867 research outputs found
Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter - GAP - aboard the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator IKAROS
The small solar power sail demonstrator "IKAROS" is a Japanese engineering
verification spacecraft launched by H-IIA rocket on May 21, 2010 at JAXA
Tanegashima Space Center. IKAROS has a huge sail with 20 m in diameter which is
made of thin polyimide membrane. This sail converts the solar
radiation-pressure into the propulsion force of IKAROS and accelerates the
spacecraft. The Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter (GAP) aboard IKAROS is the first
polarimeter to observe the gamma-ray polarization of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs)
during the IKAROS cruising phase. GAP is a tinny detector of 3.8 kg in weight
and 17 cm in size with an energy range between 50-300 keV. The GAP detector
also plays a role of the interplanetary network (IPN) to determine the GRB
direction. The detection principle of gamma-ray polarization is the anisotropy
of the Compton scattering. GAP works as the GRB polarimeter with the full
coincidence mode between the central plastic and the surrounding CsI detectors.
GAP is the first instrument, devoted for the observation of gamma-ray
polarization in the astronomical history. In this paper, we present the GAP
detector and its ground and onboard calibrations.Comment: Submitted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
(PASJ), 23 pages, 14 figure
Bipolar-Hyper-Shell Galactic Center Statrburst Model: Further Evidence from ROSAT Data and New Radio and X-ray Simulations
Using the all-sky ROSAT soft X-ray and 408-MHz radio continuum data, we show
that the North Polar Spur and its western and southern counter-spurs draw a
giant dumbbell-shape necked at the galactic plane. We interpret these features
as due to a shock front originating from a starburst 15 million years ago with
a total energy of the order of ergs or type II
supernovae. We simulate all-sky distributions of radio continuum and soft X-ray
intensities based on the bipolar-hyper-shell galactic center starburst model.
The simulations can well reproduce the radio NPS and related spurs, as well as
radio spurs in the tangential directions of spiral arms. Simulated X-ray maps
in 0.25, 0.75 and 1.5 keV bands reproduce the ROSAT X-ray NPS, its western and
southern counter-spurs, and the absorption layer along the galactic plane. We
propose to use the ROSAT all-sky maps to probe the physics of gas in the
halo-intergalactic interface, and to directly date and measure the energy of a
recent Galactic Center starburst.Comment: To appear in ApJ, Latex MS in ApJ macro, 8 figures in jpg (original
quality ps figs available on request
Structure and magnetism in carbon nanotubes including magnetic wire
金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科計算科学金沢大学理学部We have studied the electronic structure of the carbon nanotubes which include Fe atomic wire with using the density functional theory. As the stable geometries, we obtained the straight and zigzag wires, which have ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic alignments, respectively. The antiferromagnets consists of the two ferromagnetic dimers which couple in antiparallel alignment. We presents the band dispersions and the density of states for the magnetic nanotubes. The electronic structure at the Fermi level consists of the Fe 3d and C 2pπ states, which shows a strong hybridization between them. © EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007
Search for the decay
We performed a search for the decay with the
E391a detector at KEK. In the data accumulated in 2005, no event was observed
in the signal region. Based on the assumption of
proceeding via parity-violation, we obtained the single event sensitivity to be
, and set an upper limit on the branching ratio to
be at the 90% confidence level. This is a factor of 3.2
improvement compared to the previous results. The results of proceeding via parity-conservation were also presented in this paper
Experimental study of the decay
The first dedicated search for the rare neutral-kaon decay
has been carried out in the E391a experiment at the
KEK 12-GeV proton synchrotron. The final upper limit of 2.6 at
the 90% confidence level was set on the branching ratio for the decay.Comment: 23 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication as a regular article
in Physical Review
Anhydrobiosis-associated nuclear DNA damage and repair in the sleeping chironomid: Linkage with radioresistance
Anhydrobiotic chironomid larvae can withstand prolonged complete desiccation as well as other external stresses including ionizing radiation. To understand the cross-tolerance mechanism, we have analyzed the structural changes in the nuclear DNA using transmission electron microscopy and DNA comet assays in relation to anhydrobiosis and radiation. We found that dehydration causes alterations in chromatin structure and a severe fragmentation of nuclear DNA in the cells of the larvae despite successful anhydrobiosis. Furthermore, while the larvae had restored physiological activity within an hour following rehydration, nuclear DNA restoration typically took 72 to 96 h. The DNA fragmentation level and the recovery of DNA integrity in the rehydrated larvae after anhydrobiosis were similar to those of hydrated larvae irradiated with 70 Gy of high-linear energy transfer (LET) ions (4He). In contrast, low-LET radiation (gamma-rays) of the same dose caused less initial damage to the larvae, and DNA was completely repaired within within 24 h. The expression of genes encoding the DNA repair enzymes occurred upon entering anhydrobiosis and exposure to high- and low-LET radiations, indicative of DNA damage that includes double-strand breaks and their subsequent repair. The expression of antioxidant enzymes-coding genes was also elevated in the anhydrobiotic and the gamma-ray-irradiated larvae that probably functions to reduce the negative effect of reactive oxygen species upon exposure to these stresses. Indeed the mature antioxidant proteins accumulated in the dry larvae and the total activity of antioxidants increased by a 3-4 fold in association with anhydrobiosis. We conclude that one of the factors explaining the relationship between radioresistance and the ability to undergo anhydrobiosis in the sleeping chironomid could be an adaptation to desiccation-inflicted nuclear DNA damage. There were also similarities in the molecular response of the larvae to damage caused by desiccation and ionizing radiation. © 2010 Gusev et al
Landau model for uniaxial systems with complex order parameter
We study the Landau model for uniaxial incommensurate-commensurate systems of
the I class by keeping Umklapp terms of third and fourth order in the expansion
of the free energy. It applies to systems in which the soft mode minimum lies
between the corresponding commensurate wave numbers. The minimization of the
Landau functional leads to the sine-Gordon equation with two nonlinear terms,
equivalent to the equation of motion for the well-known classical mechanical
problem of two mixing resonances. We calculate the average free energies for
periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic solutions of this equation, and show that
in the regime of finite strengths of Umklapp terms only periodic solutions are
absolute minima of the free energy, so that the phase diagram contains only
commensurate configurations. The phase transitions between neighboring
configurations are of the first order, and the wave number of ordering goes
through harmless staircase with a finite number of steps. These results are the
basis for the interpretation of phase diagrams for some materials from the I
class of incommensurate-commensurate systems, in particular of those for
ABX and BCCD compounds. Also, we argue that chaotic barriers which
separate metastable periodic solutions represent an intrinsic mechanism for
observed memory effects and thermal hystereses.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX, to be published in Phys. Rev.
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