MACHOs, White Dwarfs, and the Age of the Universe

(Abridged Abstract) A favored interpretation of recent microlensing measurements towards the Large Magellanic Cloud implies that a large fraction (i.e. 10--50%) of the mass of the galactic halo is composed of white dwarfs. We compare model white dwarf luminosity functions to the data from the observational surveys in order to determine a lower bound on the age of any substantial white dwarf halo population (and hence possibly on the age of the Universe). We compare various theoretical white dwarf luminosity functions, in which we vary hese three parameters, with the abovementioned survey results. From this comparison, we conclude that if white dwarfs do indeed constitute more than 10% of the local halo mass density, then the Universe must be at least 10 Gyr old for our most extreme allowed values of the parameters. When we use cooling curves that account for chemical fractionation and more likely values of the IMF and the bolometric correction, we find tighter limits: a white dwarf MACHO fraction of 10% (30%) requires a minimum age of 14 Gyr (15.5 Gyr). Our analysis also indicates that the halo white dwarfs almost certainly have helium-dominated atmospheres.Comment: Final version accepted for publication, straight TeX formate, 6 figs, 22 page

Improved Detection Rates for Close Binaries Via Astrometric Observations of Gravitational Microlensing Events

In addition to constructing a Galactic matter mass function free from the bias induced by the hydrogen-burning limit, gravitational microlensing allows one to construct a mass function which is less affected by the problem of unresolved binaries (Gaudi & Gould). However, even with the method of microlensing, the photometric detection of binaries is limited to binary systems with relatively large separations of $b\gtrsim 0.4$ of their combined Einstein ring radius, and thus the mass function is still not totally free from the problem of unresolved binaries. In this paper, we show that by detecting distortions of the astrometric ellipse of a microlensing event with high precision instruments such as the {\it Space Interferometry Mission}, one can detect close binaries at a much higher rate than by the photometric method. We find that by astrometrically observing microlensing events, $\sim 50$ of binaries with separations of $0.1r_{\rm E}$ can be detected with the detection threshold of 3%. The proposed astrometric method is especially efficient at detecting very close binaries. With a detection threshold of 3% and a rate of 10%, one can astrometrically detect binaries with separations down to $\sim 0.01r_{\rm E}$.Comment: total 14 pages, including 5 Figures and no Table (For figure 1, please send a request mail to [email protected]), accepted to ApJ (Vol 525, 000), updated versio

Time dependent nonclassical properties of even and odd nonlinear coherent states

We construct even and odd nonlinear coherent states of a parametric oscillator and examine their nonclassical properties.It has been shown that these superpositions exhibit squeezing and photon antibunching which change with time.Comment: 3 eps figure

Second Backbend in the Mass A ~ 180 Region

Within the framework of selfconsistent cranked Hartree-Fock- Bogoliubov theory(one-dimensional) we predict second backbend in the yrast line of Os-182 at $I \approx 40$, which is even sharper than the first one observed experimentally at $I \approx 14$. Around such a high spin the structure becomes multi-quasiparticle type, but the main source of this strong discontinuity is a sudden large alignment of i_13/2 proton orbitals along the rotation axis followed soon by the alignment of j_15/2 neutron orbitals. This leads to drastic structural changes at such high spins. When experimentally confirmed, this will be observed for the first time in this mass region, and will be at the highest spin so far.Comment: 13 pages, 4 ps figure

Temperature-sensitive protein–DNA dimerizers

Programmable DNA-binding polyamides coupled to short peptides have led to the creation of synthetic artificial transcription factors. A hairpin polyamide-YPWM tetrapeptide conjugate facilitates the binding of a natural transcription factor Exd to an adjacent DNA site. Such small molecules function as protein-DNA dimerizers that stabilize complexes at composite DNA binding sites. Here we investigate the role of the linker that connects the polyamide to the peptide. We find that a substantial degree of variability in the linker length is tolerated at lower temperatures. At physiological temperatures, the longest linker tested confers a "switch"-like property on the protein-DNA dimerizer, in that it abolishes the ability of the YPWM moiety to recruit the natural transcription factor to DNA. These observations provide design principles for future artificial transcription factors that can be externally regulated and can function in concert with the cellular regulatory circuitry

Probing the Mass Fraction of MACHOs in Extragalactic Halos

Current microlensing searches calibrate the mass fraction of the Milky Way halo which is in the form of Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs). We show that surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) can probe the same quantity in halos of distant galaxies. Microlensing of background quasars by MACHOs in intervening galaxies would distort the equivalent width distribution of the quasar emission lines by an amplitude that depends on the projected quasar-galaxy separation. For a statistical sample of detectable at the >2sigma level out to a quasar-galaxy impact parameter of several tens of kpc, as long as extragalactic halos are made of MACHOs. Detection of this signal would test whether the MACHO fraction inferred for the Milky-Way halo is typical of other galaxies.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJ Letter

Pengaruh Penggunaan Model Pembelajaran Berbasis Masalah Terhadap Kemampuan Menulis Teks Diskusi Oleh Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Berastagi Tahun Pembelajaran 2014/2015

Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan model pembelajaran berbasis masalah terhadap kemampuan menulis teks diskusi oleh siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Berastagi tahun pembelajaran 2014/2015. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Berastagi yang berjumlah 300 orang. Sampel penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VIII-7 yang berjumlah 30 orang. Dalam menentukan jumlah sampel dilakukan dengan teknik random sampling atau acak kelas. Metode penelitian ini adalah metode eksperimen dengan desain one group pre-test post-test design. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah tes menulis teks diskusi dalam bentuk penugasan. Nilai rata-rata pre-test adalah 61,83, sedangkan nilai rata-rata post-test adalah 78,33. Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan bahwa nilai rata-rata post-test lebih tinggi daripada nilai pre-test. Pengujian hipotesis dilakukan dengan menggunakan uji “t”. Dari perhitungan uji hipotesis diperoleh thitung = 4,77 selanjutnya dikonsultasikan dengan tabel pada taraf signifikansi 5% dengan df = n-1 = 30-1 = 29. Dari df = 29 diperoleh taraf signifikansi sebesar 2,04. Berdasarkan perhitungan yang telah dilakukan, maka dapat diketahui bahwa thitung > ttabel , yakni 4,77 > 2,04. Dengan demikian, hipotesis alternatif (Ha) diterima. Maka, dapat disimpulkan bahwa model pembelajaran berbasis masalah berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan menulis teks diskusi siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Berastagi Tahun Pembelajaran 2014/2015