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Outburst
Kinds of Outburst Selected AbstractsA model of aggression in psychiatric hospitalsACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2002H. L. I. Nijman Objective:, Research of the determinants of inpatient aggression indicates that certain environmental hospital variables play a role in triggering aggression in psychiatric hospitals. Yet, how patient, staff and ward variables interact in eliciting aggression is not well understood. Method:, On the basis of earlier findings, a model was proposed in which psychopathology and distorted cognitions of the patient are combined with environmental and communicational stressors that are specific for psychiatric wards. Results:, The proposed model elucidates how certain patient, staff and ward characteristics may interact in causing aggression. The model also emphasizes that repeated inpatient aggression may be the result of a vicious circle, i.e. inpatient violence is often followed by an increase in environmental and/or communication stress on the patient, thereby heightening the risk of a repeated outburst of violence. Conclusion: Although tentative, the model may shed light on the mechanisms that lead to (repeated) violence. [source] Geomorphic and sedimentological signature of a two-phase outburst ,ood from moraine-dammed Queen Bess Lake, British Columbia, CanadaEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 1 2005Jane A. Kershaw Abstract On 12 August 1997, the lower part of Diadem Glacier in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia fell into Queen Bess Lake and produced a train of large waves. The waves overtopped the broad end moraine at the east end of the lake and ,ooded the valley of the west fork of Nostetuko River. The displacement waves also incised the out,ow channel across the moraine. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidence supports the conclusion that the ,ood had two phases, one related to wave overtopping and a second to breach formation. Empirical equations were used to calculate the peak discharge of the ,ood at various points along the west fork of the Nostetuko valley and to describe the attenuation of the ,ood wave. The velocity of the ,ood was also calculated to determine the time it took for the ,ood to reach the main fork of Nostetuko River. The highest peak discharges were achieved in the upper reach of the valley during the displacement phase of the ,ood. Peak discharge declined rapidly just below the moraine dam, with little change thereafter for approximately 7 km. Empirical formulae and boulder measurements indicate a rise in peak discharge in the lower part of the west fork valley. We suggest that ,ow in the upper part of the valley records the passage of two separate ,ood peaks and that the rise in discharge in the lower part of the valley is due to amalgamation of the wave and breach peaks. Hydraulic ponding in con,ned reaches of the valley extended the duration of the ,ood. In addition, erosion of vegetation and sediment in the channel and valley sides may also have exerted an in,uence on the duration and nature of ,ooding. Sediments were deposited both upstream and downstream of channel constrictions and on a large fan extending out into the trunk Nostetuko River valley. This study extends our understanding of the variety and complexity of outburst ,oods from naturally dammed lakes. It also shows that simple empirical and other models for estimating peak discharges of outburst ,oods are likely to yield erroneous results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hydrologic and geomorphic effects of temporary ice-dammed lake formation during jökulhlaupsEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 7 2003Matthew J. Roberts Abstract Glacial outburst ,oods (jökulhlaups) occur frequently in glaciated environments, and the resultant ,ooding causes geomorphic change and, in some instances, damage to local infrastructure. During some jökulhlaups, ,oodwater is stored temporarily in ice-marginal locations. In July 1999, a linearly rising jökulhlaup burst from Sólheimajökull, Iceland. During this remarkable event, subglacial ,oodwater pooled transiently in two relict ice-dammed lake basins, before draining suddenly back into Sólheimajökull. The signi,cance of such rapid formation and attendant drainage of temporary ice-dammed lakes during jökulhlaups has not been addressed. Consequently, this paper: (i) assesses the hydrologic and geomorphic effects of temporary ice-dammed lake formation caused by lake-basin ,retro-,lling'; and (ii) discusses the impact and signi,cance of transient retro-,lling under jökulhlaup conditions. Pre- and post-,ood ,eldwork at Sólheimajökull enabled the impact and signi,cance of lake-basin retro-,lling to be assessed. Field evidence demonstrates that the July 1999 jökulhlaup had an unusually rapid rise to peak discharge, resulting in subglacial ,oodwater being purged to ice-marginal locations. The propensity for temporary retro-,lling was controlled by rapid expulsion of ,oodwater from Sólheimajökull, coincident with locations suitable for ,oodwater storage. Floodwater inundated both ice-marginal lake basins, permitting signi,cant volumes of sediment deposition. Coarse-grained deltas prograding from the ice margin and boulders perched on scoured bedrock provide geomorphic records of sudden retro-,lling. The depositional characteristics of lake-basin deposits at Sólheimajökull are similar to jökulhlaup sediments documented in proglacial settings elsewhere; however, their depositional setting and association with ice-marginal landforms is distinctive. Findings suggest that temporary ice-dammed lake formation and drainage has the capacity to alter the shape of the ,ood hydrograph, especially if drainage of a temporary lake is superimposed on the original jökulhlaup. Deposits associated with lake-basin retro-,lling have a long-term preservation potential that could help to identify temporary ice-dammed lake formation in modern and ancient glacial environments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Excess Money Growth and Inflation Dynamics,INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 3 2007Barbara Roffia This paper analyses the short-run impact of periods of strong monetary growth on inflation dynamics for 15 industrialized economies. We find that when robust money growth is accompanied by large increases in stock and house prices and loose credit conditions, the probability of recording an inflationary outburst over a three-year horizon is significantly increased. In contrast, significant money stock expansions that are not associated with sustained credit increases and strong dynamics in other asset prices seem to be less likely to have inflationary consequences and are thus less worrying from a policy perspective. [source] Characterization of chemokines and their receptors in the central nervous system: physiopathological implicationsJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2002Adriana Bajetto Abstract Chemokines represent key factors in the outburst of the immune response, by activating and directing the leukocyte traffic, both in lymphopoiesis and in immune surveillance. Neurobiologists took little interest in chemokines for many years, until their link to acquired immune deficiency syndrome-associated dementia became established, and thus their importance in this field has been neglected. Nevertheless, the body of data on their expression and role in the CNS has grown in the past few years, along with a new vision of brain as an immunologically competent and active organ. A large number of chemokines and chemokine receptors are expressed in neurons, astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes, either constitutively or induced by inflammatory mediators. They are involved in many neuropathological processes in which an inflammatory state persists, as well as in brain tumor progression and metastasis. Moreover, there is evidence for a crucial role of CNS chemokines under physiological conditions, similar to well known functions in the immune system, such as proliferation and developmental patterning, but also peculiar to the CNS, such as regulation of neural transmission, plasticity and survival. [source] The Mazapil meteorite: From paradigm to peripheryMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2002Martin Beech The simultaneity of these two events has driven speculation ever since. From ,1886 to ,1950 the circumstances of the Mazapil fall were taken, by a number of researchers, as the paradigm that demonstrated the fact that comets were actually swarms of meteoritic boulders. Beginning ,1950, however, most researchers began to adopted the stance that the timing of the Mazapil fall was nothing more than pure coincidence. The reason behind this change in interpretation stemmed from, amongst other factors, the fact that none of the prominent annual meteor showers could be clearly shown to deliver meteorites. Also, with the introduction of the icy-conglomerate model for cometary nuclei, by F. Whipple in the early 1950s, it became increasingly clear that only exceptional circumstances would allow for the presence of large meteoritic bodies in cometary streams. Further, by the mid 1960s it had been shown that meteorites could, in fact, be delivered to the Earth from the main belt asteroid region via gravitational resonances. With the removal of the dynamical "barrier" against the delivery of meteorites from the asteroid region, the idea that the Mazapil meteorite could have been part of the Andromedid stream fell into complete disfavor. This being said, we nonetheless present the results of a study concerning the possible properties of the parent object to the Mazapil meteorite based upon the assumption that it was a member of the Andromedid stream. This study is presented to illustrate the point that while cometary showers do not yield meteorites on the ground, this does not, in fact, substantiate the argument that no meteoritic bodies reside in cometary streams. Indeed, we find no good reason to suppose that an object with the characteristics of the Mazapil meteorite could not have been delivered from the Andromedid stream. However, we argue that upon the basis of the actual reported observations and upon the scientific maxim of minimized hypothesis and least assumption it must be concluded that the timing of the fall of the Mazapil meteorite and the occurrence of the Andromedid outburst were purely coincidental. [source] An additional soft X-ray component in the dim low/hard state of black hole binariesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2010C. Y. Chiang ABSTRACT We test the truncated disc models using multiwavelength (optical/ultraviolet/X-ray) data from the 2005 hard state outburst of the black hole Swift J1753.5,0127. This system is both fairly bright and has fairly low interstellar absorption, so gives one of the best data sets to study the weak, cool disc emission in this state. We fit these data using models of an X-ray illuminated disc to constrain the inner disc radius throughout the outburst. Close to the peak, the observed soft X-ray component is consistent with being produced by the inner disc, with its intrinsic emission enhanced in temperature and luminosity by reprocessing of hard X-ray illumination in an overlap region between the disc and corona. This disc emission provides the seed photons for Compton scattering to produce the hard X-ray spectrum, and these hard X-rays also illuminate the outer disc, producing the optical emission by reprocessing. However, the situation is very different as the outburst declines. The optical is probably cyclo-synchrotron radiation, self-generated by the flow, rather than tracing the outer disc. Similarly, limits from reprocessing make it unlikely that the soft X-rays are directly tracing the inner disc radius. Instead they appear to be from a new component. This is seen more clearly in a similarly dim low/hard state spectrum from XTE J1118+480, where the 10 times lower interstellar absorption allows a correspondingly better view of the ultraviolet/extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission. The very small emitting area implied by the relatively high temperature soft X-ray component is completely inconsistent with the much larger, cooler, ultraviolet component which is well fit by a truncated disc. We speculate on the origin of this component, but its existence as a clearly separate spectral component from the truncated disc in XTE J1118+480 shows that it does not simply trace the inner disc radius, so cannot constrain the truncated disc models. [source] Be/X-ray binary SXP6.85 undergoes large Type II outburst in the Small Magellanic CloudMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2010L. J. Townsend ABSTRACT The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Be/X-ray binary pulsar SXP6.85 = XTE J0103,728 underwent a large Type II outburst beginning on 2008 August 10. The source was consistently seen for the following 20 weeks (MJD = 54688,54830). We present X-ray timing and spectroscopic analysis of the source as a part of our ongoing Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) monitoring campaign and INTEGRAL key programme monitoring the SMC and 47 Tuc. A comparison with the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) III light curve of the Be counterpart shows the X-ray outbursts from this source coincide with times of optical maximum. We attribute this to the circumstellar disc increasing in size, causing mass accretion on to the neutron star. Ground based infrared photometry and H, spectroscopy obtained during the outburst are used as a measure of the size of the circumstellar disc and lend support to this picture. In addition, folded RXTE light curves seem to indicate complex changes in the geometry of the accretion regions on the surface of the neutron star, which may be indicative of an inhomogeneous density distribution in the circumstellar material causing a variable accretion rate on to the neutron star. Finally, the assumed inclination of the system and H, equivalent width measurements are used to make a simplistic estimate of the size of the circumstellar disc. [source] The outburst duration and duty cycle of GRS 1915+105MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009Patrick Deegan ABSTRACT The extraordinarily long outburst of GRS 1915+105 makes it one of the most remarkable low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). It has been in a state of constant outburst since its discovery in 1992, an eruption which has persisted ,100 times longer than those of more typical LXMBs. The long orbital period of GRS 1915+105 implies that it contains large and massive accretion disc which is able to fuel its extreme outburst. In this paper, we address the longevity of the outburst and quiescence phases of GRS 1915+105 using smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of its accretion disc through many outburst cycles. Our model is set in the two-, framework and includes the effects of the thermoviscous instability, tidal torques, irradiation by central X-rays and wind mass loss. We explore the model parameter space and examine the impact of the various ingredients. We predict that the outburst of GRS 1915+105 should last a minimum of 20 yr and possibly up to ,100 yr if X-ray irradiation is very significant. The predicted recurrence times are of the order of 104 yr, making the X-ray duty cycle a few 0.1 per cent. Such a low duty cycle may mean that GRS 1915+105 is not an anomaly among the more standard LMXBs and that many similar, but quiescent, systems could be present in the Galaxy. [source] Dwarf nova oscillations and quasi-periodic oscillations in cataclysmic variables , VII.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2009OY Carinae, oscillations in dwarf novae in quiescence ABSTRACT We have observed dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) in OY Car during outburst, down through decline and beyond; its behaviour is similar to what we have previously seen in VW Hyi, making it only the second dwarf nova to have DNOs late in outburst that continue well into quiescence. There are also occasional examples of DNOs in deep quiescence, well away from outburst , they have properties similar to those during outburst, indicating similar physical causes and structures. We discuss the occurrence of DNOs in other dwarf novae and conclude that DNOs during quiescence are more common than often supposed and exhibit properties similar to those seen in outburst. [source] The first broad-band X-ray study of the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient SAX J1818.6,1703 in outburstMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2009L. Sidoli ABSTRACT The Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT) SAX J1818.6,1703 underwent an outburst on 2009 May 6 and was observed with Swift. We report on these observations which, for the first time, allow us to study the broad-band spectrum from soft to hard X-rays of this source. No X-ray spectral information was available on this source before the Swift monitoring. The spectrum can be deconvolved well with models usually adopted to describe the emission from HMXB X-ray pulsars, and is characterized by a very high absorption, a flat power law (photon index ,0.1,0.5) and a cut-off at about 7,12 keV. Alternatively, the SAX J1818.6,1703 emission can be described with a Comptonized emission from a cold and optically thick corona, with an electron temperature kTe= 5,7 keV, a hot seed photon temperature, kT0, of 1.3,1.4 keV and an optical depth for the Comptonizing plasma, ,, of about 10. The 1,100 keV luminosity at the peak of the flare is 3 × 1036 erg s,1 (assuming the optical counterpart distance of 2.5 kpc). These properties of SAX J1818.6,1703 resemble those of the prototype of the SFXT class, XTE J1739,302. The monitoring with Swift/XRT reveals an outburst duration of about 5 d, similar to other members of the class of SFXTs, confirming SAX J1818.6,1703 as a member of this class. [source] Accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4,3658 during its 2002 outburst: evidence for a receding discMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2009Askar Ibragimov ABSTRACT An outburst of the accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4,3658 in 2002 October,November was followed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer for more than a month. A detailed analysis of this unprecedented data set is presented. For the first time, we demonstrate how the area covered by the hotspot at the neutron star surface is decreasing in the course of the outburst together with the reflection amplitude. These trends are in agreement with the natural scenario, where the disc inner edge is receding from the neutron star as the mass accretion rate drops. These findings are further supported by the variations of the pulse profiles, which clearly show the presence of the secondary maximum at the late stages of the outburst after October 29. This fact can be interpreted as the disc receding sufficiently far from the neutron star to open the view of the lower magnetic pole. In that case, the disc inner radius can be estimated. Assuming that disc is truncated at the Alfvén radius, we constrain the stellar magnetic moment to ,= (9 ± 5) × 1025 G cm3, which corresponds to the surface field of about 108 G. On the other hand, using the magnetic moment recently obtained from the observed pulsar spin-down rate we show that the disc edge has to be within factor of 2 of the Alfvén radius, putting interesting constraints on the models of the disc,magnetosphere interaction. We also demonstrate that the sharp changes in the phase of the fundamental are intimately related to the variations of the pulse profile, which we associate with the varying obscuration of the antipodal spot. Using the phase-resolved spectra, we further argue that the strong dependence of the pulse profiles on photon energy and the observed soft time lags result from the different phase dependence of the normalizations of the two spectral components, the blackbody and the Comptonized tail, being consistent with the model, where these components have significantly different angular emission patterns. The pulse profile amplitude allows us to estimate the colatitude of the hotspot centroid to be ,4°,10°. [source] Jets from black hole X-ray binaries: testing, refining and extending empirical models for the coupling to X-raysMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009R. P. Fender ABSTRACT In this paper we study the relation of radio emission to X-ray spectral and variability properties for a large sample of black hole X-ray binary systems. This is done to test, refine and extend , notably into the timing properties , the previously published ,unified model' for the coupling of accretion and ejection in such sources. In 14 outbursts from 11 different sources we find that in every case the peak radio flux, on occasion directly resolved into discrete relativistic ejections, is associated with the bright hard to soft state transition near the peak of the outburst. We also note the association of the radio flaring with periods of X-ray flaring during this transition in most, but not all, of the systems. In the soft state, radio emission is in nearly all cases either undetectable or optically thin, consistent with the suppression of the core jet in these states and ,relic' radio emission from interactions of previously ejected material and the ambient medium. However, these data cannot rule out an intermittent, optically thin, jet in the soft state. In attempting to associate X-ray timing properties with the ejection events we find a close, but not exact, correspondence between phases of very low integrated X-ray variability and such ejections. In fact the data suggest that there is not a perfect one-to-one correspondence between the radio, X-ray spectral or X-ray timing properties, suggesting that they may be linked simply as symptoms of the underlying state change and not causally to one another. We further study the sparse data on the reactivation of the jet during the transition back to the hard state in decay phase of outbursts, and find marginal evidence for this in one case only. In summary we find no strong evidence against the originally proposed model, confirming and extending some aspects of it with a much larger sample, but note that several aspects remain poorly tested. [source] Measuring the spin up of the accreting millisecond pulsar XTE J1751,305MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008A. Papitto ABSTRACT We perform a timing analysis on RXTE data of the accreting millisecond pulsar XTE J1751,305 observed during the 2002 April outburst. After having corrected for Doppler effects on the pulse phases due to the orbital motion of the source, we performed a timing analysis on the phase delays, which gives, for the first time for this source, an estimate of the average spin frequency derivative . We discuss the torque resulting from the spin-up of the neutron star deriving a dynamical estimate of the mass accretion rate and comparing it with the one obtained from X-ray flux. Constraints on the distance to the source are discussed, leading to a lower limit of , 6.7 kpc. [source] Parallel tracks in infrared versus X-ray emission in black hole X-ray transient outbursts: a hysteresis effect?MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007David M. Russell ABSTRACT We report the discovery of a new hysteresis effect in black hole X-ray binary state transitions, that of the near-infrared (NIR) flux (which most likely originates in the jets) versus X-ray flux. We find, looking at existing data sets, that the IR emission of black hole X-ray transients appears to be weaker in the low/hard state rise of an outburst than the low/hard state decline of an outburst at a given X-ray luminosity. We discuss how this effect may be caused by a shift in the radiative efficiency of the inflowing or outflowing matter, or variations in the disc viscosity or the spectrum/power of the jet. In addition we show that there is a correlation (in slope but not in normalization) between IR and X-ray luminosities on the rise and decline, for all three low-mass black hole X-ray binaries with well-sampled IR and X-ray coverage: LNIR,L0.5,0.7X. In the high/soft state this slope is much shallower; LNIR,L0.1,0.2X, and we find that the NIR emission in this state is most likely dominated by the viscously heated (as opposed to X-ray heated) accretion disc in all three sources. [source] A thousand and one nova outburstsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007Noya Epelstain ABSTRACT A full nova cycle includes mass accretion, thermonuclear runaway resulting in outburst and mass-loss, and finally, decline. Resumed accretion starts a new cycle, leading to another outburst. Multicycle nova evolution models have been calculated over the past twenty years, the number being limited by numerical constraints. Here we present a long-term evolution code that enables a continuous calculation through an unlimited number of nova cycles for an unlimited evolution time, even up to 1.5 × 1010 yr. Starting with two sets of the three independent nova parameters , the white dwarf (WD) mass, the temperature of its isothermal core, and the rate of mass transfer on to it , we have followed the evolution of two models, with initial masses of 1 M, and 0.65 M, through over 1000 and over 3000 cycles, respectively. The accretion rate was assumed constant throughout each calculation: 10,11 M, yr,1 for the 1 M, WD, and 10,9 M, yr,1 for the 0.65 M, one. The initial temperatures were taken to be relatively high: 30 × 106 and 50 × 106 K, respectively, as they are likely to be at the onset of the outburst phase. The results show that although on the short-term consecutive outbursts are almost identical, on the long-term scale the characteristics change. This is mainly due to the changing core temperature, which decreases very similarly to that of a cooling WD for a time, but at a slower rate thereafter. As the WD's mass continually decreases, since both models lose more mass than they accrete, the central pressure decreases accordingly. The outbursts on the massive WD change gradually from fast to moderately fast, and the other characteristics (velocity, abundance ratios, isotopic ratios) change, too. Very slowly, a steady state is reached, where all characteristics, both in quiescence and in outburst, remain almost constant. For the less massive WD accreting at a high rate, outbursts are similar throughout the evolution. [source] Interpretation of the 1998 outburst of the unique X-ray transient CI Camelopardalis (XTE J0421+560)MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006imon ABSTRACT We present an analysis of the 1998 outburst of the peculiar X-ray binary and X-ray transient CI Cam (XTE J0421+560). We discuss the observations in the framework of several possible models and argue that this outburst can be explained by the thermal instability of the accretion disc, analogous to the outbursts of soft X-ray transients. Applying the model by King & Ritter and Shahbaz, Charles & King on the X-ray light curve, we obtain a realistic mass of the disc at the peak of outburst to be Mh(0) , 1.5 × 1023 g (the distance d= 5 kpc) or 3.8 × 1022 g (d= 2.5 kpc). The disc radius at this moment is then Rh(0) , 2.5 × 1010 cm (d= 5 kpc) or 1.6 × 1010 cm (d= 2.5 kpc), provided that the factor f (the ratio of the mass of the hot disc at that moment with respect to its maximum possible mass) is close to unity. Even if we take a quite low f= 0.05, we still obtain Rh(0) by only 2.7 times larger. The reddening in the outburst maximum and brighter peak absolute magnitude of CI Cam with respect to those of soft X-ray transients in outbursts can be explained if the disc in CI Cam heats up an extended envelope and/or a strong jet is formed. We thus bring firm arguments for Robinson, Ivans & Welsh's hypothesis. On the other hand, we bring the arguments against the mass transfer burst from the donor and the periastron passage of the compact object. [source] Colliding winds in V1016 CygniMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2000S. K. Watson We present MERLIN observations of the symbiotic nova V1016 Cygni made at 6 cm between 1992 and 1997 and at 18 cm in 1993 and 1997. In the 6-cm images we find complex structure which has not been previously seen, in particular three bright components. These components do not appear to be expanding as would be expected from the remains of a hot wind resulting from the nova outburst. The change in positions of two of the features exhibits tentative east,west movement. The brightness temperature of the peak with the highest flux density remains above 50 000 K in all epochs, thereby confirming the presence of shocked material in the system. At 18 cm there is no evidence of any non-thermal emission as might be expected from comparison with a sister star, HM Sge. [source] X-ray observations of classical novae: Theoretical implicationsASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2010M. Hernanz Abstract Detection of X-rays from classical novae, both in outburst and post-outburst, provides unique and crucial information about the explosion mechanism. Soft X-rays reveal the hot white dwarf photosphere, whenever hydrogen (H) nuclear burning is still on and expanding envelope is transparent enough, whereas harder X-rays give information about the ejecta and/or the accretion flow in the reborn cataclysmic variable. The duration of the supersoft X-ray emission phase is related to the turn-off of the classical nova, i.e., of the H-burning on top of the white dwarf core. A review of X-ray observations is presented, with a special emphasis on the implications for the duration of post-outburst steady H-burning and its theoretical explanation. The particular case of recurrent novae (both the "standard" objects and the recently discovered ones) will also be reviewed, in terms of theoretical feasibility of short recurrence periods, as well as regarding implications for scenarios of type Ia supernovae (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Observational evidence for expansion in the SSS spectra of novaeASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2010J.-U. Ness Abstract For several novae, a bright X-ray source with a spectrum resembling the class of Super Soft X-ray Sources (SSS) has been observed a few weeks to months after outburst. Novae are powered by explosive nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf, and enough energy is produced to power a radiatively driven wind. Owing to the evolution of the opacity of the ejecta, the observable spectrum gradually shifts from optical to soft X-rays (SSS phase). It has sometimes been assumed that at the beginning of the SSS phase no more mass loss occurs. However, high-resolution X-ray spectra of some novae have shown highly blue-shifted absorption lines, indicating a significant expansion. In this paper, I show that all novae that have been observed with X-ray gratings during their SSS phase show significant blue shifts. I argue that all models that attempt to explain the X-ray bright SSS phase have to accommodate the continued expansion of the ejecta (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Beginning of the super-soft phase of the classical nova V2491 CygniASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2010D. Takei Abstract We present the results of soft X-ray studies of the classical nova V2491 Cygni using the Suzaku observatory. On day 29 after outburst, a soft X-ray component with a peak at ,0.5 keV has appeared, which is tantalising evidence for the beginning of the super-soft X-ray emission phase. We show that an absorbed blackbody model can describe the observed spectra, yielding a temperature of 57 eV, neutral hydrogen column density of 2 × 1021 cm,2, and a bolometric luminosity of ,1036 erg s,1. However, at the same time, we also found a good fit with an absorbed thin-thermal plasma model, yielding a temperature of 0.1 keV, neutral hydrogen column density of 4 × 1021 cm,2, and a volume emission measure of ,1058 cm,3. Owing to low spectral resolution and low signal-to-noise ratio below 0.6 keV, the statistical parameter uncertainties are large, but the ambiguity of the two very different models demonstrates that the systematic errors are the main point of concern. The thin-thermal plasma model implies that the soft emission originates from optically thin ejecta, while the blackbody model suggests that we are seeing optically thick emission from the white dwarf (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] X-ray emission from optical novae in M 31,ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2010W. Pietsch Abstract The first supersoft source (SSS) identification with an optical nova in M 31 was based on ROSAT observations. Twenty additional X-ray counterparts (mostly identified as SSS by their hardness ratios) were detected using archival ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Chandra observations obtained before July 2002. Based on these results optical novae seem to constitute the major class of SSS in M 31. An analysis of archival Chandra HRC-I and ACIS-I observations obtained from July 2004 to February 2005 demonstrated that M 31 nova SSS states lasted from months to about 10 years. Several novae showed short X-ray outbursts starting within 50 d after the optical outburst and lasting only two to three months. The fraction of novae detected in soft X-rays within a year after the optical outburst was more than 30%. Ongoing optical nova monitoring programs, optical spectral follow-up and an up-to-date nova catalogue are essential for the X-ray work. Re-analysis of archival nova data to improve positions and find additional nova candidates are urgently needed for secure recurrent nova identifications. Dedicated XMM-Newton/Chandra monitoring programs for X-ray emission from optical novae covering the centre area of M 31 continue to provide interesting new results (e.g. coherent 1105 s pulsations in the SSS counterpart of nova M31N 2007-12b). The SSS light curves of novae allow us , together with optical information , to estimate the mass of the white dwarf, of the ejecta and the burned mass in the outburst. Observations of the central area of M 31 allow us , in contrast to observations in the Galaxy , to monitor many novae simultaneously and proved to be prone to find many interesting SSS and nova types (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] V5116 Sgr: A disc-ecipsed SSS post-outburst nova?,ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2010G. Sala Abstract Nova V5116 Sgr 2005 No. 2, discovered on 2005 July 4, was observed with XMM-Newton in March 2007, 20 months after the optical outburst. The X-ray spectrum showed that the nova had evolved to a pure supersoft X-ray source, indicative of residual H-burning on top of the white dwarf. The X-ray light-curve shows abrupt decreases and increases of the flux by a factor 8 with a periodicity of 2.97 h, consistent with the possible orbital period of the system. The EPIC spectra are well fit with an ONe white dwarf atmosphere model, with the same temperature both in the low and the high flux periods. This rules out an intrinsic variation of the X-ray source as the origin of the flux changes, and points to a possible partial eclipse as the origin of the variable light curve. The RGS high resolution spectra support this scenario showing a number of emission features in the low flux state, which either disappear or change into absorption features in the high flux state. A new XMM-Newton observation in March 2009 shows the SSS had turned off and V51 16 Sgr had evolved into a weaker and harder X-ray source (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Follow-up observations of Comet 17P/Holmes after its extreme outburst in brightness end of October 2007,ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 5 2009M. Mugrauer Abstract We present follow-up observations of comet 17/P Holmes after its extreme outburst in brightness, which occurred end of October 2007. We obtained 58 V-band images of the comet between October 2007 and February 2008, using the Cassegrain-Teleskop-Kamera (CTK) at the University Observatory Jena. We present precise astrometry of the comet, which yields its most recent Keplerian orbital elements. Furthermore, we show that the comet's coma expands quite linearly with a velocity of about 1650 km/s between October and December 2007. The photometric monitoring of comet 17/P Holmes shows that its photometric activity level decreased by about 5.9 mag within 105 days after its outburst (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Probing the nature of multiple lobe-like emissions in 3C 84ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2-3 2009H. Nagai Abstract The bright radio source 3C 84 has a CSO-like feature in the central 10-pc scale with extended emissions on scale up to kpc. Our kinematic and synchrotron age measurements support that the innermost feature is a CSO formed by recent restarted activity before the radio emission that originated in the earlier activities has completely faded. The average rate of the jet power of the innermost feature over the source age is at least ,1044 erg s,1. Synchrotron age constraint for an outer lobe-like feature beyond the central CSO indicates that this feature originates in the outburst from ,1.3×105 years ago. Inferred duty cycle of the jet ejection is much shorter than the time scale expected from microquasars (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The spectroscopic evolution of V2467 Cyg (Nova Cygni 2007) in the first months after the outburstASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2009R. PoggianiArticle first published online: 2 JAN 200 Abstract We present the spectroscopy of nova V2467 Cyg acquired at the Loiano Observatory, Italy, during the first six months after the outburst. We have used the optical spectroscopy to study the physical properties of the ejected material and the photometry to estimate the nova distance. V2467 Cyg is a fast nova, with decline rates by two or three magnitudes of 7.6 and 14.6 days respectively. The light curve exhibited oscillations during the transition stage. The nova achieved an absolute magnitude at maximum in the range ,8.5, ,9.1. The distance is in the range 2.6, 3.6 kpc. V2467 Cyg showed an early appearance of forbidden lines during the transition stage. Its evolution is similar to the behavior of V1494 Aql (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The search for a cometary outbursts mechanism: a comparison of various theoriesASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2 2007P. Gronkowski Abstract In the paper the potential sources of energy of cometary outbursts have been reviewed. Considerations focus on four probable sources of the outbursts' energy. These are the polymerization of hydrogen cyanide HCN, impacts with the meteoroids, destruction of cometary grains in the field of strong solar wind and the transformation of amorphous water Ice into the crystalline one. The values of released energy and jumps of cometary brightness caused by these mechanisms have been discussed. A modern approach to the problem of the thermodynamical evolution of the comet nucleus which includes amorphous water ice is considered as the starting point in the discussion presented in the paper. The main characteristics of an outburst of a hypothetical comet belonging to the Jupiter family comet are calculated. The obtained results are in a good agreement with the characteristics observed during the real outbursts of comets. The main conclusion of this paper confirms a general presumption that the cometary outbursts can have different causes. However, the hypothesis concerning the amorphous water ice transformation appears to be the most probable one. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Relativistic Fe line emission and highly photoionized absorption in GROJ1655-40ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 10 2006M. Díaz Trigo Abstract We report on two XMM-Newton and simultaneous INTEGRAL observations of the microquasar GRO J1655-40 during its 2005 outburst. The source was most probably in its high-soft state during both observations. There is evidence for the presence of both a relativistically broadened Fe line providing strong support for the existence of a spinning black hole, and a highly photo-ionized absorber. The photo-ionized absorber is responsible for strong K absorption lines of Fe XXV and Fe XXVI in the EPIC pn spectra. The parameters of the highly-ionized absorber were different during the two observations. A less ionized absorber is present in the second observation, where the 0.5,200 keV luminosity of GRO J1655-40 decreased by around a half. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Doppler tomography of accretion in binariesASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 3 2004Article first published online: 3 MAR 200, D. Steeghs Abstract Since its conception, Doppler tomography has matured into a versatile and widely used tool. It exploits the information contained in the highly-structured spectral line-profiles typically observed in mass-transferring binaries. Using inversion techniques akin to medical imaging, it permits the reconstruction of Doppler maps that image the accretion flow on micro-arcsecond scales. I summarise the basic concepts behind the technique and highlight two recent results; the use of donor star emission as a means to system parameter determination, and the real-time movies of the evolving accretion flow in the cataclysmic variable WZ Sge during its 2001 outburst. I conclude with future opportunities in Doppler tomography by exploiting the combination of superior data sets, second generation reconstruction codes and simulated theoretical tomograms to delve deeper into the physics of accretion flows. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] A cognitive and affective pattern in posterior fossa strokes in children: a case seriesDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2010MANOELLE KOSSOROTOFF Aim, Posterior fossa strokes account for about 10% of ischaemic strokes in children. Although motor and dysautonomic symptoms are common, to our knowledge cognitive and affective deficits have not been described in the paediatric literature. Our aim, therefore, was to describe these symptoms and deficits. Method, In a retrospective study, we included all cases of posterior fossa strokes in children occurring at a single centre between 2005 and 2007, and investigated cognitive and affective deficits. Results, Five males aged 3 to 14 years met the inclusion criteria. They all presented very early with mood disturbances: outbursts of laughter and/or crying and alternating agitation or prostration that disappeared spontaneously within a few days. Persistent cognitive deficits were also diagnosed in all five: initial mutism, then anomia, followed by comprehension deficiency and deficiencies of planning ability, visual,spatial organization, and attention. Despite early and intensive rehabilitation, recovery from these cognitive deficits was slow and sometimes incomplete, and on follow-up they proved to be more disabling than the motor symptoms. Interpretation, These findings are similar to the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome described in adults, and quite similar to the language and affective deficits observed in children after surgery for posterior fossa tumour. This is consistent with the role of the cerebellum and brainstem in affective and cognitive processes from early development. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||