20,080 research outputs found
Satellite Communications: Impact on Developing Economies
Access to information and communication infrastructure greatly enhances economic growth. When a reliable and affordable medium for information exchange is available, previously unanticipated developments ensue. Most areas in developing countries are sparsely populated and highly rural. Satellite communication is an excellent option for meeting this and many other pressing communication needs of developing economies. This paper examines the impact of satellite communication on developing economies, using popular examples as case study
Resonant Inverse Compton Scattering Spectra from Highly-magnetized Neutron Stars
Hard, non-thermal, persistent pulsed X-ray emission extending between 10 keV
and keV has been observed in nearly ten magnetars. For
inner-magnetospheric models of such emission, resonant inverse Compton
scattering of soft thermal photons by ultra-relativistic charges is the most
efficient production mechanism. We present angle-dependent upscattering spectra
and pulsed intensity maps for uncooled, relativistic electrons injected in
inner regions of magnetar magnetospheres, calculated using collisional
integrals over field loops. Our computations employ a new formulation of the
QED Compton scattering cross section in strong magnetic fields that is
physically correct for treating important spin-dependent effects in the
cyclotron resonance, thereby producing correct photon spectra. The spectral
cut-off energies are sensitive to the choices of observer viewing geometry,
electron Lorentz factor, and scattering kinematics. We find that electrons with
energies MeV will emit most of their radiation below 250 keV,
consistent with inferred turnovers for magnetar hard X-ray tails. More
energetic electrons still emit mostly below 1 MeV, except for viewing
perspectives sampling field line tangents. Pulse profiles may be singly- or
doubly-peaked dependent upon viewing geometry, emission locale, and observed
energy band. Magnetic pair production and photon splitting will attenuate
spectra to hard X-ray energies, suppressing signals in the Fermi-LAT band. The
resonant Compton spectra are strongly polarized, suggesting that hard X-ray
polarimetry instruments such as X-Calibur, or a future Compton telescope, can
prove central to constraining model geometry and physics.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ; v3 fixes typos
and updates some reference
Compton Scattering in Ultra-Strong Magnetic Fields: Numerical and Analytical Behavior in the Relativistic Regime
This paper explores the effects of strong magnetic fields on the Compton
scattering of relativistic electrons. Recent studies of upscattering and energy
loss by relativistic electrons that have used the non-relativistic, magnetic
Thomson cross section for resonant scattering or the Klein-Nishina cross
section for non-resonant scattering do not account for the relativistic quantum
effects of strong fields ( G). We have derived a
simplified expression for the exact QED scattering cross section for the
broadly-applicable case where relativistic electrons move along the magnetic
field. To facilitate applications to astrophysical models, we have also
developed compact approximate expressions for both the differential and total
polarization-dependent cross sections, with the latter representing well the
exact total QED cross section even at the high fields believed to be present in
environments near the stellar surfaces of Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters and
Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars. We find that strong magnetic fields significantly
lower the Compton scattering cross section below and at the resonance, when the
incident photon energy exceeds in the electron rest frame. The cross
section is strongly dependent on the polarization of the final scattered
photon. Below the cyclotron fundamental, mostly photons of perpendicular
polarization are produced in scatterings, a situation that also arises above
this resonance for sub-critical fields. However, an interesting discovery is
that for super-critical fields, a preponderance of photons of parallel
polarization results from scatterings above the cyclotron fundamental. This
characteristic is both a relativistic and magnetic effect not present in the
Thomson or Klein-Nishina limits.Comment: AASTeX format, 31 pages included 7 embedded figures, accepted for
publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Relativistic Beaming and Flux Variability in Active Galactic Nuclei
We discuss the impact of special relativistic effects on the observed light
curves and variability duty cycles of AGNs. We model the properties of AGN
light curves at radio wavelengths using a simulated shot noise process in which
the occurrence of major flaring events in a relativistic jet is governed by
Poisson statistics. We show that flaring sources whose radiation is highly
beamed toward us are able to reach very high flux levels, but will in fact
spend most of their time in relatively low flaring states due to relativistic
contraction of flare time scales in the observer frame. The fact that highly
beamed AGNs do not return to a steady-state quiescent level between flares
implies that their weakly beamed counterparts should have highly stable flux
densities that result from a superposition of many long-term, low-amplitude
flares. The ``apparent'' quiescent flux levels of these weakly beamed AGNs
(identified in many unified models as radio galaxies) will be significantly
higher than their ''true'' quiescent (i.e., non-flaring) levels. We use Monte
Carlo simulations to investigate flux variability bias in the selection
statistics of flat-spectrum AGN samples. In the case of the Caltech-Jodrell
Flat-spectrum survey, the predicted orientation bias towards jets seen end-on
is weakened if the parent population is variable, since the highly beamed
sources have a stronger tendency to be found in low flaring states. This effect
is small, however, since highly beamed sources are relatively rare, and their
fluxes tend to be boosted sufficiently above the survey limit such that they
are selected regardless of their flaring level. We find that for larger
flat-spectrum AGN surveys with fainter flux cutoffs, variability should not be
an appreciable source of selection bias.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Faraday spectroscopy of atoms confined in a dark optical trap
We demonstrate Faraday spectroscopy with high duty cycle and sampling rate
using atoms confined to a blue-detuned optical trap. Our trap consists of a
crossed pair of high-charge-number hollow laser beams, which forms a dark,
box-like potential. We have used this to measure transient magnetic fields in a
500-micron-diameter spot over a 400 ms time window with nearly unit duty cycle
at a 500 Hz sampling rate. We use these measurements to quantify and compensate
time-varying magnetic fields to ~10 nT per time sample.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures Accepted in Phys. Rev.
Deterministic amplification of Schroedinger cat states in circuit quantum electrodynamics
We propose a dynamical scheme for deterministically amplifying photonic
Schroedinger cat states based on a set of optimal state-transfers. The scheme
can be implemented in strongly coupled qubit-cavity systems and is well suited
to the capabilities of state of the art superconducting circuits. The ideal
analytical scheme is compared with a full simulation of the open
Jaynes-Cummings model with realistic device parameters. This amplification tool
can be utilized for practical quantum information processing in non-classical
continuous-variable states.Comment: A revised manuscript has 6 figure
Conservation Status and Residential Transaction Prices: Initial Evidence from Dallas, Texas
The traditional mechanisms of private covenants and public restrictions may not meet the needs of residential property owners who want to preserve a certain neighborhood style. Privately initiated and publicly enforced conservation district regulations can preserve desirable neighborhood characteristics and signal to buyers that neighborhood conformity will likely persist. We analyze residential transaction prices in Dallas, Texas and find premiums associated with residential properties within and buffering conservation district locations. These results are robust to the spatial autocorrelation common in residential transaction prices.
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