2,652 research outputs found
Titan's Tropopause Temperatures from CIRS: Implications for Stratospheric Methane Cloud Formation
Analysis of Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) far-IR spectra enable the construction of Titan's temperature profile in the altitude region containing the tropopause. Whereas the methane V4 band at 1306/cm (7.7 microns) is the primary opacity source for deducing thermal structure between 100 km and 500 km, N2-N2 collision-induced absorption between 70 and 140/cm (143 microns and 71 microns) is utilized to determine temperatures at Titan's tropopause. Additional opacity due to aerosol and nitrile ices must also be taken into account in this part of the far-IR spectral region. The spectral characteristics of these particulate opacities have been deduced from CIRS limb data at 58degS, 15degS, 15degN, and 85degN. Empirically, the spectral shapes of these opacities appear to be independent of both latitude and altitude below 300 km (Anderson and Samuelson, 2011, Icarus 212, 762-778), justifying the extension of these spectral properties to all latitudes. We find that Titan's tropopause temperature is cooler than the HAS! value of 70.5K by approx. 6K. This leads to the possibility that subsidence at high northern latitudes can cause methane condensation in the winter polar stratosphere. A search for methane clouds in this region is in progress
The obscured gamma-ray and UHECR universe
Auger results on clustering of > 60 EeV ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR)
ions and the interpretation of the gamma-ray spectra of TeV blazars are
connected by effects from the extragalactic background light (EBL). The EBL
acts as an obscuring medium for gamma rays and a reprocessing medium for UHECR
ions and protons, causing the GZK cutoff. The study of the physics underlying
the coincidence between the GZK energy and the clustering energy of UHECR ions
favors a composition of > 60 EeV UHECRs in CNO group nucleons. This has
interesting implications for the sources of UHECRs. We also comment on the
Auger analysis.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, in the International Conference on Topics in
Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP) 2007, Sendai, Japan, September
11-15, 200
Multiwavelength Observations of a Flare from Markarian 501
We present multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae object Markarian
501 (Mrk 501) in 1997 between April 8 and April 19. Evidence of correlated
variability is seen in very high energy (VHE, E > 350 GeV) gamma-ray
observations taken with the Whipple Observatory gamma-ray telescope, data from
the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment of the Compton Gamma-Ray
Observatory, and quicklook results from the All-Sky Monitor of the Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer while the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope did not
detect Mrk 501. Short term optical correlations are not conclusive but the
U-band flux observed with the 1.2m telescope of the Whipple Observatory was 10%
higher than in March. The average energy output of Mrk 501 appears to peak in
the 2 keV to 100 keV range suggesting an extension of the synchrotron emission
to at least 100 keV, the highest observed in a blazar and ~100 times higher
than that seen in the other TeV-emitting BL Lac object, Mrk 421. The VHE
gamma-ray flux observed during this period is the highest ever detected from
this object. The VHE gamma-ray energy output is somewhat lower than the 2-100
keV range but the variability amplitude is larger. The correlations seen here
do not require relativistic beaming of the emission unless the VHE spectrum
extends to >5 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Search for TeV Gamma-Rays from Shell-Type Supernova Remnants
If cosmic rays with energies <100 TeV originate in the galaxy and are
accelerated in shock waves in shell-type supernova remnants (SNRs), gamma-rays
will be produced as the result of proton and electron interactions with the
local interstellar medium, and by inverse Compton emission from electrons
scattering soft photon fields. We report on observations of two supernova
remnants with the Whipple Observatory's 10 m gamma-ray telescope. No
significant detections have been made and upper limits on the >500 GeV flux are
reported. Non-thermal X-ray emission detected from one of these remnants
(Cassiopeia A) has been interpreted as synchrotron emission from electrons in
the ambient magnetic fields. Gamma-ray emission detected from the
Monoceros/Rosette Nebula region has been interpreted as evidence of cosmic-ray
acceleration. We interpret our results in the context of these observations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of 26th
International Cosmic Ray Conference (Salt Lake City, 1999
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