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We report on the first multi-colour precision light curve of the bright Wolf-Rayet binary gamma(2) Velorum, obtained over six months with the nanosatellites in the BRITE-Constellation fleet. In parallel, we obtained 488 high-resolution optical spectra of the system. In this first report on the data sets, we revise the spectroscopic orbit and report on the bulk properties of the colliding winds. We find a dependence of both the light curve and excess emission properties that scales with the inverse of the binary separation. When analysing the spectroscopic properties in combination with the photometry, we find that the phase dependence is caused only by excess emission in the lines, and not from a changing continuum. We also detect a narrow, high-velocity absorption component from the He perpendicular to lambda 5876 transition, which appears twice in the orbit. We calculate smoothed-particle hydrodynamical simulations of the colliding winds and can accurately associate the absorption from He perpendicular to to the leading and trailing arms of the wind shock cone passing tangentially through our line of sight. The simulations also explain the general strength and kinematics of the emission excess observed in wind lines such as C III lambda 5696 of the system. These results represent the first in a series of investigations into the winds and properties of gamma(2) Velorum through multi-technique and multi-wavelength observational campaigns.
The combination of two techniques of controlled free radical polymerization, namely the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) and the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques, together with the use of a macromonomer allowed the synthesis of symmetrical triblock copolymers, designed as amphiphilic dual brushes. One type of brush was made of poly(n-butyl acrylate) as soft hydrophobic block, i.e. characterized by a low glass transition temperature, while the other one was made of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The new triblock polymers represent "giant surfactants" according to their molecular architecture. The hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks microphase separate in the bulk. In aqueous solution, they aggregate into globular micellar aggregates, their size being determined by the length of the stretched polymer molecules. As determined by the combination of various scattering techniques for the dual brush copolymer, a rather compact structure is formed, which is dominated by the large hydrophobic poly(n-butyl acrylate) block. The aggregation number for the dual brush is about 10 times larger than for the "semi-brush" precursor copolymer, due to the packing requirements for the much bulkier hydrophobic core. On mica surfaces the triblock copolymers adsorb with worm-like backbones and stretched out side chains.
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are among the most promising targets for detecting signals of Dark Matter (DM) annihilations. The H.E.S.S. experiment has observed five of these systems for a total of about 130 hours. The data are re-analyzed here, and, in the absence of any detected signals, are interpreted in terms of limits on the DM annihilation cross section. Two scenarios are considered: i) DM annihilation into mono-energetic gamma-rays and ii) DM in the form of pure WIMP multiplets that, annihilating into all electroweak bosons, produce a distinctive gamma-ray spectral shape with a high-energy peak at the DM mass and a lower-energy continuum. For case i), upper limits at 95% confidence level of about <sigma upsilon > less than or similar to 3 x 10(-25) cm(3) s(-1) are obtained in the mass range of 400 GeV to 1TeV. For case ii), the full spectral shape of the models is used and several excluded regions are identified, but the thermal masses of the candidates are not robustly ruled out.
Random multi-hopper model
(2018)
We develop a mathematical model considering a random walker with long-range hops on arbitrary graphs. The random multi-hopper can jump to any node of the graph from an initial position, with a probability that decays as a function of the shortest-path distance between the two nodes in the graph. We consider here two decaying functions in the form of Laplace and Mellin transforms of the shortest-path distances. We prove that when the parameters of these transforms approach zero asymptotically, the hitting time in the multi-hopper approaches the minimum possible value for a normal random walker. We show by computational experiments that the multi-hopper explores a graph with clusters or skewed degree distributions more efficiently than a normal random walker. We provide computational evidences of the advantages of the random multi-hopper model with respect to the normal random walk by studying deterministic, random and real-world networks.
We study the optical forces due to the radiation of a thermal source. Our model consists of a particle modelled by a dipole above a half-space at temperature T. The fluctuating fields are computed using the Lifshitz model. We find two contributions to the force: a repulsive "wind" component and a dispersive force mainly due to the contribution of thermally excited surface waves. It is found that for SIC material, the latter is repulsive in the very near field. The usual van der Waals force is larger by a factor of approximately ten for submicron size particles.
We discuss high-resolution, time-resolved spectra of the caustic exit of the binary microlensing event OGLE 2002-BLG-069 obtained with UVES on the VLT. The source star is a G5III giant in the Galactic Bulge. During such events, the source star is highly magnified, and a strong differential magnification around the caustic resolves its surface. Using an appropriate model stellar atmosphere generated by the PHOENIX v2.6 code we obtain a model light curve for the caustic exit and compare it with a dense set of photometric observations obtained by the PLANET microlensing follow up network. We further compare predicted variations in the Halpha equivalent width with those measured from our spectra. While the model and observations agree in the gross features, there are discrepancies suggesting shortcomings in the model, particularly for the Halpha line core, where we have detected amplified emission from the stellar chromosphere after the source star's trailing limb exited the caustic. This achievement became possible by the provision of the very efficient OGLE-III Early Warning System, a network of small telescopes capable of nearly-continuous round-the-clock photometric monitoring, on-line data reduction, daily near-real-time modelling in order to predict caustic crossing parameters, and a fast and efficient response of a 8 m class telescope to a "Target-of-Opportunity" observation request
Fullerene-based acceptors have dominated organic solar cells for almost two decades. It is only within the last few years that alternative acceptors rival their dominance, introducing much more flexibility in the optoelectronic properties of these material blends. However, a fundamental physical understanding of the processes that drive charge separation at organic heterojunctions is still missing, but urgently needed to direct further material improvements. Here a combined experimental and theoretical approach is used to understand the intimate mechanisms by which molecular structure contributes to exciton dissociation, charge separation, and charge recombination at the donor-acceptor (D-A) interface. Model systems comprised of polythiophene-based donor and rylene diimide-based acceptor polymers are used and a detailed density functional theory (DFT) investigation is performed. The results point to the roles that geometric deformations and direct-contact intermolecular polarization play in establishing a driving force ( energy gradient) for the optoelectronic processes taking place at the interface. A substantial impact for this driving force is found to stem from polymer deformations at the interface, a finding that can clearly lead to new design approaches in the development of the next generation of conjugated polymers and small molecules.
Microlensing is the only known direct method to measure the masses of stars that lack visible companions. In terms of microlensing observables, the mass is given by M (c(2)/4G)(r) over tilde (E)theta(E) and so requires the measurement of both the angular Einstein radius theta(E) and the projected Einstein radius (r) over tilde (E). Simultaneous measurement of these two parameters is extremely rare. Here we analyze OGLE-2003-BLG-238, a spectacularly bright (I-min 10.3), high-magnification (A(max) 170) microlensing event. Pronounced finite-source effects permit a measurement of theta(E) = 650 muas. Although the timescale of the event is only t(E) 38 days, one can still obtain weak constraints on the microlens parallax: 4.4 AU < <(r)over tilde>(E) < 18 AU at the 1 σ level. Together these two parameter measurements yield a range for the lens mass of 0.36 M-&ODOT; < M < 1.48 M-&ODOT;. As was the case for MACHO- LMC-5, the only other single star (apart from the Sun) whose mass has been determined from its gravitational effects, this estimate is rather crude. It does, however, demonstrate the viability of the technique. We also discuss future prospects for single-lens mass measurements