3,173 research outputs found
Evidence for a Mid-Atomic-Number Atmosphere in the Neutron Star 1E1207.4-5209
Recently Sanwal et al. (2002) reported the first clear detection of
absorption features in an isolated neutron star, 1E1207.4-5209. Remarkably
their spectral modeling demonstrates that the atmosphere cannot be Hydrogen.
They speculated that the neutron star atmosphere is indicative of ionized
Helium in an ultra-strong (~1.5x10^{14} G) magnetic field. We have applied our
recently developed atomic model (Mori & Hailey 2002) for strongly-magnetized
neutron star atmospheres to this problem. We find that this model, along with
some simp le atomic physics arguments, severely constrains the possible
composition of the atmosphere. In particular we find that the absorption
features are naturally associated with He-like Oxygen or Neon in a magnetic
field of ~10^{12} G, comparable to the magnetic field derived from the spin
parameters of the neutron star. This interpretation is consistent with the
relative line strengths and widths and is robust. Our model predicts possible
substructure in the spectral features, which has now been reported by
XMM-Newton (Mereghetti et al. 2002). However we show the Mereghetti et al.
claim that the atmosphere is Iron or some comparable high-Z element at ~
10^{12} G is easily ruled out by the Chandra and XMM-Newton data.Comment: 5 pages, AASTeX, Revised version. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
Recommended from our members
CIO/CTO Job Roles: An Emerging Organizational Model
The position of Chief Information Systems Officer (CIO) has become a daunting job due to the myriad of business and technical responsibilities assigned to the organization\u27s top information systems (IS) executive. CIOs are being asked to successfully ensure the firm\u27s IS investments are continually aligned with its strategic business objectives, while also planning and maintaining an IT infrastructure that will meet the firm\u27s current and future information processing needs. Many CIOs are finding it extremely difficult to balance the two key roles of technician and businessperson successfully. Many business experts that have analyzed this problem have concluded that the tasks and responsibilities assigned to a typical CIO may be too overwhelming for a single person. This paper advances a formal organizational structure in which the typical responsibilities of the CIO position are re-allocated to two IS executives - the CIO and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). This paper also describes which responsibilities should be retained by the CIO and which responsibilities should be delegated to the CTO. Finally, a discussion of the challenges and benefits associated with the implementation of CIO/CTO organizational leadership structure is presented
Observing Supernova 1987A with the Refurbished Hubble Space Telescope
Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted since 1990, now
offer an unprecedented glimpse into fast astrophysical shocks in the young
remnant of supernova 1987A. Comparing observations taken in 2010 using the
refurbished instruments on HST with data taken in 2004, just before the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph failed, we find that the Ly-a and H-a lines from
shock emission continue to brighten, while their maximum velocities continue to
decrease. We observe broad blueshifted Ly-a, which we attribute to resonant
scattering of photons emitted from hotspots on the equatorial ring. We also
detect NV~\lambda\lambda 1239,1243 A line emission, but only to the red of
Ly-A. The profiles of the NV lines differ markedly from that of H-a, suggesting
that the N^{4+} ions are scattered and accelerated by turbulent electromagnetic
fields that isotropize the ions in the collisionless shock.Comment: Science, accepted. Science Express, 02 Sept 2010. 5 figures.
Supporting online material can be found at
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;science.1192134/DC
Observational Tests and Predictive Stellar Evolution II: Non-standard Models
We examine contributions of second order physical processes to results of
stellar evolution calculations amenable to direct observational testing. In the
first paper in the series (Young et al. 2001) we established baseline results
using only physics which are common to modern stellar evolution codes. In the
current paper we establish how much of the discrepancy between observations and
baseline models is due to particular elements of new physics. We then consider
the impact of the observational uncertainties on the maximum predictive
accuracy achievable by a stellar evolution code. The sun is an optimal case
because of the precise and abundant observations and the relative simplicity of
the underlying stellar physics. The Standard Model is capable of matching the
structure of the sun as determined by helioseismology and gross surface
observables to better than a percent. Given an initial mass and surface
composition within the observational errors, and no additional constraints for
which the models can be optimized, it is not possible to predict the sun's
current state to better than ~7%. Convectively induced mixing in radiative
regions, seen in multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations, dramatically
improves the predictions for radii, luminosity, and apsidal motions of
eclipsing binaries while simultaneously maintaining consistency with observed
light element depletion and turnoff ages in young clusters (Young et al. 2003).
Systematic errors in core size for models of massive binaries disappear with
more complete mixing physics, and acceptable fits are achieved for all of the
binaries without calibration of free parameters. The lack of accurate abundance
determinations for binaries is now the main obstacle to improving stellar
models using this type of test.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
A dynamical model of surrogate reactions
A new dynamical model is developed to describe the whole process of surrogate
reactions; transfer of several nucleons at an initial stage, thermal
equilibration of residues leading to washing out of shell effects and decay of
populated compound nuclei are treated in a unified framework. Multi-dimensional
Langevin equations are employed to describe time-evolution of collective
coordinates with a time-dependent potential energy surface corresponding to
different stages of surrogate reactions. The new model is capable of
calculating spin distributions of the compound nuclei, one of the most
important quantity in the surrogate technique. Furthermore, various observables
of surrogate reactions can be calculated, e.g., energy and angular distribution
of ejectile, and mass distributions of fission fragments. These features are
important to assess validity of the proposed model itself, to understand
mechanisms of the surrogate reactions and to determine unknown parameters of
the model. It is found that spin distributions of compound nuclei produced in
O+U O+U and O+U
O+U reactions are equivalent and much less than
10, therefore satisfy conditions proposed by Chiba and Iwamoto (PRC 81,
044604(2010)) if they are used as a pair in the surrogate ratio method.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Collisional Dark Matter and the Origin of Massive Black Holes
If the cosmological dark matter is primarily in the form of an elementary
particle which has cross section and mass for self-interaction having a ratio
similar to that of ordinary nuclear matter, then seed black holes (formed in
stellar collapse) will grow in a Hubble time, due to accretion of the dark
matter, to a mass range 10^6 - 10^9 solar masses. Furthermore, the dependence
of the final black hole mass on the galaxy velocity dispersion will be
approximately as observed and the growth rate will show a time dependence
consistent with observations. Other astrophysical consequences of collisional
dark matter and tests of the idea are noted.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, LaTeX2e, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Lett. Changed conten
Preliminary archaeoentomological analyses of permafrost-preserved cultural layers from the pre-contact Yupâik Eskimo site of Nunalleq, Alaska : implications, potential and methodological considerations
Acknowledgements Site excavation and samples collection were conducted by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen, with the help of archaeologists and student excavators from the University of Aberdeen University of Alaska Fairbanks and Bryn Mawr College, Kuskokwim Campus, College of Rural Alaska and residents of Quinhagak and Mekoryuk. This study is funded through AHRC grant to the project âUnderstanding Cultural Resilience and Climate Change on the Bering Sea through Yupâik Ecological Knowledge, Lifeways, Learning and Archaeologyâ to Rick Knecht, Kate Britton and Charlotta Hillderal (University of Aberdeen; AH/K006029/1). Thanks are due to Qanirtuuq Inc. and Quinhagak, Alaska for sampling permissions and to entomologists working at the CNC in Ottawa for allowing access to reference collections of beetles, lice and fleas. Yves Bousquet, Ales Smetana and Anthony E. Davies are specially acknowledged for their help with the identification of coleopteran specimens. Finally, we would also like to thank Scott Elias for useful comments on the original manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
The First Events in Photosynthesis: Electronic Coupling and Energy Transfer Dynamics in the Photosynthetic Reaction Center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides
The rapid electronic state dynamics that occur prior to charge separation in the photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodobacter sphaeroides R-26 are investigated by "two-color" wavelength-resolved pump-probe and anisotropy measurements. A narrow band (40 fs duration transform limited) pump pulse is used to selectively excite reaction center pigments: the accessory bacteriochlorophyll (B), the upper excitonic state of the special pair (P y+ ), or the lower excitonic state of the special pair (P y-). Population dynamics are then measured with a 12 fs duration probe pulse across the entire Q y absorption spectral region as a function of time, wavelength, and polarization. Excitation of either P y-or B results in the formation of a distinct optical band at 825 nm exhibiting polarization characteristics consistent with those expected for P y+ ; the band appears instantaneously upon excitation of P y-with a negative anisotropy and appears somewhat delayed after excitation of B. The dynamics observed following direct excitation of the P y+ absorption band, that is identified to occur at 825 nm, suggests that internal conversion between the excitonic states of P is rapid, occurring with a 65 fs time constant. Excitation of the accessory BChl (i.e., populating the excited state, B*) provides a detailed answer for the mechanism of energy transfer within the bacterial reaction center. The process proceeds via a twostep mechanism, flowing sequentially from B* to P y+ to P y-with time constants of 120 and 65 fs, respectively. These results follow from a kinetic model analysis of several pump-wavelength-dependent and polarizationdependent differential probe transmission transients that yield the first spectrum of P y+ at room temperature. The coherent excitonic dynamics of the special pair states, P y-and P y+ , are measured and analyzed for coupling strengths and time scales for electronic dephasing and population relaxation. These results, in conjunction with a range of the transient transmission spectra, suggest that the initially excited state of the zeroth order chromophores, i.e., B* and P y+ , is delocalized at the earliest times, consistent with a supermolecular picture of the reaction center
Deuterium at high-redshift: Primordial abundance in the zabs = 2.621 damped Ly-alpha system towards CTQ247
The detection of neutral deuterium in the low-metallicity damped
Lyman-{\alpha} system at zabs = 2.621 towards the quasar CTQ247 is reported.
Using a high signal-to-noise and high spectral resolution (R = 60000) spectrum
from the Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph, we
precisely measure the deuterium-to-oxygen ratio log N(DI)/N(OI) = 0.74+/-0.04,
as well as the overall oxygen abundance, log N(OI)/N(HI)=-5.29+/-0.10 (or
equivalently [O/H]=-1.99+/-0.10 with respect to the solar value). Assuming
uniform metallicity throughout the system, our measurement translates to (D/H)
= (2.8+0.8 -0.6)x10^-5. This ratio is consistent within errors (<0.4sigma) with
the primordial ratio, (D/H)p = (2.59+/-0.15)x10^-5, predicted by standard
Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis using the WMAP7 value of the cosmological density of
baryons (100 Omega_b h^2 = 2.249+/-0.056). The DI absorption lines are observed
to be broader than the OI absorption lines. From a consistent fit of the
profiles we derive the turbulent broadening to be 5.2 km/s and the temperature
of the gas to be T = 8800+/-1500 K, corresponding to a warm neutral medium.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Bondi Accretion and the Problem of the Missing Isolated Neutron Stars
A large number of neutron stars (NSs), ~10^9, populate the Galaxy, but only a
tiny fraction of them is observable during the short radio pulsar lifetime. The
majority of these isolated NSs, too cold to be detectable by their own thermal
emission, should be visible in X-rays as a result of accretion from the
interstellar medium. The ROSAT all sky survey has however shown that such
accreting isolated NSs are very elusive: only a few tentative candidates have
been identified, contrary to theoretical predictions that up to several
thousands should be seen. We suggest that the fundamental reason for this
discrepancy lies in the use of the standard Bondi formula to estimate the
accretion rates. We compute the expected source counts using updated estimates
of the pulsar velocity distribution, realistic hydrogen atmosphere spectra, and
a modified expression for the Bondi accretion rate as suggested by recent MHD
simulations, and supported by direct observations in the case of accretion
around supermassive black holes in nearby galaxies and in our own. We find
that, whereas the inclusion of atmospheric spectra partly compensates for the
reduction in the counts due to the higher mean velocities of the new
distribution, the modified Bondi formula dramatically suppresses the source
counts. The new predictions are consistent with a null detection at the ROSAT
sensitivity.Comment: accepted to ApJ; 19 pages, 4 figure
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