243 research outputs found
The Origin of the Iron-Rich Knot in Tycho's Supernova Remnant
X-ray observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) allow us to investigate the
chemical inhomogeneity of ejecta, offering unique insight into the
nucleosynthesis in supernova explosions. Here we present detailed imaging and
spectroscopic studies of the "Fe knot" located along the eastern rim of the
Type Ia SNR Tycho (SN 1572) using Suzaku and Chandra long-exposure data.
Surprisingly, the Suzaku spectrum of this knot shows no emission from Cr, Mn,
or Ni, which is unusual for the Fe-rich regions in this SNR. Within the
framework of the canonical delayed-detonation models for SN Ia, the observed
mass ratios M_Cr/M_Fe < 0.023, M_Mn/M_Fe < 0.012, and M_Ni/M_Fe < 0.029 (at 90%
confidence) can only be achieved for a peak temperature of (5.3-5.7) x 10^9 K
and a neutron excess of < 2.0 x 10^-3. These constraints rule out the deep,
dense core of a Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf as the origin of the Fe knot,
and favors either incomplete Si burning or the alpha-rich freeze-out regime,
probably close to their boundary. An explosive He burning regime is a possible
alternative, although this hypothesis is in conflict with the main properties
of this SNR.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Half-lives of rp-process waiting point nuclei
We give results of microscopic calculations for the half-lives of various
proton-rich nuclei in the mass region A=60-90, which are involved in the
astrophysical rp-process, and which are needed as input parameters of numerical
simulations in Nuclear Astrophysics. The microscopic formalism consists of a
deformed QRPA approach that involves a selfconsistent quasiparticle deformed
Skyrme Hartree-Fock basis and residual spin-isospin separable forces in both
the particle-hole and particle-particle channels. The strength of the
particle-hole residual interaction is chosen to be consistent with the Skyrme
effective force and mean field basis, while that of the particle-particle is
globally fixed to 0.07 MeV after a judicious choice from comparison to
experimental half-lives. We study and discuss the sensitivity of the half-lives
to deformation and residual interactions.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Eur. Phys. J.
Tidal evolution of exo-planetary systems: WASP-50, GJ 1214 and CoRoT-7
We perform numerical simulations to investigate tidal evolution of two
single-planet systems, that is, WASP-50 and GJ 1214 and a two-planet system
CoRoT-7. The results of orbital evolution show that tidal decay and
circularization may play a significant role in shaping their final orbits,
which is related to the initial orbital data in the simulations. For GJ 1214
system, different cases of initial eccentricity are also considered as only an
upper limit of its eccentricity (0.27) is shown, and the outcome suggests a
possible maximum initial eccentricity (0.4) in the adopted dynamical model.
Moreover, additional runs with alternative values of dissipation factor
are carried out to explore tidal evolution for GJ 1214b, and these
results further indicate that the real of GJ 1214b may be much
larger than its typical value, which may reasonably suggest that GJ 1214b bears
a present-day larger eccentricity, undergoing tidal circularization at a slow
rate. For the CoRoT-7 system, tidal forces make two planets migrating towards
their host star as well as producing tidal circularization, and in this process
tidal effects and mutual gravitational interactions are coupled with each
other. Various scenarios of the initial eccentricity of the outer planet have
also been done to investigate final planetary configuration. Tidal decay
arising from stellar tides may still work for each system as the eccentricity
decreases to zero, and this is in association with the remaining lifetime of
each planet used to predict its future.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in "SCIENCE CHINA
Physics,Mechanics & Astronomy
Deep X-ray and radio observations of the first outburst of the young magnetar Swift J1818.0-1607
Swift J1818.0-1607 is a radio-loud magnetar with a spin period of 1.36 s and
a dipolar magnetic field strength of B~3E14 G, which is very young compared to
the Galactic pulsar population. We report here on the long-term X-ray
monitoring campaign of this young magnetar using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and Swift
from the activation of its first outburst in March 2020 until October 2021, as
well as INTEGRAL upper limits on its hard X-ray emission. The 1-10 keV magnetar
spectrum is well modeled by an absorbed blackbody with a temperature of
kT_BB~1.1 keV, and apparent reduction in the radius of the emitting region from
~0.6 to ~0.2 km. We also confirm the bright diffuse X-ray emission around the
source extending between ~50'' and ~110''. A timing analysis revealed large
torque variability, with an average spin-down rate nudot~-2.3E-11 Hz^2 that
appears to decrease in magnitude over time. We also observed Swift J1818.0-1607
with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) on 2021 March 22. We detected
the radio counterpart to Swift J1818.0-1607 measuring a flux density of S_v =
4.38+/-0.05 mJy at 3 GHz, and a half ring-like structure of bright diffuse
radio emission located at ~90'' to the west of the magnetar. We tentatively
suggest that the diffuse X-ray emission is due to a dust scattering halo and
that the radio structure may be associated with the supernova remnant of this
young pulsar, based on its morphology.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication on Ap
Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the
distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies
eV. These show a correlation with the distribution
of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the
direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at
are heavy nuclei with charge , the proton component of the
sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies . We here
report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above
(for illustrative values of ). If the anisotropies
above are due to nuclei with charge , and under reasonable
assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent
constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies
Microbiological and chemical monitoring of Marsala base wine obtained by spontaneous fermentation during large-scale production
The present work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the natural winemaking on
the microbial and chemical composition of Marsala base wine. To this purpose, a
large-scale vinification process of Grillo grape cultivar was monitored from harvesting
to the final product. Total yeasts (TY) showed a rapid increase after must pressing and
reached values almost superimposable to those registered during the conventional
winemakings. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were registered at the highest levels
simultaneously to yeast growth at the beginning of the process. Saccharomyces
cerevisiae was the species found at the highest concentrations in all samples
analysed. Several strains (n= 16) was registered at high levels during the alcoholic
fermentation and/or aging of wine; only two of them were detected on the grape
surface. Lactobacillus plantarum was the LAB species most frequently isolated during
the entire vinification process. Ethanol content was approximately 14% (v/v) at the end
of vinification. The value of pH did not greatly vary during the process and the volatile
acidity (VA) was detected at low concentrations during the entire transformation. The
concentration of malic acid rapidly decreased during the AF; on the other hand, lactic
acid showed an irregular trend during the entire process. trans-caffeil tartaric acid was
the most abundant hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acid and volatile organic compounds
(VOC) were mainly represented by isoamylic alcohol and isobutanol
Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the
development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of
cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air
shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and
fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis
functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions
for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a
natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with
radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and
features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its
functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced
features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced
signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a
very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data
formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of
this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on
request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to
author list and references in v
Search for First Harmonic Modulation in the Right Ascension Distribution of Cosmic Rays Detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different
energy ranges above eV with the surface detector array of
the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude
measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension
distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the
most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% for EeV
energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well
as with some theoretical expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
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