5,628 research outputs found
Constraints on the distance to SGR 1806-20 from HI absorption
The giant flare detected from the magnetar SGR 1806-20 on 2004 December 27
had a fluence more than 100 times higher than the only two other SGR flares
ever recorded. Whereas the fluence is independent of distance, an estimate for
the luminosity of the burst depends on the source's distance, which has
previously been argued to be ~15 kpc. The burst produced a bright radio
afterglow, against which Cameron et al. (2005) have measured an HI absorption
spectrum. This has been used to propose a revised distance to SGR 1806-20 of
between 6.4 and 9.8 kpc. Here we analyze this absorption spectrum, and compare
it both to HI emission data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey and to
archival 12-CO survey data. We confirm ~6 kpc, as a likely lower limit on the
distance to SGR 1806-20, but argue that it is difficult to place an upper limit
on the distance to SGR 1806-20 from the HI data currently available. The
previous value of ~15 kpc thus remains the best estimate of the distance to the
source.Comment: 3 pages, 1 embedded EPS figure. Added sentences to end of Abstract
and Conclusion, clarifying that most likely distance is 15 kpc. ApJ Letters,
in pres
Plasma and cavitation dynamics during pulsed laser microsurgery in vivo
We compare the plasma and cavitation dynamics underlying pulsed laser
microsurgery in water and in fruit fly embryos (in vivo) - specifically for
nanosecond pulses at 355 and 532 nm. We find two key differences. First, the
plasma-formation thresholds are lower in vivo - especially at 355 nm - due to
the presence of endogenous chromophores that serve as additional sources for
plasma seed electrons. Second, the biological matrix constrains the growth of
laser-induced cavitation bubbles. Both effects reduce the disrupted region in
vivo when compared to extrapolations from measurements in water.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Upper Dimension and Bases of Zero-Divisor Graphs of Commutative Rings
For a commutative ring R with non-zero zero divisor set Z∗(R), the zero divisor graph of R is Γ(R) with vertex set Z∗(R), where two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if x y = 0. The upper dimension and the resolving number of a zero divisor graph Γ(R) of some rings are determined. We provide certain classes of rings which have the same upper dimension and metric dimension and give an example of a ring for which these values do not coincide. Further, we obtain some bounds for the upper dimension in zero divisor graphs of commutative rings and provide a subset of vertices which cannot be excluded from any resolving set
Microwave Spectroscopy
Contains reports on three research projects.United States Army Signal Corps (Contract DA36-039-sc-87376
Untangling cosmic magnetic fields: Faraday tomography at metre wavelengths with LOFAR
14 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in "The Power of Faraday Tomography" special issue of GalaxiesThe technique of Faraday tomography is a key tool for the study ofmagnetised plasmas in the new era of broadband radio-polarisation observations. In particular, observations at metre wavelengths provide significantly better Faraday depth accuracies compared to traditional centimetre-wavelength observations. However, the effect of Faraday depolarisationmakes the polarised signal very challenging to detect at metre wavelengths (MHz frequencies). In this work, Faraday tomography is used to characterise the Faraday rotation properties of polarised sources found in data from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). Of the 76 extragalactic polarised sources analysed here, we find that all host a radio-loud AGN (Active Galactic Nucleus). The majority of the sources (~64%) are large FRII radio galaxies with a median projected linear size of 710 kpc and median radio luminosity at 144 MHz of 4 × 10 26 W Hz -1 (with ~13% of all sources having a linear size > 1 Mpc). In several cases, both hotspots are detected in polarisation at an angular resolution of ~20'. One such case allowed a study of intergalactic magnetic fields on scales of 3.4 Mpc. Other detected source types include an FRI radio galaxy and at least eight blazars. Most sources display simple Faraday spectra, but we highlight one blazar that displays a complex Faraday spectrum, with two close peaks in the Faraday dispersion function.Peer reviewe
LISA data analysis I: Doppler demodulation
The orbital motion of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) produces
amplitude, phase and frequency modulation of a gravitational wave signal. The
modulations have the effect of spreading a monochromatic gravitational wave
signal across a range of frequencies. The modulations encode useful information
about the source location and orientation, but they also have the deleterious
affect of spreading a signal across a wide bandwidth, thereby reducing the
strength of the signal relative to the instrument noise. We describe a simple
method for removing the dominant, Doppler, component of the signal modulation.
The demodulation reassembles the power from a monochromatic source into a
narrow spike, and provides a quick way to determine the sky locations and
frequencies of the brightest gravitational wave sources.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures. References and new comments adde
Short communication: Multi-component interactions causing solidification during industrial-scale manufacture of pre-crystallized acid whey powders
peer-reviewedAcid whey (AW) is the liquid co-product arising from acid-induced precipitation of casein from skim milk. Further processing of AW is often challenging due to its high mineral content, which can promote aggregation of whey proteins, which contributes to high viscosity of the liquid concentrate during subsequent lactose crystallization and drying steps. This study focuses on mineral precipitation, protein aggregation, and lactose crystallization in liquid AW concentrates (∼55% total solids), and on the microstructure of the final powders from 2 independent industrial-scale trials. These AW concentrates were observed to solidify either during processing or during storage (24 h) of pre-crystallized concentrate. The more rapid solidification in the former was associated with a greater extent of lactose crystallization and a higher ash-to-protein ratio in that concentrate. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis indicated the presence of a loose network of protein aggregates (≤10 µm) and lactose crystals (100–300 µm) distributed throughout the solidified AW concentrate. Mineral-based precipitate was also evident, using scanning electron microscopy, at the surface of AW powder particles, indicating the formation of insoluble calcium phosphate during processing. These results provide new information on the composition- and process-dependent physicochemical changes that are useful in designing and optimizing processes for AW
A review of the Tragal Pointer: anatomy and its importance as a landmark in surgical procedures.
The tragal pointer has long been used as a surgical landmark for the identification of the facial nerve trunk and the maxillary artery in such procedures as parotidectomy, internal fixation of subcondylar and condylar fractures, mandibular osteotomy, temporomandibular joint arthroplasty and percutaneous blocks of branches of the trigeminal nerve and pterygopalatine ganglion. Aside from its use as an external landmark, it has also been implicated as a contributor to crease formation in the presence of peripheral arterial disease. This article will review the available literature on the tragal pointers use as an external landmark
The Cold and Hot Gas Content of Fine-Structure E and S0 Galaxies
We investigate trends of the cold and hot gas content of early-type galaxies
with the presence of optical morphological peculiarities, as measured by the
fine-structure index (Sigma). HI mapping observations from the literature are
used to track the cold-gas content, and archival ROSAT PSPC data are used to
quantify the hot-gas content. We find that E and S0 galaxies with a high
incidence of optical peculiarities are exclusively X-ray underluminous and,
therefore, deficient in hot gas. In contrast, more relaxed galaxies with little
or no signs of optical peculiarities span a wide range of X-ray luminosities.
That is, the X-ray excess anticorrelates with Sigma. There appears to be no
similar trend of cold-gas content with either fine-structure index or X-ray
content. The fact that only apparently relaxed E and S0 galaxies are strong
X-ray emitters is consistent with the hypothesis that after strong disturbances
such as a merger hot-gas halos build up over a time scale of several gigayears.
This is consistent with the expected mass loss from stars.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in A
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