13,853 research outputs found
The Fragmenting Superbubble Associated with the HII Region W4
New observations at high latitudes above the HII region W4 show that the
structure formerly identified as a chimney candidate, an opening to the
Galactic halo, is instead a superbubble in the process of fragmenting and
possibly evolving into a chimney. Data at high Galactic latitudes (b > 5
degrees) above the W3/W4 star forming region at 1420 and 408 MHz Stokes I
(total power) and 1420 MHz Stokes Q and U (linear polarization) reveal an
egg-shaped structure with morphological correlations between our data and the
H-alpha data of Dennison, Topasna, & Simonetti. Polarized intensity images show
depolarization extending from W4 up the walls of the superbubble, providing
strong evidence that the radio continuum is generated by thermal emission
coincident with the H-alpha emission regions. We conclude that the parts of the
HII region hitherto known as W4 and the newly revealed thermal emission are all
ionized by the open cluster OCl 352. Assuming a distance of 2.35 kpc, the ovoid
structure is 164 pc wide and extends 246 pc above the mid-plane of the Galaxy.
The shell's emission decreases in total-intensity and polarized intensity in
various locations, appearing to have a break at its top and another on one
side. Using a geometric analysis of the depolarization in the shell's walls, we
estimate that a magnetic field line-of-sight component of 3 to 5 uG exists in
the shell. We explore the connection between W4 and the Galactic halo,
considering whether sufficient radiation can escape from the fragmenting
superbubble to ionize the kpc-scale H-alpha loop discovered by Reynolds,
Sterling & Haffner.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
A radio continuum survey of the southern sky at 1420 MHz. Observations and data reduction
We describe the equipment, observational method and reduction procedure of an
absolutely calibrated radio continuum survey of the South Celestial Hemisphere
at a frequency of 1420 MHz. These observations cover the area 0h < R.A. < 24h
for declinations less than -10 degree. The sensitivity is about 50 mK T_B (full
beam brightness) and the angular resolution (HPBW) is 35.4', which matches the
existing northern sky survey at the same frequency.Comment: 9 pages with 9 figures, A&A, in pres
Chirality distribution and transition energies of carbon nanotubes
From resonant Raman scattering on isolated nanotubes we obtained the optical
transition energies, the radial breathing mode frequency and Raman intensity of
both metallic and semiconducting tubes. We unambiguously assigned the chiral
index (n_1,n_2) of approximately 50 nanotubes based solely on a third-neighbor
tight-binding Kataura plot and find omega_RBM=214.4cm^-1nm/d+18.7cm^-1. In
contrast to luminescence experiments we observe all chiralities including
zig-zag tubes. The Raman intensities have a systematic chiral-angle dependence
confirming recent ab-initio calculations.Comment: 4 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Understanding the negative thermal expansion in planar graphite–metal composites
The addition of graphitic fibers and flakes as fillers is commonly used to control the thermal expansion of metals. Sintered metal matrix composites with a planar distribution of graphite flakes show a low or negative thermal expansion coefficient perpendicular to the orientation plane of the graphite (z-CTE). Since the metal matrix has a positive isotropic expansion and graphite has a high z-CTE, this effect cannot be explained by a simple model of stapled metal–graphite layers. Instead, a mechanical interaction between graphite and matrix must be considered. With neutron scattering measurements, we show that there is little or no strain of the graphite flakes caused by the matrix, which can be explained by the high modulus of graphite. Instead, we suggest that a macroscopic crumpling of the flakes is responsible for the low z-CTE of the composite. The crumpled flakes are thicker at low temperature and get stretched and flattened by the expanding matrix at high temperature, explaining the reduction in the thermal expansion across the orientation plane
G55.0+0.3: A Highly Evolved Supernova Remnant
Multi-frequency analysis has revealed the presence of a new supernova
remnant, G55.0+0.3, in the Galactic plane. A kinematic distance of 14 kpc has
been measured from HI spectral line data. The faint, clumpy half-shell is
non-thermal and has a physical radius of 70 pc. Using an evolutionary model,
the age of the remnant is estimated to be on the order of one million years,
which exceeds conventional limits by a factor of five. The remnant may be
associated with the nearby pulsar J1932+2020, which has a spin-down age of 1.1
million years. This work implies that the radiative lifetimes of remnants could
be much longer than previously suggested.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures in 9 files (figures 1 and 2 require 2 files
each), Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (Jan. 20, 1998
volume
Reason Minus Zero/No Limit: Trying to Bring It Back Home
Negotiations connected with database renewals are sharply critical and ultimately impact renewal decisions. Today, academic libraries face an ever-consolidating marketplace, often accompanied by disruptive cost increases that toss sound reasoning aside. Instances of super-exponential cost increases transfigure once reasonable practices based on sound criteria to unsustainable subscriptions and inappropriate access models. Most troubling is that libraries have seldom been asked to participate in stakeholder discussions before these models and decisions were made. The paper reviews University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Libraries struggle with these changing metrics. In context, the paper looks at how recent political upheaval in Wisconsin has overturned Wisconsin’s progressive heritage and contributed to a rapid dismantling of state funding for public higher education and its’ associated services. Wisconsin has been known as a ‘laboratory for democracy’ with its’ Wisconsin Idea, publicly championing higher education’s mission and expertise in service of the common good. Times are changing. Today, not only does Wisconsin’s public higher education confront losses of state funding, it faces changing demographics, reduced FTE’s, all equating to even less budget dollars. In turn, budget shortfalls have made it nearly impossible to address declining infrastructures, needs for academic program reorganization and institutional restructuring, much less maintain and enhance existing services
The strength of the radial-breathing mode in single-walled carbon nanotubes
We show by ab initio calculations that the electron-phonon coupling matrix
element M of the radial breathing mode in single-walled carbon nanotubes
depends strongly on tube chirality. For nanotubes of the same diameter the
coupling strength |M|^2 is up to one order of magnitude stronger for zig-zag
than for armchair tubes. For (n,m) tubes M depends on the value of (n-m) mod 3,
which allows to discriminate semiconducting nano tubes with similar diameter by
their Raman scattering intensity. We show measured resonance Raman profiles of
the radial breathing mode which support our theoretical predictions
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