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Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

On The Formation And Evolution Of Early-Type Galaxies, Christina Williams Nov 2014

On The Formation And Evolution Of Early-Type Galaxies, Christina Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Galaxies in the local Universe are characterized by blue, star-forming disk galaxies, and red, massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) whose star-formation has been quenched early in the Universe's history. The ETGs are relics of the evolutionary processes that transform galaxies over cosmic time, but currently we still lack a comprehensive understanding of their evolution. An important link in the evolution of ETGs is that the first quenched galaxies (z~2) are both the most massive, and most compact, suggesting a physical connection between high stellar density and efficient, rapid cessation of star-formation. In this dissertation, I seek insight into the formation and …


Dusty Star Formation In Extreme Environments: Galaxies And Galaxy Clusters In The Distant Universe, Stacey Alberts Nov 2014

Dusty Star Formation In Extreme Environments: Galaxies And Galaxy Clusters In The Distant Universe, Stacey Alberts

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis, we present a comprehensive study of the dust-obscured star formation (SF) activity in galaxy clusters out to high redshift using infrared (IR) imaging. Using hundreds of galaxy clusters and wide-field far-IR imaging across nine square degrees, we quantify the average star formation rates (SFRs) out to the distant Universe for mass-limited cluster galaxy samples using stacking. We compare the evolution of this SF activity to field galaxies, finding that the evolution in clusters occurs more rapidly than in the field and clusters have field-like SF approximately nine billion years ago, during an epoch before SF quenching becomes …


Direct Measurement Of The Pp Solar Neutrino Interaction Rate In Borexino, Keith Otis Aug 2014

Direct Measurement Of The Pp Solar Neutrino Interaction Rate In Borexino, Keith Otis

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents the first direct detection of pp solar neutrinos within Borexino, the underground liquid-scintilator detector located at the Gran Sasso National Labratory(LNGS) in Italy, designed to measure the interaction of neutrinos through neutrino-electron elastic scattering. The rate of scattering in Borexino from the pp solar neutrino spectrum is measured to be 155 +/- 16(stat) +/- 13(sys) counts per day per 100 tonnes. With this measurement we are able to rule out the no oscillation hypothesis at the 2-sigma C.L. and the results agree with Standard Solar Model predictions within 1.1-sigma. These neutrinos are from the keystone proton-proton fusion …


Measures Of Star Formation Rates Within Galaxies: The Impact Of Diffuse Stellar Populations, Yiming Li Aug 2014

Measures Of Star Formation Rates Within Galaxies: The Impact Of Diffuse Stellar Populations, Yiming Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Thanks to the Spitzer Space Telescope, the infrared (IR) emission have been better studied in the past decades, as well as its relations to star formation rates (SFR) and the calibrations of IR emissions as SFR indicators. However, the far infrared (FIR) emission are still understudied, especially at the sub-galactic region scales. In this dissertation, I present new ground--based observations in the light of the infrared hydrogen recombination line Br[gamma] (2.16~mu m) of a sample of KINGFISH (Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: a Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel) galaxies. The Br[gamma] emission line offers the double advantage of directly tracing ionizing …