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Articles 2491 - 2520 of 2944

Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

A Spectroscopic Redshift For The Cl 0024+16 Multiple Arc System: Implications For The Central Mass Distribution, Tom Broadhurst, Xiaosheng Huang, Brenda Frye, Richard Ellis May 2000

A Spectroscopic Redshift For The Cl 0024+16 Multiple Arc System: Implications For The Central Mass Distribution, Tom Broadhurst, Xiaosheng Huang, Brenda Frye, Richard Ellis

Physics and Astronomy

We present a spectroscopic redshift of z = 1.675 for the well-known multiply lensed system of arcs seen in the z = 0.39 cluster Cl 0024+16. In contrast to earlier work, we find that the lensed images are accurately reproduced by a projected mass distribution which traces the locations of the brightest cluster elliptical galaxies, suggesting that the most significant minima of the cluster potential are not dynamically erased. The averaged mass profile is shallow and consistent with predictions of recent numerical simulations. The source redshift enables us to determine an enclosed cluster mass of M(<100 kpc h-1) = …


Infrared Classification Of Galactic Objects, Željko Ivezić, Moshe Elitzur May 2000

Infrared Classification Of Galactic Objects, Željko Ivezić, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Unbiased analysis shows that IRAS data reliably differentiate between the early and late stages of stellar evolution because objects at these stages clearly segregate in infrared color-color diagrams. Structure in these diagrams is primarily controlled by the density distribution of circumstellar dust. The density profile around older objects is the steepest, declining as r-2, while young objects have profiles that vary as r-3/2 and flatter. The different density profiles reflect the different dynamics that govern the different environments. Our analysis also shows that high-mass star formation is strongly concentrated within ~5 kpc around the Galactic center, in …


Properties Of Dust Grains In Planetary Nebulae. I. The Ionized Region Of Ngc 6445, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, Griet C. Van De Steene, Douwe A. Beintema, P. G. Martin, Stuart R. Pottasch, Gary J. Ferland Mar 2000

Properties Of Dust Grains In Planetary Nebulae. I. The Ionized Region Of Ngc 6445, Peter A. M. Van Hoof, Griet C. Van De Steene, Douwe A. Beintema, P. G. Martin, Stuart R. Pottasch, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

One of the factors influencing the spectral evolution of a planetary nebula is the fate of the dust grains that are emitting the infrared continuum. Several processes have been proposed that either destroy the grains or remove them from the ionized region. To test whether these processes are effective, we study new infrared spectra of the evolved nebula NGC 6445. These data show that the thermal emission from the grains is very cool and has a low flux compared to Hβ. A model of the ionized region is constructed, using the photoionization code CLOUDY 90.05. Based on this model, we …


Average Energy Flow Of Optical Pulses In Dispersive Media, Scott Glasgow, Michael Ware, Justin Peatross Mar 2000

Average Energy Flow Of Optical Pulses In Dispersive Media, Scott Glasgow, Michael Ware, Justin Peatross

Faculty Publications

The arrival time of a light pulse at a point in space is defined using a time expectation integral over the Poynting vector. The delay between pulse arrival times at two distinct points is shown to consist of two parts: a spectral superposition of group delays (inverse of group velocity) and a delay due to spectral reshaping via absorption or amplification. The result provides a context wherein group velocity is always meaningful even for broad band pulses and when the group velocity is superluminal or negative. The result imposes luminality on sharply defined pulses.


Electronic Structure Of Cu1-Xnixrh2s4 And Curh2se4: Band-Structure Calculations, X-Ray Photoemission, And Fluorescence Measurements, Gus L. W. Hart, W. E. Pickett, E. Z. Kurmaev, M. Neumann, D. Hartmann, A. Moewes, D. L. Ederer, R. Endoh, K. Taniguchi, S. Nagata Feb 2000

Electronic Structure Of Cu1-Xnixrh2s4 And Curh2se4: Band-Structure Calculations, X-Ray Photoemission, And Fluorescence Measurements, Gus L. W. Hart, W. E. Pickett, E. Z. Kurmaev, M. Neumann, D. Hartmann, A. Moewes, D. L. Ederer, R. Endoh, K. Taniguchi, S. Nagata

Faculty Publications

The electronic structure of spinel-type Cu1-xNixRh2S4 (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0) and CuRh2Se4 compounds has been studied by means of x-ray photoelectron (SPS) and fluorescent spectroscopy. Cu L3, Ni L3, S L2,3, and Se M2,3 x-ray emission spectra (XES) were measured near thresholds at Beamline 8.0 of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Advanced Light Source. XES measurements of the constituent atoms of these compounds, reduced to the same binding energy scale, are found to be in excellent agreement with XPS valence bands. The calculated XES spectra which include dipole matrix elements show that the partial density of states reproduce experimental spectra …


The Optical Depth To Reionization As A Probe Of Cosmological And Astrophysical Parameters, Aparna Venkatesan Jan 2000

The Optical Depth To Reionization As A Probe Of Cosmological And Astrophysical Parameters, Aparna Venkatesan

Physics and Astronomy

Current data of high-redshift absorption-line systems imply that hydrogen reionization occurred before redshifts of about 5. Previous works on reionization by the first stars or quasars have shown that such scenarios are described by a large number of cosmological and astrophysical parameters. Here we adopt a semianalytic model of stellar reionization in order to quantify how the optical depth to reionization depends on such parameters, and combine this with constraints from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find this approach to be particularly useful in alleviating the well-known degeneracy in CMB parameter extraction between the optical depth to reionization and …


Using Binary Star Observations To Bound The Mass Of The Graviton, Shane L. Larson, William A. Hiscock Jan 2000

Using Binary Star Observations To Bound The Mass Of The Graviton, Shane L. Larson, William A. Hiscock

All Physics Faculty Publications

Interacting white dwarf binary star systems, including helium cataclysmic variable (HeCV) systems, are expected to be strong sources of gravitational radiation, and should be detectable by proposed space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories such as LISA. Several HeCV star systems are presently known and can be studied optically, which will allow electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations to be correlated. Comparisons of the phases of a gravitational wave signal and the orbital light curve from an interacting binary white dwarf star system can be used to bound the mass of the graviton. Observations of typical HeCV systems by LISA could potentially …


Sensitivity Curves For Spaceborne Gravitational Wave Interferometers, Shane L. Larson, William A. Hiscock, Ronald W. Hellings Jan 2000

Sensitivity Curves For Spaceborne Gravitational Wave Interferometers, Shane L. Larson, William A. Hiscock, Ronald W. Hellings

All Physics Faculty Publications

To determine whether particular sources of gravitational radiation will be detectable by a specific gravitational wave detector, it is necessary to know the sensitivity limits of the instrument. These instrumental sensitivities are often depicted (after averaging over source position and polarization) by graphing the minimal values of the gravitational wave amplitude detectable by the instrument versus the frequency of the gravitational wave. This paper describes in detail how to compute such a sensitivity curve given a set of specifications for a spaceborne laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory. Minor errors in the prior literature are corrected, and the first (mostly) analytic …


Erratum: "Cell Size Dependence Of Transport Coefficients In Stochastic Particle Algorithms", Alejandro Garcia, F. Alexander, B. Alder Jan 2000

Erratum: "Cell Size Dependence Of Transport Coefficients In Stochastic Particle Algorithms", Alejandro Garcia, F. Alexander, B. Alder

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Magnetic Confinement, Magnetohydrodynamic Waves And Smooth Line Profiles In Active Galactic Nuclei, M. C. Bottorff, Gary J. Ferland Jan 2000

Magnetic Confinement, Magnetohydrodynamic Waves And Smooth Line Profiles In Active Galactic Nuclei, M. C. Bottorff, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this paper, we show that if the broad-line region clouds are in approximate energy equipartition between the magnetic field and gravity, as hypothesized by Rees, there will be a significant effect on the shape and smoothness of broad emission-line profiles in active galactic nuclei. Linewidths of contributing clouds or flow elements are much wider than their thermal widths, because of the presence of non-dissipative magnetohydrodynamic waves and their collective contribution produce emission-line profiles broader and smoother than would be expected if a magnetic field were not present. As an illustration, a simple model of isotropically emitting clouds, normally distributed …


Critical Adsorption On Defects In Ising Magnets And Binary Alloys, Andreas Hanke Jan 2000

Critical Adsorption On Defects In Ising Magnets And Binary Alloys, Andreas Hanke

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Long-range correlations in a magnet close to its critical point or in a binary alloy close to a continuous order-disorder transition can substantially enhance the effect of local perturbations. It is demonstrated using a position-space renormalization procedure that quasi-one-dimensional defects which break the symmetry of the order parameter have pronounced effects: They cause long-range critical adsorption profiles and give rise to new universal critical exponents, which are identified and calculated using field-theoretical methods.


A Solar Comparison, Larry Weinstein Jan 2000

A Solar Comparison, Larry Weinstein

Physics Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Gilbert Ward [Phys.Teach 38, 333 (Sept. 2000)] states, "You emit more than 7000 times as much heat per unit mass as the Sun does." This difference was pointed out to me much more graphically by Brian Quinn many years ago as, "If the sun were made out of gerbils, the Earth would be incinerated."


Time Step Truncation Error In Direct Simulation Monte Carlo, Alejandro Garcia, W. Wagner Jan 2000

Time Step Truncation Error In Direct Simulation Monte Carlo, Alejandro Garcia, W. Wagner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Robust Test For Detecting Nonstationarity In Data From Gravitational Wave Detectors, Soumya Mohanty Jan 2000

Robust Test For Detecting Nonstationarity In Data From Gravitational Wave Detectors, Soumya Mohanty

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

It is difficult to choose detection thresholds for tests of nonstationarity that assume a priori a noise model if the data are statistically uncharacterized to begin with. This is a potentially serious problem when an automated analysis is required, as would be the case for the huge data sets that large interferometric gravitational wave detectors will produce. A solution is proposed in the form of a robust time-frequency test for detecting nonstationarity whose threshold for a specified false alarm rate is almost independent of the statistical nature of the ambient stationary noise. The efficiency of this test in detecting bursts …


Creation Of An Ultracold Neutral Plasma, Scott D. Bergeson, T. C. Killian, S. Kulin, L. A. Orozco, C. Orzel, S. L. Rolston Dec 1999

Creation Of An Ultracold Neutral Plasma, Scott D. Bergeson, T. C. Killian, S. Kulin, L. A. Orozco, C. Orzel, S. L. Rolston

Faculty Publications

We report the creation of an ultracold neutral plasma by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms. The charge carrier density is as high as 2×10^9 cm^-3, and the temperatures of electrons and ions are as low as 100 mK and 10 uK, respectively. Plasma behavior is evident in the trapping of electrons by the positive ion cloud when the Debye screening length becomes smaller than the size of the sample. We produce plasmas with parameters such that both electrons and ions are strongly coupled.


Dual Function Euv Multilayer Mirrors For The Image Mission, David D. Allred, R. Steven Turley, Matthew B. Squires Nov 1999

Dual Function Euv Multilayer Mirrors For The Image Mission, David D. Allred, R. Steven Turley, Matthew B. Squires

Faculty Publications

We have developed a new family of EUV multilayer mirror coatings using uranium. Using this approach we have coated a set of six mirrors for the EUV Imager, a component of the IMAGE mission. This mission is a Medium Explorer (MIDEX) program, which is scheduled for launch early in 2000. The EUV Imager will study the distribution of He+ in the Earth's plasmasphere by detecting its resonantly scattered emission at 30.4 nm (41 eV) and will produce images of the structure and dynamics of the cold plasma on a global scale. There is, however, a bright at 58.4 nm (21 …


Selective Excitation And Thermal Quenching Of The Yellow Luminescence Of Gan, John S. Colton, P. Y. Yu, K. L. Teo, E. R. Weber, P. Perlin, I. Grzegory, K. Uchida Nov 1999

Selective Excitation And Thermal Quenching Of The Yellow Luminescence Of Gan, John S. Colton, P. Y. Yu, K. L. Teo, E. R. Weber, P. Perlin, I. Grzegory, K. Uchida

Faculty Publications

We report the observation of narrower structures in the yellow luminescence of bulk and thin-film n-type GaN, using the technique of selective excitation. These fine structures exhibit thermal quenching associated with an activated behavior. We attribute these fine structures to phonons and electronic excitations of a shallow donor-deep acceptor complex, and determine its activation energy for delocalization. Our results suggest that in addition to distant donor-acceptor pairs, the yellow luminescence can also involve emission complexes of shallow donors and deep acceptors.


Phonon And Elastic Instabilities In Moc And Mon, Gus L. W. Hart, Barry M. Klein Oct 1999

Phonon And Elastic Instabilities In Moc And Mon, Gus L. W. Hart, Barry M. Klein

Faculty Publications

We present several results related to the instability of MoC and MoN in the B1 (sodium chloride) structure. These compounds were proposed as potential superconductors with moderately high transition temperatures. We show that the elastic instability in B1-structure MoN, demonstrated several years ago, persists at elevated pressures, thus offering little hope of stabilizing this material without chemical doping. For MoC, another material for which stoichiometric fabrication in the B1 structure has not proven possible, we find that all of the cubic elastic constants are positive, indicating elastic stability. Instead, we find X-point phonon instabilities in MoC (and in MoN as …


Hubble Space Telescope/Faint Object Spectrograph Spectroscopy Of Spatially Resolved Narrow-Line Regions In The Seyfert 2 Galaxies Ngc 2110 And Ngc 5929, Pierre Ferruit, Andrew S. Wilson, Mark Whittle, Chris Simpson, John S. Mulchaey, Gary J. Ferland Sep 1999

Hubble Space Telescope/Faint Object Spectrograph Spectroscopy Of Spatially Resolved Narrow-Line Regions In The Seyfert 2 Galaxies Ngc 2110 And Ngc 5929, Pierre Ferruit, Andrew S. Wilson, Mark Whittle, Chris Simpson, John S. Mulchaey, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the results of UV and optical Hubble Space Telescope/Faint Object Spectrograph spectroscopy of bright, extranuclear regions of line emission in the Seyfert galaxies NGC 2110 and NGC 5929. We have obtained spectra of the brightest region of the ``nuclear jet'' of NGC 2110 (75 pc from the nucleus) and of the southwest emission-line cloud of NGC 5929 (90 pc from the nucleus), in the G130H (1090-1605 Å), G190H (1570-2310 Å), G400H (3235-4780 Å), and G570H (4570-6820 Å) configurations. The observed line ratios are compared with the predictions of the two component (matter- and ionization-bounded, MB-IB), central source …


Dust Emission From Herbig Ae/Be Stars: Evidence For Disks And Envelopes, Anatoly Miroshnichenko, Željko Ivezić, Dejan Vinković, Moshe Elitzur Aug 1999

Dust Emission From Herbig Ae/Be Stars: Evidence For Disks And Envelopes, Anatoly Miroshnichenko, Željko Ivezić, Dejan Vinković, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Infrared and millimeter-wave emission from Herbig Ae/Be stars has produced conflicting conclusions regarding the dust geometry in these objects. We show that the compact dimensions of the millimeter-wave-emitting regions are a decisive indication for disks. But a disk cannot explain the spectral energy distribution unless it is embedded in an extended envelope that (1) dominates the IR emission and (2) provides additional disk heating on top of the direct stellar radiation. Detailed radiative transfer calculations based on the simplest model for envelope-embedded disks successfully fit the data from UV to millimeter wavelengths and show that the disks have central holes. …


A First Principles Warm Inflation Model That Solves The Cosmological Horizon And Flatness Problems, Arjun Berera, Marcelo Gleiser, Rudnei O. Ramos Jul 1999

A First Principles Warm Inflation Model That Solves The Cosmological Horizon And Flatness Problems, Arjun Berera, Marcelo Gleiser, Rudnei O. Ramos

Dartmouth Scholarship

A quantum field theory warm inflation model is presented that solves the horizon and flatness problems. The model obtains, from the elementary dynamics of particle physics, cosmological scale factor trajectories that begin in a radiation dominated regime, enter an inflationary regime, and then smoothly exit back into a radiation dominated regime, with non-negligible radiation throughout the evolution.


Metallicity Calibration Of A Ddo Cn Index And Other Low-Resolution Indices For G And K Stars, B. J. Taylor May 1999

Metallicity Calibration Of A Ddo Cn Index And Other Low-Resolution Indices For G And K Stars, B. J. Taylor

Faculty Publications

Metallicity calibrations of low-resolution parameters are potentially useful for (at least) two problems: the properties of moving groups, and the supermetallicity problem in K giants. In this paper, metallicity calibrations are derived for six sets of parameters. One of these parameters is the DDO CN index deltaCN. This parameter and three others are calibrated for use with evolved G and K stars. Two additional sets of low-resolution parameters are calibrated for use with G and K dwarfs. The calibrations are derived by comparing the input data with two catalogs of homogenized high-dispersion results from diverse authors (see Taylor 1995, 1999a). …


The Effects Of Charge Transfer On The Thermal Equilibrium Of Photoionized Nebulae, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland May 1999

The Effects Of Charge Transfer On The Thermal Equilibrium Of Photoionized Nebulae, J. B. Kingdon, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Charge transfer can affect both the ionization and thermal balance of astrophysical plasmas. Using the most recent rate coefficients and energy defects, we calculate the heating/cooling rates for charge transfer reactions between hydrogen and elements up to Z=30. We incorporate these values into the photoionization code CLOUDY. Results from models approximating a wide range of astrophysical objects and conditions suggest that charge transfer can make a significant contribution to the heating near the H ionization front, particularly in objects with a hard ionizing continuum or enhanced abundances. Charge transfer heating can also be important in regimes in which the usual …


Modes And Quasi-Modes For M = 1,2 In A Gyrokinetic Model For A Non-Neutral Plasma, S. Neil Rasband, Ross L. Spencer May 1999

Modes And Quasi-Modes For M = 1,2 In A Gyrokinetic Model For A Non-Neutral Plasma, S. Neil Rasband, Ross L. Spencer

Faculty Publications

Modes and quasi-modes for m = 1,2 are studied in a gyro-kinetic model for a pure-electron plasma. Only z-independent perturbations are considered. Numerical methods are used to solve the relevant differential equations for smooth, analytic density profiles. Different temperatures and representative profiles are considered and comparison is made with the familiar cold fluid model from which the results depart but little, except at higher temperatures. A continuum component to the spectrum, present in the cold-fluid model, remains in the gyro-kinetic model to the order considered.


The Pg X-Ray Qso Sample: Links Between The Ultraviolet-X-Ray Continuum And Emission Lines, Beverley J. Wills, A. Laor, M. S. Brotherton, D. Wills, B. J. Wilkes, Gary J. Ferland, Zhaohui Shang Apr 1999

The Pg X-Ray Qso Sample: Links Between The Ultraviolet-X-Ray Continuum And Emission Lines, Beverley J. Wills, A. Laor, M. S. Brotherton, D. Wills, B. J. Wilkes, Gary J. Ferland, Zhaohui Shang

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Two sets of relationships relate QSO UV to soft X-ray continua with the broad-line region. These are (i) the Baldwin relationships, which are inverse relationships between the broad-line equivalent width and the continuum luminosity, and (ii) Boroson & Green's optical "Principal Component 1'' relationships, linking steeper soft X-ray spectra with narrower Hβ emission, stronger Hβ blue wings, stronger optical Fe II emission, and weaker [O III] λ5007 lines. In order to understand these relationships, we extended the spectra into the UV for 22 QSOs with high-quality soft X-ray spectra. These are from the complete sample of QSOs from the Bright …


Temperature Dependence Of Stark Width Of The 463.054 Nm Nii Spectral Line, Vladimir Milosavljevic, Ruzica Konjevic, Stevan Djenize Mar 1999

Temperature Dependence Of Stark Width Of The 463.054 Nm Nii Spectral Line, Vladimir Milosavljevic, Ruzica Konjevic, Stevan Djenize

Articles

Stark width of the 463.054 nm singly ionized nitrogen spectral line, that belong to transition, have been measured in a linear pulsed, low pressure, arc discharge. The working gas was helium-nitrogen-oxygen mixture. Electron densities of 0.751023 to 1.451023 were determined in the electron temperature range between 30000 K - 38000 K. The measured values have been compared with our calculated data, using the modified semiempirical approximation. On the basis of the agreement among experimental and theoretical Stark width data, the isolated 463.054 nm NII spectral line can be recommended as convenient spectral line for plasma diagnostics.


Megamaser Disks In Active Galactic Nuclei, John F. Kartje, Arieh Königl, Moshe Elitzur Mar 1999

Megamaser Disks In Active Galactic Nuclei, John F. Kartje, Arieh Königl, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Recent spectroscopic and VLBI-imaging observations of bright extragalactic H2O maser sources have revealed that the megamaser emission often originates in thin circumnuclear disks near the centers of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Using general radiative and kinematic considerations and taking account of the observed flux variability, we argue that the maser emission regions are clumpy, a conclusion that is independent of the detailed mechanism (X-ray heating, shocks, etc.) driving the collisionally pumped masers. We examine scenarios in which the clumps represent discrete gas condensations (i.e., clouds) and do not merely correspond to velocity irregularities in the disk. We show …


He I 2.06 Micron Emission From Nebulae, Gary J. Ferland Feb 1999

He I 2.06 Micron Emission From Nebulae, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The spectrum emitted by any astronomical plasma is sensitive to a variety of details, some of which may not be obviously important. This paper describes the sensitivity of the He I 2.06 μm line to the gas opacity at ionizing energies. The intensity of the line relative to a hydrogen line depends on the He+/H+ ratio, but also on the ratio of continuous to He I Lyα line opacity, since this determines whether the Lyα line can scatter often enough to be converted to the 2.06 μm line. The intensity of the infrared line relative to Hβ …


Oh 1720 Megahertz Masers In Supernova Remnants: C-Shock Indicators, Phil Lockett, Eric Gauthier, Moshe Elitzur Jan 1999

Oh 1720 Megahertz Masers In Supernova Remnants: C-Shock Indicators, Phil Lockett, Eric Gauthier, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Recent observations show that the OH 1720 MHz maser is a powerful probe of the shocked region where a supernova remnant strikes a molecular cloud. We perform a thorough study of the pumping of this maser and find tight constraints on the physical conditions needed for its production. The presence of the maser implies moderate temperatures (50-125 K) and densities (~105 cm-3) and OH column densities of order 1016 cm-2. We show that these conditions can exist only if the shocks are of C-type. J-shocks fail by such a wide margin that the presence …


Neutron Stars And Black Holes As Machos, Aparna Venkatesan, Angela V. Olinto, James W. Truran Jan 1999

Neutron Stars And Black Holes As Machos, Aparna Venkatesan, Angela V. Olinto, James W. Truran

Physics and Astronomy

We consider the contribution of neutron stars and black holes to the dynamical mass of galactic halos. In particular, we show that if these compact objects were produced by an early generation of stars with initial metallicity 10-4 Z☉, they can contribute at most 30%-40% of the Galactic halo mass without creating supersolar levels of enrichment. We show that the case for halo neutron stars and black holes cannot be rejected on metal overproduction arguments alone because of the critical factor of the choice of progenitor metallicity in determining the yields. We show that this scenario satisfies …