87 research outputs found
Lepton Models for TeV Emission from SNR RX J1713.7-3946
(Aims.) SNR RX J1713.7-3946 is perhaps one of the best observed shell-type
supernova remnants with emissions dominated by energetic particles accelerated
near the shock front. The nature of the TeV emission, however, is an issue
still open to investigation. (Methods.) We carry out a systematic study of four
lepton models for the TeV emission with the Markov chain Monte Carlo method.
(Results.) It is shown that current data already give good constraints on the
model parameters. Two commonly used parametric models do not appear to fit the
observed radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray spectra. Models motivated by diffusive
shock acceleration and by stochastic acceleration by compressive waves in the
shock downstream give comparably good fits. The former has a sharper spectral
cutoff in the hard X-ray band than the latter. Future observations with the
HXMT and NuSTAR may distinguish these two models.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A&A Lette
Magnetic fields in cosmic particle acceleration sources
We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators
associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and
clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can
play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a
number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to
operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and
nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine
the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result in specific features
in the observed photon radiation of the sources. Equally important, magnetic
field amplification by the CR currents and pressure anisotropies may affect the
shocked gas temperatures and compression, both in the shock precursor and in
the downstream flow, if the shock is an efficient CR accelerator. Strong
fluctuations of the magnetic field on scales above the radiation formation
length in the shock vicinity result in intermittent structures observable in
synchrotron emission images. Resonant and non-resonant CR streaming
instabilities in the shock precursor can generate mesoscale magnetic fields
with scale-sizes comparable to supernova remnants and even superbubbles. This
opens the possibility that magnetic fields in the earliest galaxies were
produced by the first generation Population III supernova remnants and by
clustered supernovae in star forming regions.Comment: 30 pages, Space Science Review
Problems of Kantian Nonconceptualism and the Transcendental Deduction
In this paper, I discuss the debate on Kant and nonconceptual content. Inspired by Kantâs account of the intimate relation between intuition and concepts, McDowell (1996) has forcefully argued that the relation between sensible content and concepts is such that sensible content does not severally contribute to cognition but always only in conjunction with concepts. This view is known as conceptualism. Recently, Kantians Robert Hanna and Lucy Allais, among others, have brought against this view the charge that it neglects the possibility of the existence of essentially nonconceptual content that is not conceptualised or subject to conceptualisation. Their critique of McDowell amounts to nonconceptualism. However, both views, conceptualist and nonconceptualist, share the assumption that intuition is synthesised content in Kantâs sense. My interest is not in the validity of the philosophical positions of conceptualism or nonconceptualism per se. I am particularly interested in the extent to which the views that McDowell and Hanna and Allais respectively advance are true to Kant, or can validly be seen as Kantian positions. I argue that although McDowell is right that intuition is only epistemically relevant in conjunction with concepts, Hanna and Allais are right with regard to the existence of essentially nonconceptual content (intuitions) independently of the functions of the understanding, but that they are wrong with regard to non-conceptualised intuition being synthesised content in Kantâs sense.
Kantian conceptualists (Bowman 2011; Griffith 2012; Gomes 2014) have responded to the recent nonconceptualist offensive, with reference to A89ff./B122ff. (§13)âwhich, confusingly, the nonconceptualists also cite as evidence for their contrary readingâby arguing that the nonconceptualist view conflicts with the central goal of the Transcendental Deduction, namely, to argue that all intuitions are subject to the categories. I contend that the conceptualist reading of A89ff./B122ff. is unfounded, but also that the nonconceptualists are wrong to believe that intuitions as such refer strictly to objects independently of the functions of the understanding, and that they are mistaken about the relation between figurative synthesis and intellectual synthesis. I argue that Kant is a conceptualist, albeit not in the sense that standard conceptualists assume. Perceptual knowledge is always judgemental, though without this resulting in the standard conceptualist claim that, necessarily, all intuitions or all perceptions per se stand under the categories (strong conceptualism). I endorse the nonconceptualist view that, for Kant, perception per se, i.e. any mere or âblindâ intuition of objects (i.e. objects as indeterminate appearances) short of perceptual knowledge, does not necessarily stand under the categories. Perception is not yet perceptual knowledge. In this context, I point out the common failure in the literature on the Transcendental Deduction, both of the conceptualist and nonconceptualist stripe, to take account of the modal nature of Kantâs argument for the relation between intuition and concept insofar as cognition should arise from it
Six Years of Chandra Observations of Supernova Remnants
We present a review of the first six years of Chandra X-ray Observatory
observations of supernova remnants. From the official "first-light" observation
of Cassiopeia A that revealed for the first time the compact remnant of the
explosion, to the recent million-second spectrally-resolved observation that
revealed new details of the stellar composition and dynamics of the original
explosion, Chandra observations have provided new insights into the supernova
phenomenon. We present an admittedly biased overview of six years of these
observations, highlighting new discoveries made possible by Chandra's unique
capabilities.Comment: 82 pages, 28 figures, for the book Astrophysics Update
Radically self-deceived? Not so fast
Contains fulltext :
219088pos.pdf (postprint version ) (Closed access)We donât know our own mental states and we donât have free will. These are Pelham et al.âs central claims in a nutshell. In principle, these two claims are independent: if one lacks free will because, say, all of oneâs actions are controlled by an evil demon, itâs still possible for one to know that one believes itâs Friday or that one wants a cup of coffee. Conversely, itâs possible to have free will and to be radically self-deceived or ignorant about oneâs mental states. The authors seem to take the two topics together because of their focus on âknowing whyâ. If we donât know why we think what we think, we lack self-knowledge; if we donât know why we do what we do, we lack free will. In this paper, we argue that Pelham et al. fail to acknowledge that âknowing whyâ one believes or does something is ambiguous between rationalizing and non-rationalizing explanations. The two dramatic claims do not follow in any straightforward sense once this ambiguity is properly recognized, or so we claim
- âŠ