Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Tadpole Orbits In The L4/L5 Region: Construction And Links To Other Families Of Periodic Orbits, Alexandre G. Van Anderlecht

Open Access Theses

The equations of motion in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) allow five equilibrium solutions, that is, the Lagrange or libration points. Two of the five equilibrium solutions are the triangular or equilateral libration points, L4 and L 5. As the secondary gravitational body moves in its orbit about the larger mass, L4 and L5 lead and trail the secondary by 60 degrees, respectively. This investigation focuses on periodic solutions in the vicinity of the triangular libration points, specifically horseshoe and tadpole orbits. Horseshoe orbits are symmetric periodic solutions in the plane of primary motion encompassing both …

Nucleon Pdf Separation With The Collider And Fixed-Target Data, Sergey Alekhin, Johannes Blümlein, Kristin Lohwasser, Lea Michaela Caminada, Katerina Lipka, Ringaile Plačakytė, Sven-Olaf Moch, Roberto Petti

Faculty Publications

We consider the impact of the recent data obtained by the LHC, Tevatron, and fixed-target experiments on the nucleon quark distributions with a particular focus on disentangling different quark species. An improved determination of the poorly known strange sea distribution is obtained due to including data from the neutrino-induced deep-inelastic scattering experiments NOMAD and CHORUS. The impact of the associated (W + c) production data by CMS and ATLAS on the strange sea determination is also studied and a comparison with earlier results based on the collider data is discussed. Finally, the recent LHC and Tevatron data on …

Conducting Laalo3/Srtio3 Heterointerfaces On Atomically-Flat Substrates Prepared By Deionized-Water, John G. Connell, J. Nichols, John H. Gruenewald, D. -W. Kim, Sung S. Ambrose Seo

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have investigated how the recently-developed water-leaching method for atomically-flat SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates affects the transport properties of LaAlO₃ (LAO) and STO heterointerfaces. Using pulsed laser deposition at identical growth conditions, we have synthesized epitaxial LAO thin-films on two different STO substrates, which are prepared by water-leaching and buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) etching methods. The structural, transport, and optical properties of LAO/STO heterostructures grown on water-leached substrates show the same high-quality as the samples grown on BHF-etched substrates. These results indicate that the water-leaching method can be used to grow complex oxide heterostructures with atomically well-defined heterointerfaces without …

The Parallelization And Optimization Of The N-Body Problem Using Openmp And Openmpi, Nicholas J. Carugati

Student Publications

The focus of this research is exploring the efficient ways we can implement the NBody problem. The N-Body problem, in the field of physics, is a problem in which predicts or simulates the movements of planets and how they interact with each other gravitationally. For this research, we are viewing if the simulation can execute efficiently by delegating the heavy computational work through different cores of a CPU. The approach that is being used to figure this out is by integrating the parallelization API OpenMP and the message-passing library OpenMPI into the code. Rather than all the code executing on …

A Monte Carlo Study Of The Pion Absorption And Charge Exchange Cross Section In Lariat, Andrew Olivier

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Formation And Characterization Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals O N Single Crystal A N D Nanoparticle Metal Oxide Surfaces, Mark F. Ditusa

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): Stellar Mass Growth Of Spiral Galaxies In The Cosmic Web., Mehmet Alpaslan, Meiert Grootes, Pamela M. Marcum, Cristina C. Popescu, Richard Tuffs, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Sarah Brough, Michael J. I. Brown, Luke J. M. Davies, Simon P. Driver, Benne W. Holwerda, Lee S. Kelvin, Maritza A. Lara-Lopez, Angel R. Lopez-Sanchez, Jon Loveday, Amanda J. Moffett, Edward N. Taylor, Matt S. Owers, Aaron S. G. Robotham

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We look for correlated changes in stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) along filaments in the cosmic web by examining the stellar masses and UV-derived SFRs of 1799 ungrouped and unpaired spiral galaxies that reside in filaments. We devise multiple distance metrics to characterize the complex geometry of filaments, and find that galaxies closer to the cylindrical centre of a filament have higher stellar masses than their counterparts near the periphery of filaments, on the edges of voids. In addition, these peripheral spiral galaxies have higher SFRs at a given mass. Complementing our sample of filament spiral galaxies with …

The Ghosts Survey – Ii. The Diversity Of Halo Colour And Metallicity Profiles Of Massive Disc Galaxies., Antonela Monachesi, Eric F. Bell, David J. Radburn-Smith, Jeremy Bailin, Roelof S. De Jong, Benne W. Holwerda, David Streich, Grace Silverstein

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We study the stellar halo colour properties of six nearby massive highly inclined disc galaxies using Hubble space telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 observations in both F606W and F814W filters from the GHOSTS (Galaxy Halos, Outer disks, Substructure, Thick disks, and Star clusters) survey. The observed fields probe the stellar outskirts out to projected distances of ∼50–70 kpc from their galactic centre along the minor axis. The 50 per cent completeness levels of the colour–magnitude diagrams are typically at 2 mag below the tip of the red giant branch (RGB). We …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama) : The Stellar Mass Budget By Galaxy Type., Amanda J. Moffett, Stephen A. Ingarfield, Simon P. Driver, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Lee S. Kelvin, Rebecca Lange, Uros Mestric, Mehmet Alpaslan, Ivan K. Baldry, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Sarah Brough, Michelle Cluver, Luke J. M. Davies, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Prajwal R. Kafle, Rebecca Kennedy, Peder Norberg, Edward N. Taylor

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report an expanded sample of visual morphological classifications from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey phase two, which now includes 7556 objects (previously 3727 in phase one). We define a local (z < 0.06) sample and classify galaxies into E, S0-Sa, SB0-SBa, Sab-Scd, SBab-SBcd, Sd-Irr, and ‘little blue spheroid’ types. Using these updated classifications, we derive stellar mass function fits to individual galaxy populations divided both by morphological class and more general spheroid- or disc-dominated categories with a lower mass limit of log(M*/M⊙) = 8 (one dex below earlier morphological mass function determinations). We find that all individual morphological classes and the combined spheroid-/bulge-dominated classes are well described by single Schechter stellar mass function forms. We find that the total stellar mass densities for individual galaxy populations and for the entire galaxy population are bounded within our stellar mass limits and derive an estimated total stellar mass …

Erratum: The Sluggs Survey: The Globular Cluster Systems Of Three Early-Type Galaxies Using Wide-Field Imaging, Sreeja Kartha, Duncan Forbes, Lee Spitler, Aaron Romanowsky, Jacob Arnold, Jean Brodie

Faculty Publications

The paper ‘The SLUGGS survey: the globular cluster systems of three early-type galaxies using wide-field imaging’ was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 437, 273 – 292 (2014).

The Sluggs Survey: The Assembly Histories Of Individual Early-Type Galaxies, Duncan Forbes, Aaron Romanowsky, Nicola Pastorello, Caroline Foster, Jean Brodie, Jay Strader, Christopher Usher, Vincenzo Pota

Faculty Publications

Early-type (E and S0) galaxies may have assembled via a variety of different evolutionary pathways. Here, we investigate these pathways by comparing the stellar kinematic properties of 24 early-type galaxies from the SAGES Legacy Unifying Globulars and GalaxieS (SLUGGS) survey with the hydrodynamical simulations of Naab et al. In particular, we use the kinematics of starlight up to 4 effective radii (Re) as diagnostics of galaxy inner and outer regions, and assign each galaxy to one of six Naab et al. assembly classes. The majority of our galaxies (14/24) have kinematic characteristics that indicate an assembly history dominated by gradual …

Book Review: Moons Of The Solar System: From Giant Ganymede To Dainty Dactyl, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Moons of the Solar System : from Giant Ganymede to Dainty Dactyl by James A. Hall, III. Springer 2015. 297p index afp, 9783319206356 $34.99, 9783319206363 $19.99

Reverberation Mapping Of The Dusty Torus In Active Galactic Nuclei, Erich Franz Geisert

Theses and Dissertations

The Dusty Torus is a structure that is believed to exist in Active Galactic Nuclei. The Torus is physically too small to be spatially resolved, so Reverberation Mapping can be performed in order to replace spatial resolution with temporal resolution, yielding observations that can unravel the mystery of the Dusty Torus. One of the unknowns about the Torus is how the dust is distributed. The two competing theories are that either the dust resides in discrete clouds or that there is a solid wall of dust. This thesis presents the results of a year long observation program, starting in August …

Gravitational-Wave Cosmology Across 29 Decades In Frequency, Paul D. Lasky, Chiara `. Mingarelli, Tristan L. Smith, John T. Giblin, Eric Thrane, Daniel J. Reardon, Robert Caldwell

Dartmouth Scholarship

Quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field in the early Universe, amplified by inflation, produce a primordial gravitational-wave background across a broad frequency band. We derive constraints on the spectrum of this gravitational radiation, and hence on theories of the early Universe, by combining experiments that cover 29 orders of magnitude in frequency. These include Planck observations of cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization power spectra and lensing, together with baryon acoustic oscillations and big bang nucleosynthesis measurements, as well as new pulsar timing array and ground-based interferometer limits. While individual experiments constrain the gravitational-wave energy density in specific frequency bands, …

Gw150914: Implications For The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background From Binary Black Holes, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Hernan P. Daveloza, Mario C. Diaz, S. R. Morriss, Soma Mukherjee, Marc E. Normandin, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The LIGO detection of the gravitational wave transient GW150914, from the inspiral and merger of two black holes with masses 30M, suggests a population of binary black holes with relatively high mass. This observation implies that the stochastic gravitational-wave background from binary black holes, created from the incoherent superposition of all the merging binaries in the Universe, could be higher than previously expected. Using the properties of GW150914, we estimate the energy density of such a background from binary black holes. In the most sensitive part of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo band for stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), …

Gw150914: The Advanced Ligo Detectors In The Era Of First Discoveries, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, Hernan P. Daveloza, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Following a major upgrade, the two advanced detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) held their first observation run between September 2015 and January 2016. With a strain sensitivity of 10-23/Hz at 100 Hz, the product of observable volume and measurement time exceeded that of all previous runs within the first 16 days of coincident observation. On September 14, 2015, the Advanced LIGO detectors observed a transient gravitational-wave signal determined to be the coalescence of two black holes [B. P. Abbott et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016)], launching the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. The event, GW150914, was …

The Geometry Of Spacetime And Its Singular Nature, Filip Dul

Honors Scholar Theses

One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of gravity, and thus the large-scale structure of spacetime, by implementing differential geometry as the pri- mary medium of its description, thereby condensing the relationship between mass, energy and curvature of spacetime manifolds with the Einstein field equations (EFE), the primary compo- nent of his theory of General Relativity. In this paper, we use the language of Semi-Riemannian Geometry to examine the Schwarzschild and the Friedmann-Lemaˆıtre-Robertson-Walker met- rics, which represent some of the most well-known solutions to the EFE. Our investigation of these metrics will lead us to the problem of …

Accessing The Exceptional Points Of Parity-Time Symmetric Acoustics, Chengzhi Shi, Marc Dubois, Yun Chen, Lei Cheng, Hamidreza Ramezani, Yuan Wang, Xiang Zhang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Parity-time (PT) symmetric systems experience phase transition between PT exact and broken phases at exceptional point. These PT phase transitions contribute significantly to the design of single mode lasers, coherent perfect absorbers, isolators, and diodes. However, such exceptional points are extremely difficult to access in practice because of the dispersive behaviour of most loss and gain materials required in PT symmetric systems. Here we introduce a method to systematically tame these exceptional points and control PT phases. Our experimental demonstration hinges on an active acoustic element that realizes a complex-valued potential and simultaneously controls the multiple interference in the structure. …

Direct Collapse To Supermassive Black Hole Seeds: Comparing The Amr And Sph Approaches, Yang Luo, Kentaro Nagamine, Isaac Shlosman

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We provide detailed comparison between the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code ENZO-2.4 and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)/N-body code GADGET-3 in the context of isolated or cosmological direct baryonic collapse within dark matter (DM) haloes to form supermassive black holes. Gas flow is examined by following evolution of basic parameters of accretion flows. Both codes show an overall agreement in the general features of the collapse; however, many subtle differences exist. For isolated models, the codes increase their spatial and mass resolutions at different pace, which leads to substantially earlier collapse in SPH than in AMR cases due …

Discovery Of An Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy In The Pisces-Perseus Supercluster, David Martínez-Delgado, Ronald Läsker, Margarita Sharina, Elisa Toloba, Jürgen Fliri, Rachael Beaton, David Valls-Gabaud, Igor Karachentsev, Taylor Chonis, Eva Grebel, Duncan Forbes, Aaron Romanowsky, J. Gallego-Laborda, Karel Teuwen, M. Gómez-Flechoso, Jie Wang, Puragra Guhathakurta, Serafim Kaisin, Nhung Ho

Faculty Publications

We report the discovery of DGSAT I, an ultra-diffuse, quenched galaxy located 10fdg4 in projection from the Andromeda galaxy (M31). This low-surface brightness galaxy (μV = 24.8 mag arcsec−2), found with a small amateur telescope, appears unresolved in sub-arcsecond archival Subaru/Suprime-Cam images, and hence has been missed by optical surveys relying on resolved star counts, in spite of its relatively large effective radius (Re(V) = 12'') and proximity (15') to the well-known dwarf spheroidal galaxy And II. Its red color (V − I = 1.0), shallow Sérsic index (nV = 0.68), and the absence of detectable Hα emission are typical …

The Biomolecule Sequencer Project: Nanopore Sequencing As A Dual-Use Technology For Crew Health And Astrobiology Investigations, K. K. John, D. S. Botkin, A. S. Burton, S. L. Castro-Wallace, J. D. Chaput, J. P. Dworkin, Niles Lehman, M. L. Lupisella, C. E. Mason, D. J. Smith, S. Stahl, C. Switzer

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human missions to Mars will fundamentally transform how the planet is explored, enabling new scientific discoveries through more sophisticated sample acquisition and processing than can currently be implemented in robotic exploration. The presence of humans also poses new challenges, including ensuring astronaut safety and health and monitoring contamination. Because the capability to transfer materials to Earth will be extremely limited, there is a strong need for in situ diagnostic capabilities. Nucleotide sequencing is a particularly powerful tool because it can be used to: (1) mitigate microbial risks to crew by allowing identification of microbes in water, in air, and on …

Modeling The Construction And Evolution Of Distributed Volcanic Fields On Earth And Mars, Jacob Armstrong Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Magmatism is a dominant process on Earth and Mars that has significantly modified and evolved the lithospheres of each planet by delivering magma to shallow depths and to the surface. Two common modes of volcanism are present on both Earth and Mars: central-vent dominated volcanism that creates large edifices from concentrating magma in chambers before eruptions and distributed volcanism that creates many smaller edifices on the surface through the independent ascent of individual magmatic dikes. In regions of distributed volcanism, clusters of volcanoes develop over thousands to millions of years. This dissertation explores the geology of distributed volcanism on Earth …

Peering Through The Dust: Nustar Observations Of Two First-2mass Red Quasars, Stephanie M. Lamassa, Angelo Ricarte, Eilat Glikman, C. Megan Urry, Daniel Stern, Tahir Yaqoob, George B. Lansbury, Francesca Civano

Dartmouth Scholarship

Some reddened quasars appear to be transitional objects in the merger-induced black hole growth/galaxy evolution paradigm, where a heavily obscured nucleus starts to be unveiled by powerful quasar winds evacuating the surrounding cocoon of dust and gas. Hard X-ray observations are able to peer through this gas and dust, revealing the properties of circumnuclear obscuration. Here, we present NuSTAR and XMM-Newton/Chandra observations of FIRST-2MASS selected red quasars F2M 0830+3759 and F2M 1227+3214. We find that though F2M 0830+3759 is moderately obscured (N_H,Z=2.1±0.2×10²² cm⁻²) and F2M 1227+3214 is mildly absorbed (N_H,Z=3.4+0.8−0.7×10²¹ cm^{−2 …}

Disc Outflows And High-Luminosity True Type 2 Agn, Moshe Elitzur, Hagai Netzer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The absence of intrinsic broad-line emission has been reported in a number of active galactic nuclei (AGN), including some with high Eddington ratios. Such ‘true type 2 AGN’ are inherent to the disc-wind scenario for the broad-line region: broad-line emission requires a minimal column density, implying a minimal outflow rate and thus a minimal accretion rate. Here we perform a detailed analysis of the consequences of mass conservation in the process of accretion through a central disc. The resulting constraints on luminosity are consistent with all the cases where claimed detections of true type 2 AGN pass stringent criteria, and …

En Route To Destruction: The Evolution In Composition Of Ices In Comet D/2012 S1 (Ison) Between 1.2 And 0.34 Au From The Sun As Revealed At Infrared Wavelengths, M. Disanti, B. Bonev, E. Gibb, L. Paganini, G. Villanueva, M. Mumma, J. Keane, G. Blake, N. Russo, K. Meech, R. Vervack, A. Mckay

Physics Faculty Works

We report production rates for H2O and eight trace molecules (CO, C2H6, CH4, CH3OH, NH3, H2CO, HCN, C2H2) in the dynamically new, Sun-grazing Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), using high-resolution spectroscopy at Keck II and the NASA IRTF on 10 pre-perihelion dates encompassing heliocentric distances Rh = 1.21–0.34 AU. Measured water production rates spanned two orders of magnitude, consistent with a long-term heliocentric power law Q(H2O) ${\rm{\propto }}{R}_{{\rm{h}}}^{(-3.1\pm 0.1)}$. Abundance ratios for CO, C2H6, and CH4 with respect to H2O remained constant with Rh and below their corresponding mean values measured among a dominant sample of Oort Cloud comets. CH3OH was …

Hawking Radiation Screening And Penrose Process Shielding In The Kerr Black Hole, Eamon Mccaughey

Articles

The radial motion of massive particles in the equatorial plane of aKerr black hole is considered. Screening of the Hawking radiation and shielding of the Penrose process are examined (both inside and outside the ergosphere) and their effect on the evaporation of the black hole is studied. In particular, the locus and width of a classically forbidden region and their dependence on the particle’s angular momentum and energy is analysed. Tunneling of particles between the boundaries of this region is considered and the transmission coefficient determined.

Activity Trends In Young Solar-Type Stars, Jyri J. Lehtinen, Lauri Jetsu, Thomas Hackman, Perttu Kajatkari, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Aims. We study a sample of 21 young and active solar-type stars with spectral types ranging from late F to mid K and characterize the behaviour of their activity.

Methods. We apply the continuous period search (CPS) time series analysis method on Johnson B- and V-band photometry of the sample stars, collected over a period of 16 to 27 years. Using the CPS method, we estimate the surface differential rotation and determine the existence and behaviour of active longitudes and activity cycles on the stars. We supplement the time series results by calculating new log R'_HK = …

Stellar Activity And Exclusion Of The Outer Planet In The Hd 99492 System, Stephen R. Kane, Badrinath Thirumalachari, Gregory W. Henry, Natalie R. Hinkel, Eric L. N. Jensen, Tabetha S. Boyajian, Debra A. Fischer, Andrew W. Howard, Howard Isaacson, Jason T. Wright

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

A historical problem for indirect exoplanet detection has been contending with the intrinsic variability of the host star. If the variability is periodic, it can easily mimic various exoplanet signatures, such as radial velocity (RV) variations that originate with the stellar surface rather than the presence of a planet. Here we present an update for the HD 99492 planetary system, using new RV and photometric measurements from the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Our extended time series and subsequent analyses of the Ca ii H&K emission lines show that the host star has an activity cycle of ∼13 years. …

Stellar Activity And Exclusion Of The Outer Planet In The Hd 99492 System, S. R. Kane, B. Thirumalachari, G. W. Henry, N. R. Hinkel, Eric L. N. Jensen, T. S. Boyajian, D. A. Fischer, A. W. Howard, H. T. Isaacson, J. T. Wright

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

A historical problem for indirect exoplanet detection has been contending with the intrinsic variability of the host star. If the variability is periodic, it can easily mimic various exoplanet signatures, such as radial velocity (RV) variations that originate with the stellar surface rather than the presence of a planet. Here we present an update for the HD 99492 planetary system, using new RV and photometric measurements from the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Our extended time series and subsequent analyses of the Ca ii H&K emission lines show that the host star has an activity cycle of ~13 years. …

Interpreting The Ionization Sequence In Star-Forming Galaxy Emission-Line Spectra, Chris T. Richardson, James T. Allen, Jack A. Baldwin, Paul C. Hewett, Gary J. Ferland, Anthony Crider, Helen Meskhidze

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

High-ionization star-forming (SF) galaxies are easily identified with strong emission-line techniques such as the BPT diagram, and form an obvious ionization sequence on such diagrams. We use a locally optimally emitting cloud model to fit emission-line ratios that constrain the excitation mechanism, spectral energy distribution, abundances and physical conditions along the star formation ionization sequence. Our analysis takes advantage of the identification of a sample of pure SF galaxies, to define the ionization sequence, via mean field independent component analysis. Previous work has suggested that the major parameter controlling the ionization level in SF galaxies is the metallicity. Here we …