Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Analysis Of The Early-Time Optical Spectra Of Sn 2011fe In M101, J. T. Parrent, D. A. Howell, B. Friesen, R. C. Thomas

Dartmouth Scholarship

The nearby Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe in M101 (cz=241 km s^-1) provides a unique opportunity to study the early evolution of a "normal" Type Ia supernova, its compositional structure, and its elusive progenitor system. We present 18 high signal-to-noise spectra of SN 2011fe during its first month beginning 1.2 days post-explosion and with an average cadence of 1.8 days. This gives a clear picture of how various line-forming species are distributed within the outer layers of the ejecta, including that of unburned material (C+O). We follow the evolution of C II absorption features until they diminish near maximum light, …

All-Sky Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts In The Second Joint Ligo-Virgo Run, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya Mohanty, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present results from a search for gravitational-wave bursts in the data collected by the LIGO and Virgo detectors between July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010: data are analyzed when at least two of the three LIGO-Virgo detectors are in coincident operation, with a total observation time of 207 days. The analysis searches for transients of duration -1s over the frequency band 64-5000 Hz, without other assumptions on the signal waveform, polarization, direction or occurrence time. All identified events are consistent with the expected accidental background. We set frequentist upper limits on the rate of gravitational-wave bursts by combining …

Findchirp: An Algorithm For Detection Of Gravitational Waves From Inspiraling Compact Binaries, Bruce Allen, Warren G. Anderson, Patrick R. Brady, Duncan A. Brown, Jolien D E Creighton

Physics - All Scholarship

Matched-filter searches for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration use the FINDCHIRP algorithm: an implementation of the optimal filter with innovations to account for unknown signal parameters and to improve performance on detector data that has nonstationary and non-Gaussian artifacts. We provide details on the FINDCHIRP algorithm as used in the search for subsolar mass binaries, binary neutron stars, neutron star-black hole binaries, and binary black holes.

The Hidden “Agn Main Sequence”: Evidence For A Universal Black Hole Accretion To Star Formation Rate Ratio Since Z ∼ 2 Producing An M Bh - M * Relation, J. R. Mullaney, E. Daddi, M. Béthermin, D. Elbaz, S. Juneau, M. Pannella, M. T. Sargent, D. M. Alexander, R. C. Hickox

Dartmouth Scholarship

Using X-ray stacking analyses we estimate the average amounts of supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth taking place in star-forming galaxies at z ~ 1 and z ~ 2 as a function of galaxy stellar mass (M _*). We find that the average SMBH growth rate follows remarkably similar trends with M _* and redshift as the average star formation rates (SFRs) of their host galaxies (i.e., \dot{M}_BH vprop M _* ^{0.86 ± 0.39} for the z ~ 1 sample and \dot{M}_BH vprop M _* ^{1.05 ± 0.36} for the z ~ 2 sample). It follows that the ratio of …

Discovery Of Tev Gamma-Ray Emission Toward Supernova Remnant Snr G78.2+2.1, P. T. Reynolds, Et. Al.

Physical Sciences Publications

We report the discovery of an unidentified, extended source of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission, VER J2019+407, within the radio shell of the supernova remnant SNR G78.2+2.1, using 21.4 hr of data taken by the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory in 2009. These data confirm the preliminary indications of gamma-ray emission previously seen in a two-year (2007-2009) blind survey of the Cygnus region by VERITAS. VER J2019+407, which is detected at a post-trials significance of 7.5 standard deviations in the 2009 data, is localized to the northwestern rim of the remnant in a region of enhanced radio and X-ray emission. It has an intrinsic …

Flux And Photon Spectral Index Distributions Of Fermi-Lat Blazars And Contribution To The Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background, Jack Singal, V. Petrosian, M. Ajello

Physics Faculty Publications

We present a determination of the distributions of the photon spectral index and gamma-ray flux—the so-called log N–log S relation—for the 352 blazars detected with a greater than approximately 7σ detection threshold and located above ±20◦ Galactic latitude by the Large Area Telescope of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in its first year catalog. Because the flux detection threshold depends on the photon index, the observed raw distributions do not provide the true log N–log S counts or the true distribution of the photon index. We use the non-parametric methods developed by Efron and Petrosian to reconstruct the intrinsic distributions …

Observed Seasonal Variations In Exospheric Effective Temperatures, E. J. Mierkiewicz, F. L. Roesler, S. M. Nossal

Publications

High spectral resolution line profile observations indicate a reproducible semi-annual variation in the geocoronal hydrogen Balmer α effective temperature. These observations were made between 08 January 2000 and 21 November 2001 from Pine Bluff Observatory (WI) with a second generation double etalon Fabry-Perot annular summing spectrometer operating at a resolving power of 80,000. This data set spans sixty-four nights of observations (1404 spectra in total) over 20 dark-moon periods. A two cluster Gaussian model fitting procedure is used to determine Doppler line widths, accounting for fine structure contributions to the line, including those due to cascade; cascade contributions at Balmer …

Detecting Gravitational Wave Memory With Pulsar Timing, J. M. Cordes, F. A. Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We compare the detectability of gravitational bursts passing through the solar system with those passing near each millisecond pulsar in an N-pulsar timing array. The sensitivity to Earth-passing bursts can exploit the correlation expected in pulse arrival times while pulsar-passing bursts, though uncorrelated between objects, provide an N-fold increase in overall time baseline that can compensate for the lower sensitivity. Bursts with memory from mergers of supermassive black holes produce step functions in apparent spin frequency that are the easiest to detect in pulsar timing. We show that the burst rate and amplitude distribution, while strongly dependent on inadequately known …

The Nuclear Infrared Emission Of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei, R. E. Mason, E. Lopez-Rodriguez, C. Packham, A. Alonso-Herrero, N. A. Levenson, J. Radomski, C. Ramos Almeida, L. Colina, Moshe Elitzur, I. Aretxaga, P. F. Roche, N. Oi

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) imaging, nuclear spectral energy distributions (SEDs), and archival Spitzer spectra for 22 low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs; L_bol ≲ 10⁴² erg s^–1). Infrared (IR) observations may advance our understanding of the accretion flows in LLAGNs, the fate of the obscuring torus at low accretion rates, and, perhaps, the star formation histories of these objects. However, while comprehensively studied in higher-luminosity Seyferts and quasars, the nuclear IR properties of LLAGNs have not yet been well determined. We separate the present LLAGN sample into three categories depending on their Eddington ratio and radio …

Active Noise Control Of A Centrifugal Fan Mounted In A Mock Laptop Enclosure, John J. Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Noise from information technology (IT) equipment is a significant problem in today's modern society. Active Noise Control (ANC) has shown promise in reducing the effect of IT fan noise on users. Though ANC has been applied to axial fans (such as those found in desktop computers), it has not been applied to centrifugal fans, such as those found in laptop computers. This work applies an ANC method to a centrifugal fan mounted in a mock laptop enclosure. This method is applied in four steps. First, secondary sources are placed in the vicinity of the fan. Second, an accurate model of …

Upper Limits On A Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Using Ligo And Virgo Interferometers At 600-1000 Hz, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Matthew Benacquista, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya D. Mohanty, Volker Quetschke, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600–1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of ��GW⁡(��)=��3⁡(��/900  Hz)3, of ��3<0.32, assuming a value of the Hubble parameter of ℎ100=0.71. These new limits are a factor of seven better than the previous best in this frequency band.

Upper Limits On A Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background Using Ligo And Virgo Interferometers At 600-1000 Hz, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. Abernathy, T. Accadia, F. Acernese, C. Adams, R. Adhikari, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, P. Ajith, B. Allen, E. Amador Ceron, D. Amariutei, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. A. Arain, M. C. Araya, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, D. Atkinson, P. Aufmuth, C. Aulbert, B. E. Aylott, S. Babak, P. Baker, G. Ballardin, S. Ballmer, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600-1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of ΩGW(f) ≥Ω3(f/900Hz)3, of Ω3

Spot Activity Of Lq Hydra From Photometry Between 1988 And 2011, Jyri J. Lehtinen, Lauri Jetsu, Thomas Hackman, Perttu Kajatkari, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Aims. We investigate the spot activity of the young magnetically active main sequence star LQ Hya. Our aims are to identify possible active longitudes, estimate the differential rotation, and study long and short term changes in the activity.

Methods. Our analysis is based on 24 years of Johnson V-band photometry of LQ Hya obtained with the T3 0.4 m Automated Telescope at the Fairborn Observatory. We use the previously published continuous period search (CPS) method to model the evolution of the light curve of LQ Hya. The CPS fits a Fourier series model to short overlapping subsets …

Topological Thermoelectric Effects In Spin-Orbit Coupled Electron- And Hole-Doped Semiconductors, E Dumitrescu, Chuanwei Zhang, D C. Marinescu, Sumanta Tewari

Publications

We compute the intrinsic contributions to the Berry-phase mediated anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in electron- and hole-doped semiconductors in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field as well as Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. For both systems we find that the regime of chemical potential which supports the topological superconducting state in the presence of the superconducting proximity effect can be characterized by plateaus in the topological Hall and Nernst coefficients flanked by well-defined peaks marking the emergence of the topological regime. The plateaus arise from a clear momentum space separation between the region where the Berry curvature is …

Observations Of Herbig Ae/Be Stars With Herschel/Pacs. The Atomic And Molecular Contents Of Their Protoplanetary Discs, G Meeus, B Montesinos, I Mendigutia, I Kamp, W F. Thi, C Eiroa, C A. Grady, G Mathews, G Sandell, C. Martin-Zaidi, Sean D. Brittain, W.R.F. Dent, C Howard, F Menard, C Pinte, A Roberge, B Vandenbussche, J P. Williams

Publications

We observed a sample of 20 representative Herbig Ae/Be stars and 5 A-type debris discs with PACS onboard Herschel, as part of the GAS in Protoplanetary Systems (GASPS) project. The observations were done in spectroscopic mode, and cover the far-infrared lines of [O i], [C ii], CO, CH+, H2O, and OH. We have a [Oi] 63 μm detection rate of 100% for the Herbig Ae/Be and 0% for the debris discs. The [Oi] 145 μm line is only detected in 25% and CO J = 18–17 in 45% (and fewer cases for higher J transitions) of the Herbig Ae/Be stars, …

A Possible Detection Of Occultation By A Proto-Planetary Clump In Gm Cephei, W. P. Chen, S. C.-L. Hu, R. Errmann, C. Adam, S. Baar, A. Berndt, L. Bukowiecki, D. P. Dimitrov, T. Eisenbeiss, S. Fiedler, C. Ginski, C. Gräfe, J. K. Guo, M. M. Hohle, H. Y. Hsiao, R. Janulis, M. Kitze, H. C. Lin, C. S. Lin, G. Maciejewski, C. Marka, L. Marschall, M. Moualla, M. Mugrauer, R. Neuhäuser, T. Pribulla, S. Raetz, T. Röll, E. Schmidt, J. Schmidt, T. O.B. Schmidt, M. Seeliger, L. Trepl, C. Briceño, R. Chini, Eric L.N. Jensen, E. H. Nikogossian, A. K. Pandey, J. Sperauskas, H. Takahashi, F. M. Walter, Z. Y. Wu, X. Zhou

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

GM Cephei (GM Cep), in the young (similar to 4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37, has been known to be an abrupt variable and to have a circumstellar disk with a very active accretion. Our monitoring observations in 2009-2011 revealed that the star showed sporadic flare events, each with a brightening of less than or similar to 0.5 mag lasting for days. These brightening events, associated with a color change toward blue, should originate from increased accretion activity. Moreover, the star also underwent a brightness drop of similar to 1 mag lasting for about a month, during which time the …

11-12 Gyr Old White Dwarfs 30 Pc Away, Mukremin Kilic, John R. Thorstensen, P. M. Kowalski, J. Andrews

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present a detailed model atmosphere analysis of two of the oldest stars known in the solar neighbourhood, the high proper motion white dwarfs SDSS J110217.48+411315.4 (hereafter J1102) and WD 0346+246 (hereafter WD0346). We present trigonometric parallax observations of J1102, which places it at a distance of only 33.7 ± 2.0 pc. Based on the state-of-the-art model atmospheres, optical, near-infrared, mid-infrared photometry and distances, we constrain the temperatures, atmospheric compositions, masses and ages for both stars. J1102 is an 11-Gyr-old (white dwarf plus main-sequence age), 0.62 M_⊙ white dwarf with a pure H atmosphere and T_eff= 3830 …

The Source Counts Of Submillimetre Galaxies Detected At Λ= 1.1 Mm, K. S. Scott, G. W. Wilson, I. Aretxaga, J. E. Austermann, E. L. Chapin, J. S. Dunlop, H. Ezawa, M. Halpern, B. Hatsukade, D. H. Hughes, R. Kawabe, S. Kim, K. Kohno, James D. Lowenthal, A. Montaña, K. Nakanishi, T. Oshima, D. Sanders, D. Scott, N. Scoville, Y. Tamura, D. Welch, M. S. Yun, M. Zeballos

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

The source counts of galaxies discovered at submillimetre and millimetre wavelengths provide important information on the evolution of infrared-bright galaxies. We combine the data from six blank-field surveys carried out at 1.1mm with AzTEC, totalling 1.6deg in area with root-mean-square depths ranging from 0.4 to 1.7mJy, and derive the strongest constraints to date on the 1.1 mm source counts at flux densities S = 1-12mJy. Using additional data from the AzTEC Cluster Environment Survey to extend the counts to S ∼ 20mJy, we see tentative evidence for an enhancement relative to the exponential drop in the counts at S ∼ …

Effects Of Perpendicular Diffusion On Energetic Particles Accelerated By The Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection Shock, Y Wang, Gang Qin, Ming Zhang

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

In this work, based on a numerical solution of the focused transport equation, we obtained the intensity and anisotropy time profiles of solar energetic particles (SEPs) accelerated by an interplanetary shock in the three-dimensional Parker magnetic field. The shock is treated as a moving source of energetic particles with an assumed particle distribution function. We computed the time profiles of particle flux and anisotropy as measured by an observer at 1 AU, equatorial plane, and various longitudes with respect to the shock propagation direction. With perpendicular diffusion, energetic particles can cross magnetic field lines. Particles may be detected before the …

Empirical Determination Of Convection Parameters In White Dwarfs. I. Whole Earth Telescope Observations Of Ec14012-1446, Judith L. Provençal, Matt A. Wood, Stéphane Vennes, Péter Németh

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We report on an analysis of 308.3 hr of high-speed photometry targeting the pulsating DA white dwarf EC14012-1446. The data were acquired with the Whole Earth Telescope during the 2008 international observing run XCOV26. The Fourier transform of the light curve contains 19 independent frequencies and numerous combination frequencies. The dominant peaks are 1633.907, 1887.404, and 2504.897μHz. Our analysis of the combination amplitudes reveals that the parent frequencies are consistent with modes of spherical degree l = 1. The combination amplitudes also provide m identifications for the largest amplitude parent frequencies. Our seismology analysis, which includes 2004–2007 archival data, confirms …