1,623 research outputs found
A search for millimetric emission from Gamma Ray Bursts
We have used the 2- year Differential Microwave Radiometer data from the
COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite to systematically search for
millimetric (31 - 90 GHz) emission from the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the
Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) GRB 3B catalog. The large
beamsize of the COBE instrument (7 degs FWHM) allows for an efficient search of
the large GRB positional error boxes, although it also means that fluxes from
(point source) GRB objects will be somewhat diluted. A likelihood analysis has
been used to look for a change in the level of millimetric emission from the
locations of 81 GRB events during the first two years (1990 & 1991) of the COBE
mission. The likelihood analysis determined that we did not find any
significant millimetric signal before or after the occurance of the GRB. We
find 95% confidence level upper limits of 175, 192 and 645 Jy or, in terms of
fluxes, of 9.6, 16.3 and 54.8 10^{-13} erg/cm^2/s, respectively at 31, 53 and
90 GHz. We also look separately at different classes of GRBs, including a study
of the top ten (in peak flux) GRBs, the "short burst" and "long burst" subsets,
finding similar upper limits. While these limits may be somewhat higher than
one would like, we estimate that using this technique with future planned
missions could push these limits down to \sim 1 mJy.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
Polarization-controlled evolution of light transverse modes and associated Pancharatnam geometric phase in orbital angular momentum
We present an easy, efficient and fast method to generate arbitrary linear
combinations of light orbital angular momentum eigenstates
starting from a linearly polarized TEM laser beam. The method exploits
the spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion capability of a
liquid-crystal-based -plate and a Dove prism inserted in a Sagnac polarizing
interferometer. The nominal generation efficiency is 100\%, being limited only
by reflection and scattering losses in the optical components. When closed
paths are followed on the polarization Poincar\'{e} sphere of the input beam,
the associated Pancharatnam geometric phase is transferred unchanged to the
orbital angular momentum state of the output beam.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figure
COBE Observations of the Microwave Counterparts of Gamma Ray Bursts
We have used the data from the COBE satellite to search for delayed microwave
emission (31 - 90 GHz) from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The large beam
of COBE is well matched to the large positional uncertainties in the GRB
locations, although it also means that fluxes from (point source) GRB objects
will be diluted. In view of this we are doing a statistical search of the GRBs
which occurred during the currently released COBE DMR data (years 1990 and
1991), which overlap GRBs recorded by GRO. Here we concentrate on
just the top 10 GRBs (in peak counts/second). We obtain the limits on the
emission by comparing the COBE fluxes before and after the GRB at the GRB
location. Since it is thought that the microwave emission should lag the GRB
event, we have searched the GRB position for emission in the few months
following the GRB occurrence.Comment: 5 pages, LaTE
A Radio Determination of the Time of the New Moon
The detection of the New Moon at sunset is of importance to communities based
on the lunar calendar. This is traditionally undertaken with visual
observations. We propose a radio method which allows a higher visibility of the
Moon relative to the Sun and consequently gives us the ability to detect the
Moon much closer to the Sun than is the case of visual observation. We first
compare the relative brightness of the Moon and Sun over a range of possible
frequencies and find the range 5--100\,GHz to be suitable. The next
consideration is the atmospheric absorption/emission due to water vapour and
oxygen as a function of frequency. This is particularly important since the
relevant observations are near the horizon. We show that a frequency of GHz is optimal for this programme. We have designed and constructed a
telescope with a FWHM resolution of 0.6 and low sidelobes to
demonstrate the potential of this approach. At the time of the 21 May 2012 New
Moon the Sun/Moon brightness temperature ratio was in agreement
with predictions from the literature when combined with the observed sunspot
numbers for the day. The Moon would have been readily detectable at from the Sun. Our observations at 16\,hr\,36\,min UT indicated that
the Moon would have been at closest approach to the Sun 16\,hr\,25\,min
earlier; this was the annular solar eclipse of 00\,hr\,00\,min\,UT on 21 May
2012.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Guidelines for the LTO Noise Assessment of Future Civil Supersonic Aircraft in Conceptual Design
One of the most critical regulatory issues related to supersonic flight arises from limitations imposed by community noise acceptability. The most efficient way to ensure that future supersonic aircraft will meet low-noise requirements is the verification of noise emissions from the early stages of the design process. Therefore, this paper suggests guidelines for the Landing and Take-Off (LTO) noise assessment of future civil supersonic aircraft in conceptual design. The supersonic aircraft noise model is based on the semi-empirical equations employed in the early versions of the Aircraft NOise Prediction Program (ANOPP) developed by NASA, whereas sound attenuation due to atmospheric absorption has been considered in accordance with SAE ARP 866 B. The simulation of the trajectory leads to the prediction of the aircraft noise level on ground in terms of several acoustic metrics (LAmax, SEL, PNLTM and EPNL). Therefore, a dedicated validation has been performed, selecting the only available supersonic aircraft of the Aircraft Noise and Performance database (ANP), that is, the Concorde, through the matching with Noise Power Distance (NPD) curves for LAmax and SEL, obtaining a maximum prediction error of +/- 2.19%. At least, an application to departure and approach procedures is reported to verify the first noise estimations with current noise requirements defined by ICAO at the three certification measurement points (sideline, flyover, approach) and to draw preliminary considerations for future low-noise supersonic aircraft design
Photon Self-Induced Spin to Orbital Conversion in TGG crystal at high laser power
In this paper, we present experimental evidence of a newly discovered
third-order nonlinear optical process Self-Induced Spin-to-Orbital Conversion
(SISTOC) of the photon angular momentum. This effect is the physical mechanism
at the origin of the depolarization of very intense laser beams propagating in
isotropic materials. The SISTOC process, like self-focusing, is triggered by
laser heating leading to a radial temperature gradient in the medium. In this
work we tested the occurrence of SISTOC in a terbium gallium garnet (TGG) rod
for an impinging laser power of about 100~W. To study the SISTOC process we
used different techniques: polarization analysis, interferometry and tomography
of the photon orbital angular momentum. Our results confirm, in particular,
that the apparent depolarization of the beam is due to the occurrence of
maximal entanglement between the spin and orbital angular momentum of the
photons undergoing the SISTOC process. This explanation of the true nature of
the depolarization mechanism could be of some help in finding novel methods to
reduce or to compensate for this usually unwanted depolarization effect in all
cases where very high laser power and good beam quality are required.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, submitte
QUIJOTE Scientific Results. II. Polarisation Measurements of the Microwave Emission in the Galactic molecular complexes W43 and W47 and supernova remnant W44
We present Q-U-I JOint TEnerife (QUIJOTE) intensity and polarisation maps at
10-20 GHz covering a region along the Galactic plane 24<l<45 deg, |b|<8 deg.
These maps result from 210 h of data, have a sensitivity in polarisation of ~40
muK/beam and an angular resolution of ~1 deg. Our intensity data are crucial to
confirm the presence of anomalous microwave emission (AME) towards the two
molecular complexes W43 (22 sigma) and W47 (8 sigma). We also detect at high
significance (6 sigma) AME associated with W44, the first clear detection of
this emission towards a SNR. The new QUIJOTE polarisation data, in combination
with WMAP, are essential to: i) Determine the spectral index of the synchrotron
emission in W44, beta_sync =-0.62 +/-0.03, in good agreement with the value
inferred from the intensity spectrum once a free-free component is included in
the fit. ii) Trace the change in the polarisation angle associated with Faraday
rotation in the direction of W44 with rotation measure -404 +/- 49 rad/m2. And
iii) set upper limits on the polarisation of W43 of Pi_AME <0.39 per cent (95
per cent C.L.) from QUIJOTE 17~GHz, and <0.22 per cent from WMAP 41 GHz data,
which are the most stringent constraints ever obtained on the polarisation
fraction of the AME. For typical physical conditions (grain temperature and
magnetic field strengths), and in the case of perfect alignment between the
grains and the magnetic field, the models of electric or magnetic dipole
emissions predict higher polarisation fractions.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Nanostructured titanium dioxide coatings prepared by Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD)
Titanium dioxide is a compound of great interest, due to its functional properties; one of its most important uses is as a photocatalyst. TiO2 coatings can be deposited using different techniques. Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (AACVD) is particularly interesting, as high temperature or pressure are not necessary to generate the gaseous precursors. Furthermore, by carefully choosing the deposition conditions (i.e. deposition temperature, solvent), it is possible to obtain deposits with different morphology and, consequently, different functional properties. In this paper we present the synthesis of titanium dioxide coatings with AACVD using complexes between titanium isopropoxide (TIPP) and acetyl acetone (acac) as precursors. Deposition experiments were performed using different ratios of TIPP to acac, to assess the effect on the composition of the coatings, their morphology and photocatalytic activity. Results showed that the use of acac led to nanostructured titanium dioxide (nanoparticles of about 10−25 nm diameter). Raman analysis showed the presence of both anatase and rutile phases. XPS analysis indicated the presence of residual carbonaceous species in the coatings; despite this, they displayed photocatalytic properties similar or superior to AACVD films without carbon. Photocatalytic tests, performed measuring the Formal Quantum Efficiency (FQE) and the Formal Quantum Yield (FQY) in the degradation of resazurin, showed that a acac:TIPP ratio equal to 1 led to the material with the highest performance, as the FQE value was about three times higher than that for the coating prepared with TIPP alone. Overall the complexes between TIPP and acac are promising precursors for the AACVD technique, leading to nanostructured coatings with enhanced performance
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