The duration distribution of Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts

Decades ago two classes of gamma-ray bursts were identified and delineated as having durations shorter and longer than about 2 s. Subsequently indications also supported the existence of a third class. Using maximum likelihood estimation we analyze the duration distribution of 888 Swift BAT bursts observed before October 2015. Fitting three log-normal functions to the duration distribution of the bursts provides a better fit than two log-normal distributions, with 99.9999% significance. Similarly to earlier results, we found that a fourth component is not needed. The relative frequencies of the distribution of the groups are 8% for short, 35% for intermediate and 57% for long bursts which correspond to our previous results. We analyse the redshift distribution for the 269 GRBs of the 888 GRBs with known redshift. We find no evidence for the previously suggested difference between the long and intermediate GRBs' redshift distribution. The observed redshift distribution of the 20 short GRBs differs with high significance from the distributions of the other groups.Comment: accepte

Control of ELT false alarms

The statistics of emergency locator transmitter (ELT) alarms are presented. The primary sources of data include ELT Incident Logs, Service Difficulty Reports, and Frequency Interference Reports. The number of reported and unreported alarms is discussed, as are seasonal variations, duration of ELT transmissions, and cost of silencing. Origin, causes, and possible strategies for reducing the impact of alarms on the aviation community are considered

Phase-feld theory of multi-component incompressible Cahn-Hilliard liquids

In this paper a generalization of the Cahn-Hilliard theory of binary liquids is presented for multi-component incompressible liquid mixtures. First, a thermodynamically consistent convection-diffusion type dynamics is derived on the basis of the Lagrange multiplier formalism. Next, a generalization of the binary Cahn-Hilliard free energy functional is presented for arbitrary number of components, offering the utilization of independent pairwise equilibrium interfacial properties. We show that the equilibrium two-component interfaces minimize the functional, and demonstrate, that the energy penalization for multi-component states increases strictly monotonously as a function of the number of components being present. We validate the model via equilibrium contact angle calculations in ternary and quaternary (4-component) systems. Simulations addressing liquid flow assisted spinodal decomposition in these systems are also presented

Delocalized Entanglement of Atoms in optical Lattices

We show how to detect and quantify entanglement of atoms in optical lattices in terms of correlations functions of the momentum distribution. These distributions can be measured directly in the experiments. We introduce two kinds of entanglement measures related to the position and the spin of the atoms

Survival analysis of the optical brightness of GRB host galaxies

We studied the unbiased optical brightness distribution which was calculated from the survival analysis of host galaxies and its relationship with the Swift GRB data of the host galaxies observed by the Keck telescopes. Based on the sample obtained from merging the Swift GRB table and the Keck optical data we also studied the dependence of this distribution on the data of the GRBs. Finally, we compared the HGs distribution with standard galaxies distribution which is in the DEEP2 galaxies catalog.Comment: Swift: 10 Years of Discovery. Conference paper. 2-5 December 2014. La Sapienza University, Rome, Ital

The Diverse Properties of GPS Sources

We discuss the morphology and kinematics of five gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) sources that have been observed with the VLBA. We find a wide range of observed properties including core-jet structure, superluminal motion, variability, extended structure, and polarization, all of which appear to deviate from commonly-accepted GPS paradigms (e.g., O'Dea 1998). We suggest that the observed low frequency cutoff in GPS sources may be primarily due to free-free absorption rather than synchrotron self-absorption.Comment: Proceedings of the 6th European VLBI Network Symposium, Ros E., Porcas R.W., Lobanov, A.P., & Zensus, J.A. (eds), MPIfR, Bonn, Germany. (4 pages, 5 figures, needs evn2002.cls style file

Consistent multiphase-field theory for interface driven multidomain dynamics

We present a new multiphase-field theory for describing pattern formation in multi-domain and/or multi-component systems. The construction of the free energy functional and the dynamic equations is based on criteria that ensure mathematical and physical consistency. We first analyze previous multiphase-field theories, and identify their advantageous and disadvantageous features. On the basis of this analysis, we introduce a new way of constructing the free energy surface, and derive a generalized multiphase description for arbitrary number of phases (or domains). The presented approach retains the variational formalism; reduces (or extends) naturally to lower (or higher) number of fields on the level of both the free energy functional and the dynamic equations; enables the use of arbitrary pairwise equilibrium interfacial properties; penalizes multiple junctions increasingly with the number of phases; ensures non-negative entropy production, and the convergence of the dynamic solutions to the equilibrium solutions; and avoids the appearance of spurious phases on binary interfaces. The new approach is tested for multi-component phase separation and grain coarsening

Fabrication of tungsten wire reinforced nickel-base alloy composites

Fabrication methods for tungsten fiber reinforced nickel-base superalloy composites were investigated. Three matrix alloys in pre-alloyed powder or rolled sheet form were evaluated in terms of fabricability into composite monotape and multi-ply forms. The utility of monotapes for fabricating more complex shapes was demonstrated. Preliminary 1093C (2000F) stress rupture tests indicated that efficient utilization of fiber strength was achieved in composites fabricated by diffusion bonding processes. The fabrication of thermal fatigue specimens is also described

Stellar Winds on the Main-Sequence I: Wind Model

Aims: We develop a method for estimating the properties of stellar winds for low-mass main-sequence stars between masses of 0.4 and 1.1 solar masses at a range of distances from the star. Methods: We use 1D thermal pressure driven hydrodynamic wind models run using the Versatile Advection Code. Using in situ measurements of the solar wind, we produce models for the slow and fast components of the solar wind. We consider two radically different methods for scaling the base temperature of the wind to other stars: in Model A, we assume that wind temperatures are fundamentally linked to coronal temperatures, and in Model B, we assume that the sound speed at the base of the wind is a fixed fraction of the escape velocity. In Paper II of this series, we use observationally constrained rotational evolution models to derive wind mass loss rates. Results: Our model for the solar wind provides an excellent description of the real solar wind far from the solar surface, but is unrealistic within the solar corona. We run a grid of 1200 wind models to derive relations for the wind properties as a function of stellar mass, radius, and wind temperature. Using these results, we explore how wind properties depend on stellar mass and rotation. Conclusions: Based on our two assumptions about the scaling of the wind temperature, we argue that there is still significant uncertainty in how these properties should be determined. Resolution of this uncertainty will probably require both the application of solar wind physics to other stars and detailed observational constraints on the properties of stellar winds. In the final section of this paper, we give step by step instructions for how to apply our results to calculate the stellar wind conditions far from the stellar surface.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in A&