4,328 research outputs found
Understanding the relationship between the environment of the black hole and the radio jet: optical spectroscopy of compact AGN
We aim to investigate the relationship between radio jet activity on
parsec-scales and the characteristics of both the bright active galactic nuclei
(AGN) and their broad line regions (BLR). For this purpose, we combine 2cm Very
Long Baseline Array observations of AGN with their optical spectral
observations. This would enable us to investigate the optical spectra of a set
of 172 relativistically beamed, flat-spectrum AGN with the nuclear disk
oriented near to the plane of sky. Here, we present first results from optical
spectroscopic observations of the brightest AGN from the 2 cm VLBA survey, and
show a diversity of their spectral morphologies.Comment: 2 pages, to be published in the Proceedings of "Multiwavelength AGN
Surveys", Cozumel, Dec 8 - 12, 200
Radio-optical scrutiny of the central engine in compact AGN
We combine Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data for active
galactic nuclei (AGN) available from the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA) 2 cm
imaging survey and optical spectroscopy to investigate the relationships in the
emission-line region--central engine--radio jet system. Here, we present the
diversity of spectral types among the brightest AGN in our sample. We also
discuss correlations between the mass of the central engine and properties of
the parsec-scale radio jet for 24 AGN selected by the presence of H
broad-emission lines in their spectra.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the Workshop on
"Multiband Approach to AGN" held in Bonn (Germany), 30 September - 2 October
2004, to be published in "Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
Fractional-order operators: Boundary problems, heat equations
The first half of this work gives a survey of the fractional Laplacian (and
related operators), its restricted Dirichlet realization on a bounded domain,
and its nonhomogeneous local boundary conditions, as treated by
pseudodifferential methods. The second half takes up the associated heat
equation with homogeneous Dirichlet condition. Here we recall recently shown
sharp results on interior regularity and on -estimates up to the boundary,
as well as recent H\"older estimates. This is supplied with new higher
regularity estimates in -spaces using a technique of Lions and Magenes,
and higher -regularity estimates (with arbitrarily high H\"older estimates
in the time-parameter) based on a general result of Amann. Moreover, it is
shown that an improvement to spatial -regularity at the boundary is
not in general possible.Comment: 29 pages, updated version, to appear in a Springer Proceedings in
Mathematics and Statistics: "New Perspectives in Mathematical Analysis -
Plenary Lectures, ISAAC 2017, Vaxjo Sweden
Asteroids seen by JWST-MIRI: Radiometric Size, Distance and Orbit Constraints
Infrared measurements of asteroids are crucial for the determination of
physical and thermal properties of individual objects, and for the
understanding of the small-body populations in the solar system as a whole. But
standard radiometric methods can only be applied if the orbit of an object is
known, hence its position at the time of the observation. We present MIRI
observations of the outer-belt asteroid 10920 and an unknown object, detected
in all 9 MIRI bands in close proximity to 10920. We developed a new method
"STM-ORBIT" to interpret the multi-band measurements without knowing the
object's true location. The method leads to a confirmation of radiometric
size-albedo solution for 10920 and puts constraints on the asteroid's location
and orbit in agreement with its true orbit. Groundbased lightcurve observations
of 10920, combined with Gaia data, indicate a very elongated object (a/b >=
1.5), with a spin-pole at (l, b) = (178{\deg}, 81{\deg}), and a rotation period
of 4.861191 h. A thermophysical study leads to a size of 14.5 - 16.5 km, a
geometric albedo between 0.05 and 0.10, and a thermal inertia in the range 9 to
35 Jm-2s-0.5K-1. For the newly discovered MIRI object, the STM-ORBIT method
revealed a size of 100-230 m. The new asteroid must be on a very
low-inclination orbit and it was located in the inner main-belt region during
JWST observations. A beaming parameter {\eta} larger than 1.0 would push the
size even below 100 meter, a main-belt regime which escaped IR detections so
far. These kind of MIRI observations can therefore contribute to formation and
evolution studies via classical size-frequency studies which are currently
limited to objects larger than about one kilometer in size. We estimate that
MIRI frames with pointings close to the ecliptic and only short integration
times of a few seconds will always include a few asteroids, most of them will
be unknown objects.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for A&A publication on Nov
22, 202
Neurofeedback: principles, appraisal and outstanding issues
Neurofeedback is a form of brain training in which subjects are fed back
information about some measure of their brain activity which they are
instructed to modify in a way thought to be functionally advantageous. Over the
last twenty years, NF has been used to treat various neurological and
psychiatric conditions, and to improve cognitive function in various contexts.
However, despite its growing popularity, each of the main steps in NF comes
with its own set of often covert assumptions. Here we critically examine some
conceptual and methodological issues associated with the way general objectives
and neural targets of NF are defined, and review the neural mechanisms through
which NF may act, and the way its efficacy is gauged. The NF process is
characterised in terms of functional dynamics, and possible ways in which it
may be controlled are discussed. Finally, it is proposed that improving NF will
require better understanding of various fundamental aspects of brain dynamics
and a more precise definition of functional brain activity and brain-behaviour
relationships.Comment: 12 page
Kinematic Age Estimates for 4 Compact Symmetric Objects from the Pearson-Readhead Survey
Based on multi-epoch observations at 15 and 43 GHz with the Very Long
Baseline Array (VLBA) we detect significant angular expansions between the two
hot spots of 4 Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs). From these relative motions we
derive kinematic ages of between 300 and 1200 years for the radio emission.
These ages lend support to the idea that CSOs are produced in a recent phase of
activity. These observations also allow us to study the evolution of the hot
spots dynamically in individual sources. In all 4 sources the hot spots are
separating along the source axis, but in 1031+567 the tip of one hot spot
appears to be moving almost orthogonally to the source axis. Jet components,
seen in 3 of the 4 sources observed, are found to be moving relativistically
outward from the central engines towards the more slowly moving hot spots.Comment: in press at ApJ for v. 541 Oct. 1, 2000, 23 page LaTeX document
includes 6 postscript figure
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Dense dark-bright soliton arrays in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate
We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of regular dark-bright soliton arrays in a two-component atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. We demonstrate a microwave pulse-based winding technique which allows for a tunable number of solitary waves en route to observing their dynamics, quantified through Fourier analysis of the density. We characterize different winding density regimes by the observed dynamics including the decay and revival of the Fourier peaks, the emergence of dark-antidark solitons, and disordering of the soliton array. The experimental results are in good agreement with three-dimensional numerical computations of the underlying mean-field theory. These observations open a window into the study of soliton crystals and the dynamics, excitations, and lifetimes of such patterns
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