1,590 research outputs found
The redshift of the gravitationally lensed radio source PKS1830-211
We report on the spectroscopic identification and the long awaited redshift
measurement of the heavily obscured, gravitationally lensed radio source PKS
1830-211, which was first observed as a radio Einstein ring. The NE component
of the doubly imaged core is identified, in our infrared spectrum covering the
wavelength range 1.5-2.5 microns, as an impressively reddened quasar at
z=2.507. Our redshift measurement, together with the recently measured time
delay (Lovell et al.), means that we are a step closer to determining the
Hubble constant from this lens. Converting the time delay into the Hubble
constant by using existing models leads to high values for the Hubble constant.
Since the lensing galaxy lies very close to the center of the lensed ring,
improving the error bars on the Hubble constant will require not only a more
precise time delay measurement, but also very precise astrometry of the whole
system.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, Accepted ApJ
BIMA and Keck Imaging of the Radio Ring PKS 1830-211
We discuss BIMA (Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association) data and present new
high quality optical and near-IR Keck images of the bright radio ring PKS
1830-211. Applying a powerful new deconvolution algorithm we have been able to
identify both images of the radio source. In addition we recover an extended
source in the optical, consistent with the expected location of the lensing
galaxy. The source counterparts are very red, I-K=7, suggesting strong Galactic
absorption with additional absorption by the lensing galaxy at z=0.885, and
consistent with the detection of high redshift molecules in the lens.Comment: To be published in the ASP Conference Proceedings, 'Highly Redshifted
Radio Lines', Greenbank, W
LensPerfect: Gravitational Lens Massmap Reconstructions Yielding Exact Reproduction of All Multiple Images
We present a new approach to gravitational lens massmap reconstruction. Our
massmap solutions perfectly reproduce the positions, fluxes, and shears of all
multiple images. And each massmap accurately recovers the underlying mass
distribution to a resolution limited by the number of multiple images detected.
We demonstrate our technique given a mock galaxy cluster similar to Abell 1689
which gravitationally lenses 19 mock background galaxies to produce 93 multiple
images. We also explore cases in which far fewer multiple images are observed,
such as four multiple images of a single galaxy. Massmap solutions are never
unique, and our method makes it possible to explore an extremely flexible range
of physical (and unphysical) solutions, all of which perfectly reproduce the
data given. Each reconfiguration of the source galaxies produces a new massmap
solution. An optimization routine is provided to find those source positions
(and redshifts, within uncertainties) which produce the "most physical" massmap
solution, according to a new figure of merit developed here. Our method imposes
no assumptions about the slope of the radial profile nor mass following light.
But unlike "non-parametric" grid-based methods, the number of free parameters
we solve for is only as many as the number of observable constraints (or
slightly greater if fluxes are constrained). For each set of source positions
and redshifts, massmap solutions are obtained "instantly" via direct matrix
inversion by smoothly interpolating the deflection field using a recently
developed mathematical technique. Our LensPerfect software is straightforward
and easy to use and is made publicly available via our website.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, accepted by ApJ. Software and full-color
version of paper available at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~coe/LensPerfect
Spectral Evidence for Widespread Galaxy Outflows at z>4
We present discovery spectra of a sample of eight lensed galaxies at high
redshift, 3.7<z<5.2, selected by their red colors in the fields of four massive
clusters: A1689, A2219, A2390, and AC114. Metal absorption lines are detected
and observed to be blueshifted by 300-800 km/s with respect to the centroid of
Ly-alpha emission. A correlation is found between this blueshift and the
equivalent width of the metal lines, which we interpret as a broadening of
saturated absorption lines caused by a dispersion in the outflow velocity of
interstellar gas. Local starburst galaxies show similar behavior, associated
with obvious gas outflows. We also find a trend of increasing equivalent width
of Ly-alpha emission with redshift, which may be a genuine evolutionary effect
towards younger stellar populations at high redshift with less developed
stellar continua. No obvious emission is detected below the Lyman limit in any
of our spectra, nor in deep U or B-band images. The UV continua are reproduced
well by early B-stars, although some dust absorption would allow a fit to
hotter stars. After correcting for the lensing, we derive small physical sizes
for our objects, ~0.5-5 kpc/h for a flat cosmology with Omega_m=0.3,
Omega_Lambda=0.7. The lensed images are only marginally resolved in good seeing
despite their close proximity to the critical curve, where large arcs are
visible and hence high magnifications of up to ~20x are inferred. Two objects
show a clear spatial extension of the Ly-alpha emission relative to the
continuum starlight, indicating a ``breakout'' of the gas. The sizes of our
galaxies together with their large gas motion suggests that outflows of gas are
common at high redshift and associated with galaxy formation.Comment: 48 pages, 16 figures, ApJ, in press. Manuscript with full resolution
color images available at (http://astro.princeton.edu/~bfrye
WCDRR and the CEOS activities on disaters
Agencies from CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites) have traditionally focused their efforts on the response phase. Rapid urbanization and increased severity of weather events has led to growing economic and human losses from disasters, requiring international organisations to act now in all disaster risk management (DRM) phases, especially through improved disaster risk reduction policies and programmes. As part of this effort, CEOS agencies have initiated a series of actions aimed at fostering the use of Earth observation (EO) data to support disaster risk reduction and at raising the awareness of policy and decision-makers and major stakeholders of the benefits of using satellite EO in all phases of DRM. CEOS is developing a long-term vision for sustainable application of satellite EO to all phases of DRM. CEOS is collaborating with regional representatives of the DRM user community, on a multi-hazard project involving three thematic pilots (floods, seismic hazards and volcanoes) and a Recovery Observatory that supports resilient recovery from one major disaster. These pilot activities are meant as trail blazers that demonstrate the potential offered by satellite EO for comprehensive DRM. In the framework of the 2015 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), the CEOS space agencies intend to partner with major stakeholders, including UN organizations, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), international relief agencies, leading development banks, and leading regional DRM organisations, to define and implement a 15-year plan of actions (2015- 2030) that responds to high-level Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction priorities. This plan of action will take into account lessons learned from the CEOS pilot activities
Image Deconvolution of the Radio Ring PKS 1830-211
New high quality Keck and ESO images of PKS 1830-211 are presented. Applying
a powerful new deconvolution algorithm to these optical and infrared data, both
images of the flat spectrum core of the radio source have been identified. An
extended source is also detected in the optical images, consistent with the
expected location of the lensing galaxy. The source counterparts are very red
at I-K~7, suggesting strong Galactic absorption with additional absorption by
the lensing galaxy at z=0.885, and consistent with the detection of high
redshift molecules in the lens.Comment: 11 pages, LaTex file + postscript figures, Accepted for publication
in ApJ Letter
Pharmacometabolomics reveals racial differences in response to atenolol treatment.
Antihypertensive drugs are among the most commonly prescribed drugs for chronic disease worldwide. The response to antihypertensive drugs varies substantially between individuals and important factors such as race that contribute to this heterogeneity are poorly understood. In this study we use metabolomics, a global biochemical approach to investigate biochemical changes induced by the beta-adrenergic receptor blocker atenolol in Caucasians and African Americans. Plasma from individuals treated with atenolol was collected at baseline (untreated) and after a 9 week treatment period and analyzed using a GC-TOF metabolomics platform. The metabolomic signature of atenolol exposure included saturated (palmitic), monounsaturated (oleic, palmitoleic) and polyunsaturated (arachidonic, linoleic) free fatty acids, which decreased in Caucasians after treatment but were not different in African Americans (p<0.0005, q<0.03). Similarly, the ketone body 3-hydroxybutyrate was significantly decreased in Caucasians by 33% (p<0.0001, q<0.0001) but was unchanged in African Americans. The contribution of genetic variation in genes that encode lipases to the racial differences in atenolol-induced changes in fatty acids was examined. SNP rs9652472 in LIPC was found to be associated with the change in oleic acid in Caucasians (p<0.0005) but not African Americans, whereas the PLA2G4C SNP rs7250148 associated with oleic acid change in African Americans (p<0.0001) but not Caucasians. Together, these data indicate that atenolol-induced changes in the metabolome are dependent on race and genotype. This study represents a first step of a pharmacometabolomic approach to phenotype patients with hypertension and gain mechanistic insights into racial variability in changes that occur with atenolol treatment, which may influence response to the drug
Planck's Dusty GEMS: Gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies discovered with the Planck survey
We present an analysis of 11 bright far-IR/submm sources discovered through a
combination of the Planck survey and follow-up Herschel-SPIRE imaging. Each
source has a redshift z=2.2-3.6 obtained through a blind redshift search with
EMIR at the IRAM 30-m telescope. Interferometry obtained at IRAM and the SMA,
and optical/near-infrared imaging obtained at the CFHT and the VLT reveal
morphologies consistent with strongly gravitationally lensed sources.
Additional photometry was obtained with JCMT/SCUBA-2 and IRAM/GISMO at 850 um
and 2 mm, respectively. All objects are bright, isolated point sources in the
18 arcsec beam of SPIRE at 250 um, with spectral energy distributions peaking
either near the 350 um or the 500 um bands of SPIRE, and with apparent
far-infrared luminosities of up to 3x10^14 L_sun. Their morphologies and sizes,
CO line widths and luminosities, dust temperatures, and far-infrared
luminosities provide additional empirical evidence that these are strongly
gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies. We discuss their dust masses and
temperatures, and use additional WISE 22-um photometry and template fitting to
rule out a significant contribution of AGN heating to the total infrared
luminosity. Six sources are detected in FIRST at 1.4 GHz. Four have flux
densities brighter than expected from the local far-infrared-radio correlation,
but in the range previously found for high-z submm galaxies, one has a deficit
of FIR emission, and 6 are consistent with the local correlation. The global
dust-to-gas ratios and star-formation efficiencies of our sources are
predominantly in the range expected from massive, metal-rich, intense,
high-redshift starbursts. An extensive multi-wavelength follow-up programme is
being carried out to further characterize these sources and the intense
star-formation within them.Comment: A&A accepte
RELICS: The Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey and the Brightest High-z Galaxies
Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations. We present here the z ~ 6-8 candidate high-redshift galaxies from the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS), a Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope survey of 41 massive galaxy clusters spanning an area of ≈200 arcmin². These clusters were selected to be excellent lenses, and we find similar high-redshift sample sizes and magnitude distributions as the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). We discover 257, 57, and eight candidate galaxies at z ~ 6, 7, and 8 respectively, (322 in total). The observed (lensed) magnitudes of the z ~ 6 candidates are as bright as AB mag ~23, making them among the brightest known at these redshifts, comparable with discoveries from much wider, blank-field surveys. RELICS demonstrates the efficiency of using strong gravitational lenses to produce high-redshift samples in the epoch of reionization. These brightly observed galaxies are excellent targets for follow-up study with current and future observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope
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