Scattering and Iron Fluorescence Revealed During Absorption Dips in Circinus X-1

We show that dramatic spectral evolution associated with dips occurring near phase zero in RXTE observations of Cir X-1 is well-fit by variable and at times heavy absorption (N_H > 10^24 cm^-2) of a bright component, plus an underlying faint component which is not attenuated by the variable column and whose flux is ~10% of that of the unabsorbed bright component. A prominent Fe emission line at ~6.5 keV is evident during the dips. The absolute line flux outside the dips is similar to that during the dips, indicating that the line is associated with the faint component. These results are consistent with a model in which the bright component is radiation received directly from a compact source while the faint component may be attributed to scattered radiation. Our results are also generally consistent with those of Brandt et al., who found that a partial- covering model could explain ASCA spectra of a low-to-high transition in Cir X-1. The relative brightness of the two components in our model requires a column density of ~2*10^23 cm^-2 if the faint component is due to Thomson scattering in material that mostly surrounds the source. We find that illumination of such a scattering cloud by the observed direct component would produce an Fe K-alpha fluorescence flux that is in rough agreement with the flux of the observed emission line. We also conclude that if the scattering medium is not highly ionized, our line of sight to the compact source does not pass through it. Finally, we discuss simple pictures of the absorbers responsible for the dips themselves.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (23 pages, including 11 figures

NMR relaxation rates for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain

The spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ and the spin echo decay rate $1/T_{2G}$ for the spin-$1\over 2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain are calculated using quantum Monte Carlo and maximum entropy analytic continuation. The results are compared with recent analytical calculations by Sachdev. If the nuclear hyperfine form factor $A_q$ is strongly peaked around $q=\pi$ the predicted low-temperature behavior [$1/T_1 \sim \ln{^{1/2}(1/T)}$, $1/T_{2G} \sim \ln{^{1/2}(1/T)}/\sqrt{T}$] extends up to temperatures as high as $T/J \approx 0.5$. If $A_q$ has significant weight for $q \approx 0$ there are large contributions from diffusive long-wavelength processes not taken into account in the theory, and very low temperatures are needed in order to observe the asymptotic $T \to 0$ forms.Comment: 9 pages, Revtex 3.0, 5 uuencoded ps figures To appear in Phys. Rev. B, Rapid Com

John Schuster, Descartes-agonistes: Physico-mathematics, method and corpuscular-mechanism, 1618–1633

We report on a 10 ks simultaneous Chandra/HETG-NuSTAR observation of the Bursting Pulsar, GRO J1744-28, during its third detected outburst since discovery and after nearly 18 years of quiescence. The source is detected up to 60 keV with an Eddington persistent flux level. Seven bursts, followed by dips, are seen with Chandra, three of which are also detected with NuSTAR. Timing analysis reveals a slight increase in the persistent emission pulsed fraction with energy (from 10% to 15%) up to 10 keV, above which it remains constant. The 0.5-70 keV spectra of the persistent and dip emission are the same within errors, and well described by a blackbody (BB), a power-law with an exponential rolloff, a 10 keV feature, and a 6.7 keV emission feature, all modified by neutral absorption. Assuming that the BB emission originates in an accretion disc, we estimate its inner (magnetospheric) radius to be about 4x10^7 cm, which translates to a surface dipole field B~9x10^10 G. The Chandra/HETG spectrum resolves the 6.7 keV feature into (quasi-)neutral and highly ionized Fe XXV and Fe XXVI emission lines. XSTAR modeling shows these lines to also emanate from a truncated accretion disk. The burst spectra, with a peak flux more than an order of magnitude higher than Eddington, are well fit with a power-law with an exponential rolloff and a 10~keV feature, with similar fit values compared to the persistent and dip spectra. The burst spectra lack a thermal component and any Fe features. Anisotropic (beamed) burst emission would explain both the lack of the BB and any Fe components.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, Accepted in Ap

Excitation Spectrum and Superexchange Pathways in the Spin Dimer VODPO_4 . 1/2 D_2O

Magnetic excitations have been investigated in the spin dimer material VODPO_4 \cdot 1/2 D_2O using inelastic neutron scattering. A dispersionless magnetic mode was observed at an energy of 7.81(4) meV. The wavevector dependence of the scattering intensityfrom this mode is consistent with the excitation of isolated V^{4+} spin dimers with a V-V separation of 4.43(7) \AA. This result is unexpected since the V-V pair previously thought to constitute themagnetic dimer has a separation of 3.09 \AA. We identify an alternative V-V pair as the likely magnetic dimer, which involves superexchange pathways through a covalently bonded PO_4 group. This surprising result casts doubt on the interpretation of (VO)_2P_2O_7 as a spin ladder.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures - identical to previous paper but figure 2 and 3 hopefully more compatible .p

Measured Radiation and Background Levels During Transmission of Megawatt Electron Beams Through Millimeter Apertures

We report measurements of photon and neutron radiation levels observed while transmitting a 0.43 MW electron beam through millimeter-sized apertures and during beam-off, but accelerating gradient RF-on, operation. These measurements were conducted at the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) facility of the Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory (JLab) using a 100 MeV electron beam from an energy-recovery linear accelerator. The beam was directed successively through 6 mm, 4 mm, and 2 mm diameter apertures of length 127 mm in aluminum at a maximum current of 4.3 mA (430 kW beam power). This study was conducted to characterize radiation levels for experiments that need to operate in this environment, such as the proposed DarkLight Experiment. We find that sustained transmission of a 430 kW continuous-wave (CW) beam through a 2 mm aperture is feasible with manageable beam-related backgrounds. We also find that during beam-off, RF-on operation, multipactoring inside the niobium cavities of the accelerator cryomodules is the primary source of ambient radiation when the machine is tuned for 130 MeV operation.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section