15,282 research outputs found
Spectral evidence for a powerful compact jet from XTE J1118+480
We present observations of the X-ray transient XTE J1118+480 during its
Low/Hard X-ray state outburst in 2000, at radio and sub-millimetre wavelengths
with the VLA, Ryle Telescope, MERLIN and JCMT. The high-resolution MERLIN
observations reveal all the radio emission (at 5 GHz) to come from a compact
core with physical dimensions smaller than 65*d(kpc) AU. The combined radio
data reveal a persistent and inverted radio spectrum, with spectral index
\~+0.5. The source is also detected at 350 GHz, on an extrapolation of the
radio spectrum. Flat or inverted radio spectra are now known to be typical of
the Low/Hard X-ray state, and are believed to arise in synchrotron emission
from a partially self-absorbed jet. Comparison of the radio and sub-millimetre
data with reported near-infrared observations suggest that the synchrotron
emission from the jet extends to the near-infrared, or possibly even optical
regimes. In this case the ratio of jet power to total X-ray luminosity is
likely to be P_J/L_X >> 0.01, depending on the radiative efficiency and
relativistic Doppler factor of the jet. Based on these arguments we conclude
that during the period of our observations XTE J1118+480 was producing a
powerful outflow which extracted a large fraction of the total accretion power.Comment: Accepted for publication as a Letter in MNRA
High energy cosmic-ray interactions with particles from the Sun
Cosmic-ray protons with energies above eV passing near the Sun may
interact with photons emitted by the Sun and be excited to a
resonance. When the decays, it produces pions which further decay to
muons and photons which may be detected with terrestrial detectors. A flux of
muons, photon pairs (from decay), or individual high-energy photons
coming from near the Sun would be a rather striking signature, and the flux of
these particles is a fairly direct measure of the flux of cosmic-ray nucleons,
independent of the cosmic-ray composition. In a solid angle within
around the Sun the flux of photon pairs is about \SI{1.3e-3}{}
particles/(kmyr), while the flux of muons is about \SI{0.33e-3}{}
particles/(kmyr). This is beyond the reach of current detectors like
the Telescope Array, Auger, KASCADE-Grande or IceCube. However, the muon flux
might be detectable by next-generation air shower arrays or neutrino detectors
such as ARIANNA or ARA. We discuss the experimental prospects in some detail.
Other cosmic-ray interactions occuring close to the Sun are also briefly
discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Evidence for deceleration in the radio jets of GRS1915+105?
There is currently a clear discrepancy in the proper motions measured on
different angular scales in the approaching radio jets of the black hole X-ray
binary GRS1915+105. Lower velocities were measured with the Very Large Array
(VLA) prior to 1996 than were subsequently found from higher-resolution
observations made with the Very Long Baseline Array and the Multi-Element Radio
Linked Interferometer Network. We initiated an observing campaign to use all
three arrays to attempt to track the motion of the jet knots from the 2006
February outburst of the source, giving us unprecedented simultaneous coverage
of all angular scales, from milliarcsecond scales out to arcsecond scales. The
derived proper motion, which was dominated by the VLA measurements, was found
to be 17.0 mas per day, demonstrating that there has been no significant
permanent change in the properties of the jets since 1994. We find no
conclusive evidence for deceleration of the jet knots, unless this occurs
within 70 mas of the core. We discuss possible causes for the varying proper
motions recorded in the literature.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 13 pages, 10 figure
Photoproduction of Quarkonium in Proton-Proton and Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions
We discuss the photoproduction of and at high energy
, and heavy ion colliders. We predict large rates in
interactions at the Fermilab Tevatron %and in heavy-ion interactions at the
CERN LHC. These reactions can be and in and heavy-ion interactions at the
CERN LHC. The is also produced copiously at RHIC. These reactions can
be used to study the gluon distribution in protons and heavy nuclei. We also
show that the different CP symmetries of the initial states lead to large
differences in the transverse momentum spectra of mesonsComment: 4 pgs. with 3 figure
Indigenous entrepreneurship: Closing the gap on local terms
Within the federal government ‘Closing the Gap’ policy context this paper reports on local entrepreneurial activities by local Yolngu people in East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Particular attention is directed to members of the Rirratjingu clan in the town of Yirrkala. We describe how the activities of a local social enterprise offer pathways for the creation of income, employment and social capital within the local community and where the protection of cultural vitality and integrity is axiomatic. The findings point to the need for more flexible policy approaches, to enable the establishment and growth of Indigenous business activities outside the economic mainstream. We echo the calls in the literature for policy support for what has been described as the ‘hybrid economy’, which allows for participation in both economic and cultural activities
Australian indigenous social enterprise: Measuring performance
Purpose
Using an integrated framework for performance management of nonprofit organisations, this paper presents an analysis of the activities of an Indigenous social enterprise in the town of Yirrkala in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The evaluation focuses on the social effectiveness of the organisation and its ability to help generate income and employment and drive social capital creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is informed by data derived from ‘yarns’ with social enterprise staff and semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants who were selected using snowball sampling. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically.
Findings
The analysis reveals that the organisation provides a successful community-based pathway to increasing Indigenous economic participation on local terms at a time of regional economic decline and high levels of Indigenous unemployment nationally.
Practical implications
The measured effectiveness of Nuwul highlights the need for targeted policy support for Indigenous enterprises and that social entrepreneurship is far more likely to be successful in a supportive government policy environment. a critical need for government-initiated policies to encourage the formation of Indigenous social enterprises that are entrepreneurial and innovative in their solutions to poverty and marginalization. Such policies should not only aid the establishment of Indigenous ventures but also facilitate their long-term growth and sustainability.
Originality/value
While Indigenous entrepreneurial activities have been found to be effective in addressing Indigenous disadvantage in Australia, little is known about their community impact. The article provides original empirically grounded research on the measurement of Indigenous entrepreneurial activities and their wider community impact. The data show, against the backdrop of mixed results of government efforts to drive Indigenous economic mainstreaming, that the entrepreneurial activities analyzed in this paper are an example of more flexible and culturally appropriate pathways to achieving Indigenous equality in rural and remote regions of Australia
MERLIN observations of relativistic ejections from GRS 1915+105
We present high resolution MERLIN radio images of multiple relativistic
ejections from GRS 1915+105 in 1997 October / November. The observations were
made at a time of complex radio behaviour, corresponding to multiple
optically-thin outbursts and several days of rapid radio flux oscillations. The
radio imaging resolved four major ejection events from the system. As
previously reported from earlier VLA observations of the source, we observe
apparent superluminal motions resulting from intrinsically relativistic motions
of the ejecta. However, our measured proper motions are significantly greater
than those observed on larger angular scales with the VLA. Under the assumption
of an intrinsically symmetric ejection, we can place an upper limit on the
distance to GRS 1915+105 of 11.2 +/- 0.8 kpc. Solutions for the velocities
unambiguously require a higher intrinsic speed by about 0.1c than that derived
from the earlier VLA observations, whilst the angle to the line-of-sight is not
found to be significantly different. At a distance of 11 kpc, we obtain
solutions of v = 0.98 (-0.05,+0.02)c and theta = 66 +/- 2 degrees. The jet also
appears to be curved on a scale which corresponds to a period of around 7 days.
We observe significant evolution of the linear polarisation of the approaching
component, with large rotations in position angle and a general decrease in
fractional polarisation. The power input into the formation of the jet is very
large, >10^38 erg/s at 11 kpc for a pair plasma. If the plasma contains a cold
proton for each electron, then the mass outflow rate, >10^18 g/sec is
comparable to inflow rates previously derived from X-ray spectral fits.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
First e-VLBI observations of GRS 1915+105
We present results from the first successful open call e-VLBI science run,
observing the X-ray binary GRS 1915+105. e-VLBI science allows the rapid
production of VLBI radio maps, within hours of an observation rather than
weeks, facilitating a decision for follow-up observations. A total of 6
telescopes observing at 5 GHz across the European VLBI Network (EVN) were
correlated in real time at the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE).
Constant data rates of 128 Mbps were transferred from each telescope, giving 4
TB of raw sampled data over the 12 hours of the whole experiment. Throughout
this, GRS 1915+105 was observed for a total of 5.5 hours, producing 2.8 GB of
visibilities of correlated data. A weak flare occurred during our observations,
and we detected a slightly resolved component of 2.7 x 1.2 milliarcsecond with
a position angle of 140 (+/-2) degrees. The peak brightness was 10.2 mJy per
beam, with a total integrated radio flux of 11.1 mJy.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS 4 pages, 3 figure
- …