12,053 research outputs found
Superorbital Period in the High Mass X-ray Binary 2S 0114+650
We report the detection of a superorbital period in the high-mass X-ray
binary 2S 0114+650. Analyses of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
(RXTE) All-Sky Monitor (ASM) from 1996 January 5 to 2004 August 25 reveal a
superorbital period of 30.7 +/- 0.1 d, in addition to confirming the previously
reported neutron star spin period of 2.7 h and the binary orbital period of
11.6 d. It is unclear if the superorbital period can be ascribed to the
precession of a warped accretion disc in the system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS 27th January 2005. Manuscript
expanded to include discussion of evolution of periods, and hardness ratio
variability. Number of figures increased from 5 to 9. Accepted for
publication 19th December 200
GRO J1744-28, search for the counterpart: infrared photometry and spectroscopy
Using VLT/ISAAC, we detected 2 candidate counterparts to the bursting pulsar
GRO J1744-28, one bright and one faint, within the X-ray error circles of
XMM-Newton and Chandra. In determining the spectral types of the counterparts
we applied 3 different extinction corrections; one for an all-sky value, one
for a Galactic Bulge value and one for a local value. We find the local value,
with an extinction law of alpha = 3.23 +- 0.01 is the only correction that
results in colours and magnitudes for both bright and faint counterparts
consistent with a small range of spectral types, and for the bright
counterpart, consistent with the spectroscopic identification. Photometry of
the faint candidate indicates it is a K7/M0 V star at a distance of 3.75 +- 1
kpc. This star would require a very low inclination angle (i < 9deg) to satisfy
the mass function constraints; however it cannot be excluded as the counterpart
without follow-up spectroscopy to detect emission signatures of accretion.
Photometry and spectroscopy of the bright candidate indicate it is most likely
a G/K III star. The spectrum does not show Br-gamma emission, a known indicator
of accretion. The bright star's magnitudes are in agreement with the
constraints placed on a probable counterpart by the calculations of Rappaport &
Joss (1997) for an evolved star that has had its envelope stripped. The mass
function indicates the counterpart should have M < 0.3 Msol for an inclination
of i >= 15deg; a stripped giant, or a main sequence M3+ V star are consistent
with this mass-function constraint. In both cases mass-transfer, if present,
will be by wind-accretion as the counterpart will not fill its Roche lobe given
the observed orbital period. The derived magnetic field of 2.4 x 10^{11} G will
inhibit accretion by the propeller effect, hence its quiescent state.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 4 table, MNRAS accepted Changes to the content
and an increased analysis of the Galactic centre extinctio
Formation of a Nematic Fluid at High Fields in Sr3Ru2O7
In principle, a complex assembly of strongly interacting electrons can
self-organise into a wide variety of collective states, but relatively few such
states have been identified in practice. We report that, in the close vicinity
of a metamagnetic quantum critical point, high purity Sr3Ru2O7 possesses a
large magnetoresistive anisotropy, consistent with the existence of an
electronic nematic fluid. We discuss a striking phenomenological similarity
between our observations and those made in high purity two-dimensional electron
fluids in GaAs devices.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 11 extra pages of supplementary informatio
Further Observations of the Intermediate Mass Black Hole Candidate ESO 243-49 HLX-1
The brightest Ultra-Luminous X-ray source HLX-1 in the galaxy ESO 243-49
currently provides strong evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black
holes. Here we present the latest multi-wavelength results on this intriguing
source in X-ray, UV and radio bands. We have refined the X-ray position to
sub-arcsecond accuracy. We also report the detection of UV emission that could
indicate ongoing star formation in the region around HLX-1. The lack of
detectable radio emission at the X-ray position strengthens the argument
against a background AGN.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted 11th of Feb 2010. Contributed talk to
appear in Proceedings of "X-ray Astronomy 2009: Present Status,
Multi-Wavelength Approach and Future Perspectives", Bologna, Italy, September
7-11, 2009, AIP, eds. A. Comastri, M. Cappi, and L. Angelin
Optical variability of the accretion disk around the intermediate mass black hole ESO 243-49 HLX-1 during the 2012 outburst
We present dedicated quasi-simultaneous X-ray (Swift) and optical (Very Large
Telescope (VLT), V- and R-band) observations of the intermediate mass black
hole candidate ESO 243-49 HLX-1 before and during the 2012 outburst. We show
that the V-band magnitudes vary with time, thus proving that a portion of the
observed emission originates in the accretion disk. Using the first quiescent
optical observations of HLX-1, we show that the stellar population surrounding
HLX-1 is fainter than V~25.1 and R~24.2. We show that the optical emission may
increase before the X-ray emission consistent with the scenario proposed by
Lasota et al. (2011) in which the regular outbursts could be related to the
passage at periastron of a star circling the intermediate mass black hole in an
eccentric orbit, which triggers mass transfer into a quasi-permanent accretion
disk around the black hole. Further, if there is indeed a delay in the X-ray
emission we estimate the mass-transfer delivery radius to be ~1e11 cm.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Hydrodynamic Spinodal Decomposition: Growth Kinetics and Scaling Functions
We examine the effects of hydrodynamics on the late stage kinetics in
spinodal decomposition. From computer simulations of a lattice Boltzmann scheme
we observe, for critical quenches, that single phase domains grow
asymptotically like , with in two dimensions
and in three dimensions, both in excellent agreement with
theoretical predictions.Comment: 12 pages, latex, Physical Review B Rapid Communication (in press
The K-theoretic Farrell-Jones Conjecture for hyperbolic groups
We prove the K-theoretic Farrell-Jones Conjecture for hyperbolic groups with
(twisted) coefficients in any associative ring with unit.Comment: 33 pages; final version; to appear in Invent. Mat
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