1,536 research outputs found
Silent Doorway to the Past: “Vigil” Painting in Weidensall Hall
Every object has a story waiting to be told. There is one such artifact that hangs boldly on the mantle of the fireplace in Weidensall Hall its presence large and demanding. The plaque reads “‘The Vigil’ Presented in honor of Mrs. H.W.A. Hanson by the Altoona League.” The artist’s signature is absent from the painting. The painting acts as a window into the history of Gettysburg College. One cannot understand the history of “The Vigil” without knowing the story of the Woman’s League of Gettysburg College, or of Robert Weidensall and the Young Men’s Christian Association. “The Vigil” that hangs conspicuously in Weidensall lobby manages to be discreet in its presence. In other words, it is hidden in plain sight.1 Once researched however, this painting tells a colorful and intriguing story about the history of Gettysburg College. The painting “The Vigil” is symbolic of the College’s historical progression through the aid of religious and service organizations. [excerpt]
Course Information: Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method Academic Term: Spring 2006 Course Instructor: Dr. Michael J. Birkner \u2772
Hidden in Plain Sight is a collection of student papers on objects that are hidden in plain sight around the Gettysburg College campus. Topics range from the Glatfelter Hall gargoyles to the statue of Eisenhower and from historical markers to athletic accomplishments. You can download the paper in pdf format and click View Photo to see the image in greater detail.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/hiddenpapers/1003/thumbnail.jp
A supersymmetric model for triggering Supernova Ia in isolated white dwarfs
We propose a model for supernovae Ia explosions based on a phase transition
to a supersymmetric state which becomes the active trigger for the deflagration
starting the explosion in an isolated sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarf star. With
two free parameters we fit the rate and several properties of type Ia
supernovae and address the gap in the supermassive black hole mass
distribution. One parameter is a critical density fit to about
g/cc while the other has the units of a space time volume and is found to be of
order Gyr where is the earth radius. The model involves
a phase transition to an exact supersymmetry in a small core of a dense star.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, expanded version to be published in Physical
Review
Line-of-Sight Reddening Predictions: Zero Points, Accuracies, the Interstellar Medium, and the Stellar Populations of Elliptical Galaxies
Revised (B-V)_0-Mg_2 data for 402 elliptical galaxies are given to test
reddening predictions which can also tell us both what the intrinsic errors are
in this relationship among gE galaxy stellar populations, as well as details of
nearby structure in the interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy and of the
intrinsic errors in reddening predictions. Using least-squares fits, the
explicit 1-sigma errors in the Burstein-Heiles (BH) and the Schlegel et al.
(IR) predicted reddenings are calculated, as well as the 1-sigma observational
error in the (B-V)_0-Mg_2 for gE galaxies. It is found that, in directions with
E(B-V)<0.100 mag (where most of these galaxies lie), 1-sigma errors in the IR
reddening predictions are 0.006 to 0.009 in E(B-V) mag, those for BH reddening
prediction are 0.011 mag, and the 1-sigma agreement between the two reddening
predictions is 0.007 mag. IR predictions have an accuracy of 0.010-0.011 mag in
directions with E(B-V)>= 0.100 mag, significantly better than those of the BH
predictions (0.024-0.025). Gas-to-dust variations that vary by a factor of 3,
both high and low, exist along many lines-of-sight in our Galaxy. The approx
0.02 higher reddening zero point in E(B-V) previously determined by Schlegel et
al. is confirmed, primarily at the Galactic poles. Despite this, both methods
also predict many directions with E(B-V)<0.015 mag. Independent evidence of
reddening at the North Galactic pole is reviewed, with the conclusion that
there still exists directions at the NGP that have E(B-V)<<0.01. Two lines of
evidence suggest that IR reddenings are overpredicted in directions with high
gas-to-dust ratios. As high gas-to-dust directions in the ISM also include the
Galactic poles, this overprediction is the likely cause of the E(B-V) = 0.02
mag larger IR reddening zero point.Comment: 5 figure
9286 Stars: An Agglomeration of Stellar Polarization Catalogs
This is a revision. The revisions are minor. The new version of the catalog
should be used in preference to the old. The most serious error in the older
version was that was incorrect, being sometimes far too large,
for Reiz and Franco entries; the correct values are all zero for that
reference.
We present an agglomeration of stellar polarization catalogs with results for
9286 stars. We have endeavored to eliminate errors, provide accurate
(arcsecond) positions, sensibly weight multiple observations of the same star,
and provide reasonable distances. This catalog is included as an ASCII file
(catalog.txt) in the source of this submission.Comment: The most serious error in the older version was that
was incorrect, being sometimes far too large, for Reiz and Franco entries;
the correct values are all zero for that reference. 11 pages, no figures.
Accepted for Astronomical Journal. Catalog also available as an ASCII file by
anonymous FTP from ftp://vermi.berkeley.edu/pub/polcat/p14.ou
Spherical collapse of supermassive stars: neutrino emission and gamma-ray bursts
We present the results of numerical simulations of the spherically symmetric
gravitational collapse of supermassive stars (SMS). The collapse is studied
using a general relativistic hydrodynamics code. The coupled system of Einstein
and fluid equations is solved employing observer time coordinates, by foliating
the spacetime by means of outgoing null hypersurfaces. The code contains an
equation of state which includes effects due to radiation, electrons and
baryons, and detailed microphysics to account for electron-positron pairs. In
addition energy losses by thermal neutrino emission are included. We are able
to follow the collapse of SMS from the onset of instability up to the point of
black hole formation. Several SMS with masses in the range are simulated. In all models an apparent horizon
forms initially, enclosing the innermost 25% of the stellar mass. From the
computed neutrino luminosities, estimates of the energy deposition by
-annihilation are obtained. Only a small fraction of this energy
is deposited near the surface of the star, where, as proposed recently by
Fuller & Shi (1998), it could cause the ultrarelativistic flow believed to be
responsible for -ray bursts. Our simulations show that for collapsing
SMS with masses larger than the energy deposition is
at least two orders of magnitude too small to explain the energetics of
observed long-duration bursts at cosmological redshifts. In addition, in the
absence of rotational effects the energy is deposited in a region containing
most of the stellar mass. Therefore relativistic ejection of matter is
impossible.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, submitted to A&
Quiescent H2 Emission From Pre-Main Sequence Stars in Chamaeleon I
We report the discovery of quiescent emission from molecular hydrogen gas
located in the circumstellar disks of six pre-main sequence stars, including
two weak-line T Tauri stars (TTS), and one Herbig AeBe star, in the Chamaeleon
I star forming region. For two of these stars, we also place upper limits on
the 2->1 S(1)/1->0 S(1) line ratios of 0.4 and 0.5. Of the 11 pre-main sequence
sources now known to be sources of quiescent near-infrared hydrogen emission,
four possess transitional disks, which suggests that detectable levels of H
emission and the presence of inner disk holes are correlated. These H
detections demonstrate that these inner holes are not completely devoid of gas,
in agreement with the presence of observable accretion signatures for all four
of these stars and the recent detections of [Ne II] emission from three of
them. The overlap in [Ne II] and H detections hints at a possible
correlation between these two features and suggests a shared excitation
mechanism of high energy photons. Our models, combined with the kinematic
information from the H lines, locate the bulk of the emitting gas at a few
tens of AU from the stars. We also find a correlation between H detections
and those targets which possess the largest H equivalent widths,
suggesting a link between accretion activity and quiescent H emission. We
conclude that quiescent H emission from relatively hot gas within the disks
of TTS is most likely related to on-going accretion activity, the production of
UV photons and/or X-rays, and the evolutionary status of the dust grain
populations in the inner disks.Comment: 12 pages, emulateapj, Accepted by Ap
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