5,872 research outputs found
Precession of the Isolated Neutron Star PSR B1828-11
Stairs, Lyne & Shemar have found that arrival time residuals from PSR
B1828-11 vary periodically with a period of 500 days. This behavior can be
accounted for by precession of the radiopulsar, an interpretation that is
reinforced by the detection of variations in its pulse profile on the same
timescale. Here, we model the period residuals from PSR B1828-11 in terms of
precession of a triaxial rigid body. We include two contributions to the
residuals: (i) the geometric effect, which arises because the times at which
the pulsar emission beam points toward the observer varies with precession
phase; (ii) the spindown contribution, which arises from any dependence of the
spindown torque acting on the pulsar on the angle between its spin and magnetic
axes. We use the data to probe numerous properties of the pulsar, most notably
its shape, and the dependence of its spindown torque on the angle between its
spin and magnetic axes, for which we assume a sum of a spin-aligned component
(with a weight 1-a) and a dipolar component perpendicular to the magnetic beam
axis (weight a), rather than the vacuum dipole torque (a=1). We find that a
variety of shapes are consistent with the residuals, with a slight statistical
preference for a prolate star. Moreover, a range of torque possibilities fit
the data equally well, with no strong preference for the vacuum model. In the
case of a prolate star we find evidence for an angle-dependent spindown torque.
Our results show that the combination of geometrical and spin-down effects
associated with precession can account for the principal features of PSR
B1828-11's timing behavior, without fine tuning of the parameters.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, submitted to MNRAS; added references, corrected
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Continuum states from time-dependent density functional theory
Linear response time-dependent density functional theory is used to study
low-lying electronic continuum states of targets that can bind an extra
electron. Exact formulas to extract scattering amplitudes from the
susceptibility are derived in one dimension. A single-pole approximation for
scattering phase shifts in three dimensions is shown to be more accurate than
static exchange for singlet electron-He scattering.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, J. Chem. Phys. accepte
Lensing of Fast Radio Bursts by Plasma Structures in Host Galaxies
Plasma lenses in the host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs) can strongly
modulate FRB amplitudes for a wide range of distances, including the
Gpc distance of the repeater FRB121102. To produce caustics, the lens'
dispersion-measure depth (), scale size (), and distance
from the source () must satisfy . Caustics produce strong
magnifications () on short time scales ( hours to days and
perhaps shorter) along with narrow, epoch dependent spectral peaks (0.1 to
1~GHz). However, strong suppression also occurs in long-duration (
months) troughs. For geometries that produce multiple images, the resulting
burst components will arrive differentially by s to tens of ms and
they will show different apparent dispersion measures, pc cm. Arrival time perturbations may mask any
underlying periodicity with period s. When arrival times differ by
less than the burst width, interference effects in dynamic spectra are
expected. Strong lensing requires source sizes smaller than , which can be satisfied by compact objects such as
neutron star magnetospheres but not by AGNs. Much of the phenomenology of the
repeating fast radio burst source FRB121102 is similar to lensing effects. The
overall picture can be tested by obtaining wideband spectra of bursts (from
to 10 GHz and possibly higher), which can also be used to characterize the
plasma environment near FRB sources. A rich variety of phenomena is expected
from an ensemble of lenses near the FRB source. We discuss constraints on
densities, magnetic fields, and locations of plasma lenses related to
requirements for lensing to occur.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
Reciprocal relationships in collective flights of homing pigeons
Collective motion of bird flocks can be explained via the hypothesis of many
wrongs, and/or, a structured leadership mechanism. In pigeons, previous studies
have shown that there is a well-defined hierarchical structure and certain
specific individuals occupy more dominant positions --- suggesting that
leadership by the few individuals drives the behavior of the collective.
Conversely, by analyzing the same data-sets, we uncover a more egalitarian
mechanism. We show that both reciprocal relationships and a stratified
hierarchical leadership are important and necessary in the collective movements
of pigeon flocks. Rather than birds adopting either exclusive averaging or
leadership strategies, our experimental results show that it is an integrated
combination of both compromise and leadership which drives the group's movement
decisions.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Type Ia Supernovae, Evolution, and the Cosmological Constant
We explore the possible role of evolution in the analysis of data on SNe Ia
at cosmological distances. First, using a variety of simple sleuthing
techniques, we find evidence that the properties of the high and low redshift
SNe Ia observed so far differ from one another. Next, we examine the effects of
including simple phenomenological models for evolution in the analysis. The
result is that cosmological models and evolution are highly degenerate with one
another, so that the incorporation of even very simple models for evolution
makes it virtually impossible to pin down the values of and
, the density parameters for nonrelativistic matter and for the
cosmological constant, respectively. Moreover, we show that if SNe Ia evolve
with time, but evolution is neglected in analyzing data, then, given enough SNe
Ia, the analysis hones in on values of and which
are incorrect. Using Bayesian methods, we show that the probability that the
cosmological constant is nonzero (rather than zero) is unchanged by the SNe Ia
data when one accounts for the possibility of evolution, provided that we do
not discriminate among open, closed and flat cosmologies a priori. The case for
nonzero cosmological constant is stronger if the Universe is presumed to be
flat, but still depends sensitively on the degree to which the peak
luminosities of SNe Ia evolve as a function of redshift. The estimated value of
, however, is only negligibly affected by accounting for possible
evolution.Comment: 45 pages, 15 figures; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal. Minor revisions and clarifications made including addition of recent
reference
Realising context-sensitive mobile messaging
Mobile technologies aim to assist people as they move from place to place going about their daily work and social routines. Established and very popular mobile technologies include short-text messages and multimedia messages with newer growing technologies including Bluetooth mobile data transfer protocols and mobile web access.Here we present new work which combines all of the above technologies to fulfil some of the predictions for future context aware messaging. We present a context sensitive mobile messaging system which derives context in the form of physical locations through location sensing and the co-location of people through Bluetooth familiarity
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