Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Orbital Period Of The Low‐Inclination Sw Sextantis Star V442 Ophiuchi, D. W. Hoard, John R. Thorstensen, Paula Szkody

Dartmouth Scholarship

V442 Ophiuchi is a low-inclination (noneclipsing) nova-like cataclysmic variable. We have obtained medium resolution (1-3.5 Å), time-resolved optical spectroscopy of this interacting binary star spanning an interval of 4 yr, from 1995 August to 1999 June. Using an Hα radial velocity curve constructed from our combined spectroscopic data sets, we have determined that Porb = 0.1243 days for V442 Oph, breaking the long-standing 1 day alias ambiguity in its orbital period. V442 Oph shares many of the characteristics of the group of cataclysmic variables known as the SW Sextantis stars. Its Doppler tomograms and orbital phase-dependent emission-line behavior, including …

Redshift-Distance Survey Of Early-Type Galaxies: Dipole Of The Velocity Field, L. N. Da Costa, M. Bernardi, M. V. Alonso, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We use the recently completed redshift-distance survey of nearby early-type galaxies (ENEAR) to measure the dipole component of the peculiar velocity field to a depth of cz ~ 6000 km s-1. The sample consists of 1145 galaxies brighter than mB = 14.5 and with cz ≤ 7000 km s-1, uniformly distributed over the whole sky, and 129 fainter cluster galaxies within the same volume. Most of the Dn-σ distances were obtained from new spectroscopic and photometric observations conducted by this project, ensuring the homogeneity of the data over the whole sky. These 1274 galaxies are objectively assigned …

Redshift-Distance Survey Of Early-Type Galaxies. I. Sample Selection, Properties, And Completeness, L. N. Da Costa, M. Bernardi, M. V. Alonso, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

This is the first in a series of papers describing the recently completed all-sky redshift-distance survey of Early-type NEARby galaxies (ENEAR) carried out for peculiar velocity analysis. The sample is divided into two parts and consists of 1607 elliptical and lenticular galaxies with cz ≤ 7000 km s^-1 and with blue magnitudes brighter than m_B = 14.5 (ENEARm) and of galaxies in clusters (ENEARc). Galaxy distances based on the D_n-σ and fundamental plane (FP) relations are now available for 1359 and 1107 ENEARm galaxies, respectively, with roughly 80% based on new data gathered by …

Enear Redshift-Distance Survey: Cosmological Constraints, Stefano Borgani, Mariangela Bernardi, Luiz N. Da Costa, Gary Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present an analysis of the ENEAR sample of peculiar velocities of field and cluster elliptical galaxies, obtained with Dn-σ distances. We use the velocity correlation function ψ1(r) to analyze the statistics of the field object's velocities, while the analysis of the cluster data is based on the estimate of their rms peculiar velocity Vrms. The results are compared with predictions from cosmological models using linear theory. The statistics of the model velocity field is parameterized by the amplitude η8 = σ8Ω and by the shape parameter Γ of the cold dark matter-like power spectrum. …

Grb 991216 Joins The Jet Set: Discovery And Monitoring Of Its Optical Afterglow, J. P. Halpern, R. Uglesich, N. Mirabal, S. Kassin, J. Thorstenson, W. C. Keel, A. Diercks, J. S. Bloom, F. Harrison, J. Mattox, M. Eracleous

Dartmouth Scholarship

The optical light curve of the energetic γ-ray burst GRB 991216 is consistent with jetlike behavior in which a power-law decay steepens from t^-1.22+-0.04 at early times to t^{-1.53 +- 0.05} in a gradual transition at around 2 days. The derivation of the late-time decay slope takes into account the constant contribution of a host or intervening galaxy, which was measured 110 days after the event at R = 24.56 +- 0.14, although the light curve deviates from a single power law whether or not a constant term is included. The early-time spectral energy distribution of the afterglow …

The Peculiar Type Ic Supernova 1997ef: Another Hypernova, Koichi Iwamoto, Takayoshi Nakamura, Ken’Ichi Nomoto, Paolo A. Mazzali, I. John Danziger, Peter Garnavich, Robert Kirshner, Saurabh Jha, David Balam, John Thorstensen

Dartmouth Scholarship

SN 1997ef has been recognized as a peculiar supernova from its light curve and spectral properties. The object was classified as a Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) because its spectra were dominated by broad absorption lines of oxygen and iron, lacking any clear signs of hydrogen or helium line features. The light curve is very different from that of previously known SNe Ic, showing a very broad peak and a slow tail. The strikingly broad line features in the spectra of SN 1997ef, which were also seen in the hypernova SN 1998bw, suggest the interesting possibility that SN 1997ef may …

The Warps Survey. Iii. The Discovery Of An X‐Ray Luminous Galaxy Cluster At Z = 0.833 And The Impact Of X‐Ray Substructure On Cluster Abundance Measurements, H. Ebeling, L. R. Jones, E. Perlman, C. Scharf, D. Horner, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

The Wide Angle ROSAT Pointed Survey team reviews the properties and history of the discovery of Cl J0152.7-1357, an X-ray luminous, rich cluster of galaxies at a redshift of z = 0.833. At LX = 8 × 1044h ergs s-1 (0.5-2.0 keV) Cl J0152.7-1357 is the most X-ray luminous cluster known at redshifts z > 0.55. The high X-ray luminosity of the system suggests that massive clusters may begin to form at redshifts considerably greater than unity. This scenario is supported by the high degree of optical and X-ray substructure in Cl J0152.7-1357, which is similarly complex as that …

Spectroscopy And Orbital Periods Of The Old Novae V533 Herculis, V446 Herculis And X Serpentis, J. R. Thorstensen, C. J. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report spectroscopic orbital periods of 0.147 d (= 3.53 h) for V533 Her, 0.207 d (= 4.97 h) for V446 Her and 1.478 d for X Ser. V533 Her (Nova Herculis 1963) shows absorption features in its He i and Balmer lines which appear only in a limited range of orbital phase, suggesting that it is a low-inclination SW Sextantis star. V446 Her is unusual in that it has started normal dwarf nova eruptions after a nova outburst, but we find nothing else unusual about it — in particular, a distance estimate based on its dwarf nova outbursts agrees …

A Newly-Discovered Cataclysmic Binary Near The Rosat Galactic Plane Source Rx J1910.8+2856, J R. Thorstensen, F Haberl

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report the discovery of a new cataclysmic binary star from the ROSAT Galactic Plane Survey. The star has V >∼ 18.5atminimumlightandwehavemeasureditasbrightasV = 15.7. Spectroscopy shows broad hydrogen and helium emission lines; HeII λ4686 is not detected. Hα radial velocities yield an orbital period of 0.1429 ± 0.0004 d (3.430 ± 0.010 h). Time- series photometry covering one orbital cycle near maximum light shows irregular variability, but no evidence of an eclipse. ThesystemappearstobeanewdwarfnovaoftheUGemorZ Cam type, and is unlikely to be a magnetic system. Its period is unusually short for a U Gem star.

Curiously, the new cataclysmic binary is 83′′ …

Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy Of Coma Cluster Early–Type Galaxies, D. Mehlert, R. P. Saglia, R. Bender, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present long slit spectra for a magnitude limited sample of 35 E and S0 galaxies of the Coma cluster. The high quality of the data allowed us to derive spatially resolved spectra for a substantial sample of Coma galaxies for the first time. From these spectra we obtained rota- tion curves, the velocity dispersion profiles and the H3 and H4 coefficients of the Hermite decomposition of the line of sight velocity distribution. Moreover, we derive the radial line index profiles of Mg, Fe and Hβ line indices out to R ≈ 1re − 3re with high signal-to-noise ratio. We …

The Age Of The Inner Halo Globular Cluster Ngc 6652, Brian Chaboyer, Ata Sarajedini, Taft E. Armandroff

Dartmouth Scholarship

Hubble Space Telescope (V, I) photometry has been obtained for the inner halo globular cluster NGC 6652. The photometry reaches ~4 mag below the turnoff and includes a well-populated horizontal branch. This cluster is located close to the Galactic center, at R_GC 2.0 kpc, with a reddening of E(V-I) = 0.15 ± 0.02, and has a metallicity of [Fe/H] -0.85. Based upon ΔV, NGC 6652 is 11.7 ± 1.6 Gyr old. Using ΔV, precise differential ages for 47 Tuc (a thick disk globular cluster), M107, and NGC …

Correlation Analysis Of Sfi Peculiar Velocities, Stefano Borgani, Luiz N. Da Costa, Idit Zehavi, Riccardo Giovanelli, Martha P. Haynes, Wolfram Freudling, Gary Wegner, John J. Salzer

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present results of a statistical analysis of the SFI catalog of peculiar velocities, a recently completed survey of spiral field galaxies with I-band Tully-Fisher distances. The velocity field statistic utilized is the velocity correlation function, ψ₁(r), originally introduced by Górski et al. The analysis is performed in redshift space so as to circumvent potential ambiguities connected with inhomogeneous Malmquist bias corrections. The results from the SFI sample are compared with linear-theory predictions for a class of cosmological models. We generate a large set of mock samples, extracted from N-body simulations, which are used …

Detection Of Co And Dust Emission In Near-Infrared Spectra Of Sn 1998s, Christopher L. Gerardy, Robert A. Fesen, Peter Höflich, J. Craig Wheeler

Dartmouth Scholarship

Near-infrared spectra (0.95 – 2.4 μ m) of the peculiar Type IIn supernova 1998S in NGC 3877 from 95 to 355 days after maximum light are presented. K -band data taken at days 95 and 225 show the presence of the first overtone of CO emission near 2.3 μ m, which is gone by day 355. An apparent extended blue wing on the CO profile in the day 95 spectrum could indicate a large CO expansion velocity (≈ 2000 – 3000 km s − 1). This is the third detection of infrared CO emission in nearly as many Type II …

Fundamental Plane Distances To Early-Type Field Galaxies In The South Equatorial Strip. I. The Spectroscopic Data, K. R. Müller, G. Wegner, S. Raychaudhury, W. Freudling

Dartmouth Scholarship

Radial velocities and central velocity dispersions are derived for 238 E/S0 galaxies from medium-resolution spectroscopy. New spectroscopic data have been obtained as part of a study of the Fundamental Plane distances and peculiar motions of early-type galaxies in three selected directions of the South Equatorial Strip, undertaken in order to investigate the reality of large-scale streaming motion; results of this study have been reported in M\"uller $et$ $al.$ (1998). The new APM South Equatorial Strip Catalog (−17.5 < δ < +2.5) was used to select the sample of field galaxies in three directions: (1) 15h10 – 16h10; (2) 20h30 – 21h50; (3) 00h10 – 01h30. The spectra obtained have a median S/N per ̊A of 23, an in- strumental resolution (FWHM) of ∼ 4 ̊A, and the spectro- graph resolution (dispersion) is ∼ 100 km s−1. The Fourier cross-correlation method was used to derive the radial ve- locities and velocity dispersions. The velocity dispersions have been corrected for the size of the aperture and for the galaxy effective radius. Comparisons of the derived radial velocities with data from the literature show that our values are accurate to 40 km s−1. A comparison with results from Jørgensen et al. (1995) shows that the derived central velocity dispersion have an rms scatter of 0.036 in log σ. There is no offset relative to the velocity dispersions of Davies et al. (1987).

Peculiar Velocities Of Nonlinear Structure: Voids In Mcvittie Spacetime, Sakai, Nobuyuki, Haines, Paul

Dartmouth Scholarship

As a study of peculiar velocities of nonlinear structure, we analyze the model of a relativistic thin-shell void in the expanding universe. (1) Adopting McVittie (MV) spacetime as a background universe, we investigate the dynamics of an uncompensated void with negative MV mass. Although the motion itself is quite different from that of a compensated void, as shown by Haines & Harris (1993), the present peculiar velocities are not affected by MV mass. (2) We discuss how precisely the formula in the linear perturbation theory applies to nonlinear relativistic voids, using the results in (1) as well as the previous …

The Pulsation Properties Of Procyon A, Brian Chaboyer, P. Demarque, D. B. Guenther

Dartmouth Scholarship

A grid of stellar evolution models for Procyon A has been calculated. These models include the best physics available to us (including the latest opacities and equation of state) and are based on the revised astrometric mass of Girard et al. Models were calculated with helium diffusion and with the combined effects of helium and heavy-element diffusion. Oscillation frequencies for l = 0, 1, 2, and 3 p-modes and the characteristic period spacing for the g-modes were calculated for these models. We find that g-modes are sensitive to model parameters that effect the structure of the core, …

Stellar Masses, Kinematics, And White Dwarf Composition For Three Close Da+Dme Binaries, Stephane Vennes, John R. Thorstensen, Elisha F. Polomski

Dartmouth Scholarship

We determine the mass functions and mass ratios for three close white dwarf plus red dwarf binaries (EUVE J0720-317, 1016-053, and 2013+400). Hubble Space Telescope Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph spectra of the He II λ1640 and C IV λ1550 spectral lines trace the white dwarf orbital motion, and Hamilton Spectrograph echelle spectra (Lick Observatory) and lower dispersion spectra trace the red dwarf orbital motion. The data sets allow us to measure orbital periods and velocities, as well as the white dwarf gravitational redshifts. The red dwarf and white dwarf mass estimates obtained from a combination of independent mass measurements for the …

Large‐Scale Power Spectrum And Cosmological Parameters From Sfi Peculiar Velocities, Wolfram Freudling, Idit Zehavi, Luiz N. Da Costa, Avishai Dekel, Amiram Eldar, Riccardo Giovanelli, Martha P. Haynes, John J. Salzer, Gary Wegner, Saleem Zaroubi

Dartmouth Scholarship

We estimate the power spectrum of mass density fluctuations from peculiar velocities of galaxies by applying an improved maximum likelihood technique to the new all-sky SFI catalog. Parametric models are used for the power spectrum and the errors, and the free parameters are determined by assuming Gaussian velocity fields and errors and maximizing the probability of the data given the model. It has been applied to generalized cold dark matter (CDM) models with and without COBE normalization. The method has been carefully tested using artificial SFI catalogs. The most likely distance errors are found to be similar to the original …

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.

An Ultraviolet Fe Ii Image Of Sn 1885 In M31, Andrew Js Hamilton, Robert A. Fesen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Ultraviolet imaging of the remnant of Supernova 1885 in M31 with the Hubble Space Telescope using the F255W filter on the WFPC2 reveals a dark spot of Fe II absorption at the remnant’s known position′′ ′′in the bulge of M31. The diameter of the absorbing spot is 0. 55 ± 0. 15, slightly smaller than, but′′ ′′consistent with, the 0. 70 ± 0. 05 diameter measured in the higher quality WFPC2 Ca II absorption image previously reported by us. The measured ratio of flux inside to outside SNR 1885 in the Fe IIimage is 0.24 ± 0.17, consistent with the …

The Peculiar Motions Of Early-Type Galaxies In Two Distant Rregions — Ii. The Spectroscopic Data, Gary Wegner, Matthew Colless, R. P. Saglia, Robert K. Mcmahan

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present the spectroscopic data for the galaxies studied in the EFAR project, which is designed to measure the properties and peculiar motions of early-type galaxies in two distant regions. We have obtained 1319 spectra of 714 early-type galaxies over 33 observing runs on 10 different telescopes. We describe the observations and data reductions used to measure redshifts, velocity dispersions and the Mgb and Mg₂ Lick linestrength indices. Detailed simulations and intercomparison of the large number of repeat observations lead to reliable error estimates for all quantities. The measurements from different observing runs are calibrated to a common …

The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation For Sc Galaxies: 21 Centimeter H I Line Data, Martha P. Haynes, Riccardo Giovanelli, Pierre Chamaraux, Luiz N. Da Costa, Wolfram Freudling, John J. Salzer, Gary Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

A compilation of 21 cm line spectral parameters specifically designed for application of the Tully-Fisher (TF) distance method is presented for 1201 spiral galaxies, primarily field Sc galaxies, for which optical I-band photometric imaging is also available. New H I line spectra have been obtained for 881 galaxies. For an additional 320 galaxies, spectra available in a digital archive have been reexamined to allow application of a single algorithm for the derivation of the TF velocity width parameter. A velocity width algorithm is used that provides a robust measurement of rotational velocity and permits an estimate of the error …

The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation For Sc Galaxies: Optical Imaging Data, Martha P. Haynes, Riccardo Giovanelli, John J. Salzer, Gary Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

Properties derived from the analysis of photometric I-band imaging observations are presented for 1727 inclined spiral galaxies, mostly of types Sbc and Sc. The reduction, parameter extraction, and error estimation procedures are discussed in detail. The asymptotic behavior of the magnitude curve of growth and the radial variation in ellipticity and position angle are used in combination with the linearity of the surface brightness falloff to fit the disk portion of the profile. Total I-band magnitudes are calculated by extrapolating the detected surface brightness profile to a radius of eight disk scale lengths. Errors in the magnitudes, typically …

The Peculiar Motions Of Early-Type Galaxies In Two Distant Regions -- V. The Mg-- Relation, Age And Metallicity, M. Colless, D. Burstein, R. L. Davies, R. K. Mcmahan, R. P. Saglia, G. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We have examined the Mg—σ relation for early-type galaxies in the EFAR sample and its dependence on cluster properties. A comprehensive maximum likelihood treatment of the sample selection and measurement errors gives fits to the global Mg—σ relation of Mg b^′=0.131 log σ −0.131 and Mg₂=0.257 log σ −0.305. The slope of these relations is 25 per cent steeper than that obtained by most other authors owing to the reduced bias of our fitting method. The intrinsic scatter in the global Mg— σ relation is estimated to be 0.016 mag in Mg b^′ and 0.023 …

The Post–Common Envelope And Pre–Cataclysmic Binary Pg 1224+309, Jerome A. Orosz, Richard A. Wade, Jason J. B. Harlow, John R. Thorstensen, Cynthia J. Taylor, Michael Eracleous

Dartmouth Scholarship

We have made extensive spectroscopic and photometric observations of PG 1224+309, a close binary containing a DA white dwarf primary and an M4+ secondary. The Hα line is in emission due to irradiation of the M star by the hot white dwarf and is seen to vary around the orbit. From the radial velocities of the Hα line we derive a period of P = 0.258689 ± 0.000004 days and a semiamplitude of K_Hα = 160 ± 8 km s^-1. We estimate a correction ΔK = 21 ± 2 km s^-1, where K_{M …}

Stellar Kinematics Of The Double Nucleus Of M31, Thomas S. Statler, Ivan R. King, Philippe Crane, Robert I. Jedrzejewski

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report observations of the double nucleus of M31 with the f/48 long-slit spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Camera. We obtain a total exposure of 19,000 s over seven orbits, with the 0063-wide slit along the line between the two brightness peaks (P.A. 42°). Careful correction of the raw data for detector backgrounds and geometric distortion is essential. A spectrum of Jupiter obtained with the same instrument is used as a spectral template to extract rotation and velocity dispersion profiles by cross-correlation. The rotation curve is resolved and reaches a maximum amplitude of ~250 km s-1 roughly …