When A Standard Candle Flickers
The Crab Nebula is the only hard X-ray source in the sky that is both bright enough and steady enough to be easily used as a standard candle. As a result, it has been used as a normalization standard by most X-ray/gamma-ray telescopes. Although small-scale variations in the nebula are well known, since the start of science operations of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) in 2008 August, a ~7% (70 mCrab) decline has been observed in the overall Crab Nebula flux in the 15-50 keV band, measured with the Earth occultation technique. This decline is independently confirmed in the ~15-50 keV band with three other instruments: the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift/BAT), the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array (RXTE/PCA), and the Imager on-Board the INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS). A similar decline is also observed in the ~3-15 keV data from the RXTE/PCA and in the 50-100 keV band with GBM, Swift/BAT, and INTEGRAL/IBIS. The pulsed flux measured with RXTE/PCA since 1999 is consistent with the pulsar spin-down, indicating that the observed changes are nebular. Correlated variations in the Crab Nebula flux on a ~3 year timescale are also seen independently with the PCA, BAT, and IBIS from 2005 to 2008, with a flux minimum in 2007 April. As of 2010 August, the current flux has declined below the 2007 minimum.

title: Long-Term Spectral and Timing Behavior of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1908+094
abstract: We present the long-term X-ray light curves and detailed spectral and timing analyses of XTE J1908+094 using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array observations covering two outbursts in 2002 and early 2003. At the onset of the first outburst, the source was found in a spectrally low/hard state lasting for ~40 days, followed by a 3 day long transition to the high/soft state. The source flux (in 2-10 keV) reached ~100 mcrab on 2002 April 6, then decayed rapidly. In power spectra, we detect strong band-limited noise and varying low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations that evolved from ~0.5 to ~5 Hz during the initial low/hard state of the source. We find that the second outburst closely resembled the spectral evolution of the first. The X-ray transient's overall outburst characteristics led us to classify XTE J1908+094 as a black hole candidate. Here we also derive precise X-ray position of the source using Chandra observations that were performed during the decay phase of the first outburst and following the second outburst.

title: On the Dramatic Spin-up/Spin-down Torque Reversals in Accreting Pulsars
abstract: Dramatic torque reversals between spin-up and spin-down have been observed in half of the persistent X-ray 
pulsars monitored by the BATSE all-sky monitor on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Theoretical models 
developed to explain early pulsar timing data can explain spin-down torques via a disk-magnetosphere interaction 
if the star nearly corotates with the inner accretion disk. To produce the observed BATSE torque reversals, however, these equilibrium models require the disk to alternate between two mass accretion rates, with ˙M5 producing accretion torques of similar magnitude but always of opposite sign. Moreover, in at least one pulsar (GX 114) undergoing secular spin-down, the neutron star spins down faster during brief (~20 day) hard X-ray flares—this is opposite the correlation expected from standard theory, assuming that BATSE pulsed flux increases with mass accretion rate. The 10 day to 10 yr intervals between torque reversals in these systems are much longer than any characteristic magnetic or viscous timescale near the inner disk boundary and are more suggestive of a global disk phenomenon. 
 
We discuss possible explanations of the observed torque behavior. Despite the preferred sense of rotation defined by the binary orbit, the BATSE observations are urprisingly consistent with an earlier suggestion for GX 1+4: the disks in these systems somehow alternate between episodes of prograde and retrograde rotation. We are unaware of any mechanism that could produce a stable retrograde disk in a binary undergoing Roche lobe overflow, but such flip-flop behavior does occur in numerical simulations of wind-fed systems. One possibility is that the disks in some of these binaries are fed by an X-ray–excited wind.

title: Characterization of the Crab Pulsar's Timing Noise
abstract: We present a power spectral analysis of the Crab pulsar’s timing noise, mainly using radio measurements from Jodrell Bank taken over the period 1982-1989, an interval bounded by sparse data sampling and a large glitch. The power spectral analysis is complicated by nonuniform data sampling and the presence of a steep red power spectrum that can distort power spectra measurement by causing severe power “leakage”. We develop a simple windowing method for computing red noise power spectra of uniformly sampled data sets and test it on Monte Carlo generated sample realizations of red power-law noise. We generalize time-domain methods of generating power-law red noise with even integer spectral indices to the case of noninteger spectral indices. The Jodrell Bank pulse phase residuals are dense and smooth enough that an interpolation onto a uniform time series is possible. A windowed power spectrum is computed revealing a periodic or nearly periodic component with a period of 568± 10 days and a 1/f 3 power-law noise component in pulse phase with a noise strength Sφ = (1.24±0.067)×10−16 cycles/sec over the analysis frequency range f = 0.003 − 0.1 cycles/day. This result deviates from past analyses which characterized the pulse phase timing residuals as either 1/f 4 power-law noise or a quasiperiodic process. The analysis was checked using the Deeter polynomial method of power spectrum estimation that was developed for the case of nonuniform sampling, but has lower spectral resolution. The timing noise is consistent with a torque noise spectrum rising with analysis frequency as f implying blue torque noise, a result not predicted by current models of pulsar timing noise. If the periodic or nearly periodic component is due to a binary companion, we find a mass function f(M) = (6.8 ± 2.4) × 10−16 M⊙ and a companion mass, Mc ≥ 3.2M⊕ assuming a Crab pulsar mass of 1.4M⊙.

title: Chandra Observations of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61
abstract: We present X-ray imaging, timing, and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61 using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The spectrum is well described by a power-law plus blackbody model with Γ = 3.35(2), kTBB = 0.458(3) keV, and NH = 0.91(2) × 1022 cm-2; we find no significant evidence for spectral features (0.5-7.0 keV). Time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy shows evidence for evolution in phase in either Γ, kTBB, or some combination thereof as a function of pulse phase. We derive a precise X-ray position for the source and determine its spin period, P = 8.68866(30) s. We have detected emission beyond 4'' from the central source and extending beyond 100'', likely due to dust scattering in the interstellar medium.

title: Large Torque Variations in Two Soft Gamma Repeaters
abstract: We have monitored the pulse frequencies of the two soft gamma repeaters SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14 through the beginning of year 2001 using primarily Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array observations. In both sources, we observe large changes in the spin-down torque up to a factor of ~4, which persist for several months. Using long-baseline phase-connected timing solutions as well as the overall frequency histories, we construct torque noise power spectra for each SGR. The power spectrum of each source is very red (power-law slope ~-3.5). The torque noise power levels are consistent with some accreting systems on timescales of ~1 yr, yet the full power spectrum is much steeper in frequency than any known accreting source. To the best of our knowledge, torque noise power spectra with a comparably steep frequency dependence have been seen only in young, glitching radio pulsars (e.g., Vela). The observed changes in spin-down rate do not correlate with burst activity; therefore, the physical mechanisms behind each phenomenon are also likely unrelated. Within the context of the magnetar model, seismic activity cannot account for both the bursts and the long-term torque changes unless the seismically active regions are decoupled from one another.

title: Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV
abstract: Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011, with the missing transverse energy distribution as the principal search variable. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.

title: Observation of Z decays to four leptons with the CMS detector at the LHC
abstract: A bstractThe first observation of the Z boson decaying to four leptons in proton-proton collisions is presented. The analyzed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.02 fb−1 at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV collected by the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. A pronounced resonance peak, with a statistical significance of 9.7 σ, is observed in the distribution of the invariant mass of four leptons (electrons and/or muons) with mass and width consistent with expectations for Z boson decays. The branching fraction and cross section reported here are defined by phase space restrictions on the leptons, namely, 80 < m4ℓ < 100 GeV, where m4ℓ is the invariant mass of the four leptons, and mℓℓ > 4 GeV for all pairs of leptons, where mℓℓ is the two-lepton invariant mass. The measured branching fraction is $ \mathcal{B}\left( {Z\to 4\ell } \right)=\left( {4.2_{-0.8}^{+0.9}\left( {\mathrm{stat}.} \right)\pm 0.2\left( {\mathrm{syst}.} \right)} \right)\times {10^{-6 }} $ and agrees with the standard model prediction of 4.45 × 10−6. The measured cross section times branching fraction is $ \sigma \left( {\mathrm{pp}\to \mathrm{Z}} \right)\mathcal{B}\left( {\mathrm{Z}\to 4\ell } \right)=112_{-20}^{+23}\left( {\mathrm{stat}.} \right)_{-5}^{+7}\left( {\mathrm{syst}.} \right)_{-2}^{+3}\left( {\mathrm{lumi}.} \right) $ fb, also consistent with the standard model prediction of 120 fb. The four-lepton mass peak arising from Z → 4ℓ decays provides a calibration channel for the Higgs boson search in the H → ZZ → 4ℓ decay mode.

title: Scintillating fiber detectors using position sensitive photomultipliers

title: Search for heavy quarks decaying into a top quark and a W or Z boson using lepton + jets events in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV
abstract: A bstractResults are presented from a search for the pair-production of heavy quarks, $ \mathrm{Q}\overline{\mathrm{Q}} $, that decay exclusively into a top quark and a W or Z boson. The search is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb−1, collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. The signal region is defined using a sample of events containing one electron or muon, missing transverse momentum, and at least four jets with large transverse momenta, where one jet is likely to originate from the decay of a bottom quark. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model expectations. Assuming a strong pair-production mechanism, quark masses below 675 (625) GeV decaying into tW (tZ) are excluded at the 95 % confidence level.

title: Search for heavy long-lived charged particles in $pp$ collisions at $s=7$ TeV
abstract: The result of a search for heavy long-lived charged particles produced in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC is described. The data sample has been collected using the CMS detector and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The inner tracking detectors are used to define a sample of events containing tracks with high momentum and high ionization energy loss. A second sample of events with high-momentum and high-ionization tracks satisfying muon identification and long time-of-flight criteria is analyzed independently. In both cases, the results are consistent with the expected background estimated from data. The results are used to establish cross section limits as a function of mass within the context of models with long-lived gluinos, scalar top quarks and scalar taus. Cross section limits on hyper-meson particles, containing new elementary long-lived hyper-quarks predicted by a vector-like confinement model, are also presented. Lower limits at 95% confidence level on the mass of gluinos (scalar top quarks) are found to be 1098 (737) GeV. A limit of 928 (626) GeV is set for a gluino (scalar top quark) that hadronizes into a neutral bound state before reaching the muon detectors. The lower mass limit for a pair produced scalar tau is found to be 223 GeV. Mass limits for a hyper-kaon are placed at 484, 602, and 747 GeV for hyper-rho masses of 800, 1200, and 1600 GeV, respectively.