The Carina arm region, containing the supernova remnant SNR G284.3–1.8, the high-energy (HE; E > 100 MeV) binary 1FGL J1018.6–5856 and the energetic pulsar PSR J1016–5857 and its nebula, has been ...observed with the H.E.S.S. telescope array. The observational coverage of the region in very-high-energy (VHE; E > 0.1 TeV) γ-rays benefits from deep exposure (40 h) of the neighboring open cluster Westerlund 2. The observations have revealed a new extended region of VHE γ-ray emission. The new VHE source HESS J1018–589 shows a bright, point-like emission region positionally coincident with SNR G284.3–1.8 and 1FGL J1018.6–5856 and a diffuse extension towards the direction of PSR J1016–5857. A soft (Γ = 2.7 ± 0.5stat) photon index, with a differential flux at 1 TeV of N0 = (4.2 ± 1.1) × 10-13 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1 is found for the point-like source, whereas the total emission region including the diffuse emission region is well fit by a power-law function with spectral index Γ = 2.9 ± 0.4stat and differential flux at 1 TeV of N0 = (6.8 ± 1.6) × 10-13 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1. This H.E.S.S. detection motivated follow-up X-ray observations with the XMM-Newton satellite to investigate the origin of the VHE emission. The analysis of the XMM-Newton data resulted in the discovery of a bright, non-thermal point-like source (XMMU J101855.4–58564) with a photon index of Γ = 1.65 ± 0.08 in the center of SNR G284.3–1.8, and a thermal, extended emission region coincident with its bright northern filament. The characteristics of this thermal emission are used to estimate the plasma density in the region as n ≈ 0.5 cm-3 (2.9 kpc/d)2. The position of XMMU J101855.4–58564 is compatible with the position reported by the Fermi-LAT collaboration for the binary system 1FGL J1018.6–5856 and the variable Swift XRT source identified with it. The new X-ray data are used alongside archival multi-wavelength data to investigate the relationship between the VHE γ-ray emission from HESS J1018–589 and the various potential counterparts in the Carina arm region.
The large growth of telecommunication traffic demand generated by multiple new applications and expected to last at least for the next decade will force telecom operators to consider offering more ...flexible transport services. All-optical packet switching is a powerful technique to provide this flexibility and to support in a cost-efficient way a wide range of bandwidth consuming applications. After a very brief introduction about the packet-switched network architecture studied in the framework of the ACTS KEOPS project, we describe the structure of the packet-switching node we have defined. We then move into physical and logical analysis of the network including more than 40 network sections based on 160 Gb/s throughput optical packet switching nodes could operate error free. In addition, logical simulations have proved that such networks could provide a quality of service (packet loss rate and packet transfer delay per node) compatible with a large variety of service classes. Both results validate the feasibility of the network concept and pace the way toward a flexible network based on all-optical switching techniques.
The active galactic nucleus PKS 0301-243 (z = 0.266) is a high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lac object that is detected at high energies (HE, 100 MeV < E < 100 GeV) by Fermi/LAT. This paper reports on ...the discovery of PKS 0301-243 at very high energies (E > 100 GeV) by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) from observations between September 2009 and December 2011 for a total live time of 34.9 h. Gamma rays above 200 GeV are detected at a significance of 9.4 sigma. A hint of variability at the 2.5 sigma level is found. An integral flux I(E > 200GeV) = (3.3 +/- 1.1(stat) +/- 0.7(syst)) x 10(-12) ph cm(-2) s(-1) and a photon index Gamma = 4.6 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.2(syst) are measured. Multi-wavelength light curves in HE, X-ray and optical bands show strong variability, and a minimal variability timescale of eight days is estimated from the optical light curve. A single-zone leptonic synchrotron self-Compton scenario satisfactorily reproduces the multi-wavelength data. In this model, the emitting region is out of equipartition and the jet is particle dominated. Because of its high redshift compared to other sources observed at TeV energies, the very high energy emission from PKS 0301-243 is attenuated by the extragalactic background light (EBL) and the measured spectrum is used to derive an upper limit on the opacity of the EBL.
An efficient preparation of pure ethyl Z- and E-α,α-difluoro-4-phenyl-3-butenoate 1a and 1b together with the corresponding acids 2a and 2b is described. The procedures involve stereocontrolled ...additions of •CF2CO2Et to phenylacetylene or β-bromostyrene. Compound 1a is easily obtained by addition of •CF2CO2Et to phenylacetylene via a mechanism where the stereochemistry is controlled by an electron-transfer process to produce predominantly the Z vinyl anion. The product 1b is obtained by •CF2CO2Et addition−elimination to Z- or E-β-bromostyrenes via a mechanism where the stereochemistry is controlled by steric factors in the conformational equilibration of the intermediates.
Reversed-phase liquid chromatography of thiuram monosulphide and disulphides (e.g. thiram, disulfiram) was performed using UV or mass spectrometry detection. Mixed thiuram formation was studied as a ...function of pH, and methanol/water ratio in the sample solvent. Conditions allowing a largely decreasing exchange reaction rate were based on the use of a 85/15 methanol/water pH 2.5 as sample solvent in vials with septum.
The non-thermal nature of the X-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnants (SNRs) G1.9+0.3 and G330.2+1.0 is an indication of intense particle acceleration in the shock fronts of both ...objects. This suggests that the SNRs are prime candidates for very-high-energy (VHE; E > 0.1 TeV) γ-ray observations. G1.9+0.3, recently established as the youngest known SNR in the Galaxy, also offers a unique opportunity to study the earliest stages of SNR evolution in the VHE domain. The purpose of this work is to probe the level of VHE γ-ray emission from both SNRs and use this to constrain their physical properties. Observations were conducted with the H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) Cherenkov Telescope Array over a more than six-year period spanning 2004–2010. The obtained data have effective livetimes of 67 h for G1.9+0.3 and 16 h for G330.2+1.0. The data are analysed in the context of the multiwavelength observations currently available and in the framework of both leptonic and hadronic particle acceleration scenarios. No significant γ-ray signal from G1.9+0.3 or G330.2+1.0 was detected. Upper limits (99 per cent confidence level) to the TeV flux from G1.9+0.3 and G330.2+1.0 for the assumed spectral index Γ = 2.5 were set at 5.6 × 10−13 cm−2 s−1 above 0.26 TeV and 3.2 × 10−12 cm−2 s−1 above 0.38 TeV, respectively. In a one-zone leptonic scenario, these upper limits imply lower limits on the interior magnetic field to B
G1.9 ≳ 12 μG for G1.9+0.3 and to B
G330 ≳ 8 μG for G330.2+1.0. In a hadronic scenario, the low ambient densities and the large distances to the SNRs result in very low predicted fluxes, for which the H.E.S.S. upper limits are not constraining.
We present the significant detection of the first extragalactic pulsar wind nebula (PWN) detected in gamma rays, N 157B, located in the large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Pulsars with high spin-down ...luminosity are found to power energised nebulae that emit gamma rays up to energies of several tens of TeV. N 157B is associated with PSR J0537−6910, which is the pulsar with the highest known spin-down luminosity. The High Energy Stereoscopic System telescope array observed this nebula on a yearly basis from 2004 to 2009 with a dead-time corrected exposure of 46 h. The gamma-ray spectrum between 600 GeV and 12 TeV is well-described by a pure power-law with a photon index of 2.8 ± 0.2stat ± 0.3syst and a normalisation at 1 TeV of (8.2 ± 0.8stat ± 2.5syst) × 10-13 cm-2 s-1 TeV-1. A leptonic multi-wavelength model shows that an energy of about 4 × 1049 erg is stored in electrons and positrons. The apparent efficiency, which is the ratio of the TeV gamma-ray luminosity to the pulsar’s spin-down luminosity, 0.08% ± 0.01%, is comparable to those of PWNe found in the Milky Way. The detection of a PWN at such a large distance is possible due to the pulsar’s favourable spin-down luminosity and a bright infrared photon-field serving as an inverse-Compton-scattering target for accelerated leptons. By applying a calorimetric technique to these observations, the pulsar’s birth period is estimated to be shorter than 10 ms.
We show how the dense shells of circumstellar gas immediately outside the red supergiants(RSGs) can affect the early optical light curves of Type II-P SNe taking the example of 2013ej. The peak in V, ...R and I bands, decline rate after peak and plateau length are found to be strongly influenced by the dense CSM formed due to enhanced mass loss during the oxygen and silicon burning stage of the progenitor. We find that the required explosion energy for the progenitors with CSM is reduced by almost a factor of 2.
Purpose:
To extend the capability of the EGSnrc C++ class library (egs++) to write and read IAEA phase-space files as a particle source, and to assess the relative efficiency gain in dose calculation ...using an IAEA phase-space source for modelling a miniature low energy x-ray source.
Methods:
We created a new ausgab object to score particles exiting a user-defined geometry and write them to an IAEA phase-space file. A new particle source was created to read from IAEA phase-space data. With these tools, a phase-space file was generated for particles exiting a miniature 50 kVp x-ray tube (The INTRABEAM System, Carl Zeiss). The phase-space source was validated by comparing calculated PDDs with a full electron source simulation of the INTRABEAM. The dose calculation efficiency gain of the phase-space source was determined relative to the full simulation. The efficiency gain as a function of i) depth in water, and ii) job parallelization was investigated.
Results:
The phase-space and electron source PDDs were found to agree to 0.5% RMS, comparable to statistical uncertainties. The use of a phase-space source for the INTRABEAM led to a relative efficiency gain of greater than 20 over the full electron source simulation, with an increase of up to a factor of 196. The efficiency gain was found to decrease with depth in water, due to the influence of scattering. Job parallelization (across 2 to 256 cores) was not found to have any detrimental effect on efficiency gain.
Conclusion:
A set of tools has been developed for writing and reading IAEA phase-space files, which can be used with any egs++ user code. For simulation of a low energy x-ray tube, the use of a phase-space source was found to increase the relative dose calculation efficiency by factor of up to 196.
The authors acknowledge partial support by the CREATE Medical Physics Research Training Network grant of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Grant No. 432290).
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