An upper limit on anomalous dust emission at 31 GHz in the diffuse cloud [LPH96]201.663+1.643

[LPH96]201.663+1.643, a diffuse H{\sc ii} region, has been reported to be a candidate for emission from rapidly spinning dust grains. Here we present Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) observations at 26-36 GHz that show no evidence for significant anomalous emission. The spectral index within the CBI band, and between CBI and Effelsberg data at 1.4/2.7 GHz, is consistent with optically thin free-free emission. The best-fitting temperature spectral index from 2.7 to 31 GHz, $\beta=-2.06 \pm 0.03$, is close to the theoretical value, $\beta=-2.12$ for $T_{e}=9100$ K. We place an upper limit of 24% ~ (2\sigma) for excess emission at 31 GHz as seen in a 6\arcmin FWHM beam. Current spinning dust models are not a good fit to the spectrum of LPH96. No polarized emission is detected in the CBI data with an upper limit of 2% on the polarization fraction.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ

Deep radio images of the HEGRA and Whipple TeV sources in the Cygnus OB2 region

Context. The modern generation of Cherenkov telescopes has revealed a new population of gamma-ray sources in the Galaxy. Some of them have been identified with previously known X-ray binary systems while other remain without clear counterparts a lower energies. Our initial goal here was reporting on extensive radio observations of the first extended and yet unidentified source, namely TeV J2032+4130. This object was originally detected by the HEGRA telescope in the direction of the Cygnus OB2 region and its nature has been a matter of debate during the latest years. Aims. We aim to pursue our radio exploration of the TeV J2032+4130 position that we initiated in a previous paper but taking now into account the latest results from new Whipple and MILAGRO TeV telescopes. Methods. Our investigation is mostly based on interferometric radio observations with the Giant Metre Wave Radio Telescope (GMRT) close to Pune (India) and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico (USA). We also conducted near infrared observations with the 3.5 m telescope and the OMEGA2000 camera at the Centro Astronomico Hispano Aleman (CAHA) in Almeria (Spain). Results. We present deep radio maps centered on the TeV J2032+4130 position at different wavelengths. In particular, our 49 and 20 cm maps cover a field of view larger than half a degree that fully includes the Whipple position and the peak of MILAGRO emission. Our most important result here is a catalogue of 153 radio sources detected at 49 cm within the GMRT antennae primary beam with a full width half maximum (FWHM) of 43 arc-minute. Moreover, our multi-configuration VLA images reveal the non-thermal extended emission previously reported by us with improved angular resolution.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 1 online catalogue. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The Broadband XMM-Newton and NuSTAR X-ray Spectra of Two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources in the Galaxy IC 342

We present results for two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs), IC 342 X-1 and IC 342 X-2, using two epochs of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations separated by $\sim$7 days. We observe little spectral or flux variability above 1 keV between epochs, with unabsorbed 0.3--30 keV luminosities being $1.04^{+0.08}_{-0.06} \times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-1 and $7.40\pm0.20 \times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-2, so that both were observed in a similar, luminous state. Both sources have a high absorbing column in excess of the Galactic value. Neither source has a spectrum consistent with a black hole binary in low/hard state, and both ULXs exhibit strong curvature in their broadband X-ray spectra. This curvature rules out models that invoke a simple reflection-dominated spectrum with a broadened iron line and no cutoff in the illuminating power-law continuum. X-ray spectrum of IC 342 X-1 can be characterized by a soft disk-like black body component at low energies and a cool, optically thick Comptonization continuum at high energies, but unique physical interpretation of the spectral components remains challenging. The broadband spectrum of IC 342 X-2 can be fit by either a hot (3.8 keV) accretion disk, or a Comptonized continuum with no indication of a seed photon population. Although the seed photon component may be masked by soft excess emission unlikely to be associated with the binary system, combined with the high absorption column, it is more plausible that the broadband X-ray emission arises from a simple thin blackbody disk component. Secure identification of the origin of the spectral components in these sources will likely require broadband spectral variability studies.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 5 Tables, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Radio Continuum and Recombination Line Study of UC HII Regions with Extended Envelopes

We have carried out 21 cm radio continuum observations of 16 UC HII regions using the VLA (D-array) in search of associated extended emission. We have also observed H76$_\alpha$ recombination line towards all the sources and He76$_\alpha$ line at the positions with strong H76$_\alpha$ line emission. The UC HII regions have simple morphologies and large (>10) ratios of single-dish to VLA fluxes. Extended emission was detected towards all the sources. The extended emission consists of one to several compact components and a diffuse extended envelope. All the UC HII regions but two are located in the compact components, where the UC HII regions always correspond to their peaks. The compact components with UC HII regions are usually smaller and denser than those without UC HII regions. Our recombination line observations indicate that the ultracompact, compact, and extended components are physically associated. The UC HII regions and their associated compact components are likely to be ionized by the same sources on the basis of the morphological relations mentioned above. This suggests that almost all of the observed UC HII regions are not `real' UC HII regions and that their actual ages are much greater than their dynamical age (<10000 yr). We find that most of simple UC HII regions previously known have large ratios of single-dish to VLA fluxes, similar to our sources. Therefore, the `age problem' of UC HII regions does not seem to be as serious as earlier studies argued. We present a simple model that explains extended emission around UC HII regions. Some individual sources are discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 28 postscript figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

G55.0+0.3: A Highly Evolved Supernova Remnant

Multi-frequency analysis has revealed the presence of a new supernova remnant, G55.0+0.3, in the Galactic plane. A kinematic distance of 14 kpc has been measured from HI spectral line data. The faint, clumpy half-shell is non-thermal and has a physical radius of 70 pc. Using an evolutionary model, the age of the remnant is estimated to be on the order of one million years, which exceeds conventional limits by a factor of five. The remnant may be associated with the nearby pulsar J1932+2020, which has a spin-down age of 1.1 million years. This work implies that the radiative lifetimes of remnants could be much longer than previously suggested.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures in 9 files (figures 1 and 2 require 2 files each), Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (Jan. 20, 1998 volume

John Schuster, Descartes-agonistes: Physico-mathematics, method and corpuscular-mechanism, 1618–1633

We report on a 10 ks simultaneous Chandra/HETG-NuSTAR observation of the Bursting Pulsar, GRO J1744-28, during its third detected outburst since discovery and after nearly 18 years of quiescence. The source is detected up to 60 keV with an Eddington persistent flux level. Seven bursts, followed by dips, are seen with Chandra, three of which are also detected with NuSTAR. Timing analysis reveals a slight increase in the persistent emission pulsed fraction with energy (from 10% to 15%) up to 10 keV, above which it remains constant. The 0.5-70 keV spectra of the persistent and dip emission are the same within errors, and well described by a blackbody (BB), a power-law with an exponential rolloff, a 10 keV feature, and a 6.7 keV emission feature, all modified by neutral absorption. Assuming that the BB emission originates in an accretion disc, we estimate its inner (magnetospheric) radius to be about 4x10^7 cm, which translates to a surface dipole field B~9x10^10 G. The Chandra/HETG spectrum resolves the 6.7 keV feature into (quasi-)neutral and highly ionized Fe XXV and Fe XXVI emission lines. XSTAR modeling shows these lines to also emanate from a truncated accretion disk. The burst spectra, with a peak flux more than an order of magnitude higher than Eddington, are well fit with a power-law with an exponential rolloff and a 10~keV feature, with similar fit values compared to the persistent and dip spectra. The burst spectra lack a thermal component and any Fe features. Anisotropic (beamed) burst emission would explain both the lack of the BB and any Fe components.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, Accepted in Ap

Utilisation of the ESMO-MCBS in practice of HTA

It is highly appreciated that the European Society of Medical Oncology has developed a system to assess new oncologic compounds according to their value to patients. Consequently, offering decision-support to those who either want to use the new cancer therapies in clinical practice but cannot keep up-to-date with all therapy options or, alternatively, to those who have to decide whether or not to fund new oncology medicines or exclude from reimbursement due to their low value. This is particularly important with ever-rising prices for new oncology medicines which have increased up to ten fold in recent years

DA495 - an aging pulsar wind nebula

We present a radio continuum study of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) DA 495 (G65.7+1.2), including images of total intensity and linear polarization from 408 to 10550 MHz based on the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and observations with the Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope. Removal of flux density contributions from a superimposed \ion{H}{2} region and from compact extragalactic sources reveals a break in the spectrum of DA 495 at 1.3 GHz, with a spectral index ${\alpha}={-0.45 \pm 0.20}$ below the break and ${\alpha}={-0.87 \pm 0.10}$ above it (${S}_\nu \propto{\nu^{\alpha}}$). The spectral break is more than three times lower in frequency than the lowest break detected in any other PWN. The break in the spectrum is likely the result of synchrotron cooling, and DA 495, at an age of $\sim$20,000 yr, may have evolved from an object similar to the Vela X nebula, with a similarly energetic pulsar. We find a magnetic field of $\sim$1.3 mG inside the nebula. After correcting for the resulting high internal rotation measure, the magnetic field structure is quite simple, resembling the inner part of a dipole field projected onto the plane of the sky, although a toroidal component is likely also present. The dipole field axis, which should be parallel to the spin axis of the putative pulsar, lies at an angle of {\sim}50\degr east of the North Celestial Pole and is pointing away from us towards the south-west. The upper limit for the radio surface brightness of any shell-type supernova remnant emission around DA 495 is $\Sigma_{1 GHz} \sim 5.4 \times 10^{-23}$ OAWatt m$^{-2}$ Hz$^{-1}$ sr$^{-1}$ (assuming a radio spectral index of $\alpha = -0.5$), lower than the faintest shell-type remnant known to date.Comment: 25 pages, accepted by Ap

Broadband Radio Spectral Observations of Solar Eclipse on 2008-08-01 and Implications on the Quiet Sun Atmospheric Model

Based on the joint-observations of the radio broadband spectral emissions of solar eclipse on August 1, 2008 at Jiuquan (total eclipse) and Huairou (partial eclipse) at the frequencies of 2.00 -- 5.60 GHz (Jiuquan), 2.60 -- 3.80 GHZ (Chinese solar broadband radiospectrometer, SBRS/Huairou), and 5.20 -- 7.60 GHz (SBRS/Huairou), the authors assemble a successive series of broadband spectrum with a frequency of 2.60 -- 7.60 GHz to observe the solar eclipse synchronously. This is the first attempt to analyze the solar eclipse radio emission under the two telescopes located at different places with broadband frequencies in the periods of total and partial eclipse. With these analyses, the authors made a new semiempirical model of the coronal plasma density of the quiet Sun and made a comparison with the classic models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published on Sci. China Ser. G, 2009, Vol.52, page 1765-177