4,191 research outputs found
The Optical Emission from Gamma-ray Quasars
We present photometric observations of six radio-loud quasars that were
detected by the COMPTEL gamma-ray telescope. The data encompasses seven
wavebands in the optical and near-infrared. After correction for Galactic
extinction, we find a wide range in optical slopes. Two sources are as blue as
optically-selected quasars, and are likely to be dominated by the accretion
disc emission, while three others show colours consistent with a red
synchrotron component. We discuss the properties of the COMPTEL sample of
quasars, as well as the implications our observations have for multi-wavelength
modelling of gamma-ray quasars.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in P.A.S.A; minor typos
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Unravelling Active Galactic Nuclei
A complete flat-spectrum radio-loud sample of AGN includes a significant
fraction of Seyfert-like AGN including a NLS1. Analysis of their optical
spectra suggests that the reddest continuum colours are either associated with
AGN in nearby resolved galaxies, or distant quasars showing relatively narrow
permitted emission lines.Comment: Poster contribution presented at the Joint MPE,AIP,ESO workshop on
NLS1s, Bad Honnef, Dec. 1999, to appear in New Astronomy Reviews; also
available at http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/conferences/nls1-worksho
Black Hole Mass Estimates of Radio Selected Quasars
The black hole (BH) mass in the centre of AGN has been estimated for a sample
of radio-selected flat-spectrum quasars to investigate the relationship between
BH mass and radio properties of quasars. We have used the virial assumption
with measurements of the H FWHM and luminosity to estimate the central
BH mass. In contrast to previous studies we find no correlation between BH mass
and radio power in these AGN. We find a range in BH mass similar to that seen
in radio-quiet quasars from previous studies. We believe the reason that the
low BH mass radio-loud quasars have not been measured in previous studies is
due to optical selection effects which tend to miss the less optically luminous
radio-loud sources.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Greenhouse gas balance over thaw-freeze cycles in discontinuous zone permafrost
Peat in the discontinuous permafrost zone contains a globally significant reservoir of carbon that has undergone multiple permafrost-thaw cycles since the end of the mid-Holocene (~3700 years before present). Periods of thaw increase C decomposition rates which leads to the release of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere creating potential climate feedback. To determine the magnitude and direction of such feedback, we measured CO2 and CH4 emissions and modeled C accumulation rates and radiative fluxes from measurements of two radioactive tracers with differing lifetimes to describe the C balance of the peatland over multiple permafrost-thaw cycles since the initiation of permafrost at the site. At thaw features, the balance between increased primary production and higher CH4 emission stimulated by warmer temperatures and wetter conditions favors C sequestration and enhanced peat accumulation. Flux measurements suggest that frozen plateaus may intermittently (order of years to decades) act as CO2 sources depending on temperature and net ecosystem respiration rates, but modeling results suggest that—despite brief periods of net C loss to the atmosphere at the initiation of thaw—integrated over millennia, these sites have acted as net C sinks via peat accumulation. In greenhouse gas terms, the transition from frozen permafrost to thawed wetland is accompanied by increasing CO2 uptake that is partially offset by increasing CH4 emissions. In the short-term (decadal time scale) the net effect of this transition is likely enhanced warming via increased radiative C emissions, while in the long-term (centuries) net C deposition provides a negative feedback to climate warming
Relationship between ecosystem productivity and photosynthetically-active radiation for northern peatlands
We analyzed the relationship between net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE) and irradiance (as photosynthetic photon flux density or PPFD), using published and unpublished data that have been collected during midgrowing season for carbon balance studies at seven peatlands in North America and Europe. NEE measurements included both eddy-correlation tower and clear, static chamber methods, which gave very similar results. Data were analyzed by site, as aggregated data sets by peatland type (bog, poor fen, rich fen, and all fens) and as a single aggregated data set for all peatlands. In all cases, a fit with a rectangular hyperbola (NEE = α PPFD Pmax/(α PPFD + Pmax) + R) better described the NEE-PPFD relationship than did a linear fit (NEE = β PPFD + R). Poor and rich fens generally had similar NEE-PPFD relationships, while bogs had lower respiration rates (R = −2.0μmol m−2s−1 for bogs and −2.7 μmol m−2s−1 for fens) and lower NEE at moderate and high light levels (Pmax = 5.2 μmol m−2s−1 for bogs and 10.8 μmol m−2s−1 for fens). As a single class, northern peatlands had much smaller ecosystem respiration (R = −2.4 μmol m−2s−1) and NEE rates (α = 0.020 and Pmax = 9.2μmol m−2s−1) than the upland ecosystems (closed canopy forest, grassland, and cropland) summarized by Ruimy et al. [1995]. Despite this low productivity, northern peatland soil carbon pools are generally 5–50 times larger than upland ecosystems because of slow rates of decomposition caused by litter quality and anaerobic, cold soils
Nanoelectromechanical Resonator Arrays for Ultrafast, Gas-Phase Chromatographic Chemical Analysis
Miniaturized gas chromatography (GC) systems can provide fast, quantitative analysis of chemical vapors in an ultrasmall package. We describe a chemical sensor technology based on resonant nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) mass detectors that provides the speed, sensitivity, specificity, and size required by the microscale GC paradigm. Such NEMS sensors have demonstrated detection of subparts per billion (ppb) concentrations of a phosphonate analyte. By combining two channels of NEMS detection with an ultrafast GC front-end, chromatographic analysis of 13 chemicals was performed within a 5 s time window
A Very Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1: PKS 2004-447
We have discovered a very radio-loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 candidate: PKS
2004-447. This Seyfert is consistent with the formal definition for NLS1s,
although it does not have quite the same spectral features as some typical
members of this subclass. Only ROSAT survey data is available at X-ray
wavelengths, so it has not been possible to compare this source with other
NLS1s at these wavelengths. A full comparison of this source with other members
of the subclass will improve our physical understanding of NLS1s. In addition,
using standard calculations, we estimate the central black hole to have a mass
of . This does not agree with predictions in the
literature, that radio-loud AGN host very massive black holes.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, minor typos
change
Acoustic Modeling for Aqua Ventus I off Monhegan Island, ME
The DeepCwind consortium, led by the University of Maine, was awarded funding under the US Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Program to develop two floating offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine equipped with Goldwind 6 MW direct drive turbines, as the Aqua Ventus I project. The Goldwind turbines have a hub height of 100 m. The turbines will be deployed in Maine State waters, approximately 2.9 miles off Monhegan Island; Monhegan Island is located roughly 10 miles off the coast of Maine. In order to site and permit the offshore turbines, the acoustic output must be evaluated to ensure that the sound will not disturb residents on Monhegan Island, nor input sufficient sound levels into the nearby ocean to disturb marine mammals. This initial assessment of the acoustic output focuses on the sound of the turbines in air by modeling the assumed sound source level, applying a sound propagation model, and taking into account the distance from shore
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