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2009

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Articles 211 - 240 of 245

Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

Multi-Site Photometry Of The Pulsating Herbig Ae Star V346 Ori, S Bernabei, T D. Oswalt Jan 2009

Multi-Site Photometry Of The Pulsating Herbig Ae Star V346 Ori, S Bernabei, T D. Oswalt

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Context. The study of pulsation in pre-main-sequence intermediate-mass stars represents an important tool for deriving information about fundamental stellar parameters and internal structure, as well as testing theoretical models. Interest in this class of variable stars has increased significantly during the last decade and about 30 members are presently known in the literature. Aims. After constructing the frequency spectrum of oscillations in V346 Ori, we apply asteroseismic tools to these data to estimate the intrinsic parameters (mass, luminosity, effective temperature) of V346 Ori and obtain information about its internal structure. Methods. CCD time-series photometry in the Johnson V filter was …


Preliminary Xcov26 Results For Ec14012-1446, Judith L. Provençal, Matt A. Wood, Stéphane Vennes Jan 2009

Preliminary Xcov26 Results For Ec14012-1446, Judith L. Provençal, Matt A. Wood, Stéphane Vennes

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

EC14012-1446 is a hydrogen atmosphere (DA) white dwarf pulsator. Its rich pulsation spectrum displays a range of excited modes with complex multiplet structure, in addition to numerous combination frequencies. In April 2008, EC14012-1446 was the primary target of XCOV26. We obtained over 300 hrs of nearly continuous high speed photometry with the goal of using the nonlinear pulse shapes to empirically determine the parameters of the convection zone. The Fourier transform (FT) of the light curve contains power between 1000 to 4000 μHz, with the dominant peak at 1234 μHz. We find 13 independent frequencies distributed in 8 modes, as …


Fuse Observations Of Intermediate Temperature Da: Atmospheric Parameters And Metal Abundances, Jean François Dupuis, Vincent Hénault-Brunet, Perre Chayer, Stéphane Vennes, Jeffrey W. Kruk Jan 2009

Fuse Observations Of Intermediate Temperature Da: Atmospheric Parameters And Metal Abundances, Jean François Dupuis, Vincent Hénault-Brunet, Perre Chayer, Stéphane Vennes, Jeffrey W. Kruk

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We present results from our analysis of a sample of DA white dwarfs having effective temperature below 25,000 K observed with the FUSE satellite with the goals of better understanding the origin of metals detected in the atmosphere of these stars. When possible, we combine the FUSE spectra with the IUE spectra and determine atmospheric parameters by fitting the Lyman line profiles. In general we find a good agreement with published values based on fits of the Balmer series. We observe that the continuum in the blue wing of the Lyman α line profile is generally lower in comparison with …


The Three-Dimensional Dynamic Structure Of The Inner Orion Nebula, C. R. O'Dell, W. J. Henney, N. P. Abel, Gary J. Ferland, S. J. Arthur Jan 2009

The Three-Dimensional Dynamic Structure Of The Inner Orion Nebula, C. R. O'Dell, W. J. Henney, N. P. Abel, Gary J. Ferland, S. J. Arthur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The three-dimensional structure of the brightest part of the Orion Nebula is assessed in the light of published and newly established data. We find that the widely accepted model of a concave blister of ionized material needs to be altered in the southwest direction from the Trapezium, where we find that the Orion-S feature is a separate cloud of very optically thick molecules within the body of ionized gas, which is probably the location of the multiple embedded sources that produce the optical and molecular outflows that define the Orion-S star formation region. Evidence for this cloud comes from the …


Collisional Heating As The Origin Of Filament Emission In Galaxy Clusters, G. J. Ferland, A. C. Fabian, N. A. Hatch, R. M. Johnstone, R. L. Porter, P. A. M. Vanhoof, R. J. R. Williams Jan 2009

Collisional Heating As The Origin Of Filament Emission In Galaxy Clusters, G. J. Ferland, A. C. Fabian, N. A. Hatch, R. M. Johnstone, R. L. Porter, P. A. M. Vanhoof, R. J. R. Williams

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

It has long been known that photoionization, whether by starlight or other sources, has difficulty in accounting for the observed spectra of the optical filaments that often surround central galaxies in large clusters. This paper builds on the first of this series in which we examined whether heating by energetic particles or dissipative magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave can account for the observations. The first paper focused on the molecular regions which produce strong H2 and CO lines. Here we extend the calculations to include atomic and low-ionization regions. Two major improvements to the previous calculations have been made. The model …


Properties Of Warm Absorbers In Active Galaxies: A Systematic Stability Curve Analysis, Susmita Chakravorty, Ajit K. Kembhavi, Martin Elvis, Gary J. Ferland Jan 2009

Properties Of Warm Absorbers In Active Galaxies: A Systematic Stability Curve Analysis, Susmita Chakravorty, Ajit K. Kembhavi, Martin Elvis, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Signatures of warm absorbers are seen in soft X-ray spectra of about half of all type 1 Seyfert galaxies observed and in some quasars and blazars. We use the thermal equilibrium curve to study the influence of the shape of the ionizing continuum, density and the chemical composition of the absorbing gas on the existence and nature of the warm absorbers. We describe circumstances in which a stable warm absorber can exist as a multiphase medium or one with continuous variation in pressure. In particular, we find the following results: (i) the warm absorber exists only if the spectral index …


The Location And Kinematics Of The Coronal-Line Emitting Regions In Active Galactic Nuclei, J. R. Mullaney, M. J. Ward, C. Done, Gary J. Ferland, N. Schurch Jan 2009

The Location And Kinematics Of The Coronal-Line Emitting Regions In Active Galactic Nuclei, J. R. Mullaney, M. J. Ward, C. Done, Gary J. Ferland, N. Schurch

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We use the photoionization code CLOUDY to determine both the location and the kinematics of the optical forbidden, high-ionization line (hereafter, FHIL) emitting gas in the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564. The results of our models are compared with the observed properties of these emission lines to produce a physical model that is used to explain both the kinematics and the source of this gas. The main features of this model are that the FHIL emitting gas is launched from the putative dusty torus and is quickly accelerated to its terminal velocity of a few hundred km s …


Can Large Scintillators Be Used For Solar-Axion Searches To Test The Cosmological Axion-Photon Oscillation Proposal?, F. T. Avignone Iii, R. J. Creswick, Shmuel Nussinov Jan 2009

Can Large Scintillators Be Used For Solar-Axion Searches To Test The Cosmological Axion-Photon Oscillation Proposal?, F. T. Avignone Iii, R. J. Creswick, Shmuel Nussinov

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Solar-axion interaction rates in Nal, Csl and Xe scintillators via the axio-electric effect were calculated. A table is presented with photo-electric and axio-electric cross sections, solar-axion fluxes, and the interaction rates from 2.0 to 10.0 keV. The results imply that annual-modulation data of large Nal and Csl arrays, and large Xe scintillation detectors, might be made sensitive enough to probe coupling to photons at levels required to explain axion-photon oscillation phenomena proposed to explain the survival of high-energy photons traveling cosmological distances. The DAMA/LIBRA data are used to demonstrate the power of the model-independent annual modulation due to the seasonal …


Daemon Decay And Inflation, Emil Prodanov Jan 2009

Daemon Decay And Inflation, Emil Prodanov

Articles

In 1971, Hawking suggested [1] that there may be a very large number of gravitationally collapsed charged objects of very low masses, formed as a result of fluctuations in the early Universe. A mass of of these objects could be accumulated at the centre of a star like the Sun. The masses of these collapsed objects are from and above and their charges are up to ±30 electron units [1].


The Kinematic Origin Of The Cosmological Redshift, Emory F. Bunn, David W. Hogg Jan 2009

The Kinematic Origin Of The Cosmological Redshift, Emory F. Bunn, David W. Hogg

Physics Faculty Publications

A common belief about big-bang cosmology is that the cosmological redshift cannot be properly viewed as a Doppler shift (that is, as evidence for a recession velocity), but must be viewed in terms of the stretching of space. We argue that, contrary to this view, the most natural interpretation of the redshift is as a Doppler shift, or rather as the accumulation of many infinitesimal Doppler shifts. The stretching-of-space interpretation obscures a central idea of relativity, namely that it is always valid to choose a coordinate system that is locally Minkowskian. We show that an observed frequency shift in any …


Studies Of Magnetotail Dynamics And Energy Evolution During Substorms Using Mhd Simulations, S Brogl, Ramon E. Lopez, Michael J. Wiltberger, Hamid K. Rassoul Jan 2009

Studies Of Magnetotail Dynamics And Energy Evolution During Substorms Using Mhd Simulations, S Brogl, Ramon E. Lopez, Michael J. Wiltberger, Hamid K. Rassoul

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We examine the distribution and propagation of energy in the plasma sheet and lobes using observations and simulations for three substorms. The substorms occurred on 9 March 1995, 10 December 1996, and 27 August 2001 and have been simulated using the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry magneto-hydrodynamic code. All three events occur over North America and show a clear substorm current wedge over the ground magnetometer chains of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The three simulations show the thinning of the plasma sheet during the growth phase of the event and an increase in the relative amount of thermal energy due to the compression of …


Photon-Hadron Jet Correlations In P+P And Au+Au Collisions At √Snn = 200 Gev, Andrew Marshall Adare, Gyöngyi Baksay, László A. Baksay, Klaus Dehmelt, Marcus Hohlmann, S. Rembeczki Jan 2009

Photon-Hadron Jet Correlations In P+P And Au+Au Collisions At √Snn = 200 Gev, Andrew Marshall Adare, Gyöngyi Baksay, László A. Baksay, Klaus Dehmelt, Marcus Hohlmann, S. Rembeczki

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We report the observation at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider of suppression of back-to-back correlations in the direct photon+jet channel in Au+Au relative to p+p collisions. Two-particle correlations of direct photon triggers with associated hadrons are obtained by statistical subtraction of the decay photon-hadron (γ-h) background. The initial momentum of the away-side parton is tightly constrained, because the parton-photon pair exactly balance in momentum at leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics, making such correlations a powerful probe of the in-medium parton energy loss. The away-side nuclear suppression factor, IAA, in central Au+Au collisions, is 0.32±0.12stat±0.09syst for hadrons of 3


Faculty Should Consider Peer Review As A Means Of Improving Students' Scientific Reasoning Skills, Briana Timmerman, Denise Strickland Jan 2009

Faculty Should Consider Peer Review As A Means Of Improving Students' Scientific Reasoning Skills, Briana Timmerman, Denise Strickland

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.


Temperature Changes Resulting From A Gaalas Laser In The Decontamination Of A Failing Dental Implant, Adam B. Oppenheimer Jan 2009

Temperature Changes Resulting From A Gaalas Laser In The Decontamination Of A Failing Dental Implant, Adam B. Oppenheimer

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.


New Eclipsing Close Binary Star In The Constellation Of Sextants, Jeff W. Robertson Jan 2009

New Eclipsing Close Binary Star In The Constellation Of Sextants, Jeff W. Robertson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.


Modeling Forbidden Line Emission Profiles From Colliding Wind Binaries., Richard Ignace, R. Bessey, C. Price Jan 2009

Modeling Forbidden Line Emission Profiles From Colliding Wind Binaries., Richard Ignace, R. Bessey, C. Price

ETSU Faculty Works

This paper presents calculations for forbidden emission-line profile shapes arising from colliding wind binaries. The main application is for systems involving a Wolf–Rayet (WR) star and an OB star companion. The WR wind is assumed to dominate the forbidden line emission. The colliding wind interaction is treated as an Archimedean spiral with an inner boundary. Under the assumptions of the model, the major findings are as follows. (i) The redistribution of the WR wind as a result of the wind collision is not flux conservative but typically produces an excess of line emission; however, this excess is modest at around …


Energy And System Size Dependence Of Φ Meson Production In Cu + Cu And Au + Au Collisions, B. I. Abelev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, B. D. Anderson, D. Arkhipkin, G. S. Averichev, Y. Bai, J. Balewski, O. Barannikova, L. S. Barnby, S. Bültmann Jan 2009

Energy And System Size Dependence Of Φ Meson Production In Cu + Cu And Au + Au Collisions, B. I. Abelev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, B. D. Anderson, D. Arkhipkin, G. S. Averichev, Y. Bai, J. Balewski, O. Barannikova, L. S. Barnby, S. Bültmann

Physics Faculty Publications

We study the beam-energy and system-size dependence of ϕ meson production (using the hadronic decay mode ϕ → K + K − ) by comparing the new results from Cu + Cu collisions and previously reported Au + Au collisions at √sNN = 62.4 and 200 GeV measured in the STAR experiment at RHIC. Data presented in this Letter are from mid-rapidity ( | y | < 0.5 ) for 0.4 < PT < 5 GeV /c . At a given beam energy, the transverse momentum distributions for ϕ mesons are observed to be similar in yield and shape for Cu + Cu and Au + …


Moments Of The Spin Structure Functions G(1)(P) And G(1)(D) For 0.05 < Q2 < 3.0 Gev2, Clas Collaboration, Y. Prok, K. V. Dharmawardane, G. E. Dodge, S. E. Kuhn, M. J. Amaryan, H. Bagdasaryan, M. Bektasoglu, S. Bültmann, S. L. Careccia, G. Gavalian, N. Guler, C. E. Hyde-Wright, H. G. Juengst, N. Kalantarians, A. Klein, J. Lachniet, R. A. Niyazov, L. M. Qin, S. Sabatie, S. Tkachenko, L. B. Weinstein, J. Zhang Jan 2009

Moments Of The Spin Structure Functions G(1)(P) And G(1)(D) For 0.05 < Q2 < 3.0 Gev2, Clas Collaboration, Y. Prok, K. V. Dharmawardane, G. E. Dodge, S. E. Kuhn, M. J. Amaryan, H. Bagdasaryan, M. Bektasoglu, S. Bültmann, S. L. Careccia, G. Gavalian, N. Guler, C. E. Hyde-Wright, H. G. Juengst, N. Kalantarians, A. Klein, J. Lachniet, R. A. Niyazov, L. M. Qin, S. Sabatie, S. Tkachenko, L. B. Weinstein, J. Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

The spin structure functions g1 for the proton and the deuteron have been measured over a wide kinematic range in x and Q2 using 1.6 and 5.7 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons incident upon polarized NH3 and ND3 targets at Jefferson Lab. Scattered electrons were detected in the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer, for 0.05 < Q2 < 5GeV2 and W < 3 GeV. The first moments of g1 for the proton and deuteron are presented – both have a negative slope at low Q2, as predicted by the extended Gerasimov–Drell–Hearn sum rule. The first extraction of the generalized forward spin polarizability of the proton γ p 0 the Q2 evolution of the first moment of g1 shows agreement in leading order with Heavy …


The Bright Optical/Nir Afterglow Of The Faint Grb 080710 – Evidence Of A Jet Viewed Off-Axis, T. Krühler, J. Greiner, P. Afonso, D. Burlon, C. Clemens, R. Filgas, D. A. Kann, S. Klose, A. Küpcü Yolda¸, S. Mcbreen, F. Olivares, A. Rau, A. Rossi, S. Schulze, G. P. Szokoly, Adria Updike, A. Yolda¸S Jan 2009

The Bright Optical/Nir Afterglow Of The Faint Grb 080710 – Evidence Of A Jet Viewed Off-Axis, T. Krühler, J. Greiner, P. Afonso, D. Burlon, C. Clemens, R. Filgas, D. A. Kann, S. Klose, A. Küpcü Yolda¸, S. Mcbreen, F. Olivares, A. Rau, A. Rossi, S. Schulze, G. P. Szokoly, Adria Updike, A. Yolda¸S

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Aims. We investigate the optical/near-infrared light curve of the afterglow of GRB 080710 in the context of rising afterglows. Methods. Optical and near-infrared photometry was performed using the seven-channel imager GROND and the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope. X-ray data were provided by the X-ray Telescope onboard the Swift satellite. We construct an empirical light curve model using the available broadband data, which is well-sampled in the time and frequency domains. Results. The optical/NIR light curve of the afterglow of GRB 080710 is dominated by an initial increase in brightness, which smoothly turns over into a shallow power law decay. At around …


Arecibo Pulsar Survey Using Alpha: Probing Radio Pulsar Intermittency And Transients, J. S. Deneva, J. M. Cordes, M. A. Mclaughlin, D. J. Nice, D. R. Lorimer, F. Crawford, N. D.R. Bhat, F. Camilo, Fredrick A. Jenet, J. Van Leeuwen Jan 2009

Arecibo Pulsar Survey Using Alpha: Probing Radio Pulsar Intermittency And Transients, J. S. Deneva, J. M. Cordes, M. A. Mclaughlin, D. J. Nice, D. R. Lorimer, F. Crawford, N. D.R. Bhat, F. Camilo, Fredrick A. Jenet, J. Van Leeuwen

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present radio transient search algorithms, results, and statistics from the ongoing Arecibo Pulsar ALFA (PALFA) survey of the Galactic plane. We have discovered seven objects through a search for isolated dispersed pulses. All of these objects are Galactic and have measured periods between 0.4 and 4.7 s. One of the new discoveries has a duty cycle of 0.01%, smaller than that of any other radio pulsar. We discuss the impact of selection effects on the detectability and classification of intermittent sources, and compare the efficiencies of periodicity and single-pulse (SP) searches for various pulsar classes. For some cases we …


Stellar Population Models And Individual Element Abundances. Ii. Stellar Spectra And Integrated Light Models, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Aaron Dotter, Brian Chaboyer, Darko Jevremović, E. Baron, Michael M. Briley, Jason W. Ferguson, Paula Coelho, Scott C. Trager Jan 2009

Stellar Population Models And Individual Element Abundances. Ii. Stellar Spectra And Integrated Light Models, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Aaron Dotter, Brian Chaboyer, Darko Jevremović, E. Baron, Michael M. Briley, Jason W. Ferguson, Paula Coelho, Scott C. Trager

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The first paper in this series explored the effects of altering the chemical mixture of the stellar population on an element-by-element basis on stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones to the end of the red giant branch. This paper extends the discussion by incorporating the fully consistent synthetic stellar spectra with those isochrone models in predicting integrated colors, Lick indices, and synthetic spectra. Older populations display element ratio effects in their spectra at higher amplitude than younger populations. In addition, spectral effects in the photospheres of stars tend to dominate over effects from isochrone temperatures and lifetimes, but, further, the isochrone-based …


Time Reversal Of Continuous-Wave, Steady-State Signals In Elastic Media, Brian E. Anderson, Robert A. Guyer, Paul A. Johnson, Timothy J. Ulrich Jan 2009

Time Reversal Of Continuous-Wave, Steady-State Signals In Elastic Media, Brian E. Anderson, Robert A. Guyer, Paul A. Johnson, Timothy J. Ulrich

Faculty Publications

Experimental observations of spatial focusing of continuous-wave, steady-state elastic waves in a reverberant elastic cavity using time reversal are reported here. Spatially localized focusing is achieved when multiple channels are employed, while a single channel does not yield such focusing. The amplitude of the energy at the focal location increases as the square of the number of channels used, while the amplitude elsewhere in the medium increases proportionally with the number of channels used. The observation is important in the context of imaging in solid laboratory samples as well as problems involving continuous-wave signals in Earth.


Xafs Debye-Waller Factors For Deformed Hemes And Metal Substituted Hemes, Nicholas Dimakis, T. Mion, C. Ramirez, G. Bunker Jan 2009

Xafs Debye-Waller Factors For Deformed Hemes And Metal Substituted Hemes, Nicholas Dimakis, T. Mion, C. Ramirez, G. Bunker

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present an efficient and accurate method for calculating XAFS Debye-Waller factors for deformed active sites of hemoproteins and metal substituted hemes. Based on the Normal Coordinate Structural Decomposition scheme, the deformation of the porphyrin macrocycle is expressed as a linear combination of the normal modes of the planar species. In our approach, we identify the modes that contribute most to the deformation. Small metal-porphyrin structures which match the macrocycle structural deformation of the deformed hemoprotein site are used to calculate the Debye-Waller parameters at sample's temperature. The Debye-Waller factors are directly obtained by calculating the normal mode spectrum of …


Strong Field Effects On Pulsar Arrival Times: General Orientations, Yan Wang, Teviet Creighton, Richard H. Price, Fredrick A. Jenet Jan 2009

Strong Field Effects On Pulsar Arrival Times: General Orientations, Yan Wang, Teviet Creighton, Richard H. Price, Fredrick A. Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

A pulsar beam passing close to a black hole can provide a probe of very strong gravitational fields even if the pulsar itself is not in a strong field region. In the case that the spin of the hole can be ignored, we have previously shown that all strong field effects on the beam can be understood in terms of two \"universal\" functions: F(φin) and T(φin) of the angle of beam emission φin; these functions are universal in that they depend only on a single parameter, the pulsar/black hole distance from which the beam is emitted. Here we apply this …


Stacked Search For Gravitational Waves From The 2006 Sgr 1900+14 Storm, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, Teviet Creighton, Matthew Benacquista, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano Jan 2009

Stacked Search For Gravitational Waves From The 2006 Sgr 1900+14 Storm, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, Teviet Creighton, Matthew Benacquista, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the results of a LIGO search for short-duration gravitational waves (GWs) associated with the 2006 March 29 SGR 1900+14 storm. A new search method is used, \"stacking\" the GW data around the times of individual soft-gamma bursts in the storm to enhance sensitivity for models in which multiple bursts are accompanied by GW emission. We assume that variation in the time difference between burst electromagnetic emission and potential burst GW emission is small relative to the GW signal duration, and we time-align GW excess power time-frequency tilings containing individual burst triggers to their corresponding electromagnetic emissions. We use …


Strong Field Effects On Pulsar Arrival Times: Circular Orbits And Equatorial Beams, Yan Wang, Fredrick Jenet, Teviet Creighton, Richard H. Price Jan 2009

Strong Field Effects On Pulsar Arrival Times: Circular Orbits And Equatorial Beams, Yan Wang, Fredrick Jenet, Teviet Creighton, Richard H. Price

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

If a pulsar orbits a supermassive black hole, the timing of pulses that pass close to the hole will show a variety of strong field effects. To compute the intensity and timing of pulses that have passed close to a nonrotating black hole, we introduce here a simple formalism based on two \"universal functions,\" one for the bending of photon trajectories and the other for the photon travel time on these trajectories. We apply this simple formalism to the case of a pulsar in circular orbit that beams its pulses into the orbital plane. In addition to the \"primary\" pulses …


Search For Gravitational Waves From Low Mass Compact Binary Coalescence In 186 Days Of Ligo’S Fifth Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, K. Hayama, H. Lei, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, Lappoon R. Tang Jan 2009

Search For Gravitational Waves From Low Mass Compact Binary Coalescence In 186 Days Of Ligo’S Fifth Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, K. Hayama, H. Lei, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, Lappoon R. Tang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries, of total mass between 2 and 35M⊙, using LIGO observations between November 14, 2006 and May 18, 2007. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass. The LIGO cumulative 90%-confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of neutron stars, black holes and black hole-neutron star systems are 1.4×10−2, 7.3×10−4 and 3.6×10−3  yr−1 L−110, respectively, where L10 is 1010 times the blue solar luminosity.


Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The First Year Of The Fifth Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Hansheng Lei, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano Jan 2009

Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The First Year Of The Fifth Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Hansheng Lei, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the results obtained from an all-sky search for gravitational-wave (GW) bursts in the 64–2000 Hz frequency range in data collected by the LIGO detectors during the first year (November 2005—November 2006) of their fifth science run. The total analyzed live time was 268.6 days. Multiple hierarchical data analysis methods were invoked in this search. The overall sensitivity expressed in terms of the root-sum-square (rss) strain amplitude hrss for gravitational-wave bursts with various morphologies was in the range of 6×10−22  Hz−1/2 to a few×10−21  Hz−1/2. No GW signals were observed and a frequentist upper limit of 3.75 events per …


The Planetary Nebula Spectrograph Elliptical Galaxy Survey: The Dark Matter In Ngc 4494, N. R. Napolitano, Aaron J. Romanowsky, L. Coccato, M. Capaccioli, N. G. Douglas, E. Noordermeer, O. Gerhard, M. Arnaboldi, F. De Lorenzi, K. Kuijken, M. R. Merrifield, E. O'Sullivan, A. Cortesi, P. Das, K. C. Freeman Jan 2009

The Planetary Nebula Spectrograph Elliptical Galaxy Survey: The Dark Matter In Ngc 4494, N. R. Napolitano, Aaron J. Romanowsky, L. Coccato, M. Capaccioli, N. G. Douglas, E. Noordermeer, O. Gerhard, M. Arnaboldi, F. De Lorenzi, K. Kuijken, M. R. Merrifield, E. O'Sullivan, A. Cortesi, P. Das, K. C. Freeman

Faculty Publications

We present new Planetary Nebula Spectrograph observations of the ordinary elliptical galaxy NGC 4494, resulting in positions and velocities of 255 planetary nebulae out to seven effective radii (25 kpc). We also present new wide-field surface photometry from MMT/Megacam, and long-slit stellar kinematics from VLT/FORS2. The spatial and kinematical distributions of the planetary nebulae agree with the field stars in the region of overlap. The mean rotation is relatively low, with a possible kinematic axis twist outside 1Re. The velocity dispersion profile declines with radius, though not very steeply, down to ∼70 km s−1 at the last data point. We …


Probing The 2d Kinematic Structure Of Early-Type Galaxies Out To 3 Effective Radii, R. N. Proctor, D. A. Forbes, J. P. Brodie, Aaron J. Romanowsky, J. Strader, M. Spolaor, J. T. Mendel, L. Spitler Jan 2009

Probing The 2d Kinematic Structure Of Early-Type Galaxies Out To 3 Effective Radii, R. N. Proctor, D. A. Forbes, J. P. Brodie, Aaron J. Romanowsky, J. Strader, M. Spolaor, J. T. Mendel, L. Spitler

Faculty Publications

We detail an innovative new technique for measuring the two-dimensional (2D) velocity moments (rotation velocity, velocity dispersion and Gauss–Hermite coefficients h3 and h4) of the stellar populations of galaxy haloes using spectra from Keck DEIMOS (Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph) multi-object spectroscopic observations. The data are used to reconstruct 2D rotation velocity maps. Here we present data for five nearby early-type galaxies to ∼three effective radii. We provide significant insights into the global kinematic structure of these galaxies, and challenge the accepted morphological classification in several cases. We show that between one and three effective radii the velocity dispersion declines very …