1,065 research outputs found
Periodic Bursts of Coherent Radio Emission from an Ultracool Dwarf
We report the detection of periodic (p = 1.96 hours) bursts of extremely
bright, 100% circularly polarized, coherent radio emission from the M9 dwarf
TVLM 513-46546. Simultaneous photometric monitoring observations have
established this periodicity to be the rotation period of the dwarf. These
bursts, which were not present in previous observations of this target, confirm
that ultracool dwarfs can generate persistent levels of broadband, coherent
radio emission, associated with the presence of kG magnetic fields in a
large-scale, stable configuration. Compact sources located at the magnetic
polar regions produce highly beamed emission generated by the electron
cyclotron maser instability, the same mechanism known to generate planetary
coherent radio emission in our solar system. The narrow beams of radiation pass
our line of sight as the dwarf rotates, producing the associated periodic
bursts. The resulting radio light curves are analogous to the periodic light
curves associated with pulsar radio emission highlighting TVLM 513-46546 as the
prototype of a new class of transient radio source.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
325 MHz VLA Observations of Ultracool Dwarfs TVLM 513-46546 and 2MASS J0036+1821104
We present 325 MHz (90 cm wavelength) radio observations of ultracool dwarfs
TVLM 513-46546 and 2MASS J0036+1821104 using the Very Large Array (VLA) in June
2007. Ultracool dwarfs are expected to be undetectable at radio frequencies,
yet observations at 8.5 GHz (3.5 cm) and 4.9 GHz (6 cm) of have revealed
sources with > 100 {\mu}Jy quiescent radio flux and > 1 mJy pulses coincident
with stellar rotation. The anomalous emission is likely a combination of
gyrosynchrotron and cyclotron maser processes in a long-duration, large-scale
magnetic field. Since the characteristic frequency for each process scales
directly with the magnetic field magnitude, emission at lower frequencies may
be detectable from regions with weaker field strength. We detect no significant
radio emission at 325 MHz from TVLM 513-46546 or 2MASS J0036+1821104 over
multiple stellar rotations, establishing 2.5{\sigma} total flux limits of 795
{\mu}Jy and 942 {\mu}Jy respectively. Analysis of an archival VLA 1.4 GHz
observation of 2MASS J0036+1821104 from January 2005 also yields a
non-detection at the level of < 130 {\mu}Jy . The combined radio observation
history (0.3 GHz to 8.5 GHz) for these sources suggests a continuum emission
spectrum for ultracool dwarfs which is either flat or inverted below 2-3 GHz.
Further, if the cyclotron maser instability is responsible for the pulsed radio
emission observed on some ultracool dwarfs, our low-frequency non-detections
suggest that the active region responsible for the high-frequency bursts is
confined within 2 stellar radii and driven by electron beams with energies less
than 5 keV.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, submitted to A
Rotational Modulation of M/L Dwarfs due to Magnetic Spots
We find periodic I-band variability in two ultracool dwarfs, TVLM 513-46546 and 2MASS J00361617+1821104, on either side of the M/L dwarf boundary. Both of these targets are short-period radio transients, with the detected I-band periods matching those found at radio wavelengths (P = 1.96 hr for TVLM 513-46546 and P = 3 hr for 2MASS J00361617+1821104). We attribute the detected I-band periodicities to the periods of rotation of the dwarfs, supported by radius estimates and measured v sin i values for the objects. Based on the detected period of rotation of TVLM 513-46546 (M9) in the I band, along with confirmation of strong magnetic fields from recent radio observations, we argue for magnetically induced spots as the cause of this periodic variability. The I-band rotational modulation of the L3.5 dwarf 2MASS J00361617+1821104 appeared to vary in amplitude with time. We conclude that the most likely cause of the I-band variability for this object is magnetic spots, possibly coupled with time-evolving features such as dust clouds
Quasi-Two-Dimensional Dynamics of Plasmas and Fluids
In the lowest order of approximation quasi-twa-dimensional dynamics of planetary atmospheres and of plasmas in a magnetic field can be described by a common convective vortex equation, the Charney and Hasegawa-Mirna (CHM) equation. In contrast to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, the CHM equation admits "shielded vortex solutions" in a homogeneous limit and linear waves ("Rossby waves" in the planetary atmosphere and "drift waves" in plasmas) in the presence of inhomogeneity. Because of these properties, the nonlinear dynamics described by the CHM equation provide rich solutions which involve turbulent, coherent and wave behaviors. Bringing in non ideal effects such as resistivity makes the plasma equation significantly different from the atmospheric equation with such new effects as instability of the drift wave driven by the resistivity and density gradient. The model equation deviates from the CHM equation and becomes coupled with Maxwell equations. This article reviews the linear and nonlinear dynamics of the quasi-two-dimensional aspect of plasmas and planetary atmosphere starting from the introduction of the ideal model equation (CHM equation) and extending into the most recent progress in plasma turbulence.U. S. Department of Energy DE-FG05-80ET-53088Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of JapanFusion Research Cente
Synchronization of the Distributed Readout Frontend Electronics of the Baby MIND Detector
Baby MIND is a new downstream muon range detector for the WGASCI experiment. This article discusses the distributed readout system and its timing requirements. The paper presents the design of the synchronization subsystem and the results of its test
Baby MIND: A magnetised spectrometer for the WAGASCI experiment
The WAGASCI experiment being built at the J-PARC neutrino beam line will
measure the difference in cross sections from neutrinos interacting with a
water and scintillator targets, in order to constrain neutrino cross sections,
essential for the T2K neutrino oscillation measurements. A prototype Magnetised
Iron Neutrino Detector (MIND), called Baby MIND, is being constructed at CERN
to act as a magnetic spectrometer behind the main WAGASCI target to be able to
measure the charge and momentum of the outgoing muon from neutrino charged
current interactions.Comment: Poster presented at NuPhys2016 (London, 12-14 December 2016). Title +
4 pages, LaTeX, 6 figure
Baby MIND Experiment Construction Status
Baby MIND is a magnetized iron neutrino detector, with novel design features,
and is planned to serve as a downstream magnetized muon spectrometer for the
WAGASCI experiment on the T2K neutrino beam line in Japan. One of the main
goals of this experiment is to reduce systematic uncertainties relevant to
CP-violation searches, by measuring the neutrino contamination in the
anti-neutrino beam mode of T2K. Baby MIND is currently being constructed at
CERN, and is planned to be operational in Japan in October 2017.Comment: Poster presented at NuPhys2016 (London, 12-14 December 2016). 4
pages, LaTeX, 7 figure
Baby MIND: A magnetized segmented neutrino detector for the WAGASCI experiment
T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) is a long-baseline neutrino experiment in Japan
designed to study various parameters of neutrino oscillations. A near detector
complex (ND280) is located 280~m downstream of the production target and
measures neutrino beam parameters before any oscillations occur. ND280's
measurements are used to predict the number and spectra of neutrinos in the
Super-Kamiokande detector at the distance of 295~km. The difference in the
target material between the far (water) and near (scintillator, hydrocarbon)
detectors leads to the main non-cancelling systematic uncertainty for the
oscillation analysis. In order to reduce this uncertainty a new
WAter-Grid-And-SCintillator detector (WAGASCI) has been developed. A magnetized
iron neutrino detector (Baby MIND) will be used to measure momentum and charge
identification of the outgoing muons from charged current interactions. The
Baby MIND modules are composed of magnetized iron plates and long plastic
scintillator bars read out at the both ends with wavelength shifting fibers and
silicon photomultipliers. The front-end electronics board has been developed to
perform the readout and digitization of the signals from the scintillator bars.
Detector elements were tested with cosmic rays and in the PS beam at CERN. The
obtained results are presented in this paper.Comment: In new version: modified both plots of Fig.1 and added one sentence
in the introduction part explaining Baby MIND role in WAGASCI experiment,
added information for the affiliation
Confirmation of the Electron Cyclotron Maser Instability as the Dominant Source of Radio Emission from Very Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs
We report on radio observations of the M8.5 dwarf LSR J1835+3259 and the L3.5
dwarf 2MASS J00361617+1821104, which provide the strongest evidence to date
that the electron cyclotron maser instability is the dominant mechanism
producing radio emission in the magnetospheres of ultracool dwarfs. As has
previously been reported for the M9 dwarf TVLM 513-46546, periodic pulses of
100% circularly polarized, coherent radio emission are detected from both
dwarfs with periods of 2.84 +/- 0.01 and 3.08 +/- 0.05 hours respectively for
LSR J1835+3259 and 2MASS J00361617+1821104. Importantly, periodic unpolarized
radio emission is also detected from 2MASS J00361617+1821104, and brightness
temperature limitations rule out gyrosynchrotron radiation as a source of this
radio emission. The unpolarized emission from this and other ultracool dwarfs
is also attributed to electron cyclotron maser emission, which has become
depolarized on traversing the ultracool dwarf magnetosphere, possibly due to
propagations effects such as scattering. Based on available v sin i data in the
literature and rotation periods derived from the periodic radio data for the
three confirmed sources of electron cyclotron maser emission, TVLM 513-46546,
LSR J1835+3259 and 2MASS J00361617+1821104, we determine that the rotation axes
of all three dwarfs are close to perpendicular to our line of sight. This
suggests a possible geometrical selection effect due to the inherent
directivity of electron cyclotron maser emission, that may account for the
previously reported relationship between radio activity and v sin i observed
for ultracool dwarfs. We also determine the radius of the dwarf LSR J1835+3259
to be > 0.117 +/- 0.012 R_Sol. (abridged)Comment: 11 pages, 2 tables, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Scintillator ageing of the T2K near detectors from 2010 to 2021
The T2K experiment widely uses plastic scintillator as a target for neutrino interactions and an active medium for the measurement of charged particles produced in neutrino interactions at its near detector complex. Over 10 years of operation the measured light yield recorded by the scintillator based subsystems has been observed to degrade by 0.9-2.2% per year. Extrapolation of the degradation rate through to 2040 indicates the recorded light yield should remain above the lower threshold used by the current reconstruction algorithms for all subsystems. This will allow the near detectors to continue contributing to important physics measurements during the T2K-II and Hyper-Kamiokande eras. Additionally, work to disentangle the degradation of the plastic scintillator and wavelength shifting fibres shows that the reduction in light yield can be attributed to the ageing of the plastic scintillator. The long component of the attenuation length of the wavelength shifting fibres was observed to degrade by 1.3-5.4% per year, while the short component of the attenuation length did not show any conclusive degradation.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación SEV-2016-0588, PID2019-107564GB-I00, PGC2018-099388-BI00European Union 713673, 754496, RISE-GA822070-JENNIFER2 2020, RISE-GA872549-SK2HKJSPS KAKENHI (JP16H06288, JP18K03682, JP18H03701, JP18H05537, JP19J01119, JP19J22440, JP19J22258, JP20H00162, JP20H00149, JP20J2030
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