Search results for "ta115"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
A dust-enshrouded tidal disruption event with a resolved radio jet in a galaxy merger
2018
Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are transient flares produced when a star is ripped apart by the gravitational field of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We have observed a transient source in the western nucleus of the merging galaxy pair Arp 299 that radiated >1.5 × 10 erg at infrared and radio wavelengths but was not luminous at optical or x-ray wavelengths. We interpret this as a TDE with much of its emission reradiated at infrared wavelengths by dust. Efficient reprocessing by dense gas and dust may explain the difference between theoretical predictions and observed luminosities of TDEs. The radio observations resolve an expanding and decelerating jet, probing the jet formation and evol…
Ray optics for absorbing particles with application to ice crystals at near-infrared wavelengths
2018
Abstract Light scattering by particles large compared to the wavelength of incident light is traditionally solved using ray optics which considers absorption inside the particle approximately, along the ray paths. To study the effects rising from this simplification, we have updated the ray-optics code SIRIS to take into account the propagation of light as inhomogeneous plane waves inside an absorbing particle. We investigate the impact of this correction on traditional ray-optics computations in the example case of light scattering by ice crystals through the extended near-infrared (NIR) wavelength regime. In this spectral range, ice changes from nearly transparent to opaque, and therefore…
Black hole lightning due to particle acceleration at subhorizon scales
2015
Supermassive black holes with masses of millions to billions of solar masses are commonly found in the centers of galaxies. Astronomers seek to image jet formation using radio interferometry, but still suffer from insufficient angular resolution. An alternative method to resolve small structures is to measure the time variability of their emission. Here, we report on gamma-ray observations of the radio galaxy IC 310 obtained with the MAGIC telescopes revealing variability with doubling time scales faster than 4.8 min. Causality constrains the size of the emission region to be smaller than 20\% of the gravitational radius of its central black hole. We suggest that the emission is associated …
ESTCube-1 in-orbit experience and lessons learned
2015
ESTCube-1 is a student satellite project lead by the University of Tartu, Estonia, and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) via Plan for European Cooperating States (PECS). Development of ESTCube-1 has been a collaborative effort with many international partners. The satellite is shown on Figure 1 [1].
Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by adopting anaerobic digestion technology on dairy, sow and pig farms in Finland
2011
Abstract The impact of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology on mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure management on typical dairy, sow and pig farms in Finland was compared. Firstly, the total annual GHG emissions from the farms were calculated using IPCC guidelines for a similar slurry type manure management system. Secondly, laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to estimate methane (CH4) potentials and process parameters for semi-continuous digestion of manures. Finally, the obtained experimental data were used to evaluate the potential renewable energy production and subsequently, the possible GHG emissions that could be avoided through adoption of AD technology on th…
The on-board calibration system of the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE)
2016
The calibration system for XIPE is aimed at providing a way to check and correct possible variations of performance of the Gas Pixel Detector during the three years of operation in orbit (plus two years of possible extended operation), while facilitating the observation of the celestial sources. This will be performed by using a filter wheel with a large heritage having a set of positions for the calibration and the observation systems. In particular, it will allow for correcting possible gain variation, for measuring the modulation factor using a polarized source, for removing non interesting bright sources in the field of view and for observing very bright celestial sources. The on-board …
Hard-Core Thinnings of Germ‒Grain Models with Power-Law Grain Sizes
2013
Random sets with long-range dependence can be generated using a Boolean model with power-law grain sizes. We study thinnings of such Boolean models which have the hard-core property that no grains overlap in the resulting germ‒grain model. A fundamental question is whether long-range dependence is preserved under such thinnings. To answer this question, we study four natural thinnings of a Poisson germ‒grain model where the grains are spheres with a regularly varying size distribution. We show that a thinning which favors large grains preserves the slow correlation decay of the original model, whereas a thinning which favors small grains does not. Our most interesting finding concerns the c…
Low-temperature molecular layer deposition using monifunctional aromatic precursors and ozone-based ring-opening reactions
2017
Molecular layer deposition (MLD) is an increasingly used deposition technique for producing thin coatings consisting of purely organic or hybrid inorganic-organic materials. When organic materials are prepared, low deposition temperatures are often required to avoid decomposition, thus causing problems with low vapor pressure precursors. Monofunctional compounds have higher vapor pressures than traditional bi- or trifunctional MLD precursors, but do not offer the required functional groups for continuing the MLD growth in subsequent deposition cycles. In this study, we have used high vapor pressure monofunctional aromatic precursors in combination with ozone-triggered ring-opening reactions…
XIPE: the x-ray imaging polarimetry explorer
2016
XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a mission dedicated to X-ray Astronomy. At the time of writing XIPE is in a competitive phase A as fourth medium size mission of ESA (M4). It promises to reopen the polarimetry window in high energy Astrophysics after more than 4 decades thanks to a detector that efficiently exploits the photoelectric effect and to X-ray optics with large effective area. XIPE uniqueness is time-spectrally-spatially- resolved X-ray polarimetry as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics. Indeed the payload consists of three Gas Pixel Detectors at the focus of three X-ray optics with a total effective area larger than one XMM mirror bu…
The LOFT mission concept: a status update
2016
The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolut…