265 research outputs found
Optical and X-ray Observations of M31N 2007-12b: An Extragalactic Recurrent Nova with a Detected
We report combined optical and X-ray observations of nova M31N 2007-12b.
Optical spectroscopy obtained 5 days after the 2007 December outburst shows
evidence of very high ejection velocities (FWHM H km
s). In addition, Swift X-ray data show that M31N 2007-12b is associated
with a Super-Soft Source (SSS) which appeared between 21 and 35 days
post-outburst and turned off between then and day 169. Our analysis implies
that M_{\rm WD} \ga 1.3 M in this system. The optical light curve,
spectrum and X-ray behaviour are consistent with those of a recurrent nova.
Hubble Space Telescope observations of the pre-outburst location of M31N
2007-12b reveal the presence of a coincident stellar source with magnitude and
color very similar to the Galactic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi at quiescence,
where the red giant secondary dominates the emission. We believe that this is
the first occasion on which a nova progenitor system has been identified in
M31. However, the greatest similarities of outburst optical spectrum and SSS
behaviour are with the supposed Galactic recurrent nova V2491 Cygni. A
previously implied association of M31N 2007-12b with nova M31N 1969-08a is
shown to be erroneous and this has important lessons for future searches for
recurrent novae in extragalactic systems. Overall, we show that suitable
complementary X-ray and optical observations can be used not only to identify
recurrent nova candidates in M31, but also to determine subtypes and important
physical parameters of these systems. Prospects are therefore good for
extending studies of recurrent novae into the Local Group with the potential to
explore in more detail such important topics as their proposed link to Type Ia
Supernovae.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal. This paper - which replaces the original accepted paper - accounts
for the positional coincidence of M31N 2007-12b and M31N 1969-08a and uses
additional HST archival dat
The Delocalized Effective Degrees of Freedom of a Black Hole at Low Frequencies
Identifying the fundamental degrees of freedom of a black hole poses a
long-standing puzzle. In hep-th/0511133 Goldberger and Rothstein forwarded a
theory of the low frequency degrees of freedom within the effective field
theory approach, where they are relevancy-ordered but of unclear physical
origin. Here these degrees of freedom are identified with near-horizon but
non-compact gravitational perturbations which are decomposed into delocalized
multipoles. Their world-line (kinetic) action is determined within the
classical effective field theory (CLEFT) approach and their interactions are
discussed. The case of the long-wavelength scattering of a scalar wave off a
Schwarzschild black hole is treated in some detail, interpreting within the
CLEFT approach the equality of the leading absorption cross section with the
horizon area.Comment: 8 pages. Awarded fifth prize in the 2008 Gravity Research Foundation
essay contest. v2: minor change
FIRI - a Far-Infrared Interferometer
Half of the energy ever emitted by stars and accreting objects comes to us in
the FIR waveband and has yet to be properly explored. We propose a powerful
Far-InfraRed Interferometer mission, FIRI, to carry out high-resolution imaging
spectroscopy in the FIR. This key observational capability is essential to
reveal how gas and dust evolve into stars and planets, how the first luminous
objects in the Universe ignited, how galaxies formed, and when super-massive
black holes grew. FIRI will disentangle the cosmic histories of star formation
and accretion onto black holes and will trace the assembly and evolution of
quiescent galaxies like our Milky Way. Perhaps most importantly, FIRI will
observe all stages of planetary system formation and recognise Earth-like
planets that may harbour life, via its ability to image the dust structures in
planetary systems. It will thus address directly questions fundamental to our
understanding of how the Universe has developed and evolved - the very
questions posed by ESA's Cosmic Vision.Comment: Proposal developed by a large team of astronomers from Europe, USA
and Canada and submitted to the European Space Agency as part of "Cosmic
Vision 2015-2025
Cold uniform matter and neutron stars in the quark-mesons-coupling model
A new density dependent effective baryon-baryon interaction has been recently
derived from the quark-meson-coupling (QMC) model, offering impressive results
in application to finite nuclei and dense baryon matter. This self-consistent,
relativistic quark-level approach is used to construct the Equation of State
(EoS) and to calculate key properties of high density matter and cold, slowly
rotating neutron stars. The results include predictions for the maximum mass of
neutron star models, together with the corresponding radius and central
density, as well the properties of neutron stars with mass of order 1.4
. The cooling mechanism allowed by the QMC EoS is explored and the
parameters relevant to slow rotation, namely the moment of inertia and the
period of rotation investigated. The results of the calculation, which are
found to be in good agreement with available observational data, are compared
with the predictions of more traditional EoS. The QMC EoS provides cold neutron
star models with maximum mass 1.9--2.1 M, with central density less
than 6 times nuclear saturation density () and
offers a consistent description of the stellar mass up to this density limit.
In contrast with other models, QMC predicts no hyperon contribution at
densities lower than , for matter in -equilibrium. At higher
densities, and hyperons are present
Spin-one color superconductivity in compact stars?- an analysis within NJL-type models
We present results of a microscopic calculation using NJL-type model of
possible spin-one pairings in two flavor quark matter for applications in
compact star phenomenology. We focus on the color-spin locking phase (CSL) in
which all quarks pair in a symmetric way, in which color and spin states are
locked. The CSL condensate is particularly interesting for compact star
applications since it is flavor symmetric and could easily satisfy charge
neutrality. Moreover, the fact that in this phase all quarks are gapped might
help to suppress the direct Urca process, consistent with cooling models. The
order of magnitude of these small gaps (~1 MeV) will not influence the EoS, but
their also small critical temperatures (T_c ~800 keV) could be relevant in the
late stages neutron star evolution, when the temperature falls below this value
and a CSL quark core could form.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, revised version, accepted for the Conference
Proceedings of "Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface",
London, 24-28. April 200
Special relativity constraints on the effective constituent theory of hybrids
We consider a simplified constituent model for relativistic
strong-interaction decays of hybrid mesons. The model is constructed using
rules of renormalization group procedure for effective particles in light-front
quantum field theory, which enables us to introduce low-energy phenomenological
parameters. Boost covariance is kinematical and special relativity constraints
are reduced to the requirements of rotational symmetry. For a hybrid meson
decaying into two mesons through dissociation of a constituent gluon into a
quark-anti-quark pair, the simplified constituent model leads to a rotationally
symmetric decay amplitude if the hybrid meson state is made of a constituent
gluon and a quark-anti-quark pair of size several times smaller than the
distance between the gluon and the pair, as if the pair originated from one
gluon in a gluonium state in the same effective theory.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Search for Primordial Black Holes with SGARFACE
The Short GAmma Ray Front Air Cherenkov Experiment (SGARFACE) uses the
Whipple 10 m telescope to search for bursts of rays. SGARFACE is
sensitive to bursts with duration from a few ns to 20 s and with
-ray energy above 100 MeV. SGARFACE began operating in March 2003 and
has collected 2.2 million events during an exposure time of 2267 hours. A
search for bursts of rays from explosions of primordial black holes
(PBH) was carried out. A Hagedorn-type PBH explosion is predicted to be visible
within 60 pc of Earth. Background events were caused by cosmic rays and by
atmospheric phenomena and their rejection was accomplished to a large extent
using the time-resolved images. No unambiguous detection of bursts of
rays could be made as the remaining background events mimic the expected shape
and time development of bursts. Upper limits on the PBH explosion rate were
derived from the SGARFACE data and are compared to previous and future
experiments. We note that a future array of large wide-field air-Cherenkov
telescopes equipped with a SGARFACE-like trigger would be able to operate
background-free with a 20 to 30 times higher sensitivity for PBH explosions.Comment: 18 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physics, corrected
author list and Section 2.
Magnetic Fields in the Milky Way
This chapter presents a review of observational studies to determine the
magnetic field in the Milky Way, both in the disk and in the halo, focused on
recent developments and on magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar medium.
I discuss some terminology which is confusingly or inconsistently used and try
to summarize current status of our knowledge on magnetic field configurations
and strengths in the Milky Way. Although many open questions still exist, more
and more conclusions can be drawn on the large-scale and small-scale components
of the Galactic magnetic field. The chapter is concluded with a brief outlook
to observational projects in the near future.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, to appear in "Magnetic Fields in Diffuse Media",
eds. E.M. de Gouveia Dal Pino and A. Lazaria
Neutrino Emission from Goldstone Modes in Dense Quark Matter
We calculate neutrino emissivities from the decay and scattering of Goldstone
bosons in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase of quarks at high baryon density.
Interactions in the CFL phase are described by an effective low-energy theory.
For temperatures in the tens of keV range, relevant to the long-term cooling of
neutron stars, the emissivities involving Goldstone bosons dominate over those
involving quarks, because gaps in the CFL phase are MeV while the
masses of Goldstone modes are on the order of 10 MeV. For the same reason, the
specific heat of the CFL phase is also dominated by the Goldstone modes.
Notwithstanding this, both the emissivity and the specific heat from the
massive modes remain rather small, because of their extremely small number
densities. The values of the emissivity and the specific heat imply that the
timescale for the cooling of the CFL core in isolation is y,
which makes the CFL phase invisible as the exterior layers of normal matter
surrounding the core will continue to cool through significantly more rapid
processes. If the CFL phase appears during the evolution of a proto-neutron
star, neutrino interactions with Goldstone bosons are expected to be
significantly more important since temperatures are high enough (
MeV) to admit large number densities of Goldstone modes.Comment: 29 pages, no figures. slightly modified text, one new eqn. and new
refs. adde
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