Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Nonadiabatic Heating In Magnetic Reconnection, Xuanye Ma, Antonius Otto

Publications

Plasma transport process as a fundamental problem in magnetospheric physics is often associated with strong nonadiabatic heating. At the magnetopause, observations show an increase of specific entropy (i.e., S = p/ργ) by 2 orders of magnitude from the magnetosheath into the magnetosphere. In the near‐Earth magnetotail, particle injection requires strongly entropy depleted plasma bubbles, and their evolution can be strongly modified in the presence of nonadiabatic heating. In this study, one of the critical plasma transport mechanisms, magnetic reconnection, is investigated as a nonadiabatic process in the framework of MHD. It is important to examine whether magnetic reconnection can provide …

Electron-Ion Equilibrium And Shock Precursors In The Northeast Limb Of The Cygnus Loop, Amber A. Medina, John C. Raymond, Richard J. Edgar, Nelson Caldwell, Robert A. Fesen, Dan Milisavljevic

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present an observational study using high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of collisionless shocks in the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant. Measured Hα line profiles constrain pre-shock heating processes, shock speeds, and electron-ion equilibration (T_e /T_i ). The shocks produce faint Hα emission line profiles, which are characterized by narrow and broad components. The narrow component is representative of the pre-shock conditions, while the broad component is produced after charge transfer between neutrals entering the shock and protons in the post-shock gas, thus reflecting the properties of the post-shock gas. We observe a diffuse Hα region extending about 25 …

The Violent Youth Of Bright And Massive Cluster Galaxies And Their Maturation Over 7 Billion Years, B. Ascaso, B. C. Lemaux, L. M. Lubin, R. R. Gal, Dale D. Kocevski, N. Rumbaugh, G. Squires

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigate the formation and evolution mechanisms of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) over cosmic time. At high redshift (z ∼ 0.9), we selected BCGs and most massive cluster galaxies (MMCGs) from the Cl1604 supercluster and compared them to low-redshift (z ∼ 0.1) counterparts drawn from the MCXC meta-catalogue, supplemented by Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging and spectroscopy. We observed striking differences in the morphological, colour, spectral, and stellar mass properties of the BCGs/MMCGs in the two samples. High-redshift BCGs/MMCGs were, in many cases, star-forming, late-type galaxies, with blue broad-band colours, properties largely absent amongst …

Heliospheric Influence On The Anisotropy Of Tev Cosmic Rays, Ming Zhang, Pingbing Zuo, Nikolai Pogorelov

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

This paper provides a theory of using Liouville's theorem to map the anisotropy of TeV cosmic rays seen at Earth using the particle distribution function in the local interstellar medium (LISM). The ultimate source of cosmic ray anisotropy is the energy, pitch angle, and spatial dependence of the cosmic ray distribution function in the LISM. Because young nearby cosmic ray sources can make a special contribution to the cosmic ray anisotropy, the anisotropy depends on the source age, distance and magnetic connection, and particle diffusion of these cosmic rays, all of which make the anisotropy sensitive to the particle energy. …

The Gentle Growth Of Galaxies At High Redshifts In Overdense Environments, Emilio Romano-Díaz, Isaac Shlosman, Jun-Hwan Choi, Raphael Sadoun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have explored prevailing modes of galaxy growth for redshifts z ~ 6-14, comparing substantially overdense and normal regions of the universe, using high-resolution zoom-in cosmological simulations. Such rare overdense regions have been projected to host high-z quasars. We demonstrate that galaxies in such environments grow predominantly by a smooth accretion from cosmological filaments which dominates the mass input from major, intermediate, and minor mergers. We find that by z ~ 6, the accumulated galaxy mass fraction from mergers falls short by a factor of 10 of the cumulative accretion mass for galaxies in the overdense regions, and by …

Different Response Of Transport And Magnetic Properties Of Bairo3 To Chemical And Physical Pressure, M. A. Laguna-Marco, G. Fabbris, N. M. Souza-Neto, S. Chikara, J. S. Schilling, Gang Cao, D. Haskel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A combination of x-ray absorption, x-ray-diffraction, and transport measurements at high pressure is used to investigate the interplay between the electronic properties of Ir 5d states and lattice degrees of freedom in the weakly ferromagnetic insulator BaIrO₃. Although the Ir 5d local magnetic moment is highly stable against lattice compression, remaining nearly unperturbed to at least 30 GPa, the weak ferromagnetism (net ordered moment) is quickly quenched by 4.5 GPa (3% volume reduction). Under chemical pressure, where Sr is substituted for the larger Ba in BaIrO₃, the local magnetic moment on Ir remains stable, …

Casimir Energy Of Smooth Compact Surfaces, Joseph P. Straley, Eugene B. Kolomeisky

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss the formalism of Balian and Duplantier [Balian and Duplantier, Ann. Phys. (NY) 104, 300 (1977); Balian and Duplantier, Ann. Phys. (NY) 112, 165 (1978)] for the calculation of the Casimir energy for an arbitrary smooth compact surface and use it to give some examples: a finite cylinder with hemispherical caps, a torus, an ellipsoid of revolution, a cube with rounded corners and edges, and a drum made of disks and part of a torus. We propose a model function that approximately captures the shape dependence of the Casimir energy.

Orbital-Dependent Polaron Formation In The Relativistic Mott Insulator Sr2Iro4, C. H. Sohn, Min-Cheol Lee, H. J. Park, Kyung Joo Noh, H. K. Yoo, S. J. Moon, K. W. Kim, T. F. Qi, Gang Cao, Deok-Yong Cho, T. W. Noh

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We use optical spectroscopy to investigate the electron-phonon interaction in Sr₂IrO₄, a well-known 5d transition metal oxide with spin-orbit entangled states. The temperature evolution in the optical spectra is well described by the Fröhlich polaron model, indicating a large electron-phonon interaction. We further find that electrons in different orbitals selectively couple with different phonon modes. While J_eff = 3/2 holes do not seem to couple with any phonons, J_eff = 1/2 and 3z²−r² electrons mainly couple with in-plane and out-of-plane Ir-O bending modes, respectively. The symmetries of the …

Detection And Estimation Of Unmodeled Narrowband Nonstationary Signals: Application Of Particle Swarm Optimization In Gravitational Wave Data Analysis, Soumya Mohanty

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The extraction of weak signals from instrumental noise is a critical task in ongoing searches for gravitational waves. A detection and estimation method, made feasible by Particle Swarm Optimization, is presented for a particularly challenging class of signals expected from astrophysical sources.

X-Rays From Magnetically Confined Wind Shocks: Effect Of Cooling-Regulated Shock Retreat, A. Ud-Doula, S. Owocki, R. Townsend, V. Petit, David H. Cohen

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

We use 2D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to examine the effects of radiative cooling and inverse Compton (IC) cooling on X-ray emission from magnetically confined wind shocks (MCWS) in magnetic massive stars with radiatively driven stellar winds. For the standard dependence of mass-loss rate on luminosity Ṁ∼ L1.7, the scaling of IC cooling with L and radiative cooling with Ṁ means that IC cooling become formally more important for lower luminosity stars. However, because the sense of the trends is similar, we find the overall effect of including IC cooling is quite modest. More significantly, for stars with high enough mass-loss …

Measurement Of The Target-Normal Single-Spin Asymmetry In Deep-Inelastic Scattering From The Reaction 3He↑(E,E′)X, K. Allada, C. Dutta, A. Kolarkar, Wolfgang Korsch, J. Katich, X. Qian, Y. X. Zhao, K. Aniol, J. R. M. Annand, T. Averett, F. Benmokhtar, W. Bertozzi, P. C. Bradshaw, P. Bosted

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the first measurement of the target-normal single-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic scattering from the inclusive reaction ³He^↑(e,e′)X on a polarized ³He gas target. Assuming time-reversal invariance, this asymmetry is strictly zero in the Born approximation but can be nonzero if two-photon-exchange contributions are included. The experiment, conducted at Jefferson Lab using a 5.89 GeV electron beam, covers a range of 1.7<W<2.9 GeV, 1.0<Q²<4.0 GeV² and 0.16<x<6.5. Neutron asymmetries were extracted using the effective nucleon polarization and measured proton-to-³He cross-section ratios. The measured neutron asymmetries are negative with an average value of (−1.09±0.38)×10⁻² for invariant mass W>2 …

A Numerical Simulation Of Solar Energetic Particle Dropouts During Impulsive Events, Yi Wáng, Gang Qin, Ming Zhang, Silvia Dalla

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the conditions for producing rapid variations of solar energetic particle (SEP) intensity commonly known as "dropouts." In particular, we use numerical model simulations based on solving the focused transport equation in the three-dimensional Parker interplanetary magnetic field to put constraints on the properties of particle transport coefficients in both directions perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic field. Our calculations of the temporal intensity profile of 0.5 and 5 MeV protons at the Earth show that the perpendicular diffusion must be small while the parallel mean free path is long in order to reproduce the phenomenon of SEP …

Local Density Of States Study Of A Spin-Orbit-Coupling Induced Mott Insulator Sr2Iro4, Jixia Dai, Eduardo Calleja, Gang Cao, Kyle Mcelroy

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy experiments on the novel J_eff=1/2 Mott insulator Sr₂IrO₄. Local density of states (LDOS) measurements show an intrinsic insulating gap of 620 meV that is asymmetric about the Fermi level and is larger than previously reported values. The size of this gap suggests that Sr₂IrO₄ is likely a Mott rather than Slater insulator. In addition, we found a small number of native defects which create in-gap spectral weight. Atomically resolved LDOS measurements on and off the defects show that this energy gap is quite fragile. …

Dielectron Mass Spectra From Au+Au Collisions At √SNn<=200  Gev, J. Kevin Adkins, Renee Fatemi, Wolfgang Korsch, Suvarna Ramachandran, G. Webb, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, C. D. Anson, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the STAR measurements of dielectron (e⁺e⁻) production at midrapidity (|y_ee|^S_NN=200  GeV. The measurements are evaluated in different invariant mass regions with a focus on 0.30–0.76 (ρ-like), 0.76–0.80 (ω-like), and 0.98–1.05 (ϕ-like)   GeV/c². The spectrum in the ω-like and ϕ-like regions can be well described by the hadronic cocktail simulation. In the ρ-like region, however, the vacuum ρ spectral function cannot describe the shape of the dielectron excess. In this range, an enhancement of 1.77±0.11(stat)±0.24(syst)±0.33(cocktail) is determined …

Search For Gravitational Waves Associated With Γ-Ray Bursts Detected By The Interplanetary Network, Tiffany Summerscales, Ligo Scientific Collaboration, Virgo Collaboration, And Ipn Collaboration

Faculty Publications

We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 223 γ-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) in 2005–2010 during LIGO’s fifth and sixth science runs and Virgo’s first, second, and third science runs. The IPN satellites provide accurate times of the bursts and sky localizations that vary significantly from degree scale to hundreds of square degrees. We search for both a well-modeled binary coalescence signal, the favored progenitor model for short GRBs, and for generic, unmodeled gravitational wave bursts. Both searches use the event time and sky localization to improve the gravitational wave search …

A Uv To Mid-Ir Study Of Agn Selection, Sun Mi Chung, Christopher S. Kochanek, Roberto Assef, Michael J. I. Brown, Daniel Stern, Buell T. Jannuzi, Anthony H. Gonzalez, Ryan C. Hickox, John Moustakas

Dartmouth Scholarship

We classify the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 431,038 sources in the 9 deg² Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS). There are up to 17 bands of data available per source, including ultraviolet (GALEX), optical (NDWFS), near-IR (NEWFIRM), and mid-infrared (IRAC and MIPS) data, as well as spectroscopic redshifts for ~20,000 objects, primarily from the AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey. We fit galaxy, active galactic nucleus (AGN), stellar, and brown dwarf templates to the observed SEDs, which yield spectral classes for the Galactic sources and photometric redshifts and galaxy/AGN luminosities for the extragalactic sources. …

Towards Stronger Coulomb Coupling In An Ultracold Neutral Plasma, Mary Elizabeth Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

Ultracold neutral plasmas are created by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Due to their large electrical potential energies and comparatively small kinetic energies, ultracold plasmas fall into a regime of plasma systems which are called “strongly coupled.” A priority in the field of ultracold plasmas is to generate plasmas with higher values of the strong coupling parameter Γ, which is given as the ratio of the nearest-neighbor Coulomb potential energy to the average kinetic energy. The equilibrium strong coupling in ultracold plasmas is limited by the ultrafast relaxation of the ions due to spatial disorder in the …

Misaligned Protoplanetary Disks In A Young Binary Star System, Eric L.N. Jensen, R. L. Akeson

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Many extrasolar planets follow orbits that differ from the nearly coplanar and circular orbits found in our Solar System; their orbits may be eccentric or inclined with respect to the host star's equator, and the population of giant planets orbiting close to their host stars suggests appreciable orbital migration. There is at present no consensus on what produces such orbits. Theoretical explanations often invoke interactions with a binary companion star in an orbit that is inclined relative to the planet's orbital plane. Such mechanisms require significant mutual inclinations between the planetary and binary star orbital planes. The protoplanetary disks in …

Morphology And Environment Of Galaxies With Disc Breaks In The S4g And Nirs0s, J. Laine, E. Laurikainen, H. Salo, S. Comeron, R. J. Buta, D. Zaritsky, E. Athanassoula, A. Bosma, J.-C. Munoz-Mateos, D. A. Gadotti, J. L. Hinz, S. Erroz-Ferrer, A. Gil De Paz, T. Kim, K. Menendez-Delmestre, T. Mizusawa, M. W. Regan, M. Seibert, K. Sheth

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We study the surface brightness profiles of disc galaxies in the 3.6 μm images from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G) and K_s-band images from the Near-Infrared S0-Sa galaxy Survey (NIRS0S). We particularly connect properties of single exponential (type I), downbending double exponential (type II), and upbending double exponential (type III) disc profile types, to structural components of galaxies by using detailed morphological classifications, and size measurements of rings and lenses. We also study how the local environment of the galaxies affects the profile types by calculating parameters describing the environmental density and the tidal …

Static Interaction Of Black Holes In 1+1 Dimensions, Philip Greenwood

Physics

We consider a version of general relativity in two spacetime dimensions, and

study a solution describing two static black holes in the presence of a cosmological

constant. We first analytically find an embedding diagram to visualize the geometry

outside the black holes. We then examine how the two black holes must be

interacting to remain static. Our main result is to show how the black holes behave

effectively like two electric charges. This charge model exhibits both attraction and

repulsion, which evidently balance and moreover are localized in different regions

of space. We also begin an investigation of the black …