1,839 research outputs found
Temperature Profiles of Accretion Disks around Rapidly Rotating Neutron Stars in General Relativity and Implications for Cygnus X-2
We calculate the temperature profiles of (thin) accretion disks around
rapidly rotating neutron stars (with low surface magnetic fields), taking into
account the full effects of general relativity. We then consider a model for
the spectrum of the X-ray emission from the disk, parameterized by the mass
accretion rate, the color temperature and the rotation rate of the neutron
star. We derive constraints on these parameters for the X-ray source Cygnus X-2
using the estimates of the maximum temperature in the disk along with the disk
and boundary layer luminosities, using the spectrum inferred from the EXOSAT
data. Our calculations suggest that the neutron star in Cygnus X-2 rotates
close to the centrifugal mass-shed limit. Possible constraints on the neutron
star equation of state are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figs., 2 tables, uses psbox.tex and emulateapj5.sty.
Submitted to Ap
Function reconstruction as a classical moment problem: A maximum entropy approach
We present a systematic study of the reconstruction of a non-negative
function via maximum entropy approach utilizing the information contained in a
finite number of moments of the function. For testing the efficacy of the
approach, we reconstruct a set of functions using an iterative entropy
optimization scheme, and study the convergence profile as the number of moments
is increased. We consider a wide variety of functions that include a
distribution with a sharp discontinuity, a rapidly oscillatory function, a
distribution with singularities, and finally a distribution with several spikes
and fine structure. The last example is important in the context of the
determination of the natural density of the logistic map. The convergence of
the method is studied by comparing the moments of the approximated functions
with the exact ones. Furthermore, by varying the number of moments and
iterations, we examine to what extent the features of the functions, such as
the divergence behavior at singular points within the interval, is reproduced.
The proximity of the reconstructed maximum entropy solution to the exact
solution is examined via Kullback-Leibler divergence and variation measures for
different number of moments.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figure
‘It Takes Two Hands to Clap’: How Gaddi Shepherds in the Indian Himalayas Negotiate Access to Grazing
This article examines the effects of state intervention on the workings of informal institutions that coordinate the communal use and management of natural resources. Specifically it focuses on the case of the nomadic Gaddi
shepherds and official attempts to regulate their access to grazing pastures in the Indian Himalayas. It is often predicted that the increased presence of the modern state critically undermines locally appropriate and community-based resource management arrangements. Drawing on the work of Pauline Peters and Francis Cleaver, I identify key instances of socially embedded ‘common’ management institutions and explain the evolution of these arrangements
through dynamic interactions between individuals, communities and the agents of the state. Through describing the ‘living space’ of Gaddi shepherds across the annual cycle of nomadic migration with their flocks I explore the
ways in which they have been able to creatively reinterpret external interventions, and suggest how contemporary arrangements for accessing pasture at different moments of the annual cycle involve complex combinations of the
formal and the informal, the ‘traditional’ and the ‘modern’
Technology Pipeline for Large Scale Cross-Lingual Dubbing of Lecture Videos into Multiple Indian Languages
Cross-lingual dubbing of lecture videos requires the transcription of the
original audio, correction and removal of disfluencies, domain term discovery,
text-to-text translation into the target language, chunking of text using
target language rhythm, text-to-speech synthesis followed by isochronous
lipsyncing to the original video. This task becomes challenging when the source
and target languages belong to different language families, resulting in
differences in generated audio duration. This is further compounded by the
original speaker's rhythm, especially for extempore speech. This paper
describes the challenges in regenerating English lecture videos in Indian
languages semi-automatically. A prototype is developed for dubbing lectures
into 9 Indian languages. A mean-opinion-score (MOS) is obtained for two
languages, Hindi and Tamil, on two different courses. The output video is
compared with the original video in terms of MOS (1-5) and lip synchronisation
with scores of 4.09 and 3.74, respectively. The human effort also reduces by
75%
Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decays
We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed
decays B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^-, sensitive to the
CKM phase gamma, using data from 7 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by
the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard
deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching
fractions R(K) = [22.0 \pm 8.6(stat)\pm 2.6(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^+(K) =
[42.6\pm 13.7(stat)\pm 2.8(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^-(K)= [3.8\pm 10.3(stat)\pm
2.7(syst]\times 10^-3, as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K) =
-0.82\pm 0.44(stat)\pm 0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantities for
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decay are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Phys.Rev.D Rapid Communications for
Publicatio
Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV
The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum
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