Transient radio bursts from rotating neutron stars

The radio sky is relatively unexplored for transient signals, although the potential of radio-transient searches is high. This was demonstrated recently by the discovery of a previously unknown type of source, varying on timescales of minutes to hours. Here we report a search for radio sources that vary on much shorter timescales. We found eleven objects characterized by single, dispersed bursts having durations between 2 and 30 ms. The average time intervals between bursts range from 4 min to 3 h with radio emission typically detectable for <1 s per day. From an analysis of the burst arrival times, we have identified periodicities in the range 0.4-7 s for ten of the eleven sources, suggesting origins in rotating neutron stars. Despite the small number of sources detected at present, their ephemeral nature implies a total Galactic population significantly exceeding that of the regularly pulsing radio pulsars. Five of the ten sources have periods >4 s, and the rate of change of the pulse period has been measured for three of them; for one source, we have inferred a high magnetic field strength of 5 x 10(13) G. This suggests that the new population is related to other classes of isolated neutron stars observed at X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths.     

双星和四极振子的引力波

按拉格朗日函数Ｌ＝√－ｇ（λＲ＋αＲμｙＲ＾μｙ＋βＲ＾２－Ｌｍ）的高导数引力理论研究力学系统的引力波问题在α〉０,α＋３β〈０的条件下,求出了双星和线性四极振子激发的引力辐射波,其结果当耦合常数α→０,β→０时,Ｅｉｎｓｔｅｉｎ引力理论的结果相同。     

大质量中子星的冷却性质探讨

鉴于近期的观测数据更倾向于大质量的中子星,通过相对论平均场理论和相关弱作用理论来研究大质量中子星内部中微子发射性质及星体的冷却曲线.计算结果表明大质量中子星的冷却性质与星体质量有关,但是具体的变化规律还取决于模型参数.     

Generation of radio waves in pulsars

Pulsars generate radio waves by an unknown process which gives the highest volume emissivity known in astrophysics. The radiation forms a beam the width and polarization of which are independent of frequency. This article assembles the observational facts which any theory of emission must explain.     

The formation of stars by gravitational collapse rather than competitive accretion

There are two dominant models of how stars form. Under gravitational collapse, star-forming molecular clumps, of typically hundreds to thousands of solar masses (M(o)), fragment into gaseous cores that subsequently collapse to make individual stars or small multiple systems. In contrast, competitive accretion theory suggests that at birth all stars are much smaller than the typical stellar mass (approximately 0.5M(o)), and that final stellar masses are determined by the subsequent accretion of unbound gas from the clump. Competitive accretion models interpret brown dwarfs and free-floating planets as protostars ejected from star-forming clumps before they have accreted much mass; key predictions of this model are that such objects should lack disks, have high velocity dispersions, form more frequently in denser clumps, and that the mean stellar mass should vary within the Galaxy. Here we derive the rate of competitive accretion as a function of the star-forming environment, based partly on simulation, and determine in what types of environments competitive accretion can occur. We show that no observed star-forming region can undergo significant competitive accretion, and that the simulations that show competitive accretion do so because the assumed properties differ from those determined by observation. Our result shows that stars form by gravitational collapse, and explains why observations have failed to confirm predictions of the competitive accretion model.     

双星引力辐射的电磁学模拟

爱因斯坦的广义相对论预言了引力波的存在.根据广义相对论,引力辐射是一种四极辐射.建立一个电学模型,将电四极辐射和引力辐射进行类比,得到双星系统引力辐射功率.所得结果与广义相对论的结论只差1/4的数值因子.     

Flares from a candidate Galactic magnetar suggest a missing link to dim isolated neutron stars

Magnetars are young neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields of the order of 10(14)-10(15) G. They are detected in our Galaxy either as soft gamma-ray repeaters or anomalous X-ray pulsars. Soft gamma-ray repeaters are a rare type of gamma-ray transient sources that are occasionally detected as bursters in the high-energy sky. No optical counterpart to the gamma-ray flares or the quiescent source has yet been identified. Here we report multi-wavelength observations of a puzzling source, SWIFT J195509+261406. We detected more than 40 flaring episodes in the optical band over a time span of three days, and a faint infrared flare 11 days later, after which the source returned to quiescence. Our radio observations confirm a Galactic nature and establish a lower distance limit of approximately 3.7 kpc. We suggest that SWIFT J195509+261406 could be an isolated magnetar whose bursting activity has been detected at optical wavelengths, and for which the long-term X-ray emission is short-lived. In this case, a new manifestation of magnetar activity has been recorded and we can consider SWIFT J195509+261406 to be a link between the 'persistent' soft gamma-ray repeaters/anomalous X-ray pulsars and dim isolated neutron stars.     

转动潮汐变形双星表面重力加速度的数值模拟

转动和潮汐效应是影响双星结构演化非常重要的物理因素。在转动双星系统中,根据考虑转动潮汐变形的高阶扰动势数值计算了主星表面的重力加速度的分布,并与洛希模型计算的表面重力加速度分布做了对比。结果发现:转动和潮汐对恒星表面的重力加速度的大小和分布有重要影响,采用本文中的初始参数进行演化计算,最大影响可达到103～104 cm/s2。因此在讨论恒星结构和演化时,转动和潮汐变形是不可忽略的重要因素。     

Nuclear-powered millisecond pulsars and the maximum spin frequency of neutron stars

Millisecond pulsars are neutron stars that are thought to have been spun-up by mass accretion from a stellar companion. It is not known whether there is a natural brake for this process, or if it continues until the centrifugal breakup limit is reached at submillisecond periods. Many neutron stars that are accreting mass from a companion star exhibit thermonuclear X-ray bursts that last tens of seconds, caused by unstable nuclear burning on their surfaces. Millisecond-period brightness oscillations during bursts from ten neutron stars (as distinct from other rapid X-ray variability that is also observed) are thought to measure the stellar spin, but direct proof of a rotational origin has been lacking. Here we report the detection of burst oscillations at the known spin frequency of an accreting millisecond pulsar, and we show that these oscillations always have the same rotational phase. This firmly establishes burst oscillations as nuclear-powered pulsations tracing the spin of accreting neutron stars, corroborating earlier evidence. The distribution of spin frequencies of the 11 nuclear-powered pulsars cuts off well below the breakup frequency for most neutron-star models, supporting theoretical predictions that gravitational radiation losses can limit accretion torques in spinning up millisecond pulsars.     

电导率对巷道中电波传播的影响

为了研究真实巷道中电波传播的特性,必须考虑巷道壁电导率的影响。根据圆形巷道和矩形巷道的电波传播模型,分析了电波衰减率和电导率的关系,并且提出了电导率断点的概念。研究结果显示：当电导率小于断点时,电磁波衰减率几乎不受影响,当电导率高于断点时,电磁波传播特性会有较大的变化。电导率断点主要受传播频率的影响,而与巷道横截面尺寸和极化方式几乎无关。     

对-谐条件下纯引力纵波的不存在性

严格证明了在Ｖｉｅｒｂｅｉｎ表述的局域Ｌｏｒｅｎｔｚ群引力规范理论中,对于对角度规谐和条件（对谐条件）下的纯引力纵波,其对应的ＲｉｅｍｉｎｎＣｈｒｉｓｔｏｆｅｌ（ＲＣ）曲率张量的所有分量为零．即在该条件下不存在任何形式的纯引力纵波和纯曲率纵波．     

An increased estimate of the merger rate of double neutron stars from observations of a highly relativistic system

The merger of close binary systems containing two neutron stars should produce a burst of gravitational waves, as predicted by the theory of general relativity. A reliable estimate of the double-neutron-star merger rate in the Galaxy is crucial in order to predict whether current gravity wave detectors will be successful in detecting such bursts. Present estimates of this rate are rather low, because we know of only a few double-neutron-star binaries with merger times less than the age of the Universe. Here we report the discovery of a 22-ms pulsar, PSR J0737-3039, which is a member of a highly relativistic double-neutron-star binary with an orbital period of 2.4 hours. This system will merge in about 85 Myr, a time much shorter than for any other known neutron-star binary. Together with the relatively low radio luminosity of PSR J0737-3039, this timescale implies an order-of-magnitude increase in the predicted merger rate for double-neutron-star systems in our Galaxy (and in the rest of the Universe).     

An efficient photoelectric X-ray polarimeter for the study of black holes and neutron stars

The study of astronomical objects using electromagnetic radiation involves four basic observational approaches: imaging, spectroscopy, photometry (accurate counting of the photons received) and polarimetry (measurement of the polarizations of the observed photons). In contrast to observations at other wavelengths, a lack of sensitivity has prevented X-ray astronomy from making use of polarimetry. Yet such a technique could provide a direct picture of the state of matter in extreme magnetic and gravitational fields, and has the potential to resolve the internal structures of compact sources that would otherwise remain inaccessible, even to X-ray interferometry. In binary pulsars, for example, we could directly 'see' the rotation of the magnetic field and determine if the emission is in the form of a 'fan' or a 'pencil' beam. Also, observation of the characteristic twisting of the polarization angle in other compact sources would reveal the presence of a black hole. Here we report the development of an instrument that makes X-ray polarimetry possible. The factor of 100 improvement in sensitivity that we have achieved will allow direct exploration of the most dramatic objects of the X-ray sky.     

Creation of visible artificial optical emissions in the aurora by high-power radio waves

Generation of artificial light in the sky by means of high-power radio waves interacting with the ionospheric plasma has been envisaged since the early days of radio exploration of the upper atmosphere, with proposed applications ranging from regional night-time street lighting to atmospheric measurements. Weak optical emissions have been produced for decades in such ionospheric 'heating' experiments, where they serve as key indicators of electron acceleration, thermal heating, and other effects of incompletely understood wave-particle interactions in the plasma under conditions difficult to replicate in the laboratory. The extremely low intensities produced previously have, however, required sensitive instrumentation for detection, preventing applications beyond scientific research. Here we report observations of radio-induced optical emissions bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, and produced not in the quiet mid-latitude ionosphere, but in the midst of a pulsating natural aurora. This may open the door to visual applications of ionospheric heating technology or provide a way to probe the dynamics of the natural aurora and magnetosphere.     

DPF脉冲中子源中子产额的活化测量研究

活化测量是等离子体焦点 (DPF)中子源的窄脉冲、高注量率中子辐射产额的有效测量方法。为提高活化探测器的测量精度 ,采用了散射中子的屏蔽措施。详细讨论了探测器的标定方法 ,用饱和照射后截止的方法 ,在加速器中子源上给出了 3个探测距离下的标定曲线和标定系数。对标定中的物理问题 ,如探测器死时间对其测量范围的影响、银的两种衰变对标定结果的影响等进行了分析。估计了主要测量误差 ,并提出了实际使用中对散射中子影响的处理方法     

Magnification of light from many distant quasars by gravitational lenses

Exceptionally bright quasars with redshifts up to z = 6.28 have recently been discovered. Quasars are thought to be powered by the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Their maximum (Eddington) luminosity depends on the mass of the black hole, and the brighter quasars are inferred to have black holes with masses of more than a few billion solar masses. The existence of such massive black holes poses a challenge to models for the formation of structures in the early Universe, as it requires their formation within one billion years of the Big Bang. Here we show that up to one-third of known quasars with z approximately equal to 6 will have had their observed flux magnified by a factor of ten or more, as a consequence of gravitational lensing by galaxies along the line of sight. The inferred abundance of quasar host galaxies, as well as the luminosity density provided by the quasars, has therefore been substantially overestimated.