Search results for "brightness"
showing 10 items of 162 documents
Cosmological radio emission induced by WIMP Dark Matter
2011
We present a detailed analysis of the radio synchrotron emission induced by WIMP dark matter annihilations and decays in extragalactic halos. We compute intensity, angular correlation, and source counts and discuss the impact on the expected signals of dark matter clustering, as well as of other astrophysical uncertainties as magnetic fields and spatial diffusion. Bounds on dark matter microscopic properties are then derived, and, depending on the specific set of assumptions, they are competitive with constraints from other indirect dark matter searches. At GHz frequencies, dark matter sources can become a significant fraction of the total number of sources with brightness below the microJa…
A Brightening Coronal Loop Observed byTRACE. II. Loop Modeling and Constraints on Heating
2000
This is the second of two papers dedicated to the brightening of a coronal loop observed by the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) on 1998 June 26; it aims at hydrodynamic modeling of the brightening. Since the loop geometry is practically unchanged during the brightening, the evolution of the plasma confined in the loop is described with a one-dimensional hydrodynamic time-dependent numerical model, and from the results the emission along the loop in the TRACE 171 A band is synthesized. The information from Paper I is used to derive the geometry and the initial configuration of the loop as well as for comparison with the results of the model. The modeling is focused to determin…
OMC: An Optical Monitoring Camera for INTEGRAL
2003
The Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) will observe the optical emission from the prime targets of the gamma- ray instruments onboard the ESA mission INTEGRAL, with the support of the JEM-X monitor in the X-ray domain. This capability will provide invaluable diagnostic information on the nature and the physics of the sources over a broad wavelength range. Its main scientific objectives are: (1) to monitor the optical emission from the sources observed by the gamma- and X-ray instruments, measuring the time and intensity structure of the optical emission for comparison with variability at high energies, and (2) to provide the brightness and position of the optical counterpart of any gamma- or X…
OMC: An Optical Monitoring Camera for INTEGRAL
1998
The INTEGRAL payload has been designed to study simultaneously gamma-ray sources in a wide field of view over many decades in energy (around 2 eV + 4 keV − 20 MeV) and thus make a major contribution to short time-scale high-energy astrophysics. The OMC will observe the optical emission from the prime targets of the gamma-ray instruments with the support of the x-ray monitor. This capability will provide invaluable diagnostic information on the nature and the physics of the sources over a broad wavelength range. The main scientific objectives will be: (1) to monitor the optical emission from the sources observed by the gamma- and x-ray instruments, measuring the time and intensity structure …
Determination of sea surface temperature at large observation angles using an angular and emissivity-dependent split-window equation
2007
Abstract This paper proposes an angular and emissivity-dependent split-window equation that permits the determination of the sea surface temperature (SST) to a reasonable level of accuracy for any observation angle, including large viewing angles at the image edges of satellite sensors with wide swaths. This is the case of the MODIS radiometer both on EOS Terra/Aqua platforms, with observation angles of up to 65° at the surface, for which the split-window equation has been developed in this study. The algorithm takes into account the angular dependence of both the atmospheric correction (due to the increase of the atmospheric optical path with angle) and the emissivity correction (since sea…
An angular-dependent split-window equation for SST retrieval from off-nadir observations
2007
An angular-dependent split-window equation is proposed for determining the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at any observation angle, including large viewing angles at the image edges of satellite sensors with wide swaths. The proposed equation takes into account the angular dependences of the atmospheric correction and also the emissivity correction. An explicit dependence on the SSE is considered in an independent term. The inclusion of such a term is not common in the current operational SST algorithms but we consider it appropriate taking into account the non-blackness of the sea surface emission for large angles and also the dependence on wind speed. The equation has been adapted to the M…
First Imaging of Coronal Mass Ejections in the Heliosphere Viewed from Outside the Sun – Earth Line
2007
We show for the first time images of solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) viewed using the Heliospheric Imager (HI) instrument aboard the NASA STEREO spacecraft. The HI instruments are wide-angle imaging systems designed to detect CMEs in the heliosphere, in particular, for the first time, observing the propagation of such events along the Sun – Earth line, that is, those directed towards Earth. At the time of writing the STEREO spacecraft are still close to the Earth and the full advantage of the HI dual-imaging has yet to be realised. However, even these early results show that despite severe technical challenges in their design and implementation, the HI instruments can successfully detec…
Jet stability and the generation of superluminal and stationary components
2001
We present a numerical simulation of the response of an expanding relativistic jet to the ejection of a superluminal component. The simulation has been performed with a relativistic time-dependent hydrodynamical code from which simulated radio maps are computed by integrating the transfer equations for synchrotron radiation. The interaction of the superluminal component with the underlying jet results in the formation of multiple conical shocks behind the main perturbation. These trailing components can be easily distinguished because they appear to be released from the primary superluminal component, instead of being ejected from the core. Their oblique nature should also result in distinc…
DR Tauri: Temporal variability of the brightness distribution in the potential planet-forming region
2015
We investigate the variability of the brightness distribution and the changing density structure of the protoplanetary disk around DR Tau, a classical T Tauri star. DR Tau is known for its peculiar variations from the ultraviolet (UV) to the mid-infrared (MIR). Our goal is to constrain the temporal variation of the disk structure based on photometric and MIR interferometric data. We observed DR Tau with the MID-infrared Interferometric instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at three epochs separated by about nine years, two months, respectively. We fit the spectral energy distribution and the MIR visibilities with radiative transfer simulations. We are able to r…
Wavelength dependence of visual acuity in goldfish.
2003
Visual acuity was measured in a two-choice training experiment with food reward. Four goldfish were trained to select a homogeneously illuminated testfield when a high-contrast grating (transparency) was shown for comparison at the second testfield. Measurements were performed for white and monochromatic testfield illuminations in the light adapted state. Fourteen wavelengths between 404 nm and 683 nm were tested. For each wavelength (and white light) the testfield intensity was determined for which spatial resolution was highest. Between 446 nm and 683 nm maximal values of 2.0 cycles/deg (corresponding to a visual acuity of 15' of arc) were found. At 404 nm and in the ultraviolet resolutio…