864 research outputs found
The Effect of Hot Gas in WMAP's First Year Data
By cross-correlating templates constructed from the 2 Micron All Sky Survey
(2MASS) Extended Source (XSC) catalogue with WMAP's first year data, we search
for the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signature induced by hot gas in the local
Universe. Assuming that galaxies trace the distribution of hot gas, we select
regions on the sky with the largest projected density of galaxies. Under
conservative assumptions on the amplitude of foreground residuals, we find a
temperature decrement of -35 7 K ( detection level,
the highest reported so far) in the 26 square degrees of the sky
containing the largest number of galaxies per solid angle. We show that most of
the reported signal is caused by known galaxy clusters which, when convolved
with the average beam of the WMAP W band channel, subtend a typical angular
size of 20--30 arcmins. Finally, after removing from our analyses all pixels
associated with known optical and X-ray galaxy clusters, we still find a tSZ
decrement of -96 37 K in pixels subtending about 0.8 square
degrees on the sky. Most of this signal is coming from five different cluster
candidates in the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA), present in the Clusters In the ZoA
(CIZA) catalogue. We found no evidence that structures less bound than clusters
contribute to the tSZ signal present in the WMAP data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, matches accepted version in ApJ Letter
Twenty Years of Timing SS433
We present observations of the optical ``moving lines'' in spectra of the
Galactic relativistic jet source SS433 spread over a twenty year baseline from
1979 to 1999. The red/blue-shifts of the lines reveal the apparent precession
of the jet axis in SS433, and we present a new determination of the precession
parameters based on these data. We investigate the amplitude and nature of
time- and phase-dependent deviations from the kinematic model for the jet
precession, including an upper limit on any precessional period derivative of
. We also dicuss the implications of these results
for the origins of the relativistic jets in SS433.Comment: 21 pages, including 9 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
Early last glacial maximum in the southern Central Andes reveals northward shift of the westerlies at ~39 ka
The latitudinal position of the southern westerlies has been suggested to be a key parameter for the climate on Earth. According to the general notion, the southern westerlies were shifted equatorward during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: ~24â18 ka), resulting in reduced deep ocean ventilation, accumulation of old dissolved carbon, and low atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations. In order to test this notion, we applied surface exposure dating on moraines in the southern Central Andes, where glacial mass balances are particularly sensitive to changes in precipitation, i.e. to the latitudinal position of the westerlies. Our results provide robust evidence that the maximum glaciation occurred already at ~39 ka, significantly predating the global LGM. This questions the role of the westerlies for atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, and it highlights our limited understanding of the forcings of atmospheric circulation
General-Relativistic Thomas-Fermi model
A system of self-gravitating massive fermions is studied in the framework of
the general-relativistic Thomas-Fermi model. We study the properties of the
free energy functional and its relation to Einstein's field equations. A
self-gravitating fermion gas we then describe by a set of Thomas-Fermi type
self-consistency equations.Comment: 7 pages, LaTex, to appear in Gen. Rel. Gra
Optical and X-ray clusters as tracers of the supercluster-void network. I Superclusters of Abell and X-ray clusters
We study the distribution of X-ray selected clusters of galaxies with respect
to superclusters determined by Abell clusters of galaxies and show that the
distribution of X-ray clusters follows the supercluster-void network determined
by Abell clusters. We find that in this network X-ray clusters are more
strongly clustered than other clusters. Poor, non-Abell X-ray clusters follow
the supercluster-void network as well: these clusters are embedded in
superclusters determined by rich clusters and populate filaments between them.
We present a new catalog of superclusters of Abell clusters out to a redshift
of z_{lim}=0.13, a catalog of X-ray clusters located in superclusters
determined by Abell clusters, and a list of additional superclusters of X-ray
clusters.Comment: LaTex (sty files added), 16 pages, 3 ps figures, submitted to
Astronomical Journal. Animations of the 3D distribution of superclusters of
Abell and X-ray clusters at http://www.aai.ee/~maret/SCLVnet.ht
Enhanced inverse bremsstrahlung heating rates in a strong laser field
Test particle studies of electron scattering on ions, in an oscillatory
electromagnetic field have shown that standard theoretical assumptions of small
angle collisions and phase independent orbits are incorrect for electron
trajectories with drift velocities smaller than quiver velocity amplitude. This
leads to significant enhancement of the electron energy gain and the inverse
bremsstrahlung heating rate in strong laser fields. Nonlinear processes such as
Coulomb focusing and correlated collisions of electrons being brought back to
the same ion by the oscillatory field are responsible for large angle, head-on
scattering processes. The statistical importance of these trajectories has been
examined for mono-energetic beam-like, Maxwellian and highly anisotropic
electron distribution functions. A new scaling of the inverse bremsstrahlung
heating rate with drift velocity and laser intensity is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Laser-Cluster-Interaction in a Nanoplasma-Model with Inclusion of Lowered Ionization Energies
The interaction of intense laser fields with silver and argon clusters is
investigated theoretically using a modified nanoplasma model. Single pulse and
double pulse excitations are considered. The influence of the dense cluster
environment on the inner ionization processes is studied including the lowering
of the ionization energies. There are considerable changes in the dynamics of
the laser-cluster interaction. Especially, for silver clusters, the lowering of
the ionization energies leads to increased yields of highly charged ions.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure
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Assessing regional-scale variability in deforestation and forest degradation rates in a tropical biodiversity hotspot
Deforestation and forest degradation are major drivers of global environmental change and tropical forests are subjected to unprecedented pressures from both.For most tropical zones, deforestation rates are averaged across entire countries,often without highlighting regional differentiation. There are also very few estimates of forest degradation, either averaged or localized for the tropics. We quantified regional and country-wide changes in deforestation and forest degradation rates for Madagascar from Landsat temporal data (in two intervals,1994â2002 and 2002â2014). To our knowledge, this is the first country-wide estimate of forest degradation for Madagascar. We also performed an intensity analysis to categorize the magnitude and speed of transitions between forest,vegetation matrix, cultivated land and exposed surface. We found significant regional heterogeneity in deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation rates decreased annually in lowland evergreen moist forest by -0.24% and in all other vegetation zones. Forest degradation rates had annual increases in the same period in lowland evergreen moist forest (0.09%), littoral forest (0.06%)but decreased in medium altitude moist evergreen forest (-0.25%), dry deciduous forest (-0.23%) and scelrophyllous woodland (-0.61%) in the same period. Despite these regional differences, higher rates of deforestation and forest degradation were consistently driven by rapid and large-sized conversions of largely intact forest to cultivated lands and exposed surfaces, most of which occurred between 1994 and 2002. These results suggest that while targeted conservation projects may have reduced forest degradation rates in some areas (e.g.medium altitude moist evergreen forest), the drivers of land cover change remain intense in relatively neglected regions. We advocate a more balanced approach to future conservation initiatives, one recognizing that deforestation and forest degradation, particularly in tropical Africa, are often driven by region-specific conditions and therefore require conservation policies tailored for local conditions
Is There Still Room for Warm/Hot Gas? Simulating the X-ray Background Spectrum
At low redshifts, a census of the baryons in all known reservoirs falls a
factor of two to four below the total baryon density predicted from Big Bang
nucleosynthesis arguments and observed light element ratios. Recent
cosmological hydrodynamic simulations suggest that a significant fraction of
these missing baryons could be in the form of warm/hot gas in the filaments and
halos within which most field galaxies are embedded. With the release of source
count results from Chandra and recent detections of this gas in O VI quasar
absorption lines, it becomes interesting to examine the predictions and limits
placed on this component of the X-ray background (XRB). We have used new
hydrodynamical simulations to predict the total X-ray spectrum from the gas in
the 100 eV to 10 keV range. We find that, when uncertainties in the
normalization of the observed XRB and the value of Omega_b are taken into
account, our results are consistent with current observational limits placed on
the contribution of emission from gas to the XRB. In the 0.5-2 keV range, we
expect the contribution from this component to be 0.63 10^{-12} erg s^-1 cm^-2
deg^-2 or between 6% and 18% of the extragalactic surface brightness. The peak
fraction occurs in the 0.5-1 keV range where the predicted line emission
mirrors a spectral bump seen in the latest ASCA/ROSAT XRB data.Comment: 5 pages with 1 figure; submitted to ApJ Letter
Glacier mass balance reconstruction by sublimation induced enrichment of chemical species on Cerro Tapado (Chilean Andes)
A 36 m long ice core down to bedrock from the Cerro Tapado glacier (5536 m a.s.l, 30°08' S, 69°55' W) was analyzed to reconstruct past climatic conditions for Northern Chile. Because of the marked seasonality in the precipitation (short wet winter and extended dry summer periods) in this region, major snow ablation and related post-depositional processes occur on the glacier surface during summer periods. They include predominantly sublimation and dry deposition. Assuming that, like measured during the field campaign, the enrichment of chloride was always related to sublimation, the chemical record along the ice core may be applied to reconstruct the history of such secondary processes linked to the past climatic conditions over northern Chile. For the time period 1962–1999, a mean annual net accumulation of 316 mm water equivalent (weq) and 327 mm weq loss by sublimation was deduced by this method. This corresponds to an initial total annual accumulation of 539 mm weq. The annual variability of the accumulation and sublimation is related with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI): higher net-accumulation during El-Niño years and more sublimation during La Niña years. The deepest part of the ice record shows a time discontinuity; with an ice body deposited under different climatic conditions: 290 mm higher precipitation but with reduced seasonal distribution (+470 mm in winter and –180 mm in summer) and –3°C lower mean annual temperature. Unfortunately, its age is unknown. The comparison with regional proxy data however let us conclude that the glacier buildup did most likely occur after the dry mid-Holocene
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