Search Publications

An asymmetric distribution of positrons in the Galactic disk revealed by γ-rays
DOI: 10.1038/nature06490 Bibcode: 2008Natur.451..159W

Knödlseder, Jürgen; Winkler, Christoph; Diehl, Roland +8 more

Gamma-ray line radiation at 511keV is the signature of electron-positron annihilation. Such radiation has been known for 30years to come from the general direction of the Galactic Centre, but the origin of the positrons has remained a mystery. Stellar nucleosynthesis, accreting compact objects, and even the annihilation of exotic dark-matter parti…

2008 Nature
INTEGRAL 184
Radial temperature profiles for a large sample of galaxy clusters observed with XMM-Newton
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200809538 Bibcode: 2008A&A...486..359L

Molendi, S.; Leccardi, A.

Aims: We measure radial temperature profiles as far out as possible for a sample of ≈50 hot, intermediate redshift galaxy clusters, selected from the XMM-Newton archive, keeping systematic errors under control.
Methods: Our work is characterized by two major improvements. First, we used background modeling, rather than background subtraction, …

2008 Astronomy and Astrophysics
XMM-Newton 183
Turbulence transport throughout the heliosphere
DOI: 10.1029/2007JA012711 Bibcode: 2008JGRA..113.8105B

Matthaeus, W. H.; Bieber, J. W.; Smith, C. W. +4 more

We employ a turbulence transport model to compute distributions of turbulence throughout the heliosphere. The model determines the radial dependence of three (coupled) quantities that characterize interplanetary turbulence, the energy per unit mass, the cross helicity or Alfvénicity, and a similarity length scale. A fourth integrated quantity, the…

2008 Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics)
Ulysses 183
Galaxy-cluster gas-density distributions of the representative XMM-Newton cluster structure survey (REXCESS)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20079154 Bibcode: 2008A&A...487..431C

Böhringer, H.; Arnaud, M.; Pointecouteau, E. +7 more

We present a study of the structural and scaling properties of the gas distributions in the intracluster medium (ICM) of 31 nearby (z < 0.2) clusters observed with XMM-Newton, which together comprise the Representative XMM-Newton Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS). In contrast to previous studies, this sample is unbiased with respect to X-ray s…

2008 Astronomy and Astrophysics
XMM-Newton 182
Tidal heating and the long-term stability of a subsurface ocean on Enceladus
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2007.11.010 Bibcode: 2008Icar..194..675R

Nimmo, Francis; Roberts, James H.

Tidal dissipation has been suggested as the heat source for the south polar thermal anomaly on Enceladus. We find that under present-day conditions and assuming Maxwellian behavior, tidal dissipation is negligible in the silicate core. Dissipation may be significant in the ice shell if the shell is decoupled from the silicate core by a subsurface …

2008 Icarus
Cassini 182
Dunes on Titan observed by Cassini Radar
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2007.10.015 Bibcode: 2008Icar..194..690R

Lorenz, R. D.; Callahan, P.; Lunine, J. I. +13 more

Thousands of longitudinal dunes have recently been discovered by the Titan Radar Mapper on the surface of Titan. These are found mainly within ±30° of the equator in optically-, near-infrared-, and radar-dark regions, indicating a strong proportion of organics, and cover well over 5% of Titan's surface. Their longitudinal duneform, interactions wi…

2008 Icarus
Cassini 182
The Magnetic Landscape of the Sun's Polar Region
DOI: 10.1086/592226 Bibcode: 2008ApJ...688.1374T

Lites, B. W.; Ichimoto, K.; Tsuneta, S. +11 more

We present observations of the magnetic landscape of the polar region of the Sun that are unprecedented in terms of spatial resolution, field of view, and polarimetric precision. They were carried out with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard Hinode. Using a Milne-Eddington inversion, we find many vertically oriented magnetic flux tubes with field s…

2008 The Astrophysical Journal
Hinode 180
Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13052.x Bibcode: 2008MNRAS.386...65M

Davies, M. B.; Mackey, A. D.; Wilkinson, M. I. +1 more

In this study we present the results from realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. We have computed eight simulations with N ~ 105 particles; six of these were evolved for at least a Hubble time. The aim of this modelling is to examine in detail the possibility of large-scale core expansion in massiv…

2008 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
eHST 176
Slow dust in Enceladus' plume from condensation and wall collisions in tiger stripe fractures
DOI: 10.1038/nature06491 Bibcode: 2008Natur.451..685S

Schmidt, Jürgen; Spahn, Frank; Kempf, Sascha +1 more

One of the spectacular discoveries of the Cassini spacecraft was the plume of water vapour and icy particles (dust) originating near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The data imply considerably smaller velocities for the grains than for the vapour, which has been difficult to understand. The gas and dust are too dilute in the plume to in…

2008 Nature
Cassini 174
An absorption origin for the X-ray spectral variability of MCG-6-30-15
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200809590 Bibcode: 2008A&A...483..437M

Turner, T. J.; Reeves, J. N.; Miller, L.

Context: The Seyfert I galaxy MCG-6-30-15 shows one of the best examples of a broad “red wing” of emission in its X-ray spectrum at energies 2 < E < 6.4 keV, commonly interpreted as being caused by relativistically-blurred reflection close to the event horizon of the black hole.
Aims: We aim to test an alternative model in which absorpti…

2008 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Suzaku XMM-Newton 174