9,779 research outputs found
High mass X-ray binaries in the NIRorbital solutions of two highly obscured systems
The maximum mass of a neutron star (NS) is poorly defined. Theoretical
attempts to define this mass have thus far been unsuccessful. Observational
results currently provide the only means of narrowing this mass range down.
Eclipsing X-ray binary (XRB) pulsar systems are the only interacting binaries
in which the mass of the NS may be measured directly. Only 10 such systems are
known to exist, 6 of which have yielded NS masses in the range 1.06 - 1.86
M.We present the first orbital solutions of two further eclipsing
systems, OAO 1657-415 and EXO 1722-363, whose donor stars have only recently
been identified. Using observations obtained using the VLT/ISAAC NIR
spectrograph, our initial work was concerned with providing an accurate
spectral classification of the two counterpart stars, leading to a consistent
explanation of the mechanism for spin period evolution of OAO 1657-415.
Calculating radial velocities allowed orbital solutions for both systems to be
computed. These are the first accurate determinations of the NS and counterpart
masses in XRB pulsar systems to be made employing NIR spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of "The
multi-wavelength view of hot, massive stars", 39th Li`ege Int. Astroph.
Coll., 12-16 July 201
Vortex spectrum in superfluid turbulence: interpretation of a recent experiment
We discuss a recent experiment in which the spectrum of the vortex line
density fluctuations has been measured in superfluid turbulence. The observed
frequency dependence of the spectrum, , disagrees with classical
vorticity spectra if, following the literature, the vortex line density is
interpreted as a measure of the vorticity or enstrophy. We argue that the
disagrement is solved if the vortex line density field is decomposed into a
polarised field (which carries most of the energy) and an isotropic field
(which is responsible for the spectrum).Comment: Submitted for publication
http://crtbt.grenoble.cnrs.fr/helio/GROUP/infa.html
http://www.mas.ncl.ac.uk/~ncfb
Induced fission of 240Pu
We study the fission dynamics of 240Pu within an implementation of the
Density Functional Theory (DFT) extended to superfluid systems and real-time
dynamics. We demonstrate the critical role played by the pairing correlations.
The evolution is found to be much slower than previously expected in this fully
non-adiabatic treatment of nuclear dynamics, where there are no symmetry
restrictions and all collective degrees of freedom (CDOF) are allowed to
participate in the dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, talk given at The 6th International Conference on
Fission and Properties of Neutron-Rich Nuclei, Sanibel Island, Florida,
November 6-2 (2016
The X-ray Transient XTE J2012+381
We present optical and infrared observations of the soft X-ray transient
(SXT) XTE J2012+381 and identify the optical counterpart with a faint red star
heavily blended with a brighter foreground star. The fainter star is coincident
with the radio counterpart and appears to show weak H alpha emission and to
have faded between observations. The RXTE/ASM lightcurve of XTE J2012+381 is
unusual for an SXT in that after an extended linear decay, it settled into a
plateau state for about 40 days before undergoing a weak mini-outburst. We
discuss the nature of the object and suggest similarities to long orbital
period SXTs.Comment: 5 pages, 7 postscript figures included, uses mn.sty. Accepted for
publication in MNRA
Real time description of fission
Using the time-dependent superfluid local density approximation, the dynamics
of fission is investigated in real time from just beyond the saddle to fully
separated fragments. Simulations produced in this fully microscopic framework
can help to assess the validity of the current approaches to fission, and to
obtain estimate of fission observables. In this contribution, we concentrate on
general aspects of fission dynamics.Comment: Proceedings of the "15th Varenna Conference on Nuclear Reaction
Mechanisms," Varenna, Italy, June 201
Testing the Standard Model by precision measurement of the weak charges of quarks
In a global analysis of the latest parity-violating electron scattering
measurements on nuclear targets, we demonstrate a significant improvement in
the experimental knowledge of the weak neutral-current lepton-quark
interactions at low energy. The precision of this new result, combined with
earlier atomic parity-violation measurements, places tight constraints on the
size of possible contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model.
Consequently, this result improves the lower-bound on the scale of relevant new
physics to ~1 TeV.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; v2: further details on extraction of electroweak
parameters, new figur
Resolution-enhanced Mapping Spectrometer
A familiar mapping spectrometer implementation utilizes two dimensional detector arrays with spectral dispersion along one direction and spatial along the other. Spectral images are formed by spatially scanning across the scene (i.e., push-broom scanning). For imaging grating and prism spectrometers, the slit is perpendicular to the spatial scan direction. For spectrometers utilizing linearly variable focal-plane-mounted filters the spatial scan direction is perpendicular to the direction of spectral variation. These spectrometers share the common limitation that the number of spectral resolution elements is given by the number of pixels along the spectral (or dispersive) direction. Resolution enhancement by first passing the light input to the spectrometer through a scanned etalon or Michelson is discussed. Thus, while a detector element is scanned through a spatial resolution element of the scene, it is also temporally sampled. The analysis for all the pixels in the dispersive direction is addressed. Several specific examples are discussed. The alternate use of a Michelson for the same enhancement purpose is also discussed. Suitable for weight constrained deep space missions, hardware systems were developed including actuators, sensor, and electronics such that low-resolution etalons with performance required for implementation would weigh less than one pound
Assessing the sociology of sport: On sports mega-events and capitalist modernity
On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, one of the leading international scholars on sport and consumer culture, John Horne, considers the trajectory and challenges of research on sports mega-events and their place in capitalist modernity. In anchoring work on this topic in Roche’s definition of mega-events, Horne notes that sports mega-events are important symbolic, economic, and political elements in the orientation of nations to stake their place in global society. Fundamental issues about the concept of ‘mega-event’ pose challenges for scholars as questions remain over what qualifies as a sports mega-event and how ‘lived experience’ with such events transacts with media spectacularization and characterization. The essay closes by posing broader questions for further investigation about the economic, political, and social risks and benefits of sports mega-events and how these events may portend and relate to changing relations of economic and political power on a global scale
Molecule mapping of HR8799b using OSIRIS on Keck: Strong detection of water and carbon monoxide, but no methane
Context. In 2015, Barman et al. (ApJ, 804, 61) presented detections of
absorption from water, carbon monoxide, and methane in the atmosphere of the
directly imaged exoplanet HR8799b using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) with
OSIRIS on the Keck II telescope. We recently devised a new method to analyse
IFU data, called molecule mapping, searching for high-frequency signatures of
particular molecules in an IFU data cube.
Aims. The aim of this paper is to use the molecule mapping technique to
search for the previously detected spectral signatures in HR8799b using the
same data, allowing a comparison of molecule mapping with previous methods.
Methods. The medium-resolution H- and K-band pipeline-reduced archival data
were retrieved from the Keck archive facility. Telluric and stellar lines were
removed from each spectrum in the data cube, after which the residuals were
cross-correlated with model spectra of carbon monoxide, water, and methane.
Results. Both carbon monoxide and water are clearly detected at high
signal-to-noise, however, methane is not retrieved.
Conclusions. Molecule mapping works very well on the OSIRIS data of exoplanet
HR8799b. However, it is not evident why methane is detected in the original
analysis, but not with the molecule mapping technique. Possible causes could be
the presence of telluric residuals, different spectral filtering techniques, or
the use of different methane models. We do note that in the original analysis
methane was only detected in the K-band, while the H-band methane signal could
be expected to be comparably strong. More sensitive observations with the JWST
will be capable of confirming or disproving the presence of methane in this
planet at high confidence.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures and 2 tables, accepted by A&
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