7,621 research outputs found
Diamphotoxin: the arrow poison of the Kung bushmen
Purification de la diamphotoxine et étude de ses caractéristiques pharmacologiques et biochimiques
Transient Emission From Dissipative Fronts in Magnetized, Relativistic Outflows. II. Synchrotron Flares
The time dependent synchrotron emission from relativistic jets, and the
relation between the synchrotron and ERC emission is considered within the
framework of the radiative front model. The timescale and profile of the
optically thin emission are shown to be determined, in this model, by the shock
formation radius, the thickness of expelled fluid slab and the variation of the
front's parameters due to its transverse expansion. For a range of reasonable
conditions, a variety of flare shapes can be produced, varying from roughly
symmetric with exponential rises and decays, as often seen in blazars, to
highly asymmetric with a fast rise and a much slower, power law decay, as seen
in GRB afterglows. The onset, duration, and fluence of low-frequency (below the
initial turnover frequency) and hard gamma-ray (above the initial gamma-spheric
energy) outbursts are limited by opacity effects; the emission at these
energies is quite generally delayed and, in the case of sufficiently short
length outbursts, severely attenuated. The observational consequences are
discussed. One distinctive prediction of this model is that in a single,
powerful source, the upper cutoff of the gamma-ray spectrum should be
correlated with the timescale of the outburst and with the amplitude of
variations at long wavelengths (typically radio to millimeter).Comment: AAS LaTex, 14 pgs, accepted to A
A New System of Parallel Isolated Nonthermal Filaments Near the Galactic Center: Evidence for a Local Magnetic Field Gradient
We report the discovery of a system of isolated nonthermal filaments
approximately 0.5 deg. northwest (75 pc in projection) of Sgr A. Unlike other
isolated nonthermal filaments which show subfilamentation, braiding of
subfilaments, and flaring at their ends, these filaments are simple linear
structures and more closely resemble the parallel bundled filaments in the
Galactic center radio arc. However, the most unusual feature of these filaments
is that the 20/90 cm spectral index uniformly decreases as a function of
length, in contrast to all other nonthermal filaments in the Galactic center.
This spectral gradient may not be due to simple particle aging but could be
explained by a curved electron energy spectrum embedded in a diverging magnetic
field. If so, the scale of the magnetic gradient is not consistent with a large
scale magnetic field centered on Sgr A* suggesting that this filament system is
tracing a local magnetic field.Comment: 10 pages, AASTeX 5.01 LaTeX2e; 7 figures in 9 PostScript files;
scheduled for publication in the 2001 December 10, v. 563 issue of Ap
A Low Frequency Survey of the Galactic Plane Near l=11 degrees: Discovery of Three New Supernova Remnants
We have imaged a 1 deg^2 field centered on the known Galactic supernova
remnant (SNR) G11.2-0.3 at 74, 330, and 1465 MHz with the Very Large Array
radio telescope (VLA) and 235 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope
(GMRT). The 235, 330, and 1465 MHz data have a resolution of 25 arcsec, while
the 74 MHz data have a resolution of 100 arcsec. The addition of this low
frequency data has allowed us to confirm the previously reported low frequency
turnover in the radio continuum spectra of the two known SNRs in the field:
G11.2-0.3 and G11.4-0.1 with unprecedented precision. Such low frequency
turnovers are believed to arise from free-free absorption in ionized thermal
gas along the lines of site to the SNRs. Our data suggest that the 74 MHz
optical depths of the absorbing gas is 0.56 and 1.1 for G11.2-0.3 and
G11.4-0.1, respectively. In addition to adding much needed low frequency
integrated flux measurements for two known SNRs, we have also detected three
new SNRs: G11.15-0.71, G11.03-0.05, and G11.18+0.11. These new SNRs have
integrated spectral indices between -0.44 and -0.80. Because of confusion with
thermal sources, the high resolution (compared to previous Galactic radio
frequency surveys) and surface brightness sensitivity of our observations have
been essential to the identification of these new SNRs. With this study we have
more than doubled the number of SNRs within just a 1 deg^2 field of view in the
inner Galactic plane. This result suggests that future low frequency
observations of the Galactic plane of similar quality may go a long way toward
alleviating the long recognized incompleteness of Galactic SNR catalogs.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures. Figure 7 is in color. Accepted to A
The Effect of 45{\deg} Grain Boundaries and associated Fe particles on Jc and resistivity in Ba(Fe0.9Co0.1)2As2 Thin Films
The anisotropy of the critical current density Jc depends in general on both
the properties of the flux lines (such as line tension, coherence length and
penetration depth) and the properties of the defects (such as density, shape,
orientation etc.). Whereas the Jc anisotropy in microstructurally clean films
can be scaled to an effective magnetic field containing the Ginzburg-Landau
anisotropy term, it is in general not possible (or only in a limited field
range) for samples containing extended defects. Here, the Jc anisotropy of a
Co-doped BaFe2As2 sample with 45{\deg} [001] tilt grain boundaries (GBs), i.e.
grain boundaries created by 45{\deg} in-plane rotated grains, as well as
extended Fe particles is investigated. This microstructure leads to c-axis
correlated pinning, both due to the GBs and the Fe particles and manifests in a
c-axis peak in the Jc anisotropy at low magnetic fields and a deviation from
the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau scaling at higher fields. Strong pinning at
ellipsoidal extended defects, i.e. the Fe particles, is discussed, and the full
Jc anisotropy is fitted successfully with the vortex path model. The results
are compared to a sample without GBs and Fe particles. 45{\deg} GBs seem to be
good pinning centers rather than detrimental to current flow.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, CEC-ICMC 2013 proceeding, accepted for
publication in Advances in Cryogenic Engineering (Materials
Highly effective and isotropic pinning in epitaxial Fe(Se,Te) thin films grown on CaF2 substrates
We report on the isotropic pinning obtained in epitaxial Fe(Se,Te) thin films
grown on CaF2 (001) substrate. High critical current density values larger than
1 MA/cm2 in self field in liquid helium are reached together with a very weak
dependence on the magnetic field and a complete isotropy. Analysis through
Transmission Electron Microscopy evidences the presence of defects looking like
lattice disorder at a very small scale, between 5 and 20 nm, which are thought
to be responsible for such isotropic behavior in contrast to what observed on
SrTiO3, where defects parallel to the c-axis enhance pinning in that directio
Gamma-ray Flares and VLBI Outbursts of Blazars
A model is developed for the time dependent electromagnetic - radio to
gamma-ray - emission of active galactic nuclei, specifically, the blazars,
based on the acceleration and creation of leptons at a propagating
discontinuity or {\it front} of a Poynting flux jet. The front corresponds to a
discrete relativistic jet component as observed with
very-long-baseline-interferometry (VLBI). Equations are derived for the number,
momentum, and energy of particles in the front taking into account synchrotron,
synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC), and inverse-Compton processes as well as
photon-photon pair production. The apparent synchrotron, SSC, and
inverse-Compton luminosities as functions of time are determined. Predictions
of the model are compared with observations in the gamma, optical and radio
bands. The delay between the high-energy gamma-ray flare and the onset of the
radio is explained by self-absorption and/or free-free absorption by external
plasma. Two types of gamma-ray flares are predicted depending on pair creation
in the front.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to ApJ. 10 figures can be obtained from R.
Lovelace by sending postal address to [email protected]
CMB component separation by parameter estimation
We propose a solution to the CMB component separation problem based on
standard parameter estimation techniques. We assume a parametric spectral model
for each signal component, and fit the corresponding parameters pixel by pixel
in a two-stage process. First we fit for the full parameter set (e.g.,
component amplitudes and spectral indices) in low-resolution and high
signal-to-noise ratio maps using MCMC, obtaining both best-fit values for each
parameter, and the associated uncertainty. The goodness-of-fit is evaluated by
a chi^2 statistic. Then we fix all non-linear parameters at their
low-resolution best-fit values, and solve analytically for high-resolution
component amplitude maps. This likelihood approach has many advantages: The
fitted model may be chosen freely, and the method is therefore completely
general; all assumptions are transparent; no restrictions on spatial variations
of foreground properties are imposed; the results may be rigorously monitored
by goodness-of-fit tests; and, most importantly, we obtain reliable error
estimates on all estimated quantities. We apply the method to simulated Planck
and six-year WMAP data based on realistic models, and show that separation at
the muK level is indeed possible in these cases. We also outline how the
foreground uncertainties may be rigorously propagated through to the CMB power
spectrum and cosmological parameters using a Gibbs sampling technique.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, submitted to ApJ. For a high-resolution
version, see http://www.astro.uio.no/~hke/docs/eriksen_et_al_fgfit.p
- …