8,364 research outputs found
Simulated three-component granular segregation in a rotating drum
Discrete particle simulations are used to model segregation in granular
mixtures of three different particle species in a horizontal rotating drum.
Axial band formation is observed, with medium-size particles tending to be
located between alternating bands of big and small particles. Partial radial
segregation also appears; it precedes the axial segregation and is
characterized by an inner core region richer in small particles. Axial bands
are seen to merge during the long simulation runs, leading to a coarsening of
the band pattern; the relocation of particles involved in one such merging
event is examined. Overall, the behavior is similar to experiment and
represents a generalization of what occurs in the simpler two-component
mixture.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures (low resolution color figures only; originals at
author's website http://www.ph.biu.ac.il/~rapaport/research/granular.html)
[revised version contains extra figures
Modelling the Extreme X-ray Spectrum of IRAS 13224-3809
The extreme NLS1 galaxy IRAS 13224-3809 shows significant variability,
frequency depended time lags, and strong Fe K line and Fe L features in the
long 2011 XMM-Newton observation. In this work we study the spectral properties
of IRAS 13224-3809 in detail, and carry out a series of analyses to probe the
nature of the source, focusing in particular on the spectral variability
exhibited. The RGS spectrum shows no obvious signatures of absorption by
partially ionised material (warm absorbers). We fit the 0.3-10.0 keV spectra
with a model that includes relativistic reflection from the inner accretion
disc, a standard powerlaw AGN continuum, and a low-temperature (~0.1 keV)
blackbody, which may originate in the accretion disc, either as direct or
reprocessed thermal emission. We find that the reflection model explains the
time-averaged spectrum well, and we also undertake flux-resolved and
time-resolved spectral analyses, which provide evidence of gravitational
light-bending effects. Additionally, the temperature and flux of the blackbody
component are found to follow the relation expected for simple
thermal blackbody emission from a constant emitting area, indicating a physical
origin for this component.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Generating-function method for fusion rules
This is the second of two articles devoted to an exposition of the
generating-function method for computing fusion rules in affine Lie algebras.
The present paper focuses on fusion rules, using the machinery developed for
tensor products in the companion article. Although the Kac-Walton algorithm
provides a method for constructing a fusion generating function from the
corresponding tensor-product generating function, we describe a more powerful
approach which starts by first defining the set of fusion elementary couplings
from a natural extension of the set of tensor-product elementary couplings. A
set of inequalities involving the level are derived from this set using Farkas'
lemma. These inequalities, taken in conjunction with the inequalities defining
the tensor products, define what we call the fusion basis. Given this basis,
the machinery of our previous paper may be applied to construct the fusion
generating function. New generating functions for sp(4) and su(4), together
with a closed form expression for their threshold levels are presented.Comment: Harvmac (b mode : 47 p) and Pictex; to appear in J. Math. Phy
Broad Iron Emission from Gravitationally Lensed Quasars Observed by Chandra
Recent work has demonstrated the potential of gravitationally lensed quasars
to extend measurements of black hole spin out to high-redshift with the current
generation of X-ray observatories. Here we present an analysis of a large
sample of 27 lensed quasars in the redshift range 1.0<z<4.5 observed with
Chandra, utilizing over 1.6 Ms of total observing time, focusing on the
rest-frame iron K emission from these sources. Although the X-ray
signal-to-noise (S/N) currently available does not permit the detection of iron
emission from the inner accretion disk in individual cases in our sample, we
find significant structure in the stacked residuals. In addition to the narrow
core, seen almost ubiquitously in local AGN, we find evidence for an additional
underlying broad component from the inner accretion disk, with a clear red wing
to the emission profile. Based on simulations, we find the detection of this
broader component to be significant at greater than the 3-sigma level. This
implies that iron emission from the inner disk is relatively common in the
population of lensed quasars, and in turn further demonstrates that, with
additional observations, this population represents an opportunity to
significantly extend the sample of AGN spin measurements out to high-redshift.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
56Ni dredge-up in the type IIp Supernova 1995V
We present contemporary infrared and optical spectra of the plateau type II
SN 1995V in NGC 1087 covering four epochs, approximately 22 to 84 days after
shock breakout. The data show, for the first time, the infrared spectroscopic
evolution during the plateau phase of a typical type II event. In the optical
region P Cygni lines of the Balmer series and of metals lines were identified.
The infrared (IR) spectra were largely dominated by the continuum, but P Cygni
Paschen lines and Brackett gamma lines were also clearly seen. The other
prominent IR features are confined to wavelengths blueward of 11000 \AA and
include Sr II 10327, Fe II 10547, C I 10695 and He I 10830 \AA. We demonstrate
the presence of He I 10830 \AA on days 69 and 85. The presence of this line at
such late times implies re-ionisation. A likely re-ionising mechanism is
gamma-ray deposition following the radioactive decay of 56Ni. We examine this
mechanism by constructing a spectral model for the He I 10830 \AA line based on
explosion model s15s7b2f of Weaver & Woosley (1993). We find that this does not
generate the observed line owing to the confinement of the 56Ni to the central
zones of the ejecta. In order to reproduce the He I line, it was necessary to
introduce additional upward mixing of the 56Ni, with 10^{-5} of the total
nickel mass reaching above the helium photosphere. In addition, we argue that
the He I line-formation region is likely to have been in the form of pure
helium clumps in the hydrogen envelope.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 32 pages including 11 figures
(uses psfig.sty - included
Second-layer nucleation in coherent Stranski-Krastanov growth of quantum dots
We have studied the monolayer-bilayer transformation in the case of the
coherent Stranski-Krastanov growth. We have found that the energy of formation
of a second layer nucleus is largest at the center of the first-layer island
and smallest on its corners. Thus nucleation is expected to take place at the
corners (or the edges) rather than at the center of the islands as in the case
of homoepitaxy. The critical nuclei have one atom in addition to a compact
shape, which is either a square of i*i or a rectangle of i*(i-1) atoms, with
i>1 an integer. When the edge of the initial monolayer island is much larger
than the critical nucleus size, the latter is always a rectangle plus an
additional atom, adsorbed at the longer edge, which gives rise to a new atomic
row in order to transform the rectangle into the equilibrium square shape.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted version, minor change
Suzaku observations of âbareâ active galactic nuclei
We present an X-ray spectral analysis of a large sample of 25 âbareâ active galactic nuclei (AGN), sources with little or no complicating intrinsic absorption, observed with Suzaku. Our work focuses on studying the potential contribution from relativistic disc reflection and examining the implications of this interpretation for the intrinsic spectral complexities frequently displayed by AGN in the X-ray bandpass. During the analysis, we take the unique approach of attempting to simultaneously undertake a systematic analysis of the whole sample, as well as a detailed treatment of each individual source, and find that disc reflection has the required flexibility to successfully reproduce the broad-band spectrum observed for all of the sources considered. Where possible, we use the reflected emission to place constraints on the black hole spin for this sample of sources. Our analysis suggests a general preference for rapidly rotating black holes, which if taken at face value is most consistent with the scenario in which supermassive black hole growth is dominated by prolonged, ordered accretion. However, there may be observational biases towards AGN with high spin in the compiled sample, limiting our ability to draw strong conclusions for the general population at this stage. Finally, contrary to popular belief, our analysis also implies that the dichotomy between radio-loud/radio-quiet AGN is not solely related to black hole spin
Mendelian randomization case-control PheWAS in UK Biobank shows evidence of causality for smoking intensity in 28 distinct clinical conditions.
Background: Smoking is one of the greatest threats to public health worldwide. We integrated phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) and Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches to explore causal effects of genetically predicted smoking intensity across the human disease spectrum. Methods: We conducted PheWAS case-control analyses in 152,483 ever smokers of White-British ancestry, aged 39-73 years. Disease diagnoses were based on hospital inpatient and mortality registrations. Smoking intensity was instrumented by four genetic variants, and disease risks estimated for one cigarette per day heavier intakes. Associations passing the FDR threshold (p<0âą0025) were assessed for causality using several complementary MR approaches. Findings: Genetically instrumented smoking intensity was associated with 48 conditions, with MR supporting a possible causal effect for 28 distinct outcomes. Each cigarette smoked per day elevated the odds of respiratory diseases by 5% to 33% (nine distinct diseases, including pneumonia, emphysema, obstructive chronic bronchitis, pleurisy, pulmonary collapse, respiratory failure) and the odds of circulatory disease by 5% to 23% (seven diseases, including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, arterial embolisms). Further effects were seen for cancer within the respiratory system and other neoplasms, renal failure, septicaemia, and retinal disorders. No associations were observed in sensitivity analyses on 185,002 never smokers. Interpretation: These genetic data demonstrate the substantial adverse health impacts by smoking intensity and suggest notable increases in the risks of several diseases. Public health initiatives should highlight the damage caused by smoking intensity and the potential benefits of reducing or ideally quitting smoking
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