366 research outputs found
The Rest-Frame Extreme Ultraviolet Spectral Properties of QSOs
We use a sample of 332 Hubble Space Telescope spectra of 184 QSOs with z >
0.33 to study the typical ultraviolet spectral properties of QSOs, with
emphasis on the ionizing continuum. Our sample is nearly twice as large as that
of Zheng et al. (1997) and provides much better spectral coverage in the
extreme ultraviolet (EUV). The overall composite continuum can be described by
a power law with index alpha_EUV = -1.76 +/- 0.12 (f_nu ~ nu^alpha) between 500
and 1200 Angstroms. The corresponding results for subsamples of radio-quiet and
radio-loud QSOs are alpha_EUV = -1.57 +/- 0.17 and alpha_EUV = -1.96 +/- 0.12,
respectively. We also derive alpha_EUV for as many individual objects in our
sample as possible, totaling 39 radio-quiet and 40 radio-loud QSOs. The typical
individually measured values of alpha_EUV are in good agreement with the
composites. We find no evidence for evolution of alpha_EUV with redshift for
either radio-loud or radio-quiet QSOs. However, we do find marginal evidence
for a trend towards harder EUV spectra with increasing luminosity for
radio-loud objects. An extrapolation of our radio-quiet QSO spectrum is
consistent with existing X-ray data, suggesting that the ionizing continuum may
be represented by a single power law. The resulting spectrum is roughly in
agreement with models of the intergalactic medium photoionized by the
integrated radiation from QSOs.Comment: 14 pages using emulateapj, 15 figures, accepted for publication in
Ap
A Composite HST Spectrum of Quasars
We construct a composite quasar spectrum from 284 HST FOS spectra of 101
quasars with redshifts z > 0.33. The spectrum covers the wavelengths between
350 and 3000 A in the rest frame. There is a significant steepening of the
continuum slope around 1050 A. The continuum between 1050 and 2200 A can be
modeled as a power law with alpha = -0.99. For the full sample the power-law
index in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) between 350 and 1050 A is alpha = -1.96.
The continuum flux in the wavelengths near the Lyman limit shows a depression
of about 10 percent. The break in the power-law index and the slight depression
of the continuum near the Lyman limit are features expected in Comptonized
accretion-disk spectra.Comment: 10 figures To appear in the February 1, 1997, issue of the Ap.
What has finite element analysis taught us about diabetic foot disease and its management?:a systematic review
Over the past two decades finite element (FE) analysis has become a popular tool for researchers seeking to simulate the biomechanics of the healthy and diabetic foot. The primary aims of these simulations have been to improve our understanding of the foot's complicated mechanical loading in health and disease and to inform interventions designed to prevent plantar ulceration, a major complication of diabetes. This article provides a systematic review and summary of the findings from FE analysis-based computational simulations of the diabetic foot.A systematic literature search was carried out and 31 relevant articles were identified covering three primary themes: methodological aspects relevant to modelling the diabetic foot; investigations of the pathomechanics of the diabetic foot; and simulation-based design of interventions to reduce ulceration risk.Methodological studies illustrated appropriate use of FE analysis for simulation of foot mechanics, incorporating nonlinear tissue mechanics, contact and rigid body movements. FE studies of pathomechanics have provided estimates of internal soft tissue stresses, and suggest that such stresses may often be considerably larger than those measured at the plantar surface and are proportionally greater in the diabetic foot compared to controls. FE analysis allowed evaluation of insole performance and development of new insole designs, footwear and corrective surgery to effectively provide intervention strategies. The technique also presents the opportunity to simulate the effect of changes associated with the diabetic foot on non-mechanical factors such as blood supply to local tissues.While significant advancement in diabetic foot research has been made possible by the use of FE analysis, translational utility of this powerful tool for routine clinical care at the patient level requires adoption of cost-effective (both in terms of labour and computation) and reliable approaches with clear clinical validity for decision making
Active Galaxies in the UV
In this article we present different aspects of AGN studies demonstrating the
importance of the UV spectral range. Most important diagnostic lines for
studying the general physical conditions as well as the metalicities in the
central broad line region in AGN are emitted in the UV. The UV/FUV continuum in
AGN excites not only the emission lines in the immediate surrounding but it is
responsible for the ionization of the intergalactic medium in the early stages
of the universe. Variability studies of the emission line profiles of AGN in
the UV give us information on the structure and kinematics of the immediate
surrounding of the central supermassive black hole as well as on its mass
itself.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, Ap&SS in pres
First data from DM-Ice17
We report the first analysis of background data from DM-Ice17, a direct-detection dark matter experiment
consisting of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) target material. It was codeployed with IceCube 2457 m deep in the South Pole
glacial ice in December 2010 and is the first such detector operating in the Southern Hemisphere. The
background rate in the 6.5–8.0 keVee region is measured to be 7.9 � 0.4 counts=day=keV=kg. This is
consistent with the expected background from the detector assemblies with negligible contributions from
the surrounding ice. The successful deployment and operation of DM-Ice17 establishes the South Pole ice
as a viable location for future underground, low-background experiments in the Southern Hemisphere. The
detector assembly and deployment are described here, as well as the analysis of the DM-Ice17 backgrounds
based on data from the first two years of operation after commissioning, July 2011–June 2013
Measurement of muon annual modulation and muon-induced phosphorescence in NaI(TI) crystals with DM-Ice17
We report the measurement of muons and muon-induced phosphorescence in DM-Ice17, a NaI(Tl) direct detection dark matter experiment at the South Pole. Muon interactions in the crystal are identified by their observed pulse shape and large energy depositions. The measured muon rate in DM-Ice17 is 2.93±0.04  μ/crystal/day with a modulation amplitude of 12.3±1.7%, consistent with expectation. Following muon interactions, we observe long-lived phosphorescence in the NaI(Tl) crystals with a decay time of 5.5±0.5  s. The prompt energy deposited by a muon is correlated to the amount of delayed phosphorescence, the brightest of which consist of tens of millions of photons. These photons are distributed over tens of seconds with a rate and arrival timing that do not mimic a scintillation signal above 2  keVee. While the properties of phosphorescence vary among individual crystals, the annually modulating signal observed by DAMA cannot be accounted for by phosphorescence with the characteristics observed in DM-Ice17
Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Fourteen Low-Redshift Quasars
We present low-resolution ultraviolet spectra of 14 low redshift (z<0.8)
quasars observed with HST/STIS as part of a Snap project to understand the
relationship between quasar outflows and luminosity. By design, all
observations cover the CIV emission line. Nine of the quasars are from the
Hamburg-ESO catalog, three are from the Palomar-Green catalog, and one is from
the Parkes catalog. The sample contains a few interesting quasars including two
broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (HE0143-3535, HE0436-2614), one quasar with
a mini-BAL (HE1105-0746), and one quasar with associated narrow absorption
(HE0409-5004). These BAL quasars are among the brightest known (though not the
most luminous) since they lie at z<0.8. We compare the properties of these BAL
quasars to the z1.4 Large Bright Quasar samples. By
design, our objects sample luminosities in between these two surveys, and our
four absorbed objects are consistent with the v ~ L^0.62 relation derived by
Laor & Brandt (2002). Another quasar, HE0441-2826, contains extremely weak
emission lines and our spectrum is consistent with a simple power-law
continuum. The quasar is radio-loud, but has a steep spectral index and a
lobe-dominated morphology, which argues against it being a blazar. The unusual
spectrum of this quasar resembles the spectra of the quasars PG1407+265,
SDSSJ1136+0242, and PKS1004+13 for which several possible explanations have
been entertained.Comment: Uses aastex.cls, 21 pages in preprint mode, including 6 figures and 2
tables; accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (projected vol
133
First search for a dark matter annual modulation signal with NaI(Tl) in the Southern Hemisphere by DM-Ice17
We present the first search for a dark matter annual modulation signal in the Southern Hemisphere conducted with NaI(Tl) detectors, performed by the DM-Ice17 experiment. Nuclear recoils from dark matter interactions are expected to yield an annually modulated signal independent of location within the Earth’s hemispheres. DM-Ice17, the first step in the DM-Ice experimental program, consists of 17 kg of NaI(Tl) located at the South Pole under 2200 m.w.e. overburden of Antarctic glacial ice. Taken over 3.6 years for a total exposure of 60.8 kg yr, DM-Ice17 data are consistent with no modulation in the energy range of 4–20 keV, providing the strongest limits on weakly interacting massive particle dark matter from a direct detection experiment located in the Southern Hemisphere. The successful deployment and stable long-term operation of DM-Ice17 establishes the South Pole ice as a viable location for future dark matter searches and in particular for a high-sensitivity NaI(Tl) dark matter experiment to directly test the DAMA/LIBRA claim of the observation of dark matter
First background-free limit from a directional dark matter experiment: results from a fully fiducialised DRIFT detector
The addition of O2 to gas mixtures in time projection chambers containing CS2 has recently been shown to produce multiple negative ions that travel at slightly different velocities. This allows a measurement of the absolute position of ionising events in the z (drift) direction. In this work, we apply the z-fiducialisation technique to a directional dark matter search. In particular, we present results from a 46.3 live-day source-free exposure of the DRIFT-IId detector run in this completely new mode. With full-volume fiducialisation, we have achieved the first background-free operation of a directional detector. The resulting exclusion curve for spin-dependent WIMP-proton interactions reaches 0.9 pb at 100 GeV/c2, a factor of 2 better than our previous work. We describe the automated analysis used here, and argue that detector upgrades, implemented after the acquisition of these data, will bring an additional factor of \u3e3 improvement in the near future
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