2,846 research outputs found
Towards a Model for the Progenitors of Gamma-Ray Bursts
We consider models for gamma-ray bursts in which a collimated jet expands
either into a homogeneous medium or into a stellar wind environment, and
calculate the expected afterglow temporal behavior. We show that (i) following
a break and a faster decay, afterglows should exhibit a flattening, which may
be detectable in both the radio and optical bands; (ii) Only observations at
times much shorter than a day can clearly distinguish between a fireball
interacting with a homogeneous medium and one interacting with a stellar wind.
Using our results we demonstrate that constraints can be placed on progenitor
models. In particular, existing data imply that while some long duration bursts
may be produced by collapses of massive stars, it is almost certain that not
all long duration bursts are produced by such progenitors.Comment: 13 pages; Submitted to Ap
The Ultraviolet Spectra of Active Galaxies With Double-Peaked Emission Lines
We present the results of UV spectroscopy of AGNs with double-peaked Balmer
emission lines. In 2/3 of the objects, the far-UV resonance lines are strong,
with single-peaked profiles resembling those of Seyfert galaxies. The Mg II
line is the only UV line with a double-peaked profile. In the remaining
objects, the far-UV resonance lines are relatively weak but still
single-peaked. The latter group also displays prominent UV absorption lines,
indicative of a low-ionization absorber. We interpret the difference in the
profiles of the emission lines as resulting from two different regions: a
dense, low-ionization accretion disk (the predominant source of the Balmer and
Mg II lines), and a lower density, higher-ionization wind (the predominant
source of the far-UV resonance lines). These results suggest a way of
connecting the double-peaked emitters with the greater AGN population: in
double-peaked emitters the accretion rate onto the black hole is low, making
the wind feeble and allowing the lines from the underlying disk to shine
through. This scenario also implies that in the majority of AGNs, the wind is
the source of the broad emission lines.Comment: To appear in "The Interplay among Black Holes, Stars and ISM in
Galactic Nuclei," IAU Coll. 222, eds. Storchi Bergmann, Ho, and Schmit
Low-Cost Uas Photogrammetry for Road Infrastructures' Inspection
Abstract. All over the world, road infrastructures are getting closer to their life cycle and need to be constantly inspected: a consistent number of bridges are structurally deficient, and the risk of collapse can no longer be excluded. In contrast with the past, the interest in structure durability has recently grown rapidly. In order to make bridges durable, it is necessary to carry out ordinary maintenance, preceded by inspection activities, which can be traditionally divided in two categories: destructive and non-destructive (NDT). All the NDT inspections (visual, IR thermography, GPR) can be conducted by using UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems), a technology that makes bridges inspections quicker, cheaper, objective and repeatable. This study presents the visual inspection and survey of two bridges by using a UAS DJI Mavic 2 Pro, equipped with a 20Mpixel Hasselblad camera that records 60fps 4K video and a 10bit radiometric resolution. Starting from the acquired data, a 3D model of each structure was built by using Structure from Motion (SfM) principles and software. To validate the two models, each of them characterized by a centimetric accuracy, the UAS camera generated cloud of points and was co-registered with the point cloud of a terrestrial laser-scanner using Ground Control Points (GCPs). To make this, CloudCompare comparison software was used; the plugin M3C2 automatically calculates the distance between the points of two compared clouds. Finally, some general rules concerning the UAS main characteristics for inspection of bridges and software for data processing are proposed
Computerized Tomography Findings In Fahr's Syndrome.
We analyzed computerized tomography (CT) findings in six patients with Fahr's syndrome. They presented calcifications in basal ganglia, dentate nucleus, subcortical region and semioval center, due to alteration in calcium metabolism or due to senile relative hypoxemic state. The image pattern was not strictly related with etiology, although some differences in dystrophic senile calcifications (the only one present in semioval center and absent in subcortical region). CT is an easy exam, has maximum sensitivity and allows diagnosis, contributing to early treatment of many etiologies of Fahr's syndrome.62789-9
Cool Customers in the Stellar Graveyard I: Limits to Extrasolar Planets Around the White Dwarf G29-38
We present high contrast images of the hydrogen white dwarf G 29-38 taken in
the near infrared with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini North
Telescope as part of a high contrast imaging search for substellar objects in
orbit around nearby white dwarfs.
We review the current limits on planetary companions for G29-38, the only
nearby white dwarf with an infrared excess due to a dust disk. We add our
recent observations to these limits to produce extremely tight constraints on
the types of possible companions that could be present. No objects 6
M are detected in our data at projected separations 12 AU, and no
objects 16 M are detected for separations from 3 to 12 AU, assuming
a total system age of 1 Gyr. Limits for companions at separations 3 AU come
from a combination of 2MASS photometry and previous studies of G29-38's
pulsations. Our imaging with Gemini cannot confirm a tentative claim for the
presence of a low mass brown dwarf. These observations demonstrate that a
careful combination of several techniques can probe nearby white dwarfs for
large planets and low mass brown dwarfs.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to Ap
On approximate solutions of semilinear evolution equations
A general framework is presented to discuss the approximate solutions of an
evolution equation in a Banach space, with a linear part generating a semigroup
and a sufficiently smooth nonlinear part. A theorem is presented, allowing to
infer from an approximate solution the existence of an exact solution.
According to this theorem, the interval of existence of the exact solution and
the distance of the latter from the approximate solution can be evaluated
solving a one-dimensional "control" integral equation, where the unknown gives
a bound on the previous distance as a function of time. For example, the
control equation can be applied to the approximation methods based on the
reduction of the evolution equation to finite-dimensional manifolds: among
them, the Galerkin method is discussed in detail. To illustrate this framework,
the nonlinear heat equation is considered. In this case the control equation is
used to evaluate the error of the Galerkin approximation; depending on the
initial datum, this approach either grants global existence of the solution or
gives fairly accurate bounds on the blow up time.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures. To appear in Rev. Math. Phys. (Shortened
version; the proof of Prop. 3.4. has been simplified
Hydrodynamic Simulations of Counterrotating Accretion Disks
Hydrodynamic simulations have been used to study accretion disks consisting
of counterrotating components with an intervening shear layer(s).
Configurations of this type can arise from the accretion of newly supplied
counterrotating matter onto an existing corotating disk. The grid-dependent
numerical viscosity of our hydro code is used to simulate the influence of a
turbulent viscosity of the disk. Firstly, we consider the case where the gas
well above the disk midplane rotates with angular rate +\Omega(r) and that well
below has the same properties but rotates with rate -\Omega(r). We find that
there is angular momentum annihilation in a narrow equatorial boundary layer in
which matter accretes supersonically with a velocity which approaches the
free-fall velocity and the average accretion speed of the disk can be
enormously larger than that for a conventional \alpha-disk rotating in one
direction. Secondly, we consider the case of a corotating accretion disk for
rr_t. In this case we observed, that
matter from the annihilation layer lost its stability and propagated inward
pushing matter of inner regions of the disk to accrete. Thirdly, we
investigated the case where counterrotating matter inflowing from large radial
distances encounters an existing corotating disk. Friction between the
inflowing matter and the existing disk is found to lead to fast boundary layer
accretion along the disk surfaces and to enhanced accretion in the main disk.
These models are pertinent to the formation of counterrotating disks in
galaxies and possibly in Active Galactic Nuclei and in X-ray pulsars in binary
systems.Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, to appear in Ap
Astrophysical jets: observations, numerical simulations, and laboratory experiments
This paper provides summaries of ten talks on astrophysical jets given at the HEDP/HEDLA-08 International Conference in St. Louis. The talks are topically divided into the areas of observation, numerical modeling, and laboratory experiment. One essential feature of jets, namely, their filamentary (i.e., collimated) nature, can be reproduced in both numerical models and laboratory experiments. Another essential feature of jets, their scalability, is evident from the large number of astrophysical situations where jets occur. This scalability is the reason why laboratory experiments simulating jets are possible and why the same theoretical models can be used for both observed astrophysical jets and laboratory simulations
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