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Astrophysics and Astronomy

2011

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Articles 1 - 30 of 467

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Correlation Of Inflation-Produced Magnetic Fields With Scalar Fluctuations, Robert R. Caldwell, Leonardo Motta, Marc Kamionkowski Dec 2011

Correlation Of Inflation-Produced Magnetic Fields With Scalar Fluctuations, Robert R. Caldwell, Leonardo Motta, Marc Kamionkowski

Dartmouth Scholarship

If the conformal invariance of electromagnetism is broken during inflation, then primordial magnetic fields may be produced. If this symmetry breaking is generated by the coupling between electromagnetism and a scalar field—e.g. the inflaton, curvaton, or Ricci scalar—then these magnetic fields may be correlated with primordial density perturbations, opening a new window to the study of non-Gaussianity in cosmology. In order to illustrate, we couple electromagnetism to an auxiliary scalar field in a de Sitter background. We calculate the power spectra for scalar-field perturbations and magnetic fields, showing how a scale-free magnetic-field spectrum with rms amplitude of ∼nG at Mpc …

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Directional Limits On Persistent Gravitational Waves Using Ligo S5 Science Data, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, M. Abernathy, T. Accadia, F. Acernese, C. Adams, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. S. Allen, E. Amador Ceron, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, F. Antonucci, M. A. Arain, M. C. Araya, M. Aronsson, K. G. Arun, Y. Aso, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, D. Atkinson, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, G. Ballardin, S. Ballmer, D. Barker, Tiffany Z. Summerscales Dec 2011

Directional Limits On Persistent Gravitational Waves Using Ligo S5 Science Data, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, M. Abernathy, T. Accadia, F. Acernese, C. Adams, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. S. Allen, E. Amador Ceron, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, F. Antonucci, M. A. Arain, M. C. Araya, M. Aronsson, K. G. Arun, Y. Aso, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, D. Atkinson, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, G. Ballardin, S. Ballmer, D. Barker, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

The gravitational-wave (GW) sky may include nearby pointlike sources as well as stochastic backgrounds. We perform two directional searches for persistent GWs using data from the LIGO S5 science run: one optimized for pointlike sources and one for arbitrary extended sources. Finding no evidence to support the detection of GWs, we present 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper-limit maps of GW strain power with typical values between 2-20×10-50strain2Hz-1 and 5-35×10 -49strain2Hz-1sr-1 for pointlike and extended sources, respectively. The latter result is the first of its kind. We also set 90% C.L. limits on the narrow-band root-mean-square GW strain from interesting targets …

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The Hubble Space Telescope * Cluster Supernova Survey. Ii. The Type Ia Supernova Rate In High-Redshift Galaxy Clusters, K Barbary, G Aldering, R Amanullah, M Brodwin, N Connolly, Ks Dawson, M Doi, P Eisenhardt, L Faccioli, V Fadeyev, Hk Fakhouri, As Fruchter, D G. Gilbank, Md Gladders, G Goldhaber, A Goobar, T Hattori, E Hsiao, Xiaosheng Huang, Y Ihara, K Kashikawa, B Koester, K Konishi, M Kowalski, C Lidman, L Lubin, J Meyers, T Morokuma, T Oda, N Panagia, S Perlmutter, M Postman, P Ripoche, P Rosati, D Rubin, Dj Schlegel, Al Spadafora, Sa Stanford, M Strovink, N Suzuki, N Takanashi, K Tokita, N Yasuda Dec 2011

The Hubble Space Telescope * Cluster Supernova Survey. Ii. The Type Ia Supernova Rate In High-Redshift Galaxy Clusters, K Barbary, G Aldering, R Amanullah, M Brodwin, N Connolly, Ks Dawson, M Doi, P Eisenhardt, L Faccioli, V Fadeyev, Hk Fakhouri, As Fruchter, D G. Gilbank, Md Gladders, G Goldhaber, A Goobar, T Hattori, E Hsiao, Xiaosheng Huang, Y Ihara, K Kashikawa, B Koester, K Konishi, M Kowalski, C Lidman, L Lubin, J Meyers, T Morokuma, T Oda, N Panagia, S Perlmutter, M Postman, P Ripoche, P Rosati, D Rubin, Dj Schlegel, Al Spadafora, Sa Stanford, M Strovink, N Suzuki, N Takanashi, K Tokita, N Yasuda

Physics and Astronomy

We report a measurement of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate in galaxy clusters at 0.9 < z < 1.46 from the Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey. This is the first cluster SN Ia rate measurement with detected z > 0.9 SNe. Finding 8 ± 1 cluster SNe Ia, we determine an SN Ia rate of 0.50+0.23 –0.19 (stat) +0.10 –0.09 (sys) h 2 70 SNuB (SNuB ≡ 10–12 SNe L –1 ☉, B yr–1). In units of stellar mass, this translates to 0.36+0.16 –0.13 (stat) +0.07 –0.06 (sys) h 2 70 SNuM (SNuM ≡ 10–12 SNe M –1 ☉ yr–1). This represents a …

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Ubvri Photometric Analysis Of The Solar-Type Eclipsing Binary Tyc 3034-299-1, Ronald G. Samec, Adam Jaso, Jesse White, Danny R. Faulkner, Nicholas Blum, Walter Van Hamme Dec 2011

Ubvri Photometric Analysis Of The Solar-Type Eclipsing Binary Tyc 3034-299-1, Ronald G. Samec, Adam Jaso, Jesse White, Danny R. Faulkner, Nicholas Blum, Walter Van Hamme

Department of Physics

TYC 3034-0299-1 (CVn) is a magnetically active, contact binary, ROTSE variable. UBVRcIc light curves are presented along with a period study and a simultaneous UBVRI light curve solution. Our light curves show eclipse amplitudes of 0.72 and 0.62 mags (V) in the primary and secondary eclipses. Modeled results include a dark spot region, found at longitude 51°, a 24% Roche lobe fill-out, and a mass ratio of 0.48. A total eclipse is found to occur in the secondary eclipse making TYC 3034-0299-1 a W-type (less massive star is hotter) W UMa variable.

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On The Radio And Optical Luminosity Evolution Of Quasars, Jack Singal, V. Petrosian, A. Lawrence, L. Stawarz Dec 2011

On The Radio And Optical Luminosity Evolution Of Quasars, Jack Singal, V. Petrosian, A. Lawrence, L. Stawarz

Physics Faculty Publications

We calculate simultaneously the radio and optical luminosity evolutions of quasars, and the distribution in radio loudness R defined as the ratio of radio and optical luminosities, using a flux-limited data set containing 636 quasars with radio and optical fluxes from White et al. We first note that when dealing with multi-variate data it is imperative to first determine the true correlations among the variables, not those introduced by the observational selection effects, before obtaining the individual distributions of the variables. We use the methods developed by Efron and Petrosian which are designed to obtain unbiased correlations, distributions, and evolution …

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Optical Polarization And Spectral Variability In The M87 Jet, Eric S. Perlman, Mihai Cara, Matthew Bourque, Raymond C. Simons Dec 2011

Optical Polarization And Spectral Variability In The M87 Jet, Eric S. Perlman, Mihai Cara, Matthew Bourque, Raymond C. Simons

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

During the last decade, M87's jet has been the site of an extraordinary variability event, with one knot (HST-1) increasing by over a factor 100 in brightness. Variability has also been seen on timescales of months in the nuclear flux. Here we discuss the optical-UV polarization and spectral variability of these components, which show vastly different behavior. HST-1 shows a highly significant correlation between flux and polarization, with P increasing from 20% at minimum to >40% at maximum, while the orientation of its electric vector stayed constant. HST-1's optical-UV spectrum is very hard (αUV-O 0.5, F ν ∞ ν-α), and …

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A Search For The Transit Of Hd 168443b: Improved Orbital Parameters And Photometry, G. Pilyavsky, S. Mahadevan, S. R. Kane, A. W. Howard, D. R. Ciardi, C. De Pree, D. Dragomir, D. A. Fischer, G. W. Henry, Eric L.N. Jensen, G. Laughlin, H. Marlowe, M. Rabus, K. Von Braun, J. T. Wright, X. X. Wang Dec 2011

A Search For The Transit Of Hd 168443b: Improved Orbital Parameters And Photometry, G. Pilyavsky, S. Mahadevan, S. R. Kane, A. W. Howard, D. R. Ciardi, C. De Pree, D. Dragomir, D. A. Fischer, G. W. Henry, Eric L.N. Jensen, G. Laughlin, H. Marlowe, M. Rabus, K. Von Braun, J. T. Wright, X. X. Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. In this work we present the search for transits of HD 168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a priori transit probability beyond that expected for a circular orbit, making HD168443 a candidate for our ongoing Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Using additional radial velocities from Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, we refined the orbital …

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Ordered Phases In Ruthenium Binary Alloys From High-Throughput First-Principles Calculations, Gus L. W. Hart, Lance J. Nelson, Michal Jahnátek, Ohad Levy, Roman V. Chepulskii, J. Xue, Stephano Curtarolo Dec 2011

Ordered Phases In Ruthenium Binary Alloys From High-Throughput First-Principles Calculations, Gus L. W. Hart, Lance J. Nelson, Michal Jahnátek, Ohad Levy, Roman V. Chepulskii, J. Xue, Stephano Curtarolo

Faculty Publications

Despite the increasing importance of ruthenium in numerous technological applications, e.g., catalysis and electronic devices, experimental and computational data on its binary alloys are sparse. In particular, data are scant on those binary systems believed to be phase-separating. We performed a comprehensive study of ruthenium binary systems with the 28 transition metals, using high-throughput first-principles calculations. These computations predict novel unsuspected compounds in 7 of the 16 binary systems previously believed to be phase-separating and in two of the three systems reported with only a high-temperature σ phase. They also predict a few unreported compounds in five additional systems and …

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Fragile Binary Candidates In The Sdss Dr8 Spectroscopic Archive, J. K. Zhao, Terry D. Oswalt, G. Zhao Dec 2011

Fragile Binary Candidates In The Sdss Dr8 Spectroscopic Archive, J. K. Zhao, Terry D. Oswalt, G. Zhao

Publications

We present a catalog of 80 very wide fragile binary candidates (projected separations >10,000 AU) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Eight spectral archive. The pairs were selected based on proper motion, radial velocity, metallicity, and photometric parallax criteria. The angular separations of these pairs range from 3'' to 250''. The peak in the metallicity distribution of these pairs is about −0.5 dex of solar metallicity. Space motions and reduced proper motion diagrams indicate that all these pairs are members of the disk. The chromospheric activity index SHK of each component in 38 binary candidates having spectra …

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The Sn 393-Snr Rx J1713.7-3946 (G347.3-0.5) Connection, Robert A. Fesen, Richard Kremer, Daniel Patnaude, Dan Milisavljevic Dec 2011

The Sn 393-Snr Rx J1713.7-3946 (G347.3-0.5) Connection, Robert A. Fesen, Richard Kremer, Daniel Patnaude, Dan Milisavljevic

Dartmouth Scholarship

Although the connection of the Chinese "guest" star of 393 AD with the Galactic supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 (G347.3-0.5) made by Wang et al. in 1997 is consistent with the remnant's relatively young properties and the guest star's projected position within the "tail" of the constellation Scorpius, there are difficulties with such an association. The brief Chinese texts concerning the 393 AD guest star make no comment about its apparent brightness, stating only that it disappeared after eight months. However, at the remnant's current estimated 1-1.3 kpc distance and A V 3, its supernova (SN) should have been a visually …

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Development Of A Strontium-87 Ion Interferometer, Christopher Joseph Erickson Dec 2011

Development Of A Strontium-87 Ion Interferometer, Christopher Joseph Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

I present the construction of a low-velocity intense source (LVIS) of laser-cooled neutral strontium using permanent ring magnets. The LVIS consists of a magneto-optical trap from which cold strontium is extracted in a well-collimated beam. I also present the development and implementation of a full suite of low-noise, high-bandwidth laser control electronics including a microcontroller unit. This microcontroller remotely controls and monitors the current driver, temperature controller, and PID lock circuit for each diode laser simultaneously. The current driver output is accurate to within 2 micro-amps and repeatable to with a few nano-amps. The noise spectral density of the current …

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The Acs Survey Of Galactic Globular Clusters. Xi. The Three-Dimensional Orientation Of The Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy And Its Globular Clusters, Michael H. H. Siegel, Steven R. Majewski, David R. Law, Ata Sarajedini, Aaron Dotter, A Marín-Franch, Brian Chaboyer Dec 2011

The Acs Survey Of Galactic Globular Clusters. Xi. The Three-Dimensional Orientation Of The Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy And Its Globular Clusters, Michael H. H. Siegel, Steven R. Majewski, David R. Law, Ata Sarajedini, Aaron Dotter, A Marín-Franch, Brian Chaboyer

Dartmouth Scholarship

We use observations from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS) study of Galactic globular clusters to investigate the spatial distribution of the inner regions of the disrupting Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr). We combine previously published analyses of four Sgr member clusters located near or in the Sgr core (M54, Arp 2, Terzan 7, and Terzan 8) with a new analysis of diffuse Sgr material identified in the background of five low-latitude Galactic bulge clusters (NGC 6624, 6637, 6652, 6681, and 6809) observed as part of the ACS survey. By comparing the bulge cluster color-magnitude …

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Veritas Observations Of Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected By Swift, P. T. Reynolds, Et. Al. Dec 2011

Veritas Observations Of Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected By Swift, P. T. Reynolds, Et. Al.

Physical Sciences Publications

We present the results of 16 Swift-triggered Gamma-ray burst (GRB) follow-up observations taken with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) telescope array from 2007 January to 2009 June. The median energy threshold and response time of these observations were 260 GeV and 320 s, respectively. Observations had an average duration of 90 minutes. Each burst is analyzed independently in two modes: over the whole duration of the observations and again over a shorter timescale determined by the maximum VERITAS sensitivity to a burst with a t –1.5 time profile. This temporal model is characteristic of GRB afterglows …

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A High-Eccentricity Component In The Double-Planet System Around Hd 163607 And A Planet Around Hd 164509*, Matthew J. Giguere, Debra A. Fischer, Andrew W. Howard, John A. Johnson, Gregory W. Henry, Jason T. Wright, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Howard Isaacson, Fengji Hou, Julien Spronck Dec 2011

A High-Eccentricity Component In The Double-Planet System Around Hd 163607 And A Planet Around Hd 164509*, Matthew J. Giguere, Debra A. Fischer, Andrew W. Howard, John A. Johnson, Gregory W. Henry, Jason T. Wright, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Howard Isaacson, Fengji Hou, Julien Spronck

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We report the detection of three new exoplanets from Keck Observatory. HD 163607 is a metal-rich G5IV star with two planets. The inner planet has an observed orbital period of 75.29 ± 0.02 days, a semi-amplitude of 51.1 ± 1.4 m s−1, an eccentricity of 0.73 ± 0.02, and a derived minimum mass of MPsin i = 0.77 ± 0.02 MJup. This is the largest eccentricity of any known planet in a multi-planet system. The argument of periastron passage is 78.7 ± 2fdg0; consequently, the planet's closest approach to its parent star is very near the line of sight, leading …

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The Laboca Survey Of The Extended Chandra Deep Field-South: Clustering Of Submillimetre Galaxies, Ryan C. Hickox, J. L. Wardlow, Ian Smail, A. D. Myers Dec 2011

The Laboca Survey Of The Extended Chandra Deep Field-South: Clustering Of Submillimetre Galaxies, Ryan C. Hickox, J. L. Wardlow, Ian Smail, A. D. Myers

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present a measurement of the spatial clustering of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) at z = 1–3. Using data from the 870 μm LABOCA submillimetre survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, we employ a novel technique to measure the cross-correlation between SMGs and galaxies, accounting for the full probability distributions for photometric redshifts of the galaxies. From the observed projected two-point cross-correlation function we derive the linear bias and characteristic dark matter halo masses for the SMGs. We detect clustering in the cross-correlation between SMGs and galaxies at the > 4σ level. Accounting for the clustering of galaxies from their …

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A Search For The Transit Of Hd 168443b: Improved Orbital Parameters And Photometry, Genady Pilyavsky, Suvrath Mahadevan, Stephen R. Kane, Andrew W. Howard, David R. Ciardi, Chris De Pree, Diana Dragomir, Debra A. Fischer, Gregory W. Henry, Eric L. N. Jensen, Gregory Laughlin Dec 2011

A Search For The Transit Of Hd 168443b: Improved Orbital Parameters And Photometry, Genady Pilyavsky, Suvrath Mahadevan, Stephen R. Kane, Andrew W. Howard, David R. Ciardi, Chris De Pree, Diana Dragomir, Debra A. Fischer, Gregory W. Henry, Eric L. N. Jensen, Gregory Laughlin

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. In this work we present the search for transits of HD 168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a priori transit probability beyond that expected for a circular orbit, making HD 168443 a candidate for our ongoing Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Using additional radial velocities from Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, we refined the …

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Analysis Of 26Al + P Elastic And Inelastic Scattering Reactions And Galactic Abundances Of 26Al, Stephen Todd Pittman Dec 2011

Analysis Of 26Al + P Elastic And Inelastic Scattering Reactions And Galactic Abundances Of 26Al, Stephen Todd Pittman

Doctoral Dissertations

26Al(p,p)26Al and 26Al(p,p’)26Al* scattering reactions were performed at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The purpose of the elastic scattering study was to determine properties of previously uncharacterized 27Si levels above the proton threshold in the energy range E(c.m.) ~ 0.5 - 1.5 MeV and to calculate reaction rates for the 26Al(p,γ[gamma])27Si reaction that destroys 26Al. The inelastic scattering reaction was also evaluated to investigate the reaction that produces the metastable state of 26Al at E(c.m.) = 228 keV, …

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Astronomical Spectroscopy At The Cal Poly Observatory, Christopher James Almich Dec 2011

Astronomical Spectroscopy At The Cal Poly Observatory, Christopher James Almich

Physics

Embarking on the first ever astronomical spectroscopy project at the Cal Poly Observatory, I have tested the capabilities of our equipment. Our spectrograph, in conjunction with a telescope and CCD camera, is capable of making fairly precise measurements of absorption and emission lines with sub-nanometer precision. In my research I obtained a spectrum of Jupiter and was able to confidently identify a number of Fraunhofer solar absorption lines.

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Fabrication Of All-Inorganic Nanocrystal Solids Through Matrix Encapsulation Of Nanocrystal Arrays, Erich Kinder, Pavel Moroz, Geoffrey Diederich, Alexa Johnson, Maria Kirsanova, Alexander Nemchinov, Timothy O’Connor, Dan Roth, Mikhail Zamkov Dec 2011

Fabrication Of All-Inorganic Nanocrystal Solids Through Matrix Encapsulation Of Nanocrystal Arrays, Erich Kinder, Pavel Moroz, Geoffrey Diederich, Alexa Johnson, Maria Kirsanova, Alexander Nemchinov, Timothy O’Connor, Dan Roth, Mikhail Zamkov

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A general strategy for low-temperature processing of colloidal nanocrystals into all-inorganic films is reported. The present methodology goes beyond the traditional ligand-interlinking scheme and relies on encapsulation of morphologically defined nanocrystal arrays into a matrix of a wide-band gap semiconductor, which preserves optoelectronic properties of individual nanoparticles while rendering the nanocrystal film photoconductive. Fabricated solids exhibit excellent thermal stability, which is attributed to the heteroepitaxial structure of nanocrystal matrix interfaces, and show compelling light-harvesting performance in prototype solar cells.

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Thermodynamics And Phase Transitions For The Heisenberg Model On The Pinwheel Distorted Kagome Lattice, Ehsan Khatami, Rajiv Singh, Marcos Rigol Dec 2011

Thermodynamics And Phase Transitions For The Heisenberg Model On The Pinwheel Distorted Kagome Lattice, Ehsan Khatami, Rajiv Singh, Marcos Rigol

Faculty Publications

We study the Heisenberg model on the pinwheel distorted kagome lattice as observed in the material Rb2Cu3SnF12. Experimentally relevant thermodynamic properties at finite temperatures are computed utilizing numerical linked-cluster expansions. We also develop a Lanczos-based, zero-temperature, numerical linked-cluster expansion to study the approach of the pinwheel distorted lattice to the uniform kagome-lattice Heisenberg model. We find strong evidence for a phase transition before the uniform limit is reached, implying that the ground state of the kagome-lattice Heisenberg model is likely not pinwheel dimerized and is stable to finite pinwheel-dimerizing perturbations.

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Lithium In The Upper Centaurus Lupus And Lower Centaurus Crux Subgroups Of Scorpius-Centaurus, Eric J. Bubar, Marc Schaeuble, Jeremy R. King, Eric E. Mamajek, John R. Stauffer Dec 2011

Lithium In The Upper Centaurus Lupus And Lower Centaurus Crux Subgroups Of Scorpius-Centaurus, Eric J. Bubar, Marc Schaeuble, Jeremy R. King, Eric E. Mamajek, John R. Stauffer

Publications

We utilize spectroscopically derived model atmosphere parameters and the Li i λ6104 subordinate line and the λ6708 doublet to derive lithium abundances for 12 members of the Upper Centaurus Lupus and Lower Centaurus Crux subgroups of the Scorpius–Centaurus OB Association. The results indicate any intrinsic Li scatter in our 0.9–1.4 M stars is limited to ∼0.15 dex, consistent with the lack of dispersion in 1.0 M stars in the 100 Myr Pleiades and 30–50 Myr IC 2391 and 2602 clusters. Both ab initio uncertainty estimates and the derived abundances themselves indicate that the λ6104 line yields abundances with equivalent or …

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The Evolution Of Dwarf-Irregular Galaxy Ngc 1569: A Kinematic Study Of The Stars And Gas, Megan C. Johnson Dec 2011

The Evolution Of Dwarf-Irregular Galaxy Ngc 1569: A Kinematic Study Of The Stars And Gas, Megan C. Johnson

Physics and Astronomy Dissertations

The evolution and formation of dwarf galaxies has great importance to our knowledge of cosmological history from the Big Bang through the present day structure we observe in our local universe. Dwarf galaxies are believed to be the "building blocks" of larger galaxies, which implies that interactions and mergers of these small systems must have occurred frequently in the early universe. There is a population of starburst dwarf irregular (dIm) galaxies that seem to have characteristics indicative of interactions or mergers. One of these dIm galaxies is the nearby post-starburst NGC 1569. This dissertation project explores the stellar and gas …

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First Mover: Otto Struve And The Use Of Scientific Capital In Astrophysics, 1921–1950, Erik Paul Norquest Dec 2011

First Mover: Otto Struve And The Use Of Scientific Capital In Astrophysics, 1921–1950, Erik Paul Norquest

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Otto Struve (1897-1963) came to the United States in 1921 and became one of the dominant personalities in the field of astrophysics. Struve’s career made him, in the words of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, a “first mover” in a scientific field that was firmly engaged in the process of what Thomas Kuhn called “normal science.” Struve pulled astrophysics further away from its empirical roots in categorization and made it more like physics in its unification of theory and observation. The primary way that he accomplished this was through his administration of Yerkes and McDonald observatories, where he brought in theorists to …

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A Gravitational Wave Observatory Operating Beyond The Quantum Shot-Noise Limit: Squeezed Light In Application, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, H. Daveloza, Maria E. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, A. S. Stroeer Dec 2011

A Gravitational Wave Observatory Operating Beyond The Quantum Shot-Noise Limit: Squeezed Light In Application, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, H. Daveloza, Maria E. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, A. S. Stroeer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Around the globe several observatories are seeking the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). These waves are predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity(1) and are generated, for example, by black-hole binary systems(2). Present GW detectors are Michelson-type kilometre-scale laser interferometers measuring the distance changes between mirrors suspended in vacuum. The sensitivity of these detectors at frequencies above several hundred hertz is limited by the vacuum (zero-point) fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. A quantum technology-the injection of squeezed light(3)-offers a solution to this problem. Here we demonstrate the squeezed-light enhancement of GEO 600, which will be the GW observatory …

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Electron Screening And Disorder-Induced Heating In Ultracold Neutral Plasmas, Mary Elizabeth Lyon Dec 2011

Electron Screening And Disorder-Induced Heating In Ultracold Neutral Plasmas, Mary Elizabeth Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

Disorder-induced heating (DIH) is a nonequilibrium, ultrafast relaxation process that occurs when laser-cooled atoms are photoionized to make an ultracold plasma. Its effects dominate the ion motion during the first 100 ns of the plasma evolution. Using tools of atomic physics we study DIH with ns time resolution for different plasma densities and temperatures. By changing the frequency of the laser beam we use to probe the ions, we map out the time evolution of the velocity distribution. We can compare this to a fluorescence simulation in order to more clearly determine the relationship between the fluorescence signal and the …

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A Search For And Characterization Of Young Stellar Objects In N206, An H Ii Complex In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Tabitha Christi Buehler Dec 2011

A Search For And Characterization Of Young Stellar Objects In N206, An H Ii Complex In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Tabitha Christi Buehler

Theses and Dissertations

I have identified 51 young stellar object candidates in N206, an H II complex in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Using archival images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, supplemented with other infrared and optical images, I located point sources in this region. I distinguished possible young stellar objects based on their spectral energy distributions, morphologies, and locations in color-magnitude space. I classified the young stellar object candidates based on their likelihood of being young stellar objects and based on their apparent evolutionary stages. The spatial distribution of these candidates in N206 indicates that star formation is being triggered …

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Investigating Turbulence Transport In The Heliosphere, Lauren Kahre Nov 2011

Investigating Turbulence Transport In The Heliosphere, Lauren Kahre

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

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Retired A Stars And Their Companions. Vii. 18 New Jovian Planets, John Asher Johnson, Christian Clanton, Andrew W. Howard, Brendan P. Bowler, Gregory W. Henry, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Justin R. Crepp, Michael Endl, William D. Cochran, Phillip J. Macqueen, Jason T. Wright, Howard Isaacson Nov 2011

Retired A Stars And Their Companions. Vii. 18 New Jovian Planets, John Asher Johnson, Christian Clanton, Andrew W. Howard, Brendan P. Bowler, Gregory W. Henry, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Justin R. Crepp, Michael Endl, William D. Cochran, Phillip J. Macqueen, Jason T. Wright, Howard Isaacson

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We report the detection of 18 Jovian planets discovered as part of our Doppler survey of subgiant stars at Keck Observatory, with follow-up Doppler and photometric observations made at McDonald and Fairborn Observatories, respectively. The host stars have masses 0.927 ⩽ M⋆/M☉ ⩽ 1.95, radii 2.5 ⩽ R⋆/R☉ ⩽ 8.7, and metallicities −0.46 ⩽ [Fe/H] ⩽+0.30. The planets have minimum masses 0.9 MJup ⩽ MPsin i ≲ 13 MJup and semimajor axes a ⩾ 0.76 AU. These detections represent a 50% increase in the number of planets known to orbit stars more massive than 1.5 M☉ and provide valuable additional …

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Absolute Properties Of The Highly Eccentric, Solar-Type Eclipsing Binary Hd 74057, James R. Sowell, Gregory W. Henry, Francis C. Fekel Nov 2011

Absolute Properties Of The Highly Eccentric, Solar-Type Eclipsing Binary Hd 74057, James R. Sowell, Gregory W. Henry, Francis C. Fekel

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We have obtained Strömgren b and y differential photometric observations of the solar-type eclipsing binary HD 74057 plus follow-up high-resolution, red wavelength spectroscopic observations. The system has an orbital period of 31.2198 days, a high eccentricity of 0.47, and is seen almost exactly edge on with an inclination of 89fdg8. The two main-sequence G0 stars are nearly identical in all physical characteristics. We used the Wilson–Devinney program to obtain a simultaneous solution of our photometric and spectroscopic observations. The resulting masses of the components are M1 = 1.138 ± 0.003 M☉ and M2 = 1.131 ± 0.003 M☉, and the …

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Orbital Separation Amplification In Fragile Binaries With Evolved Components, K. B. Johnston, Terry D. Oswalt Nov 2011

Orbital Separation Amplification In Fragile Binaries With Evolved Components, K. B. Johnston, Terry D. Oswalt

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The secular stellar mass-loss causes an amplification of the orbital separation in fragile, common proper motion, binary systems with separations of the order of 1000 A.U. In these systems, companions evolve as two independent coeval stars as they experience negligible mutual tidal interactions or mass transfer. We present models for how post-main sequence mass-loss statistically distorts the frequency distribution of separations in fragile binaries. These models demonstrate the expected increase in orbital seapration resulting from stellar mass-loss, as well as a perturbation of associated orbital parameters. Comparisons between our models and observations resulting from the Luyten survey of wide visual …

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