4,723 research outputs found
The Long Term Optical Variability of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714: Evidence for a Precessing Jet
We present the historic light curve of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714,
spanning the time interval from 1953 to 2003, built using Asiago archive plates
and our recent CCD observations, together with literature data. The source
shows an evident long term variability, over which well known short term
variations are superposed. In particular, in the period from 1961 to 1983 the
mean brightness of S5 0716+714 remained significantly fainter than that
observed after 1994. Assuming a constant variation rate of the mean magnitude
we can estimate a value of about 0.11 magnitude/year. The simultaneous
occurrence of decreasing ejection velocities of superluminal moving components
in the jet reported by Bach et al. (2005) suggests that both phenomena are
related to the change of the direction of the jet to the line of sight from
about 5 to 0.7 degrees for an approximately constant bulk Lorentz factor of
about 12. A simple explanation is that of a precessing relativistic jet, which
should presently be close to the smallest orientation angle. One can therefore
expect in the next ten years a decrease of the mean brightness of about 1
magnitude.Comment: to appear on The Astronomical Journal, 17 pages, 7 figures. Fig.2 is
given as a separated jpg fil
Rare diseases of the anterior segment of the eye: update on diagnosis and management
This special issue is focused on the current approaches used to identify and manage rare diseases of the anterior segment
of the eye, which range from congenital to acquired disorders that are caused by ocular or systemic conditions and often
have consequences that extend beyond the anterior segment of the eye
Optical and Radio monitoring of S5 1803+74
The optical (BVRI) and radio (8.4 GHz) light curves of S5 1803+784 on a time
span of nearly 6 years are presented and discussed. The optical light curve
showed an overall variation greater than 3 mag, and the largest changes occured
in three strong flares. No periodicity was found in the light curve on time
scales up to a year. The variability in the radio band is very different, and
shows moderate oscillations around an average constant flux density rather than
relevant flares, with a maximum amplitude of 30%, without a simultaneous
correspondence between optical and radio luminosity. The optical spectral
energy distribution was always well fitted by a power law. The spectral index
shows small variations and there is indication of a positive correlation with
the source luminosity. Possible explanations of the source behaviour are
discussed in the framework of current models.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
Filtering Through a Mess: A Proposal to Reduce the Confusion Surrounding the Requirements for Standing in False Advertising Claims Brought Under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act
Recovery trends of commercial fish: the case of an underperforming Mediterranean marine protected area
Temporal trends in the recovery of exploited species in marine protected areas (MPAs) are useful for a proper assessment of the efficacy of protection measures. The effects of protection on the fish assemblages of the sublittoral rocky reefs in the \u201cPenisola del Sinis-Isola di Mal di Ventre\u201d MPA (W. Sardinia, Italy) were evaluated using a multi-year series of data. Four surveys, conducted 7, 10, 13 and 15 years after the area was designated as an MPA
and carried out in the period spanning June and July, were used to estimate the abundance and biomass of commercial species. The surveys were carried out in zones with decreasing levels of fishing restrictions within the MPA (zones A, B, C) and in unprotected zones (OUT1 and OUT2), and underwater video visual census techniques were used. Protected zones only occasionally showed higher levels of abundance or biomass, and the trajectories of those metrics were not consistent across the years. In addition, the zone with the highest level of protection (zone A) never presented levels of abundance and biomass higher than those in zones B and C. This study shows that even 15 years after designation, protection has had no appreciable effect in the MPA studied. It is argued that this is emblematic of several shortcomings in the planning, regulation and enforcement frameworks of the MPA
Unveiling the nature of the unidentified gamma-ray sources III: gamma-ray blazar-like counterparts at low radio frequencies
About one third of the gamma-ray sources listed in the second Fermi LAT
catalog (2FGL) have no firmly established counterpart at lower energies so
being classified as unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGSs). Here we propose a
new approach to find candidate counterparts for the UGSs based on the 325 MHz
radio survey performed with Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the
northern hemisphere. First we investigate the low-frequency radio properties of
blazars, the largest known population of gamma-ray sources; then we search for
sources with similar radio properties combining the information derived from
the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS) with those of the NRAO VLA Sky
survey (NVSS). We present a list of candidate counterparts for 32 UGSs with at
least one counterpart in the WENSS. We also performed an extensive research in
literature to look for infrared and optical counterparts of the gamma-ray
blazar candidates selected with the low-frequency radio observations to confirm
their nature. On the basis of our multifrequency research we identify 23 new
gamma-ray blazar candidates out of 32 UGSs investigated. Comparison with
previous results on the UGSs are also presented. Finally, we speculate on the
advantages on the use of the low-frequency radio observations to associate UGSs
and to search for gamma-ray pulsar candidates.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, ApJS accepted for publication
(version pre-proof corrections
Functional biases in GRB's spectral parameter correlations
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) show evidence of different spectral shapes, light
curves, duration, host galaxies and they explode within a wide redshift range.
However, the most of them seems to follow very tight correlations among some
observed quantities relating to their energetic. If true, these correlations
have significant implications on burst physics, giving constraints on
theoretical models. Moreover, several suggestions have been made to use these
correlations in order to calibrate GRBs as standard candles and to constrain
the cosmological parameters. We investigate the cosmological relation between
low energy index in GRBs prompt spectra and the redshift . We
present a statistical analysis of the relation between the total isotropic
energy and the peak energy (also known as Amati relation) in
GRBs spectra searching for possible functional biases. Possible implications on
the vs relation of the vs correlation are
evaluated. We used MonteCarlo simulations and the boostrap method to evaluate
how large are the effects of functional biases on the vs . We
show that high values of the linear correlation coefficent, up to about 0.8, in
the vs relation are obtained for random generated samples of
GRBs, confirming the relevance of functional biases. Astrophysical consequences
from vs relation are then to be revised after a more accurate
and possibly bias free analysis.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, conference poster session: "070228: The Next
Decade of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows", Amsterdam, March 2007, MNRAS submitte
Blazar surveys with WMAP and Swift
We present the preliminary results from two new surveys of blazars that have
direct implications on the GLAST detection of extragalactic sources from two
different perspectives: microwave selection and a combined deep X-ray/radio
selection. The first one is a 41 GHz flux-limited sample extracted from the
WMAP 3-yr catalog of microwave point sources. This is a statistically well
defined sample of about 200 blazars and radio galaxies, most of which are
expected to be detected by GLAST. The second one is a new deep survey of
Blazars selected among the radio sources that are spatially coincident with
serendipitous sources detected in deep X-ray images (0.3-10 keV) centered on
the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) discovered by the Swift satellite. This sample is
particularly interesting from a statistical viewpoint since a) it is unbiased
as GRBs explode at random positions in the sky, b) it is very deep in the X-ray
band (\fx \simgt \ergs) with a position accuracy of a few
arc-seconds, c) it will cover a fairly large (20-30 square deg.) area of sky,
d) it includes all blazars with radio flux (1.4 GHz) larger than 10 mJy, making
it approximately two orders of magnitude deeper than the WMAP sample and about
one order of magnitude deeper than the deepest existing complete samples of
radio selected blazars, and e) it can be used to estimate the amount of
unresolved GLAST high latitude gamma-ray background and its anisotropy
spectrum.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Proc. of the 1st GLAST Symposium,
Feb 5-8, 2007, Stanford, AIP, Eds. S. Ritz, P. F. Michelson, and C. Meega
Halloysite Nanotubes: Smart Nanomaterials in Catalysis
The use of clay minerals as catalyst is renowned since ancient times. Among the different clays used for catalytic purposes, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) represent valuable resources for industrial applications. This special tubular clay possesses high stability and biocompatibility, resistance against organic solvents, and most importantly be available in large amounts at a low cost. Therefore, HNTs can be efficiently used as catalysts themselves or supports for metal nanoparticles in several catalytic processes. This review reports a comprehensive overview of the relevant advances in the use of halloysite in catalysis, focusing the attention on the last five years
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