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2009

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Articles 61 - 90 of 245

Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

A Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Three Recycled Pulsars Using The Auriga Detector, A. Mion, M. J. Benacquista, M. Kramer, P. P.C. Freire, A. Possenti Sep 2009

A Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Three Recycled Pulsars Using The Auriga Detector, A. Mion, M. J. Benacquista, M. Kramer, P. P.C. Freire, A. Possenti

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Aims.We report on a search for continuous gravitational wave emission from three recycled radio pulsars, performed by using the data of the resonant detector AURIGA. Given the spin rate of the selected targets - the isolated pulsar PSR J1939+2134 and the binary pulsars PSR J0024-7204J and PSR J0218+4232 - the expected frequency of the emitted gravitational waves falls in the high sensitivity range of the detector. Methods.The main topic is the method, meaning that the statistical analysis is performed by implementing a slightly modified version of the Feldman and Cousins Unified Approach. Results.By using ephemerides provided by suitable radio observations …

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Search For Gravitational Wave Ringdowns From Perturbed Black Holes In Ligo S4 Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, K. Hayama, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, Lappoon R. Tang Sep 2009

Search For Gravitational Wave Ringdowns From Perturbed Black Holes In Ligo S4 Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, K. Hayama, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano, Robert Stone, Lappoon R. Tang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

According to general relativity a perturbed black hole will settle to a stationary configuration by the emission of gravitational radiation. Such a perturbation will occur, for example, in the coalescence of a black hole binary, following their inspiral and subsequent merger. At late times the waveform is a superposition of quasinormal modes, which we refer to as the ringdown. The dominant mode is expected to be the fundamental mode, l=m=2. Since this is a well-known waveform, matched filtering can be implemented to search for this signal using LIGO data. We present a search for gravitational waves from black hole ringdowns …

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Stochastic Particle Acceleration In The Lobes Of Giant Radio Galaxies, Stephen O'Sullivan, Brian Reville, Andrew Taylor Sep 2009

Stochastic Particle Acceleration In The Lobes Of Giant Radio Galaxies, Stephen O'Sullivan, Brian Reville, Andrew Taylor

Articles

We investigate the acceleration of particles by Alfv ́en waves via the second-order Fermi process in the lobes of giant radio galaxies. Such sites are candidates for the accelerators of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR). We focus on the nearby Fanaroff–Riley type I radio galaxy Centaurus A. This is motivated by the coincidence of its position with the arrival direction of several of the highest energy Auger events. The conditions necessary for consistency with the acceleration time-scales predicted by quasi-linear theory are reviewed. Test particle calculations are performed in fields which guarantee electric fields with no component parallel to the local …

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Detection Of Extended Vhe Gamma Ray Emission From G106.3+2.7 With Veritas, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al Aug 2009

Detection Of Extended Vhe Gamma Ray Emission From G106.3+2.7 With Veritas, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

We report the detection of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from supernova remnant (SNR) G106.3+2.7. Observations performed in 2008 with the VERITAS atmospheric Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope resolve extended emission overlapping the elongated radio SNR. The 7.3σ (pre-trials) detection has a full angular extent of roughly 06 by 04. Most notably, the centroid of the VHE emission is centered near the peak of the coincident 12CO (J = 1-0) emission, 04 away from the pulsar PSR J2229+6114, situated at the northern end of the SNR. Evidently the current-epoch particles from the pulsar wind nebula are not participating in the gamma-ray production. …

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Search For Gravitational Waves From Low Mass Compact Binary Coalescence In 186 Days Of Ligo's Fifth Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, L. Barsotti, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, R. Bassiri, M. Bastarrika, B. Behnke, M. Benacquista, Tiffany Z. Summerscales Aug 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, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, L. Barsotti, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, R. Bassiri, M. Bastarrika, B. Behnke, M. Benacquista, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

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 3.6×10-3yr-1L10-1, respectively, where L10 is 1010 times the blue solar luminosity. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

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From The Big Bang To Fossil Butte: The Cosmic Biography Of An Atom, Shane L. Larson Aug 2009

From The Big Bang To Fossil Butte: The Cosmic Biography Of An Atom, Shane L. Larson

Public Talks

No abstract provided.

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Weibel Instability And Associated Strong Fields In A Fully 3d Simulation Of A Relativistic Shock, K.-I. Nishikawa, J. Niemiec, P. E. Hardee, M. Medvedev, H. Sol, Y. Mizuno, B. Zhang, M. Pohl, M. Oka, Dieter H. Hartmann Aug 2009

Weibel Instability And Associated Strong Fields In A Fully 3d Simulation Of A Relativistic Shock, K.-I. Nishikawa, J. Niemiec, P. E. Hardee, M. Medvedev, H. Sol, Y. Mizuno, B. Zhang, M. Pohl, M. Oka, Dieter H. Hartmann

Publications

Plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) excited in collision-less shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a new 3-D relativistic particle-in-cell code, we have investigated the particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electron-positron jet propagating into an unmagnetized electron-positron plasma. The simulation has been performed using a long simulation system in order to study the nonlinear stages of the Weibel instability, the particle acceleration mechanism, and the shock structure. Cold jet electrons are thermalized and slowed while the ambient electrons are swept up to create a partially developed hydrodynamic …

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Grape: A Balloon-Borne Gamma-Ray Polarimeter, Mark L. Mcconnell, Chris Bancroft, Peter F. Bloser, Taylor Connor, Jason S. Legere, James M. Ryan Aug 2009

Grape: A Balloon-Borne Gamma-Ray Polarimeter, Mark L. Mcconnell, Chris Bancroft, Peter F. Bloser, Taylor Connor, Jason S. Legere, James M. Ryan

Space Science Center

The Gamma-RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) is a concept for an astronomical hard X-ray Compton polarimeter operating in the 50 - 500 keV energy band. The instrument has been optimized for wide-field polarization measurements of transient outbursts from energetic astrophysical objects such as gamma-ray bursts and solar flares. The GRAPE instrument is composed of identical modules, each of which consists of an array of scintillator elements read out by a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT). Incident photons Compton scatter in plastic scintillator elements and are subsequently absorbed in inorganic scintillator elements; a net polarization signal is revealed by a characteristic asymmetry in …

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A New Low-Background Compton Telescope Using Labr3 Scintillator, Peter F. Bloser, James M. Ryan, Jason S. Legere, Manuel Julien, Chris Bancroft, Mark L. Mcconnell, Mark Wallace, R M. Kippen, Shawn Tornga Aug 2009

A New Low-Background Compton Telescope Using Labr3 Scintillator, Peter F. Bloser, James M. Ryan, Jason S. Legere, Manuel Julien, Chris Bancroft, Mark L. Mcconnell, Mark Wallace, R M. Kippen, Shawn Tornga

Space Science Center

Gamma-ray astronomy in the MeV range suffers from weak fluxes from sources and high background in the nuclear energy range. The background comes primarily from neutron-induced gamma rays, with the neutrons being produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft, and the instrument. Compton telescope designs often suppress this background by requiring coincidences in multiple detectors and a narrow time-of-flight (ToF) acceptance window. The COMPTEL experience on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory shows that a 1.9-ns ToF resolution is insufficiently narrow to achieve the required low background count rate. Furthermore, neutron interactions in the detectors themselves generate an …

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Subaru High-Resolution Spectroscopy Of Star G In The Tycho Supernova Remnant, Wolfgang E. Kerzendorf, Brian P. Schmidt, M. Asplund, Ken'ichi Nomoto, Ph. Podsiadlowski, Anna Frebel, Robert A. Fesen, David Yong Aug 2009

Subaru High-Resolution Spectroscopy Of Star G In The Tycho Supernova Remnant, Wolfgang E. Kerzendorf, Brian P. Schmidt, M. Asplund, Ken'ichi Nomoto, Ph. Podsiadlowski, Anna Frebel, Robert A. Fesen, David Yong

Dartmouth Scholarship

It is widely believed that Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) originate in binary systems where a white dwarf accretes material from a companion star until its mass approaches the Chandrasekhar mass and carbon is ignited in the white dwarf's core. This scenario predicts that the donor star should survive the supernova (SNe) explosion, providing an opportunity to understand the progenitors of SNe Ia. In this paper, we argue that rotation is a generic signature expected of most nongiant donor stars that is easily measurable. Ruiz-Lapuente et al. examined stars in the center of the remnant of SN 1572 (Tycho SN) …

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An Upper Limit On The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Of Cosmological Origin, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, F. Acernese, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, M. Alshourbagy, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, F. Antonucci, S. Aoudia, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, K. G. Arun, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Astone, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, G. Ballardin, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, F. Barone, B. Barr, Tiffany Z. Summerscales Aug 2009

An Upper Limit On The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Of Cosmological Origin, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, F. Acernese, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, M. Alshourbagy, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, F. Antonucci, S. Aoudia, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, K. G. Arun, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Astone, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, G. Ballardin, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, F. Barone, B. Barr, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of a large number of unresolved gravitational-wave sources of astrophysical and cosmological origin. It should carry unique signatures from the earliest epochs in the evolution of the Universe, inaccessible to standard astrophysical observations. Direct measurements of the amplitude of this background are therefore of fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of the Universe when it was younger than one minute. Here we report limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background using the data from a two-year science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). …

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Two Exoplanets Discovered At Keck Observatory, Jeff A. Valenti, Debra A. Fischer, Geoffrey W. Marcy, John Asher Johnson, Gregory W. Henry, Jason T. Wright, Andrew W. Howard, Matthew J. Giguere, Howard Isaacson Aug 2009

Two Exoplanets Discovered At Keck Observatory, Jeff A. Valenti, Debra A. Fischer, Geoffrey W. Marcy, John Asher Johnson, Gregory W. Henry, Jason T. Wright, Andrew W. Howard, Matthew J. Giguere, Howard Isaacson

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present two exoplanets detected at Keck Observatory. HD 179079 is a G5 subgiant that hosts a hot Neptune planet with M sin i = 27.5 M⊕ in a 14.48 days, low-eccentricity orbit. The stellar reflex velocity induced by this planet has a semiamplitude of K = 6.6 m s−1. HD 73534 is a G5 subgiant with a Jupiter-like planet of M sin i = 1.1 MJup and K = 16 m s−1 in a nearly circular 4.85 yr orbit. Both stars are chromospherically inactive and metal-rich. We discuss a known, classical bias in measuring eccentricities for orbits with velocity …

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Scan-Based Near-Field Acoustical Holography On Partially Correlated Sources, Michael D. Gardner Aug 2009

Scan-Based Near-Field Acoustical Holography On Partially Correlated Sources, Michael D. Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

Scan-based near-field acoustical holography (NAH) is applied to partially correlated sources. Partial field decomposition via the virtual coherence method is used to implement the scan-based NAH. The background and theory of these methods are developed. Multiple stationary reference microphones are required for the partial field decomposition. Guidelines for reference microphone placement in the literature thus far have been limited. Improved guidelines for reference microphones are given after the results of two sets of experiments. The first set involves discrete, partially correlated sources, both physical and numerical. The second set of experiments is strictly numerical and involves continuous sources. Fewer microphones …

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Einstein@Home Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In Early S5 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, Teviet Creighton, Matthew Benacquista, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Soumya D. Mohanty, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano Aug 2009

Einstein@Home Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In Early S5 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, Teviet Creighton, Matthew Benacquista, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Soumya D. Mohanty, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

This paper reports on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from sources such as deformed isolated rapidly spinning neutron stars. The analysis uses 840 hours of data from 66 days of the fifth LIGO science run (S5). The data were searched for quasimonochromatic waves with frequencies f in the range from 50 to 1500 Hz, with a linear frequency drift ḟ (measured at the solar system barycenter) in the range -f/τ<ḟ<0.1f/τ, for a minimum spin-down age τ of 1000 years for signals below 400 Hz and 8000 years above 400 Hz. The main computational work of the search was distributed over approximately 100000 computers volunteered by the general public. This large computing power allowed the use of a relatively long coherent integration time of 30 hours while searching a large parameter space. This search extends Einstein@Home's previous search in LIGO S4 data to about 3 times better sensitivity. No statistically significant signals were found. In the 125-225 Hz band, more than 90% of sources with dimensionless gravitational-wave strain tensor amplitude greater than 3×10-24 would have been detected. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

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Einstein@Home Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In Early S5 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, L. Barsotti, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, R. Bassiri, M. Bastarrika, B. Behnke, M. Benacquista, Tiffany Z. Summerscales Aug 2009

Einstein@Home Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In Early S5 Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, P. Ajith, B. Allen, G. Allen, R. S. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. A. Arain, M. Araya, H. Armandula, P. Armor, Y. Aso, S. Aston, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, P. Baker, S. Ballmer, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, L. Barsotti, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, R. Bassiri, M. Bastarrika, B. Behnke, M. Benacquista, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

This paper reports on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from sources such as deformed isolated rapidly spinning neutron stars. The analysis uses 840 hours of data from 66 days of the fifth LIGO science run (S5). The data were searched for quasimonochromatic waves with frequencies f in the range from 50 to 1500 Hz, with a linear frequency drift ḟ (measured at the solar system barycenter) in the range -f/τ<ḟ<0.1f/τ, for a minimum spin-down age τ of 1000 years for signals below 400 Hz and 8000 years above 400 Hz. The main computational work of the search was distributed over approximately 100000 computers volunteered by the general public. This large computing power allowed the use of a relatively long coherent integration time of 30 hours while searching a large parameter space. This search extends Einstein@Home's previous search in LIGO S4 data to about 3 times better sensitivity. No statistically significant signals were found. In the 125-225 Hz band, more than 90% of sources with dimensionless gravitational-wave strain tensor amplitude greater than 3×10-24 would have been detected. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

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Rotationally Warm Molecular Hydrogen In The Orion Bar, Gargi Shaw, Gary J. Ferland, W. J. Henney, P. C. Stancil, N. P. Abel, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, P. A. Van Hoof Aug 2009

Rotationally Warm Molecular Hydrogen In The Orion Bar, Gargi Shaw, Gary J. Ferland, W. J. Henney, P. C. Stancil, N. P. Abel, E. W. Pellegrini, J. A. Baldwin, P. A. Van Hoof

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Orion Bar is one of the nearest and best-studied photodissociation or photon-dominated regions (PDRs). Observations reveal the presence of H2 lines from vibrationally or rotationally excited upper levels that suggest warm gas temperatures (400-700 K). However, standard models of PDRs are unable to reproduce such warm rotational temperatures. In this paper, we attempt to explain these observations with new comprehensive models which extend from the H+ region through the Bar and include the magnetic field in the equation of state. We adopt the model parameters from our previous paper which successfully reproduced a wide variety of spectral …

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Tracing The Inner Edge Of The Disk Around Hd 100546 With Rovibrational Co Emission Lines, Sean D. Brittain, Joan R. Najita, John S. Carr Aug 2009

Tracing The Inner Edge Of The Disk Around Hd 100546 With Rovibrational Co Emission Lines, Sean D. Brittain, Joan R. Najita, John S. Carr

Publications

In this paper we present high-resolution 4.7 μm spectra of the isolated Herbig Be star HD 100546. HD 100546 has been the subject of intense scrutiny because it is a young nearby star with a transitional disk. We observe the Δv = 1 rovibrational CO transitions in order to clarify the distribution of warm gas in the inner disk. Modeling of the CO spectrum indicates that the gas is vibrationally excited by collisions and UV fluorescence. The observed emission extends from 13 to 100 AU. The inner edge of the molecular gas emission is consistent with the inner edge of …

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Martian Life Detection With Xylose Enantiomers, Arturo White, Gaosun Zhang, Henry J. Sun Aug 2009

Martian Life Detection With Xylose Enantiomers, Arturo White, Gaosun Zhang, Henry J. Sun

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Ability of Martian soil to degrade carbohydrates, shown by the Viking mission, has two interpretations. One possibility is that the soil harbors living microorganisms. Alternatively, the soil is sterile but chemically oxidizing, i.e. it is laden with photochemical oxidants. It was shown by REU research last summer that these two possibilities can be distinguished by the use of glucose enantiomers. Life is selective: Earth organisms use D-glucose, but ignore Lglucose. This stereo selectivity is absent in chemical reactions. The goal of this project is to test if xylose, a five carbon sugar, is also suitable for chiral life detection. Mixed …

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Martian Life Detection With Amino Acid Enantiomers, Ali Jamil, Gaosen Zhang, Henry J. Sun Aug 2009

Martian Life Detection With Amino Acid Enantiomers, Ali Jamil, Gaosen Zhang, Henry J. Sun

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Viking mission showed that Martian soil can degrade a heterotrophic medium to carbon dioxide as if live microorganisms were present. The result is considered inconclusive, however, because abiotic oxidants, such as superoxides, may also exist on Mars and would explain the Viking result. One way to resolve this ambiguity is to repeat the Viking experiment with a isomerically pure medium. The consumption of one isomer, either D or L, would indicate biological activity. Indiscriminate destruction of both isomers would indicate abiotic redox processes. This idea was validated for glucose by REU research last summer (Sun et al. 2009). The …

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Transit Spectrophotometry Of The Exoplanet Hd 189733b I. Searching For Water But Finding Haze With Hst Nicmos, David K. Sing, Jean-Michel Désert, Alain Lecavelier Des Etangs, Gilda E. Ballester, Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Vivien Parmentier, Guillaume Hébrard, Gregory W. Henry Aug 2009

Transit Spectrophotometry Of The Exoplanet Hd 189733b I. Searching For Water But Finding Haze With Hst Nicmos, David K. Sing, Jean-Michel Désert, Alain Lecavelier Des Etangs, Gilda E. Ballester, Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Vivien Parmentier, Guillaume Hébrard, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared transit photometry of the nearby hot-Jupiter HD 189733b. The observations were taken with the NICMOS instrument during five transits, with three transits executed with a narrowband filter at 1.87 m and two performed with a narrowband filter at 1.66 m. Our observing strategy using narrowband filters is insensitive to the usual HST intra-orbit and orbit-to-orbit measurement of systematic errors, allowing us to accurately and robustly measure the near-IR wavelength dependance of the planetary radius. Our measurements fail to reproduce the previously claimed detection of an absorption signature of atmospheric H2O below …

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The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation And Its Implication For Dark Matter Halos, Stacy S. Mcgaugh Aug 2009

The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation And Its Implication For Dark Matter Halos, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

Context. The baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (BTF) is a fundamental relation between baryonic mass and maximum rotation velocity. It can be used to estimate distances, as well as to constrain the properties of dark matter and its relation with the visible matter.Aims. In this paper, we explore if extremely low-mass dwarf galaxies follow the same BTF relation as high-mass galaxies. We quantify the scatter in the BTF relation and use this to constrain the allowed elongations of dark matter halo potentials.Methods. We obtained H I synthesis data of 11 dwarf galaxies and derive several independent estimates for the maximum rotation velocity.Results. …

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Modelling, Design And Diagnostics For A Photoionised Plasma Experiment, I. M. Hall, T. Turmaz, R. C. Mancini, J. E. Bailey, G. Rochau, Michael Jonathan Rosenberg , '08, David H. Cohen, I. Golovkin, J. J. Macfarlane, M. E. Sherril, J. Abdallah, R. F. Heeter, M. E. Foord, S. H. Glenzer, H. A. Scott Aug 2009

Modelling, Design And Diagnostics For A Photoionised Plasma Experiment, I. M. Hall, T. Turmaz, R. C. Mancini, J. E. Bailey, G. Rochau, Michael Jonathan Rosenberg , '08, David H. Cohen, I. Golovkin, J. J. Macfarlane, M. E. Sherril, J. Abdallah, R. F. Heeter, M. E. Foord, S. H. Glenzer, H. A. Scott

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Photoionised plasmas are common in astrophysical environments and new high resolution spectra from such sources have been recorded in recent years by the Chandra and XMM-Newton satellites. These provide a wealth of spectroscopic information and have motivated recent efforts aimed at obtaining a detailed understanding of the atomic-kinetic and radiative characteristics of photoionised plasmas. The Z-pinch facility at the Sandia National Laboratories is the most powerful terrestrial source of X-rays and provides an opportunity to produce photoionised plasmas in a well characterised radiation environment. We present modelling work and experimental design considerations for a forthcoming experiment at Sandia in which …

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Multiwavelength Observations Of Ls I+61 Degrees 303 With Veritas, Swift, And Rxte, P. T. Reynolds, Et. Al. Aug 2009

Multiwavelength Observations Of Ls I+61 Degrees 303 With Veritas, Swift, And Rxte, P. T. Reynolds, Et. Al.

Physical Sciences Publications

We present results from a long-term monitoring campaign on the TeV binary LSI +61° 303 with VERITAS at energies above 500 GeV, and in the 2-10 keV hard X-ray bands with RXTE and Swift, sampling nine 26.5 day orbital cycles between 2006 September and 2008 February. The binary was observed by VERITAS to be variable, with all integrated observations resulting in a detection at the 8.8σ (2006/2007) and 7.3σ (2007/2008) significance level for emission above 500 GeV. The source was detected during active periods with flux values ranging from 5% to 20% of the Crab Nebula, varying over the course …

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A Spectroscopic Analysis Of V505 Persei And The Origin Of The Lithium Dip, Patrick Baugh Aug 2009

A Spectroscopic Analysis Of V505 Persei And The Origin Of The Lithium Dip, Patrick Baugh

All Theses

We study the observed Li Dip in stellar clusters and field stars, testing Rotationally Induced Mixing (RIM) by measuring Li abundances in a middle-aged (1.1±0.15 Gyr), metal poor ([Fe/H]=-0.15±0.03), short period binary, V505 Per, finding Li abundances of Log N(Li)=2.67±0.1 and 2.42±0.2 from the primary and secondary components, respectively. These abundances are significantly higher than observed abundances from single stars of similar metallicity and ZAMS Teff; as shown by comparison with NGC 752, and suggest that RIM may be a primary cause of the Li Dip.

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Nonideal Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulent Decay In Molecular Clouds, Turlough Downes, Stephen O'Sullivan Aug 2009

Nonideal Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulent Decay In Molecular Clouds, Turlough Downes, Stephen O'Sullivan

Articles

It is well known that non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects are important in the dynamics of molecular clouds: both ambipolar diffusion and possibly the Hall effect have been identified as significant. We present the results of a suite of simulations with a resolution of 512-cubed of turbulent decay in molecular clouds incorporating a simplified form of both ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect simultaneously. The initial velocity field in the turbulence is varied from being super-Alfvénic and hypersonic, through to trans-Alfvénic but still supersonic.

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The Very Basics Of Sustainability - An Alternative Viewpoint (Slides With Audio) (Large File! To Speed Up Download, Right-Click On "Download" Link To Save To Own Pc.), Jim Mcgovern Aug 2009

The Very Basics Of Sustainability - An Alternative Viewpoint (Slides With Audio) (Large File! To Speed Up Download, Right-Click On "Download" Link To Save To Own Pc.), Jim Mcgovern

Other resources

This presentation sets out the very basics of ‘sustainability’, although a definition of sustainability is not attempted. Some of the very basics are the context in which the Earth and humankind exist in space and time, the Earth’s climate, the Earth’s population and humankind’s options and choices. The author advocates keeping an open mind on all available options, including the use of oil, gas, coal, tar sands, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power etc., as well as the technologies that are more widely considered ‘green’. The author also argues that, in addressing the challenges that humankind faces, globally concerted effort …

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Hst/Acs Emission Line Imaging Of Low-Redshift 3cr Radio Galaxies. I. The Data, Grant R. Tremblay, Marco Chiaberge, William B. Sparks, Stefi A. Baum, Mark G. Allen, David J. Axon, Alessandro Capetti, David J. E. Floyd, F. Duccio Macchetto, George K. Miley, Jacob Noel-Storr, Christopher P. O'Dea, Eric S. Perlman, Alice C. Quillen Aug 2009

Hst/Acs Emission Line Imaging Of Low-Redshift 3cr Radio Galaxies. I. The Data, Grant R. Tremblay, Marco Chiaberge, William B. Sparks, Stefi A. Baum, Mark G. Allen, David J. Axon, Alessandro Capetti, David J. E. Floyd, F. Duccio Macchetto, George K. Miley, Jacob Noel-Storr, Christopher P. O'Dea, Eric S. Perlman, Alice C. Quillen

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We present 19 nearby (z < 0.3) 3CR radio galaxies imaged at low and high excitation as part of a Cycle 15 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) snapshot survey with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). These images consist of exposures of the Hα (6563 Å, plus [N ii] contamination) and [O iii]λ5007 emission lines using narrowband linear ramp filters adjusted according to the redshift of the target. To facilitate continuum subtraction, a single-pointing 60 s line-free exposure was taken with a mediumband filter appropriate for the target’s redshift. We discuss the steps taken to reduce these images independently of the automated recalibration pipeline so as to use more recent ACS flat-field data as well as to better reject cosmic rays. We describe the method used to produce continuum-free (pure line-emission) images, and present these images along with qualitative descriptions of the narrow-line region morphologies we observe. We present Hα+[N ii] and [O iii] line fluxes from aperture photometry, finding the values to fall expectedly on the redshift–luminosity trend from a past HST/WFPC2 emission line study of a larger, generally higher redshift subset of the 3CR.We also find expected trends between emission line luminosity and total radio power, as well as a positive correlation between the size of the emission line region and redshift. We discuss the associated interpretation of these results, and conclude with a summary of future work enabled by this data set.

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The Reality Of The Wolf 630 Moving Group, Eric Bubar Aug 2009

The Reality Of The Wolf 630 Moving Group, Eric Bubar

All Dissertations

The concept of relic kinematic assemblages from dispersed stellar clusters has
remained contentious since Eggen's initial formulation of moving groups in the
1960's. However, the availability of high quality parallaxes from the Hipparcos
space astrometry mission has resulted in distance measurements for thousands of
nearby, seemingly isolated stars. With these newly determined distances, a
high resolution spectroscopic abundance analysis can be brought to bear on many of the
alleged members of these relic associations. If a structure is a relic of
an open cluster, the members can be expected to be monolithic in age and abundance
inasmuch as homogeneity is …

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Generating Derivative Structures From Multilattices: Algorithm And Application To Hcp Alloys, Gus L. W. Hart, Rodney W. Forcade Jul 2009

Generating Derivative Structures From Multilattices: Algorithm And Application To Hcp Alloys, Gus L. W. Hart, Rodney W. Forcade

Faculty Publications

We present an algorithm for generating all derivative superstructures of a nonprimitive parent lattice. The algorithm has immediate application in important materials design problems such as modeling hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) alloys. Extending the work of Hart and Forcade [Phys. Rev. B 77, 224115 (2008)] (which applies only to Bravais lattices), this approach applies to arbitrary multilattices. The algorithm enumerates superlattices and atomic configurations using permutation groups rather than direct geometric comparisons. The key concept is to use the quotient group associated with each superlattice to determine all unique atomic configurations. The algorithm is very efficient; the run time scales linearly with …

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Massively Parallel Indirect Dielectrophoresis Controlled Placement Of Carbon Nanotubes, Hiram Jacob Conley Jul 2009

Massively Parallel Indirect Dielectrophoresis Controlled Placement Of Carbon Nanotubes, Hiram Jacob Conley

Theses and Dissertations

Placement of single walled carbon nanotubes is demonstrated through massively parallel indirect dielectrophoresis (MPID). MPID is shown to be able to control the placement of carbon tubes as well as the number of tubes placed. Lumped element analysis for AC circuits is used to model MPID. This model allows for predictions of the number of tubes that will be captured in a trap. This model has been consistent with experimental data of numbers of nanotube placed in a junction. Carbon nanotubes placed with MPID are shown to be electrically active.

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