Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

A Coordinated X-Ray And Optical Campaign Of The Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, Δ Orionis Aa. Iii. Analysis Of Optical Photometric (Most) And Spectroscopic (Ground Based) Variations., Herbert Pablo, Noel Richardson, Anthony Moffat, Michael Corcoran, Tomer Shenar, Omar Benvenuto, Jim Fuller, Yaël Nazé, Jennifer Hoffman, Anatoly Miroshnichenko, Jesús Apellániz, Nancy Evans, Thomas Eversberg, Ken Gayley, Ted Gull, Kenji Hamaguchi, Wolf-Rainer Hamann, Huib Henrichs, Tabetha Hole, Richard Ignace, Rosina Iping, Jennifer Lauer, Maurice Leutenegger, Jamie Lomax, Joy Nichols, Lida Oskinova, Stan Owocki, Andy Pollock, Christopher Russell, Wayne Waldron, Christian Buil, Thierry Garrel, Keith Graham, Bernard Heathcote, Thierry Lemoult, Dong Li, Benjamin Mauclaire, Mike Potter, Jose Ribeiro, Jaymie Matthews, Chris Cameron, David Guenther, Rainer Kuschnig, Jason Rowe, Slavek Rucinski, Dimitar Sasselov, Werner Weiss

ETSU Faculty Works

We report on both high-precision photometry from the Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) space telescope and ground-based spectroscopy of the triple system δ Ori A, consisting of a binary O9.5II+early-B(Aa1 and Aa2) with P=5.7 days, and a more distant tertiary(O9 IV P 400 years). This data was collected in concert with X-ray spectroscopy from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Thanks to continuous coverage for three weeks, the MOST light curve reveals clear eclipses between Aa1 and Aa2 for the first time in non-phased data. From the spectroscopy, we have a well-constrained radial velocity (RV)curve of Aa1. While we are unable …

A Coordinated X-Ray And Optical Campaign Of The Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, Δ Orionis Aa: Ii. X-Ray Variability., Joy Nichols, D. Huenemoerder, Michael Corcoran, W. Waldron, Y. Nazé, Andy Pollock, A. Moffat, J. Lauer, Tomer Shenar, C. Russell, N. Richardson, H. Pablo, N. Evans, K. Hamaguchi, T. Gull, W.-R. Hamann, L. Oskinova, Richard Ignace, Jennifer Hoffman, K. Hole, Jamie Lomax

ETSU Faculty Works

We present time-resolved and phase-resolved variability studies of an extensive X-ray high-resolution spectral data set of the δ Ori Aa binary system. The four observations, obtained with Chandra ACIS HETGS, have a total exposure time of ≈ 479 ks and provide nearly complete binary phase coverage. Variability of the total X-ray flux in the range of 5–25 Å is confirmed, with a maximum amplitude of about ±15% within a single ≈ 125 ks observation. Periods of 4.76 and 2.04 days are found in the total X-ray flux, as well as an apparent overall increase in the flux level throughout the …

Sr2Ir1−XRhXO4(X<0.5): An Inhomogeneous JEff=1/2 Hubbard System, Shalinee Chikara, Daniel Haskel, Jae-Hoon Sim, Heung-Sik Kim, Cheng-Chien Chen, G. Fabbris, L. S. I. Veiga, N. M. Souza-Neto, Jsaminka Terzic, Kamal H. Butrouna, Gang Cao, Myung Joon Han, Michael Van Veenendaal

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In a combined experimental and theoretical study, we investigate the properties of Sr₂Ir_1−xRh_xO₄. From the branching ratios of the L-edge isotropic x-ray absorption spectra, we determine that the spin-orbit coupling is remarkably independent of x for both iridium and rhodium sites. DFT+U calculations show that the doping is close to isoelectronic and introduces impurity bands of predominantly rhodium character close to the lower Hubbard band. Overlap of these two bands leads to metallic behavior. Since the low-energy states for xj_eff=1/2 character, we suggest that the electronic …

Anomalous High-Energy Waterfall-Like Electronic Structure In 5 D Transition Metal Oxide Sr2Iro4 With A Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling, Yan Liu, Li Yu, Xiaowen Jia, Jianzhou Zhao, Hongming Weng, Yingying Peng, Chaoyu Chen, Zhuojin Xie, Daixiang Mou, Junfeng He, Xu Liu, Ya Feng, Hemian Yi, Lin Zhao, Guodong Liu, Shaolong He, Xiaoli Dong, Jun Zhang, Zuyan Xu, Chuangtian Chen, Gang Cao, Xi Dai, Zhong Fang, X. J. Zhou

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The low energy electronic structure of Sr₂IrO₄ has been well studied and understood in terms of an effective J_eff= 1/2 Mott insulator model. However, little work has been done in studying its high energy electronic behaviors. Here we report a new observation of the anomalous high energy electronic structure in Sr₂IrO₄. By taking high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on Sr₂IrO₄ over a wide energy range, we have revealed for the first time that the high energy electronic structures show unusual nearly-vertical bands that extend over a large energy range. …

Stellar Populations And The Star Formation Histories Of Lsb Galaxies. V. Wfc3 Color-Magnitude Diagrams, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We present WFC3 observations of three low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies from the Schombert et al. LSB catalog that are within 11 Mpc of the Milky Way. Deep imaging at F336W, F555W, and F814W allow the construction of the V - I color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) to MI = -2. Overall 1869, 465, and 501 stellar sources are identified in the three LSB galaxies F415-3, F608-1, and F750-V1, respectively. The spatial distribution of young blue stars matches the H maps from ground-based imaging, indicating that star formation in LSB galaxies follows the same style as in other irregular galaxies. Several star …

Does The Stellar Disc Flattening Depend On The Galaxy Type, A. V. Mosenkov, N. Ya. Sotnikova, V. P. Reshetnikov, D. V. Bizyaev, Stefan Kautsch

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

We analyse the dependence of the stellar disc flatness on the galaxy morphological type using 2D decomposition of galaxies from the reliable subsample of the Edge-on Galaxies in SDSS catalogue. Combining these data with the retrieved models of the edge-on galaxies from the Two Micron All Sky Survey and the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies catalogue, we make the following conclusions.

1. The disc relative thickness z₀/h in the near- and mid-infrared passbands correlates weakly with morphological type and does not correlate with the bulge-to-total luminosity ratio B/T in all studied bands.

2. Applying a 1D photometric …

Kepler 453 B - The 10th Kepler Transiting Circumbinary Planet, William F. Welsh, Darin Ragozzine

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We present the discovery of Kepler-453 b, a 6.2 RƟ planet in a low-eccentricity, 240.5 day orbit about an eclipsing binary. The binary itself consists of a 0.94 and 0.195 M☉ pair of stars with an orbital period of 27.32 days. The plane of the planetʼs orbit is rapidly precessing, and its inclination only becomes sufficiently aligned with the primary star in the latter portion of the Kepler data. Thus three transits are present in the second half of the light curve, but none of the three conjunctions that occurred during the first half of the light curve produced observable …

Discovery And Follow-Up Of Rotating Radio Transients With The Green Bank And Lofar Telescopes, C. Karako-Argaman, V. M. Kaspi, R. S. Lynch, J. W.T. Hessels, V. I. Kondratiev, M. A. Mclaughlin, S. M. Ransom, A. M. Archibald, J. Boyles, Fredrick Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have discovered 21 Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) in data from the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) 350 MHz Drift-scan and the Green Bank North Celestial Cap pulsar surveys using a new candidate sifting algorithm. RRATs are pulsars with sporadic emission that are detected through their bright single pulses rather than Fourier domain searches. We have developed RRATtrap, a single-pulse sifting algorithm that can be integrated into pulsar survey data analysis pipelines in order to find RRATs and Fast Radio Bursts. We have conducted follow-up observations of our newly discovered sources at several radio frequencies using the GBT and Low Frequency …

Herschel Dust Emission As A Probe Of Starless Cores Mass: Mcld 123.5+24.9 Of The Polaris Flare, Gururaj Anil Wagle, Thomas H. Troland, Gary J. Ferland, Nicholas P. Abel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present newly processed archival Herschel images of molecular cloud MCLD 123.5+24.9 in the Polaris Flare. This cloud contains five starless cores. Using the spectral synthesis code Cloudy, we explore uncertainties in the derivation of column densities, and hence masses of molecular cores from Herschel data. We first consider several detailed grain models that predict far-infrared grain opacities. Opacities predicted by the models differ by more than a factor of two, leading to uncertainties in derived column densities by the same factor. Then we consider uncertainties associated with the modified blackbody fitting process used by observers to estimate column densities. …

The Nustar Extragalactic Surveys: Overview And Catalog From The Cosmos Field, F. Civano, R. C. Hickox, S. Puccetti, A. Comastri

Dartmouth Scholarship

To provide the census of the sources contributing to the X-ray background peak above 10 keV, NuSTAR is performing extragalactic surveys using a three-tier "wedding cake" approach. We present the NuSTAR survey of the COSMOS field, the medium sensitivity and medium area tier, covering 1.7 deg2 and overlapping with both Chandra and XMM-Newton data. This survey consists of 121 observations for a total exposure of ~3 Ms. To fully exploit these data, we developed a new detection strategy, carefully tested through extensive simulations. The survey sensitivity at 20% completeness is 5.9, 2.9 and 6.4 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s in the 3-24 …

The Nustar Extragalactic Surveys: Initial Results And Catalog From The Extended Chandra Deep Field South, J. R. Mullaney, A. Del-Moro, J. Aird, D. M. Alexander, F. M. Civano, R. C. Hickox

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present initial results and the source catalog from the NuSTAR survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (hereafter, ECDFS) - currently the deepest contiguous component of the NuSTAR extragalactic survey program. The survey covers the full ~30 arcmin x 30 arcmin area of this field to a maximum depth of ~360 ks (~220 ks when corrected for vignetting at 3-24 keV), reaching sensitivity limits of ~1.3 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (3-8 keV), ~3.4 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (8-24 keV) and ~3.0 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (3-24 keV). Fifty four (54) sources are detected over the full field, although five of these …

Design And Fabrication Of Liquid Scintillator Counter, Andrea Calderon Saucedo, John L. Orrell

STAR Program Research Presentations

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is currently developing an ultra-low background liquid scintillator counter (ULB LSC) in the shallow underground laboratory. At a depth of 35-meters water-equivalent, the underground laboratory has a multi-layered shielding to keep out cosmic-ray induced background. The ULB LSC, which is located in a clean room facility, is a multi-layered design made up of various materials, including plastic scintillator veto panels, borated polyethylene, lead and copper. These layers help lower the contributions of the terrestrial background and intrinsic background, resulting from the impurities present in the materials, to the overall background count rate observed by the …

Resolving Emission Lines Of Sodiumlike Fe Xvi Using Ebit, Sandi Lavito

STAR Program Research Presentations

High resolution crystal spectrometers on sounding rockets and orbiting satellites, such as the Solar Maximum Mission, show strong X-ray emission from the n= 3 to 2 transitions in neon-like Fe XVII. Two of the strongest lines are the 3d to 2p resonance and inter combination lines at 15.01 Å (3C) and 15.26 Å (3D).

Intensity ratios of these solar lines range from ~ 1.6 to 2.8. The lower ratios are a result of a line from Na-like Fe XVI inner shell satellite line blending with the Fe XVII inter combination line, 3D. The wavelength of the Na-like line is not …

Precision Measurement Of The Longitudinal Double-Spin Asymmetry For Inclusive Jet Production In Polarized Proton Collisions At S√=200  Gev, Adam Gibson-Even, Shirvel Stanislaus, Donald Koetke, Star Collaboration

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report a new measurement of the midrapidity inclusive jet longitudinal double-spin asymmetry, ALL, in polarized pp collisions at center-of-mass energy s√=200  GeV. The STAR data place stringent constraints on polarized parton distribution functions extracted at next-to-leading order from global analyses of inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (DIS), semi-inclusive DIS, and RHIC pp data. The measured asymmetries provide evidence at the 3σ level for positive gluon polarization in the Bjorken-x region x>0.05.

Confirming Hd 23478 As A New Magnetic B Star Hosting An Hα-Bright Centrifugal Magnetosphere, J. Sikora, G. A. Wade, D. A. Bohlender, C. Neiner, M. E. Oksala, M. Shultz, David H. Cohen, A. Ud-Doula, J. Grunhut, D. Monin, S. Owocki, V. Petit, T. Rivinus, R. H. D. Townsend

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

In this paper, we report 23 magnetic field measurements of the B3IV star HD 23478: 12 obtained from high-resolution Stokes V spectra using the ESPaDOnS (Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope) and Narval (Télescope Bernard Lyot) spectropolarimeters, and 11 from medium-resolution Stokes V spectra obtained with the DimaPol spectropolarimeter (Dominion Astronomical Observatory). HD 23478 was one of two rapidly rotating stars identified as potential ‘centrifugal magnetosphere’ hosts based on IR observations from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment survey. We derive basic physical properties of this star including its mass (M=6.1+0.8−0.7M⊙), effective temperature (Teff = 20 ± 2 kK), radius (R=2.7+1.6−0.9R⊙), and age …

The Sluggs Survey: Combining Stellar And Globular Cluster Metallicities In The Outer Regions Of Early-Type Galaxies, Nicola Pastorello, Duncan Forbes, Christopher Usher, Jean Brodie, Aaron Romanowsky, Jay Strader, Lee Spitler, Adebusola Alabi, Caroline Foster, Zachary Jennings, Sreeja Kartha, Vincenzo Pota

Faculty Publications

The outer halo regions of early-type galaxies carry key information about their past accretion history. However, spectroscopically probing the stellar component at such galactocentric radii is still challenging. Using the DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Keck, we have been able to measure the metallicities of the stellar and globular cluster components in 12 early-type galaxies out to more than 10Re. We find similar metallicity gradients for the metal-poor and metal-rich globular cluster subpopulations, suggesting a common formation process for the two subpopulations. This is in conflict with most current theoretical predictions, where the metal-poor globular clusters are thought to …

Energy Dependence Of Kπ, Pπ, And Kp Fluctuations In Au + Au Collisions From √SNn=7.7 To 200 Gev, James K. Adkins, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, G. S. Averichev

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A search for the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) critical point was performed by the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, using dynamical fluctuations of unlike particle pairs. Heavy ion collisions were studied over a large range of collision energies with homogeneous acceptance and excellent particle identification, covering a significant range in the QCD phase diagram where a critical point may be located. Dynamical Kπ, pπ, and Kp fluctuations as measured by the STAR experiment in central 0–5% Au + Au collisions from center-of-mass collision energies √^sNN=7.7 to 200 GeV are presented. The observable …

Compton Scattering From The Deuteron Below Pion-Production Threshold, L. S. Myers, J. R. M. Annand, J. Brudvik, G. Feldman, K. G. Fissum, H. W. Grießhammer, K. Hansen, S. S. Henshaw, L. Isaksson, R. Jebali, Michael A. Kovash, M. Lundin, D. G. Middleton, A. M. Nathan, B. Schröder, S. C. Stave

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Differential cross sections for elastic scattering of photons from the deuteron have recently been measured at the Tagged-Photon Facility at theMAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden. These first new measurements in more than a decade further constrain the isoscalar electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon and provide the first-ever results above 100 MeV, where the sensitivity to the polarizabilities is increased. We add 23 points between 70 and 112 MeV, at angles 60^◦, 120^◦, and 150^◦. Analysis of these data using a chiral effective field theory indicates that the cross sections are both self-consistent and …

Measurements Of Dielectron Production In Au + Au Collisions At √SNn = 200 Gev From The Star Experiment, James K. Adkins, Renee H. Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer, G. S. Averichev

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report on measurements of dielectron (e⁺e⁻) production in Au + Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon-nucleon pair using the STAR detector at BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Systematic measurements of the dielectron yield as a function of transverse momentum (p_T) and collision centrality show an enhancement compared to a cocktail simulation of hadronic sources in the low invariant-mass region (M_ee < 1 GeV/c²). This enhancement cannot be reproduced by the ρ-meson vacuum spectral function. In minimumbias collisions, in the invariant-mass range of 0.30–0.76 …

Rényi Entanglement Entropy Of Critical Su(N) Spin Chains, Jonathan D'Emidio, Matthew S. Block, Ribhu K. Kaul

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present a study of the scaling behavior of the Rényi entanglement entropy (REE) in SU(N) spin chain Hamiltonians, in which all of the spins transform under the fundamental representation. These SU(N) spin chains are known to be quantum critical and described by a well known Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) nonlinear sigma model in the continuum limit. Numerical results from our lattice Hamiltonian are obtained using stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo for both closed and open boundary conditions. As expected for this 1D critical system, the REE shows a logarithmic dependence on the subsystem size with a …