36,342 research outputs found
Field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen Survey I. Variable stars at the edge of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy
A catalogue is presented with variable (RR Lyrae, semiregular and Mira) stars
located inside field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen Survey, at the outer edge of
the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. One of the semiregular variables is a carbon
star, comparable with those found by Azzopardi et al. (1991). Serendipity
provides the suggestion, that their carbon stars might not be located inside,
but behind the bulge in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.Comment: 3 pages TeX with 3 postscript figures. Table 1 and the finding charts
are available on request. Accepted for publication in A&A Supplement Serie
High Magnetic Field Rotation-powered Pulsars
Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters have recently emerged as a
unified class of neutron stars, identified by dramatic X-ray and gamma-ray
outbursts and via luminous X-ray pulsations, both thought to be powered by the
decay of an enormous internal magnetic field. This "magnetar" hypothesis has
raised the question of these objects' physical relationship with conventional
rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs). The highest magnetic-field RPPs might
therefore be expected to be transition objects between the two populations. The
recently reported magnetar-like outburst of PSR J1846-0258, previously thought
to be purely rotation-powered, clearly supports this suggestion. Here we review
the observational properties of the highest magnetic-field RPPs known, and show
some common characteristics that are notable among RPPs, which are plausibly
related to their high fields. Using these objects, we consider the evidence for
proposed "magneto-thermal evolution" in neutron stars, and argue that while
some exists, it is not yet conclusive.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Conference proceeding of "ASTROphysics of Neutron
Stars 2010 -- a conference in honor of M. Ali Alpar", 2-6 August 2010, Cesme,
Izmir, Turke
Field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen Survey II. Near-infrared photometry of semiregular variables
Near-infrared photometry (JHKL'M) was obtained for 78 semiregular variables
(SRVs) in field #3 of the Palomar-Groningen survey (PG3, l=0, b=-10). Together
with a sample of Miras in this field a comparison is made with a sample of
field SRVs and Miras. The PG3 SRVs form a sequence (period-luminosity
& period-colour) with the PG3 Miras, in which the SRVs are the short period
extension to the Miras. The field and PG3 Miras follow the same P/(J--K)o
relation, while this is not the case for the field and PG3 SRVs. Both the PG3
SRVs and Miras follow the SgrI period-luminosity relation adopted from Glass et
al. (1995, MNRAS 273, 383). They are likely pulsating in the fundamental mode
and have metallicities spanning the range from intermediate to approximately
solar.Comment: 14 pages LaTeX (2 tables, 8 figures), to appear in A&A 338 (1998);
minor modifications in tex
Fitting Pulsar Wind Tori. II. Error Analysis and Applications
We have applied the torus fitting procedure described in Ng & Romani (2004)
to PWNe observations in the Chandra data archive. This study provides
quantitative measurement of the PWN geometry and we characterize the
uncertainties in the fits, with statistical errors coming from the fit
uncertainties and systematic errors estimated by varying the assumed fitting
model. The symmetry axis of the PWN are generally well determined, and
highly model-independent. We often derive a robust value for the spin
inclination . We briefly discuss the utility of these results in
comparison with new radio and high energy pulse measurementsComment: 15 pages, 3 figures, ApJ in pres
Selected topics in Planck-scale physics
We review a few topics in Planck-scale physics, with emphasis on possible
manifestations in relatively low energy. The selected topics include quantum
fluctuations of spacetime, their cumulative effects, uncertainties in
energy-momentum measurements, and low energy quantum-gravity phenomenology. The
focus is on quantum-gravity-induced uncertainties in some observable
quantities. We consider four possible ways to probe Planck-scale physics
experimentally: 1. looking for energy-dependent spreads in the arrival time of
photons of the same energy from GRBs; 2. examining spacetime
fluctuation-induced phase incoherence of light from extragalactic sources; 3.
detecting spacetime foam with laser-based interferometry techniques; 4.
understanding the threshold anomalies in high energy cosmic ray and gamma ray
events. Some other experiments are briefly discussed. We show how some physics
behind black holes, simple clocks, simple computers, and the holographic
principle is related to Planck-scale physics. We also discuss a formulation of
the Dirac equation as a difference equation on a discrete Planck-scale
spacetime lattice, and a possible interplay between Planck-scale and
Hubble-scale physics encoded in the cosmological constant (dark energy).Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure; minor changes; to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett. A as
a Brief Revie
Statistical Modelling of Information Sharing: Community, Membership and Content
File-sharing systems, like many online and traditional information sharing
communities (e.g. newsgroups, BBS, forums, interest clubs), are dynamical
systems in nature. As peers get in and out of the system, the information
content made available by the prevailing membership varies continually in
amount as well as composition, which in turn affects all peers' join/leave
decisions. As a result, the dynamics of membership and information content are
strongly coupled, suggesting interesting issues about growth, sustenance and
stability.
In this paper, we propose to study such communities with a simple statistical
model of an information sharing club. Carrying their private payloads of
information goods as potential supply to the club, peers join or leave on the
basis of whether the information they demand is currently available.
Information goods are chunked and typed, as in a file sharing system where
peers contribute different files, or a forum where messages are grouped by
topics or threads. Peers' demand and supply are then characterized by
statistical distributions over the type domain.
This model reveals interesting critical behaviour with multiple equilibria. A
sharp growth threshold is derived: the club may grow towards a sustainable
equilibrium only if the value of an order parameter is above the threshold, or
shrink to emptiness otherwise. The order parameter is composite and comprises
the peer population size, the level of their contributed supply, the club's
efficiency in information search, the spread of supply and demand over the type
domain, as well as the goodness of match between them.Comment: accepted in International Symposium on Computer Performance,
Modeling, Measurements and Evaluation, Juan-les-Pins, France, October-200
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