Behaviour of the Blazar CTA 102 during two giant outbursts

Blazar CTA 102 underwent exceptional optical and high-energy outbursts in 2012 and 2016-2017. We analyze its behaviour during these events, focusing on polarimetry as a tool that allows us to trace changes in the physical conditions and geometric configuration of the emission source close to the central black hole. We also use Fermi gamma-ray data in conjunction with optical photometry in an effort to localize the origin of the outbursts.AST-1615796 - Boston Universit

A theoretical model of a wake of a body towed in a stratified fluid at large Reynolds and Froude numbers

International audienceThe objective of the present paper is to develop a theoretical model describing the evolution of a turbulent wake behind a towed sphere in a stably stratified fluid at large Froude and Reynolds numbers. The wake flow is considered as a quasi two-dimensional (2-D) turbulent jet flow whose dynamics is governed by the momentum transfer from the mean flow to a quasi-2-D sinuous mode growing due to hydrodynamic instability. The model employs a quasi-linear approximation to describe this momentum transfer. The model scaling coefficients are defined with the use of available experimental data, and the performance of the model is verified by comparison with the results of a direct numerical simulation of a 2-D turbulent jet flow. The model prediction for the temporal development of the wake axis mean velocity is found to be in good agreement with the experimental data obtained by Spedding (1997)

On the S-wave piD-scattering length in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron

The S-wave scattering length of the strong pion-deuteron (pi D) scattering is calculated in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron suggested in [1,2].The theoretical result agrees well with the experimental data. The important role of the Delta-resonance contribution to the elastic pi D-scattering is confirmed.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in Z. Phys.

Evolution of small-scale turbulence at large Richardson numbers

The theory of stratified turbulent flow developed earlier by the authors is applied to data from different areas of the ocean. It is shown that turbulence can be amplified and supported even at large gradient Richardson numbers. The cause of that is the exchange between kinetic and potential energies of turbulence. Using the profiles of Brunt–Väisälä frequency and vertical current shear given in Forryan et al. (2013), the profiles of the kinetic energy dissipation rate are calculated. The results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.</p

Dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy in stably stratified sheared flows

Over the years, the problem of dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in stable stratification remained unclear because of the practical impossibility to directly measure the process of dissipation that takes place at the smallest scales of turbulent motion. Poor representation of dissipation causes intolerable uncertainties in turbulence-closure theory and thus in modelling stably stratified turbulent flows. We obtain a theoretical solution to this problem for the whole range of stratifications from neutral to limiting stable; and validate it via (i) direct numerical simulation (DNS) immediately detecting the dissipation rate and (ii) indirect estimates of dissipation rate retrieved via the TKE budget equation from atmospheric measurements of other components of the TKE budget. The proposed formulation of dissipation rate will be of use in any turbulence-closure models employing the TKE budget equation and in problems requiring precise knowledge of the high-frequency part of turbulence spectra in atmospheric chemistry, aerosol science, and microphysics of clouds.</p

Multiwavelength temporal and spectral variability of the blazar OJ 287 during and after the 2015 December flare: A major accretion disc contribution

© 2018 The Author(s). We present a multiwavelength spectral and temporal analysis of the blazar OJ 287 during its recent activity between 2015 December and 2016 May, showing strong variability in the nearinfrared (NIR) to X-ray energies with detection at γ -ray energies as well. Most of the optical flux variations exhibit strong changes in polarization angle and degree. All the interband time lags are consistent with simultaneous emissions. Interestingly, on days with excellent data coverage in the NIR-UV bands, the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) show signatures of bumps in the visible-UV bands, never seen before in this source. The optical bump can be explained as accretion-disc emission associated with the primary black hole of mass ~1.8 × 1010M⊙ while the little bump feature in the optical-UV appears consistent with line emission. Further, the broad-band SEDs extracted during the first flare and during a quiescent period during this span show very different γ -ray spectra compared to previously observed flare or quiescent spectra. The probable thermal bump in the visible seems to have been clearly present since 2013 May, as found by examining all available NIR-optical observations, and favours the binary supermassive black hole model. The simultaneous multiwavelength variability and relatively weak γ -ray emission that shows a shift in the SED peak is consistent with γ -ray emission originating from inverse Compton scattering of photons from the line emission that apparently contributes to the little blue bump

The Repeating Flaring Activity of Blazar AO 0235+164

Context. Blazar AO 0235+164, located at redshift z = 0.94, has undergone several sharp multi-spectral-range flaring episodes during the last decades. In particular, the episodes peaking in 2008 and 2015, that received extensive multi-wavelength coverage, exhibited interesting behavior. Aims. We study the actual origin of these two observed flares by constraining the properties of the observed photo-polarimetric variability, those of the broad-band spectral energy-distribution and the observed time-evolution behavior of the source as seen by ultra-high resolution total-flux and polarimetric Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging. Methods. The analysis of VLBI images allows us to constrain kinematic and geometrical parameters of the 7 mm jet. We use the Discrete Correlation Function to compute the statistical correlation and the delays between emission at different spectral ranges. Multi-epoch modeling of the spectral energy distributions allows us to propose specific models of emission; in particular for the unusual spectral features observed in this source in the X-ray region of the spectrum during strong multi spectral-range flares. Results. We find that these X-ray spectral features can be explained by an emission component originating in a separate particle distribution than the one responsible for the two standard blazar bumps. This is in agreement with the results of our correlation analysis that do not find a strong correlation between the X-rays and the remaining spectral ranges. We find that both external Compton dominated and synchrotron self-Compton dominated models can explain the observed spectral energy distributions. However, synchrotron self-Compton models are strongly favored by the delays and geometrical parameters inferred from the observations

Diagnostics and treatment challenges of Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a description of 3 clinical cases

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a diverse group of malignant blood disorders both with regard to the biological properties of the tumor and to therapeutic approaches. Immunophenotyping, molecular genetic techniques, whole-genome sequencing characterize B-ALL as a very diverse group for sensitivity to chemotherapy and prognosis. We present three clinical cases of patients with B-ALL and expected good response to standard therapy, in whom standard protocol treatment failured: refractoriness, persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD), and progression (MRD increase). The remission in these patients was achieved after chemotherapy change to immunological targeted therapy. Nowadays a unified therapeutic approach to all primary patients of the B-ALL is considered generally outdated. Great efforts are carrying out to develop molecular genetic classifications. The molecular dissection of subtypes of B-ALL goes on, and new protocols for selective treatment with targeting are clearly outlined for each subtype of B-ALL