15,794 research outputs found
The pulsar spectral index distribution
The flux density spectra of radio pulsars are known to be steep and, to first
order, described by a power-law relationship of the form S_{\nu} \propto
\nu^{\alpha}, where S_{\nu} is the flux density at some frequency \nu and
\alpha is the spectral index. Although measurements of \alpha have been made
over the years for several hundred pulsars, a study of the intrinsic
distribution of pulsar spectra has not been carried out. From the result of
pulsar surveys carried out at three different radio frequencies, we use
population synthesis techniques and a likelihood analysis to deduce what
underlying spectral index distribution is required to replicate the results of
these surveys. We find that in general the results of the surveys can be
modelled by a Gaussian distribution of spectral indices with a mean of -1.4 and
unit standard deviation. We also consider the impact of the so-called
"Gigahertz-peaked spectrum" pulsars. The fraction of peaked spectrum sources in
the population with significant turn-over at low frequencies appears to be at
most 10%. We demonstrate that high-frequency (>2 GHz) surveys preferentially
select flatter-spectrum pulsars and the converse is true for lower-frequency
(<1 GHz) surveys. This implies that any correlations between \alpha and other
pulsar parameters (for example age or magnetic field) need to carefully account
for selection biases in pulsar surveys. We also expect that many known pulsars
which have been detected at high frequencies will have shallow, or positive,
spectral indices. The majority of pulsars do not have recorded flux density
measurements over a wide frequency range, making it impossible to constrain
their spectral shapes. We also suggest that such measurements would allow an
improved description of any populations of pulsars with 'non-standard' spectra.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by MNRA
Beam alignment techniques based on the current multiplication effect in photoconductors First phase technical summary report
Current multiplication effects in cadmium sulfide photoconductive cell
An Approximate Large Method for Lattice Chiral Models
An approximation is used that permits one to explicitly solve the two-point
Schwinger-Dyson equations of the U(N) lattice chiral models. The approximate
solution correctly predicts a phase transition for dimensions greater than
two. For , the system is in a single disordered phase with a mass
gap. The method reproduces known results well for . For ,
there is a moderate difference with results only in the intermediate
coupling constant region.Comment: Latex file, 19 page
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