Spectrum and Duration of Delayed MeV-GeV Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts in Cosmic Background Radiation Fields

We generally analyze prompt high-energy emission above a few hundreds of GeV due to synchrotron self-Compton scattering in internal shocks. However, such photons cannot be detected because they may collide with cosmic infrared background photons, leading to electron/positron pair production. Inverse-Compton scattering of the resulting electron/positron pairs off cosmic microwave background photons will produce delayed MeV-GeV emission, which may be much stronger than a typical high-energy afterglow in the external shock model. We expand on the Cheng & Cheng model by deriving the emission spectrum and duration in the standard fireball shock model. A typical duration of the emission is ~ 10^3 seconds, and the time-integrated scattered photon spectrum is nu^{-(p+6)/4}, where p is the index of the electron energy distribution behind internal shocks. This is slightly harder than the synchrotron photon spectrum, nu^{-(p+2)/2}. The lower energy property of the scattered photon spectrum is dependent on the spectral energy distribution of the cosmic infrared background radiation. Therefore, future observations on such delayed MeV-GeV emission and the higher-energy spectral cutoff by the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) would provide a probe of the cosmic infrared background radiation.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Ap

Longevity Risk and Capital Markets: The 2015-16 Update

International audienc

Evidence for Intergalactic Absorption in the TeV Gamma-Ray Spectrum of Mkn 501

The recent HEGRA observations of the blazar Mkn 501 show strong curvature in the very high energy gamma-ray spectrum. Applying the gamma-ray opacity derived from an empirically based model of the intergalactic infrared background radiation field (IIRF), to these observations, we find that the intrinsic spectrum of this source is consistent with a power-law: dN/dE~ E^-alpha with alpha=2.00 +/- 0.03 over the range 500 GeV - 20 TeV. Within current synchrotron self-Compton scenarios, the fact that the TeV spectral energy distribution of Mkn 501 does not vary with luminosity, combined with the correlated, spectrally variable emission in X-rays, as observed by the BeppoSAX and RXTE instruments, also independently implies that the intrinsic spectrum must be close to alpha=2. Thus, the observed curvature in the spectrum is most easily understood as resulting from intergalactic absorption.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, accepted in ApJ Letters 1999 April

A kinematic study of Open Clusters: implications for their origin

The Galactic population of open clusters provides an insight into star formation in the Galaxy. The open cluster catalogue by Dias et al.(2002b) is a rich source of data, including kinematic information. This large sample made it possible to carry out a systematic analysis of 481 open cluster orbits, using parameters based on orbit eccentricity and separation from the Galactic plane. These two parameters may be indicative of origin, and we find them to be correlated. We also find them to be correlated with metallicity, another parameter suggested elsewhere to be a marker for origin in that high values of any of these two parameters generally indicates a low metallicity ([Fe/H] Solar$<-$0.2 dex). The resulting analysis points to four open clusters in the catalogue being of extra-Galactic origin by impact of high velocity cloud on the disk: Berkeley21, 32, 99, and Melotte66, with a possible further four due to this origin (NGC2158, 2420, 7789, IC1311). A further three may be due to Galactic globular cluster impact on the disk i.e of internal Galactic origin (NGC6791, 1817, and 7044).Comment: 14 pages, 816 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS 14-May-201

Longevity Risk and Hedging Solutions

Longevity risk—the risk of unanticipated increases in life expectancy—has only recently been recognized as a significant global risk that has materially raised the costs of providing pensions and annuities. We first discuss historical trends in the evolution of life expectancy and then analyze the hedging solutions that have been developed for managing longevity risk. One set of solutions has come directly from the insurance industry: pension buyouts, buy-ins, and bulk annuity transfers. Another complementary set of solutions has come from the capital markets: longevity swaps and q-forwards. This has led to hybrid solutions such as synthetic buy-ins. We then review the evolution of the market for longevity risk transfer, which began in the UK in 2006 and is arguably the most important sector of the broader “life market.” An important theme in the development of the longevity market has been the innovation originating from the combined involvement of insurance, banking, and private equity participants

Discovery of Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the BL Lac Object H2356-309 with the H.E.S.S. Cherenkov Telescopes

The extreme synchrotron BL Lac object H2356-309, located at a redshift of z = 0.165, was observed from June to December 2004 with a total exposure of approx. 40 h live-time with the H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) array of atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes (ACTs). Analysis of this data set yields, for the first time, a strong excess of 453 gamma-rays (10 standard deviations above background) from H2356-309, corresponding to an observed integral flux above 200 GeV of I(>200GeV) = (4.1+-0.5) 10^12 cm^-2.s^-1 (statistical error only). The differential energy spectrum of the source between 200 GeV and 1.3 TeV is well-described by a power law with a normalisation (at 1 TeV) of N_0 = (3.00 +- 0.80_stat +- 0.31_sys) 10^-13 cm^-2.s^-1.TeV^-1 and a photon index of Gamma = 3.09 +- 0.24_stat +- 0.10_sys. H2356-309 is one of the most distant BL Lac objects detected at very-high-energy gamma-rays so far. Results from simultaneous observations from ROTSE-III (optical), RXTE (X-rays) and NRT (radio) are also included and used together with the H.E.S.S. data to constrain a single-zone homogeneous synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model. This model provides an adequate fit to the H.E.S.S. data when using a reasonable set of model parameters.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (05/07/2006