Imprint of Galactic dynamics on Earth's climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensmark, Henrik

2006-01-01

A connection between climate and the Solar system's motion perpendicular to the Galactic plane during the last 200 Myr years is studied. An imprint of galactic dynamics is found in a long-term record of the Earth's climate that is consistent with variations in the Solar system oscillation around...

Galactic sources of high energy neutrinos: Expectation from gamma-ray data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahakyan N.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The recent results from ground based γ-ray detectors (HESS, MAGIC, VERITAS provide a population of TeV galactic γ-ray sources which are potential sources of High Energy (HE neutrinos. Since the γ-rays and ν-s are produced from decays of neutral and charged pions, the flux of TeV γ-rays can be used to estimate the upper limit of ν flux and vice versa; the detectability of ν flux implies a minimum flux of the accompanying γ-rays (assuming the internal and the external absorption of γ-rays is negligible. Using this minimum flux, it is possible to find the sources which can be detected with cubic-kilometer telescopes. I will discuss the possibility to detect HE neutrinos from powerful galactic accelerators, such as Supernova Remnants (SNRs and Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe and show that likely only RX J1713.7-3946, RX J0852.0-4622 and Vela X can be detected by current generation of instruments (IceCube and Km3Net. It will be shown also, that galactic binary systems could be promising sources of HE ν-s. In particular, ν-s and γ-rays from Cygnus X-3 will be discussed during recent gamma-ray activity, showing that in the future such kind of activities could produce detectable flux of HE ν-s.

MID-INFRARED SELECTION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI WITH THE WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER. II. PROPERTIES OF WISE-SELECTED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN THE NDWFS BOÖTES FIELD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assef, R. J.; Stern, D.; Eisenhardt, P. R. M.; Tsai, C.-W.; Kochanek, C. S.; Blain, A. W.; Brodwin, M.; Brown, M. J. I.; Donoso, E.; Jarrett, T. H.; Yan, L.; Jannuzi, B. T.; Stanford, S. A.; Wu, J.

2013-01-01

Stern et al. presented a study of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) selection of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the 2 deg 2 COSMOS field, finding that a simple criterion W1-W2 ≥ 0.8 provides a highly reliable and complete AGN sample for W2 2 NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Boötes field which also has considerably deeper WISE observations than the COSMOS field, and find that this simple color cut significantly loses reliability at fainter fluxes. We define a modified selection criterion combining the W1–W2 color and the W2 magnitude to provide highly reliable or highly complete AGN samples for fainter WISE sources. In particular, we define a color-magnitude cut that finds 130 ± 4 deg –2 AGN candidates for W2 AGN ∼ 3 × 10 44 erg s –1 , 29% ± 7% of AGNs are observed as Type 1, while at ∼4 × 10 45 erg s –1 the fraction is 64% ± 13%. The distribution of obscuration values suggests that dust in the torus is present as both a diffuse medium and in optically thick clouds

Tracking of leisure time physical activity during 28 yr in adults: the Tromsø study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morseth, Bente; Jørgensen, Lone; Emaus, Nina; Jacobsen, Bjarne K; Wilsgaard, Tom

2011-07-01

Physical activity plays an important role in the prevention of many serious diseases. To develop targeted strategies that encourage physical activity, knowledge of stability of physical activity levels over time is essential. The aim of this study was to examine tracking of leisure time physical activity in adults in Northern Norway during three decades. We followed 5432 women and men who attended the Tromsø Study in 1979-1980, as well as repeated examinations after 7 and 28 yr. Baseline age was 20-54 yr (mean age=35.8 yr). Physical activity was assessed by self-administered questionnaires. Tracking of physical activity, defined as maintenance of relative rank of physical activity level, was estimated by Spearman correlation coefficient and by weighted κ statistics. Tracking in terms of predictability of later values from earlier measurements was analyzed by generalized estimating equations. A higher-than-expected proportion of subjects maintained their physical activity level from examination 1 to 2 (58%) and 3 (53%). κ statistics showed agreement of 0.41 and 0.29, respectively. Belonging to a specific physical activity level at baseline increased the odds of belonging to the same category at later examinations (sedentary odds ratio (OR)=3.9 (95% confidence interval (CI)=3.5-4.4), moderately active OR=2.2 (95% CI=2.0-2.4), active OR=2.9 (95% CI=2.6-3.3), and highly active OR=14.0 (95% CI=8.7-22.5)). Being physically active in young adulthood increased the odds of being physically active later in life (moderately active OR=3.4 (95% CI=3.0-3.9), active OR=5.4 (95% CI=4.6-6.4), and highly active OR=13.0 (95% CI=7.4-22.8)). This study showed tracking of leisure time physical activity during 28 yr in a cohort of adults.

Dynamics and evolution of galactic nuclei (princeton series in astrophysics)

CERN Document Server

Merritt, David

2013-01-01

Deep within galaxies like the Milky Way, astronomers have found a fascinating legacy of Einstein's general theory of relativity: supermassive black holes. Connected to the evolution of the galaxies that contain these black holes, galactic nuclei are the sites of uniquely energetic events, including quasars, stellar tidal disruptions, and the generation of gravitational waves. This textbook is the first comprehensive introduction to dynamical processes occurring in the vicinity of supermassive black holes in their galactic environment. Filling a critical gap, it is an authoritative resource for astrophysics and physics graduate students, and researchers focusing on galactic nuclei, the astrophysics of massive black holes, galactic dynamics, and gravitational wave detection. It is an ideal text for an advanced graduate-level course on galactic nuclei and as supplementary reading in graduate-level courses on high-energy astrophysics and galactic dynamics. David Merritt summarizes the theoretical work of the las...

Galactic synchrotron emission from WIMPs at radio frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fornengo, Nicolao; Regis, Marco; Lineros, Roberto A.; Taoso, Marco

2012-01-01

Dark matter annihilations in the Galactic halo inject relativistic electrons and positrons which in turn generate a synchrotron radiation when interacting with the galactic magnetic field. We calculate the synchrotron flux for various dark matter annihilation channels, masses, and astrophysical assumptions in the low-frequency range and compare our results with radio surveys from 22 MHz to 1420 MHz. We find that current observations are able to constrain particle dark matter with ''thermal'' annihilation cross-sections, i.e. (σv) = 3 × 10 −26 cm 3 s −1 , and masses M DM ∼<10 GeV. We discuss the dependence of these bounds on the astrophysical assumptions, namely galactic dark matter distribution, cosmic rays propagation parameters, and structure of the galactic magnetic field. Prospects for detection in future radio surveys are outlined

Planck 2013 results. XIII. Galactic CO emission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Alves, M. I. R.

2014-01-01

Rotational transition lines of CO play a major role in molecular radio astronomy as a mass tracer and in particular in the study of star formation and Galactic structure. Although a wealth of data exists for the Galactic plane and some well-known molecular clouds, there is no available high sensi...

THE EFFECTS OF X-RAY FEEDBACK FROM ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI ON HOST GALAXY EVOLUTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hambrick, D. Clay; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.; Naab, Thorsten; Johansson, Peter H.

2011-01-01

Hydrodynamic simulations of galaxies with active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have typically employed feedback that is purely local, i.e., an injection of energy to the immediate neighborhood of the black hole (BH). We perform GADGET-2 simulations of massive elliptical galaxies with an additional feedback component: an observationally calibrated X-ray radiation field which emanates from the BH and heats gas out to large radii from the galaxy center. We find that including the heating and radiation pressure associated with this X-ray flux in our simulations enhances the effects which are commonly reported from AGN feedback. This new feedback model is twice as effective as traditional feedback at suppressing star formation, produces three times less star formation in the last 6 Gyr, and modestly lowers the final BH mass (30%). It is also significantly more effective than an X-ray background in reducing the number of satellite galaxies.

Tracking of accelerometry-measured physical activity during childhood: ICAD pooled analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwon Soyang

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Understanding of physical activity (PA tracking during childhood is important to predict PA behaviors and design appropriate interventions. We compared tracking of PA according to PA level and type of day (weekday/weekend in a pool of five children’s cohort studies. Methods Data from ALSPAC, CLAN, Iowa Bone Development Study, HEAPS, PEACH were extracted from the International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD, resulting in 5,016 participants with age, gender, and accelerometry data at both baseline and follow-up (mean age: 10.3 years at baseline, 12.5 years at follow-up. Daily minutes spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA and vigorous-intensity PA (VPA was categorized into quintiles. Multinomial logistic regression models were fit to predict follow-up (MVPA from baseline (MVPA (reference: 20-  Results For the weekday, VPA tracking for boys with high baseline VPA was higher than boys with low baseline VPA (ORs: 3.9 [95% CI: 3.1, 5.0] vs. 2.1 [95% CI: 1.6, 2.6]. Among girls, high VPA was less stable when compared low VPA (ORs: 1.8 [95% CI: 1.4, 2.2] vs. 2.6 [95% CI: 2.1, 3.2]. The pattern was similar for MVPA among girls (ORs: 1.6 [95% CI: 1.2, 2.0] vs. 2.8 [95% CI: 2.3, 3.6]. Overall, tracking was lower for the weekend. Conclusions PA tracking was higher on the weekday than the weekend, and among inactive girls than active girls. The PA “routine” of weekdays should be used to help children establish healthy PA patterns. Supports for PA increase and maintenance of girls are needed.

Particle Filter with Integrated Voice Activity Detection for Acoustic Source Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders M. Johansson

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In noisy and reverberant environments, the problem of acoustic source localisation and tracking (ASLT using an array of microphones presents a number of challenging difficulties. One of the main issues when considering real-world situations involving human speakers is the temporally discontinuous nature of speech signals: the presence of silence gaps in the speech can easily misguide the tracking algorithm, even in practical environments with low to moderate noise and reverberation levels. A natural extension of currently available sound source tracking algorithms is the integration of a voice activity detection (VAD scheme. We describe a new ASLT algorithm based on a particle filtering (PF approach, where VAD measurements are fused within the statistical framework of the PF implementation. Tracking accuracy results for the proposed method is presented on the basis of synthetic audio samples generated with the image method, whereas performance results obtained with a real-time implementation of the algorithm, and using real audio data recorded in a reverberant room, are published elsewhere. Compared to a previously proposed PF algorithm, the experimental results demonstrate the improved robustness of the method described in this work when tracking sources emitting real-world speech signals, which typically involve significant silence gaps between utterances.

Constraints on Galactic populations from the unidentified EGRET sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siegal-Gaskins, Jennifer M.; Pavlidou, Vasiliki; Brown, Carolyn; Olinto, Angela V.; Fields, Brian D.

2007-01-01

A significant fraction of the sources in the third EGRET catalog have not yet been identified with a low-energy counterpart. We evaluate the plausibility of a Galactic population accounting for some or all of the unidentified EGRET sources by making the simple assumption that galaxies similar to the Milky Way host comparable populations of gamma-ray emitters. Rather than focusing on the properties of a specific candidate emitter, we constrain the abundance and spatial distribution of proposed Galactic populations. We find that it is highly improbable that the unidentified EGRET sources contain more than a handful of members of a Galactic halo population, but that current observations are consistent with all of these sources being Galactic objects if they reside entirely in the disk and bulge. We discuss the additional constraints and new insights into the nature of Galactic gamma-ray emitting populations that GLAST is expected to provide

Tracking Activities in Complex Settings Using Smart Environment Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Singla, Geetika; Cook, Diane J; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2009-01-01

The pervasive sensing technologies found in smart homes offer unprecedented opportunities for providing health monitoring and assistance to individuals experiencing difficulties living independently at home. A primary challenge that needs to be tackled to meet this need is the ability to recognize and track functional activities that people perform in their own homes and everyday settings. In this paper we look at approaches to perform real-time recognition of Activities of Daily Living. We enhance other related research efforts to develop approaches that are effective when activities are interrupted and interleaved. To evaluate the accuracy of our recognition algorithms we assess them using real data collected from participants performing activities in our on-campus smart apartment testbed.

Tracking molecular dynamics without tracking: image correlation of photo-activation microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandžić, Elvis; Rossy, Jérémie; Gaus, Katharina

2015-01-01

Measuring protein dynamics in the plasma membrane can provide insights into the mechanisms of receptor signaling and other cellular functions. To quantify protein dynamics on the single molecule level over the entire cell surface, sophisticated approaches such as single particle tracking (SPT), photo-activation localization microscopy (PALM) and fluctuation-based analysis have been developed. However, analyzing molecular dynamics of fluorescent particles with intermittent excitation and low signal-to-noise ratio present at high densities has remained a challenge. We overcame this problem by applying spatio-temporal image correlation spectroscopy (STICS) analysis to photo-activated (PA) microscopy time series. In order to determine under which imaging conditions this approach is valid, we simulated PA images of diffusing particles in a homogeneous environment and varied photo-activation, reversible blinking and irreversible photo-bleaching rates. Further, we simulated data with high particle densities that populated mobile objects (such as adhesions and vesicles) that often interfere with STICS and fluctuation-based analysis. We demonstrated in experimental measurements that the diffusion coefficient of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) fused to PAGFP in live COS-7 cells can be determined in the plasma membrane and revealed differences in the time-dependent diffusion maps between wild-type and mutant Lck in activated T cells. In summary, we have developed a new analysis approach for live cell photo-activation microscopy data based on image correlation spectroscopy to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of single proteins. (paper)

Tracking molecular dynamics without tracking: image correlation of photo-activation microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Pandžić, Elvis; Rossy, Jérémie; Gaus, Katharina

2015-03-01

Measuring protein dynamics in the plasma membrane can provide insights into the mechanisms of receptor signaling and other cellular functions. To quantify protein dynamics on the single molecule level over the entire cell surface, sophisticated approaches such as single particle tracking (SPT), photo-activation localization microscopy (PALM) and fluctuation-based analysis have been developed. However, analyzing molecular dynamics of fluorescent particles with intermittent excitation and low signal-to-noise ratio present at high densities has remained a challenge. We overcame this problem by applying spatio-temporal image correlation spectroscopy (STICS) analysis to photo-activated (PA) microscopy time series. In order to determine under which imaging conditions this approach is valid, we simulated PA images of diffusing particles in a homogeneous environment and varied photo-activation, reversible blinking and irreversible photo-bleaching rates. Further, we simulated data with high particle densities that populated mobile objects (such as adhesions and vesicles) that often interfere with STICS and fluctuation-based analysis. We demonstrated in experimental measurements that the diffusion coefficient of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) fused to PAGFP in live COS-7 cells can be determined in the plasma membrane and revealed differences in the time-dependent diffusion maps between wild-type and mutant Lck in activated T cells. In summary, we have developed a new analysis approach for live cell photo-activation microscopy data based on image correlation spectroscopy to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of single proteins.

THE SPITZER MID-INFRARED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS SURVEY. I. OPTICAL AND NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF OBSCURED CANDIDATES AND NORMAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI SELECTED IN THE MID-INFRARED

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacy, M. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Ridgway, S. E. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Gates, E. L. [UCO/Lick Observatory, P.O. Box 85, Mount Hamilton, CA 95140 (United States); Nielsen, D. M. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 N. Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Petric, A. O. [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Sajina, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tuffs University, 212 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155 (United States); Urrutia, T. [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Cox Drews, S. [946 Mangrove Avenue 102, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (United States); Harrison, C. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Seymour, N. [CSIRO, P.O. Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia); Storrie-Lombardi, L. J. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2013-10-01

We present the results of a program of optical and near-infrared spectroscopic follow-up of candidate active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected in the mid-infrared. This survey selects both normal and obscured AGNs closely matched in luminosity across a wide range, from Seyfert galaxies with bolometric luminosities L {sub bol} ∼ 10{sup 10} L {sub ☉} to highly luminous quasars (L {sub bol} ∼ 10{sup 14} L {sub ☉}), all with redshifts ranging from 0 to 4.3. Samples of candidate AGNs were selected with mid-infrared color cuts at several different 24 μm flux density limits to ensure a range of luminosities at a given redshift. The survey consists of 786 candidate AGNs and quasars, of which 672 have spectroscopic redshifts and classifications. Of these, 137 (20%) are type 1 AGNs with blue continua, 294 (44%) are type 2 objects with extinctions A{sub V} ∼> 5 toward their AGNs, 96 (14%) are AGNs with lower extinctions (A{sub V} ∼ 1), and 145 (22%) have redshifts, but no clear signs of AGN activity in their spectra. Of the survey objects 50% have L {sub bol} > 10{sup 12} L {sub ☉}, in the quasar regime. We present composite spectra for type 2 quasars and objects with no signs of AGN activity in their spectra. We also discuss the mid-infrared—emission-line luminosity correlation and present the results of cross correlations with serendipitous X-ray and radio sources. The results show that: (1) obscured objects dominate the overall AGN population, (2) mid-infrared selected AGN candidates exist which lack AGN signatures in their optical spectra but have AGN-like X-ray or radio counterparts, and (3) X-ray and optical classifications of obscured and unobscured AGNs often differ.

76 FR 13647 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-14

... Request--Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA): Biomarker Based Validation Study Summary... Collection: Title: Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA): Biomarker Based Validation Study... Food Record 742 2 60/60 (1.0) 1,485 (Attachment 17). Diet History 742 2 45/60 (.75) 1,114 Questionnaire...

Possible existence of wormholes in the galactic halo region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahaman, Farook [Jadavpur University, Department of Mathematics, Kolkata, West Bengal (India); Kuhfittig, P.K.F. [Milwaukee School of Engineering, Department of Mathematics, Milwaukee, WI (United States); Ray, Saibal [Government College of Engineering and Ceramic Technology, Department of Physics, Kolkata, West Bengal (India); Islam, Nasarul [Danga High Madrasah, Department of Mathematics, Kolkata, West Bengal (India)

2014-02-15

Two observational results, the density profile from simulations performed in the ΛCDM scenario and the observed flat galactic rotation curves, are taken as input with the aim of showing that the galactic halo possesses some of the characteristics needed to support traversable wormholes. This result should be sufficient to provide an incentive for scientists to seek observational evidence for wormholes in the galactic halo region. (orig.)

Black hole masses in active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Denney, Kelly D.

2010-11-01

We present the complete results from two, high sampling-rate, multi-month, spectrophotometric reverberation mapping campaigns undertaken to obtain either new or improved Hbeta reverberation lag measurements for several relatively low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We have reliably measured the time delay between variations in the continuum and Hbeta emission line in seven local Seyfert 1 galaxies. These measurements are used to calculate the mass of the supermassive black hole at the center of each of these AGNs. We place our results in context to the most current calibration of the broad-line region (BLR) RBLR-L relationship, where our results remove many outliers and significantly reduce the scatter at the low-luminosity end of this relationship. A detailed analysis of the data from our high sampling rate, multi-month reverberation mapping campaign in 2007 reveals that the Hbeta emission region within the BLRs of several nearby AGNs exhibit a variety of kinematic behaviors. Through a velocity-resolved reverberation analysis of the broad Hbeta emission-line flux variations in our sample, we reconstruct velocity-resolved kinematic signals for our entire sample and clearly see evidence for outflowing, infalling, and virialized BLR gas motions in NGC 3227, NGC 3516, and NGC 5548, respectively. Finally, we explore the nature of systematic errors that can arise in measurements of black hole masses from single-epoch spectra of AGNs by utilizing the many epochs available for NGC 5548 and PG1229+204 from reverberation mapping databases. In particular, we examine systematics due to AGN variability, contamination due to constant spectral components (i.e., narrow lines and host galaxy flux), data quality (i.e., signal-to-noise ratio, S/N), and blending of spectral features. We investigate the effect that each of these systematics has on the precision and accuracy of single-epoch masses calculated from two commonly-used line-width measures by comparing these

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the effect of galaxy group environment on active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Yjan A.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.; Owers, Matt S.; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Brough, Sarah; Brown, Michael J. I.; Cluver, Michelle E.; Croom, Scott M.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Loveday, Jonathan; Mahajan, Smriti; Wang, Lingyu

2018-04-01

In galaxy clusters, efficiently accreting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are preferentially located in the infall regions of the cluster projected phase-space, and are rarely found in the cluster core. This has been attributed to both an increase in triggering opportunities for infalling galaxies, and a reduction of those mechanisms in the hot, virialized, cluster core. Exploiting the depth and completeness (98 per cent at r 9.9 in 695 groups with 11.53 ≤ log10(M200/M⊙) ≤ 14.56 at z 13.5, AGNs are preferentially found in the infalling galaxy population with 3.6σ confidence. At lower halo masses, we observe no difference in AGN fraction between core and infalling galaxies. These observations support a model where a reduced number of low-speed interactions, ram pressure stripping and intra-group/cluster medium temperature, the dominance of which increase with halo mass, work to inhibit AGN in the cores of groups and clusters with log10(M200/M⊙) > 13.5, but do not significantly affect nuclear activity in cores of less massive structures.

Galactic synchrotron emission from WIMPs at radio frequencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fornengo, Nicolao; Regis, Marco [Dipartimento di Fisica Teorica, Università di Torino, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino (Italy); Lineros, Roberto A.; Taoso, Marco, E-mail: fornengo@to.infn.it, E-mail: rlineros@ific.uv.es, E-mail: regis@to.infn.it, E-mail: taoso@ific.uv.es [IFIC, CSIC-Universidad de Valencia, Ed. Institutos, Apdo. Correos 22085, E-46071 Valencia (Spain)

2012-01-01

Dark matter annihilations in the Galactic halo inject relativistic electrons and positrons which in turn generate a synchrotron radiation when interacting with the galactic magnetic field. We calculate the synchrotron flux for various dark matter annihilation channels, masses, and astrophysical assumptions in the low-frequency range and compare our results with radio surveys from 22 MHz to 1420 MHz. We find that current observations are able to constrain particle dark matter with ''thermal'' annihilation cross-sections, i.e. (σv) = 3 × 10{sup −26} cm{sup 3} s{sup −1}, and masses M{sub DM}∼<10 GeV. We discuss the dependence of these bounds on the astrophysical assumptions, namely galactic dark matter distribution, cosmic rays propagation parameters, and structure of the galactic magnetic field. Prospects for detection in future radio surveys are outlined.

Active Galactic Nuclei: the Shape of Material Around Black Holes and the Witch of Agnesi Function. Asymmetry of Neutrino Particle Density

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vezzoli G. C.

2009-10-01

Full Text Available A mathematical representation is given and physically described for the shape of the very hot material that immediately surrounds a black hole and the warm material located at a greater distance from the black hole, as related to active galactic nuclei. The shape of the material surrounding the black hole is interpreted in terms of asymmetry of the neutrino flux. Detailed experimental measurements on radioactive decay influenced by astrophysical events are given to support this interpretation.

Quasars and galactic evolution

CERN Document Server

Woltjer, L

1978-01-01

The evolution of quasars is discussed. It is noted that substantial clustering may be present at faint magnitudes. The relationship between quasar evolution and galactic evolution is considered. (4 refs).

VARIABILITY IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI FROM PROPAGATING TURBULENT RELATIVISTIC JETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pollack, Maxwell; Pauls, David; Wiita, Paul J., E-mail: wiitap@tcnj.edu [Department of Physics, The College of New Jersey P.O. Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718 (United States)

2016-03-20

We use the Athena hydrodynamics code to model propagating two-dimensional relativistic jets as approximations to the growth of radio-loud active galactic nuclei for various input jet velocities and jet-to-ambient matter density ratios. Using results from these simulations we estimate the changing synchrotron emission by summing the fluxes from a vertical strip of zones behind the reconfinement shock, which is nearly stationary, and from which a substantial portion of the flux variability should arise. We explore a wide range of timescales by considering two light curves from each simulation; one uses a relativistic turbulence code with bulk velocities taken from our simulations as input, while the other uses the bulk velocity data to compute fluctuations caused by variations in the Doppler boosting due to changes in the direction and the speed of the flow through all zones in the strip. We then calculate power spectral densities (PSDs) from the light curves for both turbulent and bulk velocity origins for variability. The range of the power-law slopes of the PSDs for the turbulence induced variations is −1.8 to −2.3, while for the bulk velocity produced variations this range is −2.1 to −2.9; these are in agreement with most observations. When superimposed, these power spectra span a very large range in frequency (about five decades), with the turbulent fluctuations yielding most of the shorter timescale variations and the bulk flow changes dominating the longer periods.

VARIABILITY IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI FROM PROPAGATING TURBULENT RELATIVISTIC JETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollack, Maxwell; Pauls, David; Wiita, Paul J.

2016-01-01

We use the Athena hydrodynamics code to model propagating two-dimensional relativistic jets as approximations to the growth of radio-loud active galactic nuclei for various input jet velocities and jet-to-ambient matter density ratios. Using results from these simulations we estimate the changing synchrotron emission by summing the fluxes from a vertical strip of zones behind the reconfinement shock, which is nearly stationary, and from which a substantial portion of the flux variability should arise. We explore a wide range of timescales by considering two light curves from each simulation; one uses a relativistic turbulence code with bulk velocities taken from our simulations as input, while the other uses the bulk velocity data to compute fluctuations caused by variations in the Doppler boosting due to changes in the direction and the speed of the flow through all zones in the strip. We then calculate power spectral densities (PSDs) from the light curves for both turbulent and bulk velocity origins for variability. The range of the power-law slopes of the PSDs for the turbulence induced variations is −1.8 to −2.3, while for the bulk velocity produced variations this range is −2.1 to −2.9; these are in agreement with most observations. When superimposed, these power spectra span a very large range in frequency (about five decades), with the turbulent fluctuations yielding most of the shorter timescale variations and the bulk flow changes dominating the longer periods

An Iwasawa-Taniguchi Effect for Compton-thick Active Galactic Nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Boorman, Peter G.; Gandhi, Poshak; Baloković, Mislav; Brightman, Murray; Harrison, Fiona; Ricci, Claudio; Stern, Daniel

2018-04-01

We present the first study of an Iwasawa-Taniguchi/`X-ray Baldwin' effect for Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (AGN). We report a statistically significant anti-correlation between the rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of the narrow core of the neutral Fe Kα fluorescence emission line, ubiquitously observed in the reflection spectra of obscured AGN, and the mid-infrared 12 μ m continuum luminosity (taken as a proxy for the bolometric AGN luminosity). Our sample consists of 72 Compton-thick AGN selected from pointed and deep-field observations covering a redshift range of z ˜ 0.0014 - 3.7. We employ a Monte Carlo-based fitting method, which returns a Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient of ρ = - 0.28 ± 0.12, significant to 98.7% confidence. The best fit found is log(EW_{Fe Kα }) ∝ -0.08± 0.04 log(L_{12 {μ } m}), which is consistent with multiple studies of the X-ray Baldwin effect for unobscured and mildly obscured AGN. This is an unexpected result, as the Fe Kα line is conventionally thought to originate from the same region as the underlying reflection continuum, which together constitute the reflection spectrum. We discuss the implications this could have if confirmed on larger samples, including a systematic underestimation of the line of sight X-ray obscuring column density and hence the intrinsic luminosities and growth rates for the most luminous AGN.

Constraining the contribution of active galactic nuclei to reionization

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Sultan; Davé, Romeel; Mitra, Sourav; Finlator, Kristian; Ciardi, Benedetta; Santos, Mario G.

2018-01-01

Recent results have suggested that active galactic nuclei (AGN) could provide enough photons to reionize the Universe. We assess the viability of this scenario using a semi-numerical framework for modelling reionization, to which we add a quasar contribution by constructing a Quasar Halo Occupancy Distribution (QHOD) based on Giallongo et al. observations. Assuming a constant QHOD, we find that an AGN-only model cannot simultaneously match observations of the optical depth τe, neutral fraction and ionizing emissivity. Such a model predicts τe too low by ∼2σ relative to Planck constraints, and reionizes the Universe at z ≲ 5. Arbitrarily increasing the AGN emissivity to match these results yields a strong mismatch with the observed ionizing emissivity at z ∼ 5. If we instead assume a redshift-independent AGN luminosity function yielding an emissivity evolution like that assumed in Madau & Haardt model, then we can match τe albeit with late reionization; however, such evolution is inconsistent with observations at z ∼ 4-6 and poorly motivated physically. These results arise because AGN are more biased towards massive haloes than typical reionizing galaxies, resulting in stronger clustering and later formation times. AGN-dominated models produce larger ionizing bubbles that are reflected in ∼×2 more 21 cm power on all scales. A model with equal part galaxies and AGN contribution is still (barely) consistent with observations, but could be distinguished using next-generation 21 cm experiments such as Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and SKA-low. We conclude that, even with recent claims of more faint AGN than previously thought, AGN are highly unlikely to dominate the ionizing photon budget for reionization.

ANALYSIS OF WMAP 7 YEAR TEMPERATURE DATA: ASTROPHYSICS OF THE GALACTIC HAZE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pietrobon, Davide; Gorski, Krzysztof M.; Bartlett, James; Colombo, Loris P. L.; Jewell, Jeffrey B.; Pagano, Luca; Rocha, Graca; Lawrence, Charles R. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 (United States); Banday, A. J. [Universie de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse (France); Dobler, Gregory [Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara Kohn Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Hildebrandt, Sergi R. [Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Eriksen, Hans Kristian [Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029, Blindern, N-0315 Oslo (Norway); Saha, Rajib, E-mail: davide.pietrobon@jpl.nasa.gov [Physics Department, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal, MP 462023 (India)

2012-08-10

We perform a joint analysis of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and Galactic emission from the WMAP 7 year temperature data. Using the Commander code, based on Gibbs sampling, we simultaneously derive the CMB and Galactic components on scales larger than 1 Degree-Sign with improved sensitivity over previous work. We conduct a detailed study of the low-frequency Galactic foreground, focusing on the 'microwave haze' emission around the Galactic center. We demonstrate improved performance in quantifying the diffuse Galactic emission when including Haslam 408 MHz data and when jointly modeling the spinning and thermal dust emission. We examine whether the hypothetical Galactic haze can be explained by a spatial variation of the synchrotron spectral index, and find that the excess of emission around the Galactic center is stable with respect to variations of the foreground model. Our results demonstrate that the new Galactic foreground component-the microwave haze-is indeed present.

Radio Wavelength Studies of the Galactic Center Source N3, Spectroscopic Instrumentation For Robotic Telescope Systems, and Developing Active Learning Activities for Astronomy Laboratory Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Ludovici, Dominic Alesio

2017-08-01

The mysterious radio source N3 appears to be located within the vicinity of the Radio Arc region of the Galactic Center. To investigate the nature of this source, we have conducted radio observations with the VLA and the VLBA. Continuum observations between 2 and 50 GHz reveal that N3 is an extremely compact and bright source with a non-thermal spectrum. Molecular line observations with the VLA reveal a compact molecular cloud adjacent to N3 in projection. The properties of this cloud are consistent with other galactic center clouds. We are able to rule out several hypotheses for the nature of N3, though a micro-blazar origin cannot be ruled out. Robotic Telescope systems are now seeing widespread deployment as both teaching and research instruments. While these systems have traditionally been able to produce high quality images, these systems have lacked the capability to conduct spectroscopic observations. To enable spectroscopic observations on the Iowa Robotic Observatory, we have developed a low cost (˜ 500), low resolution (R ˜ 300) spectrometer which mounts inside a modified filter wheel and a moderate cost (˜ 5000), medium resolution (R ˜ 8000) fiber-fed spectrometer. Software has been developed to operate both instruments robotically and calibration pipelines are being developed to automate calibration of the data. The University of Iowa offers several introductory astronomy laboratory courses taken by many hundreds of students each semester. To improve student learning in these laboratory courses, we have worked to integrate active learning into laboratory activities. We present the pedagogical approaches used to develop and update the laboratory activities and present an inventory of the current laboratory exercises. Using the inventory, we make observations of the strengths and weaknesses of the current exercises and provide suggestions for future refinement of the astronomy laboratory curriculum.

Contralateral Delay Activity Tracks Fluctuations in Working Memory Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Kirsten C S; Robison, Matthew K; Vogel, Edward K

2018-01-08

Neural measures of working memory storage, such as the contralateral delay activity (CDA), are powerful tools in working memory research. CDA amplitude is sensitive to working memory load, reaches an asymptote at known behavioral limits, and predicts individual differences in capacity. An open question, however, is whether neural measures of load also track trial-by-trial fluctuations in performance. Here, we used a whole-report working memory task to test the relationship between CDA amplitude and working memory performance. If working memory failures are due to decision-based errors and retrieval failures, CDA amplitude would not differentiate good and poor performance trials when load is held constant. If failures arise during storage, then CDA amplitude should track both working memory load and trial-by-trial performance. As expected, CDA amplitude tracked load (Experiment 1), reaching an asymptote at three items. In Experiment 2, we tracked fluctuations in trial-by-trial performance. CDA amplitude was larger (more negative) for high-performance trials compared with low-performance trials, suggesting that fluctuations in performance were related to the successful storage of items. During working memory failures, participants oriented their attention to the correct side of the screen (lateralized P1) and maintained covert attention to the correct side during the delay period (lateralized alpha power suppression). Despite the preservation of attentional orienting, we found impairments consistent with an executive attention theory of individual differences in working memory capacity; fluctuations in executive control (indexed by pretrial frontal theta power) may be to blame for storage failures.

Possible galactic origin of. gamma. -ray bursts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manchanda, R K; Ramsden, D [Southampton Univ. (UK). Dept. of Physics

1977-03-31

It is stated that extragalactic models for the origin of non-solar ..gamma..-ray bursts include supernova bursts in remote galaxies, and the collapse of the cores of active stars, whilst galactic models are based on flare stars, thermonuclear explosions in neutron stars and the sudden accretion of cometary gas on to neutron stars. The acceptability of any of these models may be tested by the observed size spectrum of the ..gamma..-ray bursts. The extragalactic models predict a power law spectrum with number index -1.5, whilst for the galactic models the number index will be -1. Experimental data on ..gamma..-ray bursts is, however, still meagre, and so far only 44 confirmed events have been recorded by satellite-borne instruments. The number spectrum of the observed ..gamma..-ray bursts indicates that the observed distribution for events with an energy < 10/sup -4/ erg/cm/sup 2/ is flat; this makes the choice of any model completely arbitrary. An analysis of the observed ..gamma..-ray events is here presented that suggests very interesting possibilities for their origin. There appears to be a preferred mean energy for ..gamma..-ray bursts; some 90% of the recorded events show a mean energy between 5 x 10/sup -5/ and 5 x 10/sup -4/ erg/cm/sup 2/, contrary to the predicted characteristics of the number spectrum of various models. A remarkable similarity is found between the distribution of ..gamma..-ray bursts and that of supernova remnants, suggesting a genetic relationship between the two and the galactic origin of the ..gamma..-ray bursts, and the burst source could be identified with completely run down neutron stars, formed during supernova explosions.

Study with the sigma data base of the galactic bulge hard x-ray and gamma-ray sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, Marielle

1997-01-01

The Sigma coded-mask telescope on board the Granat spacecraft produces sky images in the hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energy domain (30-1300 keV) with an angular resolution of 15 arc minutes. The observations of the 18 Angstroms x 17 Angstroms region around the Galactic Center, performed with Sigma regularly during seven years, allowed the detection of a cluster of 17 sources showing activity beyond 40 ke V. This cluster is identified with the Galactic Bulge and its core coincides with the Galactic Center. Each of these sources reveals matter accretion by a collapse star in binary system. Its nature is determined by the luminosity and the spectral behavior recorded beyond 40 keV. Three accreting black holes show peculiar transient activities and comparable flare luminosities providing a criterion to evaluate distance of other specimens located elsewhere in the Galaxy. No sign of activity has been detected from the very center of the Galaxy where a supermassive black hole would be placed and would accrete the surrounding matter. (author) [fr

Semi-active control of tracked vehicle suspension incorporating magnetorheological dampers

Science.gov (United States)

Ata, W. G.; Salem, A. M.

2017-05-01

In past years, the application of magnetorheological (MR) and electrorheological dampers in vehicle suspension has been widely studied, mainly for the purpose of vibration control. This paper presents theoretical study to identify an appropriate semi-active control method for MR-tracked vehicle suspension. Three representative control algorithms are simulated including the skyhook, hybrid and fuzzy-hybrid controllers. A seven degrees-of-freedom tracked vehicle suspension model incorporating MR dampers has been adopted for comparison between the performance of the three controllers. The model differential equations are derived based on Newton's second law of motion and the proposed control methods are developed. The performance of each control method under bump and sinusoidal road profiles for different vehicle speeds is simulated and compared with the performance of the conventional suspension system in time and frequency domains. The results show that the performance of tracked vehicle suspension with MR dampers is substantially improved. Moreover, the fuzzy-hybrid controller offers an excellent integrated performance in reducing the body accelerations as well as wheel bounce responses compared with the classical skyhook and hybrid controllers.

The galactic contribution to IceCube's astrophysical neutrino flux

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denton, Peter B. [Niels Bohr International Academy, University of Copenhagen, The Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100, Copenhagen (Denmark); Marfatia, Danny [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2505 Correa Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Weiler, Thomas J., E-mail: peterbd1@gmail.com, E-mail: dmarf8@hawaii.edu, E-mail: tom.weiler@vanderbilt.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States)

2017-08-01

High energy neutrinos have been detected by IceCube, but their origin remains a mystery. Determining the sources of this flux is a crucial first step towards multi-messenger studies. In this work we systematically compare two classes of sources with the data: galactic and extragalactic. We assume that the neutrino sources are distributed according to a class of Galactic models. We build a likelihood function on an event by event basis including energy, event topology, absorption, and direction information. We present the probability that each high energy event with deposited energy E {sub dep}>60 TeV in the HESE sample is Galactic, extragalactic, or background. For Galactic models considered the Galactic fraction of the astrophysical flux has a best fit value of 1.3% and is <9.5% at 90% CL. A zero Galactic flux is allowed at <1σ.

Automatic Association of Chats and Video Tracks for Activity Learning and Recognition in Aerial Video Surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riad I. Hammoud

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We describe two advanced video analysis techniques, including video-indexed by voice annotations (VIVA and multi-media indexing and explorer (MINER. VIVA utilizes analyst call-outs (ACOs in the form of chat messages (voice-to-text to associate labels with video target tracks, to designate spatial-temporal activity boundaries and to augment video tracking in challenging scenarios. Challenging scenarios include low-resolution sensors, moving targets and target trajectories obscured by natural and man-made clutter. MINER includes: (1 a fusion of graphical track and text data using probabilistic methods; (2 an activity pattern learning framework to support querying an index of activities of interest (AOIs and targets of interest (TOIs by movement type and geolocation; and (3 a user interface to support streaming multi-intelligence data processing. We also present an activity pattern learning framework that uses the multi-source associated data as training to index a large archive of full-motion videos (FMV. VIVA and MINER examples are demonstrated for wide aerial/overhead imagery over common data sets affording an improvement in tracking from video data alone, leading to 84% detection with modest misdetection/false alarm results due to the complexity of the scenario. The novel use of ACOs and chat Sensors 2014, 14 19844 messages in video tracking paves the way for user interaction, correction and preparation of situation awareness reports.

Automatic association of chats and video tracks for activity learning and recognition in aerial video surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammoud, Riad I; Sahin, Cem S; Blasch, Erik P; Rhodes, Bradley J; Wang, Tao

2014-10-22

We describe two advanced video analysis techniques, including video-indexed by voice annotations (VIVA) and multi-media indexing and explorer (MINER). VIVA utilizes analyst call-outs (ACOs) in the form of chat messages (voice-to-text) to associate labels with video target tracks, to designate spatial-temporal activity boundaries and to augment video tracking in challenging scenarios. Challenging scenarios include low-resolution sensors, moving targets and target trajectories obscured by natural and man-made clutter. MINER includes: (1) a fusion of graphical track and text data using probabilistic methods; (2) an activity pattern learning framework to support querying an index of activities of interest (AOIs) and targets of interest (TOIs) by movement type and geolocation; and (3) a user interface to support streaming multi-intelligence data processing. We also present an activity pattern learning framework that uses the multi-source associated data as training to index a large archive of full-motion videos (FMV). VIVA and MINER examples are demonstrated for wide aerial/overhead imagery over common data sets affording an improvement in tracking from video data alone, leading to 84% detection with modest misdetection/false alarm results due to the complexity of the scenario. The novel use of ACOs and chat Sensors 2014, 14 19844 messages in video tracking paves the way for user interaction, correction and preparation of situation awareness reports.

Galactic winds and the hubble sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bregman, J.N.

1978-01-01

The conditions for maintenance of supernova-driven galactic winds have been investigated to assess their role in the morphology of disk-bulge galaxies. A fluid mechanical model with gas and stars which includes galactic rotation has been used to investigate several classes of winds. It is found that many galaxies, once their initial gas is depleted, can maintain a wind throughout the entire galaxy, a conditon most easily satisfied by systems with a small bulge-to-disk ratio. If the ratio of supernova heating to total mass loss falls below a critical value that depends on galaxy type and mass, only a partial wind exterior to a critical surface can exist, with infall occurring at interior points. Galaxies in which only the bulge was depleted of gas may support a bulge wind that does not interact with the colder and denser gas in the disk.These results indicate that if SO galaxies are a transition class between elliptical and spiral galaxies, it is probably because early galactic winds, which may initially deplete a galaxy of gas, are more prevalent in SO than in spiral galaxies. However, if SO's form a parallel sequence with spirals, the initial gas-depletion mechanism must be independent of bulge-to-disk ratio. These results are not strongly influenced by altering the galactic mass model, including electron conduction in the flow equations, or adding massive halos

The Black Hole Mass-Bulge Luminosity Relationship for Active Galactic Nuclei From Reverberation Mapping and Hubble Space Telescope Imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentz, Misty C.; Peterson, Bradley M.; Pogge, Richard W.

2009-01-01

We investigate the relationship between black hole mass and bulge luminosity for active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with reverberation-based black hole mass measurements and bulge luminosities from two-dimensional decompositions of Hubble Space Telescope host galaxy images. We find that the slope...... of the relationship for AGNs is 0.76-0.85 with an uncertainty of ~0.1, somewhat shallower than the M BH vprop L 1.0±0.1 relationship that has been fit to nearby quiescent galaxies with dynamical black hole mass measurements. This difference is somewhat perplexing, as the AGN black hole masses include an overall...

Time-driven Activity-based Cost of Fast-Track Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Signe E; Holm, Henriette B; Jørgensen, Mira

2017-01-01

this between 2 departments with different logistical set-ups. METHODS: Prospective data collection was analyzed using the time-driven activity-based costing method (TDABC) on time consumed by different staff members involved in patient treatment in the perioperative period of fast-track THA and TKA in 2 Danish...... orthopedic departments with standardized fast-track settings, but different logistical set-ups. RESULTS: Length of stay was median 2 days in both departments. TDABC revealed minor differences in the perioperative settings between departments, but the total cost excluding the prosthesis was similar at USD......-track methodology, the result could be a more cost-effective pathway altogether. As THA and TKA are potentially costly procedures and the numbers are increasing in an economical limited environment, the aim of this study is to present baseline detailed economical calculations of fast-track THA and TKA and compare...

Planck Intermediate Results. IX. Detection of the Galactic haze with Planck

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Planck Collaboration,; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.

2013-01-01

Using precise full-sky observations from Planck, and applying several methods of component separation, we identify and characterize the emission from the Galactic "haze" at microwave wavelengths. The haze is a distinct component of diffuse Galactic emission, roughly centered on the Galactic centre...

Formaldehyde in the Galactic Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, R.J.; Few, R.W.

1981-01-01

Formaldehyde 6-cm absorption in the direction of the Galactic Centre has been surveyed using the Jodrell Bank MK II radio telescope (beam-width 10 x 9 arcmin). The observations sample the region - 2 0 = 0 and - 0 0 .5 = 0 .5, with a velocity range of 620 km s -1 , a velocity resolution of 2.1 km s -1 and an rms noise level of approximately 0.03 K. The data are presented as contour maps showing line temperature as a function of latitude and velocity (b-V maps) and as a function of longitude and velocity (l-V maps). Similar maps of the line-to-continuum ratio are also presented. The radial distribution of formaldehyde (H 2 CO) in the Galactic Centre region is derived using two different kinematic models which give similar results. Formaldehyde is strongly concentrated in the Galactic Centre in a layer of latitude extent approximately 0 0 .5 and longitude extent approximately 4 0 which contains one quarter of all the H 2 CO in the Galaxy. The distribution is centred on l approximately 1 0 . The individual H 2 CO features are described in detail. (author)

Evolution of hot galactic flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loewenstein, M.; Mathews, W.G.

1987-01-01

The time-dependent equations describing galactic flows, including detailed models for the evolving source terms, are integrated over a Hubble time for two elliptical galaxies with total masses of 3.1 x 10 to the 12th and 8.3 x 10 to the 12th solar masses, 90 percent of which resides in extended, nonluminous halos. The standard supernova rate of Tammann and a rate 4 times smaller are considered for each galaxy model. The combination of the extended gravitational potential of the dark halo and the time-dependent source terms generally lead to the development of massive, quasi-hydrostatic, nearly isothermal distributions of gas at about 10 to the 7th K with cooling inflows inside their galactic cores. For the less massive galaxy with the higher supernova rate, however, a low-luminosity supersonic galactic wind develops. The effects of a lowered metal abundance, thermal conduction, and the absence of a massive halo are explored separately for one of the present models. The X-ray luminosities of the hot gas in the models with dark halos and the lower supernova rate are in good agreement with Einstein observations of early-type galaxies. 42 references

Neutron activation analysis of uranium by means of electrochemical etching of tracks in lawsan detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim Son Chun; Chuburkov, Yu.T.; Zvara, I.I.

1982-01-01

The method of neutron activation analysis of uranium in natural and artificial materials using track lavsan detectors of fission fragments has been developed. The method of electrochemical etching (etching reagent NaOH) of fragment tracks in lavsan is improved. Using statistical method of experiment planning the equation, describing the dependence of diometer value of fission fragment tracks on parameters of etching process, is obtained. The analysis sensitivity is 10 - 7 g/g - 10 - 8 g/g

Far infrared observations of the galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gatley, I.

1977-01-01

Maps of a region 10' in diameter around the galactic center made simultaneously in three wavelength bands at 30 μm, 50 μm, and 100 μm with approximately 1' resolution are presented, and the distribution of far infrared luminosity and color temperature across this region is derived. The position of highest far infrared surface brightness coincides with the peak of the late-type stellar distribution and with the H II region Sgr A West. The high spatial and temperature resolution of the data is used to identify features of the far infrared maps with known sources of near infrared, radio continuum, and molecular emission. The emission mechanism and energy sources for the far infrared radiation are anslyzed qualitatively, and it is concluded that all of the observed far infrared radiation from the galactic center region can be attributed to thermal emission from dust heated both by the late-type stars and by the ultraviolet sources which ionize the H II regions. A self-consistent model for the far infrared emission from the galactic center region is presented. It is found that the visual extinction across the central 10 pc of the galaxy is only about 3 magnitudes, and that the dust density is fairly uniform in this region. An upper limit of 10 7 L/sub mass/ is set on the luminosity of any presently unidentified source of 0.1 to 1 μm radiation at the galactic center. Additional maps in the vicinity of the source Sgr B2 and observations of Sgr C bring the total number of H II regions within 1 0 of the galactic center studied by the present experiment to nine. The far infrared luminosity, color temperature and optical depth of these regions and the ratio of infrared flux to radio continuum flux lie in the range characteristic of spiral arm H II regions. The far infrared results are therefore consistent with the data that the galactic center H II regions are ionized by luminous, early type stars

ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK AT z ∼ 2 AND THE MUTUAL EVOLUTION OF ACTIVE AND INACTIVE GALAXIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cimatti, A.; Brusa, M.; Talia, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-30127 Bologna (Italy); Mignoli, M. [INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Rodighiero, G. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 3, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Kurk, J. [Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrial Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Cassata, P. [Aix Marseille Universite, CNRS, Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR 7326, F-13388 Marseille (France); Halliday, C. [23 rue d' Yerres, F-91230 Montgeron (France); Renzini, A. [INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Daddi, E., E-mail: a.cimatti@unibo.it [Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot, Irfu/Service d' Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

2013-12-10

The relationship between galaxies of intermediate stellar mass and moderate luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 1 < z < 3 is investigated with a Galaxy Mass Assembly ultra-deep Spectroscopic Survey (GMASS) sample complemented with public data in the GOODS-South field. Using X-ray data, hidden AGNs are identified in unsuspected star-forming galaxies with no apparent signs of non-stellar activity. In the color-mass plane, two parallel trends emerge during the ∼2 Gyr between the average redshifts z ∼ 2.2 and z ∼ 1.3: while the red sequence becomes significantly more populated by ellipticals, the majority of AGNs with L(2-10 keV) > 10{sup 42.3} erg s{sup –1} disappear from the blue cloud/green valley where they were hosted predominantly by star-forming systems with disk and irregular morphologies. These results are even clearer when the rest-frame colors are corrected for dust reddening. At z ∼ 2.2, the ultraviolet spectra of active galaxies (including two Type 1 AGNs) show possible gas outflows with velocities up to about –500 km s{sup –1}, which are observed neither in inactive systems at the same redshift, nor at lower redshifts. Such outflows indicate the presence of gas that can move faster than the escape velocities of active galaxies. These results suggest that feedback from moderately luminous AGNs (log L{sub X} < 44.5 erg s{sup –1}) played a key role at z ≳ 2 by contributing to outflows capable of ejecting part of the interstellar medium and leading to a rapid decrease in star formation in host galaxies with stellar masses 10 < log(M/M{sub ⊙})< 11.

Relations between the galactic evolution and the stellar evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audouze, J.

1984-01-01

After a quick definition of the galactic evolution and a summary of the basic ingredients (namely the abundances of the chemical elements observed in different astrophysical sites), the parameters directly related to the stellar evolution which govern the galactic evolution are outlined. They are the rates of star formation, the initial mass functions and the various nucleosynthetic yields. The 'classical' models of chemical evolution of galaxies are then briefly recalled. Finally, attention is drawn to three recent contributions concerning both the galactic evolution and the stellar evolution. They are (i) some prediction of the rate of star formation for low mass stars made from the planetary nebula abundance distribution (ii) the chemical evolution of C, O and Fe and (iii) the chemical evolution of the galactic interstellar medium. (Auth.)

Spectropolarimetry, variability, and the taxonomy of active galactic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodrich, R.W.

1988-01-01

Two subclasses of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are studied using spectropolarimetry, with the intent of defining the relationships of the subclasses to other classes of AGNs, and to study the physics of the objects themselves. In the Seyfert 1.8/1.9 class there is good evidence for dust just outside of the broad-line regions in two objects, IRAS 1958-183 and NGC 2622. Spectropolarimetry of the latter object reveals the presence of dust moving at ∼ -800 s -1 along the our line-of-sight, and causing much of the polarization in the object. In addition, three of these objects have undergone extreme variability. Combining IDS data from Osterbrock and collaborators with the more recent CCD data it is shown that in all three cases the changes in both broad emission line fluxes and featureless continuum are consistent with changes in the line-of-sight reddening to the broad-line region. Together with the polarimetric evidence for dust and IRAS photometry this strongly suggests that the Seyfert 1.8/1.9 character is caused by dust and the consequent reddening and extinction. Variability occurs when dust clouds evaporate or move out of line-of-sight, and the extinction then changes. In the so-called narrow line Seyfert 1s spectropolarimetry reveals seven highly-polarized objects. In Mrk 1239 there is evidence for at least two components of polarization, one probably due to dust reflection. In two other objects, Mrk 766 and IRAS 1509-211, the polarization also appears to indicate dust reflection as the polarigenic mechanism. There is a weak circumstantial evidence for an association of the low-density region and the polarizing source, provided by comparison of the radio axes and polarization position angles in Mrk 766 and Mrk 1126

Magnetic resonance imaging guided transatrial electrophysiological studies in swine using active catheter tracking - experience with 14 cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grothoff, Matthias; Gutberlet, Matthias [University of Leipzig - Heart Center, Department of Radiology, Leipzig (Germany); Hindricks, Gerhard; Sommer, Philipp; Hilbert, Sebastian [University of Leipzig - Heart Center, Department of Electrophysiology, Leipzig (Germany); Fleiter, Christian [Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Berlin (Germany); Schnackenburg, Bernhard [Philips Healthcare, Hamburg (Germany); Weiss, Steffen; Krueger, Sascha [Philips Innovative Technologies, Hamburg (Germany); Piorkowski, Christopher; Gaspar, Thomas [University of Dresden - Heart Center, Department of Electrophysiology, Dresden (Germany); Wedan, Steve; Lloyd, Thomas [Imricor Medical Systems, Burnsville, MN (United States)

2017-05-15

To evaluate the feasibility of performing comprehensive Cardiac Magnetic resonance (CMR) guided electrophysiological (EP) interventions in a porcine model encompassing left atrial access. After introduction of two femoral sheaths 14 swine (41 ± 3.6 kg) were transferred to a 1.5 T MR scanner. A three-dimensional whole-heart sequence was acquired followed by segmentation and the visualization of all heart chambers using an image-guidance platform. Two MR conditional catheters were inserted. The interventional protocol consisted of intubation of the coronary sinus, activation mapping, transseptal left atrial access (n = 4), generation of ablation lesions and eventually ablation of the atrioventricular (AV) node. For visualization of the catheter tip active tracking was used. Catheter positions were confirmed by passive real-time imaging. Total procedure time was 169 ± 51 minutes. The protocol could be completed in 12 swine. Two swine died from AV-ablation induced ventricular fibrillation. Catheters could be visualized and navigated under active tracking almost exclusively. The position of the catheter tips as visualized by active tracking could reliably be confirmed with passive catheter imaging. Comprehensive CMR-guided EP interventions including left atrial access are feasible in swine using active catheter tracking. (orig.)

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Triggering in Galaxy Mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrows, R. Scott; Comerford, Julia M. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Greene, Jenny E. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Pooley, David, E-mail: Robert.Barrows@Colorado.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212 (United States)

2017-04-01

Galaxy mergers are likely to play a role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but the conditions under which this process occurs are poorly understood. In Paper I, we constructed a sample of spatially offset X-ray AGNs that represent galaxy mergers hosting a single AGN. In this paper, we use our offset AGN sample to constrain the parameters that affect AGN observability in galaxy mergers. We also construct dual-AGN samples with similar selection properties for comparison. We find that the offset AGN fraction shows no evidence for a dependence on AGN luminosity, while the dual-AGN fractions show stronger evidence for a positive dependence, suggesting that the merger events forming dual AGNs are more efficient at instigating accretion onto supermassive black holes than those forming offset AGNs. We also find that the offset and dual-AGN fractions both have a negative dependence on nuclear separation and are similar in value at small physical scales. This dependence may become stronger when restricted to high AGN luminosities, although a larger sample is needed for confirmation. These results indicate that the probability of AGN triggering increases at later merger stages. This study is the first to systematically probe down to nuclear separations of <1 kpc (∼0.8 kpc) and is consistent with predictions from simulations that AGN observability peaks in this regime. We also find that the offset AGNs are not preferentially obscured compared to the parent AGN sample, suggesting that our selection may be targeting galaxy mergers with relatively dust-free nuclear regions.

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Triggering in Galaxy Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Barrows, R. Scott; Comerford, Julia M.; Greene, Jenny E.; Pooley, David

2017-04-01

Galaxy mergers are likely to play a role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but the conditions under which this process occurs are poorly understood. In Paper I, we constructed a sample of spatially offset X-ray AGNs that represent galaxy mergers hosting a single AGN. In this paper, we use our offset AGN sample to constrain the parameters that affect AGN observability in galaxy mergers. We also construct dual-AGN samples with similar selection properties for comparison. We find that the offset AGN fraction shows no evidence for a dependence on AGN luminosity, while the dual-AGN fractions show stronger evidence for a positive dependence, suggesting that the merger events forming dual AGNs are more efficient at instigating accretion onto supermassive black holes than those forming offset AGNs. We also find that the offset and dual-AGN fractions both have a negative dependence on nuclear separation and are similar in value at small physical scales. This dependence may become stronger when restricted to high AGN luminosities, although a larger sample is needed for confirmation. These results indicate that the probability of AGN triggering increases at later merger stages. This study is the first to systematically probe down to nuclear separations of <1 kpc (˜0.8 kpc) and is consistent with predictions from simulations that AGN observability peaks in this regime. We also find that the offset AGNs are not preferentially obscured compared to the parent AGN sample, suggesting that our selection may be targeting galaxy mergers with relatively dust-free nuclear regions.

Local Swift-BAT active galactic nuclei prefer circumnuclear star formation

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, D.; Shimizu, T.; Davies, R. I.; Herrera-Camus, R.; Sturm, E.; Tacconi, L. J.; Veilleux, S.

2018-01-01

We use Herschel data to analyze the size of the far-infrared 70 μm emission for z BAT selected active galactic nuclei (AGN), and 515 comparison galaxies that are not detected by BAT. For modest far-infrared luminosities 8.5 BAT hosts that is only half that of comparison galaxies of same far-infrared luminosity. The result mostly reflects a more compact distribution of star formation (and hence gas) in the AGN hosts, but compact AGN heated dust may contribute in some extremely AGN dominated systems. Our findings are in support of an AGN-host coevolution where accretion onto the central black hole and star formation are fed from the same gas reservoir, with more efficient black hole feeding if that reservoir is more concentrated. The significant scatter in the far-infrared sizes emphasizes that we are mostly probing spatial scales much larger than those of actual accretion, and that rapid accretion variations can smear the distinction between the AGN and comparison categories. Large samples are hence needed to detect structural differences that favor feeding of the black hole. No size difference between AGN host and comparison galaxies is observed at higher far-infrared luminosities log(LFIR [L⊙]) > 10.5 (star formation rates ≳6 M⊙ yr-1), possibly because these are typically reached in more compact regions. Full Table A.1 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A9

RELIABLE IDENTIFICATIONS OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI FROM THE WISE, 2MASS, AND ROSAT ALL-SKY SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edelson, R. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Malkan, M., E-mail: rickedelson@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)

2012-05-20

We have developed the ''S{sub IX}'' statistic to identify bright, highly likely active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates solely on the basis of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), and ROSAT all-sky survey (RASS) data. This statistic was optimized with data from the preliminary WISE survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and tested with Lick 3 m Kast spectroscopy. We find that sources with S{sub IX} < 0 have a {approx}>95% likelihood of being an AGN (defined in this paper as a Seyfert 1, quasar, or blazar). This statistic was then applied to the full WISE/2MASS/RASS dataset, including the final WISE data release, to yield the ''W2R'' sample of 4316 sources with S{sub IX} < 0. Only 2209 of these sources are currently in the Veron-Cetty and Veron (VCV) catalog of spectroscopically confirmed AGNs, indicating that the W2R sample contains nearly 2000 new, relatively bright (J {approx}< 16) AGNs. We utilize the W2R sample to quantify biases and incompleteness in the VCV catalog. We find that it is highly complete for bright (J < 14), northern AGNs, but the completeness drops below 50% for fainter, southern samples and for sources near the Galactic plane. This approach also led to the spectroscopic identification of 10 new AGNs in the Kepler field, more than doubling the number of AGNs being monitored by Kepler. The W2R sample contains better than 1 bright AGN every 10 deg{sup 2}, permitting construction of AGN samples in any sufficiently large region of sky.

THE NUCLEAR INFRARED EMISSION OF LOW-LUMINOSITY ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, R. E. [Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 N. A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Lopez-Rodriguez, E.; Packham, C. [Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, P.O. Box 112055, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Alonso-Herrero, A. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria, CSIC-UC, Avenida de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander (Spain); Levenson, N. A.; Radomski, J. [Gemini Observatory, Southern Operations Center, c/o AURA, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Ramos Almeida, C. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, C/Via Lactea, s/n, E-38205, La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Colina, L. [Departamento de Astrofisica, Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC/INTA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Crta de Torrejon a Ajalvir, km 4, 28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid (Spain); Elitzur, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (United States); Aretxaga, I. [Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE), Aptdo. Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Puebla (Mexico); Roche, P. F. [Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, DWB, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Oi, N. [Department of Astronomy, School of Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan)

2012-07-15

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{sub bol} {approx}< 10{sup 42} erg s{sup -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 emission, finding different IR characteristics for each class. (1) At the low-luminosity, low-Eddington-ratio (log L{sub bol}/L{sub Edd} < -4.6) end of the sample, we identify 'host-dominated' galaxies with strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bands that may indicate active (circum-)nuclear star formation. (2) Some very radio-loud objects are also present at these low Eddington ratios. The IR emission in these nuclei is dominated by synchrotron radiation, and some are likely to be unobscured type 2 AGNs that genuinely lack a broad-line region. (3) At higher Eddington ratios, strong, compact nuclear sources are visible in the MIR images. The nuclear SEDs of these galaxies are diverse; some resemble typical Seyfert nuclei, while others lack a well-defined MIR 'dust bump'. Strong silicate emission is present in many of these objects. We speculate that this, together with high ratios of silicate strength to hydrogen column density, could suggest optically thin dust and low dust-to-gas ratios, in accordance with model predictions that LLAGNs do not host a Seyfert-like obscuring torus. We anticipate that detailed modeling of the new data and SEDs in terms of accretion disk, jet, radiatively inefficient accretion flow, and torus components will provide further

The origin of the mid-infrared nuclear polarization of active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Rodriguez, E.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Diaz-Santos, T.; Gonzalez-Martin, O.; Ichikawa, K.; Levenson, N. A.; Martinez-Paredes, M.; Nikutta, R.; Packham, C.; Perlman, E.; Almeida, C. Ramos; Rodriguez-Espinosa, J. M.; Telesco, C. M.

2018-05-01

We combine new (NGC 1275, NGC 4151, and NGC 5506) and previously published (Cygnus A, Mrk 231, and NGC 1068) sub-arcsecond resolution mid-infrared (MIR; 8-13 μm) imaging- and spectro-polarimetric observations of six Seyfert galaxies using CanariCam on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. These observations reveal a diverse set of physical processes responsible for the nuclear polarization, and permit characterization of the origin of the MIR nuclear polarimetric signature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). For all radio quiet objects, we found that the nuclear polarization is low (sensitivity to detect such extended emission (i.e., NGC 1068 and NGC 4151). We suggest that the higher degree of polarization previously found in lower resolution data arises only on the larger-than-nuclear scales. Only the radio-loud Cygnus A exhibits significant nuclear polarization (˜11 per cent), attributable to synchrotron emission from the pc-scale jet close to the core. We present polarization models that suggest that the MIR nuclear polarization for highly obscured objects arises from a self-absorbed MIR polarized clumpy torus and/or dichroism from the host galaxy, while for unabsorbed cores, MIR polarization arises from dust scattering in the torus and/or surrounding nuclear dust.

The galactic X-ray sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gursky, H.; Schreier, E.

1975-01-01

The current observational evidence on galactic X-ray sources is presented both from an astrophysical and astronomical point of view. The distributional properties of the sources, where they appear in the Galaxy, and certain average characteristics are discussed. In this way, certain properties of the X-ray sources can be deduced which are not apparent in the study of single objects. The properties of individual X-ray sources are then described. The hope is that more can be learnt about neutron stars and black holes, their physical properties, their origin and evolution, and their influence on other galactic phenomena. Thus attention is paid to those elements of data which appear to have the most bearing on these questions. (Auth.)

NEAR-INFRARED REVERBERATION BY DUSTY CLUMPY TORI IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawaguchi, Toshihiro; Mori, Masao

2011-01-01

According to recent models, the accretion disk and black hole in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are surrounded by a clumpy torus. We investigate the NIR flux variation of the torus in response to a UV flash for various geometries. Anisotropic illumination by the disk and the torus self-occultation contrast our study with earlier works. Both the waning effect of each clump and the torus self-occultation selectively reduce the emission from the region with a short delay. Therefore, the NIR delay depends on the viewing angle (where a more inclined angle leads to a longer delay), and the time response shows an asymmetric profile with negative skewness, opposing the results for optically thin tori. The range of the computed delay coincides with the observed one, suggesting that the viewing angle is primarily responsible for the scatter of the observed delay. We also propose that the red NIR-to-optical color of type 1.8/1.9 objects is caused not only by the dust extinction but also the intrinsically red color. Compared with the modest torus thickness, both a thick and a thin tori display weaker NIR emission. A selection bias is thus expected such that NIR-selected AGNs tend to possess moderately thick tori. A thicker torus shows a narrower and more heavily skewed time profile, while a thin torus produces a rapid response. A super-Eddington accretion rate leads to much weaker NIR emission due to the disk self-occultation and the disk truncation by self-gravity. A long delay is expected from an optically thin and/or a largely misaligned torus. Very weak NIR emission, such as in hot-dust-poor active nuclei, can arise from a geometrically thin torus, a super-Eddington accretion rate, or a slightly misaligned torus.

Models of mass segregation at the Galactic Centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitag, Marc; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Kalogera, Vassiliki

2006-01-01

We study the process of mass segregation through 2-body relaxation in galactic nuclei with a central massive black hole (MBH). This study has bearing on a variety of astrophysical questions, from the distribution of X-ray binaries at the Galactic centre, to tidal disruptions of main- sequence and giant stars, to inspirals of compact objects into the MBH, an important category of events for the future space borne gravitational wave interferometer LISA. In relatively small galactic nuclei, typical hosts of MBHs with masses in the range 10 4 - 10 7 M o-dot , the relaxation induces the formation of a steep density cusp around the MBH and strong mass segregation. Using a spherical stellar dynamical Monte-Carlo code, we simulate the long-term relaxational evolution of galactic nucleus models with a spectrum of stellar masses. Our focus is the concentration of stellar black holes to the immediate vicinity of the MBH. Special attention is given to models developed to match the conditions in the Milky Way nucleus

How supernovae launch galactic winds?

Science.gov (United States)

Fielding, Drummond; Quataert, Eliot; Martizzi, Davide; Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André

2017-09-01

We use idealized three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of global galactic discs to study the launching of galactic winds by supernovae (SNe). The simulations resolve the cooling radii of the majority of supernova remnants (SNRs) and thus self-consistently capture how SNe drive galactic winds. We find that SNe launch highly supersonic winds with properties that agree reasonably well with expectations from analytic models. The energy loading (η _E= \\dot{E}_wind/ \\dot{E}_SN) of the winds in our simulations are well converged with spatial resolution while the wind mass loading (η _M= \\dot{M}_wind/\\dot{M}_\\star) decreases with resolution at the resolutions we achieve. We present a simple analytic model based on the concept that SNRs with cooling radii greater than the local scaleheight break out of the disc and power the wind. This model successfully explains the dependence (or lack thereof) of ηE (and by extension ηM) on the gas surface density, star formation efficiency, disc radius and the clustering of SNe. The winds our simulations are weaker than expected in reality, likely due to the fact that we seed SNe preferentially at density peaks. Clustering SNe in time and space substantially increases the wind power.

RELIABLE IDENTIFICATIONS OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI FROM THE WISE, 2MASS, AND ROSAT ALL-SKY SURVEYS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edelson, R.; Malkan, M.

2012-01-01

We have developed the ''S IX '' statistic to identify bright, highly likely active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates solely on the basis of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), and ROSAT all-sky survey (RASS) data. This statistic was optimized with data from the preliminary WISE survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and tested with Lick 3 m Kast spectroscopy. We find that sources with S IX 95% likelihood of being an AGN (defined in this paper as a Seyfert 1, quasar, or blazar). This statistic was then applied to the full WISE/2MASS/RASS dataset, including the final WISE data release, to yield the ''W2R'' sample of 4316 sources with S IX 2 , permitting construction of AGN samples in any sufficiently large region of sky.

The chemical evolution of the Galactic Bulge seen through micro-lensing events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucatello S.

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Galactic bulges are central to understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Here we report on recent studies using micro-lensing events to obtain spectra of high resolution and moderately high signal-to-noise ratios of dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge. Normally this is not feasible for the faint turn-off stars in the Galactic bulge, but micro-lensing offers this possibility. Elemental abundance trends in the Galactic bulge as traced by dwarf stars are very similar to those seen for dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood. We discuss the implications of the ages and metallicity distribution function derived for the micro-lensed dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge.

New PARSEC data base of α-enhanced stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones - I. Calibration with 47 Tuc (NGC 104) and the improvement on RGB bump

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xiaoting; Bressan, Alessandro; Marigo, Paola; Girardi, Léo; Montalbán, Josefina; Chen, Yang; Nanni, Ambra

2018-05-01

Precise studies on the Galactic bulge, globular cluster, Galactic halo, and Galactic thick disc require stellar models with α enhancement and various values of helium content. These models are also important for extra-Galactic population synthesis studies. For this purpose, we complement the existing PARSEC models, which are based on the solar partition of heavy elements, with α-enhanced partitions. We collect detailed measurements on the metal mixture and helium abundance for the two populations of 47 Tuc (NGC 104) from the literature, and calculate stellar tracks and isochrones with these α-enhanced compositions. By fitting the precise colour-magnitude diagram with HST ACS/WFC data, from low main sequence till horizontal branch (HB), we calibrate some free parameters that are important for the evolution of low mass stars like the mixing at the bottom of the convective envelope. This new calibration significantly improves the prediction of the red giant branch bump (RGBB) brightness. Comparison with the observed RGB and HB luminosity functions also shows that the evolutionary lifetimes are correctly predicted. As a further result of this calibration process, we derive the age, distance modulus, reddening, and the RGB mass-loss for 47 Tuc. We apply the new calibration and α-enhanced mixtures of the two 47 Tuc populations ([α/Fe] ˜ 0.4 and 0.2) to other metallicities. The new models reproduce the RGB bump observations much better than previous models. This new PARSEC data base, with the newly updated α-enhanced stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones, will also be a part of the new stellar products for Gaia.

Oscillating neutrinos from the Galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crocker, R.M.; Volkas, R.R.; Melia, F.

1999-11-01

It has recently been demonstrated that the γ-ray emission spectrum of the EGRET-identified, central Galactic source 2EG J1746-2852 can be well fitted by positing that these photons are generated by the decay of π 0, s produced in p-p scattering at or near an energizing shock. Such scattering also produces charged pions which decay leptonically. The ratio of γ-rays to neutrinos generated by the central Galactic source may be accurately determined and a well-defined and potentially-measurable high energy neutrino flux at Earth is unavoidable. An opportunity, therefore, to detect neutrino oscillations over an unprecedented scale is offered by this source. In this paper we assess the prospects for such an observation with the generation of neutrino Cerenkov telescopes now in the planning stage. We determine that the next generation of detectors may find an oscillation signature in the Galactic Center (GC) signal, but that such an observation will probably not further constrain the oscillation parameter space mapped out by current atmospheric, solar, reactor and accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments

Urbanism on Track : Application of tracking technologies in urbanism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Hoeven, F.D.; Van Schaick, J.; Van der Spek, S.C.; Smit, M.G.J.

2008-01-01

Tracking technologies such as GPS, mobile phone tracking, video and RFID monitoring are rapidly becoming part of daily life. Technological progress offers huge possibilities for studying human activity patterns in time and space in new ways. Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) held an

From molecular clouds to active galactic nuclei - The universality of the jet phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konigl, A.

1986-01-01

Jets are among the most remarkable astrophysical phenomena explored in recent years. The term ''jets'' was originally coined to describe the narrow, elongated features that had been discovered in radio maps (and, in some cases, also by X-ray and optical observations) of extragalactic sources. Similar features have subsequently been found, however, also in our own galaxy, with the relativistic beams of SS433 being probably the most celebrated example. While the SS433 beams are still unique, there is now mounting evidence that oppositely directed jets are very frequently associated with nascent stars embedded in dense molecular clouds. The purpose of this article is, in essence, to ''bridge the gap'' between these smallest-scale jets and their enormously larger extragalactic counterparts. By concentrating on the similarities between molecular-cloud and extragalactic jets, the author shall try to extract some of the basic dynamical principles that could account for the apparent universality of this phenomenon. Following an observational overview, he considers the general hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) aspects of the production, the collimation, and the propagation of jets in protostellar and in active-galactic-nuclei (AGN) environments

A near-infrared relationship for estimating black hole masses in active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Landt, Hermine; Ward, Martin J.; Peterson, Bradley M.; Bentz, Misty C.; Elvis, Martin; Korista, Kirk T.; Karovska, Margarita

2013-06-01

Black hole masses for samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are currently estimated from single-epoch optical spectra using scaling relations anchored in reverberation mapping results. In particular, the two quantities needed for calculating black hole masses, namely the velocity and the radial distance of the orbiting gas are derived from the widths of the Balmer hydrogen broad emission lines and the optical continuum luminosity, respectively. We have recently presented a near-infrared (near-IR) relationship for estimating AGN black hole masses based on the widths of the Paschen hydrogen broad emission lines and the total 1 μm continuum luminosity. The near-IR offers several advantages over the optical: it suffers less from dust extinction, the AGN continuum is observed only weakly contaminated by the host galaxy and the strongest Paschen broad emission lines Paα and Paβ are unblended. Here, we improve the calibration of the near-IR black hole mass relationship by increasing the sample from 14 to 23 reverberation-mapped AGN using additional spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph. The additional sample improves the number statistics in particular at the high-luminosity end.

76 FR 28052 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-13

...; Comment Request; Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA): Biomarker Based Validation Study...: Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (iDATA): Biomarker Based Validation Study. Type of Information...- 742 6 30/60 (.50) 2,227 hour Dietary Recall (ASA24) (Attachment 32). 4-Day Food Record (Attachment 742...

Imprints to the terrestrial environment at galactic arm crossings of the solar system

Science.gov (United States)

Fahr, H. J.; Fichtner, H.; Scherer, K.; Stawicki, O.

At its itinerary through our milky way galaxy the solar system moves through highly variable interstellar environments. Due to its orbital revolution around the galactic center, the solar system also crosses periodically the spiral arms of our galactic plane and thereby expe riences pronounced enviromental changes. Gas densities, magnetic fields and galactic cosmic ray intensities are substantially higher there compared to interarm conditions. Here we present theoretical calculations describing the SN-averaged galactic cosmic ray spectrum for regions inside and outside of galactic arms which then allow to predict how periodic passages of the solar system through galactic arms should be reflected by enhanced particle irradiations of the earth`s atmosphere and by correlated terrestrial Be-10 production rates.

A MULTI-WAVELENGTH ANALYSIS OF NGC 4178: A BULGELESS GALAXY WITH AN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Secrest, N. J.; Satyapal, S.; Gliozzi, M.; Moran, S. M.; Cheung, C. C.; Giroletti, M.; Bergmann, M. P.; Seth, A. C.

2013-01-01

We present Gemini longslit optical spectroscopy and Very Large Array radio observations of the nuclear region of NGC 4178, a late-type bulgeless disk galaxy recently confirmed to host an active galactic nucleus (AGN) through infrared and X-ray observations. Our observations reveal that the dynamical center of the galaxy is coincident with the location of the Chandra X-ray point source discovered in a previous work, providing further support for the presence of an AGN. While the X-ray and IR observations provide robust evidence for an AGN, the optical spectrum shows no evidence for the AGN, underscoring the need for the penetrative power of mid-IR and X-ray observations in finding buried or weak AGNs in this class of galaxy. Finally, the upper limit to the radio flux, together with our previous X-ray and IR results, is consistent with the scenario in which NGC 4178 harbors a deeply buried AGN accreting at a high rate

The age of the galactic disk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandage, A.

1988-07-01

The galactic disk is a dissipative structure and must, therefore be younger than the halo if galaxy formation generally proceeds by collapse. Just how much younger the oldest stars in the galactic disk are than the oldest halo stars remains an open question. A fast collapse (on a time scale no longer than the rotation period of the extended protogalaxy) permits an age gap of the order of approximately 10 to the 9th power years. A slow collapse, governed by the cooling rate of the partially pressure supported falling gas that formed into what is now the thick stellar disk, permits a longer age gap, claimed by some to be as long as 6 Gyr. Early methods of age dating the oldest components of the disk contain implicit assumptions concerning the details of the age-metallicity relation for stars in the solar neighborhood. The discovery that this relation for open clusters outside the solar circle is different that in the solar neighborhood (Geisler 1987), complicates the earlier arguments. The oldest stars in the galactic disk are at least as old as NGC 188. The new data by Janes on NGC 6791, shown first at this conference, suggest a disk age of at least 12.5 Gyr, as do data near the main sequence termination point of metal rich, high proper motion stars of low orbital eccentricity. Hence, a case can still be made that the oldest part of the galactic thick disk is similar in age to the halo globular clusters, if their ages are the same as 47 Tuc

Conversion of gas into stars in the Galactic center

Science.gov (United States)

Longmore, S. N.

2014-05-01

The star formation rate in the central 500 pc of the Milky Way is lower by a factor of > 10 than expected for the substantial amount of dense gas it contains, which challenges current star formation theories. I discuss which physical mechanisms could be causing this observation and put forward a self-consistent cycle of star formation in the Galactic center, in which the plausible star formation inhibitors are combined. Their ubiquity suggests that the perception of a lowered central SFR should be a common phenomenon in other galaxies with direct implications for galactic star formation and also potentially supermassive black hole growth. I then describe a scenario to explain the presence of super star clusters in the Galactic center environment, in which their formation is triggered by gas streams passing close to the minimum of the global Galactic gravitational potential at the location of the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*. If this triggering mechanism can be verified, we can use the known time interval since closest approach to Sgr A* to study the physics of stellar mass assembly in an extreme environment as a function of absolute time. I outline the first results from detailed numerical simulations testing this scenario. Finally, I describe a study showing that in terms of the baryonic composition, kinematics, and densities, the gas in the Galactic center is indistinguishable from high-redshift clouds and galaxies. As such, the Galactic center clouds may be used as a template to understand the evolution (and possibly the life cycle) of high-redshift clouds and galaxies.

Prediction of the diffuse far-infrared flux from the galactic plane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fazio, G.G.; Stecker, F.W.

1976-01-01

A basic model and simple numerical relations useful for future far-infrared studies of the Galaxy are presented. Making use of recent CO and other galactic surveys, we then predict the diffuse far-infrared flux distribution from the galactic plane as a function of galactic longitude l for 4degree< or =l< or =90degree and the far-infrared emissivity as a function of galactocentric distance. Future measurements of the galactic far-infrared flux would yield valuable information on the physical properties and distribution of dust and molecular clouds in the Galaxy, particulary the inner region

I’ll Be Back: On the Multiple Lives of Users of a Mobile Activity Tracking Application

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Zhiyuan; Althoff, Tim; Leskovec, Jure

2018-01-01

Mobile health applications that track activities, such as exercise, sleep, and diet, are becoming widely used. While these activity tracking applications have the potential to improve our health, user engagement and retention are critical factors for their success. However, long-term user engagement patterns in real-world activity tracking applications are not yet well understood. Here we study user engagement patterns within a mobile physical activity tracking application consisting of 115 million logged activities taken by over a million users over 31 months. Specifically, we show that over 75% of users return and re-engage with the application after prolonged periods of inactivity, no matter the duration of the inactivity. We find a surprising result that the re-engagement usage patterns resemble those of the start of the initial engagement period, rather than being a simple continuation of the end of the initial engagement period. This evidence points to a conceptual model of multiple lives of user engagement, extending the prevalent single life view of user activity. We demonstrate that these multiple lives occur because the users have a variety of different primary intents or goals for using the app. These primary intents are associated with how long each life lasts and how likely the user is to re-engage for a new life. We find evidence for users being more likely to stop using the app once they achieved their primary intent or goal (e.g., weight loss). However, these users might return once their original intent resurfaces (e.g., wanting to lose newly gained weight). We discuss implications of the multiple life paradigm and propose a novel prediction task of predicting the number of lives of a user. Based on insights developed in this work, including a marker of improved primary intent performance, our prediction models achieve 71% ROC AUC. Overall, our research has implications for modeling user re-engagement in health activity tracking applications and

Massive stellar content of some Galactic supershells

Science.gov (United States)

Kaltcheva, Nadejda; Golev, Valeri

2015-08-01

The giant Galactic H II regions provide a unique opportunity to study the OB-star influence on the surrounding interstellar matter. In this contribution, several multi-wavelength surveys (Wisconsin H-α Mapper Northern Sky Survey, Southern H-α Sky Survey Atlas, MSX Mid-IR Galactic Plane Survey, WISE All-Sky Data Release, CO survey of the Milky Way, and the Southern Galactic Plane HI Survey) are combined with available intermediate-band uvbyβ photometry to attempt a precise spatial correlation between the OB-stars and the neutral and ionized material. Our study is focused on the H I supershell GSH 305+01-24 in Centaurus, the Car OB2 supershell, the Cygnus star-forming complex and the GSH 224-01+24 shell toward the GMN 39/Seagull nebula region. We refine the massive stellar content of these star-forming fields and study the energetics of its interaction with the shells’ material.

THE INNER GALACTIC BULGE: EVIDENCE FOR A NUCLEAR BAR?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerhard, Ortwin; Martinez-Valpuesta, Inma

2012-01-01

Recent data from the VVV survey have strengthened evidence for a structural change in the Galactic bulge inward of |l| ≤ 4°. Here we show with an N-body barred galaxy simulation that a boxy bulge formed through the bar and buckling instabilities effortlessly matches measured bulge longitude profiles for red clump stars. The same simulation snapshot was earlier used to clarify the apparent boxy bulge—long bar dichotomy, for the same orientation and scaling. The change in the slope of the model longitude profiles in the inner few degrees is caused by a transition from highly elongated to more nearly axisymmetric isodensity contours in the inner boxy bulge. This transition is confined to a few degrees from the Galactic plane; thus the change of slope is predicted to disappear at higher Galactic latitudes. We also show that the nuclear star count map derived from this simulation snapshot displays a longitudinal asymmetry similar to that observed in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) data, but is less flattened to the Galactic plane than the 2MASS map. These results support the interpretation that the Galactic bulge originated from disk evolution and question the evidence advanced from star count data for the existence of a secondary nuclear bar in the Milky Way.

Is dark matter visible by galactic gamma rays?

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The EGRET excess in the diffuse galactic gamma ray data above 1 GeV shows all features expected from dark matter WIMP annihilation: (a) It is present and has the same spectrum in all sky directions, not just in the galactic plane. (b) The intensity of the excess shows the 1/2 profile expected for a flat rotation curve outside ...

Is dark matter visible by galactic gamma rays?

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. The EGRET excess in the diffuse galactic gamma ray data above 1 GeV shows all features expected from dark matter WIMP annihilation: (a) It is present and has the same spectrum in all sky directions, not just in the galactic plane. (b) The intensity of the excess shows the 1/r2 profile expected for a flat rotation ...

Kinematics of galactic planetary nebulae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiosa, M.I.; Khromov, G.S.

1979-01-01

The classical method of determining the components of the solar motion relative to the centroid of the system of planetary nebulae with known radial velocities is investigated. It is shown that this method is insensitive to random errors in the radial velocities and that low accuracy in determining the coordinates of the solar apex and motion results from the insufficient number of planetaries with measured radial velocities. The planetary nebulae are found not to satisfy well the law of differential galactic rotation with circular orbits. This is attributed to the elongation of their galactic orbits. A method for obtaining the statistical parallax of planetary nebulae is considered, and the parallax calculated from the tau components of their proper motion is shown to be the most reliable

Q2122-444: A NAKED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FULLY DRESSED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gliozzi, M.; Satyapal, S.; Panessa, F.; Franca, F. La; Saviane, I.; Monaco, L.; Foschini, L.; Kedziora-Chudczer, L.; Sambruna, R. M.

2010-01-01

Based on previous spectral and temporal optical studies, Q2122-444 has been classified as a naked active galactic nucleus (AGN) or true type 2 AGN, that is, an AGN that genuinely lacks a broad-line region (BLR). Its optical spectrum seemed to possess only narrow forbidden emission lines that are typical of type 2 (obscured) AGNs, but the long-term optical light curve, obtained from a monitoring campaign over more than two decades, showed strong variability, apparently ruling out the presence of heavy obscuration. Here we present the results from a ∼40 ks XMM-Newton observation of Q2122-444 carried out to shed light on the energetics of this enigmatic AGN. The X-ray analysis was complemented with Australia Telescope Compact Array radio data to assess the possible presence of a jet, and with new NTT/EFOSC2 optical spectroscopic data to verify the actual absence of a BLR. The higher-quality optical data revealed the presence of strong and broad Balmer lines that are at odds with the previous spectral classification of this AGN. The lack of detection of radio emission rules out the presence of a jet. The X-ray data combined with simultaneous UV observations carried out by the Optical Monitor (OM) aboard XMM-Newton confirm that Q2122-444 is a typical type 1 AGN without any significant intrinsic absorption. New estimates of the black hole mass independently obtained from the broad Balmer lines and from a new scaling technique based on X-ray spectral data suggest that Q2122-444 is accreting at a relatively high rate in Eddington units.

Tracking on non-active collaborative objects from San Fernando Laser station

Science.gov (United States)

Catalán, Manuel; Quijano, Manuel; Cortina, Luis M.; Pazos, Antonio A.; Martín-Davila, José

2016-04-01

The Royal Observatory of the Spanish Navy (ROA) works on satellite geodesy from the early days of the space age, when the first artificial satellite tracking telescope was installed in 1958: the Baker-Nunn camera. In 1975 a French satellite Laser ranging (SLR) station was installed and operated at ROA . Since 1980, ROA has been operating this instrument which was upgraded to a third generation and it is still keep into a continuous update to reach the highest level of operability. Since then ROA has participated in different space geodesy campaigns through the International Laser Service Stations (ILRS) or its European regional organization (EUROLAS), tracking a number of artificial satellites types : ERS, ENVISAT, LAGEOS, TOPEX- POSEIDON to name but a few. Recently we opened a new field of research: space debris tracking, which is receiving increasing importance and attention from international space agencies. The main problem is the relatively low accuracy of common used methods. It is clear that improving the predicted orbit accuracy is necessary to fulfill our aims (avoiding unnecessary anti-collision maneuvers,..). Following results obtained by other colleagues (Austria, China, USA,...) we proposed to share our time-schedule using our satellite ranging station to obtain data which will make orbital elements predictions far more accurate (sub-meter accuracy), while we still keep our tracking routines over active satellites. In this communication we report the actions fulfill until nowadays.

THE EDGE OF THE YOUNG GALACTIC DISK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carraro, Giovanni; Vazquez, Ruben A.; Costa, Edgardo; Perren, Gabriel; Moitinho, Andre

2010-01-01

In this work, we report and discuss the detection of two distant diffuse stellar groups in the third Galactic quadrant. They are composed of young stars, with spectral types ranging from late O to late B, and lie at galactocentric distances between 15 and 20 kpc. These groups are located in the area of two cataloged open clusters (VdB-Hagen 04 and Ruprecht 30), projected toward the Vela-Puppis constellations, and within the core of the Canis Major overdensity. Their reddening and distances have been estimated by analyzing their color-color and color-magnitude diagrams, derived from deep UBV photometry. The existence of young star aggregates at such extreme distances from the Galactic center challenges the commonly accepted scenario in which the Galactic disk has a sharp cutoff at about 14 kpc from the Galactic center and indicates that it extends to much greater distances (as also supported by the recent detection of CO molecular complexes well beyond this distance). While the groups we find in the area of Ruprecht 30 are compatible with the Orion and Norma-Cygnus spiral arms, respectively, the distant group we identify in the region of VdB-Hagen 04 lies in the external regions of the Norma-Cygnus arm, at a galactocentric distance (∼20 kpc) where no young stars have been detected so far in the optical.

MIRIS observation of near-infrared diffuse Galactic light

Science.gov (United States)

Onishi, Yosuke; Sano, Kei; Matsuura, Shuji; Jeong, Woong-Seob; Pyo, Jeonghyun; Kim, Il-Jong; Seo, Hyun Jong; Han, Wonyong; Lee, DaeHee; Moon, Bongkon; Park, Wonkee; Park, Younsik; Kim, MinGyu; Matsumoto, Toshio; Matsuhara, Hideo; Nakagawa, Takao; Tsumura, Kohji; Shirahata, Mai; Arai, Toshiaki; Ienaka, Nobuyuki

2018-06-01

We report near-infrared (IR) observations of high Galactic latitude clouds to investigate diffuse Galactic light (DGL), which is starlight scattered by interstellar dust grains. The observations were performed at 1.1 and 1.6 μm with a wide-field camera instrument, the Multi-purpose Infra-Red Imaging System (MIRIS) onboard the Korean satellite STSAT-3. The DGL brightness is measured by correlating the near-IR images with a far-IR 100 μm map of interstellar dust thermal emission. The wide-field observation of DGL provides the most accurate DGL measurement achieved to-date. We also find a linear correlation between optical and near-IR DGL in the MBM32 field. To study interstellar dust properties in MBM32, we adopt recent dust models with and without μm-sized very large grains and predict the DGL spectra, taking into account the reddening effect of the interstellar radiation field. The result shows that the observed color of the near-IR DGL is closer to the model spectra without very large grains. This may imply that dust growth in the observed MBM32 field is not active owing to the low density of its interstellar medium.

The pulsar contribution to the diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pohl, M.; Kanbach, G.; Hunter, S.D.

1997-01-01

There is active interest in the extent to which unresolved gamma-ray pulsars contribute to the Galactic diffuse emission, and in whether unresolved gamma-ray pulsars could be responsible for the excess of diffuse Galactic emission above 1 GeV that has been observed by EGRET. The diffuse gamma......-ray intensity due to unresolved pulsars is directly linked to the number of objects that should be observed in the EGRET data. We can therefore use our knowledge of the unidentified EGRET sources to constrain model parameters like the pulsar birthrate and their beaming angle. This analysis is based only...... on the properties of the six pulsars that have been identified in the EGRET data and is independent of choice of a pulsar emission model. We find that pulsars contribute very little to the diffuse emission at lower energies, whereas above 1 GeV they can account for 18% of the observed intensity in selected regions...

Galactic warps and the shape of heavy halos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparke, L.S.

1984-01-01

The outer disks of many spiral galaxies are bent away from the plane of the inner disk; the abundance of these warps suggests that they are long-lived. Isolated galactic disks have long been thought to have no discrete modes of vertical oscillation under their own gravity, and so to be incapable of sustaining persistent warps. However, the visible disk contains only a fraction of the galactic mass; an invisible galactic halo makes up the rest. This paper presents an investigation of vertical warping modes in self-gravitating disks, in the imposed potential due to an axisymmetric unseen massive halo. If the halo matter is distributed so that the free precession rate of a test particle decreases with radius near the edge of the disk, then the disk has a discrete mode of vibration; oblate halos which become rapidly more flattened at large radii, and uniformly prolate halos, satisfy this requirement. Otherwise, the disk has no discrete modes and so cannot maintain a long-lived warp, unless the edge is sharply truncated. Computed mode shapes which resemble the observed warps can be found for halo masses consistent with those inferred from galactic rotation curves

MID- AND FAR-INFRARED PROPERTIES OF A COMPLETE SAMPLE OF LOCAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichikawa, Kohei; Ueda, Yoshihiro; Terashima, Yuichi; Oyabu, Shinki; Gandhi, Poshak; Nakagawa, Takao; Matsuta, Keiko

2012-01-01

We investigate the mid- (MIR) to far-infrared (FIR) properties of a nearly complete sample of local active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected in the Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) all-sky hard X-ray (14-195 keV) survey, based on the cross correlation with the AKARI infrared survey catalogs complemented by those with Infrared Astronomical Satellite and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Out of 135 non-blazer AGNs in the Swift/BAT nine-month catalog, we obtain the MIR photometric data for 128 sources either in the 9, 12, 18, 22, and/or 25 μm band. We find good correlation between their hard X-ray and MIR luminosities over three orders of magnitude (42 λ (9, 18 μm) < 45), which is tighter than that with the FIR luminosities at 90 μm. This suggests that thermal emission from hot dusts irradiated by the AGN emission dominate the MIR fluxes. Both X-ray unabsorbed and absorbed AGNs follow the same correlation, implying isotropic infrared emission, as expected in clumpy dust tori rather than homogeneous ones. We find excess signals around 9 μm in the averaged infrared spectral energy distribution from heavy obscured 'new type' AGNs with small scattering fractions in the X-ray spectra. This could be attributed to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission feature, suggesting that their host galaxies have strong starburst activities.

Large-scale gas dynamical processes affecting the origin and evolution of gaseous galactic halos

Science.gov (United States)

Shapiro, Paul R.

1991-01-01

Observations of galactic halo gas are consistent with an interpretation in terms of the galactic fountain model in which supernova heated gas in the galactic disk escapes into the halo, radiatively cools and forms clouds which fall back to the disk. The results of a new study of several large-scale gas dynamical effects which are expected to occur in such a model for the origin and evolution of galactic halo gas will be summarized, including the following: (1) nonequilibrium absorption line and emission spectrum diagnostics for radiatively cooling halo gas in our own galaxy, as well the implications of such absorption line diagnostics for the origin of quasar absorption lines in galactic halo clouds of high redshift galaxies; (2) numerical MHD simulations and analytical analysis of large-scale explosions ad superbubbles in the galactic disk and halo; (3) numerical MHD simulations of halo cloud formation by thermal instability, with and without magnetic field; and (4) the effect of the galactic fountain on the galactic dynamo.

Contralateral delay activity tracks object identity information in visual short term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zaifeng; Xu, Xiaotian; Chen, Zhibo; Yin, Jun; Shen, Mowei; Shui, Rende

2011-08-11

Previous studies suggested that ERP component contralateral delay activity (CDA) tracks the number of objects containing identity information stored in visual short term memory (VSTM). Later MEG and fMRI studies implied that its neural source lays in superior IPS. However, since the memorized stimuli in previous studies were displayed in distinct spatial locations, hence possibly CDA tracks the object-location information instead. Moreover, a recent study implied the activation in superior IPS reflected the location load. The current research thus explored whether CDA tracks the object-location load or the object-identity load, and its neural sources. Participants were asked to remember one color, four identical colors or four distinct colors. The four-identical-color condition was the critical one because it contains the same amount of identity information as that of one color while the same amount of location information as that of four distinct colors. To ensure the participants indeed selected four colors in the four-identical-color condition, we also split the participants into two groups (low- vs. high-capacity), analyzed late positive component (LPC) in the prefrontal area, and collected participant's subjective-report. Our results revealed that most of the participants selected four identical colors. Moreover, regardless of capacity-group, there was no difference on CDA between one color and four identical colors yet both were lower than 4 distinct colors. Besides, the source of CDA was located in the superior parietal lobule, which is very close to the superior IPS. These results support the statement that CDA tracks the object identity information in VSTM. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stellar dynamics and galactic evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilmore, G.; Kuijken, K.; Wyse, R.F.G.

1989-01-01

Solar neighbourhood observations have the unique capability of providing detailed study of the consequences of the early evolution of the Galaxy. Important examples of this capability include determination of the distribution of luminous and unseen mass in the Galaxy, and deduction of the rate of star formation and chemical evolution in the proto-Galaxy. We describe a new method to determine the distribution of mass in the Galactic disk. We reinvestigate determinations of the local volume mass density (the Oort limit) and show there to be serious internal inconsistencies in the available data. The most likely value for the local volume mass density, based on old stars and with kinematic models consistent with the age structure of the local disk is ∼ 0.1 solar mass pc -3 , though this value is still poorly determined. Thus, there is no significant evidence for any missing mass associated with the Galactic disk. We also reinvestigate observational data on the chemical abundances and kinematics of old stars in the Galaxy. The (Intermediate Population II) thick disk stars are most likely as old as the globular clusters, and kinematically distinct from the old disk. This favours models of thick disk origin involving a discrete disruptive event, such as the accretion of a satellite of the Galaxy early in the evolution of the Galactic disk. (author)

Making Tracks 1.0: Action Researching an Active Transportation Education Program

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Daniel; Foran, Andrew; Robinson, Ingrid

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the results of the first cycle of an action research project. The objective of this action research was to examine the implementation of a school-based active transportation education program (Making Tracks). A two-cycle action research design was employed in which elementary school students' (ages 7-9), middle school…

INTEGRAL Galactic Bulge monitoring: transient activity from KS 1741-293, MXB 1730-335, and IGR J17498-2921

Science.gov (United States)

Chenevez, J.; Brandt, S.; Kuulkers, E.; Alfonso-Garzón, J.; Beckmann, V.; Bird, T.; Courvoisier, Th.; Del Santo, M.; Domingo, A.; Ebisawa, K.; Jonker, P.; Kretschmar, P.; Markwardt, C.; Oosterbroek, T.; Paizis, A.; Pottschmidt, K.; Sánchez-Fernández, C.; Wijnands, R.

2011-09-01

As part of its regular monitoring of the Galactic Bulge (see ATel #438) INTEGRAL observed this region of the sky on September 13, 2011, between UTC 9:14:50 and 12:56:26. Both the JEM-X and the IBIS/ISGRI instruments detect the transient neutron star low-mass X-ray binary KS 1741-293 at the following flux levels: JEM-X: 6 ±3 mCrab (3-10 keV) and 14 ±6 mCrab (10-25 keV) ISGRI: 11 ±2 mCrab (18-40 keV) and 13 ±2 mCrab (40-100 keV) We note that the activity of this source already started two weeks ago as has been reported by Linares et al.

The galactic population of white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Napiwotzki, Ralf

2009-01-01

The contribution of white dwarfs of the different Galactic populations to the stellar content of our Galaxy is only poorly known. Some authors claim a vast population of halo white dwarfs, which would be in accordance with some investigations of the early phases of Galaxy formation claiming a top-heavy initial- mass- function. Here, I present a model of the population of white dwarfs in the Milky Way based on observations of the local white dwarf sample and a standard model of Galactic structure. This model will be used to estimate the space densities of thin disc, thick disc and halo white dwarfs and their contribution to the baryonic mass budget of the Milky Way. One result of this investigation is that white dwarfs of the halo population contribute a large fraction of the Galactic white dwarf number count, but they are not responsible for the lion's share of stellar mass in the Milky Way. Another important result is the substantial contribution of the - often neglected - population of thick disc white dwarfs. Misclassification of thick disc white dwarfs is responsible for overestimates of the halo population in previous investigations.

Galactic chemical evolution: perspectives and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trimble, V.

1987-01-01

The first modern, quantitative models of galactic chemical evolution appeared exactly 20 years ago in the PhD dissertation of the late Beatrice M. Tinsley. Such models represent a synthesis of the behavior of the 10 11 or more stars that form over the 10 10 year age of a galaxy like their Milky Way and are vital both for understanding how and why galaxies have the luminosities, colors, and chemical compositions they see now and for interpreting observations of distant galaxies to answer cosmological questions about the size, age, density, inhomogeneities, and geometry of the universe. Since my last status report on the subject, some issues have become much clearer (the distinctness of nucleosynthesis in Type I, low mass, supernovae, from that in Type II's that make pulsars; the importance of galaxy mergers and interactions in triggering bursts of star formation), while others have remained puzzling (the sites of the r and p processes) or newly-surfaced (the nucleosynthetic contributions of pre-galactic massive objects; the nature and roll of dark matter in galaxies). The talk will touch briefly on the past, present, and future of galactic evolution studies

RESOLVING THE GEOMETRY OF THE INNERMOST RELATIVISTIC JETS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Algaba, J. C.; Lee, S. S. [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776, Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Nakamura, M.; Asada, K., E-mail: algaba@kasi.re.kr [Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU. No.1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan, R.O.C (China)

2017-01-01

In the current paradigm, it is believed that the compact VLBI radio core of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) represents the innermost upstream regions of relativistic outflows. These regions of AGN jets have generally been modeled by a conical outflow with a roughly constant opening angle and flow speed. Nonetheless, some works suggest that a parabolic geometry would be more appropriate to fit the high energy spectral distribution properties and it has been recently found that, at least in some nearby radio galaxies, the geometry of the innermost regions of the jet is parabolic. We compile here multi-frequency core sizes of archival data to investigate the typically unresolved upstream regions of the jet geometry of a sample of 56 radio-loud AGNs. Data combined from the sources considered here are not consistent with the classic picture of a conical jet starting in the vicinity of the super-massive black hole (SMBH), and may exclude a pure parabolic outflow solution, but rather suggest an intermediate solution with quasi-parabolic streams, which are frequently seen in numerical simulations. Inspection of the large opening angles near the SMBH and the range of the Lorentz factors derived from our results support our analyses. Our result suggests that the conical jet paradigm in AGNs needs to be re-examined by millimeter/sub-millimeter VLBI observations.

Planck 2015 results. XXVIII. The Planck Catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps

CERN Document Server

Ade, P.A.R.; Arnaud, M.; Ashdown, M.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.; Banday, A.J.; Barreiro, R.B.; Bartolo, N.; Battaner, E.; Benabed, K.; Benoît, A.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bielewicz, P.; Bonaldi, A.; Bonavera, L.; Bond, J.R.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F.R.; Boulanger, F.; Bucher, M.; Burigana, C.; Butler, R.C.; Calabrese, E.; Catalano, A.; Chamballu, A.; Chiang, H.C.; Christensen, P.R.; Clements, D.L.; Colombi, S.; Colombo, L.P.L.; Combet, C.; Couchot, F.; Coulais, A.; Crill, B.P.; Curto, A.; Cuttaia, F.; Danese, L.; Davies, R.D.; Davis, R.J.; de Bernardis, P.; de Rosa, A.; de Zotti, G.; Delabrouille, J.; Désert, F.-X.; Dickinson, C.; Diego, J.M.; Dole, H.; Donzelli, S.; Doré, O.; Douspis, M.; Ducout, A.; Dupac, X.; Efstathiou, G.; Elsner, F.; Enßlin, T.A.; Eriksen, H.K.; Falgarone, E.; Fergusson, J.; Finelli, F.; Forni, O.; Frailis, M.; Fraisse, A.A.; Franceschi, E.; Frejsel, A.; Galeotta, S.; Galli, S.; Ganga, K.; Giard, M.; Giraud-Héraud, Y.; Gjerløw, E.; González-Nuevo, J.; Górski, K.M.; Gratton, S.; Gregorio, A.; Gruppuso, A.; Gudmundsson, J.E.; Hansen, F.K.; Hanson, D.; Harrison, D.L.; Helou, G.; Henrot-Versillé, S.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Herranz, D.; Hildebrandt, S.R.; Hivon, E.; Hobson, M.; Holmes, W.A.; Hornstrup, A.; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K.M.; Hurier, G.; Jaffe, A.H.; Jaffe, T.R.; Jones, W.C.; Juvela, M.; Keihänen, E.; Keskitalo, R.; Kisner, T.S.; Knoche, J.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lagache, G.; Lamarre, J.-M.; Lasenby, A.; Lattanzi, M.; Lawrence, C.R.; Leonardi, R.; Lesgourgues, J.; Levrier, F.; Liguori, M.; Lilje, P.B.; Linden-Vørnle, M.; López-Caniego, M.; Lubin, P.M.; Macías-Pérez, J.F.; Maggio, G.; Maino, D.; Mandolesi, N.; Mangilli, A.; Marshall, D.J.; Martin, P.G.; Martínez-González, E.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; Mazzotta, P.; McGehee, P.; Melchiorri, A.; Mendes, L.; Mennella, A.; Migliaccio, M.; Mitra, S.; Miville-Deschênes, M.-A.; Moneti, A.; Morgante, G.; Mortlock, D.; Moss, A.; Munshi, D.; Murphy, J.A.; Naselsky, P.; Nati, F.; Natoli, P.; Netterfield, C.B.; Nørgaard-Nielsen, H.U.; Noviello, F.; Novikov, D.; Novikov, I.; Oxborrow, C.A.; Paci, F.; Pagano, L.; Pajot, F.; Paladini, R.; Paoletti, D.; Pasian, F.; Patanchon, G.; Pearson, T.J.; Pelkonen, V.-M.; Perdereau, O.; Perotto, L.; Perrotta, F.; Pettorino, V.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pierpaoli, E.; Pietrobon, D.; Plaszczynski, S.; Pointecouteau, E.; Polenta, G.; Pratt, G.W.; Prézeau, G.; Prunet, S.; Puget, J.-L.; Rachen, J.P.; Reach, W.T.; Rebolo, R.; Reinecke, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Renault, C.; Renzi, A.; Ristorcelli, I.; Rocha, G.; Rosset, C.; Rossetti, M.; Roudier, G.; Rubiño-Martín, J.A.; Rusholme, B.; Sandri, M.; Santos, D.; Savelainen, M.; Savini, G.; Scott, D.; Seiffert, M.D.; Shellard, E.P.S.; Spencer, L.D.; Stolyarov, V.; Sudiwala, R.; Sunyaev, R.; Sutton, D.; Suur-Uski, A.-S.; Sygnet, J.-F.; Tauber, J.A.; Terenzi, L.; Toffolatti, L.; Tomasi, M.; Tristram, M.; Tucci, M.; Tuovinen, J.; Umana, G.; Valenziano, L.; Valiviita, J.; Van Tent, B.; Vielva, P.; Villa, F.; Wade, L.A.; Wandelt, B.D.; Wehus, I.K.; Yvon, D.; Zacchei, A.

2016-01-01

We present the Planck Catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC), an all-sky catalogue of Galactic cold clump candidates detected by Planck. This catalogue is the full version of the Early Cold Core (ECC) catalogue, which was made available in 2011 with the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) and contained 915 high S/N sources. It is based on the Planck 48 months mission data that are currently being released to the astronomical community. The PGCC catalogue is an observational catalogue consisting exclusively of Galactic cold sources. The three highest Planck bands (857, 545, 353 GHz) have been combined with IRAS data at 3 THz to perform a multi-frequency detection of sources colder than their local environment. After rejection of possible extragalactic contaminants, the PGCC catalogue contains 13188 Galactic sources spread across the whole sky, i.e., from the Galactic plane to high latitudes, following the spatial distribution of the main molecular cloud complexes. The median temperature of PGCC so...

Simulated Galactic methanol maser distribution to constrain Milky Way parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Quiroga-Nuñez, L. H.; van Langevelde, H. J.; Reid, M. J.; Green, J. A.

2017-08-01

Context. Using trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions of masers associated with massive young stars, the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy (BeSSeL) survey has reported the most accurate values of the Galactic parameters so far. The determination of these parameters with high accuracy has a widespread impact on Galactic and extragalactic measurements. Aims: This research is aimed at establishing the confidence with which such parameters can be determined. This is relevant for the data published in the context of the BeSSeL survey collaboration, but also for future observations, in particular from the southern hemisphere. In addition, some astrophysical properties of the masers can be constrained, notably the luminosity function. Methods: We have simulated the population of maser-bearing young stars associated with Galactic spiral structure, generating several samples and comparing them with the observed samples used in the BeSSeL survey. Consequently, we checked the determination of Galactic parameters for observational biases introduced by the sample selection. Results: Galactic parameters obtained by the BeSSeL survey do not seem to be biased by the sample selection used. In fact, the published error estimates appear to be conservative for most of the parameters. We show that future BeSSeL data and future observations with southern arrays will improve the Galactic parameters estimates and smoothly reduce their mutual correlation. Moreover, by modeling future parallax data with larger distance values and, thus, greater relative uncertainties for a larger numbers of sources, we found that parallax-distance biasing is an important issue. Hence, using fractional parallax uncertainty in the weighting of the motion data is imperative. Finally, the luminosity function for 6.7 GHz methanol masers was determined, allowing us to estimate the number of Galactic methanol masers.

The Galactic 511 keV line: analysis and interpretation of Integral observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lonjou, V.

2005-09-01

Ever since the discovery of the 511 keV annihilation line emission from the galactic center region in the late seventies, the origin of galactic positrons has been the topic of a vivid scientific debate. It is also one of the prime scientific objectives of the imaging spectrometer SPI on board ESA's INTEGRAL observatory. In this thesis first a description of the most important SPI sub-system is given - the detector plane. Procedures for detector energy calibration and detector degradation analysis are developed. The determination of instrumental background models, a crucial aspect of data analysis, is elaborated. These background models are then applied to deriving sky maps and spectra of unprecedented quality of the Galactic positron annihilation radiation. The emission is centered on the galactic center with a spatial resolution of 8 degrees (FWHM), a second spatial component appears clearly: the galactic disc. The ray energy has been measured with unprecedented accuracy: 511.0 ± 0.03 keV for a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 2.07 ± 0.1 keV. The total galactic flux ranges from 1.09 to 2.43 10 -3 ph.cm -2 .s -1 including uncertainties on spatial distribution. Finally, the implications of these observations for the production of positrons by various Galactic populations are discussed

Star-disc interaction in galactic nuclei: formation of a central stellar disc

Science.gov (United States)

Panamarev, Taras; Shukirgaliyev, Bekdaulet; Meiron, Yohai; Berczik, Peter; Just, Andreas; Spurzem, Rainer; Omarov, Chingis; Vilkoviskij, Emmanuil

2018-05-01

We perform high-resolution direct N-body simulations to study the effect of an accretion disc on stellar dynamics in an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We show that the interaction of the nuclear stellar cluster (NSC) with the gaseous accretion disc (AD) leads to formation of a stellar disc in the central part of the NSC. The accretion of stars from the stellar disc on to the super-massive black hole is balanced by the capture of stars from the NSC into the stellar disc, yielding a stationary density profile. We derive the migration time through the AD to be 3 per cent of the half-mass relaxation time of the NSC. The mass and size of the stellar disc are 0.7 per cent of the mass and 5 per cent of the influence radius of the super-massive black hole. An AD lifetime shorter than the migration time would result in a less massive nuclear stellar disc. The detection of such a stellar disc could point to past activity of the hosting galactic nucleus.

A Search for New Galactic Magnetars in Archival Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Muno, M. P.; Gaensler, B. M.; Nechita, A.; Miller, J. M.; Slane, P. O.

2008-06-01

We present constraints on the number of Galactic magnetars, which we have established by searching for sources with periodic variability in 506 archival Chandra observations and 441 archival XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic plane (| b| fall within our survey, then there are 59+ 92-32 in the Galaxy. Barely detectable magnetars (LX = 3 × 1033 ergs s-1 and Arms = 15% ) could have been identified throughout ≈0.4% of the spiral arms. The lack of new examples implies that birth rate of magnetars is between 0.003 and 0.06 yr-1. Therefore, the birth rate of magnetars is at least 10% of that for normal radio pulsars, and could exceed that value, unless transient magnetars are active for gtrsim105 yr.

SMM detection of diffuse Galactic 511 keV annihilation radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Share, G. H.; Kinzer, R. L.; Kurfess, J. D.; Messina, D. C.; Purcell, W. R.

1988-01-01

Observations of the 511 keV annihilation line from the vicinity of the Galactic center from October to February for 1980/1981, 1981/1982, 1982/1983, 1984/1985, and 1985/1986 are presented. The measurements were made with the gamma-ray spectrometer on the SMM. The design of the instrument and some of its properties used in the analysis are described, and the methods used for accumulating, fitting, and analyzing the data are outlined. It is shown how the Galactic 511 keV line was separated from the intense and variable background observed in orbit. The SMM observations are compared with previous measurements of annihilation radiation from the Galactic center region, and the astrophysical implications are discussed. It is argued that most of the measurements made to date suggest the presence of an extended Galactic source of annihilation radiation.

Mouse short- and long-term locomotor activity analyzed by video tracking software.

Science.gov (United States)

York, Jason M; Blevins, Neil A; McNeil, Leslie K; Freund, Gregory G

2013-06-20

Locomotor activity (LMA) is a simple and easily performed measurement of behavior in mice and other rodents. Improvements in video tracking software (VTS) have allowed it to be coupled to LMA testing, dramatically improving specificity and sensitivity when compared to the line crossings method with manual scoring. In addition, VTS enables high-throughput experimentation. While similar to automated video tracking used for the open field test (OFT), LMA testing is unique in that it allows mice to remain in their home cage and does not utilize the anxiogenic stimulus of bright lighting during the active phase of the light-dark cycle. Traditionally, LMA has been used for short periods of time (mins), while longer movement studies (hrs-days) have often used implanted transmitters and biotelemetry. With the option of real-time tracking, long-, like short-term LMA testing, can now be conducted using videography. Long-term LMA testing requires a specialized, but easily constructed, cage so that food and water (which is usually positioned on the cage top) does not obstruct videography. Importantly, videography and VTS allows for the quantification of parameters, such as path of mouse movement, that are difficult or unfeasible to measure with line crossing and/or biotelemetry. In sum, LMA testing coupled to VTS affords a more complete description of mouse movement and the ability to examine locomotion over an extended period of time.

The typecasting of active galactic nuclei: Mrk 590 no longer fits the role

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denney, K. D.; De Rosa, G.; Croxall, K.; Gupta, A.; Fausnaugh, M. M.; Grier, C. J.; Martini, P.; Mathur, S.; Peterson, B. M.; Pogge, R. W.; Shappee, B. J. [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Bentz, M. C., E-mail: denney@astronomy.ohio-state.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States)

2014-12-01

We present multiwavelength observations that trace more than 40 yr in the life of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 590, traditionally known as a classic Seyfert 1 galaxy. From spectra recently obtained from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra, and the Large Binocular Telescope, we find that the activity in the nucleus of Mrk 590 has diminished so significantly that the continuum luminosity is a factor of 100 lower than the peak luminosity probed by our long-baseline observations. Furthermore, the broad emission lines, once prominent in the UV/optical spectrum, have all but disappeared. Since AGN type is defined by the presence of broad emission lines in the optical spectrum, our observations demonstrate that Mrk 590 has now become a 'changing-look' AGN. If classified by recent optical spectra, Mrk 590 would be a Seyfert ∼1.9–2, where the only broad emission line still visible in the optical spectrum is a weak component of Hα. As an additional consequence of this change, we have definitively detected UV narrow-line components in a Type 1 AGN, allowing an analysis of these emission-line components with high-resolution COS spectra. These observations challenge the historical paradigm that AGN type is only a consequence of the line-of-sight viewing angle toward the nucleus in the presence of a geometrically flattened, obscuring medium (i.e., the torus). Our data instead suggest that the current state of Mrk 590 is a consequence of the change in luminosity, which implies the black hole accretion rate has significantly decreased.

The typecasting of active galactic nuclei: Mrk 590 no longer fits the role

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denney, K. D.; De Rosa, G.; Croxall, K.; Gupta, A.; Fausnaugh, M. M.; Grier, C. J.; Martini, P.; Mathur, S.; Peterson, B. M.; Pogge, R. W.; Shappee, B. J.; Bentz, M. C.

2014-01-01

We present multiwavelength observations that trace more than 40 yr in the life of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 590, traditionally known as a classic Seyfert 1 galaxy. From spectra recently obtained from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra, and the Large Binocular Telescope, we find that the activity in the nucleus of Mrk 590 has diminished so significantly that the continuum luminosity is a factor of 100 lower than the peak luminosity probed by our long-baseline observations. Furthermore, the broad emission lines, once prominent in the UV/optical spectrum, have all but disappeared. Since AGN type is defined by the presence of broad emission lines in the optical spectrum, our observations demonstrate that Mrk 590 has now become a 'changing-look' AGN. If classified by recent optical spectra, Mrk 590 would be a Seyfert ∼1.9–2, where the only broad emission line still visible in the optical spectrum is a weak component of Hα. As an additional consequence of this change, we have definitively detected UV narrow-line components in a Type 1 AGN, allowing an analysis of these emission-line components with high-resolution COS spectra. These observations challenge the historical paradigm that AGN type is only a consequence of the line-of-sight viewing angle toward the nucleus in the presence of a geometrically flattened, obscuring medium (i.e., the torus). Our data instead suggest that the current state of Mrk 590 is a consequence of the change in luminosity, which implies the black hole accretion rate has significantly decreased.

Active contour-based visual tracking by integrating colors, shapes, and motions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Zhou, Xue; Li, Wei; Luo, Wenhan; Zhang, Xiaoqin; Maybank, Stephen

2013-05-01

In this paper, we present a framework for active contour-based visual tracking using level sets. The main components of our framework include contour-based tracking initialization, color-based contour evolution, adaptive shape-based contour evolution for non-periodic motions, dynamic shape-based contour evolution for periodic motions, and the handling of abrupt motions. For the initialization of contour-based tracking, we develop an optical flow-based algorithm for automatically initializing contours at the first frame. For the color-based contour evolution, Markov random field theory is used to measure correlations between values of neighboring pixels for posterior probability estimation. For adaptive shape-based contour evolution, the global shape information and the local color information are combined to hierarchically evolve the contour, and a flexible shape updating model is constructed. For the dynamic shape-based contour evolution, a shape mode transition matrix is learnt to characterize the temporal correlations of object shapes. For the handling of abrupt motions, particle swarm optimization is adopted to capture the global motion which is applied to the contour in the current frame to produce an initial contour in the next frame.

ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK AND ENTROPY INJECTION IN GALAXY CLUSTER CORES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhuri, Anya; Majumdar, Subhabrata; Nath, Biman B.

2013-01-01

We make the first estimate of non-gravitational energy profiles in galaxy cluster cores (and beyond) based on observational data. Comparing the observed entropy profiles within r 500 , from the Representative XMM-Newton Cluster Structure Survey to simulated base entropy profiles without feedback from both adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) and smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) non-radiative simulations, we estimate the amount of additional non-gravitational energy, E ICM , contained in the intracluster medium (ICM), as well as the total energy feedback, E Feedback , from active galactic nuclei (AGNs; the central AGNs in most cases) into the clusters. The total feedback energy scales with the mean spectroscopic temperature as E Feedback ∝T sp 2.52±0.08 and E Feedback ∝T sp 2.17±0.11 for the SPH and AMR baseline profiles. The mean non-gravitational energy per particle within r 500 remaining in the ICM after energy lost during cooling is ε ICM = 2.8 ± 0.8 keV for the SPH theoretical relation and ε ICM = 1.7 ± 0.9 keV for the AMR theoretical relation. We use the NRAO/VLA Sky Survey source catalog to determine the radio luminosity, L R , at 1.4 GHz of the central source(s) of our sample. For T sp > 3 keV, the E Feedback correlates with L R , although with different normalization for cool-core and non-cool-core clusters. We show that AGNs could provide a significant portion of the feedback

Ruprecht 106 - A young metal-poor Galactic globular cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buonanno, R.; Buscema, G.; Fusi Pecci, F.; Richer, H.B.; Fahlman, G.G.

1990-01-01

The first CCD photometric survey in the Galactic globular cluster Ruprecht 106 has been performed. The results show that Ruprecht 106 is a metal-poor cluster with (Fe/H) about -2 located at about 25 kpc from the Galactic center. A sizable, high centrally concentrated population of blue stragglers was detected. Significant differences in the positions of the turnoffs in the color-magnitude diagram are found compared to those in metal-poor clusters. The cluster appears younger than other typical metal-poor Galactic globulars by about 4-5 Gyr; if true, this object would represent the first direct proof of the existence of a significant age spread among old, very metal-poor clusters. 51 refs

Periodic Variations in the Vertical Velocities of Galactic Masers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bobylev V. V.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We compiled published data on Galactic masers with VLBI-measured trigonometric parallaxes and determined the residual tangential, ∆Vcirc, and radial, ∆VR, velocities for 120 masers. We used these data to redetermine the parameters of the Galactic spiral density wave using the method of spectral analysis. The most interesting result of this study is the detection of wavelike oscillations of vertical spatial velocities (W versus distance R from the Galactic rotation axis. Spectral analysis allowed us to determine the perturbation wavelength and the amplitude of this wave, which we found to be equal to λW = 3.4 ± 0.7 kpc and fW = 4.9 ± 1.2 km s−1, respectively.

Recent results on galactic sources with MAGIC telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De los Reyes, R.

2009-01-01

Located at the Canary island of La Palma, the single-dish MAGIC telescope currently has the lowest energy threshold achieved by any Cherenkov telescope, which can be as low as 25 GeV. In the last two years, the MAGIC telescope has detected a significant amount of galactic sources that emit at very high energies (up to several TeV). Here we present the most recent results that have yielded important scientific highlights in astrophysics, which include the first detection of gamma-ray emission from a pulsar, an X-ray binary system and a stellar-mass black hole. We also make a review of the latest results of the MAGIC observations on galactic sources, which will include also γ-ray unidentified sources (TeV J2032+4130), the Galactic Centre, X-ray binaries (LSI +61 303), pulsars (Crab pulsar) and SNRs (IC443).

Emission line galaxies and active galactic nuclei in WINGS clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Marziani, P.; D'Onofrio, M.; Bettoni, D.; Poggianti, B. M.; Moretti, A.; Fasano, G.; Fritz, J.; Cava, A.; Varela, J.; Omizzolo, A.

2017-03-01

We present the analysis of the emission line galaxies members of 46 low-redshift (0.04 employing diagnostic diagrams. We examined the emission line properties and frequencies of star-forming galaxies, transition objects, and active galactic nuclei (AGNs: LINERs and Seyferts), unclassified galaxies with emission lines, and quiescent galaxies with no detectable line emission. A deficit of emission line galaxies in the cluster environment is indicated by both a lower frequency, and a systematically lower Balmer emission line equivalent width and luminosity with respect to control samples; this implies a lower amount of ionized gas per unit mass and a lower star formation rate if the source is classified as Hii region. A sizable population of transition objects and of low-luminosity LINERs (≈ 10-20% of all emission line galaxies) are detected among WINGS cluster galaxies. These sources are a factor of ≈1.5 more frequent, or at least as frequent, as in control samples with respect to Hii sources. Transition objects and LINERs in clusters are most affected in terms ofline equivalent width by the environment and appear predominantly consistent with so-called retired galaxies. Shock heating can be a possible gas excitation mechanism that is able to account for observed line ratios. Specific to the cluster environment, we suggest interaction between atomic and molecular gas and the intracluster medium as a possible physical cause of line-emitting shocks. The data whose description is provided in Table B.1, and emission line catalog of the WINGS database are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/599/A83

EVIDENCE FOR WIDESPREAD ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS ACTIVITY AMONG MASSIVE QUIESCENT GALAXIES AT z ∼ 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsen, Karen P.; Rasmussen, Jesper; Toft, Sune; Zirm, Andrew W.

2013-01-01

We quantify the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in a mass-complete (M * > 5 × 10 10 M ☉ ) sample of 123 star-forming and quiescent galaxies at 1.5 ≤ z ≤ 2.5, using X-ray data from the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey. 41% ± 7% of the galaxies are detected directly in X-rays, 22% ± 5% with rest-frame 0.5-8 keV luminosities consistent with hosting luminous AGNs (L 0.5-8keV > 3 × 10 42 erg s –1 ). The latter fraction is similar for star-forming and quiescent galaxies, and does not depend on galaxy stellar mass, suggesting that perhaps luminous AGNs are triggered by external effects such as mergers. We detect significant mean X-ray signals in stacked images for both the individually non-detected star-forming and quiescent galaxies, with spectra consistent with star formation only and/or a low-luminosity AGN in both cases. Comparing star formation rates inferred from the 2-10 keV luminosities to those from rest-frame IR+UV emission, we find evidence for an X-ray excess indicative of low-luminosity AGNs. Among the quiescent galaxies, the excess suggests that as many as 70%-100% of these contain low- or high-luminosity AGNs, while the corresponding fraction is lower among star-forming galaxies (43%-65%). Our discovery of the ubiquity of AGNs in massive, quiescent z ∼ 2 galaxies provides observational support for the importance of AGNs in impeding star formation during galaxy evolution.

Does the Galactic Bulge Have Fewer Planets?

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-12-01

The Milky Ways dense central bulge is a very different environment than the surrounding galactic disk in which we live. Do the differences affect the ability of planets to form in the bulge?Exploring Galactic PlanetsSchematic illustrating how gravitational microlensing by an extrasolar planet works. [NASA]Planet formation is a complex process with many aspects that we dont yet understand. Do environmental properties like host star metallicity, the density of nearby stars, or the intensity of the ambient radiation field affect the ability of planets to form? To answer these questions, we will ultimately need to search for planets around stars in a large variety of different environments in our galaxy.One way to detect recently formed, distant planets is by gravitational microlensing. In this process, light from a distant source star is bent by a lens star that is briefly located between us and the source. As the Earth moves, this momentary alignment causes a blip in the sources light curve that we can detect and planets hosted by the lens star can cause an additional observable bump.Artists impression of the Milky Way galaxy. The central bulge is much denserthan the surroundingdisk. [ESO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Kornmesser/R. Hurt]Relative AbundancesMost source stars reside in the galactic bulge, so microlensing events can probe planetary systems at any distance between the Earth and the galactic bulge. This means that planet detections from microlensing could potentially be used to measure the relative abundances of exoplanets in different parts of our galaxy.A team of scientists led by Matthew Penny, a Sagan postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University, set out to do just that. The group considered a sample of 31 exoplanetary systems detected by microlensing and asked the following question: are the planet abundances in the galactic bulge and the galactic disk the same?A Paucity of PlanetsTo answer this question, Penny and collaborators derived the expected

Controlling and tracking hyperchaotic Roessler system via active backstepping design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hao; Ma Xikui; Li Ming; Zou Jianlong

2005-01-01

This paper presents a novel active backstepping control approach for controlling hyperchaotic Roessler system to a steady state as well as tracking of any desire trajectory to be achieved in a systematic way. The proposed method is a systematic design approach and consists in a recursive procedure that interlaces the choice of a Lyapunov function with the design of active control. Numerical results show that the controller is singularity free and the closed-loop system is stable globally. Especially, the main feature of this technique is that it gives the flexibility to construct a control law. Finally, numerical experiments verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control technique

Are baryonic galactic halos possible

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olive, K.A.; Hegyi, D.J.

1986-01-01

There is little doubt from the rotation curves of spiral galaxies that galactic halos must contain large amounts of dark matter. In this contribution, the authors review arguments which indicate that it is very unlikely that galactic halos contain substantial amounts of baryonic matter. While the authors would like to be able to present a single argument which would rule out baryonic matter, at the present time they are only able to present a collection of arguments each of which argues against one form of baryonic matter. These include: 1) snowballs; 2) gas; 3) low mass stars and Jupiters; 4) high mass stars; and 5) high metalicity objects such as rooks or dust. Black holes, which do not have a well defined baryon number, are also a possible candidate for halo matter. They briefly discuss black holes

XMM FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS OF THREE SWIFT BAT-SELECTED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trippe, M. L.; Reynolds, C. S.; Koss, M.; Mushotzky, R. F.; Winter, L. M.

2011-01-01

We present XMM-Newton observations of three active galactic nuclei (AGNs) taken as part of a hunt to find very heavily obscured Compton-thick AGNs. For obscuring columns greater than 10 25 cm -2 , AGNs are only visible at energies below 10 keV via reflected/scattered radiation, characterized by a flat power law. We therefore selected three objects (ESO 417-G006, IRAS 05218-1212, and MCG -01-05-047) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) hard X-ray survey catalog with Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) 0.5-10 keV spectra with flat power-law indices as candidate Compton-thick sources for follow-up observations with the more sensitive instruments on XMM-Newton. The XMM spectra, however, rule out reflection-dominated models based on the weakness of the observed Fe Kα lines. Instead, the spectra are well fit by a model of a power-law continuum obscured by a Compton-thin absorber plus a soft excess. This result is consistent with previous follow-up observations of two other flat-spectrum BAT-detected AGNs. Thus, out of the six AGNs in the 22 month BAT catalog with apparently flat Swift XRT spectra, all five that have had follow-up observations are not likely Compton thick. We also present new optical spectra of two of these objects, IRAS 05218-1212 and MCG -01-05-047. Interestingly, though both the AGNs have similar X-ray spectra, their optical spectra are completely different, adding evidence against the simplest form of the geometric unified model of AGNs. IRAS 05218-1212 appears in the optical as a Seyfert 1, despite the ∼8.5 x 10 22 cm -2 line-of-sight absorbing column indicated by its X-ray spectrum. MCG -01-05-047's optical spectrum shows no sign of AGN activity; it appears as a normal galaxy.

Geometrically Thick Obscuration by Radiation-driven Outflow from Magnetized Tori of Active Galactic Nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, Chi-Ho [Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Krolik, Julian H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

2017-07-01

Near-Eddington radiation from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has significant dynamical influence on the surrounding dusty gas, plausibly furnishing AGNs with geometrically thick obscuration. We investigate this paradigm with radiative magnetohydrodynamics simulations. The simulations solve the magnetohydrodynamics equations simultaneously with the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) radiative transfer (RT) equations; no approximate closure is used for RT. We find that our torus, when given a suitable sub-Keplerian angular momentum profile, spontaneously evolves toward a state in which its opening angle, density distribution, and flow pattern change only slowly. This “steady” state lasts for as long as there is gas resupply toward the inner edge. The torus is best described as a midplane inflow and a high-latitude outflow. The outflow is launched from the torus inner edge by UV radiation and expands in solid angle as it ascends; IR radiation continues to drive the wide-angle outflow outside the central hole. The dusty outflow obscures the central source in soft X-rays, the IR, and the UV over three-quarters of solid angle, and each decade in column density covers roughly equal solid angle around the central source; these obscuration properties are similar to what observations imply.

Active Galactic Nuclei: Sources for ultra high energy cosmic rays?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biermann, Peter L. [MPI for Radioastronomy, Bonn (Germany); Dept. of Phys. and Astron., Univ. of Bonn (Germany); Dept. of Phys. and Astr., Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States); Dept. of Phys., Univ. of Alabama at Huntsville, AL (United States); Inst. Nucl. Phys. FZ, Karlsruhe Inst. of Techn. (KIT) (Germany); Becker, Julia K. [Institution foer Fysik, Goeteborgs Univ. (Sweden); Dept. of Phys., Univ. Dortmund, Dortmund (Germany); Caramete, Laurentiu [MPI for Radioastronomy, Bonn (Germany); Institute for Space Studies, Bucharest (Romania); Curutiu, Alex [MPI for Radioastronomy, Bonn (Germany); Engel, Ralph [Inst. Nucl. Phys. FZ, Karlsruhe Inst. of Techn. (KIT) (Germany); Falcke, Heino [Dept. of Astrophys., IMAP, Radboud Univ., Nijmegen (Netherlands); ASTRON, Dwingeloo (Netherlands); Gergely, Laszlo A. [Dept. Appl. Sci., London South Bank University (United Kingdom); Dept. of Theoret. and Exp. Phys., Univ. of Szeged, Szeged (Hungary); Isar, P. Gina [Inst. Nucl. Phys. FZ, Karlsruhe Inst. of Techn. (KIT) (Germany); Institute for Space Studies, Bucharest (Romania); Maris, Ioana C. [Inst. Nucl. Phys. FZ, Karlsruhe Inst. of Techn. (KIT) (Germany); Meli, Athina [Physik. Inst. Univ. Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany); Kampert, Karl-Heinz [Phys. Dept., Univ. Wuppertal (Germany); Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Inst., Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States); Tascau, Oana [Phys. Dept., Univ. Wuppertal (Germany); Zier, Christian [MPI for Radioastronomy, Bonn (Germany); Raman Res. Inst., Bangalore (India)

2009-05-15

The origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays promises to lead us to a deeper understanding of the structure of matter. This is possible through the study of particle collisions at center-of-mass energies in interactions far larger than anything possible with the Large Hadron Collider, albeit at the substantial cost of no control over the sources and interaction sites. For the extreme energies we have to identify and understand the sources first, before trying to use them as physics laboratories. Here we describe the current stage of this exploration. The most promising contenders as sources are radio galaxies and gamma ray bursts. The sky distribution of observed events yields a hint favoring radio galaxies. Key in this quest are the intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, whose strength and structure are not yet fully understood. Current data and statistics do not yet allow a final judgement. We outline how we may progress in the near future.

Active Galactic Nuclei: Sources for ultra high energy cosmic rays?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biermann, Peter L.; Becker, Julia K.; Caramete, Laurentiu; Curutiu, Alex; Engel, Ralph; Falcke, Heino; Gergely, Laszlo A.; Isar, P. Gina; Maris, Ioana C.; Meli, Athina; Kampert, Karl-Heinz; Stanev, Todor; Tascau, Oana; Zier, Christian

2009-01-01

The origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays promises to lead us to a deeper understanding of the structure of matter. This is possible through the study of particle collisions at center-of-mass energies in interactions far larger than anything possible with the Large Hadron Collider, albeit at the substantial cost of no control over the sources and interaction sites. For the extreme energies we have to identify and understand the sources first, before trying to use them as physics laboratories. Here we describe the current stage of this exploration. The most promising contenders as sources are radio galaxies and gamma ray bursts. The sky distribution of observed events yields a hint favoring radio galaxies. Key in this quest are the intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, whose strength and structure are not yet fully understood. Current data and statistics do not yet allow a final judgement. We outline how we may progress in the near future.

LOCAL LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES. II. ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS ACTIVITY FROM SPITZER/INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH SPECTRA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alonso-Herrero, Almudena; Pereira-Santaella, Miguel [Centro de Astrobiologia, INTA-CSIC, E-28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid (Spain); Rieke, George H. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Rigopoulou, Dimitra [Astrophysics Department, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)

2012-01-01

We quantify the active galactic nucleus (AGN) contribution to the mid-infrared (mid-IR) and the total infrared (IR, 8-1000 {mu}m) emission in a complete volume-limited sample of 53 local luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs, L{sub IR} = 10{sup 11}-10{sup 12} L{sub Sun }). We decompose the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph low-resolution 5-38 {mu}m spectra of the LIRGs into AGN and starburst components using clumpy torus models and star-forming galaxy templates, respectively. We find that 50% (25/50) of local LIRGs have an AGN component detected with this method. There is good agreement between these AGN detections through mid-IR spectral decomposition and other AGN indicators, such as the optical spectral class, mid-IR spectral features, and X-ray properties. Taking all the AGN indicators together, the AGN detection rate in the individual nuclei of LIRGs is {approx}62%. The derived AGN bolometric luminosities are in the range L{sub bol}(AGN) = (0.4-50) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 43} erg s{sup -1}. The AGN bolometric contribution to the IR luminosities of the galaxies is generally small, with 70% of LIRGs having L{sub bol}[AGN]/L{sub IR} {<=} 0.05. Only {approx_equal} 8% of local LIRGs have a significant AGN bolometric contribution L{sub bol}[AGN]/L{sub IR} > 0.25. From the comparison of our results with literature results of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (L{sub IR} = 10{sup 12}-10{sup 13} L{sub Sun }), we confirm that in the local universe the AGN bolometric contribution to the IR luminosity increases with the IR luminosity of the galaxy/system. If we add up the AGN bolometric luminosities we find that AGNs only account for 5%{sub -3%}{sup +8%} of the total IR luminosity produced by local LIRGs (with and without AGN detections). This proves that the bulk of the IR luminosity of local LIRGs is due to star formation activity. Taking the newly determined IR luminosity density of LIRGs in the local universe, we then estimate an AGN IR luminosity density of {Omega}{sup AGN

Calibration of a solid state nuclear track detector for the measurements of volumic activity of Radon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HAKAM, O.K.; LFERDE, M.; BERRADA, M.

1994-01-01

Time - integrated measurements of environmental radiation activity are commonly carried out using solid state nuclear track detectors ( SSNTD ). These detectors should be calibrated of volumic activity of radon. This paper reports the results of experiments conducted to calibrate cellulose nitrate films LR - 115 type II used for measurements of volumic activity of radon in indoor air in dwellings and enclosed work areas in Morocco. Calibration measurements were made in laboratory using a calibration chamber and a radon source. The calibration chamber is a cylindric box ( 2613,6 cm sup 3)which we have manufactured of aluminium. The radon source is a natural sample rich of aluminium (17,29 + 0 ,12) Bq/g. The films are placed in detector holder with membrane and exposed inside the calibration chamber to varying concentrations of radon. Following the exposure, the films were chemically etched in sodium hydroxide (2,5 N) at 60 C for 120 minutes. The number of registered alpha particle tracks were counted with an optical microscope. In the used etching conditions, the removed mean thickness is in the order of 6 micro m. Therefore, we have normalized the track density to this value . We obtained a calibration factor of 0, 58 tracks . cm sup -2/ K Bq . h . m sup -3 . 1 tab.; 1 fig.; 2 refs. (author)

THE LONGEST TIMESCALE X-RAY VARIABILITY REVEALS EVIDENCE FOR ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN THE HIGH ACCRETION STATE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Youhong

2011-01-01

The All Sky Monitor (ASM) on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer has continuously monitored a number of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with similar sampling rates for 14 years, from 1996 January to 2009 December. Utilizing the archival ASM data of 27 AGNs, we calculate the normalized excess variances of the 300-day binned X-ray light curves on the longest timescale (between 300 days and 14 years) explored so far. The observed variance appears to be independent of AGN black-hole mass and bolometric luminosity. According to the scaling relation of black-hole mass (and bolometric luminosity) from galactic black hole X-ray binaries (GBHs) to AGNs, the break timescales that correspond to the break frequencies detected in the power spectral density (PSD) of our AGNs are larger than the binsize (300 days) of the ASM light curves. As a result, the singly broken power-law (soft-state) PSD predicts the variance to be independent of mass and luminosity. Nevertheless, the doubly broken power-law (hard-state) PSD predicts, with the widely accepted ratio of the two break frequencies, that the variance increases with increasing mass and decreases with increasing luminosity. Therefore, the independence of the observed variance on mass and luminosity suggests that AGNs should have soft-state PSDs. Taking into account the scaling of the break timescale with mass and luminosity synchronously, the observed variances are also more consistent with the soft-state than the hard-state PSD predictions. With the averaged variance of AGNs and the soft-state PSD assumption, we obtain a universal PSD amplitude of 0.030 ± 0.022. By analogy with the GBH PSDs in the high/soft state, the longest timescale variability supports the standpoint that AGNs are scaled-up GBHs in the high accretion state, as already implied by the direct PSD analysis.

Evidence for accreted component in the Galactic discs

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Q. F.; Zhao, G.

2018-06-01

We analyse the distribution of [Mg/Fe] abundance in the Galactic discs with F- and G-type dwarf stars selected from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) archive. The sample stars are assigned into different stellar populations by using kinematic criteria. Our analysis reveals the chemical inhomogeneities in the Galactic thick disc. A few of metal-poor stars in the thick disc exhibit relatively low [Mg/Fe] abundance in respect to the standard thick-disc sample. The orbital eccentricities and maximum Galactocentric radii of low-α metal-poor stars are apparently greater than that of high-α thick-disc stars. The orbital parameters and chemical components of low-α stars in the thick disc suggest that they may have been formed in regions with low star formation rate that were located at large distances from the Galactic centre, such as infalling dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

Thermal Tracking in Mobile Robots for Leak Inspection Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iñaki Maurtua

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Maintenance tasks are crucial for all kind of industries, especially in extensive industrial plants, like solar thermal power plants. The incorporation of robots is a key issue for automating inspection activities, as it will allow a constant and regular control over the whole plant. This paper presents an autonomous robotic system to perform pipeline inspection for early detection and prevention of leakages in thermal power plants, based on the work developed within the MAINBOT (http://www.mainbot.eu European project. Based on the information provided by a thermographic camera, the system is able to detect leakages in the collectors and pipelines. Beside the leakage detection algorithms, the system includes a particle filter-based tracking algorithm to keep the target in the field of view of the camera and to avoid the irregularities of the terrain while the robot patrols the plant. The information provided by the particle filter is further used to command a robot arm, which handles the camera and ensures that the target is always within the image. The obtained results show the suitability of the proposed approach, adding a tracking algorithm to improve the performance of the leakage detection system.

Thermal tracking in mobile robots for leak inspection activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibarguren, Aitor; Molina, Jorge; Susperregi, Loreto; Maurtua, Iñaki

2013-10-09

Maintenance tasks are crucial for all kind of industries, especially in extensive industrial plants, like solar thermal power plants. The incorporation of robots is a key issue for automating inspection activities, as it will allow a constant and regular control over the whole plant. This paper presents an autonomous robotic system to perform pipeline inspection for early detection and prevention of leakages in thermal power plants, based on the work developed within the MAINBOT (http://www.mainbot.eu) European project. Based on the information provided by a thermographic camera, the system is able to detect leakages in the collectors and pipelines. Beside the leakage detection algorithms, the system includes a particle filter-based tracking algorithm to keep the target in the field of view of the camera and to avoid the irregularities of the terrain while the robot patrols the plant. The information provided by the particle filter is further used to command a robot arm, which handles the camera and ensures that the target is always within the image. The obtained results show the suitability of the proposed approach, adding a tracking algorithm to improve the performance of the leakage detection system.

Low-Cost Sensor System Design for In-Home Physical Activity Tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Nambiar, Siddhartha; Nikolaev, Alexander; Greene, Melissa; Cavuoto, Lora; Bisantz, Ann

2016-01-01

An aging and more sedentary population requires interventions aimed at monitoring physical activity, particularly within the home. This research uses simulation, optimization, and regression analyses to assess the feasibility of using a small number of sensors to track movement and infer physical activity levels of older adults. Based on activity data from the American Time Use Survey and assisted living apartment layouts, we determined that using three to four doorway sensors can be used to effectively capture a sufficient amount of movements in order to estimate activity. The research also identified preferred approaches for assigning sensor locations, evaluated the error magnitude inherent in the approach, and developed a methodology to identify which apartment layouts would be best suited for these technologies.

Population Synthesis Studies of the White Dwarfs of the Galactic Disk and Halo

Science.gov (United States)

Cojocaru, Elena-Ruxandra

2016-09-01

White dwarfs are fossil stars that can encode valuable information about the formation, evolution and other properties of the different Galactic stellar populations. They are the direct descendants of main-sequence stars with masses ranging from ∼0.8 M⊙ to ∼10 M⊙, which means that over 95% of the stars in our Galaxy will eventually become white dwarfs. This fact, correlated with the excellent quality of modern white dwarf cooling models, clearly marks their potential as cosmic clocks for estimating the ages of Galactic stellar populations, as well as place white dwarfs as privileged objects in understanding several actual astrophysical problems. Stellar population synthesis methods (Tinsley, 1968) use theoretical evolutionary sequences to reproduce luminosities, temperatures and other parameters building up to a synthetic population that can be readily compared to an observed sample of stars. Such techniques are perfect for the study of the different white dwarf populations in our Galaxy and their strength has only grown in recent years, fueled both by improved evolutionary sequences and detailed cooling tracks and also by the ever growing samples of white dwarfs identified through modern survey missions. In particular, the work presented in this thesis uses an updated population synthesis code based on previous versions of the code from our group (García-Berro et al., 1999; Torres et al., 2002; García-Berro et al., 2004; Torres et al., 2005; Camacho et al., 2014). Our synthetic population code, based on Monte Carlo statistical techniques, has been extensively used in the study of the disk (García-Berro et al., 1! 999; Torres et al., 2001; Torres & García-Berro, 2016) and halo (Torres et al., 2002; García-Berro et al., 2004) single white-dwarf population, white dwarf plus main sequence stars (Camacho et al., 2014), as well as open clusters such as NGC 6791 (García-Berro et al., 2010; García-Berro et al., 2011) or globular clusters, as 47 Tuc (Garc

Utrecht and Galactic Radio Astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Woerden, H.

Important roles in early Dutch Galactic radio astronomy were played by several Utrecht astronomers: Van de Hulst, Minnaert and Houtgast. The poster announcing the conference contained a number of pictures referring to scientific achievements of the Astronomical Institute Utrecht. One of these

SDSS-IV MaNGA: identification of active galactic nuclei in optical integral field unit surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Wylezalek, Dominika; Zakamska, Nadia L.; Greene, Jenny E.; Riffel, Rogemar A.; Drory, Niv; Andrews, Brett H.; Merloni, Andrea; Thomas, Daniel

2018-02-01

In this paper, we investigate 2727 galaxies observed by MaNGA as of 2016 June to develop spatially resolved techniques for identifying signatures of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We identify 303 AGN candidates. The additional spatial dimension imposes challenges in identifying AGNs due to contamination from diffuse ionized gas, extraplanar gas and photoionization by hot stars. We show that the combination of spatially resolved line diagnostic diagrams and additional cuts on H α surface brightness and H α equivalent width can distinguish between AGN-like signatures and high-metallicity galaxies with low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions-like spectra. Low-mass galaxies with high specific star formation rates are particularly difficult to diagnose and routinely show diagnostic line ratios outside of the standard star formation locus. We develop a new diagnostic - the distance from the standard diagnostic line in the line-ratio space - to evaluate the significance of the deviation from the star formation locus. We find 173 galaxies that would not have been selected as AGN candidates based on single-fibre spectral measurements but exhibit photoionization signatures suggestive of AGN activity in the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO resolved observations, underscoring the power of large integral field unit surveys. A complete census of these new AGN candidates is necessary to understand their nature and probe the complex co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts.

HOST GALAXY PROPERTIES OF THE SWIFT BAT ULTRA HARD X-RAY SELECTED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koss, Michael; Mushotzky, Richard; Veilleux, Sylvain; Winter, Lisa M.; Baumgartner, Wayne; Tueller, Jack; Gehrels, Neil; Valencic, Lynne

2011-01-01

We have assembled the largest sample of ultra hard X-ray selected (14-195 keV) active galactic nucleus (AGN) with host galaxy optical data to date, with 185 nearby (z * >10.5) have a 5-10 times higher rate of spiral morphologies than in SDSS AGNs or inactive galaxies. We also see enhanced far-infrared emission in BAT AGN suggestive of higher levels of star formation compared to the comparison samples. BAT AGNs are preferentially found in the most massive host galaxies with high concentration indexes indicative of large bulge-to-disk ratios and large supermassive black holes. The narrow-line (NL) BAT AGNs have similar intrinsic luminosities as the SDSS NL Seyferts based on measurements of [O III] λ5007. There is also a correlation between the stellar mass and X-ray emission. The BAT AGNs in mergers have bluer colors and greater ultra hard X-ray emission compared to the BAT sample as a whole. In agreement with the unified model of AGNs, and the relatively unbiased nature of the BAT sources, the host galaxy colors and morphologies are independent of measures of obscuration such as X-ray column density or Seyfert type. The high fraction of massive spiral galaxies and galaxy mergers in BAT AGNs suggest that host galaxy morphology is related to the activation and fueling of local AGN.

Observation of Galactic Sources of Very High Energy γ-RAYS with the Magic Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Bartko, H.

The MAGIC telescope with its 17m diameter mirror is today the largest operating single-dish Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT). It is located on the Canary Island La Palma, at an altitude of 2200 m above sea level, as part of the Roque de los Muchachos European Northern Observatory. The MAGIC telescope detects celestial very high energy γ-radiation in the energy band between about 50 GeV and 10 TeV. Since the autumn of 2004 MAGIC has been taking data routinely, observing various objects, like supernova remnants (SNRs), γ-ray binaries, Pulsars, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and Gamma-ray Bursts (GRB). We briefly describe the observational strategy, the procedure implemented for the data analysis, and discuss the results of observations of Galactic Sources.

ORIGIN OF THE GALACTIC DIFFUSE X-RAY EMISSION: IRON K-SHELL LINE DIAGNOSTICS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nobukawa, Masayoshi [Department of Teacher Training and School Education, Nara University of Education, Takabatake-cho, Nara, 630-8528 (Japan); Uchiyama, Hideki [Faculty of Education, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529 (Japan); Nobukawa, Kumiko K.; Koyama, Katsuji [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 (Japan); Yamauchi, Shigeo, E-mail: nobukawa@nara-edu.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Nara Women’s University, Kitauoyanishimachi, Nara, 630-8506 (Japan)

2016-12-20

This paper reports detailed K-shell line profiles of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) of the Galactic Center X-ray Emission (GCXE), Galactic Bulge X-ray Emission (GBXE), Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE), magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (mCVs), non-magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (non-mCVs), and coronally Active Binaries (ABs). For the study of the origin of the GCXE, GBXE, and GRXE, the spectral analysis is focused on equivalent widths of the Fe i-K α , Fe xxv-He α , and Fe xxvi-Ly α  lines. The global spectrum of the GBXE is reproduced by a combination of the mCVs, non-mCVs, and ABs spectra. On the other hand, the GRXE spectrum shows significant data excesses at the Fe i-K α and Fe xxv-He α  line energies. This means that additional components other than mCVs, non-mCVs, and ABs are required, which have symbiotic phenomena of cold gas and very high-temperature plasma. The GCXE spectrum shows larger excesses than those found in the GRXE spectrum at all the K-shell lines of iron and nickel. Among them the largest ones are the Fe i-K α , Fe xxv-He α , Fe xxvi-Ly α , and Fe xxvi-Ly β  lines. Together with the fact that the scale heights of the Fe i-K α , Fe xxv-He α , and Fe xxvi-Ly α lines are similar to that of the central molecular zone (CMZ), the excess components would be related to high-energy activity in the extreme envelopment of the CMZ.

Implications of the IRAS data for galactic gamma-ray astronomy and EGRET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stecker, F.W.

1990-01-01

Using the results of gamma-ray, millimeter wave and far infrared surveys of the galaxy, one can derive a logically consistent picture of the large scale distribution of galactic gas and cosmic rays, one tied to the overall processes of stellar birth and destruction on a galactic scale. Using the results of the IRAS far-infrared survey of the galaxy, the large scale radial distributions of galactic far-infrared emission were obtained independently for both the northern and southern hemisphere sides of the Galaxy. It was found that the dominant feature in these distributions to be a broad peak coincident with the 5 kpc molecular gas cloud ring. Also found was evidence of spiral arm features. Strong correlations are evident between the large scale galactic distributions of far infrared emission, gamma-ray emission and total CO emission. There is a particularly tight correlation between the distribution of warm molecular clouds and far-infrared emission on a galactic scale

Route activity tracking and management using available technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sam Yousef Khoury

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Small organizations that maintain their own fleet and make their own deliveries are responsible for ensuring their drivers are utilizing the most efficient routes while delivering products to their customers. Furthermore, efficient delivery requires that drivers spend as little time as possible dropping off and picking up products, since these activities are referred to as “non-value added activities,” although they are necessary tasks in the order cycle process. To aid in reducing order cycle times, large organizations that can afford it have employed transportation management systems. Unfortunately, small organizations with limited resources are less likely to adopt transportation management systems, despite the need for such automation. One solution is to use available productivity software to track and manage driver route activity in an effort to improve and maintain driver productivity by reducing non-value time and identifying optimal routes. This paper will outline how office productivity software such as Microsoft® Access can meet the needs of small organizations with limited resources by describing the development and use of a route activity database that employs an easy-to-use multi-user interface. This paper also includes the details of the underlying infrastructure and the user interface.

PREFACE: Astronomy at High Angular Resolution 2011: The central kiloparsec in galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Iserlohe, Christof; Karas, Vladimir; Krips, Melanie; Eckart, Andreas; Britzen, Silke; Fischer, Sebastian

2012-07-01

We are pleased to present the proceedings from the Astronomy at High Angular Resolution 2011: The central kiloparsec in galactic nuclei conference. The conference took place in the Physikzentrum of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG), Bad Honnef, Germany, from 28 August to 2 September 2011. It was the second conference of this kind, following the Astronomy at High Angular Resolution conference held in Bad Honnef, three years earlier in 2008. The main objective of the conference was to frame the discussion of the broad range of physical processes that occur in the central 100pc of galactic nuclei. In most cases, this domain is difficult to probe through observations. This is mainly because of the lack of angular resolution, the brightness of the central engine and possible obscurations through dust and gas, which play together in the central regions of host galaxies of galactic nuclei within a broad range of activity. The presence of large amounts of molecular and atomic (both neutral and ionized) gas, dust and central engines with outflows and jets implies that the conditions for star formation in these regions are very special, and probably different from those in the disks of host galaxies. Numerous presentations covering a broad range of topics, both theoretical and experimental, those related to research on Active Galactic Nuclei and on a wide range of observed wavelengths were submitted to the Scientific Organizing Committee. Presentations have been grouped into six sessions: The nuclei of active galaxies The Galactic Center The immediate environment of Super Massive Black Holes The physics of nuclear jets and the interaction of the interstellar medium The central 100pc of the nuclear environment Star formation in that region The editors thank all participants of the AHAR 2011 conference for their enthusiasm and their numerous and vivid contributions to this conference. We would especially like to thank John Hugh Seiradakis from the Aristotle

Dark matter from cosmic defects on galactic scales?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerreiro, N.; Carvalho, J. P. M. de; Avelino, P. P.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

2008-01-01

We discuss the possible dynamical role of extended cosmic defects on galactic scales, specifically focusing on the possibility that they may provide the dark matter suggested by the classical problem of galactic rotation curves. We emphasize that the more standard defects (such as Goto-Nambu strings) are unsuitable for this task but show that more general models (such as transonic wiggly strings) could in principle have a better chance. In any case, we show that observational data severely restricts any such scenarios.

Brown dwarfs as dark galactic halos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, F.C.; Walker, T.P.

1990-01-01

The possibility that the dark matter in galactic halos can consist of brown dwarf stars is considered. The radiative signature for such halos consisting solely of brown dwarfs is calculated, and the allowed range of brown dwarf masses, the initial mass function (IMF), the stellar properties, and the density distribution of the galactic halo are discussed. The prediction emission from the halo is compared with existing observations. It is found that, for any IMF of brown dwarfs below the deuterium burning limit, brown dwarf halos are consistent with observations. Brown dwarf halos cannot, however, explain the recently observed near-IR background. It is shown that future satellite missions will either detect brown dwarf halos or place tight constraints on the allowed range of the IMF. 30 refs

Molecular clouds and galactic spiral structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dame, T.M.

1984-02-01

Galactic CO line emission at 115 GHz was surveyed in order to study the distribution of molecular clouds in the inner galaxy. Comparison of this survey with similar H1 data reveals a detailed correlation with the most intense 21 cm features. To each of the classical 21 cm H1 spiral arms of the inner galaxy there corresponds a CO molecular arm which is generally more clearly defined and of higher contrast. A simple model is devised for the galactic distribution of molecular clouds. The modeling results suggest that molecular clouds are essentially transient objects, existing for 15 to 40 million years after their formation in a spiral arm, and are largely confined to spiral features about 300 pc wide

Fluorescent nuclear track images of Ag-activated phosphate glass irradiated with photons and heavy charged particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurobori, Toshio, E-mail: kurobori@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa 920-1192 (Japan); Yanagida, Yuka [Oarai Research Center, Chiyoda Technol Corporation, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki 311-1313 (Japan); Kodaira, Satoshi [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Shirao, Taichi [Nikon Instech Co., Ltd., Tanakanishi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8221 (Japan)

2017-05-21

In this paper we report about the demonstration of the nuclear track imaging capabilities of Ag-activated phosphate glass. A 375 nm laser and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were respectively used for track excitation and detection. Specifically, the blue and orange radiophotoluminescent (RPL) tracks and dose distributions observed after irradiation with soft X-rays, gamma rays and heavy charged particles (HCPs) are examined. In addition, the origins of the reductions in RPL efficiency for high-dose X-ray irradiation and for irradiation with HCPs with high linear energy transfer (LET) values are investigated via a CLSM and a conventional fluorescent reader and discussed. - Highlights: • 3D track images are demonstrated using a confocal laser microscopy. • Fluorescent track detectors are based on RPL Ag-doped phosphate glass. • The dose distributions are examined for X-ray, gamma ray and HCP irradiations. • The origins of the reduction in RPL efficiency are investigated and discussed.

Fluorescent nuclear track images of Ag-activated phosphate glass irradiated with photons and heavy charged particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurobori, Toshio; Yanagida, Yuka; Kodaira, Satoshi; Shirao, Taichi

2017-01-01

In this paper we report about the demonstration of the nuclear track imaging capabilities of Ag-activated phosphate glass. A 375 nm laser and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were respectively used for track excitation and detection. Specifically, the blue and orange radiophotoluminescent (RPL) tracks and dose distributions observed after irradiation with soft X-rays, gamma rays and heavy charged particles (HCPs) are examined. In addition, the origins of the reductions in RPL efficiency for high-dose X-ray irradiation and for irradiation with HCPs with high linear energy transfer (LET) values are investigated via a CLSM and a conventional fluorescent reader and discussed. - Highlights: • 3D track images are demonstrated using a confocal laser microscopy. • Fluorescent track detectors are based on RPL Ag-doped phosphate glass. • The dose distributions are examined for X-ray, gamma ray and HCP irradiations. • The origins of the reduction in RPL efficiency are investigated and discussed.

Modeling galactic extinction

OpenAIRE

Cecchi-Pestellini, C.; Mulas, G.; Casu, S.; Iatì, M. A.; Saija, R.; Cacciola, A.; Borghese, F.; Denti, P.

2011-01-01

We present a model for interstellar extinction dust, in which we assume a bimodal distribution of extinction carriers, a dispersion of core-mantle grains, supplemented by a collection of PAHs in free molecular form. We use state-of-the-art methods to calculate the extinction due to macroscopic dust particles, and the absorption cross-sections of PAHs in four different charge states. While successfull for most of observed Galactic extinction curves, in few cases the model cannot provide reliab...

Galaxy Evolution in the Radio Band: The Role of Star-forming Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mancuso, C.; Prandoni, I. [INAF-IRA, Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Lapi, A.; Obi, I.; Perrotta, F.; Bressan, A.; Celotti, A.; Danese, L. [SISSA, Via Bonomea 265, I-34136 Trieste (Italy); Gonzalez-Nuevo, J. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Oviedo, C. Calvo Sotelo s/n, E-33007 Oviedo (Spain)

2017-06-20

We investigate the astrophysics of radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and elucidate their statistical properties in the radio band, including luminosity functions, redshift distributions, and number counts at sub-mJy flux levels, which will be crucially probed by next-generation radio continuum surveys. Specifically, we exploit the model-independent approach by Mancuso et al. to compute the star formation rate functions, the AGN duty cycles, and the conditional probability of a star-forming galaxy to host an AGN with given bolometric luminosity. Coupling these ingredients with the radio emission properties associated with star formation and nuclear activity, we compute relevant statistics at different radio frequencies and disentangle the relative contribution of star-forming galaxies and AGNs in different radio luminosity, radio flux, and redshift ranges. Finally, we highlight that radio-emitting star-forming galaxies and AGNs are expected to host supermassive black holes accreting with different Eddington ratio distributions and to occupy different loci in the galaxy main-sequence diagrams. These specific predictions are consistent with current data sets but need to be tested with larger statistics via future radio data with multiband coverage on wide areas, as will become routinely achievable with the advent of the Square Kilometre Array and its precursors.

Active Galactic Nucleus Obscuration from Winds: From Dusty Infrared-Driven to Warm and X-Ray Photoionized

Science.gov (United States)

Dorodnitsyn, Anton V.; Kallman, Timothy R.

2012-01-01

We present calculations of active galactic nucleus winds at approx.parsec scales along with the associated obscuration. We take into account the pressure of infrared radiation on dust grains and the interaction of X-rays from a central black hole with hot and cold plasma. Infrared radiation (IR) is incorporated in radiation-hydrodynamic simulations adopting the flux-limited diffusion approximation. We find that in the range of X-ray luminosities L = 0.05-0.6 L(sub Edd), the Compton-thick part of the flow (aka torus) has an opening angle of approximately 72deg - 75deg regardless of the luminosity. At L > or approx. 0.1, the outflowing dusty wind provides the obscuration with IR pressure playing a major role. The global flow consists of two phases: the cold flow at inclinations (theta) > or approx.70deg and a hot, ionized wind of lower density at lower inclinations. The dynamical pressure of the hot wind is important in shaping the denser IR-supported flow. At luminosities < or = 0.1 L(sub Edd) episodes of outflow are followed by extended periods when the wind switches to slow accretion. Key words: acceleration of particles . galaxies: active . hydrodynamics . methods: numerical Online-only material: color figures

A Green Bank Telescope Survey of Large Galactic H II Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L. D.; Armentrout, W. P.; Luisi, Matteo; Bania, T. M.; Balser, Dana S.; Wenger, Trey V.

2018-02-01

As part of our ongoing H II Region Discovery Survey (HRDS), we report the Green Bank Telescope detection of 148 new angularly large Galactic H II regions in radio recombination line (RRL) emission. Our targets are located at a declination of δ > -45^\\circ , which corresponds to 266^\\circ > {\\ell }> -20^\\circ at b=0^\\circ . All sources were selected from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Catalog of Galactic H II Regions, and have infrared angular diameters ≥slant 260\\prime\\prime . The Galactic distribution of these “large” H II regions is similar to that of the previously known sample of Galactic H II regions. The large H II region RRL line width and peak line intensity distributions are skewed toward lower values, compared with that of previous HRDS surveys. We discover seven sources with extremely narrow RRLs 100 {pc}, making them some of the physically largest known H II regions in the Galaxy. This survey completes the HRDS H II region census in the Northern sky, where we have discovered 887 H II regions and more than doubled the size of the previously known census of Galactic H II regions.

THE GALACTIC POTENTIAL AND THE ASYMMETRIC DISTRIBUTION OF HYPERVELOCITY STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perets, Hagai B.; Alexander, Tal; Wu Xufen; Zhao Hongsheng; Famaey, Benoit; Gentile, Gianfranco

2009-01-01

In recent years several hypervelocity stars (HVSs) have been observed in the halo of our Galaxy. Such HVSs have possibly been ejected from the Galactic center and then propagated in the Galactic potential up to their current position. The recent survey for candidate HVSs show an asymmetry in the kinematics of candidate HVSs (position and velocity vectors), where more outgoing stars than ingoing stars (i.e., positive Galactocentric velocities versus negative ones) are observed. We show that such kinematic asymmetry, which is likely due to the finite lifetime of the stars and Galactic potential structure, could be used in a novel method to probe and constrain the Galactic potential, identify the stellar type of the stars in the survey and estimate the number of HVSs. Kinematics-independent identification of the stellar types of the stars in such surveys (e.g., spectroscopic identification) could further improve these results. We find that the observed asymmetry between ingoing and outgoing stars favors specific Galactic potential models. It also implies a lower limit of ∼54 ± 8 main-sequence HVSs in the survey sample (∼>648 ± 96 in the Galaxy), assuming that all of the MS stars in the survey originate from the GC. The other stars in the survey are likely to be hot blue horizontal branch stars born in the halo rather than stars ejected from the GC.

The Large-scale Effect of Environment on Galactic Conformity

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shuangpeng; Guo, Qi; Wang, Lan; Wang, Jie; Gao, Liang; Lacey, Cedric G.; Pan, Jun

2018-04-01

We use a volume-limited galaxy sample from the SDSS Data Release 7 to explore the dependence of galactic conformity on the large-scale environment, measured on ˜ 4 Mpc scales. We find that the star formation activity of neighbour galaxies depends more strongly on the environment than on the activity of their primary galaxies. In under-dense regions most neighbour galaxies tend to be active, while in over-dense regions neighbour galaxies are mostly passive, regardless of the activity of their primary galaxies. At a given stellar mass, passive primary galaxies reside in higher density regions than active primary galaxies, leading to the apparently strong conformity signal. The dependence of the activity of neighbour galaxies on environment can be explained by the corresponding dependence of the fraction of satellite galaxies. Similar results are found for galaxies in a semi-analytical model, suggesting that no new physics is required to explain the observed large-scale conformity.

Simulation of the annihilation emission of galactic positrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillard, W.

2008-01-01

Positrons annihilate in the central region of our Galaxy. This has been known since the detection of a strong emission line centered on an energy of 511 keV in the direction of the Galactic center. This gamma-ray line is emitted during the annihilation of positrons with electrons from the interstellar medium. The spectrometer SPI, onboard the INTEGRAL observatory, performed spatial and spectral analyses of the positron annihilation emission. This thesis presents a study of the Galactic positron annihilation emission based on models of the different interactions undergone by positrons in the interstellar medium. The models are relied on our present knowledge of the properties of the interstellar medium in the Galactic bulge, where most of the positrons annihilate, and of the physics of positrons (production, propagation and annihilation processes). In order to obtain constraints on the positrons sources and physical characteristics of the annihilation medium, we compared the results of the models to measurements provided by the SPI spectrometer. (author)

Extreme-Scale Alignments Of Quasar Optical Polarizations And Galactic Dust Contamination

Science.gov (United States)

Pelgrims, Vincent

2017-10-01

Almost twenty years ago the optical polarization vectors from quasars were shown to be aligned over extreme-scales. That evidence was later confirmed and enhanced thanks to additional optical data obtained with the ESO instrument FORS2 mounted on the VLT, in Chile. These observations suggest either Galactic foreground contamination of the data or, more interestingly, a cosmological origin. Using 353-GHz polarization data from the Planck satellite, I recently showed that the main features of the extreme-scale alignments of the quasar optical polarization vectors are unaffected by the Galactic thermal dust. This confirms previous studies based on optical starlight polarization and discards the scenario of Galactic contamination. In this talk, I shall briefly review the extreme-scale quasar polarization alignments, discuss the main results submitted in A&A and motivate forthcoming projects at the frontier between Galactic and extragalactic astrop hysics.

MEASURING X-RAY VARIABILITY IN FAINT/SPARSELY SAMPLED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allevato, V. [Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Haellstroemin katu 2a, FI-00014 Helsinki (Finland); Paolillo, M. [Department of Physical Sciences, University Federico II, via Cinthia 6, I-80126 Naples (Italy); Papadakis, I. [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion (Greece); Pinto, C. [SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584-CA Utrecht (Netherlands)

2013-07-01

We study the statistical properties of the normalized excess variance of variability process characterized by a ''red-noise'' power spectral density (PSD), as in the case of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We perform Monte Carlo simulations of light curves, assuming both a continuous and a sparse sampling pattern and various signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns). We show that the normalized excess variance is a biased estimate of the variance even in the case of continuously sampled light curves. The bias depends on the PSD slope and on the sampling pattern, but not on the S/N. We provide a simple formula to account for the bias, which yields unbiased estimates with an accuracy better than 15%. We show that the normalized excess variance estimates based on single light curves (especially for sparse sampling and S/N < 3) are highly uncertain (even if corrected for bias) and we propose instead the use of an ''ensemble estimate'', based on multiple light curves of the same object, or on the use of light curves of many objects. These estimates have symmetric distributions, known errors, and can also be corrected for biases. We use our results to estimate the ability to measure the intrinsic source variability in current data, and show that they could also be useful in the planning of the observing strategy of future surveys such as those provided by X-ray missions studying distant and/or faint AGN populations and, more in general, in the estimation of the variability amplitude of sources that will result from future surveys such as Pan-STARRS and LSST.

Spatially Resolved Imaging and Spectroscopy of Candidate Dual Active Galactic Nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

McGurk, R. C.; Max, C. E.; Medling, A. M.; Shields, G. A.; Comerford, J. M.

2015-09-01

When galaxies merge, both central supermassive black holes are immersed in a dense and chaotic environment. If there is sufficient gas in the nuclear regions, one expects to see close pairs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or dual AGNs, in a fraction of galaxy mergers. However, finding them remains a challenge. The presence of double-peaked [O iii] emission lines has been proposed as a technique to select dual AGNs efficiently. We studied a sample of double-peaked narrow [O iii] emitting AGNs from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7. By obtaining new and archival high spatial resolution images taken with the Keck II Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system and the near-infrared camera NIRC2, we show that 30% of 140 double-peaked [O iii] emission line SDSS AGNs have two spatial components within a 3″ radius. However, spatially resolved spectroscopy or X-ray observations are needed to confirm these galaxy pairs as systems containing two AGNs. We followed up three spatially double candidate dual AGNs with integral field spectroscopy from Keck OSIRIS and 10 candidates with long-slit spectroscopy from the Shane Kast Double Spectrograph at Lick Observatory. We find that the double-peaked emission lines in our sample of 12 candidates are caused by: one dual AGN (SDSS J114642.47+511029.6), one confirmed outflow and four likely outflows, two pairs of star-forming galaxies, one candidate indeterminate due to sky line interference, and three AGNs with spatially coincident double [O iii] peaks, likely due to unresolved complex narrow line kinematics, outflows, binary AGN, or small-scale jets.

SPATIALLY RESOLVED IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY OF CANDIDATE DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGurk, R. C.; Max, C. E. [Astronomy Department and UCO-Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Medling, A. M. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 (Australia); Shields, G. A. [Laguna Falls Institute for Astrophysics, Austin, TX 78746 (United States); Comerford, J. M., E-mail: rosalie.mcgurk@gmail.com, E-mail: max@ucolick.org, E-mail: anne.medling@anu.edu.au, E-mail: shields@lfastro.org, E-mail: julie.comerford@colorado.edu [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

2015-09-20

When galaxies merge, both central supermassive black holes are immersed in a dense and chaotic environment. If there is sufficient gas in the nuclear regions, one expects to see close pairs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or dual AGNs, in a fraction of galaxy mergers. However, finding them remains a challenge. The presence of double-peaked [O iii] emission lines has been proposed as a technique to select dual AGNs efficiently. We studied a sample of double-peaked narrow [O iii] emitting AGNs from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7. By obtaining new and archival high spatial resolution images taken with the Keck II Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system and the near-infrared camera NIRC2, we show that 30% of 140 double-peaked [O iii] emission line SDSS AGNs have two spatial components within a 3″ radius. However, spatially resolved spectroscopy or X-ray observations are needed to confirm these galaxy pairs as systems containing two AGNs. We followed up three spatially double candidate dual AGNs with integral field spectroscopy from Keck OSIRIS and 10 candidates with long-slit spectroscopy from the Shane Kast Double Spectrograph at Lick Observatory. We find that the double-peaked emission lines in our sample of 12 candidates are caused by: one dual AGN (SDSS J114642.47+511029.6), one confirmed outflow and four likely outflows, two pairs of star-forming galaxies, one candidate indeterminate due to sky line interference, and three AGNs with spatially coincident double [O iii] peaks, likely due to unresolved complex narrow line kinematics, outflows, binary AGN, or small-scale jets.

SPATIALLY RESOLVED IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY OF CANDIDATE DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGurk, R. C.; Max, C. E.; Medling, A. M.; Shields, G. A.; Comerford, J. M.

2015-01-01

When galaxies merge, both central supermassive black holes are immersed in a dense and chaotic environment. If there is sufficient gas in the nuclear regions, one expects to see close pairs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or dual AGNs, in a fraction of galaxy mergers. However, finding them remains a challenge. The presence of double-peaked [O iii] emission lines has been proposed as a technique to select dual AGNs efficiently. We studied a sample of double-peaked narrow [O iii] emitting AGNs from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7. By obtaining new and archival high spatial resolution images taken with the Keck II Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system and the near-infrared camera NIRC2, we show that 30% of 140 double-peaked [O iii] emission line SDSS AGNs have two spatial components within a 3″ radius. However, spatially resolved spectroscopy or X-ray observations are needed to confirm these galaxy pairs as systems containing two AGNs. We followed up three spatially double candidate dual AGNs with integral field spectroscopy from Keck OSIRIS and 10 candidates with long-slit spectroscopy from the Shane Kast Double Spectrograph at Lick Observatory. We find that the double-peaked emission lines in our sample of 12 candidates are caused by: one dual AGN (SDSS J114642.47+511029.6), one confirmed outflow and four likely outflows, two pairs of star-forming galaxies, one candidate indeterminate due to sky line interference, and three AGNs with spatially coincident double [O iii] peaks, likely due to unresolved complex narrow line kinematics, outflows, binary AGN, or small-scale jets

THE EVOLUTION OF GAS CLOUDS FALLING IN THE MAGNETIZED GALACTIC HALO: HIGH-VELOCITY CLOUDS (HVCs) ORIGINATED IN THE GALACTIC FOUNTAIN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwak, Kyujin; Shelton, Robin L.; Raley, Elizabeth A.

2009-01-01

In the Galactic fountain scenario, supernovae and/or stellar winds propel material into the Galactic halo. As the material cools, it condenses into clouds. By using FLASH three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we model and study the dynamical evolution of these gas clouds after they form and begin to fall toward the Galactic plane. In our simulations, we assume that the gas clouds form at a height of z = 5 kpc above the Galactic midplane, then begin to fall from rest. We investigate how the cloud's evolution, dynamics, and interaction with the interstellar medium (ISM) are affected by the initial mass of the cloud. We find that clouds with sufficiently large initial densities (n ≥ 0.1 H atoms cm -3 ) accelerate sufficiently and maintain sufficiently large column densities as to be observed and identified as high-velocity clouds (HVCs) even if the ISM is weakly magnetized (1.3 μG). However, the ISM can provide noticeable resistance to the motion of a low-density cloud (n ≤ 0.01 H atoms cm -3 ) thus making it more probable that a low-density cloud will attain the speed of an intermediate-velocity cloud rather than the speed of an HVC. We also investigate the effects of various possible magnetic field configurations. As expected, the ISM's resistance is greatest when the magnetic field is strong and perpendicular to the motion of the cloud. The trajectory of the cloud is guided by the magnetic field lines in cases where the magnetic field is oriented diagonal to the Galactic plane. The model cloud simulations show that the interactions between the cloud and the ISM can be understood via analogy to the shock tube problem which involves shock and rarefaction waves. We also discuss accelerated ambient gas, streamers of material ablated from the clouds, and the cloud's evolution from a sphere-shaped to a disk- or cigar-shaped object.

The Galactic fountain as an origin for the Smith Cloud

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marasco, A.; Fraternali, F.

The recent discovery of an enriched metallicity for the Smith high-velocity H I Cloud (SC) lends support to a Galactic origin for this system. We use a dynamical model of the galactic fountain to reproduce the observed properties of the SC. In our model, fountain clouds are ejected from the region

First detection of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the galactic bulge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calamida, A.; Sahu, K. C.; Anderson, J.; Casertano, S.; Brown, T.; Sokol, J.; Bond, H. E.; Ferguson, H.; Livio, M.; Valenti, J. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Cassisi, S.; Buonanno, R.; Pietrinferni, A. [Osservatorio Astronomico di Teramo—INAF, Via M. Maggini, I-64100 Teramo (Italy); Salaris, M. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Ferraro, I. [Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma—INAF, Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Italy); Clarkson, W., E-mail: calamida@stsci.edu [University of Michigan-Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128 (United States)

2014-08-01

We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (∼3'× 3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ≈0.1 mas yr{sup –1} (≈4 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 25.5 mag, and better than ≈0.5 mas yr{sup –1} (≈20 km s{sup –1}) at F606W ≈ 28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (≈30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P ≲ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.

First detection of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the galactic bulge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calamida, A.; Sahu, K. C.; Anderson, J.; Casertano, S.; Brown, T.; Sokol, J.; Bond, H. E.; Ferguson, H.; Livio, M.; Valenti, J.; Cassisi, S.; Buonanno, R.; Pietrinferni, A.; Salaris, M.; Ferraro, I.; Clarkson, W.

2014-01-01

We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (∼3'× 3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ≈0.1 mas yr –1 (≈4 km s –1 ) at F606W ≈ 25.5 mag, and better than ≈0.5 mas yr –1 (≈20 km s –1 ) at F606W ≈ 28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (≈30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P ≲ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.

Kinematics of HI near the galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, R.P.

1979-01-01

The results of a survey of 21-cm line emission in the Milky Way Galaxy from 338. 0 5 through 360 0 to 11 0 longitude and from -2 0 to +2 0 latitude are presented. The latitude coverage is complete over this range for a given longitude. Points are observed at an interval of 15 arcmin (0.7 beamwidth). The longitude coverage is complete between 1 = 357 0 and 1 = 3 0 . Outside this range points have been observed at intervals of 0. 0 5 in longitude. The symmetry properties of the distribution of HI in the region around the galactic center have been explored. Inside a radius of 1 kpc the HI appears to be distributed in the shape of an elongated non-circular slowly rotating disk which is inclined to the galactic equator. This disk is separate from the general galactic disk of HI. In the central disk the density of HI decreases steeply as the distance from the center increases. The density of HI in the annular space between the central disk and the general galactic disk is very low. The velocity dispersion of the HI distribution in the central elongated disk is of the order of 100 km/s. The isovelocity contours on the longitude-latitude plane of the HI associated with this elongated central disk have the characteristic shape such that the angle between the minor axis and the zero-Doppler velocity contour is different than zero. Such a phenomenon has been observed in the central regions of elliptical galaxies and has been attributed to the triaxial nature of the mass distribution

THE MERGER-TRIGGERED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXY POPULATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, A. R.; Ballantyne, D. R.

2012-01-01

It has long been thought that there is a connection between ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), quasars, and major mergers. Indeed, simulations show that major mergers are capable of triggering massive starbursts and quasars. However, observations by the Herschel Space Observatory suggest that, at least at high redshift, there may not always be a simple causal connection between ULIRGs and mergers. Here, we combine an evolving merger-triggered active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity function with a merger-triggered starburst model to calculate the maximum contribution of major mergers to the ULIRG population. We find that major mergers can account for the entire local population of ULIRGs hosting AGNs and ∼25% of the total local ULIRG luminosity density. By z ∼ 1, major mergers can no longer account for the luminosity density of ULIRGs hosting AGNs and contribute ∼<12% of the total ULIRG luminosity density. This drop is likely due to high-redshift galaxies being more gas rich and therefore able to achieve high star formation rates through secular evolution. Additionally, we find that major mergers can account for the local population of warm ULIRGs. This suggests that selecting high-redshift warm ULIRGs will allow for the identification of high-redshift merger-triggered ULIRGs. As major mergers are likely to trigger very highly obscured AGNs, a significant fraction of the high-redshift warm ULIRG population may host Compton thick AGNs.

Active galactic nuclei

CERN Document Server

Beckmann, Volker

2012-01-01

This AGN textbook includes phenomena based on new results in the X-Ray domain from new telescopes such as Chandra and XMM Newton not mentioned in any other book. Furthermore, it considers also the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope with its revolutionary advances of unprecedented sensitivity, field of view and all-sky monitoring. Those and other new developments as well as simulations of AGN merging events and formations, enabled through latest super-computing capabilities. The book gives an overview on the current knowledge of the Active Galacitc Nuclei phenomenon. The spectral energy d

Positrons annihilation and the Galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallyn, Pierre

1992-01-01

The Galactic center has been observed in gamma rays, many times since more than two decades and we do not still have a full comprehensive picture of this region. It is fairly well established that the 511 keV annihilation line has two origins: a steady diffuse emission, which follows more or less the type I supernovae distribution along the Galactic plane and a variable emission coming from the positrons emitted by (at least) one compact object and annihilating in a nearby cold molecular cloud. We present here an analysis of the profiles and intensifies of the 511 keV annihilation line observed in the direction of the Galactic center. We find that a warm medium (temperature of 8000 K) can describe the annihilation of positrons from the diffuse component of the line. The high state observations of the 511 keV line can be explained if the time-variable component is coming from the annihilation of the positrons in a cold medium (temperature around 80 K). This constraint on the annihilation medium temperature supports the association with the molecular cloud G-0.86-0.08 in the direction of 1E1740.7-2942. On may 22, 1989, HEXAGONE detected a narrow 511 keV line and also a broad emission around 170 keV in the direction of the Galactic center. Two weeks before, EXITE observed in the same direction a new transient source EXS 1737.9-2952 which showed a bump around 102 keV. We propose a simple semi-quantitative model which can mimic the bumps as well as its time variations and emphasize the strong similarities between EXS1737.9-2952 and Nova Muscae. We study the behaviour of positron annihilation by charge exchange in the cold phase of the interstellar medium. We calculate formula for the slowing-down time before thermalization of positrons of a given initial energy, for different medium densities. Our scenario explains the lack of detection of the recombination lines from positronium and gives new constraints on their possible observation. (author) [fr

The H.E.S.S. Galactic plane survey

Science.gov (United States)

H. E. S. S. Collaboration; Abdalla, H.; Abramowski, A.; Aharonian, F.; Benkhali, F. Ait; Angüner, E. O.; Arakawa, M.; Arrieta, M.; Aubert, P.; Backes, M.; Balzer, A.; Barnard, M.; Becherini, Y.; Tjus, J. Becker; Berge, D.; Bernhard, S.; Bernlöhr, K.; Blackwell, R.; Böttcher, M.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bordas, P.; Bregeon, J.; Brun, F.; Brun, P.; Bryan, M.; Büchele, M.; Bulik, T.; Capasso, M.; Carrigan, S.; Caroff, S.; Carosi, A.; Casanova, S.; Cerruti, M.; Chakraborty, N.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chen, A.; Chevalier, J.; Colafrancesco, S.; Condon, B.; Conrad, J.; Davids, I. D.; Decock, J.; Deil, C.; Devin, J.; deWilt, P.; Dirson, L.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W.; Donath, A.; Drury, L. O.'C.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Edwards, T.; Egberts, K.; Eger, P.; Emery, G.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Eschbach, S.; Farnier, C.; Fegan, S.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, A.; Funk, S.; Füßling, M.; Gabici, S.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Gast, H.; Gaté, F.; Giavitto, G.; Giebels, B.; Glawion, D.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Gottschall, D.; Grondin, M.-H.; Hahn, J.; Haupt, M.; Hawkes, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Hoischen, C.; Holch, T. L.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Ivascenko, A.; Iwasaki, H.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jamrozy, M.; Jankowsky, D.; Jankowsky, F.; Jingo, M.; Jouvin, L.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Katsuragawa, M.; Katz, U.; Kerszberg, D.; Khangulyan, D.; Khélifi, B.; King, J.; Klepser, S.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Krakau, S.; Kraus, M.; Krüger, P. P.; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lau, J.; Lees, J.-P.; Lefaucheur, J.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J.-P.; Leser, E.; Lohse, T.; Lorentz, M.; Liu, R.; López-Coto, R.; Lypova, I.; Marandon, V.; Malyshev, D.; Marcowith, A.; Mariaud, C.; Marx, R.; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; Meintjes, P. J.; Meyer, M.; Mitchell, A. M. W.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Mohrmann, L.; Morå, K.; Moulin, E.; Murach, T.; Nakashima, S.; de Naurois, M.; Ndiyavala, H.; Niederwanger, F.; Niemiec, J.; Oakes, L.; O'Brien, P.; Odaka, H.; Ohm, S.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Padovani, M.; Panter, M.; Parsons, R. D.; Paz Arribas, M.; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Perennes, C.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Peyaud, B.; Piel, Q.; Pita, S.; Poireau, V.; Poon, H.; Prokhorov, D.; Prokoph, H.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raab, S.; Rauth, R.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; de los Reyes, R.; Rieger, F.; Rinchiuso, L.; Romoli, C.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Safi-Harb, S.; Sahakian, V.; Saito, S.; Sanchez, D. A.; Santangelo, A.; Sasaki, M.; Schandri, M.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schüssler, F.; Schulz, A.; Schwanke, U.; Schwemmer, S.; Seglar-Arroyo, M.; Settimo, M.; Seyffert, A. S.; Shafi, N.; Shilon, I.; Shiningayamwe, K.; Simoni, R.; Sol, H.; Spanier, F.; Spir-Jacob, M.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Steppa, C.; Sushch, I.; Takahashi, T.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Tavernier, T.; Taylor, A. M.; Terrier, R.; Tibaldo, L.; Tiziani, D.; Tluczykont, M.; Trichard, C.; Tsirou, M.; Tsuji, N.; Tuffs, R.; Uchiyama, Y.; van der Walt, D. J.; van Eldik, C.; van Rensburg, C.; van Soelen, B.; Vasileiadis, G.; Veh, J.; Venter, C.; Viana, A.; Vincent, P.; Vink, J.; Voisin, F.; Völk, H. J.; Vuillaume, T.; Wadiasingh, Z.; Wagner, S. J.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, R. M.; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Willmann, P.; Wörnlein, A.; Wouters, D.; Yang, R.; Zaborov, D.; Zacharias, M.; Zanin, R.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zefi, F.; Ziegler, A.; Zorn, J.; Żywucka, N.

2018-04-01

We present the results of the most comprehensive survey of the Galactic plane in very high-energy (VHE) γ-rays, including a public release of Galactic sky maps, a catalog of VHE sources, and the discovery of 16 new sources of VHE γ-rays. The High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) Galactic plane survey (HGPS) was a decade-long observation program carried out by the H.E.S.S. I array of Cherenkov telescopes in Namibia from 2004 to 2013. The observations amount to nearly 2700 h of quality-selected data, covering the Galactic plane at longitudes from ℓ = 250° to 65° and latitudes |b|≤ 3°. In addition to the unprecedented spatial coverage, the HGPS also features a relatively high angular resolution (0.08° ≈ 5 arcmin mean point spread function 68% containment radius), sensitivity (≲1.5% Crab flux for point-like sources), and energy range (0.2-100 TeV). We constructed a catalog of VHE γ-ray sources from the HGPS data set with a systematic procedure for both source detection and characterization of morphology and spectrum. We present this likelihood-based method in detail, including the introduction of a model component to account for unresolved, large-scale emission along the Galactic plane. In total, the resulting HGPS catalog contains 78 VHE sources, of which 14 are not reanalyzed here, for example, due to their complex morphology, namely shell-like sources and the Galactic center region. Where possible, we provide a firm identification of the VHE source or plausible associations with sources in other astronomical catalogs. We also studied the characteristics of the VHE sources with source parameter distributions. 16 new sources were previously unknown or unpublished, and we individually discuss their identifications or possible associations. We firmly identified 31 sources as pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), supernova remnants (SNRs), composite SNRs, or gamma-ray binaries. Among the 47 sources not yet identified, most of them (36) have possible

Neutrino fluxes from the Galactic plane and the ANTARES limit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fusco Luigi Antonio

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The existence of cosmic neutrinos has been reported by the IceCube Collaboration. Though this measurement is consistent with an isotropic neutrino flux, a sub-dominant galactic component coming from extended regions such as the Galactic Plane cannot be excluded. The ANTARES detector, located in the Mediterranean Sea, is currently the largest and longest operated under-water neutrino telescope; its effective area and good exposure to the Southern Sky allow to constrain an enhanced muon neutrino emission from extended sources such as the Galactic Plane. ANTARES data from 2007 to 2013 have been analysed and upper limits on the neutrino production from the central region of our galaxy have been set.

Self-Motion Impairs Multiple-Object Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Laura E.; Seiffert, Adriane E.

2010-01-01

Investigations of multiple-object tracking aim to further our understanding of how people perform common activities such as driving in traffic. However, tracking tasks in the laboratory have overlooked a crucial component of much real-world object tracking: self-motion. We investigated the hypothesis that keeping track of one's own movement…

The Galactic O-Star Catalog (GOSC) and the Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey (GOSSS): current status

Science.gov (United States)

Maíz Apellániz, J.; Alonso Moragón, A.; Ortiz de Zárate Alcarazo, L.; The Gosss Team

2017-03-01

We present the updates of the Galactic O-Star Catalog (GOSC) that we have undertaken in the last two years: new spectral types, more objects, additional information, and coordination with CDS. We also present updates for the Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey (GOSSS). A new paper (GOSSS-III) has been published and ˜ 1000 targets have been observed since 2014. Four new setups have been added to our lineup and for two of them we have already obtained over 100 spectra: with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m GTC we are observing northern dim stars and with FRODOspec at the 2.0 m Liverpool Telescope we are observing northern bright stars. Finally, we also make available new versions of MGB, the spectral classification tool associated with the project, and of the GOSSS grid of spectroscopic standards.

Alpha activity of 190 Pt isotope measured with CR-39 track detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavares, O.A.P.; Terranova, M.L.

1996-11-01

A new method to measure alpha activity of long-lived radioisotopes is reported. The method consists basically in using CR-39 track detectors in close contact with thick samples of the radioelement to be investigated. Accordingly, a long-term exposure experiment has been performed using metallic sheets of natural platinum to measure alpha activity of platinum 190 isotope. The half-life of platinum 190 has been obtained in good agreement with two recent theoretical half-life predictions. (author). 21 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

Galactic signatures of decaying dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter

2009-05-01

If dark matter decays into electrons and positrons, it can affect Galactic radio emissions and the local cosmic ray fluxes. We propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter. The constraints can be obtained for any decaying dark matter model by convolving the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive this response function from full-sky radio surveys at 408 MHz, 1.42 GHz and 23 GHz, as well as from the positron flux recently reported by PAMELA. We discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as from propagation and from the profiles of the dark matter and the Galactic magnetic field. As an application, we find that some widely used dark matter decay scenarios can be ruled out under modest assumptions. (orig.)

Galactic signatures of decaying dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). II. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Redondo, Javier [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2009-05-15

If dark matter decays into electrons and positrons, it can affect Galactic radio emissions and the local cosmic ray fluxes. We propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter. The constraints can be obtained for any decaying dark matter model by convolving the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive this response function from full-sky radio surveys at 408 MHz, 1.42 GHz and 23 GHz, as well as from the positron flux recently reported by PAMELA. We discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as from propagation and from the profiles of the dark matter and the Galactic magnetic field. As an application, we find that some widely used dark matter decay scenarios can be ruled out under modest assumptions. (orig.)

The ultraviolet galactic background from TD-1 satellite observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgan, D.H.; Nandy, K.; Thompson, G.I.

1976-01-01

The background data from the S2/68 ultraviolet telescope on the TD-I satellite have been analysed. Using statistical tests those data contaminated by noise due to charged particles in the atmosphere have been discarded, and the remainder have been arranged to form ultraviolet profiles of the Galaxy. These profiles have been constructed at 2740 and 2350 A. The zodiacal light components of the total radiation field have been separated from the galactic components to give the intensity of the zodiacal light at elongation 90 0 as function of ecliptic latitude. The spectrum of the zodiacal light in the near ultraviolet is found to be redder than that of the Sun. The intensity of the diffuse galactic light as a function of galactic latitude has been obtained by subtraction of the zodiacal light and contributions due to faint stars calculated using an axi-symmetric model of the Galaxy. On comparison with predictions of the diffuse galactic light from a radiative transfer model it is found that the ratio of the albedos at 2350 and 2740 A is relatively insensitive to the model used, and is 0.73 +- 0.1. The albedo at 2740 A is found to be 0.65 +- 0.1 when g is assumed to be 0.75. (author)

Anti-hierarchical evolution of the active galactic nucleus space density in a hierarchical universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enoki, Motohiro; Ishiyama, Tomoaki; Kobayashi, Masakazu A. R.; Nagashima, Masahiro

2014-01-01

Recent observations show that the space density of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) peaks at higher redshifts than that of faint AGNs. This downsizing trend in the AGN evolution seems to be contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario. In this study, we present the AGN space density evolution predicted by a semi-analytic model of galaxy and AGN formation based on the hierarchical structure formation scenario. We demonstrate that our model can reproduce the downsizing trend of the AGN space density evolution. The reason for the downsizing trend in our model is a combination of the cold gas depletion as a consequence of star formation, the gas cooling suppression in massive halos, and the AGN lifetime scaling with the dynamical timescale. We assume that a major merger of galaxies causes a starburst, spheroid formation, and cold gas accretion onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We also assume that this cold gas accretion triggers AGN activity. Since the cold gas is mainly depleted by star formation and gas cooling is suppressed in massive dark halos, the amount of cold gas accreted onto SMBHs decreases with cosmic time. Moreover, AGN lifetime increases with cosmic time. Thus, at low redshifts, major mergers do not always lead to luminous AGNs. Because the luminosity of AGNs is correlated with the mass of accreted gas onto SMBHs, the space density of luminous AGNs decreases more quickly than that of faint AGNs. We conclude that the anti-hierarchical evolution of the AGN space density is not contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario.

Anti-hierarchical evolution of the active galactic nucleus space density in a hierarchical universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enoki, Motohiro [Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo Keizai University, Kokubunji, Tokyo 185-8502 (Japan); Ishiyama, Tomoaki [Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 (Japan); Kobayashi, Masakazu A. R. [Research Center for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577 (Japan); Nagashima, Masahiro, E-mail: enokimt@tku.ac.jp [Faculty of Education, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8521 (Japan)

2014-10-10

Recent observations show that the space density of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) peaks at higher redshifts than that of faint AGNs. This downsizing trend in the AGN evolution seems to be contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario. In this study, we present the AGN space density evolution predicted by a semi-analytic model of galaxy and AGN formation based on the hierarchical structure formation scenario. We demonstrate that our model can reproduce the downsizing trend of the AGN space density evolution. The reason for the downsizing trend in our model is a combination of the cold gas depletion as a consequence of star formation, the gas cooling suppression in massive halos, and the AGN lifetime scaling with the dynamical timescale. We assume that a major merger of galaxies causes a starburst, spheroid formation, and cold gas accretion onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We also assume that this cold gas accretion triggers AGN activity. Since the cold gas is mainly depleted by star formation and gas cooling is suppressed in massive dark halos, the amount of cold gas accreted onto SMBHs decreases with cosmic time. Moreover, AGN lifetime increases with cosmic time. Thus, at low redshifts, major mergers do not always lead to luminous AGNs. Because the luminosity of AGNs is correlated with the mass of accreted gas onto SMBHs, the space density of luminous AGNs decreases more quickly than that of faint AGNs. We conclude that the anti-hierarchical evolution of the AGN space density is not contradictory to the hierarchical structure formation scenario.

Some observational aspects of compact galactic X-ray sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heise, J.

1982-01-01

This thesis contains the following observations of compact galactic X-ray sources: i) the X-ray experiments onboard the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite ANS, ii) a rocket-borne ultra soft X-ray experiment and iii) the Objective Grating Spectrometer onboard the EINSTEIN observatory. In Chapter I the various types of compact galactic X-ray sources are reviewed and put into the perspective of earlier and following observations. In Chapter II the author presents some of the observations of high luminosity X-ray sources, made with ANS, including the detection of soft X-rays from the compact X-ray binary Hercules X-1 and the ''return to the high state'' of the black hole candidate Cygnus X-1. Chapter III deals with transient X-ray phenomena. Results on low luminosity galactic X-ray sources are collected in Chapter IV. (Auth.)

Hi-GAL: The Herschel Infrared Galactic Plane Survey

OpenAIRE

Molinari, S.; Swinyard, B.; Bally, J.; Barlow, M.; Bernard, J.-P.; Martin, P.; Moore, T.; Noriega-Crespo, A.; Plume, R.; Testi, L.; Zavagno, A.; Abergel, A.; Ali, B.; André, P.; Baluteau, J.-P.

2010-01-01

Hi-GAL, the Herschel infrared Galactic Plane Survey, is an Open Time Key Project of the Herschel Space Observatory. It will make an unbiased photometric survey of the inner Galactic plane by mapping a 2° wide strip in the longitude range ∣l∣ < 60° in five wavebands between 70 μm and 500 μm. The aim of Hi-GAL is to detect the earliest phases of the formation of molecular clouds and high-mass stars and to use the optimum combination of Herschel wavelength coverage, sensitivity, mapping strategy...

TRACING MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK IN THE CORE OF ABELL 262

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, T. E.; Kassim, N. E.; Blanton, E. L.; Anderson, L. D.; Douglass, E. M.; Sarazin, C. L.; Gopal-Krishna

2009-01-01

We present new radio and X-ray observations of Abell 262. The X-ray residual image provides the first evidence of an X-ray tunnel in this system while the radio data reveal that the central radio source is more than three times larger than previously known. We find that the well-known cluster-center S-shaped radio source B2 0149+35 is surrounded by extended emission to the east and southwest. The south-western extension is cospatial with the X-ray tunnel seen in our new Chandra images while the eastern extension shows three clumps of emission with the innermost coincident with a faint X-ray cavity. The outer two eastern radio extensions are coincident with a newly detected X-ray depression. We use the projected separation of the emission regions to estimate a lower limit of τ rep = 28 Myr to the outburst repetition timescale of the central active galactic nucleus (AGN). The total energy input into the cluster over multiple outburst episodes is estimated to be 2.2 x 10 58 erg, more than an order of magnitude larger than previously thought. The total AGN energy output determined from our new observations shows that the source should be capable of offsetting radiative cooling over several outburst episodes.

The Super-TIGER Instrument to Probe Galactic Cosmic Ray Origins

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, John W.; Binns, W. R.; Bose, R, G.; Braun, D. L.; Christian, E. R.; Daniels, W. M; DeNolfo, G. A.; Dowkontt, P. F.; Hahne, D. J.; Hams, T.;

Active power reference tracking in electricity distribution grids over non-ideal communication networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Thomas le Fevre; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Iov, Florin

2018-01-01

the distributed implementation in the testbed show the effectiveness of the controller and that the considered scenario of the reference tracking application is not significantly affected by delays and losses as originating from PLC communication in good conditions. The subsequent simulation experiments show......Distribution system operators may in the future control active power of selected consumers and generators in order to achieve a desired grid behavior. For cost efficient deployment, this control application may use existing communication infrastructure with non-ideal properties, i.e. imposing...... the resilience of the reference tracking control application to end-to-end message delays up to the order of 3 control periods and to message loss up to approximately 70%....

SCIENTIFIC VERIFICATION OF FARADAY ROTATION MODULATORS: DETECTION OF DIFFUSE POLARIZED GALACTIC EMISSION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moyerman, S.; Bierman, E.; Kaufman, J.; Keating, B. G. [Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA 92037 (United States); Ade, P. A. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wales, Cardiff CF24 3YB (United Kingdom); Aiken, R.; Hristov, V. V.; Jones, W. C.; Mason, P. V. [Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Barkats, D. [Joint ALMA Observatory, ESO, Santiago (Chile); Bischoff, C.; Kovac, J. M. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Bock, J. J.; Dowell, C. D. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Chiang, H. C. [Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Duband, L. [SBT, Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique (apostrophe), F-38054 Grenoble (France); Hivon, E. F. [Insititut d' Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014 Paris (France); Holzapfel, W. L. [Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Kuo, C. L. [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305 (United States); Leitch, E. M., E-mail: smoyerma@ucsd.edu [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); and others

2013-03-01

The design and performance of a wide bandwidth linear polarization modulator based on the Faraday effect is described. Faraday Rotation Modulators (FRMs) are solid-state polarization switches that are capable of modulation up to 10 kHz. Six FRMs were utilized during the 2006 observing season in the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) experiment; three FRMs were used at each of BICEP's 100 and 150 GHz frequency bands. The technology was verified through high signal-to-noise detection of Galactic polarization using two of the six FRMs during four observing runs in 2006. The features exhibit strong agreement with BICEP's measurements of the Galaxy using non-FRM pixels and with the Galactic polarization models. This marks the first detection of high signal-to-noise mm-wave celestial polarization using fast, active optical modulation. The performance of the FRMs during periods when they were not modulated was also analyzed and compared to results from BICEP's 43 pixels without FRMs.

Scientific Verification of Faraday Rotation Modulators: Detection of Diffuse Polarized Galactic Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Moyerman, S.; Bierman, E.; Ade, P. A. R.; Aiken, R.; Barkats, D.; Bischoff, C.; Bock, J. J.; Chiang, H. C.; Dowell, C. D.; Duband, L.;

Oscillatory patterns in the light curves of five long-term monitored type 1 active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Kovačević, Andjelka B.; Pérez-Hernández, Ernesto; Popović, Luka Č.; Shapovalova, Alla I.; Kollatschny, Wolfram; Ilić, Dragana

2018-04-01

New combined data of five well-known type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are probed with a novel hybrid method in a search for oscillatory behaviour. Additional analysis of artificial light curves obtained from the coupled oscillatory models gives confirmation for detected periods that could have a physical background. We find periodic variations in the long-term light curves of 3C 390.3, NGC 4151 and NGC 5548, and E1821 + 643, with correlation coefficients larger than 0.6. We show that the oscillatory patterns of two binary black hole candidates, NGC 5548 and E1821 + 643, correspond to qualitatively different dynamical regimes of chaos and stability, respectively. We demonstrate that the absence of oscillatory patterns in Arp 102B could be the result of a weak coupling between oscillatory mechanisms. This is the first good evidence that 3C 390.3 and Arp 102B, categorized as double-peaked Balmer line objects, have qualitative different dynamics. Our analysis shows a novelty in the oscillatory dynamical patterns of the light curves of these type 1 AGNs.

Proceedings of the Galactic Center Workshop 2002: The Central 300 Parsecs of the Milky Way. Astronomische Nachrichten Supplementary Issue 1/2003

Science.gov (United States)

Cotera, Angela; Markoff, Sera; Geballe, T. R.; Falcke, Heino

2004-03-01

Our knowledge of the environment of the nucleus of our galaxy has been greatly enhanced, by more extensive and sensitive observations at radio and infrared wavelengths, the advent of high resolution x-ray imaging and spectroscopy, and considerable theoretical activity to understand the nucleus and its components, and their activity. The Galactic Center Workshop 2002 was organized to review recent research on the galactic center, including the latest state-of-the-art observations and important theoretical developments. The workshop covered phenomena on scales ranging from the central several hundred parsecs to the central parsec and within. Each topic was approached from both multi-wavelength observational and theoretical perspectives.

Fermi-LAT γ-ray anisotropy and intensity explained by unresolved radio-loud active galactic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauro, Mattia Di; Cuoco, Alessandro; Donato, Fiorenza; Siegal-Gaskins, Jennifer M.

2014-01-01

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to contribute substantially to both the intensity and anisotropy of the isotropic γ-ray background (IGRB). In turn, the measured properties of the IGRB can be used to constrain the characteristics of proposed contributing source classes. We consider individual subclasses of radio-loud AGN, including low-, intermediate-, and high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, and misaligned AGN. Using updated models of the γ-ray luminosity functions of these populations, we evaluate the energy-dependent contribution of each source class to the intensity and anisotropy of the IGRB. We find that collectively radio-loud AGN can account for the entirety of the IGRB intensity and anisotropy as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Misaligned AGN provide the bulk of the measured intensity but a negligible contribution to the anisotropy, while high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects provide the dominant contribution to the anisotropy. In anticipation of upcoming measurements with the Fermi-LAT and the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, we predict the anisotropy in the broader energy range that will be accessible to future observations

A Catalog of Active Galactic Nuclei from the First 1.5 Gyr of the Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krisztina Perger

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Active galactic nuclei (AGN are prominent astrophysical objects that can be observed throughout the whole Universe. To understand the underlying physical processes and the different appearance of AGN types, extensive samples are needed. Nowadays, various AGN catalogs are available at different wavebands. However, at the highest redshifts data are still relatively sparse. These data are required for examining AGN properties in the early Universe. This way we can compare the earliest AGN with those seen at lower redshifts, and can study their cosmological evolution. Additionally, because of their high luminosity, AGN may also be used as probes to test cosmological models. With the aim of constructing a complete sample of all known AGN at z ≥ 4, we are currently compiling a photometric catalog from literature sources. We cross-match catalogs particularly at optical and radio wavebands, to build up a sample for detailed high-resolution radio interferometric studies. The continuously updated list now contains nearly 2,600 objects with known spectroscopic redshifts, optical magnitudes, and auxiliary information about observations at other wavebands. About 170 of them are known radio sources for which we collect existing radio interferometric data from the literature.

A Catalog of Active Galactic Nuclei from the First 1.5 Gyr of the Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perger, Krisztina [Department of Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest (Hungary); Frey, Sándor; Gabányi, Krisztina É. [Konkoly Observatory, MTA Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budapest (Hungary); Tóth, L. Viktor, E-mail: k.perger@astro.elte.hu [Department of Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest (Hungary)

2017-08-08

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are prominent astrophysical objects that can be observed throughout the whole Universe. To understand the underlying physical processes and the different appearance of AGN types, extensive samples are needed. Nowadays, various AGN catalogs are available at different wavebands. However, at the highest redshifts data are still relatively sparse. These data are required for examining AGN properties in the early Universe. This way we can compare the earliest AGN with those seen at lower redshifts, and can study their cosmological evolution. Additionally, because of their high luminosity, AGN may also be used as probes to test cosmological models. With the aim of constructing a complete sample of all known AGN at z ≥ 4, we are currently compiling a photometric catalog from literature sources. We cross-match catalogs particularly at optical and radio wavebands, to build up a sample for detailed high-resolution radio interferometric studies. The continuously updated list now contains nearly 2,600 objects with known spectroscopic redshifts, optical magnitudes, and auxiliary information about observations at other wavebands. About 170 of them are known radio sources for which we collect existing radio interferometric data from the literature.

Fermi-LAT γ-ray anisotropy and intensity explained by unresolved radio-loud active galactic nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mauro, Mattia Di; Cuoco, Alessandro; Donato, Fiorenza [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, Torino, 10125 Italy (Italy); Siegal-Gaskins, Jennifer M., E-mail: mattia.dimauro@to.infn.it, E-mail: alessandro.cuoco@to.infn.it, E-mail: donato@to.infn.it, E-mail: jsg@tapir.caltech.edu [California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91125 (United States)

2014-11-01

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to contribute substantially to both the intensity and anisotropy of the isotropic γ-ray background (IGRB). In turn, the measured properties of the IGRB can be used to constrain the characteristics of proposed contributing source classes. We consider individual subclasses of radio-loud AGN, including low-, intermediate-, and high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, and misaligned AGN. Using updated models of the γ-ray luminosity functions of these populations, we evaluate the energy-dependent contribution of each source class to the intensity and anisotropy of the IGRB. We find that collectively radio-loud AGN can account for the entirety of the IGRB intensity and anisotropy as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Misaligned AGN provide the bulk of the measured intensity but a negligible contribution to the anisotropy, while high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects provide the dominant contribution to the anisotropy. In anticipation of upcoming measurements with the Fermi-LAT and the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, we predict the anisotropy in the broader energy range that will be accessible to future observations.

Parsec-scale Faraday rotation and polarization of 20 active galactic nuclei jets

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchenko, E. V.; Kovalev, Y. Y.; Sokolovsky, K. V.

2017-05-01

We perform polarimetry analysis of 20 active galactic nuclei jets using the very long baseline array at 1.4, 1.6, 2.2, 2.4, 4.6, 5.0, 8.1, 8.4 and 15.4 GHz. The study allowed us to investigate linearly polarized properties of the jets at parsec scales: distribution of the Faraday rotation measure (RM) and fractional polarization along the jets, Faraday effects and structure of Faraday-corrected polarization images. Wavelength dependence of the fractional polarization and polarization angle is consistent with external Faraday rotation, while some sources show internal rotation. The RM changes along the jets, systematically increasing its value towards synchrotron self-absorbed cores at shorter wavelengths. The highest core RM reaches 16 900 rad m-2 in the source rest frame for the quasar 0952+179, suggesting the presence of highly magnetized, dense media in these regions. The typical RM of transparent jet regions has values of an order of a hundred rad m-2. Significant transverse RM gradients are observed in seven sources. The magnetic field in the Faraday screen has no preferred orientation, and is observed to be random or regular from source to source. Half of the sources show evidence for the helical magnetic fields in their rotating magneto-ionic media. At the same time jets themselves contain large-scale, ordered magnetic fields and tend to align its direction with the jet flow. The observed variety of polarized signatures can be explained by a model of spine-sheath jet structure.

The Nature of Double-peaked [O III] Active Galactic Nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Hai; Yan, Lin; Myers, Adam D.; Stockton, Alan; Djorgovski, S. G.; Aldering, G.; Rich, Jeffrey A.

2012-01-01

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with double-peaked [O III] lines are suspected to be sub-kpc or kpc-scale binary AGNs. However, pure gas kinematics can produce the same double-peaked line profile in spatially integrated spectra. Here we combine integral-field spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging of 42 double-peaked [O III] AGNs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the constituents of the population. We find two binary AGNs where the line splitting is driven by the orbital motion of the merging nuclei. Such objects account for only ~2% of the double-peaked AGNs. Almost all (~98%) of the double-peaked AGNs were selected because of gas kinematics; and half of those show spatially resolved narrow-line regions that extend 4-20 kpc from the nuclei. Serendipitously, we find two spectrally unresolved binary AGNs where gas kinematics produced the double-peaked [O III] lines. The relatively frequent serendipitous discoveries indicate that only ~1% of binary AGNs would appear double-peaked in Sloan spectra and 2.2+2.5 -0.8% of all Sloan AGNs are binary AGNs. Therefore, the double-peaked sample does not offer much advantage over any other AGN samples in finding binary AGNs. The binary AGN fraction implies an elevated AGN duty cycle (8+8 -3%), suggesting galaxy interactions enhance nuclear accretion. We illustrate that integral-field spectroscopy is crucial for identifying binary AGNs: several objects previously classified as "binary AGNs" with long-slit spectra are most likely single AGNs with extended narrow-line regions (ENLRs). The formation of ENLRs driven by radiation pressure is also discussed. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Galactic Dark Matter and Terrestrial Periodicities

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clube, S

1998-01-01

.... The Earth may thus be regarded as a probe of the disc environment; and to account for the periodicity, the Galactic disc is required to have a substantial dark matter component ( approx .15 molar mass/cu pc...

Dust and molecules in extra-galactic planetary nebulae

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Hernandez, Domingo Aníbal

2015-08-01

Extra-galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) permit the study of dust and molecules in metallicity environments other than the Galaxy. Their known distances lower the number of free parameters in the observations vs. models comparison, providing strong constraints on the gas-phase and solid-state astrochemistry models. Observations of PNe in the Galaxy and other Local Group galaxies such as the Magellanic Clouds (MC) provide evidence that metallicity affects the production of dust as well as the formation of complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds in their circumstellar envelopes. In particular, the lower metallicity MC environments seem to be less favorable to dust production and the frequency of carbonaceous dust features and complex fullerene molecules is generally higher with decreasing metallicity. Here, I present an observational review of the dust and molecular content in extra-galactic PNe as compared to their higher metallicity Galactic counterparts. A special attention is given to the level of dust processing and the formation of complex organic molecules (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and graphene precursors) depending on metallicity.

Positron Transport and Annihilation in the Galactic Bulge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiona Helen Panther

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The annihilation of positrons in the Milky Way Galaxy has been observed for ∼50 years; however, the production sites of these positrons remains hard to identify. The observed morphology of positron annihilation gamma-rays provides information on the annihilation sites of these Galactic positrons. It is understood that the positrons responsible for the annihilation signal originate at MeV energies. The majority of sources of MeV positrons occupy the star-forming thin disk of the Milky Way. If positrons propagate far from their sources, we must develop accurate models of positron propagation through all interstellar medium (ISM phases in order to reveal the currently uncertain origin of these Galactic positrons. On the other hand, if positrons annihilate close to their sources, an alternative source of MeV positrons with a distribution that matches the annihilation morphology must be identified. In this work, I discuss the various models that have been developed to understand the origin of the 511 keV line from the direction of the Galactic bulge, and the propagation of positrons in the ISM.

THE GALACTIC POPULATION OF YOUNG γ-RAY PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watters, Kyle P.; Romani, Roger W.

2011-01-01

We have simulated a Galactic population of young pulsars and compared with the Fermi LAT sample, constraining the birth properties, beaming and evolution of these spin-powered objects. Using quantitative tests of agreement with the distributions of observed spin and pulse properties, we find that short birth periods P 0 ∼ 50 ms and γ-ray beams arising in the outer magnetosphere, dominated by a single pole, are strongly preferred. The modeled relative numbers of radio-detected and radio-quiet objects agrees well with the data. Although the sample is local, extrapolation to the full Galaxy implies a γ-ray pulsar birthrate 1/(59 yr). This is shown to be in good agreement with the estimated Galactic core collapse rate and with the local density of OB star progenitors. We give predictions for the numbers of expected young pulsar detections if Fermi LAT observations continue 10 years. In contrast to the potentially significant contribution of unresolved millisecond pulsars, we find that young pulsars should contribute little to the Galactic γ-ray background.

Does electromagnetic radiation accelerate galactic cosmic rays

Science.gov (United States)

Eichler, D.

1977-01-01

The 'reactor' theories of Tsytovich and collaborators (1973) of cosmic-ray acceleration by electromagnetic radiation are examined in the context of galactic cosmic rays. It is shown that any isotropic synchrotron or Compton reactors with reasonable astrophysical parameters can yield particles with a maximum relativistic factor of only about 10,000. If they are to produce particles with higher relativistic factors, the losses due to inverse Compton scattering of the electromagnetic radiation in them outweigh the acceleration, and this violates the assumptions of the theory. This is a critical restriction in the context of galactic cosmic rays, which have a power-law spectrum extending up to a relativistic factor of 1 million.

Observation of galactic cosmic ray spallation events from the SoHO mission 20-Year operation of LASCO

Science.gov (United States)

Koutchmy, S.; Tavabi, E.; Urtado, O.

2018-05-01

A shower of secondary Cosmic Ray (CR) particles is produced at high altitudes in the Earth's atmosphere, so the primordial Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) are never directly measured outside the Earth magnetosphere and atmosphere. They approach the Earth and other planets in the complex pattern of rigidity's dependence, generally excluded by the magnetosphere. GCRs revealed by images of single nuclear reactions also called spallation events are described here. Such an event was seen on Nov. 29, 2015 using a unique LASCO C3 space coronagraph routine image taken during the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) mission observing uninterruptedly at the Lagrangian L1 point. The spallation signature of a GCR identified well outside the Earth's magnetosphere is obtained for the 1st time. The resulting image includes different diverging linear "tracks" of varying intensity, leading to a single pixel; this frame identifies the site on the silicon CCD chip of the coronagraph camera. There was no solar flare reported at that time, nor Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and no evidence of optical debris around the spacecraft. More examples of smaller CR events have been discovered through the 20 years of continuous observations from SoHO. This is the first spallation event from a CR, recorded outside the Earth's magnetosphere. We evaluate the probable energy of these events suggesting a plausible galactic source.

A polarized fast radio burst at low Galactic latitude

Science.gov (United States)

Petroff, E.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Keane, E. F.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Miller, R.; Andreoni, I.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Bernard, S. R.; Bhandari, S.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burgay, M.; Caleb, M.; Champion, D.; Chandra, P.; Cooke, J.; Dhillon, V. S.; Farnes, J. S.; Hardy, L. K.; Jaroenjittichai, P.; Johnston, S.; Kasliwal, M.; Kramer, M.; Littlefair, S. P.; Macquart, J. P.; Mickaliger, M.; Possenti, A.; Pritchard, T.; Ravi, V.; Rest, A.; Rowlinson, A.; Sawangwit, U.; Stappers, B.; Sullivan, M.; Tiburzi, C.; van Straten, W.; ANTARES Collaboration; Albert, A.; André, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Ardid, M.; Aubert, J.-J.; Avgitas, T.; Baret, B.; Barrios-Martí, J.; Basa, S.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bormuth, R.; Bourret, S.; Bouwhuis, M. C.; Bruijn, R.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Capone, A.; Caramete, L.; Carr, J.; Celli, S.; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Coelho, J. A. B.; Coleiro, A.; Coniglione, R.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Creusot, A.; Deschamps, A.; de Bonis, G.; Distefano, C.; di Palma, I.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Drouhin, D.; Eberl, T.; El Bojaddaini, I.; Elsässer, D.; Enzenhöfer, A.; Felis, I.; Fusco, L. A.; Galatà, S.; Gay, P.; Geißelsöder, S.; Geyer, K.; Giordano, V.; Gleixner, A.; Glotin, H.; Grégoire, T.; Gracia-Ruiz, R.; Graf, K.; Hallmann, S.; van Haren, H.; Heijboer, A. J.; Hello, Y.; Hernández-Rey, J. J.; Hößl, J.; Hofestädt, J.; Hugon, C.; Illuminati, G.; James, C. W.; de Jong, M.; Jongen, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Katz, U.; Kießling, D.; Kouchner, A.; Kreter, M.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lachaud, C.; Lahmann, R.; Lefèvre, D.; Leonora, E.; Lotze, M.; Loucatos, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Marinelli, A.; Martínez-Mora, J. A.; Mathieu, A.; Mele, R.; Melis, K.; Michael, T.; Migliozzi, P.; Moussa, A.; Mueller, C.; Nezri, E.; Pǎvǎlaş, G. E.; Pellegrino, C.; Perrina, C.; Piattelli, P.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Quinn, L.; Racca, C.; Riccobene, G.; Roensch, K.; Sánchez-Losa, A.; Saldaña, M.; Salvadori, I.; Samtleben, D. F. E.; Sanguineti, M.; Sapienza, P.; Schnabel, J.; Seitz, T.; Sieger, C.; Spurio, M.; Stolarczyk, Th.; Taiuti, M.; Tayalati, Y.; Trovato, A.; Tselengidou, M.; Turpin, D.; Tönnis, C.; Vallage, B.; Vallée, C.; van Elewyck, V.; Vivolo, D.; Vizzoca, A.; Wagner, S.; Wilms, J.; Zornoza, J. D.; Zúñiga, J.; H.E.S.S. Collaboration; Abdalla, H.; Abramowski, A.; Aharonian, F.; Ait Benkhali, F.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Andersson, T.; Angüner, E. O.; Arrieta, M.; Aubert, P.; Backes, M.; Balzer, A.; Barnard, M.; Becherini, Y.; Tjus, J. Becker; Berge, D.; Bernhard, S.; Bernlöhr, K.; Blackwell, R.; Böttcher, M.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bordas, P.; Bregeon, J.; Brun, F.; Brun, P.; Bryan, M.; Bulik, T.; Capasso, M.; Casanova, S.; Cerruti, M.; Chakraborty, N.; Chalme-Calvet, R.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chen, A.; Chevalier, J.; Chrétien, M.; Colafrancesco, S.; Cologna, G.; Condon, B.; Conrad, J.; Cui, Y.; Davids, I. D.; Decock, J.; Degrange, B.; Deil, C.; Devin, J.; Dewilt, P.; Dirson, L.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W.; Donath, A.; Drury, L. O'c.; Dubus, G.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Edwards, T.; Egberts, K.; Eger, P.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Eschbach, S.; Farnier, C.; Fegan, S.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, A.; Funk, S.; Füßling, M.; Gabici, S.; Gajdus, M.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Giavitto, G.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Gottschall, D.; Goyal, A.; Grondin, M.-H.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, J.; Haupt, M.; Hawkes, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hervet, O.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Hoischen, C.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Ivascenko, A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jamrozy, M.; Janiak, M.; Jankowsky, D.; Jankowsky, F.; Jingo, M.; Jogler, T.; Jouvin, L.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Kerszberg, D.; Khélifi, B.; Kieffer, M.; King, J.; Klepser, S.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Kolitzus, D.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Krakau, S.; Kraus, M.; Krayzel, F.; Krüger, P. P.; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lau, J.; Lees, J.-P.; Lefaucheur, J.; Lefranc, V.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J.-P.; Leser, E.; Lohse, T.; Lorentz, M.; Liu, R.; López-Coto, R.; Lypova, I.; Marandon, V.; Marcowith, A.; Mariaud, C.; Marx, R.; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; Meintjes, P. J.; Meyer, M.; Mitchell, A. M. W.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Mohrmann, L.; Morâ, K.; Moulin, E.; Murach, T.; de Naurois, M.; Niederwanger, F.; Niemiec, J.; Oakes, L.; O'Brien, P.; Odaka, H.; Öttl, S.; Ohm, S.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Padovani, M.; Panter, M.; Parsons, R. D.; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Perennes, C.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Peyaud, B.; Piel, Q.; Pita, S.; Poon, H.; Prokhorov, D.; Prokoph, H.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raab, S.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; Reyes, R. De Los; Rieger, F.; Romoli, C.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Sahakian, V.; Salek, D.; Sanchez, D. A.; Santangelo, A.; Sasaki, M.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schulz, A.; Schüssler, F.; Schwanke, U.; Schwemmer, S.; Settimo, M.; Seyffert, A. S.; Shafi, N.; Shilon, I.; Simoni, R.; Sol, H.; Spanier, F.; Spengler, G.; Spies, F.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Stinzing, F.; Stycz, K.; Sushch, I.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Tavernier, T.; Taylor, A. M.; Terrier, R.; Tibaldo, L.; Tiziani, D.; Tluczykont, M.; Trichard, C.; Tuffs, R.; Uchiyama, Y.; Walt, D. J. Van Der; van Eldik, C.; van Rensburg, C.; van Soelen, B.; Vasileiadis, G.; Veh, J.; Venter, C.; Viana, A.; Vincent, P.; Vink, J.; Voisin, F.; Völk, H. J.; Vuillaume, T.; Wadiasingh, Z.; Wagner, S. J.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, R. M.; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Willmann, P.; Wörnlein, A.; Wouters, D.; Yang, R.; Zabalza, V.; Zaborov, D.; Zacharias, M.; Zanin, R.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zefi, F.; Ziegler, A.; Żywucka, N.

2017-08-01

We report on the discovery of a new fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 150215, with the Parkes radio telescope on 2015 February 15. The burst was detected in real time with a dispersion measure (DM) of 1105.6 ± 0.8 pc cm-3, a pulse duration of 2.8^{+1.2}_{-0.5} ms, and a measured peak flux density assuming that the burst was at beam centre of 0.7^{+0.2}_{-0.1} Jy. The FRB originated at a Galactic longitude and latitude of 24.66°, 5.28° and 25° away from the Galactic Center. The burst was found to be 43 ± 5 per cent linearly polarized with a rotation measure (RM) in the range -9 < RM < 12 rad m-2 (95 per cent confidence level), consistent with zero. The burst was followed up with 11 telescopes to search for radio, optical, X-ray, γ-ray and neutrino emission. Neither transient nor variable emission was found to be associated with the burst and no repeat pulses have been observed in 17.25 h of observing. The sightline to the burst is close to the Galactic plane and the observed physical properties of FRB 150215 demonstrate the existence of sight lines of anomalously low RM for a given electron column density. The Galactic RM foreground may approach a null value due to magnetic field reversals along the line of sight, a decreased total electron column density from the Milky Way, or some combination of these effects. A lower Galactic DM contribution might explain why this burst was detectable whereas previous searches at low latitude have had lower detection rates than those out of the plane.

A survey of dual active galactic nuclei in simulations of galaxy mergers: frequency and properties

Science.gov (United States)

Capelo, Pedro R.; Dotti, Massimo; Volonteri, Marta; Mayer, Lucio; Bellovary, Jillian M.; Shen, Sijing

2017-08-01

We investigate the simultaneous triggering of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in merging galaxies, using a large suite of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations. We compute dual-AGN observability time-scales using bolometric, X-ray and Eddington-ratio thresholds, confirming that dual activity from supermassive black holes (BHs) is generally higher at late pericentric passages, before a merger remnant has formed, especially at high luminosities. For typical minor and major mergers, dual activity lasts ˜20-70 and ˜100-160 Myr, respectively. We also explore the effects of X-ray obscuration from gas, finding that the dual-AGN time decreases at most by a factor of ˜2, and of contamination from star formation. Using projected separations and velocity differences rather than three-dimensional quantities can decrease the dual-AGN time-scales by up to ˜4, and we apply filters that mimic current observational-resolution limitations. In agreement with observations, we find that for a sample of major and minor mergers hosting at least one AGN, the fraction harbouring dual AGN is ˜20-30 and ˜1-10 per cent, respectively. We quantify the effects of merger mass ratio (0.1 to 1), geometry (coplanar, prograde and retrograde, and inclined), disc gas fraction and BH properties, finding that the mass ratio is the most important factor, with the difference between minor and major mergers varying between factors of a few to orders of magnitude, depending on the luminosity and filter used. We also find that a shallow imaging survey will require very high angular resolution whereas a deep imaging survey will be less resolution-dependent.

A systematic study of the condensation of the corona and the application for Γ 2-10 keV-Lbol/LEdd correlation in luminous active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Erlin; Liu, B. F.

2018-06-01

In this paper, we explained the observed Γ _2-10 keV-L_bol/L_Edd correlation in luminous active galactic nuclei within the framework of the condensation of the corona around a supermassive black hole (Liu et al.; Qiao & Liu). Specifically, we systemically test the effects of black hole mass M, the viscosity parameter α, and the magnetic parameter β (with magnetic pressure p_m=B^2/{8π }=(1-β )p_tot, ptot = pgas + pm) on the structure of the accretion disc and the corona, as well as the corresponding emergent spectra. It is found that the hard X-ray photon index Γ _2-10 keV nearly does not change with changing black hole mass M, or changing magnetic parameter β. Meanwhile, it is found that the geometry of the accretion flow, i.e. the relative configuration of the disc and corona, as well as the emergent spectra can be strongly affected by changing the value of α. By comparing with a sample composed of 29 luminous active galactic nuclei with well constrained X-ray spectra and Eddington ratios, it is found that the observed Γ _2-10 keV-L_bol/L_Edd correlation can be well matched with a relatively bigger value of α, i.e. α ˜ 1, as previously also suggested by Narayan for luminous accreting black holes.

Neuromuscular Activation During Short-Track Speed Skating in Young Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Felser, Sabine; Behrens, Martin; Fischer, Susanne; Baeumler, Mario; Salomon, Ralf; Bruhn, Sven

2016-10-01

To investigate differences in muscle activation of both legs between the straight and the curve and changes in muscle activity during a 1000-m time trial (TT) and their relationship to the change in skating velocity in 9 young short-track speed skaters. The authors recorded skating times and EMG data from different leg muscles during maximum-effort skating trials on the straight and in the curve, as well as during a 1000-m TT. Muscle activation differs between the straight and the curves and between legs; ie, average activities of selected muscles of the right leg were significantly higher during skating through the curves than in the straights. This could not be observed for the left leg. The reduction in speed during the 1000-m TT highly correlates with the decrease in the muscle activity of both the tibialis anterior and the rectus femoris of the right leg. Muscle recruitment is different in relation to lap section (straight vs curve) and leg (right vs left leg). The decreased muscle activity of the tibialis anterior and rectus femoris of the right leg showed the highest relationships with the reduction in skating speed during the 1000-m TT.

Probing the Galactic Structure of the Milky Way with H II Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Red, Wesley Alexander; Wenger, Trey V.; Balser, Dana; Anderson, Loren; Bania, Thomas

2018-01-01

Mapping the structure of the Milky Way is challenging since we reside within the Galactic disk and distances are difficult to determine. Elemental abundances provide important constraints on theories of the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. HII regions are the brightest objects in the Galaxy at radio wavelengths and are detected across the entire Galactic disk. We use the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to observe the radio recombination line (RRL) and continuum emission of 120 Galactic HII regions located across the Galactic disk. In thermal equilibrium, metal abundances are expected to set the nebular electron temperature with high abundances producing low temperatures. We derive the metallicity of HII regions using an empirical relation between an HII region's radio recombination line-to-continuum ratio and nebular metallicity. Here we focus on a subset of 20 HII regions from our sample that have been well studied with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to test our data reduction pipeline and analysis methods. Our goal is to expand this study to the Southern skies with the Australia Telescope Compact Array and create a metallicity map of the entire Galactic disk.

A possible explanation for the origin of the magnetic fields in the galactic spiral arm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagge, E.

1975-04-01

A theory for the movement of the interstellar gas under the influence of the gravitational field in the neighbourhood of the galactic arms is developped. If this gas bears electric charges of one sign (ωsub(e) approximately 3,000 electrons/gramm) a system of electric currents is produced by the relative velocity of the galactic gas and the spiral arms for which the streamlines are concentrated a little more to the galactic plane than above and below of it. By this way a large spaced magnetic field along the galactic arms is generated with opposite directions of the magnetic field vectors on the two sides of the galactic plane. (orig.) [de

PREFACE: Galactic Center Workshop 2006

Science.gov (United States)

Schödel, Rainer; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Muno, Michael P.; Nayakshin, Sergei; Ott, Thomas

2006-12-01

��The Galactic Center Newsletter, who helped with their know-how from previous GC workshops. GCNEWS is a newsletter that appears several times each year with articles and news on the Galactic Center, including abstracts of recently published papers. Please see http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~gcnews for further information. GCNEWS is a communication platform for the steadily increasing community of GC researchers and is the backbone behind the GC Workshops. We acknowledge financial support for the conference by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)Sonderforschungsbereich project number SFB 494. Finally, we would like to thank the more than 100 participants of the GC Workshop 2006 for their enthusiasm and the numerous active contributions which made this conference such a success. Rainer Schödel, Geoffrey C Bower, Michael P Muno, Sergei Nayakshin and Thomas Ott Editors The PDF file contains various photographs taken at the conference and the conference schedule.

THERMAL AND DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF GAS ACCRETING ONTO A SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN AN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mościbrodzka, M.; Proga, D.

2013-01-01

We study stability of gas accretion in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our grid-based simulations cover a radial range from 0.1 to 200 pc, which may enable linking the galactic/cosmological simulations with small-scale black hole (BH) accretion models within a few hundreds of Schwarzschild radii. Here, as in previous studies by our group, we include gas radiative cooling as well as heating by a sub-Eddington X-ray source near the central supermassive BH of 10 8 M ☉ . Our theoretical estimates and simulations show that for the X-ray luminosity, L X ∼ 0.008 L Edd , the gas is thermally and convectively unstable within the computational domain. In the simulations, we observe that very tiny fluctuations in an initially smooth, spherically symmetric, accretion flow, grow first linearly and then nonlinearly. Consequently, an initially one-phase flow relatively quickly transitions into a two-phase/cold-hot accretion flow. For L X = 0.015 L Edd or higher, the cold clouds continue to accrete but in some regions of the hot phase, the gas starts to move outward. For L X Edd , the cold phase contribution to the total mass accretion rate only moderately dominates over the hot phase contribution. This result might have some consequences for cosmological simulations of the so-called AGN feedback problem. Our simulations confirm the previous results of Barai et al. who used smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations to tackle the same problem. Here, however, because we use a grid-based code to solve equations in one dimension and two dimensions, we are able to follow the gas dynamics at much higher spacial resolution and for longer time compared with the three-dimensional SPH simulations. One of the new features revealed by our simulations is that the cold condensations in the accretion flow initially form long filaments, but at the later times, those filaments may break into smaller clouds advected outward within the hot outflow. Therefore, these simulations may serve as

Nature of 'unseen' galactic envelopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCrea, W.H.

1983-01-01

In this paper, it is suggested that unseen matter in a galactic envelope or in a group of galaxies may consist of substellar bodies originating as the first permanent 'stars' in the formation of a very massive galaxy according to a model for galaxy-formation on the basis of simple big-bang cosmology. (Auth.)

PIPER and Polarized Galactic Foregrounds

Science.gov (United States)

Chuss, David

2009-01-01

In addition to probing inflationary cosmology, PIPER will measure the polarized dust emission from the Galaxy. PIPER will be capable of full (I,0,U,V) measurement over four frequency bands ' These measurements will provide insight into the physics of dust grains and a probe of the Galactic magnetic field on large and intermediate scales.

Evaluation of the discovery potential of an underwater Mediterranean neutrino telescope taking into account the estimated directional resolution and energy of the reconstructed tracks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leisos, A.; Tsirigotis, A.G.; Tzamarias, S.E.

2013-01-01

We report on the development of search methods for point-like and extended neutrino sources, utilizing the tracking and energy estimation capabilities of an underwater, Very Large Volume Neutrino Telescope (VLVnT). We demonstrate that the developed techniques offer a significant improvement on the telescope's discovery potential. We also present results on the potential of the Mediterranean KM3NeT to discover galactic neutrino sources

Modelling the Galactic bar using OGLE-II red clump giant stars

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rattenbury, Nicholas J.; Mao, Shude; Sumi, Takahiro; Smith, Martin C.

2007-01-01

Red clump giant (RCG) stars can be used as distance indicators to trace the mass distribution of the Galactic bar. We use RCG stars from 44 bulge fields from the OGLE-II microlensing collaboration data base to constrain analytic triaxial models for the Galactic bar. We find the bar major-axis is

Investigating the variability of active galactic nuclei using combined multi-quarter Kepler data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Revalski, Mitchell; Nowak, Dawid; Wiita, Paul J. [Department of Physics, The College of New Jersey, P.O. Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628 (United States); Wehrle, Ann E. [Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301 (United States); Unwin, Stephen C., E-mail: revalsm1@tcnj.edu [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 321-100, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)

2014-04-10

We used photometry from the Kepler satellite to characterize the variability of four radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) on timescales from years to minutes. The Kepler satellite produced nearly continuous high precision data sets which provided better temporal coverage than possible with ground based observations. We have now accumulated 11 quarters of data, eight of which were reported in our previous paper. In addition to constructing power spectral densities (PSDs) and characterizing the variability of the last three quarters, we have linked together the individual quarters using a multiplicative scaling process, providing data sets spanning ∼2.8 yr with >98% coverage at a 30 minute sampling rate. We compute PSDs on these connected data sets that yield power law slopes at low frequencies in the approximate range of –1.5 to –2.0, with white noise seen at higher frequencies. These PSDs are similar to those of both the individual quarters and to those of ground-based optical observations of other AGNs. We also have explored a PSD binning method intended to reduce a bias toward shallow slope fits by evenly distributing the points within the PSDs. This tends to steepen the computed PSD slopes, especially when the low frequencies are relatively poorly fit. We detected flares lasting several days in which the brightness increased by ∼15%-20% in one object, as well a smaller flare in another. Two AGNs showed only small, ∼1%-2%, fluctuations in brightness.

THREE-YEAR SWIFT-BAT SURVEY OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI: RECONCILING THEORY AND OBSERVATIONS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burlon, D.; Greiner, J.; Merloni, A.; Ajello, M.; Comastri, A.; Gehrels, N.

2011-01-01

It is well accepted that unabsorbed as well as absorbed active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are needed to explain the nature and shape of the Cosmic X-ray background (CXB), even if the fraction of highly absorbed objects (dubbed Compton-thick sources) still substantially escapes detection. We derive and analyze the absorption distribution using a complete sample of AGNs detected by Swift-BAT in the first three years of the survey. The fraction of Compton-thick AGNs represents only 4.6% of the total AGN population detected by Swift-BAT. However, we show that once corrected for the bias against the detection of very absorbed sources the real intrinsic fraction of Compton-thick AGNs is 20 -6 +9 %. We proved for the first time (also in the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) band) that the anti-correlation of the fraction of absorbed AGNs and luminosity is tightly connected to the different behavior of the X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) of absorbed and unabsorbed AGNs. This points toward a difference between the two subsamples of objects with absorbed AGNs being, on average, intrinsically less luminous than unobscured ones. Moreover, the XLFs show that the fraction of obscured AGNs might also decrease at very low luminosity. This can be successfully interpreted in the framework of a disk cloud outflow scenario as the disappearance of the obscuring region below a critical luminosity. Our results are discussed in the framework of population synthesis models and the origin of the CXB.

Study of starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei in the mid-infrared with the ISOCAM instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurent, Olivier

1999-01-01

This thesis is dedicated to the study of starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the mid-infrared between 3 and 16 μm with the ISOCAM instrument. The study of nearby prototypical galaxies such as NGC 1068 and M 82 lead me to decompose the emission into three components. The star forming regions are characterized by (1) the infrared bands at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3 and 12.7 μm originating from the photo-dissociation regions and also by (2) a continuum at 15 μm produced by the very small grains in HII regions. I show that AGNs have (3) strong continuum with an important contribution between 3 and 10 μm arising from hot dust heated to high temperatures of the order of 1000 K. I present two diagnostic diagrams based on the spectral properties of the three components allowing me to distinguish AGNs from starburst regions. In interacting galaxies, I show that some extra-nuclear regions harboring starburst activity can dominate the emission at 15 μm as in the Cartwheel and the Antennae galaxies. Using mid-infrared spectral features, I also define two prototypes of ultra-luminous galaxies dominated either by starburst activity in the case of Arp 220 or by the AGN in the Super-Antennae galaxy (IRAS 19254-7245). I explain how this diagram and the selection criteria evolve according to redshift. Finally, I show how we can develop new diagnostics using filters of the IRAC instrument on board the next infrared space observatory SIRTF. (author) [fr

The Metallicity Gradient of the Old Galactic Bulge Population

Science.gov (United States)

Sans Fuentes, Sara Alejandra; De Ridder, Joris

Understanding the structure, formation and evolution of the Galactic Bulge requires the proper determination of spatial metallicity gradients in both the radial and vertical directions. RR Lyrae pulsators, known to be excellent distance indicators, may hold the key to determining these gradients. Jurcsik and Kovacs (A&A 312:111, 1996) has shown that RR Lyrae light curves and the phase difference of their Fourier decomposition, ϕ 31, can be used to estimate photometric metallicities. The existence of galactic bulge metallicity gradients is a currently debated topic that would help pinpoint the Galaxy's formation and evolution. A recent study of the OGLE-III Galactic Bulge RR Lyrae Population by Pietrukowicz et al. (ApJ 750:169, 2012) suggests that the spatial distribution is uniform. We investigate how small a gradient would be detectable within the current S/N levels of the present data set, given the random and systematic errors associated with the derivation of a photometric metallicity versus spatial position relationship.

Radio Telescopes Reveal Unseen Galactic Cannibalism

Science.gov (United States)

2008-06-01

Radio-telescope images have revealed previously-unseen galactic cannibalism -- a triggering event that leads to feeding frenzies by gigantic black holes at the cores of galaxies. Astronomers have long suspected that the extra-bright cores of spiral galaxies called Seyfert galaxies are powered by supermassive black holes consuming material. However, they could not see how the material is started on its journey toward the black hole. Optical/Radio Comparison Visible-light (left) and radio (right) image of galaxy pair: Radio image shows gas streaming between galaxies. CREDIT: Kuo et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF Click on image for more graphics. One leading theory said that Seyfert galaxies have been disturbed by close encounters with neighboring galaxies, thus stirring up their gas and bringing more of it within the gravitational reach of the black hole. However, when astronomers looked at Seyferts with visible-light telescopes, only a small fraction showed any evidence of such an encounter. Now, new images of hydrogen gas in Seyferts made using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope show the majority of them are, in fact, disturbed by ongoing encounters with neighbor galaxies. "The VLA lifted the veil on what's really happening with these galaxies," said Cheng-Yu Kuo, a graduate student at the University of Virginia. "Looking at the gas in these galaxies clearly showed that they are snacking on their neighbors. This is a dramatic contrast with their appearance in visible starlight," he added. The effect of the galactic encounters is to send gas and dust toward the black hole and produce energy as the material ultimately is consumed. Black holes, concentrations of matter so dense that not even light can escape their gravitational pull, reside at the cores of many galaxies. Depending on how rapidly the black hole is eating, the galaxy can show a wide range of energetic activity. Seyfert galaxies have the mildest version of this activity, while

High-resolution spectrum of the Galactic center

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, W. A.; Ling, J. C.; Wheaton, W. A.

1993-01-01

Recent observations of the Galactic center region indicate the presence of a narrow gamma-ray line feature at 170 keV, and theoretical speculations suggest it may result from Compton backscattering of the 511 keV annihilation radiation. The high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer on HEAO 3 observed the Galactic center in the fall of 1979 and in the spring of 1980. In view of the recent developments, the HEAO data were re-examined to search for this new feature and to look for possible correlations with the 511 keV line emisison. No evidence for such Compton backscattered radiation was found and the derived upper limits for emission in a line feature near 170 keV were well below previously reported fluxes, indicating possible time variability.

HI Clouds Near the Galactic Center: Possible Tracers of the Nuclear Wind

Science.gov (United States)

Lockman, Felix J.; McClure-Griffiths, Naomi; DiTeodoro, Enrico

2017-01-01

We have used the Green Bank Telescope to discover more than one hundred neutral hydrogen clouds that appear to be embedded in the Fermi Bubble -- the Milky Way’s nuclear wind. With the other members of this population that were previously found with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, we now have a sample of about 200 such clouds. They are identified by their peculiar velocities. The cloud kinematics show no trace of Galactic rotation or association with the Galactic bar. Near longitude zero the clouds can have values of VLSR = +-200 km/s. No clouds have been detected with |VLSR| > 350 km/s. The clouds are concentrated toward the Galactic plane, but some are still found to |b|=10 degrees, or z > 1 kpc at the Galactic Center, where the current surveys end. These clouds are important tracers of conditions in the nuclear wind of the Milky Way.

The Comparison Study of Neutron Activation Analysis and Fission Track Technique for Uranium Determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sirinuntavid, Alice; Rodthongkom, Chouvana

2007-08-01

Full text: Comparison between Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and fission track technique for uranium determination in solid samples was studied by use of standard reference materials, i.e., ore, coal fly ash, soil. For NAA, the epithermal neutron was applied for activated irradiation. Then, the 74.5 keV gamma from U-239 or 277.7 keV gamma from Np-239 was measured. For high Uranium content samples, NAA method with 74.5 keV gamma measurement, gave higher precision result than the 277.7 keV gamma measurement method. NAA method with 277.7 keV gamma measurement, gave higher sensitivity and precision result for low Uranium content samples and the uranium contained less than 10 ppm samples. Nevertheless, the latter procedure needed longer time for neutron irradiation and analysis procedure. In comparison the results of Uranium analysis between NAA and fission track, it was found that no significant difference within 95 % of confidence level

Tracking of physical activity, fitness, body composition and diet from adolescence to young adulthood: The Young Hearts Project, Northern Ireland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savage J Maurice

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The assumption that lifestyles formed early in life track into adulthood has been used to justify the targeting of health promotion programmes towards children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to use data from the Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project to ascertain the extent of tracking, between adolescence and young adulthood, of physical activity, aerobic fitness, selected anthropometric variables, and diet. Methods Males (n 245 and females (n 231 were assessed at age 15 y, and again in young adulthood [mean (SD age 22 (1.6 y]. At both timepoints, height, weight and skinfold thicknesses were measured, and physical activity and diet were assessed by questionnaire and diet history method respectively. At 15y, fitness was assessed using the 20 metre shuttle run, while at young adulthood, the PWC170 cycle ergometer test was used. For each measurement made at 15y, subjects were ranked into 'low' (L1; lowest 25%, 'medium' (M1; middle 50% or 'high' (H1; highest 25% categories. At young adulthood, similar categories (L2, M2, H2 were created. The extent of tracking of each variable over time was calculated using 3 × 3 matrices constructed using these two sets of categories, and summarised using kappa (κ statistics. Results Tracking of diet and fitness was poor (κ ≤ 0.20 in both sexes, indicating substantial drift of subjects between the low, medium and high categories over time. The tracking of physical activity in males was fair (κ 0.202, but was poor in females (κ 0.021. In contrast, anthropometric variables such as weight, body mass index and sum of skinfolds tracked more strongly in females (κ 0.540, κ 0.307, κ 0.357 respectively than in males (κ 0.337, κ 0.199, κ 0.216 respectively. Conclusions The poor tracking of fitness and diet in both sexes, and physical activity in females, suggests that these aspects of adolescent lifestyle are unlikely to be predictive of behaviours in young adulthood. In

Correlation between galactic HI and the cosmic microwave background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Land, Kate; Slosar, Anze

2007-01-01

We revisit the issue of a correlation between the atomic hydrogen gas in our local galaxy and the cosmic microwave background, a detection of which has been claimed in some literature. We cross correlate the 21-cm emission of galactic atomic hydrogen as traced by the Leiden/Argentine/Bonn Galactic Hi survey with the 3-year cosmic microwave background data from the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe. We consider a number of angular scales, masks, and Hi velocity slices and find no statistically significant correlation

Multitarget multisensor closed-loop tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders-Reed, John N.

2004-07-01

This paper describes a closed-loop tracking system using multiple co-located sensors to develop multi-sensor track histories on multiple targets. The use of multiple, co-aligned sensors to track multiple, possibly maneuvering targets, presents a number of tracker design challenges and opportunities. Many of these problems have been addressed individually in the published literature from a theoretical point of view. However, no one has yet addressed the design and implementation of a specific tracker to meet all of these requirements at once. Specific questions addressed in this paper include how to assign N detections in a current frame to M active tracks, how to initiate new tracks and terminate dead tracks, how to combine information from multiple sensors into a single integrated picture, represented by a global track file, and how to perform these functions in a timely manner to support a precision closed loop tracking system.

Neutron activation and track analysis of the newly found bones of the southern mammoths and dinosaurs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasidov, A.; Osinskaya, N.S.; Saidullaev, B.J.; Akhmadshaev, A.

2016-01-01

The bones of southern mammoths and dinosaur had been discovered in the territory of Uzbekistan in 2005-2014. The main aim of the work was a study of profiles of radiogenic and some of elements in bones of mammoths and dinosaur, and the element comparisons with standard bones and its soils by instrumental neutron activation and track analysis. In bones of the mammoths and dinosaur were registered a high contents of uranium and rare earth elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The radon concentrations in samples were measured in isolated plastic chambers by solid state nuclear track detectors type of CR-39 within 35 days. The values of radon exhalation rates were determined very more in ancient bones than in standard bones and soils. (author)

Evolution of Supernova Remnants Near the Galactic Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yalinewich, A.; Piran, T.; Sari, R. [Racah Institute of Physics, the Hebrew University, 91904, Jerusalem (Israel)

2017-03-20

Supernovae near the Galactic center (GC) evolve differently from regular Galactic supernovae. This is mainly due to the environment into which the supernova remnants (SNRs) propagate. SNRs near the GC propagate into a wind swept environment with a velocity directed away from the GC, and a graded density profile. This causes these SNRs to be non-spherical, and to evolve faster than their Galactic counterparts. We develop an analytic theory for the evolution of explosions within a stellar wind, and verify it using a hydrodynamic code. We show that such explosions can evolve in one of three possible morphologies. Using these results we discuss the association between the two SNRs (SGR East and SGR A’s bipolar radio/X-ray lobes) and the two neutron stars (the Cannonball and SGR J1745-2900) near the GC. We show that, given the morphologies of the SNR and positions of the neutron stars, the only possible association is between SGR A’s bipolar radio/X-ray lobes and SGR J1745-2900. If a compact object was created in the explosion of SGR East, it remains undetected, and the SNR of the supernova that created the Cannonball has already disappeared.

Cloud-particle galactic gas dynamics and star formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, W.W. Jr.

1983-01-01

Galactic gas dynamics, spiral structure, and star formation are discussed in the context of N-body computational studies based on a cloud-particle model of the interstellar medium. On the small scale, the interstellar medium appears to be cloud-dominated and supernova-perturbed. The cloud-particle model simulates cloud-cloud collisions, the formation of stellar associations, and supernova explosions as dominant local processes. On the large scale in response to a spiral galactic gravitational field, global density waves and galactic shocks develop with large-scale characteristics similar to those found in continuum gas dynamical studies. Both the system of gas clouds and the system of young stellar associations forming from the clouds share in the global spiral structure. However, with the attributes of neither assuming a continuum of gas (as in continuum gas dynamical studies) nor requiring a prescribed equation of state such as the isothermal condition so often employed, the cloud-particle picture retains much of the detail lost in earlier work: namely, the small-scale features and structures so important in understanding the local, turbulent state of the interstellar medium as well as the degree of raggedness often observed superposed on global spiral structure. (Auth.)

HERSCHEL OBSERVATIONS REVEAL ANOMALOUS MOLECULAR ABUNDANCES TOWARD THE GALACTIC CENTER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonnentrucker, P. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Neufeld, D. A.; Indriolo, N. [Physics and Astronomy Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Gerin, M.; De Luca, M. [LERMA-LRA, UMR 8112 du CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, Ecole Normale Superieure, UPMC and UCP, 24 rue Lhomond, F-75231, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Lis, D. C. [Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Goicoechea, J. R., E-mail: sonnentr@stsci.edu [Centro de Astrobiologia, CSIC/INTA, E-28850, Madrid (Spain)

2013-01-20

We report the Herschel detections of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and para-water (p-H{sub 2}O) in gas intercepting the sight lines to two well-studied molecular clouds in the vicinity of the Sgr A complex: G-0.02-0.07 (the {sup +}50 km s{sup -1} cloud{sup )} and G-0.13-0.08 (the {sup +}20 km s{sup -1} cloud{sup )}. Toward both sight lines, HF and water absorption components are detected over a wide range of velocities covering {approx}250 km s{sup -1}. For all velocity components with V{sub LSR} > -85 km s{sup -1}, we find that the HF and water abundances are consistent with those measured toward other sight lines probing the Galactic disk gas. The velocity components with V{sub LSR} {<=} -85 km s{sup -1}, which are known to trace gas residing within {approx}200 pc of the Galactic center, however, exhibit water vapor abundances with respect to HF at least a factor three higher than those found in the Galactic disk gas. Comparison with CH data indicates that our observations are consistent with a picture where HF and a fraction of the H{sub 2}O absorption arise in diffuse molecular clouds showing Galactic disk-like abundances while the bulk of the water absorption arises in warmer (T {>=} 400 K) diffuse molecular gas for V{sub LSR} {<=} -85 km s{sup -1}. This diffuse Interstellar Medium (ISM) phase has also been recently revealed through observations of CO, HF, H{sup +}{sub 3}, and H{sub 3}O{sup +} absorption toward other sight lines probing the Galactic center inner region.

THE EVOLUTION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES TO REDSHIFT 1.3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martini, Paul; Sivakoff, Gregory R.; Mulchaey, John S.

2009-01-01

We have measured the luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN) population in a large sample of clusters of galaxies and find evidence for a substantial increase in the cluster AGN population from z ∼ 0.05 to z ∼ 1.3. The present sample now includes 32 clusters of galaxies, including 15 clusters above z = 0.4, which corresponds to a three-fold increase compared to our previous work at high redshift. At z R R (z) + 1 that host AGNs with rest-frame, hard X-ray [2-10 keV] luminosities L X,H ≥ 10 43 erg s -1 . The AGN fraction increases from f A = 0.134 +0.18 -0.087 % at a median z = 0.19 to f A = 1.00 +0.29 -0.23 % at a median z = 0.72. Our best estimate of the evolution is a factor of 8 increase to z = 1 and the statistical significance of the increase is 3.8σ. This dramatic evolution is qualitatively similar to the evolution of the star-forming galaxy population in clusters known as the Butcher-Oemler effect. We discuss the implications of this result for the coevolution of black holes and galaxies in clusters, the evolution of AGN feedback, searches for clusters with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, and the possible detection of environment-dependent downsizing.

Active galactic nucleus black hole mass estimates in the era of time domain astronomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, Brandon C.; Treu, Tommaso; Pancoast, Anna [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530 (United States); Malkan, Matthew [Department of Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, Box 951547, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Woo, Jong-Hak [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-12-20

We investigate the dependence of the normalization of the high-frequency part of the X-ray and optical power spectral densities (PSDs) on black hole mass for a sample of 39 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with black hole masses estimated from reverberation mapping or dynamical modeling. We obtained new Swift observations of PG 1426+015, which has the largest estimated black hole mass of the AGNs in our sample. We develop a novel statistical method to estimate the PSD from a light curve of photon counts with arbitrary sampling, eliminating the need to bin a light curve to achieve Gaussian statistics, and we use this technique to estimate the X-ray variability parameters for the faint AGNs in our sample. We find that the normalization of the high-frequency X-ray PSD is inversely proportional to black hole mass. We discuss how to use this scaling relationship to obtain black hole mass estimates from the short timescale X-ray variability amplitude with precision ∼0.38 dex. The amplitude of optical variability on timescales of days is also anticorrelated with black hole mass, but with larger scatter. Instead, the optical variability amplitude exhibits the strongest anticorrelation with luminosity. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for estimating black hole mass from the amplitude of AGN variability.

Evolution of the central black hole in an active galactic nucleus. I. Evolution with a constant mass influx

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, S.J.; Vishniac, E.T.

1988-01-01

The long-term evolution of the central black hole in an active galactic nucleus (AGN), whose rotational energy is being extracted by the Blandford-Znajek process, was analyzed. The model is based on previous axisymmetric, stationary descriptions of the black hole and its magnetosphere, but includes the secular effects of the mass accretion rate. The properties of the black hole and the nonthermal radiation from its environment are calculated under the assumption that the mass influx is constant. It is noted that this model fails to explain the correlation of evolutionary time scale with luminosity or the extremely rapid evolution required for the most luminous sources. It is concluded that the evolution of AGNs is driven by a rapid decrease in mass accretion rate. Since the nature of an AGN is dependent on the ratio mass accretion/total mass, this leads to a conclusion that AGNs evolve from QSOs into the nuclei of Seyfert or radio galaxies. 20 references

Determining the nature of faint X-ray sources from the ASCA Galactic center survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lutovinov, A. A.; Revnivtsev, M. G.; Karasev, D. I.; Shimansky, V. V.; Burenin, R. A.; Bikmaev, I. F.; Vorob'ev, V. S.; Tsygankov, S. S.; Pavlinsky, M. N.

2015-05-01

We present the results of the the identification of six objects from the ASCA Galactic center and Galactic plane surveys: AX J173548-3207, AX J173628-3141, AX J1739.5-2910, AX J1740.4-2856, AX J1740.5-2937, and AX J1743.9-2846. Chandra, XMM-Newton, and XRT/Swift X-ray data have been used to improve the positions of the optical counterparts to these sources. Thereafter, we have carried out a series of spectroscopic observations of the established optical counterparts at the RTT-150 telescope. Analysis of X-ray and optical spectra as well as photometric measurements in a wide wavelength range based on optical and infrared catalogs has allowed the nature of the program sources to be determined. Two X-ray objects have been detected in the error circle of AX J173628-3141: one is a coronally active G star and the other may be a symbiotic star, a red giant with an accreting white dwarf. Three sources (AX J1739.5-2910, AX J1740.5-2937, AX J1743.9-2846) have turned out to be active G-K stars, presumably RS CVn objects, one (AX J1740.4-2856) is an M dwarf, and another one (AX J173548-3207) most likely a low-mass X-ray binary in its low state. The distances and corresponding luminosities of the sources in the soft X-ray band (0.5-10 keV) have been estimated; analysis of deep INTEGRAL Galactic center observations has not revealed a statistically significant flux at energies >20 keV from any of them.

Radio pulsars and transients in the Galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazio, Joseph; Deneva, J S; Bower, Geoffrey C; Cordes, J M; Hyman, Scott D; Backer, D C; Bhat, R; Chatterjee, S; Demorest, P; Ransom, S M; Vlemmings, W

2006-01-01

Radio pulsars and transients provide powerful probes of the star formation history, interstellar medium, and gravitational potential of the Galactic center. Historical radio observations of the Galactic center have not emphasized the time domain aspect of observing this region. We summarize a series of recent searches for and observations of radio transients and pulsars that make use of two advances in technology. The first is the formation of large fields of view (∼> 1 0 ) at relatively longer wavelengths (λ > 1 m), and the second is the construction of receivers and instruments capable of collecting data on microsecond time scales at relatively short wavelengths (∼ 3 cm)

Galactic supernova remnants: radio evolution and population characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caswell, J.L.; Lerche, I.

1979-01-01

Shell SNRs show a systematic gradient of radio surface brightness normal to the galactic plane, and a measured scale height for this effect has been obtained. The progenitor distribution and birth rate are significantly modified when allowance is made for the effect. The galactic height dependence of radio surface brightness satisfactorily accounts for the otherwise anomalous high-latitude SNR AD1006. It also provides a crucial clue to the origin of the radio emission, suggesting that the interstellar magnetic field is dominant over internally generated fields in shell SNRs. The same conclusion is reached from a consideration of the cumulative number count of shell SNRs

LISA Pathfinder test-mass charging during galactic cosmic-ray flux short-term variations

Science.gov (United States)

Grimani, C.; Fabi, M.; Lobo, A.; Mateos, I.; Telloni, D.

2015-02-01

Metal free-floating test masses aboard the future interferometers devoted to gravitational wave detection in space are charged by galactic and solar cosmic rays with energies \\gt 100 MeV/n. This process represents one of the main sources of noise in the lowest frequency band (\\lt 10-3 Hz) of these experiments. We study here the charging of the LISA Pathfinder (LISA-PF) gold-platinum test masses due to galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) protons and helium nuclei with the Fluka Monte Carlo toolkit. Projections of the energy spectra of GCRs during the LISA-PF operations in 2015 are considered. This work was carried out on the basis of the solar activity level and solar polarity epoch expected for LISA-PF. The effects of GCR short-term variations are evaluated here for the first time. Classical Forbush decreases, GCR variations induced by the Sun rotation, and fluctuations in the LISA-PF frequency bandwidth are discussed.

Gauging the Galactic thick disk with RR Lyrae stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cruz G.

2012-02-01

Full Text Available In this contribution we present results from the QUEST RR Lyrae Survey of the thick disk. The survey spans ~480 sq. deg. at low latitude |b| < 30°, with multi-epoch VRI observations, obtained with the QUEST-I camera at the 1m Jürgen Stock Schmidt telescope located at the National Astronomical Observatory of Venezuela. This constitutes the first deep RR Lyrae survey of the Galactic thick disk conducted at low galactic latitudes, covering simultaneously a large range in radial (8Galactic Plane. The spatial coverage of the survey together with the multi-band multi-epoch photometry allowed for the derivation of the thick disk structural parameters from in situ RR Lyrae stars having accurate distances (errors <7% and individual reddenings derived from each star’s color curve at minimum light. Moreover, the use of RR Lyrae stars as tracers ensures negligible contamination from the Galactic thin disk. We find a thick disk mean scale height hZ = 0.94 ± 0.11kpc and scale length hR = 3.2 ± 0.4kpc, derived from the vertical and radial mean density profiles of RR Lyrae stars. We also find evidence of thick disk flaring and results that may suggest the thick disk radial density profile shows signs of antitruncation. We discuss our findings in the context of recent thick disk formation models.

Abundances in the Galactic bulge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbuy, B; Alves-Brito, A [Universidade de Sao Paulo, IAG, Rua do Matao 1226, Sao Paulo 05508-900 (Brazil); Ortolani, S; Zoccali, M [Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 2, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Hill, V; Gomez, A [Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 92195 Meudon Cedex (France); Melendez, J [Centro de AstrofIsica da Universidade de Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Asplund, M [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Postfach 1317, 85741 Garching (Germany); Bica, E [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CP 15051, Porto Alegre 91501-970 (Brazil); Renzini, A [Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Minniti, D [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)], E-mail: barbuy@astro.iag.usp.br

2008-12-15

The metallicity distribution and abundance ratios of the Galactic bulge are reviewed. Issues raised by recent work of different groups, in particular the high metallicity end, the overabundance of {alpha}-elements in the bulge relative to the thick disc and the measurement of giants versus dwarfs, are discussed. Abundances in the old moderately metal-poor bulge globular clusters are described.

Prospects for Galactic TeV Neutrino Astronomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kistler, Matthew D [Department of Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States)

2007-03-15

In just the last few years, the catalog of known Galactic TeV gamma-ray sources has grown dramatically, due to the abilities of current air Cerenkov telescopes to measure both the spectrum and morphology of the TeV emission. While these properties can be very well measured, they are not necessarily sufficient to determine whether the gamma rays are produced by leptonic or hadronic processes. However, if the gamma-ray emission is hadronic, there must be an accompanying flux of neutrinos, which can be determined from the observed gamma-ray spectrum. The upcoming km3 neutrino telescopes will allow for a direct test of the gamma-ray production mechanism and the possibility of examining the highest possible energies, with important consequences for our understanding of Galactic cosmic-ray production.

Prospects for Galactic TeV Neutrino Astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kistler, Matthew D

2007-01-01

In just the last few years, the catalog of known Galactic TeV gamma-ray sources has grown dramatically, due to the abilities of current air Cerenkov telescopes to measure both the spectrum and morphology of the TeV emission. While these properties can be very well measured, they are not necessarily sufficient to determine whether the gamma rays are produced by leptonic or hadronic processes. However, if the gamma-ray emission is hadronic, there must be an accompanying flux of neutrinos, which can be determined from the observed gamma-ray spectrum. The upcoming km3 neutrino telescopes will allow for a direct test of the gamma-ray production mechanism and the possibility of examining the highest possible energies, with important consequences for our understanding of Galactic cosmic-ray production

THE BOLOCAM GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY. II. CATALOG OF THE IMAGE DATA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosolowsky, Erik; Dunham, Miranda K.; Evans, Neal J.; Harvey, Paul; Ginsburg, Adam; Bally, John; Battersby, Cara; Glenn, Jason; Stringfellow, Guy S.; Bradley, E. Todd; Aguirre, James; Cyganowski, Claudia; Dowell, Darren; Drosback, Meredith; Walawender, Josh; Williams, Jonathan P.

2010-01-01

We present a catalog of 8358 sources extracted from images produced by the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS). The BGPS is a survey of the millimeter dust continuum emission from the northern Galactic plane. The catalog sources are extracted using a custom algorithm, Bolocat, which was designed specifically to identify and characterize objects in the large-area maps generated from the Bolocam instrument. The catalog products are designed to facilitate follow-up observations of these relatively unstudied objects. The catalog is 98% complete from 0.4 Jy to 60 Jy over all object sizes for which the survey is sensitive ( -2.4±0.1 and that the mean Galactic latitude for sources is significantly below the midplane: (b) = (-0. 0 095 ± 0. 0 001).

A NEW NETWORK FOR HIGHER-TEMPERATURE GAS-PHASE CHEMISTRY. I. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF ACCRETION DISKS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harada, Nanase; Herbst, Eric; Wakelam, Valentine

2010-01-01

We present a new interstellar chemical gas-phase reaction network for time-dependent kinetics that can be used for modeling high-temperature sources up to ∼800 K. This network contains an extended set of reactions based on the Ohio State University (OSU) gas-phase chemical network. The additional reactions include processes with significant activation energies, reverse reactions, proton exchange reactions, charge exchange reactions, and collisional dissociation. Rate coefficients already in the OSU network are modified for H 2 formation on grains, ion-neutral dipole reactions, and some radiative association reactions. The abundance of H 2 O is enhanced at high temperature by hydrogenation of atomic O. Much of the elemental oxygen is in the form of water at T ≥ 300 K, leading to effective carbon-rich conditions, which can efficiently produce carbon-chain species such as C 2 H 2 . At higher temperatures, HCN and NH 3 are also produced much more efficiently. We have applied the extended network to a simplified model of the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus.

Double tracks test site characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

This report presents the results of site characterization activities performed at the Double Tracks Test Site, located on Range 71 North, of the Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR) in southern Nevada. Site characterization activities included reviewing historical data from the Double Tracks experiment, previous site investigation efforts, and recent site characterization data. The most recent site characterization activities were conducted in support of an interim corrective action to remediate the Double Tracks Test Site to an acceptable risk to human health and the environment. Site characterization was performed using a phased approach. First, previously collected data and historical records sere compiled and reviewed. Generalized scopes of work were then prepared to fill known data gaps. Field activities were conducted and the collected data were then reviewed to determine whether data gaps were filled and whether other areas needed to be investigated. Additional field efforts were then conducted, as required, to adequately characterize the site. Characterization of the Double Tracks Test Site was conducted in accordance with the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration (SAFER)

THE BOLOCAM GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY. VIII. A MID-INFRARED KINEMATIC DISTANCE DISCRIMINATION METHOD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellsworth-Bowers, Timothy P.; Glenn, Jason; Battersby, Cara; Ginsburg, Adam; Bally, John [CASA, University of Colorado, UCB 389, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Rosolowsky, Erik [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7 (Canada); Mairs, Steven [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC V8P 1A1 (Canada); Evans, Neal J. II [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Shirley, Yancy L., E-mail: timothy.ellsworthbowers@colorado.edu [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2013-06-10

We present a new distance estimation method for dust-continuum-identified molecular cloud clumps. Recent (sub-)millimeter Galactic plane surveys have cataloged tens of thousands of these objects, plausible precursors to stellar clusters, but detailed study of their physical properties requires robust distance determinations. We derive Bayesian distance probability density functions (DPDFs) for 770 objects from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey in the Galactic longitude range 7. Degree-Sign 5 {<=} l {<=} 65 Degree-Sign . The DPDF formalism is based on kinematic distances, and uses any number of external data sets to place prior distance probabilities to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity (KDA) for objects in the inner Galaxy. We present here priors related to the mid-infrared absorption of dust in dense molecular regions and the distribution of molecular gas in the Galactic disk. By assuming a numerical model of Galactic mid-infrared emission and simple radiative transfer, we match the morphology of (sub-)millimeter thermal dust emission with mid-infrared absorption to compute a prior DPDF for distance discrimination. Selecting objects first from (sub-)millimeter source catalogs avoids a bias towards the darkest infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) and extends the range of heliocentric distance probed by mid-infrared extinction and includes lower-contrast sources. We derive well-constrained KDA resolutions for 618 molecular cloud clumps, with approximately 15% placed at or beyond the tangent distance. Objects with mid-infrared contrast sufficient to be cataloged as IRDCs are generally placed at the near kinematic distance. Distance comparisons with Galactic Ring Survey KDA resolutions yield a 92% agreement. A face-on view of the Milky Way using resolved distances reveals sections of the Sagittarius and Scutum-Centaurus Arms. This KDA-resolution method for large catalogs of sources through the combination of (sub-)millimeter and mid-infrared observations of molecular

Benchmark of the SixTrack-Fluka Active Coupling Against the SPS Scrapers Burst Test

CERN Multimedia

Mereghetti, A; Cerutti, F

2014-01-01

The SPS scrapers are a key ingredient for the clean injection into the LHC: they cut off halo particles quite close to the beam core (e.g.~3.5 sigma) just before extraction, to minimise the risk for quenches. The improved beam parameters as envisaged by the LHC Injectors Upgrade (LIU) Project required a revision of the present system, to assess its suitability and robustness. In particular, a burst (i.e. endurance) test of the scraper blades has been carried out, with the whole bunch train being scraped at the centre (worst working conditions). In order to take into account the effect of betatron and longitudinal beam dynamics on energy deposition patterns, and nuclear and Coulomb scattering in the absorbing medium onto loss patterns, the SixTrack and Fluka codes have been coupled, profiting from the best of the refined physical models they respectively embed. The coupling envisages an active exchange of tracked particles between the two codes at each turn, and an on-line aperture check in SixTrack, in order ...

GALACTIC AND EXTRAGALACTIC SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AS SITES OF PARTICLE ACCELERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manami Sasaki

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Supernova remnants, owing to their strong shock waves, are likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays. Studies of supernova remnants in X-rays and gamma rays provide us with new insights into the acceleration of particles to high energies. This paper reviews the basic physics of supernova remnant shocks and associated particle acceleration and radiation processes. In addition, the study of supernova remnant populations in nearby galaxies and the implications for Galactic cosmic ray distribution are discussed.

Dynamical or static radio halo - Is there a galactic wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lerche, I.; Schlickeiser, R.

1981-01-01

The effect of a galactic wind on a radio halo can be best observed at frequencies smaller than about 1 GHz. At higher frequencies static halo models predict the same features as dynamical halo models. External galaxies, which exhibit a break by 0.5 in their high frequency nonthermal integral flux spectrum, are the best candidates for studying the influence of galactic winds on the formation of relativistic electron haloes around these systems. Several such cases are presented

COBE diffuse infrared background experiment observations of the galactic bulge

Science.gov (United States)

Weiland, J. L.; Arendt, R. G.; Berriman, G. B.; Dwek, E.; Freudenreich, H. T.; Hauser, M. G.; Kelsall, T.; Lisse, C. M.; Mitra, M.; Moseley, S. H.

1994-01-01

Low angular resolution maps of the Galactic bulge at 1.25, 2.2, 3.5, and 4.9 micrometers obtained by the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) onboard NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) are presented. After correction for extinction and subtraction of an empirical model for the Galactic disk, the surface brightness distribution of the bulge resembles a flattened ellipse with a minor-to-major axis ratio of approximately 0.6. The bulge minor axis scale height is found to be 2.1 deg +/- 0.2 deg for all four near-infrared wavelengths. Asymmetries in the longitudinal distribution of bulge brightness contours are qualitatively consistent with those expected for a triaxial bar with its near end in the first Galactic quadrant (0 deg less than l less than 90 deg). There is no evidence for an out-of-plane tilt of such a bar.

PAH features within few hundred parsecs of active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, J. J.; Hönig, S. F.; Rakshit, S.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Asmus, D.; Gandhi, P.; Kishimoto, M.; Smette, A.; Tristram, K. R. W.

2017-09-01

Spectral features from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules observed in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) range are typically used to infer the amount of recent and ongoing star formation on kiloparsec scales around active galactic nuclei (AGN) where more traditional methods fail. This method assumes that the observed PAH features are excited predominantly by star formation. With current ground-based telescopes and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, much smaller spatial scales can be probed and we aim at testing if this assumption still holds in the range of few tens to few hundreds of parsecs. For that, we spatially map the emitted 11.3 μm PAH surface flux as a function of distance from 0.4-4 arcsec from the centre in 28 nearby AGN using ground-based high-angular-resolution mid-IR spectroscopy. We detect and extract the 11.3 μm PAH feature in 13 AGN. The fluxes within each aperture are scaled to a luminosity-normalized distance from the nucleus to be able to compare intrinsic spatial scales of AGN radiation spanning about two orders of magnitude in luminosity. For this, we establish an empirical relation between the absorption-corrected X-ray luminosity and the sublimation radius in these sources. Once normalized, the radial profiles of the emitted PAH surface flux show similar radial slopes, with a power-law index of approximately -1.1, and similar absolute values, consistent within a factor of a few of each other as expected from the uncertainty in the intrinsic scale estimate. We interpret this as evidence that the profiles are caused by a common compact central physical process, either the AGN itself or circumnuclear star formation linked in strength to the AGN power. A photoionization-based model of an AGN exciting dense clouds in its environment can reproduce the observed radial slope and confirms that the AGN radiation field is strong enough to explain the observed PAH surface fluxes within ∼10-500 pc of the nucleus. Our results advice caution

Kinematic structures in galactic disc simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roca-F� brega, S.; Romero-Gómez, M.; Figueras, F.; Antoja Castelltort, Teresa; Valenzuela, O.; Henney, W.J.; Torres-Peimbert, S.

2011-01-01

N-body and test particle simulations have been used to characterize the stellar streams in the galactic discs of Milky Way type galaxies. Tools such as the second and third order moments of the velocity ellipsoid and clustering methods -EM-WEKA and FoF- allow characterizing these kinematic

Exact axially symmetric galactic dynamos

Science.gov (United States)

Henriksen, R. N.; Woodfinden, A.; Irwin, J. A.

2018-05-01

We give a selection of exact dynamos in axial symmetry on a galactic scale. These include some steady examples, at least one of which is wholly analytic in terms of simple functions and has been discussed elsewhere. Most solutions are found in terms of special functions, such as associated Lagrange or hypergeometric functions. They may be considered exact in the sense that they are known to any desired accuracy in principle. The new aspect developed here is to present scale-invariant solutions with zero resistivity that are self-similar in time. The time dependence is either a power law or an exponential factor, but since the geometry of the solution is self-similar in time we do not need to fix a time to study it. Several examples are discussed. Our results demonstrate (without the need to invoke any other mechanisms) X-shaped magnetic fields and (axially symmetric) magnetic spiral arms (both of which are well observed and documented) and predict reversing rotation measures in galaxy haloes (now observed in the CHANG-ES sample) as well as the fact that planar magnetic spirals are lifted into the galactic halo.

GOODS-HERSCHEL: IMPACT OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AND STAR FORMATION ACTIVITY ON INFRARED SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AT HIGH REDSHIFT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirkpatrick, Allison; Pope, Alexandra [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002 (United States); Alexander, David M. [Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Charmandaris, Vassilis [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics, University of Crete, GR-71003, Heraklion (Greece); Daddi, Emmanuele; Elbaz, David; Gabor, Jared; Mullaney, James; Pannella, Maurilio; Aussel, Herve; Bournaud, Frederic; Dasyra, Kalliopi [Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot, Irfu/SAp, Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Dickinson, Mark [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Hwang, Ho Seong [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Ivison, Rob [UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Scott, Douglas [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Altieri, Bruno; Coia, Daniela [Herschel Science Centre, European Space Astronomy Centre, Villanueva de la Canada, E-28691 Madrid (Spain); Buat, Veronique [Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Universite d' Aix-Marseille, CNRS, UMR7326, 38 rue F. Joliot-Curie, F-13388 Marseille Cedex 13 (France); Dannerbauer, Helmut, E-mail: kirkpatr@astro.umass.edu [Institut fuer Astrophysik, Universitaet Wien, Tuerkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria); and others

2012-11-10

We explore the effects of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star formation activity on the infrared (0.3-1000 {mu}m) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of luminous infrared galaxies from z = 0.5 to 4.0. We have compiled a large sample of 151 galaxies selected at 24 {mu}m (S {sub 24} {approx}> 100 {mu}Jy) in the GOODS-N and ECDFS fields for which we have deep Spitzer IRS spectroscopy, allowing us to decompose the mid-IR spectrum into contributions from star formation and AGN activity. A significant portion ({approx}25%) of our sample is dominated by an AGN (>50% of the mid-IR luminosity) in the mid-IR. Based on the mid-IR classification, we divide our full sample into four sub-samples: z {approx} 1 star-forming (SF) sources, z {approx} 2 SF sources, AGNs with clear 9.7 {mu}m silicate absorption, and AGNs with featureless mid-IR spectra. From our large spectroscopic sample and wealth of multi-wavelength data, including deep Herschel imaging at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 {mu}m, we use 95 galaxies with complete spectral coverage to create a composite SED for each sub-sample. We then fit a two-temperature component modified blackbody to the SEDs. We find that the IR SEDs have similar cold dust temperatures, regardless of the mid-IR power source, but display a marked difference in the warmer dust temperatures. We calculate the average effective temperature of the dust in each sub-sample and find a significant ({approx}20 K) difference between the SF and AGN systems. We compare our composite SEDs to local templates and find that local templates do not accurately reproduce the mid-IR features and dust temperatures of our high-redshift systems. High-redshift IR luminous galaxies contain significantly more cool dust than their local counterparts. We find that a full suite of photometry spanning the IR peak is necessary to accurately account for the dominant dust temperature components in high-redshift IR luminous galaxies.

Models of Emission-Line Profiles and Spectral Energy Distributions to Characterize the Multi-Frequency Properties of Active Galactic Nuclei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni La Mura

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGNs are often characterized by a wealth of emission lines with different profiles and intensity ratios that lead to a complicated classification. Their electromagnetic radiation spans more than 10 orders of magnitude in frequency. In spite of the differences between various classes, the origin of their activity is attributed to a combination of emitting components, surrounding an accreting supermassive black hole (SMBH, in the unified model. Currently, the execution of sky surveys, with instruments operating at various frequencies, provides the possibility to detect and to investigate the properties of AGNs on very large statistical samples. As a result of the spectroscopic surveys that allow the investigation of many objects, we have the opportunity to place new constraints on the nature and evolution of AGNs. In this contribution, we present the results obtained by working on multi-frequency data, and we discuss their relations with the available optical spectra. We compare our findings with the AGN unified model predictions, and we present a revised technique to select AGNs of different types from other line-emitting objects. We discuss the multi-frequency properties in terms of the innermost structures of the sources.

Multiwavelength observations of Active Galactic Nuclei from the radio to the hard X-rays

Science.gov (United States)

Beuchert, Tobias

2017-07-01

Active Galaxies form a peculiar type of galaxies. Their cores, the so-called "Active Galactic Nuclei" (AGN), are the most persistent luminous objects in the universe. Accretion of several solar masses per year onto black holes of Millions to Billions of solar masses drive the immense energy output of these systems, which can exceed that of the entire galaxy. The compact energy source, however, only measures about one over a Billion times that of the entire galaxy. Subject of my thesis are observations of the two main channels of energy release of selected AGN systems, both of which are encompassed by profound and yet unanswered questions. These channels are on the one hand the pronounced X-ray emission of the hot and compact accreting environment in close vicinity of the black hole, and on the other hand the radio synchrotron emission of magnetically collimated jets that are fed by portions of the accreted matter. These jets also function as effective accelerators and drive the injected matter deep into the intergalactic medium. As the circumnuclear environment of AGN is too compact to be spatially resolved in the X-rays, I show how X-ray spectroscopy can be used to: (1) understand the effects of strong gravity to trace the geometry and physics of the X-ray source and (2) more consistently quantify matter that surrounds and dynamically absorbs our direct line of sight towards the X-ray source. Second, I unveil the valuable information contained in the polarized radio light being emitted from magnetized jet outflows. In contrast to the X-ray emitting region, I am able to spatially resolve the inner parts of the jet of a prominent galaxy with help of the Very Long Baseline Array, a large network of radio telescopes. The resulting polarization maps turn out to be exceptionally promising in answering fundamental questions related to jet physics.

Unveiling the nature of the γ-ray emitting active galactic nucleus PKS 0521-36

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Ammando, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica; Orienti, M.; Tavecchio, F.; Ghisellini, G.

2015-01-01

PKS 0521-36 is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with uncertain classification. Here, we investigate the properties of this source from radio to γ-rays. The broad emission lines in the optical and ultraviolet bands and steep radio spectrum indicate a possible classification as an intermediate object between broad-line radio galaxies (BLRG) and steep spectrum radio quasars (SSRQ). On pc-scales PKS 0521-36 shows a knotty structure similar to misaligned AGN. The core dominance and the γ-ray properties are similar to those estimated for other SSRQ and BLRG detected in γ-rays, suggesting an intermediate viewing angle with respect to the observer. In this context the flaring activity detected from this source by Fermi-Large Area Telescope between 2010 June and 2012 February is very intriguing. We discuss the γ-ray emission of this source in the framework of the structured jet scenario, comparing the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the flaring state in 2010 June with that of a low state. We present three alternative models corresponding to three different choices of the viewing angles θv = 6°, 15°, and 20°. We obtain a good fit for the first two cases, but the SED obtained with θv = 15° if observed at a small angle does not resemble that of a typical blazar since the synchrotron emission should dominate by a large factor (~100) the inverse Compton component. This suggests that a viewing angle between 6° and 15° is preferred, with the rapid variability observed during γ-ray flares favouring a smaller angle. However, we cannot rule out that PKS 0521-36 is the misaligned counterpart of a synchrotron-dominated blazar.

THE GALACTIC O-STAR SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY (GOSSS). II. BRIGHT SOUTHERN STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sota, A.; Apellániz, J. Maíz; Alfaro, E. J.; Morrell, N. I.; Barbá, R. H.; Arias, J. I.; Walborn, N. R.; Gamen, R. C.

2014-01-01

We present the second installment of GOSSS, a massive spectroscopic survey of Galactic O stars, based on new homogeneous, high signal-to-noise ratio, R ∼ 2500 digital observations from both hemispheres selected from the Galactic O-Star Catalog (GOSC). In this paper we include bright stars and other objects drawn mostly from the first version of GOSC, all of them south of δ = –20°, for a total number of 258 O stars. We also revise the northern sample of Paper I to provide the full list of spectroscopically classified Galactic O stars complete to B = 8, bringing the total number of published GOSSS stars to 448. Extensive sequences of exceptional objects are given, including the early Of/WN, O Iafpe, Ofc, ON/OC, Onfp, Of?p, and Oe types, as well as double/triple-lined spectroscopic binaries. The new spectral subtype O9.2 is also discussed. The magnitude and spatial distributions of the observed sample are analyzed. We also present new results from OWN, a multi-epoch high-resolution spectroscopic survey coordinated with GOSSS that is assembling the largest sample of Galactic spectroscopic massive binaries ever attained. The OWN data combined with additional information on spectroscopic and visual binaries from the literature indicate that only a very small fraction (if any) of the stars with masses above 15-20 M ☉ are born as single systems. In the future we will publish the rest of the GOSSS survey, which is expected to include over 1000 Galactic O stars

THE CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF THE MONOCEROS RING/GALACTIC ANTICENTER STELLAR STRUCTURE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou Meiyin; Majewski, Steven R.; Patterson, Richard J.; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; MartInez-Delgado, David

2010-01-01

The origin of the Galactic Anticenter Stellar Structure (GASS) or 'Monoceros Ring' - a low-latitude overdensity at the edge of the Galactic disk spanning at least the second and third Galactic quadrants-remains controversial. Models for the origin of GASS generally fall into scenarios where either it is a part (e.g., warp) of the Galactic disk or it represents tidal debris from the disruption of a Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxy. To further constrain models for the origin of GASS, we derive chemical abundance patterns from high-resolution spectra for 21 M giants spatially and kinematically identified with it. The abundances of the (mostly) α-element, titanium, and s-process elements, yttrium and lanthanum, for these GASS stars are found to be lower at the same [Fe/H] than those for MW stars, but similar to those of stars in the Sagittarius stream, other dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. This demonstrates that GASS stars have a chemical enrichment history typical of dwarf galaxies-and unlike those of typical MW stars (at least MW stars near the Sun). Nevertheless, these abundance results cannot definitively rule out the possibility that GASS was dynamically created out of a previously formed, outer MW disk because ΛCDM-based structure formation models show that galactic disks grow outward by accretion of dwarf galaxies. On the other hand, the chemical patterns seen in GASS stars do provide striking verification that accretion of dwarf galaxies has indeed happened at the edge of the MW disk.

THE ROLE OF STARBURST-ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS COMPOSITES IN LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXY MERGERS: INSIGHTS FROM THE NEW OPTICAL CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, T.-T.; Kewley, L. J.; Sanders, D. B.

2010-01-01

We investigate the fraction of starbursts, starburst-active galactic nucleus (AGN) composites, Seyferts, and low-ionization narrow emission-line region galaxies (LINERs) as a function of infrared luminosity (L IR ) and merger progress for ∼500 infrared (IR)-selected galaxies. Using the new optical classifications afforded by the extremely large data set of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we find that the fraction of LINERs in IR-selected samples is rare ( IR > 10 12 L sun ), starburst-AGN composite galaxies dominate at early-intermediate stages of the merger, and AGN galaxies dominate during the final merger stages. Our results are consistent with models for IR-luminous galaxies where mergers of gas-rich spirals fuel both starburst and AGN, and where the AGN becomes increasingly dominant during the final merger stages of the most luminous IR objects.

Automated time activity classification based on global positioning system (GPS) tracking data.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jun; Jiang, Chengsheng; Houston, Douglas; Baker, Dean; Delfino, Ralph

2011-11-14

Air pollution epidemiological studies are increasingly using global positioning system (GPS) to collect time-location data because they offer continuous tracking, high temporal resolution, and minimum reporting burden for participants. However, substantial uncertainties in the processing and classifying of raw GPS data create challenges for reliably characterizing time activity patterns. We developed and evaluated models to classify people's major time activity patterns from continuous GPS tracking data. We developed and evaluated two automated models to classify major time activity patterns (i.e., indoor, outdoor static, outdoor walking, and in-vehicle travel) based on GPS time activity data collected under free living conditions for 47 participants (N = 131 person-days) from the Harbor Communities Time Location Study (HCTLS) in 2008 and supplemental GPS data collected from three UC-Irvine research staff (N = 21 person-days) in 2010. Time activity patterns used for model development were manually classified by research staff using information from participant GPS recordings, activity logs, and follow-up interviews. We evaluated two models: (a) a rule-based model that developed user-defined rules based on time, speed, and spatial location, and (b) a random forest decision tree model. Indoor, outdoor static, outdoor walking and in-vehicle travel activities accounted for 82.7%, 6.1%, 3.2% and 7.2% of manually-classified time activities in the HCTLS dataset, respectively. The rule-based model classified indoor and in-vehicle travel periods reasonably well (Indoor: sensitivity > 91%, specificity > 80%, and precision > 96%; in-vehicle travel: sensitivity > 71%, specificity > 99%, and precision > 88%), but the performance was moderate for outdoor static and outdoor walking predictions. No striking differences in performance were observed between the rule-based and the random forest models. The random forest model was fast and easy to execute, but was likely less robust

Role of Turbulent Damping in Cosmic Ray Galactic Winds

Science.gov (United States)

Holguin, Francisco; Ruszkowski, Mateusz; Lazarian, Alex; Yang, H. Y. Karen

2018-06-01

Large-scale galactic winds driven by stellar feedback are one phenomenon that influences the dynamical and chemical evolution of a galaxy, pushing and redistributing material throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) and galactic halo. A detailed understanding of the exact physical mechanisms responsible for these winds is lacking. Non-thermal feedback from galactic cosmic rays (CR), high-energy charged particles accelerated in supernovae and young stars, can impact the efficiency in accelerating the wind. In the self-confinement model, CR stream along magnetic field lines at the Alfven speed due to scattering off self-excited Aflv{é}n waves. However, magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence stirred up by stellar feedback dissipates these confining waves, allowing CR to be super Aflvenic. Previous simulations relying on a simplified model of transport have shown that super-Alfv{é}nic streaming of CRs can launch a stronger wind. We perform three-dimensional MHD simulations of a section of a galactic disk, including CR streaming dependent on the local environment, using a realistic model of turbulent dissipation of Alfven waves presented in Lazarian (2016). In this implementation, the CR streaming speed can be super Alfv{é}nic depending on local conditions. We compare results for Alfv{é}nic and locally determined streaming, and find that gas/CR distributions and instantaneous mass loading factor of the wind are different depending on the level of turbulence.Lazarian, A. “Damping of Alfven waves by turbulence and its consequences: from cosmic-ray streaming to launching winds.” ApJ. Vol. 833, Num. 2. (2016).

Einstein Observations of Galactic supernova remnants

Science.gov (United States)

Seward, Frederick D.

1990-01-01

This paper summarizes the observations of Galactic supernova remnants with the imaging detectors of the Einstein Observatory. X-ray surface brightness contours of 47 remnants are shown together with gray-scale pictures. Count rates for these remnants have been derived and are listed for the HRI, IPC, and MPC detectors.

On the physical origin of galactic conformity

Science.gov (United States)

Hearin, Andrew P.; Behroozi, Peter S.; van den Bosch, Frank C.

2016-09-01

Correlations between the star formation rates (SFRs) of nearby galaxies (so-called galactic conformity) have been observed for projected separations up to 4 Mpc, an effect not predicted by current semi-analytic models. We investigate correlations between the mass accretion rates (dMvir/dt) of nearby haloes as a potential physical origin for this effect. We find that pairs of host haloes `know about' each others' assembly histories even when their present-day separation is greater than thirty times the virial radius of either halo. These distances are far too large for direct interaction between the haloes to explain the correlation in their dMvir/dt. Instead, halo pairs at these distances reside in the same large-scale tidal environment, which regulates dMvir/dt for both haloes. Larger haloes are less affected by external forces, which naturally gives rise to a mass dependence of the halo conformity signal. SDSS measurements of galactic conformity exhibit a qualitatively similar dependence on stellar mass, including how the signal varies with distance. Based on the expectation that halo accretion and galaxy SFR are correlated, we predict the scale-, mass- and redshift-dependence of large-scale galactic conformity, finding that the signal should drop to undetectable levels by z ≳ 1. These predictions are testable with current surveys to z ˜ 1; confirmation would establish a strong correlation between dark matter halo accretion rate and central galaxy SFR.

The population of planetary nebulae near the Galactic Centre: chemical abundances

Science.gov (United States)

Mollá, M.; Cavichia, O.; Costa, R. D. D.; Maciel, W. J.

2017-10-01

In this work, we report physical parameters and abundances derived for a sample of 15 high extinction planetary nebulae located in the inner 2° of the Galactic bulge, based on low dispersion spectroscopy secured at the SOAR telescope using the Goodman spectrograph. The new data allow us to extend our database including older, weaker objects that are at the faint end of the planetary nebulae luminosity function. The data provide chemical compositions for PNe located in this region of the bulge to explore the chemical enrichment history of the central region of the Galactic bulge. The results show that the abundances of our sample are skewed to higher metallicities than previous data in the outer regions of the bulge. This can indicate a faster chemical enrichment taking place at the Galactic centre.

Population studies - evidence for accretion of the galactic halo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, J.E.; Ryan, S.G.

1989-01-01

While there are comparatively few prograde-orbit dwarf stars in advance of the sun's motion of the type of which 510, selected kinematically, are presented, it is noted that there are significant numbers of objects on retrograde orbits that move with a speed greater than the sun's, relative to a nonrotating system, in the opposite direction about the Galactic center. It is suggested that this asymmetry is explainable in terms of the Searle and Zinn (1978) and Rodgers and Paltoglou (1984) models of halo formation by accretion; in these, fragments experience dynamical friction from an already-formed Galactic disk. 21 references

THE NATURE OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI WITH VELOCITY OFFSET EMISSION LINES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Müller-Sánchez, F.; Comerford, J. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Stern, D. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Harrison, F. A. [California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2016-10-10

We obtained Keck/OSIRIS near-IR adaptive optics-assisted integral-field spectroscopy to probe the morphology and kinematics of the ionized gas in four velocity-offset active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These objects possess optical emission lines that are offset in velocity from systemic as measured from stellar absorption features. At a resolution of ∼0.″18, OSIRIS allows us to distinguish which velocity offset emission lines are produced by the motion of an AGN in a dual supermassive black hole system, and which are produced by outflows or other kinematic structures. In three galaxies, J1018+2941, J1055+1520, and J1346+5228, the spectral offset of the emission lines is caused by AGN-driven outflows. In the remaining galaxy, J1117+6140, a counterrotating nuclear disk is observed that contains the peak of Pa α emission 0.″2 from the center of the galaxy. The most plausible explanation for the origin of this spatially and kinematically offset peak is that it is a region of enhanced Pa α emission located at the intersection zone between the nuclear disk and the bar of the galaxy. In all four objects, the peak of ionized gas emission is not spatially coincident with the center of the galaxy as traced by the peak of the near-IR continuum emission. The peaks of ionized gas emission are spatially offset from the galaxy centers by 0.″1–0.″4 (0.1–0.7 kpc). We find that the velocity offset originates at the location of this peak of emission, and the value of the offset can be directly measured in the velocity maps. The emission-line ratios of these four velocity-offset AGNs can be reproduced only with a mixture of shocks and AGN photoionization. Shocks provide a natural explanation for the origin of the spatially and spectrally offset peaks of ionized gas emission in these galaxies.

Active galactic nucleus X-ray variability in the XMM-COSMOS survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lanzuisi, G.; Ponti, G.; Salvato, M.; Brusa, M.; Nandra, P. K.; Merloni, A.; Rosario, D. [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Hasinger, G.; Sanders, D. [Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822-1839 (United States); Cappelluti, N.; Comastri, A.; Gilli, R. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Bongiorno, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma Via Frascati 33, I-00040, Monte Porzio Catone (Italy); Lusso, E.; Steinhardt, C. [Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Silverman, J.; Schramm, M. [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Trump, J. [University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Vignali, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá di Bologna, viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Kartaltepe, J., E-mail: lanzuisi@noa.gr [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); and others

2014-02-01

We used the observations carried out by XMM in the COSMOS field over 3.5 yr to study the long term variability of a large sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) (638 sources) in a wide range of redshifts (0.1 < z < 3.5) and X-ray luminosities (10{sup 41} < L {sub 0.5-10} <10{sup 45.5}). Both a simple statistical method to assess the significance of variability and the Normalized Excess Variance (σ{sub rms}{sup 2}) parameter were used to obtain a quantitative measurement of the variability. Variability is found to be prevalent in most AGNs, whenever we have good statistics to measure it, and no significant differences between type 1 and type 2 AGNs were found. A flat (slope –0.23 ± 0.03) anti-correlation between σ{sub rms}{sup 2} and X-ray luminosity is found when all significantly variable sources are considered together. When divided into three redshift bins, the anti-correlation becomes stronger and evolving with z, with higher redshift AGNs being more variable. We prove, however, that this effect is due to the pre-selection of variable sources: when considering all of the sources with an available σ{sub rms}{sup 2} measurement, the evolution in redshift disappears. For the first time, we were also able to study long term X-ray variability as a function of M {sub BH} and Eddington ratio for a large sample of AGNs spanning a wide range of redshifts. An anti-correlation between σ{sub rms}{sup 2} and M {sub BH} is found, with the same slope of anti-correlation between σ{sub rms}{sup 2} and X-ray luminosity, suggesting that the latter may be a by-product of the former. No clear correlation is found between σ{sub rms}{sup 2} and the Eddington ratio in our sample. Finally, no correlation is found between the X-ray σ{sub rms}{sup 2} and optical variability.

Fossil imprint of a powerful flare at the galactic center along the Magellanic stream

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bland-Hawthorn, J. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Maloney, Philip R. [CASA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States); Sutherland, Ralph S. [Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australia National University, Woden, ACT 2611 (Australia); Madsen, G. J. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom)

2013-11-20

The Fermi satellite discovery of the gamma-ray emitting bubbles extending 50° (10 kpc) from the Galactic center has revitalized earlier claims that our Galaxy has undergone an explosive episode in the recent past. We now explore a new constraint on such activity. The Magellanic Stream is a clumpy gaseous structure free of stars trailing behind the Magellanic Clouds, passing over the south Galactic pole (SGP) at a distance of at least 50-100 kpc from the Galactic center. Several groups have detected faint Hα emission along the Magellanic Stream (1.1 ± 0.3 × 10{sup –18} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1} arcsec{sup –2}) which is a factor of five too bright to have been produced by the Galactic stellar population. The brightest emission is confined to a cone with half angle θ{sub 1/2} ≈ 25° roughly centered on the SGP. Time-dependent models of Stream clouds exposed to a flare in ionizing photon flux show that the ionized gas must recombine and cool for a time interval T{sub o} = 0.6 – 2.9 Myr for the emitted Hα surface brightness to drop to the observed level. A nuclear starburst is ruled out by the low star formation rates across the inner Galaxy, and the non-existence of starburst ionization cones in external galaxies extending more than a few kiloparsecs. Sgr A{sup *} is a more likely candidate because it is two orders of magnitude more efficient at converting gas to UV radiation. The central black hole (M {sub •} ≈ 4 × 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉}) can supply the required ionizing luminosity with a fraction of the Eddington accretion rate (f{sub E} ∼ 0.03-0.3, depending on uncertain factors, e.g., Stream distance) typical of Seyfert galaxies. In support of nuclear activity, the Hα emission along the Stream has a polar angle dependence peaking close to the SGP. Moreover, it is now generally accepted that the Stream over the SGP must be farther than the Magellanic Clouds. At the lower halo gas densities, shocks become too ineffective and are unlikely to

Comparison of some properties of star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei between two BOSS galaxy samples from SDSS DR9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Xin-Fa

2014-01-01

Using the LOWZ and CMASS samples of the ninth data release (DR9) from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), I investigate properties of star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The CMASS sample seriously suffers from the radial selection effect, even within the redshift 0.44 ≤ z ≤ 0.6, which will likely lead to statistical conclusions in the CMASS sample being less robust. In the LOWZ sample, the fraction of star-forming galaxies is nearly constant from the least dense regime to the densest regime; the AGN fraction is also insensitive to the local environment. In addition, I note that in the LOWZ sample, the distributions of stellar mass and stellar velocity dispersion for star forming galaxies and AGNs are nearly the same

Unusual Metals in Galactic Center Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Hensley, Kerry

2018-03-01

Far from the galactic suburbs where the Sun resides, a cluster of stars in the nucleus of the Milky Way orbits a supermassive black hole. Can chemical abundance measurements help us understand the formation history of the galactic center nuclear star cluster?Studying Stellar PopulationsMetallicity distributions for stars in the inner two degrees of the Milky Way (blue) and the central parsec (orange). [Do et al. 2018]While many galaxies host nuclear star clusters, most are too distant for us to study in detail; only in the Milky Way can we resolve individual stars within one parsec of a supermassive black hole. The nucleus of our galaxy is an exotic and dangerous place, and its not yet clear how these stars came to be where they are were they siphoned off from other parts of the galaxy, or did they form in place, in an environment rocked by tidal forces?Studying the chemical abundances of stars provides a way to separate distinct stellar populations and discern when and where these stars formed. Previous studies using medium-resolution spectroscopy have revealed that many stars within the central parsec of our galaxy have very high metallicities possibly higher than any other region of the Milky Way. Can high-resolution spectroscopy tell us more about this unusual population of stars?Spectral Lines on DisplayTuan Do (University of California, Los Angeles, Galactic Center Group) and collaborators performed high-resolution spectroscopic observations of two late-type giant starslocated half a parsec from the Milky Ways supermassive black hole.Comparison of the observed spectra of the two galactic center stars (black) with synthetic spectra with low (blue) and high (orange) [Sc/Fe] values. Click to enlarge. [Do et al. 2018]In order to constrain the metallicities of these stars, Do and collaborators compared the observed spectra to a grid of synthetic spectra and used a spectral synthesis technique to determine the abundances of individual elements. They found that

X-Ray Emission from Active Galactic Nuclei with Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Dewangan, G. C.; Mathur, S.; Griffiths, R. E.; Rao, A. R.

2008-12-01

We present a systematic X-ray study of eight active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with intermediate-mass black holes (MBH ~ 8-95 × 104 M⊙) based on 12 XMM-Newton observations. The sample includes the two prototype AGNs in this class—NGC 4395 and POX 52 and six other AGNs discovered with the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey. These AGNs show some of the strongest X-ray variability, with the normalized excess variances being the largest and the power density break timescales being the shortest observed among radio-quiet AGNs. The excess-variance-luminosity correlation appears to depend on both the BH mass and the Eddington luminosity ratio. The break timescale-black hole mass relations for AGN with IMBHs are consistent with that observed for massive AGNs. We find that the FWHM of the Hβ/Hα line is uncorrelated with the BH mass, but shows strong anticorrelation with the Eddington luminosity ratio. Four AGNs show clear evidence for soft X-ray excess emission (kTin ~ 150-200 eV). X-ray spectra of three other AGNs are consistent with the presence of the soft excess emission. NGC 4395 with lowest L/LEdd lacks the soft excess emission. Evidently small black mass is not the primary driver of strong soft X-ray excess emission from AGNs. The X-ray spectral properties and optical-to-X-ray spectral energy distributions of these AGNs are similar to those of Seyfert 1 galaxies. The observed X-ray/UV properties of AGNs with IMBHs are consistent with these AGNs being low-mass extensions of more massive AGNs, those with high Eddington luminosity ratio looking more like narrow-line Seyfert 1 s and those with low L/LEdd looking more like broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies.

The attribution of incentive salience to Pavlovian alcohol cues: a shift from goal-tracking to sign-tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Srey, Chandra S; Maddux, Jean-Marie N; Chaudhri, Nadia

2015-01-01

Environmental stimuli that are reliably paired with alcohol may acquire incentive salience, a property that can operate in the use and abuse of alcohol. Here we investigated the incentive salience of Pavlovian alcohol cues using a preclinical animal model. Male, Long-Evans rats (Harlan) with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol (v/v) in their home-cages. Rats then received Pavlovian autoshaping training in which the 10 s presentation of a retractable lever served as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US) (0.2 ml/CS; 12 CS presentations/session; 27 sessions). Next, in an operant test of conditioned reinforcement, nose pokes into an active aperture delivered presentations of the lever-CS, whereas nose pokes into an inactive aperture had no consequences. Across initial autoshaping sessions, goal-tracking behavior, as measured by entries into the fluid port where ethanol was delivered, developed rapidly. However, with extended training goal-tracking diminished, and sign-tracking responses, as measured by lever-CS activations, emerged. Control rats that received explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations did not show goal-tracking or sign-tracking responses. In the test for conditioned reinforcement, rats with CS-US pairings during autoshaping training made more active relative to inactive nose pokes, whereas rats in the unpaired control group did not. Moreover, active nose pokes were positively correlated with sign-tracking behavior during autoshaping. Extended training may produce a shift in the learned properties of Pavlovian alcohol cues, such that after initially predicting alcohol availability they acquire robust incentive salience.

Finding evolved stars in the inner Galactic disk with Gaia

Science.gov (United States)

Quiroga-Nuñez, L. H.; van Langevelde, H. J.; Pihlström, Y. M.; Sjouwerman, L. O.; Brown, A. G. A.

2018-04-01

The Bulge Asymmetries and Dynamical Evolution (BAaDE) survey will provide positions and line-of-sight velocities of ~20, 000 evolved, maser bearing stars in the Galactic plane. Although this Galactic region is affected by optical extinction, BAaDE targets may have Gaia cross-matches, eventually providing additional stellar information. In an initial attempt to cross-match BAaDE targets with Gaia, we have found more than 5,000 candidates. Of these, we may expect half to show SiO emission, which will allow us to obtain velocity information. The cross-match is being refined to avoid false positives using different criteria based on distance analysis, flux variability, and color assessment in the mid- and near-IR. Once the cross-matches can be confirmed, we will have a unique sample to characterize the stellar population of evolved stars in the Galactic bulge, which can be considered fossils of the Milky Way formation.

Ordinary Dark Matter versus Mysterious Dark Matter in Galactic Rotation

Science.gov (United States)

Gallo, C. F.; Feng, James

2008-04-01

To theoretically describe the measured rotational velocity curves of spiral galaxies, there are two different approaches and conclusions. (1) ORDINARY DARK MATTER. We assume Newtonian gravity/dynamics and successfully find (via computer) mass distributions in bulge/disk configurations that duplicate the measured rotational velocities. There is ordinary dark matter within the galactic disk towards the cooler periphery which has lower emissivity/opacity. There are no mysteries in this scenario based on verified physics. (2) MYSTERIOUS DARK MATTER. Others INaccurately assume the galactic mass distributions follow the measured light distributions, and then the measured rotational velocity curves are NOT duplicated. To alleviate this discrepancy, speculations are invoked re ``Massive Peripheral Spherical Halos of Mysterious Dark Matter.'' But NO matter has been detected in this UNtenable Halo configuration. Many UNverified ``Mysteries'' are invoked as necessary and convenient. CONCLUSION. The first approach utilizing Newtonian gravity/dynamics and searching for the ordinary mass distributions within the galactic disk simulates reality and agrees with data.

Chemical Characterization of the Inner Galactic bulge: North-South Symmetry

Science.gov (United States)

Nandakumar, G.; Ryde, N.; Schultheis, M.; Thorsbro, B.; Jönsson, H.; Barklem, P. S.; Rich, R. M.; Fragkoudi, F.

2018-05-01

While the number of stars in the Galactic bulge with detailed chemical abundance measurements is increasing rapidly, the inner Galactic bulge (|b| detect a bimodal MDF with a metal-rich peak at ˜ +0.3 dex and a metal-poor peak at ˜ -0.5 dex, and no stars with [Fe/H] > +0.6 dex. The Galactic Center field reveals in contrast a mainly metal-rich population with a mean metallicity of +0.3 dex. We derived [Mg/Fe] and [Si/Fe] abundances which are consistent with trends from the outer bulge. We confirm for the supersolar metallicity stars the decreasing trend in [Mg/Fe] and [Si/Fe] as expected from chemical evolution models. With the caveat of a relatively small sample, we do not find significant differences in the chemical abundances between the Northern and the Southern fields, hence the evidence is consistent with symmetry in chemistry between North and South.

Upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System

OpenAIRE

Reidt, Felix; Collaboration, for the ALICE

2014-01-01

During the Long Shutdown 2 of the LHC in 2018/2019, the ALICE experiment plans the installation of a novel Inner Tracking System. It will replace the current six layer detector system with a seven layer detector using Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors. The upgraded Inner Tracking System will have significantly improved tracking and vertexing capabilities, as well as readout rate to cope with the expected increased Pb-Pb luminosity of the LHC. The choice of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors has be...

New constraints on all flavor Galactic diffuse neutrino emission with the ANTARES telescope

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albert, A.; André, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Ardid, M.; Aubert, J.-J.; Avgitas, T.; Baret, B.; Barrios-Martí, J.; Basa, S.; Belhorma, B.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bormuth, R.; Bourret, S.; Bouwhuis, M.C.; Bruijn, R.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Capone, A.; Caramete, L.; Carr, J.; Celli, S.; Cherkaoui El Moursli, R.; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Coelho, J.A.B.; Coleiro, A.; Coniglione, R.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Creusot, A.; Díaz, A.F.; Deschamps, A.; De Bonis, G.; Distefano, C.; Di Palma, I.; Domi, A.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Drouhin, D.; Eberl, T.; El Bojaddaini, I.; El Khayati, N.; Elsässer, D.; Enzenhöfer, A.; Ettahiri, A.; Fassi, F.; Felis, I.; Fusco, L.A.; Galatà, S.; Gay, P.; Giordano, V.; Glotin, H.; Grégoire, T.; Gracia-Ruiz, R.; Graf, K.; Hallmann, S.; van Haren, H.; Heijboer, A.J.; Hello, Y.; Hernández-Rey, J.J.; Hößl, J.; Hofestädt, J.; Hugon, C.; Illuminati, G.; James, C.W.; de Jong, M.; Jongen, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Katz, U.; Kießling, D.; Kouchner, A.; Kreter, M.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lachaud, C.; Lahmann, R.; Lefèvre, D.; Leonora, E.; Lotze, M.; Loucatos, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Marinelli, A.; Martínez-Mora, J.A.; Mele, R.; Melis, K.; Michael, T.; Migliozzi, P.; Moussa, A.; Navas, S.; Nezri, E.; Organokov, M.; Pavalas, G.E.; Pellegrino, C.; Perrina, C.; Piattelli, P.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Quinn, L.; Racca, C.; Riccobene, G.; Sánchez-Losa, A.; Saldaña, M.; Salvadori, I.; Samtleben, D.F.E.; Sanguineti, M.; Sapienza, P.; Schüssler, F.; Sieger, C.; Spurio, M.; Stolarczyk, T.; Taiuti, M.; Tayalati, Y.; Trovato, A.; Turpin, D.; Tönnis, C.; Vallage, B.; Van Elewyck, V.; Versari, F.; Vivolo, D.; Vizzoca, A.; Wilms, J.; Zornoza, J.D.; Zúñiga, J.; Gaggero, D.; Grasso, D.

2017-01-01

The flux of very high-energy neutrinos produced in our Galaxy by the interaction of accelerated cosmic rays with the interstellar medium is not yet determined. The characterization of this flux will shed light on Galactic accelerator features, gas distribution morphology and Galactic cosmic ray

Suzaku View of the Swift/BAT Active Galactic Nuclei. V. Torus Structure of Two Luminous Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei (3C 206 and PKS 0707-35)

Science.gov (United States)

Tazaki, Fumie; Ueda, Yoshihiro; Terashima, Yuichi; Mushotzky, Richard F.; Tombesi, Francesco

2013-01-01

We present the results from broadband X-ray spectral analysis of 3C 206 and PKS 0707-35 with Suzaku and Swift/BAT, two of the most luminous unobscured and obscured radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with hard X-ray luminosities of 10(sup 45.5) erg per second and 10(sup 44.9) erg per second (14-195 keV), respectively. Based on the radio core luminosity, we estimate that the X-ray spectrum of 3C 206 contains a significant (60% in the 14-195 keV band) contribution from the jet, while it is negligible in PKS 0707-35.We can successfully model the spectra with the jet component (for 3C 206), the transmitted emission, and two reflection components from the torus and the accretion disk. The reflection strengths from the torus are found to be R(sub torus)(=Omega/2pi) = 0.29 +/- 0.18 and 0.41 +/- 0.18 for 3C 206 and PKS 0707-35, respectively, which are smaller than those in typical Seyfert galaxies. Utilizing the torus model by Ikeda et al., we quantify the relation between the half-opening angle of a torus (theta(sub oa)) and the equivalent width of an iron-K line. The observed equivalent width of 3C 206, less than 71 eV, constrains the column density in the equatorial plane to N(sup eq)(sub H) lesst han 10(sup 23) per square centimeter, or the half-opening angle to theta(sub oa) greater than 80 deg. if N(sup eq)(sub H) = 10(sup 24) per square centimeter is assumed. That of PKS 0707-35, 72 +/- 36 eV, is consistent with N(sup eq)(sub H) 10(sup 23) per square centimeter. Our results suggest that the tori in luminous radio-loud AGNs are only poorly developed. The trend is similar to that seen in radio-quiet AGNs, implying that the torus structure is not different between AGNs with jets and without jets.

THE LOW FREQUENCY OF DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI VERSUS THE HIGH MERGER RATE OF GALAXIES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Qingjuan; Lu Youjun; Mohayaee, Roya; Colin, Jacques

2011-01-01

Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are natural byproducts of hierarchical mergers of galaxies in the ΛCDM cosmogony. Recent observations have shown that only a small fraction (∼0.1%-2.5%) of AGNs at redshift z ∼< 0.3 are dual with kpc-scale separations, which is rather low compared to the high merger rate of galaxies. Here we construct a phenomenological model to estimate the number density of dual AGNs and its evolution according to the observationally estimated major merger rates of galaxies and various scaling relations on the properties of galaxies and their central massive black holes. We show that our model reproduces the observed frequency and separation distribution of dual AGNs provided that significant nuclear activities are triggered only in gas-rich progenitor galaxies with central massive black holes and only when the nuclei of these galaxies are roughly within the half-light radii of their companion galaxies. Under these constraints, the observed low dual AGN frequency is consistent with the relatively high merger rate of galaxies and supports the hypothesis that major mergers lead to AGN/QSO activities. We also predict that the number of kpc-scale dual AGNs decreases with increasing redshift and only about 0.02%-0.06% of AGNs are dual AGNs with double-peaked narrow line features at redshifts of z ∼ 0.5-1.2. Future observations of high-redshift dual AGNs would provide a solid test for this prediction.

X-ray bursters and the X-ray sources of the galactic bulge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewin, W.H.G.; Joss, P.C.; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge

1981-01-01

In this article we shall discuss the observed X-ray, optical, infrared and radio properties of the galactic bulge sources, with an emphasis on those that produce type I X-ray bursts. There is persuasive evidence that these burst sources and many other galactic bulge sources are neutron stars in low-mass, close-binary stellar systems. (orig./WL)

Co-development of a Wiki for Tracking the Environmental Footprint of Small Business Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen Hasan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: Climate change mitigation is a global challenge, in which academia and business have a role to play. This research explores ways to develop a freely-available information system that would enable small businesses to identify and reduce their environmental footprint. Background: While large organizations have the resources to track emissions and other pertinent data, small businesses may not, despite intentions to be more environmentally responsible. Freely available applications to track emissions focus on the carbon footprint of things, whereas activities are a more meaningful unit of analysis for business managers. Methodology: Using a design science research approach, we conducted a study of a collaborative project that investigated how a low-cost, freely-available online wiki could be developed by group of students, under the guidance of university scholars and business owners. In the project, different student groups were tasked to create the wiki, input content and design a dashboard interface for managers to find data relevant to their business. The research takes an information systems view of the project, relying on the holistic notion of activity from activity theory and taking a design science approach to the study. Contribution: The paper contributes to the practices of green information systems, climate change, and small business. Theoretically it provides new insights into the linear view of design science in resource poor, collaborative projects. Findings: The research demonstrates the viability of an online system to track the envi-ronmental footprint of business activities. It reveals the challenges from a design science perspective of attempts to create online systems using freely available products and labor. Recommendations for Practitioners: Meaningful information systems to assist small businesses to manage their environmental footprint should focus on activities not things, be low cost and easy to use

Evidence for TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from a Region of the Galactic Plane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkins, R.; Gonzalez, M.M.; McEnery, J.E.; Wilson, M.E.; Benbow, W.; Coyne, D.G.; Dorfan, D.E.; Kelley, L.A.; Morales, M.F.; Parkinson, P.M. Saz; Williams, D.A.; Berley, D.; Blaufuss, E.; DeYoung, T.; Goodman, J.A.; Hays, E.; Lansdell, C.P.; Noyes, D.; Smith, A.J.; Sullivan, G.W.

2005-01-01

Gamma-ray emission from a narrow band at the galactic equator has previously been detected up to 30 GeV. We report evidence for a TeV gamma-ray signal from a region of the galactic plane by Milagro, a large-field-of-view water Cherenkov detector for extensive air showers. An excess with a significance of 4.5 standard deviations has been observed from the region of galactic longitude l (set-membership sign) (40 deg.,100 deg.) and latitude vertical bar b vertical bar γ (>3.5 TeV)=(6.4±1.4±2.1)x10 -11 cm -2 s -1 sr -1 . This flux is consistent with an extrapolation of the EGRET spectrum between 1 and 30 GeV in this galactic region

The Galactic fountain as an origin for the Smith Cloud

OpenAIRE

Marasco, A.; Fraternali, F.

2017-01-01

The recent discovery of an enriched metallicity for the Smith high-velocity H I Cloud (SC) lends support to a Galactic origin for this system. We use a dynamical model of the galactic fountain to reproduce the observed properties of the SC. In our model, fountain clouds are ejected from the region of the disc spiral arms and move through the halo interacting with a pre-existing hot corona. We find that a simple model where cold gas outflows vertically from the Perseus spiral arm reproduces th...

Results of the IRIS UV Burst Survey, Part I: Active Regions Tracked Limb to Limb

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, C. A.; DeLuca, E.

2017-12-01

We present results from the first phase of an effort to thoroughly characterize UV bursts within the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) data catalogue. The observational signatures of these phenomena include dramatically intensified and broadened NUV/FUV emission line profiles with absorption features from cool metallic ions. These properties suggest that UV bursts originate from plasma at transition region temperatures (≥ 80,000 K) which is deeply embedded in the cool lower chromosphere ( 5,000 K). Rigorously characterizing the energetic and dynamical properties of UV bursts is crucial since they have considerable potential to heat active region chromospheres and could provide critical constraints for models of magnetic reconnection in these regions. The survey first focuses on IRIS observations of active regions tracked from limb to limb. All observations consist of large field-of-view raster scans of 320 or 400 steps each, which allow for widespread detection of many burst profiles at the expense of having limited short-term time evolution information. We detect bursts efficiently by applying a semi-automated single-Gaussian fitting technique to Si IV 1393.8 Å emission profiles that isolates the distinct burst population in a 4-D parameter space. The robust sample of NUV/FUV burst spectra allows for precise constraints of properties critical for modeling reconnection in the chromosphere, including outflow kinetic energy, density estimates from intensity ratios of Si IV 1402.8 Å and O IV 1401.2 Å emission lines, and coincident measures of emission in other wavelengths. We also track burst properties throughout the lifetimes of their host active regions, noting changes in detection rate and preferential location as the active regions evolve. Finally, the tracked active region observations provide a unique opportunity to investigate line-of-sight effects on observed UV burst spectral properties, particularly the strength of Ni II 1393.3 Å absorption

TEV GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER RIDGE BY VERITAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Archer, A.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V. [Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Benbow, W.; Cerruti, M. [Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Amado, AZ 85645 (United States); Bird, R.; Collins-Hughes, E. [School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Buchovecky, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Byrum, K. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Cardenzana, J. V; Eisch, J. D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States); Chen, X. [Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm (Germany); Ciupik, L. [Astronomy Department, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 (United States); Connolly, M. P. [School of Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway (Ireland); Falcone, A. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Feng, Q.; Finley, J. P. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Fleischhack, H. [DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Flinders, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Fortson, L., E-mail: asmith44@umd.edu [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); and others

2016-04-20

The Galactic Center ridge has been observed extensively in the past by both GeV and TeV gamma-ray instruments revealing a wealth of structure, including a diffuse component and the point sources G0.9+0.1 (a composite supernova remnant) and Sgr A* (believed to be associated with the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Galaxy). Previous very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations with the H.E.S.S. experiment have also detected an extended TeV gamma-ray component along the Galactic plane in the >300 GeV gamma-ray regime. Here we report on observations of the Galactic Center ridge from 2010 to 2014 by the VERITAS telescope array in the >2 TeV energy range. From these observations we (1) provide improved measurements of the differential energy spectrum for Sgr A* in the >2 TeV gamma-ray regime, (2) provide a detection in the >2 TeV gamma-ray emission from the composite SNR G0.9+0.1 and an improved determination of its multi-TeV gamma-ray energy spectrum, and (3) report on the detection of VER J1746-289, a localized enhancement of >2 TeV gamma-ray emission along the Galactic plane.

Circumvention of Parker's bound on galactic magnetic monopoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicus, D.A.; Teplitz, V.L.; Maryland Univ., College Park

1983-01-01

There is a possibility that a magnetic monopole has been observed. The monopole density implied by the observation appears to violate bounds on the density of such particles derived from the total mass density of the Universe and from the existence of galactic magnetic fields. It is shown that the observation is not inconsistent with these bounds if the monopoles and antimonopoles are bound into positronium like states with principal quantum n high enough so that the Earth's magnetic field will break them apart, but small enough so that the weaker galactic magnetic field will not. A range of values for n are determined and show that lifetimes for such bound states are longer than the current age of the Universe. (author)

Self-tracking of physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes : a randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooiman, Thea; de Groot, Martijn; Hoogenberg, Klaas; Krijnen, Wim P; van der Schans, Cees P; Kooy, Adriaan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of an online self-tracking program on physical activity, glycated hemoglobin, and other health measures in patients with type 2 diabetes. Seventy-two patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. All

Feedback by AGN Jets and Wide-angle Winds on a Galactic Scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dugan, Zachary; Silk, Joseph [The Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy, Room 366, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Gaibler, Volker [Universität Heidelberg, Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

2017-07-20

To investigate the differences in mechanical feedback from radio-loud and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei on the host galaxy, we perform 3D AMR hydrodynamic simulations of wide-angle, radio-quiet winds with different inclinations on a single, massive, gas-rich disk galaxy at a redshift of 2–3. We compare our results to hydrodynamic simulations of the same galaxy but with a jet. The jet has an inclination of 0° (perpendicular to the galactic plane), and the winds have inclinations of 0°, 45°, and 90°. We analyze the impact on the host’s gas, star formation, and circumgalactic medium. We find that jet feedback is energy-driven and wind feedback is momentum-driven. In all the simulations, the jet or wind creates a cavity mostly devoid of dense gas in the nuclear region where star formation is then quenched, but we find strong positive feedback in all the simulations at radii greater than 3 kpc. All four simulations have similar SFRs and stellar velocities with large radial and vertical components. However, the wind at an inclination of 90° creates the highest density regions through ram pressure and generates the highest rates of star formation due to its ongoing strong interaction with the dense gas of the galactic plane. With increased wind inclination, we find greater asymmetry in gas distribution and resulting star formation. Our model generates an expanding ring of triggered star formation with typical velocities of the order of 1/3 of the circular velocity, superimposed on the older stellar population. This should result in a potentially detectable blue asymmetry in stellar absorption features at kiloparsec scales.

Dense Molecular Gas Around Protostars and in Galactic Nuclei European Workshop on Astronomical Molecules 2004

CERN Document Server

Baan, W A; Langevelde, H J

2004-01-01

The phenomena observed in young stellar objects (YSO), circumstellar regions and extra-galactic nuclei show some similarity in their morphology, dynamical and physical processes, though they may differ in scale and energy. The European Workshop on Astronomical Molecules 2004 gave astronomers a unique opportunity to discuss the links among the observational results and to generate common interpretations of the phenomena in stars and galaxies, using the available diagnostic tools such as masers and dense molecular gas. Their theoretical understanding involves physics, numerical simulations and chemistry. Including a dozen introductory reviews, topics of papers in this book also cover: maser and dense gas diagnostics and related phenomena, evolution of circumstellar regions around protostars, evolution of circumnuclear regions of active galaxies, diagnostics of the circumnuclear gas in stars and galactic nuclei. This book summarizes our present knowledge in these topics, highlights major problems to be addressed...

Cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers unveiled by hard X-ray observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Yoshihiro

2015-01-01

We review the current understanding of the cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers elucidated by X-ray surveys of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Hard X-ray observations at energies above 2 keV are the most efficient and complete tools to find "obscured" AGNs, which are dominant populations among all AGNs. Combinations of surveys with various flux limits and survey area have enabled us to determine the space number density and obscuration properties of AGNs as a function of luminosity and redshift. The results have essentially solved the origin of the X-ray background in the energy band below ∼10 keV. The downsizing (or anti-hierarchical) evolution that more luminous AGNs have the space-density peak at higher redshifts has been discovered, challenging theories of galaxy and black hole formation. Finally, we summarize unresolved issues on AGN evolution and prospects for future X-ray missions.

Wolf-Rayet stars and galactic structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stenholm, B.

1975-01-01

A 15 0 wide strip along the galactic equator between longitudes 250 0 and 360 0 has been searched for Wolf-Rayet stars. Six new WR stars and four new planetary nebulae have been found. Seven stars earlier listed as WR stars have been rejected as such. The new WR stars in the 'Luminous Stars in the Southern Milky Way' are discussed. A sample of 154 WR stars has been treated statistically. For the distribution in longitude, comparisons are made with OB stars and classical cepheids. The differences in distribution are thought to be an age effect. An effort to explain the empty interval towards the anticentre is made. The distribution in latitude is compared with young clusters and long-period cepheids. The physical plane formed by these objects is tilted about one degree to the galactic plane and the tilt is upwards in the Cygnus direction. This result is also received by a least squares solution of the objects when given in rectangular coordinates. The WR star sample is regarded as fairly complete up to a distance of 5 kpc. (orig.) [de

Solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays: techniques and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perko, J.S.

1984-01-01

This thesis covers four topics in the theory of interplanetary cosmic-ray propagation: the first part involves the time-dependent, spherically-symmetric, solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. A numerical technique was introduced for the solution of this problem. A model for the solar cycle variation in cosmic-ray intensity illustrated this method using enhanced particle scattering regions. The second section contains an attempt to explain recent observations which show that cosmic-ray electrons are returning to higher intensities, characteristic of solar minimum, faster than cosmic-ray protons of about the same energy, the reverse of the previous eleven-year cycle. The third section involves the solar modulation of galactic antiprotons. Using a steady-state, spherically-symmetric, numerical modulation code, a solution that reasonably fits the observed 1980 galactic proton spectrum at 1 AU implied that the modulation used for the data interpretation has been significantly underestimated. The final section contains a spherically-symmetric steady-state calculation of the effects of a strong termination shock in the heliosphere. In the end, high-energy particles cooling down in the upstream solar wind overwhelmed any accelerated low-energy particles

The role of self-interacting right-handed neutrinos in galactic structure

CERN Document Server

Argüelles, C.R.; Rueda, J.A.; Ruffini, R.

2016-01-01

We show that warm dark matter keV fermions (`inos') can be responsible for both core and halo galactic structure, in agreement with current astrophysical/cosmological constraints. We identify the inos with sterile right-handed neutrinos. The possible mass range of up to a few tens of keV, obtained independently from the galactic structure and dark matter astroparticle physics, points towards an important role of the right-handed neutrinos in the cosmic structure.

WITNESSING THE KEY EARLY PHASE OF QUASAR EVOLUTION: AN OBSCURED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS PAIR IN THE INTERACTING GALAXY IRAS 20210+1121

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piconcelli, Enrico; Fiore, Fabrizio; Maiolino, Roberto; Nicastro, Fabrizio; Vignali, Cristian; Bianchi, Stefano; Mathur, Smita; Guainazzi, Matteo; Lanzuisi, Giorgio

2010-01-01

We report the discovery of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) pair in the interacting galaxy system IRAS 20210+1121 at z = 0.056. An XMM-Newton observation reveals the presence of an obscured (N H ∼ 5 x 10 23 cm -2 ), Seyfert-like (L 2-10keV = 4.7 x 10 42 erg s -1 ) nucleus in the northern galaxy, which lacks unambiguous optical AGN signatures. Our spectral analysis also provides strong evidence that the IR-luminous southern galaxy hosts a Type 2 quasar embedded in a bright starburst emission. In particular, the X-ray primary continuum from the nucleus appears totally depressed in the XMM-Newton band as expected in the case of a Compton-thick absorber, and only the emission produced by Compton scattering ('reflection') of the continuum from circumnuclear matter is seen. As such, IRAS 20210+1121 seems to provide an excellent opportunity to witness a key, early phase in the quasar evolution predicted by the theoretical models of quasar activation by galaxy collisions.

Constraints on the outer radius of the broad emission line region of active galactic nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Landt, Hermine; Ward, Martin J.; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita

2014-03-01

Here we present observational evidence that the broad emission line region (BELR) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) generally has an outer boundary. This was already clear for sources with an obvious transition between the broad and narrow components of their emission lines. We show that the narrow component of the higher-order Paschen lines is absent in all sources, revealing a broad emission line profile with a broad, flat top. This indicates that the BELR is kinematically separate from the narrow emission line region. We use the virial theorem to estimate the BELR outer radius from the flat top width of the unblended profiles of the strongest Paschen lines, Paα and Paβ, and find that it scales with the ionizing continuum luminosity roughly as expected from photoionization theory. The value of the incident continuum photon flux resulting from this relationship corresponds to that required for dust sublimation. A flat-topped broad emission line profile is produced by both a spherical gas distribution in orbital motion and an accretion disc wind if the ratio between the BELR outer and inner radius is assumed to be less than ˜100-200. On the other hand, a pure Keplerian disc can be largely excluded, since for most orientations and radial extents of the disc the emission line profile is double-horned.

Chemical evolution coefficients for the study of galactic evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallik, D.C.V.

1980-01-01

A new evaluation of chemical evolution coefficients has been made using recent stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis data. The role of the low and intermediate mass stars in galactic nuclosynthesis has been emphasized. A significant amount of 4 He, 12 C and neutron-rich species is found to be contributed by these stars. Comparison with observed abundances suggests a primary origin of 14 N. The simple model of galactic evolution with the new coefficients has been used to derive the ratio of helium to heavy element enrichment in the Galaxy. The new stellar evolution data do not explain the large value of this ratio that has been determined observationally. (orig.)

Chemical evolution coefficients for the study of galactic evolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mallik, D C.V. [Indian Inst. of Astrophysics, Bangalore

1980-05-01

A new evaluation of chemical evolution coefficients has been made using recent stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis data. The role of the low and intermediate mass stars in galactic nucleosynthesis has been emphasized. A significant amount of /sup 4/He, /sup 12/C and neutron-rich species is found to be contributed by these stars. Comparison with observed abundances suggests a primary origin of /sup 14/N. The simple model of galactic evolution with the new coefficients has been used to derive the ratio of helium to heavy element enrichment in the Galaxy. The new stellar evolution data do not explain the large value of this ratio that has been determined observationally.

Newly discovered IRAS QSO close to the Galactic plane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, M.A.; Kirhakos, S.D.; Yahil, A.

1988-01-01

CCD observations of the IRAS QSO candidate I09149-6206 performed at CTIO during December 1987 are reported, including 564-806-nm spectroscopy obtained with the 1.5-m telescope and direct UVBRI imaging obtained with the 0.91-m telescope. The data are presented in tables and graphs and characterized in detail. It is found that the source is surrounded by a faint fuzz with low surface brightness and strong forbidden O III lines. Parameters determined include redshift z = 0.0571, Galactic latitude -9.2 deg, V magnitude 13.55, Galactic reddening E(B-V) = about 0.23, and absolute V magnitude about -24.87. 33 references

A polarized fast radio burst at low Galactic latitude

OpenAIRE

Petroff, E.; Kasliwal, M.; Ravi, V.

2017-01-01

We report on the discovery of a new fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 150215, with the Parkes radio telescope on 2015 February 15. The burst was detected in real time with a dispersion measure (DM) of 1105.6 ± 0.8 pc cm^(−3), a pulse duration of 2.8 ^(+1.2)_(−0.5)ms, and a measured peak flux density assuming that the burst was at beam centre of 0.7 ^(+0.2)_(−0.1) Jy. The FRB originated at a Galactic longitude and latitude of 24.66°, 5.28° and 25° away from the Galactic Center. The burst was found t...

The attribution of incentive salience to Pavlovian alcohol cues: a shift from goal-tracking to sign-tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandra S. Srey

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Environmental stimuli that are reliably paired with alcohol may acquire incentive salience, a property that can operate in the use and abuse of alcohol. Here we investigated the incentive salience of Pavlovian alcohol cues using a preclinical animal model. Male, Long-Evans rats (Harlan with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol (v/v in their home-cages. Rats then received Pavlovian autoshaping training in which the 10 second presentation of a retractable lever served as the conditioned stimulus (CS and 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US (0.2 ml/CS; 12 CS presentations/session; 27 sessions. Next, in an operant test of conditioned reinforcement, nose pokes into an active aperture delivered presentations of the lever-CS, whereas nose pokes into an inactive aperture had no consequences. Across initial autoshaping sessions, goal-tracking behavior, as measured by entries into the fluid port where ethanol was delivered, developed rapidly. However, with extended training goal-tracking diminished, and sign-tracking responses, as measured by lever-CS activations, emerged. Control rats that received explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations did not show goal-tracking or sign-tracking responses. In the test for conditioned reinforcement, rats with CS-US pairings during autoshaping training made more active relative to inactive nose pokes, whereas rats in the unpaired control group did not. Moreover, active nose pokes were positively correlated with sign-tracking behavior during autoshaping. Extended training may produce a shift in the learned properties of Pavlovian alcohol cues, such that after initially predicting alcohol availability they acquire robust incentive salience.

The G-dwarf problem and the closed-box models of Galactic evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francois, P.; Vangioni-Flam, E.; Audouze, J.

1990-01-01

The paucity of very iron-poor stars in the Galactic disk with respect to the predictions of the simple model of Galactic chemical evolution (the notorious G-dwarf problem) is one of the most fundamental constraints of Galactic evolutionary models. This paper tests recently proposed models, with bimodal and varying star formation rates, against the G-dwarf metallicity distribution, the gas/total mass ratio in the solar vicinity, the age-metallicity relation, and the abundances of deuterium, O-16, Mg-24, Si-28, and Fe-56 at the birth of the sun. It is shown that none of these models agree entirely with the data, but that it is possible to find a combination of the two models leading to reasonable results. 35 refs

A radio search for planetary nebulae near the galactic center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaacman, R.B.

1980-01-01

Because of galactic center is a hostile environment, and because planetaries are weak radio emitters, it is not clear a priori that one expects to detect any planetary nebulae at all in the nuclear region of the Galaxy. Therefore the expected lifetime and flux density distribution of galactic center nebulae is considered. The principal observational results from the Westerbork data, and the results of some pilot observations with the Very Large Array, which were intended to distinguish planetaries from other radio sources on an individual basis are given. (Auth.)

Interpretation of the galactic radio-continuum and gamma-ray emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beuermann, K.P.

1974-01-01

An analysis is performed of the nonthermal radio-continuum and gamma-ray emission of the galactic disc, using a spiral-arm model of the Galaxy. The results for the 408 MHz brightness temperature and the >100 MeV gamma-ray line intensity as a function of galactic longitude at bsup(II)=0 deg are presented. The observational implications, as well as the uncertainties in the calculations, are briefly discussed. An estimate of the possible range of the inverse Compton contribution to the observed gamma-ray flux is made

Cosmic radiation dose in aircraft - a neutron track etch detector