1,499 research outputs found
4U2206+54 - an Unusual High Mass X-ray Binary with a 9.6 Day Orbital Period but No Strong Pulsations
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer All-Sky Monitor observations of the X-ray source
4U2206+54, previously proposed to be a Be star system, show the X-ray flux to
be modulated with a period of approximately 9.6 days. If the modulation is due
to orbital variability then this would be one of the shortest orbital periods
known for a Be star X-ray source. However, the X-ray luminosity is relatively
modest whereas a high luminosity would be predicted if the system contains a
neutron star accreting from the denser inner regions of a Be star envelope.
Although a 392s pulse period was previously reported from EXOSAT observations,
a reexamination of the EXOSAT light curves does not show this or any other
periodicity. An analysis of archival RXTE Proportional Counter Array
observations also fails to show any X-ray pulsations. We consider possible
models that may explain the properties of this source including a neutron star
with accretion halted at the magnetosphere and an accreting white dwarf.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
The binary period and outburst behaviour of the SMC X-ray binary pulsar system SXP504
A probable binary period has been detected in the optical counterpart to the
X-ray source CXOU J005455.6-724510 = RX J0054.9-7245 = AXJ0054.8-7244 = SXP504
in the Small Magellanic Cloud. This source was detected by Chandra on 04 Jul
2002 and subsequently observed by XMM-Newton on 18 Dec 2003. The source is
coincident with an Optical Gravitational Lensing (OGLE) object in the
lightcurves of which several optical outburst peaks are visible at ~ 268 day
intervals. Timing analysis shows a period of 268.6 +/- 0.1 days at > 99%
significance. Archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data for the 504s
pulse-period has revealed detections which correspond closely with predicted or
actual peaks in the optical data. The relationship between this orbital period
and the pulse period of 504s is within the normal variance found in the Corbet
diagram.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 1 LATEX page. 4 figure
Evidence for a very slow X-ray pulsar in 2S0114+650 from RXTE All-Sky Monitor Observations
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) All-Sky Monitor (ASM) observations of the
X-ray binary 2S0114+650 show modulations at periods close to both the optically
derived orbital period (11.591 days) and proposed pulse period (~ 2.7 hr). The
pulse period shows frequency and intensity variability during the more than 2
years of ASM observations analyzed. The pulse properties are consistent with
this arising from accretion onto a rotating neutron star and this would be the
slowest such period known. The shape of the orbital light curve shows
modulation over the course of the entire orbit and a comparison is made with
the orbital light curve of Vela X-1. However, the expected phase of eclipse,
based on an extrapolation of the optical ephemeris, does not correspond with
the observed orbital minimum. The orbital period derived from the ASM light
curve is also slightly longer than the optical period.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal, 1999, volume 511. 9
figure
The development of Bitcoin futures : exploring the interactions between cryptocurrency derivatives
We utilise a high-frequency analysis to investigate the period surrounding the establishment of two new futures contracts based on the performance of Bitcoin. Our analysis shows that there have been significant pricing effects sourced from both fraudulent and regulatory unease within the industry. While analysing breakpoints in efficiency, we verify the view that Bitcoin futures dominate price discovery relative to spot markets. However, we add to this research by finding that CBOE futures are found to be the leading source of informational flow when compared directly to their CME equivalent
The Orbital Solution and Spectral Classification of the High-Mass X-Ray Binary IGR J01054-7253 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
We present X-ray and optical data on the Be/X-ray binary (BeXRB) pulsar IGR
J01054-7253 = SXP11.5 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Rossi X-ray Timing
Explorer (RXTE) observations of this source in a large X-ray outburst reveal an
11.483 +/- 0.002s pulse period and show both the accretion driven spin-up of
the neutron star and the motion of the neutron star around the companion
through Doppler shifting of the spin period. Model fits to these data suggest
an orbital period of 36.3 +/- 0.4d and Pdot of (4.7 +/- 0.3) x 10^{-10}
ss^{-1}. We present an orbital solution for this system, making it one of the
best described BeXRB systems in the SMC. The observed pulse period, spin-up and
X-ray luminosity of SXP11.5 in this outburst are found to agree with the
predictions of neutron star accretion theory. Timing analysis of the long-term
optical light curve reveals a periodicity of 36.70 +/- 0.03d, in agreement with
the orbital period found from the model fit to the X-ray data. Using blue-end
spectroscopic observations we determine the spectral type of the counterpart to
be O9.5-B0 IV-V. This luminosity class is supported by the observed V-band
magnitude. Using optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy, we
study the circumstellar environment of the counterpart in the months after the
X-ray outburst.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures and 3 tables. This paper has been accepted for
publication in MNRA
Investigating the Dynamics between Price Volatility, Price Discovery, and Criminality in Cryptocurrency Markets
This paper identifies several stylised facts relating to the volatility and price discovery process
from eight cryptocurrencies utilising an empirical analysis of intra-day trading data to uncover four
main results. First, cryptocurrencies exhibit weekend-volatility effects while intra-day volatility
is found to be influenced by international trading times, periods of substantial volatility in the
markets for oil, and GBP/USD and cybercrime events. Secondly, a thorough investigation of recent
cybercriminality identifies that cryptocurrency hacks are found to increase both the volatility of
the currency hacked and the correlations across the hacked currency and other cryptocurrencies.
Thirdly, hacks significantly reduce price discovery sourced within the hacked currency relative to
other cryptocurrencies. Finally, there are abnormal returns associated with the hacks observed
in the hours prior to the actual hacking event, which reverts to zero at the time of the public
announcement of the hack
XMM-Newton discovery of transient X-ray pulsar in NGC 1313
We report on the discovery and analysis of the transient X-ray pulsar XMMU
J031747.5-663010 detected in the 2004 November 23 XMM-Newton observation of the
spiral galaxy NGC 1313. The X-ray source exhibits pulsations with a period
P~765.6 s and a nearly sinusoidal pulse shape and pulsed fraction ~38% in the
0.3-7 keV energy range. The X-ray spectrum of XMMU J031747.5-663010 is hard and
is well fitted with an absorbed simple power law of photon index ~1.5 in the
0.3-7 keV energy band. The X-ray properties of the source and the absence of an
optical/UV counterpart brighter than 20 mag allow us to identify XMMU
J031747.5-663010 as an accreting X-ray pulsar located in NGC 1313. The
estimated absorbed 0.3-7 keV luminosity of the source L~1.6\times 10^{39}
ergs/s, makes it one of the brightest X-ray pulsars known. Based on the
relatively long pulse period and transient behaviour of the source, we classify
it as a Be binary X-ray pulsar candidate. XMMU J031747.5-663010 is the second
X-ray pulsar detected outside the Local Group, after transient 18 s pulsating
source CXOU J073709.1+653544 discovered in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Updated to
match the accepted versio
Inferring macro-ecological patterns from local presence/absence data
Biodiversity provides support for life, vital provisions, regulating services and has positive cultural impacts. It is therefore important to have accurate methods to measure biodiversity, in order to safeguard it when we discover it to be threatened. For practical reasons, biodiversity is usually measured at fine scales whereas diversity issues (e.g. conservation) interest regional or global scales. Moreover, biodiversity may change across spatial scales. It is therefore a key challenge to be able to translate local information on biodiversity into global patterns.
Many databases give no information about the abundances of a species within an area, but only its occurrence in each of the surveyed plots. In this paper, we introduce an analytical framework (implemented in a readyâtoâuse R code) to infer species richness and abundances at large spatial scales in biodiversityârich ecosystems when species presence/absence information is available on various scattered samples (i.e. upscaling).
This framework is based on the scaleâinvariance property of the negative binomial. Our approach allows to infer and link within a unique framework important and wellâknown biodiversity patterns of ecological theory, such as the species accumulation curve (SAC) and the relative species abundance (RSA) as well as a new emergent pattern, which is the relative species occupancy (RSO).
Our estimates are robust and accurate, as confirmed by tests performed on both in silicoâgenerated and real forests. We demonstrate the accuracy of our predictions using data from two wellâstudied forest stands. Moreover, we compared our results with other popular methods proposed in the literature to infer species richness from presence to absence data and we showed that our framework gives better estimates. It has thus important applications to biodiversity research and conservation practice
Species Abundance Patterns in Complex Evolutionary Dynamics
An analytic theory of species abundance patterns (SAPs) in biological
networks is presented. The theory is based on multispecies replicator dynamics
equivalent to the Lotka-Volterra equation, with diverse interspecies
interactions. Various SAPs observed in nature are derived from a single
parameter. The abundance distribution is formed like a widely observed
left-skewed lognormal distribution. As the model has a general form, the result
can be applied to similar patterns in other complex biological networks, e.g.
gene expression.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Physical Review Letters, in pres
Multi-wavelength observations of Galactic hard X-ray sources discovered by INTEGRAL. I. The nature of the companion star
Context: The INTEGRAL hard X-ray observatory has revealed an emerging
population of highly obscured X-ray binary systems through multi-wavelength
observations. Previous studies have shown that many of these sources are
high-mass X-ray binaries hosting neutron stars orbiting around luminous and
evolved companion stars. Aims: To better understand this newly-discovered
population, we have selected a sample of sources for which an accurate
localisation is available to identify the stellar counterpart and reveal the
nature of the companion star and of the binary system. Methods: We performed an
intensive study of a sample of thirteen INTEGRAL sources, through
multi-wavelength optical to NIR photometric and spectroscopic observations,
using EMMI and SofI instruments at the ESO NTT telescope. We performed accurate
astrometry and identified candidate counterparts for which we give the optical
and NIR magnitudes. We detected many spectral lines allowing us to determine
the spectral type of the companion star. We fitted with stellar black bodies
the mid-infrared to optical spectral energy distributions of these sources.
From the spectral analysis and SED fitting we identified the nature of the
companion stars and of the binary systems. (abridged).Comment: A&A in press; The official date of acceptance is 15/12/2007; 25
pages, 6 figures, 8 tables. New version with language editing required by
edito
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