A Stis Atlas Of Ca Ii Triplet Absorption Line Kinematics In Galactic Nuclei,
2013
Florida Institute of Technology
A Stis Atlas Of Ca Ii Triplet Absorption Line Kinematics In Galactic Nuclei, Daniel P. Batcheldor, David Axon, Monica Valluri, Jocelyn Mandalou, David Merritt
Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications
The relations observed between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies suggest a fundamental link in the processes that cause these two objects to evolve. A more comprehensive understanding of these relations could be gained by increasing the number of supermassive black hole mass (M•) measurements. This can be achieved, in part, by continuing to model the stellar dynamics at the centers of galactic bulges using data of the highest possible spatial resolution. Consequently, we present here an atlas of galaxies in the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) data archive that may have spectra suitable for new M• estimates. Archived …
Moving Objects In The Hubble Ultra Deep Field,
2013
University of Oklahoma
Moving Objects In The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Mukremin Kilic, Alexandros Gianninas, Ted Von Hippel
Publications
We identify proper motion objects in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) using the optical data from the original UDF program in 2004 and the near-infrared data from the 128 orbit UDF 2012 campaign. There are 12 sources brighter than I = 27 mag that display >3σ significant proper motions. We do not find any proper motion objects fainter than this magnitude limit. Combining optical and near-infrared photometry, we model the spectral energy distribution of each point-source using stellar templates and state-of-the-art white dwarf models. For I ≤ 27 mag, we identify 23 stars with K0-M6 spectral types and two …
Book Review: Heart Of Darkness: Unraveling The Mysteries Of The Invisible Universe,
2013
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Book Review: Heart Of Darkness: Unraveling The Mysteries Of The Invisible Universe, T. D. Oswalt
Publications
This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Heart of Darkness : Unraveling the Mysteries of the Invisible Universe by Jeremiah P. Ostriker and Simon Mitton Princeton, 2013 299p, 9780691134307 $27.95, 9781400844647 $27.95
The Deep2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: Design, Observations, Data Reduction, And Redshifts,
2013
University of Pittsburgh
The Deep2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: Design, Observations, Data Reduction, And Redshifts, Jeffery A. Newman, Michael C. Cooper, Marc Davis, S. M. Faber, Alison L. Coil, Puragra Guhathakurta, David C. Koo, Andrew C. Phillips, Charlie Conroy, Aaron A. Dutton, Douglas P. Finkbeiner, Brian F. Gerke, David J. Rosario, Benjamin J. Weiner, Renbin Yan, Justin J. Harker, Susan A. Kassin, N. P. Konidaris, Kamson Lai, Darren S. Madgwick, K. G. Noeske, Gregory D. Wirth, A. J. Connolly, N. Kaiser, Evan N. Kirby, Brian C. Lemaux, Lihwai Lin, Jennifer M. Lotz, G. A. Luppino, C. Marinoni
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
We describe the design and data analysis of the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, the densest and largest high-precision redshift survey of galaxies at z ~ 1 completed to date. The survey was designed to conduct a comprehensive census of massive galaxies, their properties, environments, and large-scale structure down to absolute magnitude MB = –20 at z ~ 1 via ~90 nights of observation on the Keck telescope. The survey covers an area of 2.8 deg2 divided into four separate fields observed to a limiting apparent magnitude of RAB = 24.1. Objects with z ≲ 0.7 are readily …
Shadows In Time: A Study Of Temporal Metaphysics Through Hard Science Fiction And Its Restrictions On The Past And Future,
2013
Oglethorpe University
Shadows In Time: A Study Of Temporal Metaphysics Through Hard Science Fiction And Its Restrictions On The Past And Future, Lindsey E. Mitchell
Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research
Through a series of essays, this body of work explores the varying theories concerning the nature of time and how each theory affects the possibility and outcome of time travel. Following these essays, a collection of short stories focuses on what the author considers the most probable theories concerning time and expands on how they might affect a time traveler's decisions and fate.
A Bayesian Approach To Deriving Ages Of Individual Field White Dwarfs,
2013
Dartmouth College
A Bayesian Approach To Deriving Ages Of Individual Field White Dwarfs, Erin M. O'Malley, Ted Von Hippel, David A. Van Dyk
Dartmouth Scholarship
We apply a self-consistent and robust Bayesian statistical approach to determine the ages, distances, and zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) masses of 28 field DA white dwarfs (WDs) with ages of approximately 4-8 Gyr. Our technique requires only quality optical and near-infrared photometry to derive ages with <15% uncertainties, generally with little sensitivity to our choice of modern initial-final mass relation. We find that age, distance, and ZAMS mass are correlated in a manner that is too complex to be captured by traditional error propagation techniques. We further find that the posterior distributions of age are often asymmetric, indicating that the standard approach to deriving WD ages can yield misleading results.
Supermassive Black Hole Formation At High Redshifts Via Direct Collapse: Physical Processes In The Early Stage,
2013
University of Kentucky
Supermassive Black Hole Formation At High Redshifts Via Direct Collapse: Physical Processes In The Early Stage, Jun-Hwan Choi, Isaac Shlosman, Mitchell C. Begelman
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
We use numerical simulations to explore whether direct collapse can lead to the formation of supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds at high redshifts. Using the adaptive mesh refinement code ENZO, we follow the evolution of gas within slowly tumbling dark matter (DM) halos of Mvir ~ 2 × 108 M☉ and Rvir ~ 1 kpc. For our idealized simulations, we adopt cosmologically motivated DM and baryon density profiles and angular momentum distributions. Our principal goal is to understand how the collapsing flow overcomes the centrifugal barrier and whether it is subject to fragmentation which can potentially …
Salt Long-Slit Spectroscopy Of Luminous Obscured Quasars: An Upper Limit On The Size Of The Narrow-Line Region?,
2013
Dartmouth College
Salt Long-Slit Spectroscopy Of Luminous Obscured Quasars: An Upper Limit On The Size Of The Narrow-Line Region?, Kevin N. Hainline, Ryan Hickox, Jenny E. Greene, Adam D. Myers, Nadia L. Zakamska
Dartmouth Scholarship
We present spatially resolved long-slit spectroscopy from the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) to examine the spatial extent of the narrow-line regions (NLRs) of a sample of 8 luminous obscured quasars at 0.10 < z < 0.43. Our results are consistent with an observed shallow slope in the relationship between NLR size and L_[OIII], which has been interpreted to indicate that NLR size is limited by the density and ionization state of the NLR gas rather than the availability of ionizing photons. We also explore how the NLR size scales with a more direct measure of instantaneous AGN power using mid-IR photometry from WISE, which probes warm to hot dust near the central black hole and so, unlike [OIII], does not depend on the properties of the NLR. Using our results as well as samples from the literature, we obtain a power-law relationship between NLR size and L_8micron that is significantly steeper than that observed for NLR size and L_[OIII]. We find that the size of the NLR goes approximately as L^(1/2)_8micron, as expected from the simple scenario of constant-density clouds illuminated by a central ionizing source. We further see tentative evidence for a flattening of the relationship between NLR size and L_8micron at the high luminosity end, and propose that we are seeing a limiting NLR size of 10 - 20 kpc, beyond which the availability of gas to ionize becomes too low. We find that L_[OIII] ~ L_8micron^(1.4), consistent with a picture in which the L_[OIII] is dependent on the volume of the NLR. These results indicate that high-luminosity quasars have a strong effect in ionizing the available gas in a galaxy.
Impact Of Mhd Shock Physics On Magnetosheath Symmetry And Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability,
2013
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Impact Of Mhd Shock Physics On Magnetosheath Symmetry And Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, K. Nykyri
Publications
We have performed 13 three-dimensional global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the magnetosheath plasma and magnetic field properties for Parker spiral (PS) and ortho-Parker spiral interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientations corresponding to a wide range of solar wind plasma conditions. To study the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the dawn and dusk flank magnetopause, we have performed 26 local two-dimensional MHD simulations, with the initial conditions taken from global simulations on both sides of the velocity shear layer at the dawn-dusk terminator. These simulations indicate that while the MHD physics of the fast shocks does not directly lead to strong …
First Magnetic Seismology Of The Cme Reconnection Outflow Layer In The Low Corona With 2.5-D Mhd Simulations Of The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability,
2013
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
First Magnetic Seismology Of The Cme Reconnection Outflow Layer In The Low Corona With 2.5-D Mhd Simulations Of The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, Katariina Nykyri, Claire Foullon
Publications
For conditions observed in the low corona, we perform 2.5-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) at the surface of a coronal mass ejection (CME). We match the observed time development of the KHI with simulated growth from 110 MHD experiments representing a parametric range of realistic magnetic field strengths and orientations and two key values of the velocity shear, ΔV, inferred from observations. The results are field strengths Be≈ 8–9 G and Bs≈ 10–11 G in the CME reconnection outflow layer and the surrounding sheath, respectively, for ΔV≈770kms−1; for nearly perpendicular orientation (1° tilt) of Bs with …
Ice And Dust In The Prestellar Dark Cloud Lynds 183: Preplanetary Matter At The Lowest Temperatures,
2013
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Ice And Dust In The Prestellar Dark Cloud Lynds 183: Preplanetary Matter At The Lowest Temperatures, David Horne, D. Whittet, C Poteet, J. Chiar, L. Paganini, V Bajaj, S. Shenoy, A Adamson
Physics Faculty Works
Dust grains are nucleation centers and catalysts for the growth of icy mantles in quiescent interstellar clouds, the products of which may accumulate into preplanetary matter when new stars and solar systems form within the clouds. In this paper, we present the first spectroscopic detections of silicate dust and the molecular ices H2O, CO, and CO2 in the vicinity of the prestellar core L183 (L134N). An infrared photometric survey of the cloud was used to identify reddened background stars, and we present spectra covering solid-state absorption features in the wavelength range 2-20 μm for nine of them. The mean composition …
Polarimetry And The High-Energy Emission Mechanisms In Quasar Jets: The Case Of Pks 1136-135,
2013
Florida Institute of Technology
Polarimetry And The High-Energy Emission Mechanisms In Quasar Jets: The Case Of Pks 1136-135, Mihai Cara, Eric S. Perlman
Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications
Since the discovery of kiloparsec-scale X-ray emission from quasar jets, the physical processes responsible for their high-energy emission have been poorly defined. A number of mechanisms are under active debate, including synchrotron radiation, inverse-Comptonized cosmic microwave background (IC/CMB) emission, and other Comptonization processes. In a number of cases, the optical and X-ray emission of jet regions are inked by a single spectral component, and in those, high-resolution multi-band imaging and polarimetry can be combined to yield a powerful diagnostic of jet emission processes. Here we report on deep imaging photometry of the jet of PKS 1136−135 obtained with the Hubble …
The Einstein@Home Search For Radio Pulsars And Psr J2007+2722 Discovery,
2013
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The Einstein@Home Search For Radio Pulsars And Psr J2007+2722 Discovery, B. Allen, B. Knispel, J. M. Cordes, J. S. Deneva, J. W.T. Hessels, D. Anderson, C. Aulbert, O. Bock, Fredrick A. Jenet, Kevin Stovall
Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications
Einstein@Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of volunteers from 193 countries, to search for new neutron stars using data from electromagnetic and gravitational-wave detectors. This paper presents a detailed description of the search for new radio pulsars using Pulsar ALFA survey data from the Arecibo Observatory. The enormous computing power allows this search to cover a new region of parameter space; it can detect pulsars in binary systems with orbital periods as short as 11 minutes. We also describe the first Einstein@Home discovery, the 40.8 Hz isolated pulsar PSR J2007+2722, and provide a full timing model. PSR …
A Journey Into Quantization In Astrophysics,
2013
University of New Mexico
A Journey Into Quantization In Astrophysics, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto
Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications
The present book consists of 17 select scientific papers from ten years of work around 2003-2013. The topic covered here is quantization in Astrophysics. We also discuss other topics for instance Pioneer spacecraft anomaly. We discuss a number of sub-topics, for instance the use of Schrödinger equation to describe celestial quantization. Our basic proposition here is that the quantization of planetary systems corresponds to quantization of circulation as observed in superfluidity. And then we extend it further to the use of (complex) Ginzburg-Landau equation to describe possible nonlinearity of planetary quantization. Some of these papers have been published in journal …
The Fast And Furious Decay Of The Peculiar Type Ic Supernova 2005ek,
2013
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Fast And Furious Decay Of The Peculiar Type Ic Supernova 2005ek, M. R. Drout, A. M. Soderberg, P. A. Mazzali, J. T. Parrent
Dartmouth Scholarship
We present extensive multi-wavelength observations of the extremely rapidly declining Type Ic supernova (SN Ic), SN 2005ek. Reaching a peak magnitude of MR = –17.3 and decaying by ~3 mag in the first 15 days post-maximum, SN 2005ek is among the fastest Type I supernovae observed to date. The spectra of SN 2005ek closely resemble those of normal SN Ic, but with an accelerated evolution. There is evidence for the onset of nebular features at only nine days post-maximum. Spectroscopic modeling reveals an ejecta mass of ~0.3 M ☉ that is dominated by oxygen (~80%), while the pseudo-bolometric light …
Understanding Light Pollution In And Around Tucson, Arizona,
2013
Utah State University
Understanding Light Pollution In And Around Tucson, Arizona, Rachel K. Nydegger
Browse All Undergraduate research
No abstract provided.
Long-Term Spectral Evolution Of Tidal Disruption Candidates Selected By Strong Coronal Lines,
2013
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Long-Term Spectral Evolution Of Tidal Disruption Candidates Selected By Strong Coronal Lines, Chen-Wei Yang, Ting-Gui Wang, Gary J. Ferland, Weimin Yuan, Hong-Yan Zhou, Peng Jiang
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
We present results of follow-up optical spectroscopic Multi-Mirror Telescope (MMT) observations of seven rare, extreme coronal line-emitting galaxies reported by Wang et al. Large variations in coronal lines are found in four objects, making them strong candidates for tidal disruption events (TDEs). For the four TDE candidates, all the coronal lines with ionization states higher than [Fe VII] disappear within 5-9 yr. The [Fe VII] line faded by a factor of about five in one object (J0952+2143) within 4 yr, whereas the line emerged in another two objects that previously did not show the line. A strong increment in the …
Constraints On Oh Megamaser Excitation From A Survey Of Oh Satellite Lines,
2013
University of California - Berkeley
Constraints On Oh Megamaser Excitation From A Survey Of Oh Satellite Lines, James Mcbride, Carl Heiles, Moshe Elitzur
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
We report the results of a full-Stokes survey of all four 18 cm OH lines in 77 OH megamasers (OHMs) using the Arecibo Observatory. This is the first survey of OHMs that included observations of the OH satellite lines; only four of the 77 OHMs have existing satellite line observations in the literature. Satellite line emission is detected in five sources, three of which are redetections of previously published sources. The two sources with new detections of satellite line emission are IRAS F10173+0829, which was detected at 1720 MHz, and IRAS F15107+0724, for which both the 1612 MHz and 1720 …
The Statistical Mapping Of Magnetosheath Plasma Properties Based On Themis Measurements In The Magnetosheath Interplanetary Medium Reference Frame,
2013
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
The Statistical Mapping Of Magnetosheath Plasma Properties Based On Themis Measurements In The Magnetosheath Interplanetary Medium Reference Frame, A. P. Dimmock, K. Nykyri
Publications
The magnetosheath operates as a natural filter between the solar wind and the magnetospheric plasma. As a result of this, the magnetosheath plays a crucial role in the plasma momentum and energy transport from the interplanetary medium into the magnetosphere. Statistical studies of the magnetosheath are difficult due to the dynamic nature of the terrestrial bow shock and the magnetopause. As a result of this, the spatial and temporal dependence of magnetosheath plasma properties under varying solar wind conditions is still not completely understood. We present a study of magnetosheath plasma properties using 5 years of THEMIS and OMNI data …
Kelt-3b: A Hot Jupiter Transiting A V=9.8 Late-F Star,
2013
Swarthmore College
Kelt-3b: A Hot Jupiter Transiting A V=9.8 Late-F Star, J. Pepper, R. J. Siverd, T. G. Beatty, B. S. Gaudi, K. G. Stassun, J. D. Eastman, K. Collins, D. W. Latham, A. Bieryla, L. A. Buchhave, Eric L.N. Jensen, M. Manner, K. Penev, J. R. Crepp, P. A. Cargile, Saurav Dhital , '06, M. L. Calkins, G. A. Esquerdo, P. Berlind, B. J. Fulton, R. Street, B. Ma, J. Ge, J. Wang, Q. Mao, A. J.W. Richert, A. Gould, D. L. Depoy, J. F. Kielkopf, J. L. Marshall, R. W. Pogge, R. P. Stefanik, M. Trueblood, P. Trueblood
Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works
We report the discovery of KELT-3b, a moderately inflated transiting hot Jupiter with a mass of 1.477(-0.067)(+0.066) M-J, radius of 1.345 +/- 0.072 R-J, and an orbital period of 2.7033904 +/- 0.000010 days. The host star, KELT-3, is a V = 9.8 late F star with M-* = 1.278(-0.061)(+0.063) M-circle dot, R-* = 1.472(-0.067)(+0.065) R-circle dot, T-eff = 6306(-49)(+50) K, log(g) = 4.209(-0.031)(+0.033), and [Fe/H] = 0.044(-0.082)(+0.080), and has a likely proper motion companion. KELT-3b is the third transiting exoplanet discovered by the KELT survey, and is orbiting one of the 20 brightest known transiting planet host stars, making it …
