10,749 research outputs found
Tri-county pilot study
The author has identified the following significant results. An area inventory was performed for three southeast Texas counties (Montgomery, Walker, and San Jacinto) totaling 0.65 million hectares. The inventory was performed using a two level hierarchy. Level 1 was divided into forestland, rangeland, and other land. Forestland was separated into Level 2 categories: pine, hardwood, and mixed; rangeland was not separated further. Results consisted of area statistics for each county and for the entire study site for pine, hardwood, mixed, rangeland, and other land. Color coded county classification maps were produced for the May data set, and procedures were developed and tested
Southern hemispheric halon trends and global halon emissions, 1978–2011
The atmospheric records of four halons, H-1211 (CBrClF2), H-1301 (CBrF3), H-2402 (CBrF2CBrF2) and H-1202 (CBr2F2), measured from air collected at Cape Grim, Tasmania, between 1978 and 2011, are reported. Mixing ratios of H-1211, H-2402 and H-1202 began to decline in the early to mid-2000s, but those of H-1301 continue to increase up to mid-2011. These trends are compared to those reported by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and AGAGE (Advanced Global Atmospheric Experiment). The observations suggest that the contribution of the halons to total tropospheric bromine at Cape Grim has begun to decline from a peak in 2008 of about 8.1 ppt. An extrapolation of halon mixing ratios to 2060, based on reported banks and predicted release factors, shows this decline becoming more rapid in the coming decades, with a contribution to total tropospheric bromine of about 3 ppt in 2060. Top-down global annual emissions of the halons were derived using a two-dimensional atmospheric model. The emissions of all four have decreased since peaking in the late 1980s–mid-1990s, but this decline has slowed recently, particularly for H-1301 and H-2402 which have shown no decrease in emissions over the past five years. The UEA (University of East Anglia) top-down model-derived emissions are compared to those reported using a top-down approach by NOAA and AGAGE and the bottom-up estimates of HTOC (Halons Technical Options Committee). The implications of an alternative set of steady-state atmospheric lifetimes are discussed. Using a lifetime of 14 yr or less for H-1211 to calculate top-down emissions estimates would lead to small, or even negative, estimated banks given reported production data. Finally emissions of H-1202, a product of over-bromination during the production process of H-1211, have continued despite reported production of H-1211 ceasing in 2010. This raises questions as to the source of these H-1202 emissions
First Season QUIET Observations: Measurements of Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Power Spectra at 43 GHz in the Multipole Range 25 ≤ ℓ ≤ 475
The Q/U Imaging ExperimenT (QUIET) employs coherent receivers at 43 GHz and 94 GHz, operating on the Chajnantor plateau in the Atacama Desert in Chile, to measure the anisotropy in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). QUIET primarily targets the B modes from primordial gravitational waves. The combination of these frequencies gives sensitivity to foreground contributions from diffuse Galactic synchrotron radiation. Between 2008 October and 2010 December, over 10,000 hr of data were collected, first with the 19 element 43 GHz array (3458 hr) and then with the 90 element 94 GHz array. Each array observes the same four fields, selected for low foregrounds, together covering ≈1000 deg^2. This paper reports initial results from the 43 GHz receiver, which has an array sensitivity to CMB fluctuations of 69 μK√s. The data were extensively studied with a large suite of null tests before the power spectra, determined with two independent pipelines, were examined. Analysis choices, including data selection, were modified until the null tests passed. Cross-correlating maps with different telescope pointings is used to eliminate a bias. This paper reports the EE, BB, and EB power spectra in the multipole range ℓ = 25-475. With the exception of the lowest multipole bin for one of the fields, where a polarized foreground, consistent with Galactic synchrotron radiation, is detected with 3σ significance, the E-mode spectrum is consistent with the ΛCDM model, confirming the only previous detection of the first acoustic peak. The B-mode spectrum is consistent with zero, leading to a measurement of the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r = 0.35^(+1.06)_(–0.87). The combination of a new time-stream "double-demodulation" technique, side-fed Dragonian optics, natural sky rotation, and frequent boresight rotation leads to the lowest level of systematic contamination in the B-mode power so far reported, below the level of r = 0.1
A quasi-periodic oscillation in the blazar J1359+4011
The OVRO 40-m telescope has been monitoring the 15 GHz radio flux density of
over 1200 blazars since 2008. The 15 GHz light curve of the flat spectrum radio
quasar J1359+4011 shows a strong and persistent quasi-periodic oscillation. The
time-scale of the oscillation varies between 120 and 150 days over a
year time span. We interpret this as the active galactic nucleus mass-scaled
analog of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from Galactic microquasars,
or as evidence of modulation of the accretion flow by thermal instabilites in
the "inner" accretion disc.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letter
The connection between the 15 GHz radio and gamma-ray emission in blazars
Since mid-2007 we have carried out a dedicated long-term monitoring programme
at 15 GHz using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40 meter telescope. One of
the main goals of this programme is to study the relation between the radio and
gamma-ray emission in blazars and to use it as a tool to locate the site of
high energy emission. Using this large sample of objects we are able to
characterize the radio variability, and study the significance of correlations
between the radio and gamma-ray bands. We find that the radio variability of
many sources can be described using a simple power law power spectral density,
and that when taking into account the red-noise characteristics of the light
curves, cases with significant correlation are rare. We note that while
significant correlations are found in few individual objects, radio variations
are most often delayed with respect to the gamma-ray variations. This suggests
that the gamma-ray emission originates upstream of the radio emission. Because
strong flares in most known gamma-ray-loud blazars are infrequent, longer light
curves are required to settle the issue of the strength of radio-gamma
cross-correlations and establish confidently possible delays between the two.
For this reason continuous multiwavelength monitoring over a longer time period
is essential for statistical tests of jet emission models.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 313:
"Extragalactic jets from every angle," Galapagos, Ecuador, 15-19 September
2014, F. Massaro, C. C. Cheung, E. Lopez, and A. Siemiginowska (Eds.),
Cambridge University Pres
Relativistic Iron K Emission and absorption in the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG-5-23-16
We present the results of the simultaneous deep XMM and Chandra observations
of the bright Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG-5-23-16, which is thought to have one of
the best known examples of a relativistically broadened iron K-alpha line. The
time averaged spectral analysis shows that the iron K-shell complex is best
modeled with an unresolved narrow emission component (FWHM < 5000 km/s, EW ~ 60
eV) plus a broad component. This latter component has FWHM ~ 44000 km/s and EW
~ 50 eV. Its profile is well described by an emission line originating from an
accretion disk viewed with an inclination angle ~ 40^\circ and with the
emission arising from within a few tens of gravitational radii of the central
black hole. The time-resolved spectral analysis of the XMM EPIC-pn spectrum
shows that both the narrow and broad components of the Fe K emission line
appear to be constant in time within the errors. We detected a narrow sporadic
absorption line at 7.7 keV which appears to be variable on a time-scale of 20
ksec. If associated with Fe XXVI Ly-alpha this absorption is indicative of a
possibly variable, high ionization, high velocity outflow. The variability of
this absorption feature appears to rule out a local (z=0) origin. The analysis
of the XMM RGS spectrum reveals that the soft X-ray emission of MCG-5-23-16 is
likely dominated by several emission lines superimposed on an unabsorbed
scattered power-law continuum. The lack of strong Fe L shell emission together
with the detection of a strong forbidden line in the O VII triplet is
consistent with a scenario where the soft X-ray emission lines are produced in
a plasma photoionized by the nuclear emission.Comment: 45 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
The Suzaku Observation of NGC 3516: Complex Absorption and the Broad and Narrow Fe K Lines
We present results from a 150 ksec Suzaku observation of the Seyfert 1.5 NGC
3516 in October 2005. The source was in a relatively highly absorbed state. Our
best-fit model is consistent with the presence of a low-ionization absorber
which has a column density near 5 * 10^{22} cm^{-2} and covers most of the
X-ray continuum source (covering fraction 96-100%). A high-ionization absorbing
component, which yields a narrow absorption feature consistent with Fe K XXVI,
is confirmed. A relativistically broadened Fe K alpha line is required in all
fits, even after the complex absorption is taken into account; an additional
partial-covering component is an inadequate substitute for the continuum
curvature associated with the broad Fe line. A narrow Fe K alpha emission line
has a velocity width consistent with the Broad Line Region. The low-ionization
absorber may be responsible for producing the narrow Fe K alpha line, though a
contribution from additional material out of the line of sight is possible. We
include in our model soft band emission lines from He- and H-like ions of N, O,
Ne and Mg, consistent with photo-ionization, though a small contribution from
collisionally-ionized emission is possible.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ (Suzaku second special issue). 36
pages, 10 figure
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