14,629 research outputs found
A semantic approach to reachability matrix computation
The Cyber Security is a crucial aspect of networks management. The Reachability Matrix computation is one of the main challenge in this field. This paper presents an intelligent solution in order to address the Reachability Matrix computational proble
Two years of monitoring Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients with Swift
We present two years of intense Swift monitoring of three SFXTs, IGR
J16479-4514, XTE J1739-302, and IGR J17544-2619 (since October 2007).
Out-of-outburst intensity-based X-ray (0.3-10keV) spectroscopy yields absorbed
power laws with by hard photon indices (G~1-2). Their outburst broad-band
(0.3-150 keV) spectra can be fit well with models typically used to describe
the X-ray emission from accreting NSs in HMXBs. We assess how long each source
spends in each state using a systematic monitoring with a sensitive instrument.
These sources spend 3-5% of the total in bright outbursts. The most probable
flux is 1-2E-11 erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} (2-10 keV, unabsorbed), corresponding to
luminosities in the order of a few 10^{33} to 10^{34} erg s^{-1} (two orders of
magnitude lower than the bright outbursts). The duty-cycle of inactivity is 19,
39, 55%, for IGR J16479-4514, XTE J1739-302, and IGR J17544-2619, respectively.
We present a complete list of BAT on-board detections further confirming the
continued activity of these sources. This demonstrates that true quiescence is
a rare state, and that these transients accrete matter throughout their life at
different rates. X-ray variability is observed at all timescales and
intensities we can probe. Superimposed on the day-to-day variability is
intra-day flaring which involves variations up to one order of magnitude that
can occur down to timescales as short as ~1ks, and whichcan be explained by the
accretion of single clumps composing the donor wind with masses
M_cl~0.3-2x10^{19} g. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 17 pages, 11 figures, 8 table
Balmer Line Variations in the Radio-Loud AGN PG 1512+370
We present spectroscopic observations of the quasar PG~1512+370, covering the
Hbeta line spectral range and collected at moderate resolution (2-7 A FWHM)
from 1988 to 1996. The observations show that the blue wing of the Hbeta broad
profile component has changed significantly in flux and shape between 1988 and
1990 and between 1995 and 1996. A displaced blue peak on the Hbeta profile,
visible in 1988, but not in the 1990-1995 spectra, is revealed again in one of
the spectra obtained in 1996. The blue peak (in both the 1988 and 1996 spectra)
is centered at Delta v_r ~ -3000 +/- 500 km/s from the rest frame defined by
the narrow component of Hbeta, and the OIII lambda4959,5007 lines.
We discuss several conflicting interpretations of the data. We find that the
variability of the Hbeta blue wing is consistent with Balmer line emission from
regions whose motion is predominantly radial, if variations of the blue wing
are a response to continuum changes. Alternatively, we note that observed Hbeta
line profile variations are consistent with a variable line component as in a
``binary black hole'' scenario. More frequent observations of Hbeta are needed
to distinguish among these hypotheses.Comment: 19 pages, 1 embedded figure (eps), to appear in ApJ 49
Decompositions of unitary evolutions and entanglement dynamics of bipartite quantum systems
We describe a decomposition of the Lie group of unitary evolutions for a
bipartite quantum system of arbitrary dimensions. The decomposition is based on
a recursive procedure which systematically uses the Cartan classification of
the symmetric spaces of the Lie group SO(n). The resulting factorization of
unitary evolutions clearly displays the local and entangling character of each
factor.Comment: 11 pages, revtex
A new method of measuring center-of-mass velocities of radially pulsating stars from high-resolution spectroscopy
We present a radial velocity analysis of 20 solar neighborhood RR Lyrae and 3
Population II Cepheids variables. We obtained high-resolution, moderate-to-high
signal-to-noise ratio spectra for most stars and obtained spectra were covering
different pulsation phases for each star. To estimate the gamma
(center-of-mass) velocities of the program stars, we use two independent
methods. The first, `classic' method is based on RR Lyrae radial velocity curve
templates. The second method is based on the analysis of absorption line
profile asymmetry to determine both the pulsational and the gamma velocities.
This second method is based on the Least Squares Deconvolution (LSD) technique
applied to analyze the line asymmetry that occurs in the spectra. We obtain
measurements of the pulsation component of the radial velocity with an accuracy
of 3.5 km s. The gamma velocity was determined with an accuracy
10 km s, even for those stars having a small number of spectra.
The main advantage of this method is the possibility to get the estimation of
gamma velocity even from one spectroscopic observation with uncertain pulsation
phase. A detailed investigation of the LSD profile asymmetry shows that the
projection factor varies as a function of the pulsation phase -- this is a
key parameter which converts observed spectral line radial velocity variations
into photospheric pulsation velocities. As a byproduct of our study, we present
41 densely-spaced synthetic grids of LSD profile bisectors that are based on
atmospheric models of RR Lyr covering all pulsation phases.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS;
doi:10.1093/mnras/stx294
Assessing the impact of seasonal-rainfall anomalies on catchment-scale water balance components
Abstract. Although water balance components at the catchment scale
are strongly related to annual rainfall, the availability of water resources in
Mediterranean catchments also depends on rainfall seasonality. Observed
seasonal anomalies in historical records are fairly episodic, but an
increase in their frequency might exacerbate water deficit or water excess
if the rainy season shortens or extends its duration, e.g., due to climate
change. This study evaluates the sensitivity of water yield,
evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge to changes in rainfall
seasonality by using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model applied to
the upper Alento River catchment (UARC) in southern Italy, where a long time
series of daily rainfall is available from 1920 to 2018. We compare two
distinct approaches: (i) a "static" approach, where three seasonal features
(namely rainy, dry, and transition fixed-duration 4-month seasons) are
identified through the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and (ii) a
"dynamic" approach based on a stochastic framework, where the duration of
two seasons (rainy and dry seasons) varies from year to year according to a
probability distribution. Seasonal anomalies occur when the transition
season is replaced by the rainy or dry season in the first approach and when
season duration occurs in the tails of its normal distribution in the second
approach. Results are presented within a probabilistic framework. We also
show that the Budyko curve is sensitive to the rainfall seasonality regime
in UARC by questioning the implicit assumption of a temporal steady state
between annual average dryness and the evaporative index. Although the
duration of the rainy season does not exert a major control on water
balance, we were able to identify season-dependent regression equations
linking water yield to the dryness index in the rainy season
Mood and learning in navigation-based serious games
Games are played for entertainment and have the ability to stimulate a variety of moods during gameplay, including happiness. Serious or applied games are created and used to serve a specific purpose rather than for pure entertainment. The relationship between mood and task efficiency has been investigated in psychology with contrasting results, and it also appears that there is a relationship between mood and learning. Players' mood and learning efficiency as a consequence of playing two serious games involving navigation in a virtual environment as the main action of gameplay, but with different learning objectives, have been investigated. The first game taught the route to a real world destination, while the second trained players to perform a religious ritual. The pre- and post-gameplay mood of 52 players were noted. It was found that both serious games helped the players developing a pleasant overall mood and significantly increased the self-reported happiness score in the post-questionnaire. It was also discovered that players who felt happier spent more time learning and that women performed better when they were happier. Besides, younger learners tend to obtain a higher learning performance score than other age categories
Monitoring Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients with Swift. Rise to the outburst in IGR J16479-4514
IGR J16479-4514 is a Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT), a new class of
High Mass X-ray Binaries, whose number is rapidly growing thanks to the
observations of the Galactic plane performed with the INTEGRAL satellite. IGR
J16479-4514 has been regularly monitored with Swift/XRT since November 2007, to
study the quiescent emission, the outburst properties and their recurrence. A
new bright outburst, reaching fluxes above 10 erg cm s,
was caught by the Swift/BAT.
Swift immediately re-pointed at the target with the narrow-field instruments
so that, for the first time, an outburst from a SFXT where a periodicity in the
outburst recurrence is unknown could be observed simultaneously in the 0.2--150
keV energy band. The X-ray emission is highly variable and spans almost four
orders of magnitude in count rate during the Swift/XRT observations covering a
few days before and after the bright peak. The X-ray spectrum in outburst is
hard and highly absorbed. The power-law fit resulted in a photon index of
0.98, and in an absorbing column density of
cm. These observations demonstrate that in this source (similarly to
what was observed during the 2007 outburst from the periodic SFXT IGR
J11215-5952), the accretion phase lasts much longer than a few hours.Comment: Accepted for publication on Astrophysical Journal Letters. 5 pages, 4
figure
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