Moduli Spaces of Parabolic Higgs Bundles and Parabolic K(D) Pairs over Smooth Curves: I

This paper concerns the moduli spaces of rank two parabolic Higgs bundles and parabolic K(D) pairs over a smooth curve. Precisely which parabolic bundles occur in stable K(D), pairs and stable Higgs bundles is determined. Using Morse theory, the moduli space of parabolic Higgs bundles is shown to be a non-compact, connected, simply connected manifold, and a computation of its Poincar\'e polynomial is given.Comment: 25 pages, figure correcte

Rationality of Moduli Spaces of Parabolic Bundles

The moduli space of parabolic bundles with fixed determinant over a smooth curve of genus greater than one is proved to be rational whenever one of the multiplicities associated to the quasi-parabolic structure is equal to one. It follows that if rank and degree are coprime, the moduli space of vector bundles is stably rational, and the bound obtained on the level is strong enough to conclude rationality in many cases.Comment: latex2

Statistical properties of the combined emission of a population of discrete sources: astrophysical implications

We study the statistical properties of the combined emission of a population of discrete sources (e.g. X-ray emission of a galaxy due to its X-ray binaries population). Namely, we consider the dependence of their total luminosity L_tot=SUM(L_k) and of fractional rms_tot of their variability on the number of sources N or, equivalently, on the normalization of the luminosity function. We show that due to small number statistics a regime exists, in which L_tot grows non-linearly with N, in an apparent contradiction with the seemingly obvious prediction =integral(dN/dL*L*dL) ~ N. In this non-linear regime, the rms_tot decreases with N significantly more slowly than expected from the rms ~ 1/sqrt(N) averaging law. For example, for a power law luminosity function with a slope of a=3/2, in the non-linear regime, L_tot ~ N^2 and the rms_tot does not depend at all on the number of sources N. Only in the limit of N>>1 do these quantities behave as intuitively expected, L_tot ~ N and rms_tot ~ 1/sqrt(N). We give exact solutions and derive convenient analytical approximations for L_tot and rms_tot. Using the total X-ray luminosity of a galaxy due to its X-ray binary population as an example, we show that the Lx-SFR and Lx-M* relations predicted from the respective ``universal'' luminosity functions of high and low mass X-ray binaries are in a good agreement with observations. Although caused by small number statistics the non-linear regime in these examples extends as far as SFR<4-5 Msun/yr and log(M*/Msun)<10.0-10.5, respectively.Comment: MNRAS, accepted for publicatio

Trombe walls with nanoporous aerogel insulation applied to UK housing refurbishments

There is an opportunity to improve the efficiency of passive Trombe walls and active solar air collectors by replacing their conventional glass covers with lightweight polycarbonate panels filled with nanoporous aerogel insulation. This study investigates the thermal performance, energy savings, and financial payback period of passive Aerogel Trombe walls applied to the existing UK housing stock. Using parametric modeling, a series of design guidance tables have been generated, providing estimates of the energy savings and overheating risk associated with applying areas of Trombe wall to four different house types across the UK built to six notional construction standards. Calculated energy savings range from 183 kWh/m2/year for an 8 m2 system retrofitted to a solid walled detached house to 62 kWh/m2/year for a 32 m2 system retrofitted to a super insulated flat. Predicted energy savings from Trombe walls up to 24 m2 are found to exceed the energy savings from external insulation across all house types and constructions. Small areas of Trombe wall can provide a useful energy contribution without creating a significant overheating risk. If larger areas are to be installed, then detailed calculations would be recommended to assess and mitigate potential overheating issues.The EPSRC, Brunel University, and Buro Happold Lt

An Investigation of Be/X-ray Pulsars with OGLE-III Data

We have studied five seasons of OGLE-III data for eight SMC Be/X-ray pulsars for which no other survey data were available. We have determined orbital periods for four of these binary systems, one of which also shows nonradial pulsations. Optical identification of SMC X-2 is reconsidered, but no periods were found for either of the two possible candidates

Study of a Threshold Cherenkov Counter Based on Silica Aerogels with Low Refractive Indices

To identify $\pi^{\pm}$ and $K^{\pm}$ in the region of $1.0\sim 2.5$ GeV/c, a threshold Cherenkov counter equipped with silica aerogels has been investigated. Silica aerogels with a low refractive index of 1.013 have been successfully produced using a new technique. By making use of these aerogels as radiators, we have constructed a Cherenkov counter and have checked its properties in a test beam. The obtained results have demonstrated that our aerogel was transparent enough to make up for loss of the Cherenkov photon yield due to a low refractive index. Various configurations for the photon collection system and some types of photomultipliers, such as the fine-mesh type, for a read out were also tested. From these studies, our design of a Cherenkov counter dedicated to $\pi / K$ separation up to a few GeV/c %in the momentum range of $1.0 \sim 2.5$ GeV/c with an efficiency greater than $90$ \% was considered.Comment: 21 pages, latex format (article), figures included, to be published in Nucl. Instrm. Meth.

A Study of the Populations of X-ray Sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud with ASCA

The Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) has made multiple observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). X-ray mosaic images in the soft (0.7--2.0 keV) and hard (2.0--7.0 keV) bands are separately constructed, and the latter provides the first hard X-ray view of the SMC. We extract 39 sources from the two-band images with a criterion of S/N>5, and conduct timing and spectral analyses for all of these sources. Coherent pulsations are detected from 12 X-ray sources; five of which are new discoveries. Most of the 12 X-ray pulsars are found to exhibit long-term flux variabilities, hence they are likely to be X-ray binary pulsars (XBPs). On the other hand, we classify four supernova remnants (SNRs) as thermal SNRs, because their spectra exhibit emission lines from highly ionized atoms. We find that XBPs and thermal SNRs in the SMC can be clearly separated by their hardness ratio (the ratio of the count rate between the hard and soft bands). Using this empirical grouping, we find many XBP candidates in the SMC, although no pulsations have yet been detected from these sources. Possible implications on the star-formation history and evolution of the SMC are presented by a comparison of the source populations in the SMC and our Galaxy.Comment: 11 pages, 39 Figures, to be published in ApJ Supplement. Tables (body and figures also) are available at http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/jun/job

Discovery of a new Transient X-ray Pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud have revealed a previously unknown transient X-ray pulsar with a pulse period of 95s. Provisionally designated XTE SMC95, the pulsar was detected in three Proportional Counter Array observations during an outburst spanning 4 weeks in March/April 1999. The pulse profile is double peaked reaching a pulse fraction \~0.8. The source is proposed as a Be/neutron star system on the basis of its pulsations, transient nature and characteristically hard X-ray spectrum. The 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity implied by our observations is > 2x10^37 erg/s which is consistent with that of normal outbursts seen in Galactic systems. This discovery adds to the emerging picture of the SMC as containing an extremely dense population of transient high mass X-ray binaries.Comment: Accepted by A&A. 7 pages, 6 figure

ASCA Observation of the New Transient X-ray Pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 in the Small Magellanic Cloud

The new transient X-ray pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 was observed with Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) on 1998 November 18, a few days after its discovery with the Proportional Counter Array onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. The source was detected at a flux level of 3.6x10^-10 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the 0.7--10.0 keV band, which corresponds to the X-ray luminosity of 1.8x10^38 erg s^-1, if a distance of 65 kpc for this pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud is assumed. Nearly sinusoidal pulsations with a period of 30.9497 +/- 0.0004 s were unambiguously detected during the ASCA observation. The pulsed fraction is low and slightly energy dependent with average value of \~27%. The energy spectrum shows a large soft excess below ~2 keV when fitted to a simple power-law type model. The soft excess is eliminated if the spectrum is fitted to an ``inversely broken power-law'' model, in which photon indices below and above a break energy of 1.5 keV are 2.3 and 0.8, respectively. The soft excess can also be described by a blackbody or a thermal bremsstrahlung when the spectrum above ~2 keV is modeled by a power-law. In these models, however, the thermal soft component requires a very large emission zone, and hence it is difficult to explain the observed pulsations at energies below 2 keV. A bright state of the source enables us to identify a weak iron line feature at 6.4 keV with an equivalent width of 50 +/- 14 eV. Pulse phase resolved spectroscopy revealed a slight hardening of the spectrum and marginal indication of an increase in the iron line strength during the pulse maximum.Comment: 8 pages, 5 Figures, to be published in ApJ. Also available at http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/jun/job