institutions, we estimate substantial impacts of fiscal capacity on GDP per worker. The results are robust to a broad range of specifications, controls, and sub-samples
Pre‐service teacher training and special educational needs in England 1970–2008: is government learning the lessons of the past or is it experiencing a groundhog day?
The paper outlines the findings from a literature review of the English government’s response to the issue of training pre‐service teachers in the delivery of effective special educational needs support. The review’s findings detail that although educational practice in mainstream classrooms has changed considerably since the 1970s the training of pre‐service teachers with regards to special educational needs has seemingly changed very little. The paper argues that the government needs to re‐think radically its policy of inclusion to ensure that a coherent plan is formulated which enables higher education institutions’ initial teacher training programmes to train students who are competent and confident in their abilities to work with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Charged Particle Pseudorapidity Distributions in Au+Al, Cu, Au, and U Collisions at 10.8 AGeV/c
We present the results of an analysis of charged particle pseudorapidity
distributions in the central region in collisions of a Au projectile with Al,
Cu, Au, and U targets at an incident energy of 10.8~GeV/c per nucleon. The
pseudorapidity distributions are presented as a function of transverse energy
produced in the target or central pseudorapidity regions. The correlation
between charged multiplicity and transverse energy measured in the central
region, as well as the target and projectile regions is also presented. We give
results for transverse energy per charged particle as a function of
pseudorapidity and centrality.Comment: 31 pages + 12 figures (compressed and uuencoded by uufiles), LATEX,
Submitted to PR
Proton and Pion Production in Au+Au Collisions at 10.8A GeV/c
We present proton and pion tranverse momentum spectra and rapidity
distributions for Au+Au collisions at 10.8A GeV/c. The proton spectra exhibit
collective transverse flow effects. Evidence of the influence of the Coulomb
interaction from the fireball is found in the pion transverse momentum spectra.
The data are compared with the predictions of the RQMD event generator.Comment: plain tex (revtex), 24 pages Submitted to Phys. Rev.
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