Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Multiwavelength Study Of Quiescent States Of Mrk 421 With Unprecedented Hard X-Ray Coverage Provided By Nustar In 2013, P. T. Reynolds, Nustar, Veritas, Magic

Physical Sciences Publications

We present coordinated multiwavelength observations of the bright, nearby BL Lacertae object Mrk 421 taken in 2013 January–March, involving GASP-WEBT, Swift, NuSTAR, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, VERITAS, and other collaborations and instruments, providing data from radio to very high energy (VHE) γ-ray bands. NuSTAR yielded previously unattainable sensitivity in the 3–79 keV range, revealing that the spectrum softens when the source is dimmer until the X-ray spectral shape saturates into a steep ${\rm{\Gamma }}\approx 3$ power law, with no evidence for an exponential cutoff or additional hard components up to ~80 keV. For the first time, we observed both the synchrotron and …

Trapping Penguins With Entangled B Mesons, Ryan Dadisman, Susan Gardner, Xinshuai Yan

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The first direct observation of time-reversal (T) violation in the system has been reported by the BaBar Collaboration, employing the method of Bañuls and Bernabéu. Given this, we generalize their analysis of the time-dependent T-violating asymmetry (A_T) to consider different choices of CP tags for which the dominant amplitudes have the same weak phase. As one application, we find that it is possible to measure departures from the universality of sin⁡(2β) directly. If sin⁡(2β) is universal, as in the Standard Model, the method permits the direct determination of penguin effects in these channels. …

Searching Inner Galactic Structures (Sings), Dr. Michael Joner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This Mentoring Environment Grant (MEG) proposed using the Brigham Young University West Mountain Observatory as a mentoring environment where students would experience what it is like to do research at a fully operational observatory by doing a wide variety of observations at regularly scheduled times over the course of several months during the spring and summer terms. The larger campaign (AGN STORM) headed by Dr. Bradley M. Peterson (Ohio State University) was designed to investigate different techniques used to identify structures in the core of an active galaxy and then find fundamental parameters about those structures, such as the mass …

Orion's Veil. Iv. H2 Excitation And Geometry, N. P. Abel, Gary J. Ferland, C. R. O'Dell, Thomas H. Troland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The foreground Veil of material that lies in front of the Orion Nebula is the best studied sample of the interstellar medium because we know where it is located, how it is illuminated, and the balance of thermal and magnetic energy. In this work, we present high-resolution STIS observations toward the Trapezium, with the goal of better understanding the chemistry and geometry of the two primary Veil layers, along with ionized gas along the line of sight. The most complete characterization of the rotational/vibrational column densities of H₂ in the almost purely atomic components of the Veil are presented, …

Session F-3: “It Is Rocket Science”, Carmela Jones, Christine L. Moskalik

Professional Learning Day

All current NASA rocket launchers are no longer useable because all of the available rocket-fuel sources on Earth have been depleted. Participants will serve as NASA engineers tasked with developing non-fuel-based rocket launcher prototypes in an effort to maintain current and future NASA space programs and missions. Model how you will get your students to take off with Rocket Science.

Session B-1: Model Building In Planetary Science And The Ngss, Eric Hawker

Professional Learning Day

In this session I will guide teachers through the steps my students take in Planetary Science to develop a conceptual model of how planetary interiors work. Teachers will then create concept maps from their conceptual models, and then use their models and maps to understand planetary systems other than Earth.

The Sluggs Survey: Stellar Kinematics, Kinemetry And Trends At Large Radii In 25 Early-Type Galaxies, Caroline Foster, Nicola Pastorello, Joel Roediger, Jean Brodie, Duncan Forbes, Sreeja Kartha, Vincenzo Pota, Aaron Romanowsky, Lee Spitler, Jay Strader, Christopher Usher, Jacob Arnold

Faculty Publications

Due to longer dynamical time-scales, the outskirts of early-type galaxies retain the footprint of their formation and assembly. Under the popular two-phase galaxy formation scenario, an initial in situ phase of star formation is followed by minor merging and accretion of ex situ stars leading to the expectation of observable transitions in the kinematics and stellar populations on large scales. However, observing the faint galactic outskirts is challenging, often leaving the transition unexplored. The large-scale, spatially resolved stellar kinematic data from the SAGES Legacy Unifying Galaxies and GlobularS (SLUGGS) survey are ideal for detecting kinematic transitions. We present kinematic maps …

Satellite Accretion In Action: A Tidally Disrupting Dwarf Spheroidal Around The Nearby Spiral Galaxy Ngc 253, Aaron Romanowsky, David Martínez-Delgado, Nicolas Martin, Gustavo Morales, Zachary Jennings, R. Gabany, Jean Brodie, Eva Grebel, Johannes Schedler, Michael Sidonio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

X-Ray, Uv And Optical Analysis Of Supergiants: Ε Ori, R. E. Puebla, D. J. Hillier, J. Zsargó, David H. Cohen, M. A. Leutenegger

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

We present a multi-wavelength (X-ray to optical) analysis, based on non-local thermodynamic equilibrium photospheric+wind models, of the B0 Ia-supergiant: ϵ Ori. The aim is to test the consistency of physical parameters, such as the mass-loss rate and CNO abundances, derived from different spectral bands. The derived mass-loss rate is M˙/f∞−−−√∼ 1.6 × 10−6 M⊙ yr−1 where f∞ is the volume filling factor. However, the S iv λλ1062,1073 profiles are too strong in the models; to fit the observed profiles it is necessary to use f∞ < 0.01. This value is a factor of 5 to 10 lower than inferred from other diagnostics, and implies M˙≲1×10−7 M⊙ yr−1. The discrepancy could be related to porosity–vorosity effects or a problem with the ionization of sulphur in the wind. To fit the UV profiles of N v and O vi it was necessary to include emission from an interclump medium with a density contrast (ρcl/ρICM) of ∼100. X-ray emission in H/He like and Fe L lines was modelled using four plasma components located within the wind. We derive plasma temperatures from 1 × 106 to 7 × 106 K, with lower temperatures starting in the outer regions (R0 ∼ 3–6 R*), and a hot component starting closer to the star (R0 ≲ 2.9 R*). From X-ray line profiles we infer M˙< 4.9 × 10−7 M⊙ yr−1. The X-ray spectrum (≥0.1 kev) yields an X-ray luminosity LX ∼ 2.0 × 10−7Lbol, consistent with the superion line profiles. X-ray abundances are in agreement with those derived from the UV and optical analysis: ϵ Ori is slightly enhanced in nitrogen and depleted in carbon and oxygen, evidence for CNO processed material.

The Sluggs Survey: Chromodynamical Modelling Of The Lenticular Galaxy Ngc 1023, Arianna Cortesi, Ana Chies-Santos, Vincenzo Pota, Caroline Foster, Lodovico Coccato, Claudia Mendes De Oliveira, Duncan Forbes, Michael Merrifield, Steven Bamford, Aaron Romanowsky, Jean Brodie, Sreeja Kartha, Adebusola Alabi, Robert Proctor, Andres Almeida

Faculty Publications

Globular clusters (GCs) can be considered discrete, long-lived, dynamical tracers that retain crucial information about the assembly history of their parent galaxy. In this paper, we present a new catalogue of GC velocities and colours for the lenticular galaxy NGC 1023, we study their kinematics and spatial distribution, in comparison with the underlying stellar kinematics and surface brightness profile, and we test a new method for studying GC properties. Specifically, we decompose the galaxy light into its spheroid (assumed to represent the bulge+halo components) and disc components and use it to assign to each GC a probability of belonging to …

The Search For Dark Matter Annihilation In Galaxy Clusters At Veritas, James V. Tucci

Open Access Dissertations

Recent data and cosmological models point to a significant fraction of the Universe being comprised of Cold Dark Matter (DM), though little is known about it directly as it does not interact electromagnetically. The most likely explanation for DM is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) having a mass as low as ∼10 GeV to as high as ∼10 TeV. WIMPs are believed to be their own antiparticles and self-annihilate into a variety of lighter particles including γ-rays. Many direct detection, indirect detection, and direct production schemes have been proposed to search for the elusive WIMP. Galaxy clusters, consisting of …

Kepler Eclipsing Binary Stars. Vii. The Catalog Of Eclipsing Binaries Found In The Entire Kepler Data Set, Brian Kirk, Darin Ragozzine

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The primary Kepler Mission provided nearly continuous monitoring of ∼200,000 objects with unprecedented photometric precision. We present the final catalog of eclipsing binary systems within the 105 deg2 Kepler field of view. This release incorporates the full extent of the data from the primary mission (Q0-Q17 Data Release). As a result, new systems have been added, additional false positives have been removed, ephemerides and principal parameters have been recomputed, classifications have been revised to rely on analytical models, and eclipse timing variations have been computed for each system. We identify several classes of systems including those that exhibit tertiary eclipse …

A Normal Supermassive Black Hole In Ngc 1277, Alister W. Graham, Mark Durré, Giulia A.D. Savorgnan, Anne M. Medling, Dan Batcheldor, Nicholas Scott, Beverly Watson, Alessandro Marconi

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The identification of galaxies with “overly massive” black holes requires two measurements: a black hole mass (Mbh) and a host spheroid mass (Msph,*). Here we provide our measurements for NGC 1277. Our structural decomposition reveals that NGC 1277 is dominated by a “classical” spheroid with a Sérsic index n = 5.3, a half-light radius Rₑmajor: You have a new taskSpace: You have a new task,major = 2.1 kpc, and a stellar mass of 2.7 10^11 11 M⊙ (using M*/ LV = 11.65, Martín-Navarro et al.). This mass is an order of magnitude greater than originally reported. Using the latest Mbh–n, …

Probing The Fitting Accuracy Of Active Galaxy Spectra, Aaron T. Line

Physics

Prior to this study, Dr. Vardha N. Bennert and collaborators selected a sample of ~100 local active galaxies to study the relationships between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. The broad Hβ width is necessary to determine black hole mass. This value is determined using a spectral decomposition code was scripted in IDL by Dr. Daeseong Park. The script fit spectral features and collected data for properties such as width of emission lines and continuum contribution percentages. The results were logged for further analysis.

To probe the accuracy of the fitting process, artificial spectra were created and fitted to …

Development, Evaluation, And Validation Of A High-Resolution Directivity Measurement System For Played Musical Instruments, K Joshua Bodon

Theses and Dissertations

A high-resolution directivity measurement system at Brigham Young University has been renovated and upgraded. Acoustical treatments have been installed on the microphone array, professional-grade audio hardware and cabling have been utilized, and user-friendly MATLAB processing and plotting codes have been developed. The directivities of 16 played musical instruments and several loudspeakers have been measured by the system, processed, and plotted. Using loudspeakers as simulated musicians, a comprehensive analysis was completed to validate the system and understand its error bounds. A comparison and evaluation of repeated-capture to single-capture spherical systems was made to demonstrate the high level of detail provided by …

Improvements To The Two-Point In Situ Method For Measurement Of The Room Constant And Sound Power In Semi-Reverberant Rooms, Zachary R. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

The two-point in situ method is a technique for measuring the room constant of a semi-reverberant room and the sound power of a source in that room simultaneously using two measurement positions. Using a reference directivity source, where the directivity factor along any given axis of the source has been measured, one is able to use the Hopkins-Stryker equation to measure both the room constant and the sound power level of another source rather simply. Using both numerical and experimental data, it was found that by using generalized energy density (GED) as a measurement quantity, the results were more accurate …

Scale Invariant Jet Suppression Across The Black Hole Mass Scale, David Garofalo, Chandra B. Singh

Faculty Articles

We provide a schematic framework for understanding observations of jet suppression in soft state black hole X-ray binaries based on the Blandford-Payne process and the net magnetic flux threading the black hole. Due to the geometrical thinness of soft state disks, mass-loading of field lines is ineffective compared to both geometrically thick disks as well as thin disks with greater black hole threading flux, a simple physical picture that allows us to understand the weakness of jets in radiatively efficient thin disks accreting in the prograde direction around high-spinning black holes. Despite a simplicity that forbids insights into the complexity …

First Low Frequency All-Sky Search For Continuous Gravitational Wave Signals, J. Aasi, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this paper we present the results of the first low frequency all-sky search of continuous gravitational wave signals conducted on Virgo VSR2 and VSR4 data. The search covered the full sky, a frequency range between 20 and 128 Hz with a range of spin-down between -1.0×10-10 and +1.5×10-11 Hz/s, and was based on a hierarchical approach. The starting point was a set of short fast Fourier transforms, of length 8192 s, built from the calibrated strain data. Aggressive data cleaning, in both the time and frequency domains, has been done in order to remove, as much as possible, the …

Hubble's Law Implies Benford's Law For Distances To Galaxies, Theodore P. Hill, Ronald F. Fox

Research Scholars in Residence

A recent article by Alexopoulos and Leontsinis presented empirical evidence that the first digits of the distances from the Earth to galaxies are a reasonably good fit to the probabilities predicted by Benford’s law, the well known logarithmic statistical distribution of significant digits. The purpose of the present article is to give a theoretical explanation, based on Hubble’s law and mathematical properties of Benford’s law, why galaxy distances might be expected to follow Benford’s law. The new galaxy-distance law derived here, which is robust with respect to change of scale and base, to additive and multiplicative computational or observational errors, …

Mid-Infrared Luminous Quasars In The Goods–Herschel Fields: A Large Population Of Heavily Obscured, Compton-Thick Quasars At Z ≈ 2, A. Del Moro, D. M. Alexander, F. E. Bauer, E. Daddi, Dale D. Kocevski, Daniel H. Mcintosh, F. Stanley, W. N. Brandt, D. Elbaz, C. M. Harrison, B. Luo, J. R. Mullaney, Y. Q. Xue

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the infrared (IR) and X-ray properties of a sample of 33 mid-IR luminous quasars (νL_6 μm ≥ 6 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹) at redshift z ≈ 1–3, identified through detailed spectral energy distribution analyses of distant star-forming galaxies, using the deepest IR data from Spitzer and Herschel in the GOODS–Herschel fields. The aim is to constrain the fraction of obscured, and Compton-thick (CT, N_H > 1.5 × 10²⁴ cm⁻²) quasars at the peak era of nuclear and star formation activities. Despite being very bright in the mid-IR band, ≈30 …

An Hst Proper-Motion Study Of The Large Scale Jet Of 3c273, Eileen T. Meyer, William B. Sparks, Markos Georganopoulos, Jay Anderson, Roeland Van Der Marel, John Biretta, Sangmo Tony Sohn, Marco Chiaberge, Eric S. Perlman, Colin Norman

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The radio galaxy 3C 273 hosts one of the nearest and best-studied powerful quasar jets. Having been imaged repeatedly by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) over the past twenty years, it was chosen for an HST program to measure proper motions in the kiloparsec-scale resolved jets of nearby radio-loud active galaxies. The jet in 3C 273 is highly relativistic on sub-parsec scales, with apparent proper motions up to 15c observed by very long baseline interferometry. In contrast, we find that the kiloparsec-scale knots are compatible with being stationary, with a mean speed of -0.2 ±0.5c over the whole jet. Assuming …

Astrophysical Implications Of The Binary Black Hole Merger Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The discovery of the gravitational-wave (GW) source GW150914 with the Advanced LIGO detectors provides the first observational evidence for the existence of binary black hole (BH) systems that inspiral and merge within the age of the universe. Such BH mergers have been predicted in two main types of formation models, involving isolated binaries in galactic fields or dynamical interactions in young and old dense stellar environments. The measured masses robustly demonstrate that relatively \"heavy\" BHs (≳25 M⊙) can form in nature. This discovery implies relatively weak massive-star winds and thus the formation of GW150914 in an environment with a metallicity …

A Search For Brief Optical Flashes Associated With The Seti Target Kic 8462852, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

The F-type star KIC 8462852 has recently been identified as an exceptional target for search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) observations. We describe an analysis methodology for optical SETI, which we have used to analyze nine hours of serendipitous archival observations of KIC 8462852 made with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory between 2009 and 2015. No evidence of pulsed optical beacons, above a pulse intensity at the Earth of approximately , is found. We also discuss the potential use of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays in searching for extremely short duration optical transients in general.

Search Of The Orion Spur For Continuous Gravitational Waves Using A Loosely Coherent Algorithm On Data From Ligo Interferometers, J. Aasi, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report results of a wideband search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars within the Orion spur towards both the inner and outer regions of our Galaxy. As gravitational waves interact very weakly with matter, the search is unimpeded by dust and concentrations of stars. One search disk (A) is 6.87° in diameter and centered on 20h10m54.71s+33°33′25.29′′, and the other (B) is 7.45° in diameter and centered on 8h35m20.61s-46°49′25.151′′. We explored the frequency range of 50-1500 Hz and frequency derivative from 0 to -5×10-9 Hz/s. A multistage, loosely coherent search program allowed probing more deeply than before in …

Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Black Hole Merger, B. P. Abbott, K. Gill, B. Hughey, M, J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10−21. It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203 000 years, equivalent to a significance greater …

All-Sky Search For Long-Duration Gravitational Wave Transients With Initial Ligo, 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, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% …

All-Sky Search For Long Duration Gravitational Wave Transients With Initial Ligo, Tiffany Summerscales, Ligo Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration

Faculty Publications

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10–500 s in a frequency band of 40–1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% …

The Mimes Survey Of Magnetism In Massive Stars: Introduction And Overview, G. A. Wade, C. Neiner, E. Alecian, J. H. Grunhut, V. Petit, B. De Batz, D. A. Bohlender, David H. Cohen, H. F. Heinrichs, O. Kochukhov, J. D. Landstreet, N. Manset, F. Martins, S. Mathis, M. E. Oksala, S. P. Owocki, T. Rivinius, M. E. Shultz, J. O. Sundqvist, R. H. D. Townsend, A. Ud-Doula, J.-C. Bouret, J. Braithwaite, M. Briquet, A. C. Carciofi, A. David-Uraz, C. P. Folsom, A. W. Fullerton, B. Leroy, W. L. F. Marcolino, A. F. J. Moffat, Y. Nazé, N. St Louis, M. Aurière, S. Bagnulo, J. D. Bailey, R. H. Barbá, A. Blazère, T. Böhm, C. Catala, J.-F. Donati, L. Ferrario, D. Harrington, I. D. Howarth, R. Ignace, L. Kaper, T. Lüftinger, R. Prinja, J. S. Vink, W. W. Weiss, I. Yakunin

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

The MiMeS (Magnetism in Massive Stars) project is a large-scale, high-resolution, sensitive spectropolarimetric investigation of the magnetic properties of O- and early B-type stars. Initiated in 2008 and completed in 2013, the project was supported by three Large Program allocations, as well as various programmes initiated by independent principal investigators, and archival resources. Ultimately, over 4800 circularly polarized spectra of 560 O and B stars were collected with the instruments ESPaDOnS (Echelle SpectroPolarimetric Device for the Observation of Stars) at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, Narval at the Télescope Bernard Lyot and HARPSpol at the European Southern Observatory La Silla 3.6 m …

Andrews Professor Helps Find Gravitational Waves: Ligo Research Team Makes International News, Becky St. Clair

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Black Hole Merger, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10-21. It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203 000 years, equivalent to a significance greater …