8,420 research outputs found
In search for natural wormholes
We have investigated 631 time profiles of gamma ray bursts from the BATSE
database searching for observable signatures produced by microlensing events
related to natural wormholes. The results of this first search of topologically
nontrivial objects in the Universe can be used to constrain their number and
mass.Comment: Mod. Phys. Lett. A. (in press) Latex (revtex style) with no figure
Reissner-Nordstrom black hole lensing
In this paper we study the strong gravitational lensing scenario where the
lens is a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole. We obtain the basic equations and show
that, as in the case of Schwarzschild black hole, besides the primary and
secondary images, two infinite sets of relativistic images are formed. We find
analytical expressions for the positions and amplifications of the relativistic
images. The formalism is applied to the case of a low-mass black hole placed at
the galactic halo.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations towards the unidentified MeV source GRO J1411-64
The COMPTEL unidentified source GRO J1411-64 was observed by INTEGRAL, and
its central part, also by XMM-Newton. The data analysis shows no hint for new
detections at hard X-rays. The upper limits in flux herein presented constrain
the energy spectrum of whatever was producing GRO J1411-64, imposing, in the
framework of earlier COMPTEL observations, the existence of a peak in power
output located somewhere between 300-700 keV for the so-called low state. The
Circinus Galaxy is the only source detected within the 4 location error
of GRO J1411-64, but can be safely excluded as the possible counterpart: the
extrapolation of the energy spectrum is well below the one for GRO J1411-64 at
MeV energies. 22 significant sources (likelihood ) were extracted and
analyzed from XMM-Newton data. Only one of these sources, XMMU
J141255.6-635932, is spectrally compatible with GRO J1411-64 although the fact
the soft X-ray observations do not cover the full extent of the COMPTEL source
position uncertainty make an association hard to quantify and thus risky. The
unique peak of the power output at high energies (hard X-rays and gamma-rays)
resembles that found in the SED seen in blazars or microquasars. However, an
analysis using a microquasar model consisting on a magnetized conical jet
filled with relativistic electrons which radiate through synchrotron and
inverse Compton scattering with star, disk, corona and synchrotron photons
shows that it is hard to comply with all observational constrains. This and the
non-detection at hard X-rays introduce an a-posteriori question mark upon the
physical reality of this source, which is discussed in some detail
INTEGRAL/XMM views on the MeV source GRO J1411-64
The COMPTEL unidentified source GRO J 1411-64 was observed by INTEGRAL and
XMM-Newton in 2005. The Circinus Galaxy is the only source detected within the
4 location error of GRO J1411-64, but in here excluded as the possible
counterpart. At soft X-rays, 22 reliable and statistically significant sources
(likelihood ) were extracted and analyzed from XMM-Newton data. Only one
of these sources, XMMU J141255.6 -635932, is spectrally compatible with GRO
J1411-64 although the fact the soft X-ray observations do not cover the full
extent of the COMPTEL source position uncertainty make an association hard to
quantify and thus risky. At the best location of the source, detections at hard
X-rays show only upper limits, which, together with MeV results obtained by
COMPTEL suggest the existence of a peak in power output located somewhere
between 300-700 keV for the so-called low state. Such a spectrum resembles
those in blazars or microquasars, and might suggest at work by a similar
scenario.
However, an analysis using a microquasar model consisting on a magnetized
conical jet filled with relativistic electrons, shows that it is hard to comply
with all observational constrains. This fact and the non-detection at hard
X-rays introduce an a-posteriori question mark upon the physical reality of
this source, what is discussed here.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science, as
proceedings of "The Multi-Messenger Approach to High-Energy Gamma-Ray
Sources", Barcelona, July 4-7, 2006, J. M. Paredes, O. Reimer, and D. F.
Torres, editor
The nature of supernovae 2010O and 2010P in Arp 299 - II. Radio emission
We report radio observations of two stripped-envelope supernovae (SNe), 2010O
and 2010P, which exploded within a few days of each other in the luminous
infrared galaxy Arp 299. Whilst SN 2010O remains undetected at radio
frequencies, SN 2010P was detected (with an astrometric accuracy better than 1
milli arcsec in position) in its optically thin phase in epochs ranging from ~1
to ~3yr after its explosion date, indicating a very slow radio evolution and a
strong interaction of the SN ejecta with the circumstellar medium. Our
late-time radio observations toward SN 2010P probe the dense circumstellar
envelope of this SN, and imply a mass-loss rate (Msun/yr) to wind velocity (in
units of 10 km/s) ratio of (3.0-5.1)E-05, with a 5 GHz peak luminosity of
~1.2E+27 erg/s/Hz on day ~464 after explosion. This is consistent with a Type
IIb classification for SN 2010P, making it the most distant and most slowly
evolving Type IIb radio SN detected to date.Comment: 14 pages, 8 tables and 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
NIRS potential use for the determination of natural resources quality from dehesa (acorn and grass) in Montanera system for Iberian pigs.
NIRS technology has been used as an alternative to conventional methods to determinate the content of nutrients of acorns and grass from dehesa ecosystem. Dry matter (DM), crude fat (CF), crude protein (CP), starch, total phenolic compounds (TP), α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, fatty acids, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total antioxidant activity (TAA) and total energy (TE) were determined by conventional methods for later development of NIRS predictive equations. The NIR spectrum of each sample was collected and for all studied parameters, a predictive model was obtained and external validated. Good prediction equations were obtained for moisture, crude fat, crude protein, total energy and γ-tocopherol in acorns samples, with high coefficients of correlation (1-VR) and low standard error of prediction (SEP) (1-VR=0.81, SEP=2.62; 1-VR=0.92, SEP=0.54; 1-VR=0.86, SEP=0.47; 1-VR=0.84, SEP=0.2; 1-VR=0.88, SEP=5.4, respectively) and crude protein, NDF, α-tocopherol and linolenic acid content in grass samples (1-VR=0.9, SEP=1.99; 1-VR=0.87, SEP=4.13; 1-VR=0.76, SEP=10.9; 1-VR=0.82, SEP=0.6, respectively). Therefore, these prediction models could be used to determinate the nutritional composition of Montanera natural resources
Status of the connection between unidentified EGRET sources and supernova remnants: The case of CTA 1
In this paper we briefly comment on the observational status of the possible
physical association between unidentified EGRET sources and supernova remnants
(SNRs) in our Galaxy. We draw upon recent results presented in the review by
Torres et al. (Physics Reports, 2003), concerning molecular gas in the vicinity
of all 19 SNRs found to be positionally coincident with EGRET sources at low
Galactic latitudes. In addition, we present new results regarding the supernova
remnant CTA~1. Our findings disfavor the possibility of a physical connection
with the nearby (in projection) EGRET source. There remains possible, however,
that the compact object produced in the supernova explosion be related with the
observed -ray flux.Comment: Presented for the proceedings of the II Workshop on Unidentified
Gamma-Ray Sources, Hong Kong, June 1-4, 2004. To appear in Astrophysics and
Space Science. Some changes to address referee's and readers' remarks.
References added. Results unchange
The Core-Collapse Supernova Rate in Arp299 Revisited
We present a study of the CCSN rate in nuclei A and B1 of the luminous
infrared galaxy Arp299, based on 11 years of Very Large Array monitoring of
their radio emission at 8.4 GHz. Significant variations in the nuclear radio
flux density can be used to identify the CCSN activity in the absence of
high-resolution very long baseline interferometry observations. In the case of
the B1-nucleus, the small variations in its measured diffuse radio emission are
below the fluxes expected from radio supernovae, thus making it well-suited to
detect RSNe through flux density variability. In fact, we find strong evidence
for at least three RSNe this way, which results in a lower limit for the CCSN
rate of 0.28 +/- 0.16 per year. In the A-nucleus, we did not detect any
significant variability and found a SN detection threshold luminosity which
allows only the detection of the most luminous RSNe known. Our method is
basically blind to normal CCSN explosions occurring within the A-nucleus, which
result in too small variations in the nuclear flux density, remaining diluted
by the strong diffuse emission of the nucleus itself. Additionally, we have
attempted to find near-infrared counterparts for the earlier reported RSNe in
the Arp299 nucleus A, by comparing NIR adaptive optics images from the Gemini-N
telescope with contemporaneous observations from the European VLBI Network.
However, we were not able to detect NIR counterparts for the reported radio SNe
within the innermost regions of nucleus A. While our NIR observations were
sensitive to typical CCSNe at 300 mas from the centre of the nucleus A,
suffering from extinction up to A_v~15 mag, they were not sensitive to such
highly obscured SNe within the innermost nuclear regions where most of the EVN
sources were detected. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures and 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Macrolensing signatures of large-scale violations of the weak energy condition
We present a set of simulations of the macrolensing effects produced by
large-scale cosmological violations of the energy conditions. These simulations
show how the appearance of a background field of galaxies is affected when
lensed by a region with an energy density equivalent to a negative mass ranging
from to solar masses. We compare with the macrolensing
results of equal amounts of positive mass, and show that, contrary to the usual
case where tangential arc-like structures are expected, there appear radial
arcs-runaway filaments-and a central void. These results make the cosmological
macrolensing produced by space-time domains where the weak energy conditions is
violated, observationally distinguishable from standard regions. Whether large
domains with negative energy density indeed exist in the universe can now be
decided by future observations of deep fields.Comment: 10 pages with 9 Postscript figure
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