34,218 research outputs found
Polarimetry of optically selected BL Lac candidates from the SDSS
We present and discuss polarimetric observations of 182 targets drawn from an
optically selected sample of 240 probable BL Lac candidates out of the SDSS
compiled by Collinge et al. (2005). In contrast to most other BL Lac candidate
samples extracted from the SDSS, its radio- and/or X-ray properties have not
been taken into account for its derivation. Thus, because its selection is
based on optical properties alone, it may be less prone to selection effects
inherent in other samples derived at different frequencies, so it offers a
unique opportunity to extract the first unbiased BL Lac luminosity function
that is suitably large in size.
We found 124 out of 182 targets (68%) to be polarized, 95 of the polarized
targets (77%) to be highly polarized (> 4%). The low-frequency peaked BL Lac
candidates in the sample are on average only slightly more polarized than the
high-frequency peaked ones. Compared to earlier studies, we found a high duty
cycle in high polarization (~66 +2/-14% to be > 4% polarized) in high-frequency
peaked BL Lac candidates. This may come from our polarization analysis, which
minimizes the contamination by host galaxy light.
No evidence of radio-quiet BL Lac objects in the sample was found.
Our observations show that the probable sample of BL Lac candidates of
Collinge et al. (2005) indeed contains a large number of bona fide BL Lac
objects. High S/N spectroscopy and deep X-ray observations are required to
construct the first luminosity function of optically selected BL Lac objects
and to test more stringently for any radio-quiet BL Lac objects in the sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 14 pages, 9 figures, table 1 in
electronic form onl
Scaling of the Thue-Morse diffraction measure
We revisit the well-known and much studied Riesz product representation of the Thue-Morse diffraction measure, which is also the maximal spectral measure for the corresponding dynamical spectrum in the complement of the pure point part. The known scaling relations are summarised, and some new findings are explained
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Influence of semicon shields on the dielectric loss of XLPE cables
Dielectric response measurement techniques in both time and frequency domains are studied in order to measure the dielectric loss of XLPE cables, which have very low losses. A high sensitivity transformer ratio bridge system, which can measure loss tangents as low as 10-5, has been developed with the ability to measure these cables. A tuned amplifier was designed to help to extend the frequency range from 200Hz to 20kHz. Different model cables from Borealis AB with different semiconducting materials have been measured in the temperature range 15⁰C to 120⁰C. It is found that the semiconducting layers dominate the dielectric loss in the insulation system of the XLPE cables, when the outer semicon is treated as measuring electrode. In this case, steadily increasing dielectric loss has been measured at higher frequencies. The resistivity of the semiconducting materials was measured, which confirmed that the increasing slope is due to the semiconducting layers. After using conductive tapes to wrap the cable samples, monotonically decreasing losses were measured, corresponding to the actual dielectric frequency response of the XLPE cables. It is concluded that the axial resistance of semiconducting shields have a substantial influence on the dielectric loss of XLPE cables, especially for dielectric response in high frequency range. A device on measuring the loss of such cables is presented
Charge distribution and screening in layered graphene systems
The charge distribution induced by external fields in finite stacks of
graphene planes, or in semiinfinite graphite is considered. The interlayer
electronic hybridization is described by a nearest neighbor hopping term, and
the charge induced by the self consistent electrostatic potential is calculated
within linear response (RPA). The screening properties are determined by
contributions from inter- and intraband electronic transitions. In neutral
systems, only interband transitions contribute to the charge polarizability,
leading to insulating-like screening properties, and to oscillations in the
induced charge, with a period equal to the interlayer spacing. In doped
systems, we find a screening length equivalent to 2-3 graphene layers,
superimposed to significant charge oscillations.Comment: 8 page
Variability and stability in optical blazar jets: the case of OJ287
OJ287 is a BL Lac object at redshift z=0.306 that has shown double-peaked
bursts at regular intervals of ~12 yr during the last ~ 40 yr. Due to this
behavior, it has been suggested that OJ287 might host a close supermassive
binary black hole. We present optical photopolarimetric monitoring data from
2005-2009, during which the latest double-peaked outburst occurred. We find a
stable component in the optical jet: the optical polarization core. The optical
polarization indicates that the magnetic field is oriented parallel to the jet.
Using historical optical polarization data, we trace the evolution of the
optical polarization core and find that it has showed a swing in the Stokes
plane indicating a reorientation of the jet magnetic field. We also find that
changes in the optical jet magnetic field seem tightly related to the
double-peaked bursts. We use our findings as a new constraint on possible
binary black hole models. Combining all available observations, we find that
none of the proposed binary black bole models is able to fully explain the
observations. We suggest a new approach to understanding OJ287 that is based on
the assumption that changes in the jet magnetic field drive the regular
outbursts.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the meeting "Steady and Transient
Jets", held in Bonn, Germany (7-8 April 2010
Efficient superfluorescent light sources with broad bandwidth
We demonstrate various efficient broad-band light sources at ~1µm wavelength with a 3dB bandwidth of up to 65nm at 108mW output power, based on rare-earth doped silica fibers and a simple adjustable spectral filter
Comment on ``Two Time Scales and Violation of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem in a Finite Dimensional Model for Structural Glasses''
In cond-mat/0002074 Ricci-Tersenghi et al. find two linear regimes in the
fluctuation-dissipation relation between density-density correlations and
associated responses of the Frustrated Ising Lattice Gas. Here we show that
this result does not seem to correspond to the equilibrium quantities of the
model, by measuring the overlap distribution P(q) of the density and comparing
the FDR expected on the ground of the P(q) with the one measured in the
off-equilibrium experiments.Comment: RevTeX, 1 page, 2 eps figures, Comment on F. Ricci-Tersenghi et al.,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4473 (2000
Properties of optically selected BL Lac candidates from the SDSS
\textbf{Context.} Deep optical surveys open the avenue for find large numbers
of BL Lac objects that are hard to identify because they lack the unique
properties classifying them as such. While radio or X-ray surveys typically
reveal dozens of sources, recent compilations based on optical criteria alone
have increased the number of BL Lac candidates considerably. However, these
compilations are subject to biases and may contain a substantial number of
contaminating sources. \textbf{Aims.} In this paper we extend our analysis of
182 optically selected BL Lac object candidates from the SDSS with respect to
an earlier study. The main goal is to determine the number of bona fide BL Lac
objects in this sample. \textbf{Methods.} We examine their variability
characteristics, determine their broad-band radio-UV SEDs, and search for the
presence of a host galaxy. In addition we present new optical spectra for 27
targets with improved S/N with respect to the SDSS spectra. \textbf{Results.}
At least 59% of our targets have shown variability between SDSS DR2 and our
observations by more than 0.1-0.27 mag de- pending on the telescope used. A
host galaxy was detected in 36% of our targets. The host galaxy type and
luminosities are consistent with earlier studies of BL Lac host galaxies.
Simple fits to broad-band SEDS for 104 targets of our sample derived
synchrotron peak frequencies between with a peak at
. Our new optical spectra do not reveal any new
redshift for any of our objects. Thus the sample contains a large number of
bona fide BL Lac objects and seems to contain a substantial fraction of
intermediate-frequency peaked BL Lacs.Comment: Accepted for publication in A\&
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