1,374 research outputs found
Chandra Observations of SN 2004et and the X-ray Emission of Type IIp Supernovae
We report the X-ray detection of the Type II-plateau supernova SN 2004et in
the spiral galaxy NGC 6946, using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The position
of the X-ray source was found to agree with the optical position within ~0.4
arcsec. Chandra also surveyed the region before the 2004 event, finding no
X-ray emission at the location of the progenitor. For the post-explosion
observations, a total of 202, 151, and 158 photons were detected in three
pointings, each ~29 ks in length, on 2004 October 22, November 6, and December
3, respectively. The spectrum of the first observation is best fit by a thermal
model with a temperature of kT=1.3 keV and a line-of-sight absorption of
N_H=1.0 x 10^{22} cm^{-2}. The inferred unabsorbed luminosity (0.4-8 keV) is
~4x10^{38} erg/s, adopting a distance of 5.5 Mpc. A comparison between hard and
soft counts on the first and third epochs indicates a softening over this time,
although there is an insufficient number of photons to constrain the variation
of temperature and absorption by spectral fitting. We model the emission as
arising from the reverse shock region in the interaction between the supernova
ejecta and the progenitor wind. For a Type IIP supernova with an extended
progenitor, the cool shell formed at the time of shock wave breakout from the
star can affect the initial evolution of the interaction shell and the
absorption of radiation from the reverse shock. The observed spectral softening
might be due to decreasing shell absorption. We find a pre-supernova mass loss
rate of (2-2.5)x 10^{-6} M_{\odot} /yr for a wind velocity of 10 kms, which is
in line with expectations for a Type IIP supernova.Comment: total 19 pages including 7 figures. ApJ, in press. See
http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/rho/preprint/SN2004etms.ps for the paper
including full resolution image
Radiative neutron capture on a proton at BBN energies
The total cross section for radiative neutron capture on a proton, , is evaluated at big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) energies. The
electromagnetic transition amplitudes are calculated up to next-to leading
order within the framework of pionless effective field theory with dibaryon
fields. We also calculate the cross section and the photon
analyzing power for the process from the amplitudes. The
values of low energy constants that appear in the amplitudes are estimated by a
Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis using the relevant low energy experimental
data. Our result agrees well with those of other theoretical calculations
except for the cross section at some energies estimated by an
R-matrix analysis. We also study the uncertainties in our estimation of the
cross section at relevant BBN energies and find that the
estimated cross section is reliable to within 1% error.Comment: 21 pages and 12 eps figures; 6 eps figures and 2 references added,
and accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Lattice dynamics and the electron-phonon interaction in CaRuO
We present a Raman scattering study of CaRuO, in which we investigate
the temperature-dependence of the lattice dynamics and the electron-phonon
interaction below the metal-insulator transition temperature ({\it T}). Raman spectra obtained in a backscattering geometry with light polarized
in the ab-plane reveal 9 B phonon modes (140, 215, 265, 269, 292, 388,
459, 534, and 683 cm) and 9 A phonon modes (126, 192, 204, 251, 304,
322, 356, 395, and 607 cm) for the orthorhombic crystal structure
(PbcaD). With increasing temperature toward {\it T},
the observed phonon modes shift to lower energies and exhibit reduced spectral
weights, reflecting structural changes associated with the elongation of the
RuO octahedra. Interestingly, the phonons exhibit significant increases in
linewidths and asymmetries for {\it T} {\it T}. These results
indicate that there is an increase in the effective number of electrons and the
electron-phonon interaction strengths as the temperature is raised through {\it
T}, suggesting the presence of orbital fluctuations in the
temperature regime {\it T} {\it T} {\it T}.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
The Instanton Molecule Liquid and "Sticky Molasses" Above T_c
The main objective of this work is to explore the evolution in the structure
of the quark-antiquark bound states in going down in the chirally restored
phase from the so-called "zero binding points" T_zb to the QCD critical
temperature T_c at which the Nambu-Goldstone and Wigner-Weyl modes meet. In
doing this, we adopt the idea recently introduced by Shuryak and Zahed for
charmed , light-quark mesons and
gluons that at T_zb, the quark-antiquark scattering length goes through
infinity at which conformal invariance is restored, thereby transforming the
matter into a near perfect fluid behaving hydrodynamically, as found at RHIC.
We show that the binding of these states is accomplished by the combination of
(i) the color Coulomb interaction, (ii) the relativistic effects, and (iii) the
interaction induced by the instanton-anti-instanton molecules. The spin-spin
forces turned out to be small. While near T_zb all mesons are large-size
nonrelativistic objects bound by Coulomb attraction, near T_c they get much
more tightly bound, with many-body collective interactions becoming important
and making the and masses approach zero (in the chiral limit).
The wave function at the origin grows strongly with binding, and the near-local
four-Fermi interactions induced by the instanton molecules play an increasingly
more important role as the temperature moves downward toward T_c.Comment: Contribution to QM2004 proceedings, 4 page
Properties of Protostars in the Elephant Trunk in the Globule IC 1396A
Extremely red objects, identified in the early Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the bright-rimmed globule IC 1396A and photometrically classified as Class I protostars and Class II T Tauri stars based on their mid-infrared (mid-IR) colors, were spectroscopically observed at 5.5-38 μm (Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph), at the 22 GHz water maser frequency (National Radio Astronomy Observatory Green Bank Telescope), and in the optical (Palomar Hale 5 m) to confirm their nature and further elucidate their properties. The sources photometrically identified as Class I, including IC 1396A:α, γ, δ, ε, and ζ, are confirmed as objects dominated by accretion luminosity from dense envelopes, with accretion rates 1-10 × 10^–6 M☉ yr^–1 and present stellar masses 0.1-2 M☉. The Class I sources have extremely red continua, still rising at 38 μm, with a deep silicate absorption at 9-11 μm, weaker silicate absorption around 18 μm, and weak ice features including CO2 at 15.2 μm and H2O at 6 μm. The ice/silicate absorption ratio in the envelope is exceptionally low for the IC 1396A protostars, compared to those in nearby star-forming regions, suggesting that the envelope chemistry is altered by the radiation field or globule pressure. Only one 22 GHz water maser was detected in IC 1396A; it is coincident with a faint mid-IR source, offset from near the luminous Class I protostar IC 1396A:γ. The maser source, IC 1396A:γb, has luminosity less than 0.1 L☉, the first H2O maser from such a low-luminosity object. Two near-infrared (NIR) H2 knots on opposite sides of IC 1396A:γ reveal a jet, with an axis clearly distinct from the H2O maser of IC 1396A:γb. The objects photometrically classified as Class II, including IC 1396A:β, θ, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)J 21364964+5722270, 2MASSJ 21362507+5727502, LkHα 349c, Tr 37 11-2146, and Tr 37 11-2037, are confirmed as stars with warm, luminous disks, with a silicate emission feature at 9-11 μm, and bright Hα emission; therefore, they are young, disk-bearing, classical T Tauri stars. The disk properties change significantly with source luminosity: low-mass (G-K) stars have prominent 9-11 emission features due to amorphous silicates while higher-mass (A-F) stars have weaker features requiring abundant crystalline silicates. A mineralogical model that fits the wide- and low-amplitude silicate feature of IC 1396A:θ requires small grains of crystalline olivine (11.3 μm peak) and another material to to explain its 9.1 μm peak; reasonable fits are obtained with a phyllosilicate, quartz, or relatively large (greater than 10 μm) amorphous olivine grains. The distribution of Class I sources is concentrated within the molecular globule, while the Class II sources are more widely scattered. Combined with the spectral results, this suggests two phases of star formation, the first (4 Myr ago) leading to the widespread Class II sources and the central O star of IC 1396 and the second (less than 1 Myr ago) occurring within the globule. The recent phase was likely triggered by the wind and radiation of the central O star of the IC 1396 H II region
Carbon Monoxide in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant
We report the likely detection of near-infrared 2.29 m first overtone
Carbon Monoxide (CO) emission from the young supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
(Cas A). The continuum-subtracted CO filter map reveals CO knots within the
ejecta-rich reverse shock. We compare the first overtone CO emission with that
found in the well-studied supernova, SN 1987A and find 30 times less CO
in Cas A. The presence of CO suggests that molecule mixing is small in the SN
ejecta and that astrochemical processes and molecule formation may continue at
least ~300 years after the initial explosion.Comment: Accepted for the publication in ApJ Lette
Freshly Formed Dust in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant as Revealed by the Spitzer Space Telescope
We performed Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph mapping observations covering
nearly the entire extent of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (SNR), producing
mid-infrared (5.5-35 micron) spectra every 5-10". Gas lines of Ar, Ne, O, Si, S
and Fe, and dust continua were strong for most positions. We identify three
distinct ejecta dust populations based on their continuum shapes. The dominant
dust continuum shape exhibits a strong peak at 21 micron. A line-free map of 21
micron-peak dust made from the 19-23 micron range closely resembles the [Ar
II], [O IV], and [Ne II] ejecta-line maps implying that dust is freshly formed
in the ejecta. Spectral fitting implies the presence of SiO2, Mg
protosilicates, and FeO grains in these regions. The second dust type exhibits
a rising continuum up to 21 micron and then flattens thereafter. This ``weak 21
micron'' dust is likely composed of Al2O3 and C grains. The third dust
continuum shape is featureless with a gently rising spectrum and is likely
composed of MgSiO3 and either Al2O3 or Fe grains. Using the least massive
composition for each of the three dust classes yields a total mass of 0.02
Msun. Using the most-massive composition yields a total mass of 0.054 Msun. The
primary uncertainty in the total dust mass stems from the selection of the dust
composition necessary for fitting the featureless dust as well as 70 micron
flux. The freshly formed dust mass derived from Cas A is sufficient from SNe to
explain the lower limit on the dust masses in high redshift galaxies.Comment: 8 figures: Accepted for the publication in Ap
Radiative Neutron-Proton Capture in Effective Chiral Lagrangians
We calculate the cross-section for the thermal
process in chiral perturbation theory to next-to-next-to-leading order using
heavy-fermion formalism. The exchange current correction is found to be
in amplitude and the chiral perturbation at one-loop order
gives the cross section \sigma_{th}^{np}=(334\pm 2)\ {\mbox mb} which is in
agreement with the experimental value (334.2\pm 0.5)\ {\mbox mb}. Together
with the axial charge transitions, this provides a strong support for the power
of chiral Lagrangians for nuclear physics.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, uses epsfig.sty, 2 uuencoded figure
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