4,822 research outputs found
Arp 65 interaction debris: massive HI displacement and star formation
Context: Pre-merger interactions between galaxies can induce significant
changes in the morphologies and kinematics of the stellar and ISM components.
Large amounts of gas and stars are often found to be disturbed or displaced as
tidal debris. This debris then evolves, sometimes forming stars and
occasionally tidal dwarf galaxies. Here we present results from our HI study of
Arp 65, an interacting pair hosting extended HI tidal debris. Aims: In an
effort to understand the evolution of tidal debris produced by interacting
pairs of galaxies, including in situ star and tidal dwarf galaxy formation, we
are mapping HI in a sample of interacting galaxy pairs. The Arp 65 pair is one
of them. Methods: Our resolved HI 21 cm line survey is being carried out using
the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We used our HI survey data as well
as available SDSS optical, Spitzer infra-red and GALEX UV data to study the
evolution of the tidal debris and the correlation of HI with the star-forming
regions within it. Results: In Arp 65 we see a high impact pre-merger
interaction involving a pair of massive galaxies (NGC 90 and NGC 93) that have
a stellar mass ratio of ~ 1:3. The interaction, which probably occurred ~ 1.0
-- 2.5 10 yr ago, appears to have displaced a large fraction of
the HI in NGC 90 (including the highest column density HI) beyond its optical
disk. We also find extended ongoing star formation in the outer disk of NGC 90.
In the major star-forming regions, we find the HI column densities to be ~ 4.7
10 cm or lower. But no signature of star formation was
found in the highest column density HI debris, SE of NGC 90. This indicates
conditions within the highest column density HI debris remain hostile to star
formation and it reaffirms that high HI column densities may be a necessary but
not sufficient criterion for star formation.Comment: Accepted in A&
Diurnal variation of upper tropospheric humidity and its relations to convective activities over tropical Africa
Diurnal variations of upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) as well as middle tropospheric humidity (MTH) were examined in conjunction with the diurnal cycle of convection over tropical Africa and the adjacent tropical Atlantic Ocean using Meteosat-8 measurements. Cloud and humidity features were also tracked to document the diurnal variations of humidity and clouds in the Lagrangian framework. <br><br> A distinct diurnal variation of UTH (and MTH) is noted over regions where tropical deep convective cloud systems are commonly observed. The amplitude of the UTH diurnal variation is larger over land, while its variations over convectively inactive subtropical regions are much smaller. The diurnal variation of UTH tends to reach a maximum during nighttime over land, lagging deep convection and high cloud whose maxima occurred in the late afternoon and evening, respectively. It was revealed that these diurnal variations over the African continent are likely associated with continental-scale daytime solar heating and topography, in which topographically-induced signals develop earlier around the mid-afternoon and merge into stronger and broader continental-scale convection clusters later, forming a precipitation maximum in the late afternoon. It was also revealed that advection effect on the diurnal variation appears to be insignificant
Impact of different definitions of clear-sky flux on the determination of longwave cloud radiative forcing: NICAM simulation results
Using one month of the cloud-resolving Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral
Atmospheric Model (NICAM) simulations, we examined the impact of different
definitions of clear-sky flux on the determination of longwave cloud
radiative forcing (CRF). Because the satellite-like cloud-free composite
preferentially samples drier conditions relative to the all-sky mean state,
the conventional clear-sky flux calculation using the all-sky mean state in
the model may represent a more humid atmospheric state in comparison to the
cloud-free state. The drier bias is evident for the cloud-free composite in
the NICAM simulations, causing an overestimation of the longwave CRF by
about 10% compared to the NICAM simulated longwave CRF. Overall, water
vapor contributions of up to 10% of the total longwave CRF should be
taken account for making model-generated cloud forcing comparable to the
satellite measurements
Field effect transistors and phototransistors based upon p-type solution-processed PbS nanowires.
We demonstrate the fabrication of solution processed highly crystalline p-type PbS nanowires via the oriented attachment of nanoparticles. The analysis of single nanowire field effect transistor (FET) devices revealed a hole conduction behaviour with average mobilities greater than 30 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is an order of magnitude higher than that reported to date for p-type PbS colloidal nanowires. We have investigated the response of the FETs to near-infrared light excitation and show herein that the nanowires exhibited gate-dependent photo-conductivities, enabling us to tune the device performances. The responsivity was found to be greater than 104 A W-1 together with a detectivity of 1013 Jones, which benefits from a photogating effect occurring at negative gate voltages. These encouraging detection parameters are accompanied by relatively short switching times of 15 ms at positive gate voltages, resulting from a combination of the standard photoconduction and the high crystallinity of the nanowires. Collectively, these results indicate that solution-processed PbS nanowires are promising nanomaterials for infrared photodetectors as well as p-type nanowire FETs
Hot Populations in M87 Globular Clusters
We have obtained HST/STIS far- and near-UV photometry of globular clusters in
four fields in the gE galaxy M87. To a limit of m(FUV) = 25 we detect a total
of 66 globular clusters (GCs) in common with the deep HST optical-band study of
Kundu et al. (1999). Despite strong overlap in V- and I-band properties, the
M87 GCs have UV/optical properties that are distinct from clusters in the Milky
Way and in M31. M87 clusters, especially metal-poor ones, produce larger hot HB
populations than do Milky Way analogues. Cluster mass is probably not a factor
in these distinctions. The most metal-rich M87 GCs in our sample are near Z_sun
and overlap the local E galaxy sample in estimated Mg_2 line indices.
Nonetheless, the clusters produce much more UV light at a given Mg_2, being up
to 1 mag bluer than any gE galaxy in (FUV-V) color. The M87 GCs do not appear
to represent a transition between Milky Way-type clusters and E galaxies. The
differences are in the correct sense if the clusters are significantly older
than the E galaxies. Comparisons with Galactic open clusters indicate that the
hot stars lie on the extreme horizontal branch, rather than being blue
stragglers, and that the EHB becomes well populated for ages > 5 Gyr. We find
that 43 of our UV detections have no optical-band counterparts. Most appear to
be UV-bright background galaxies, seen through M87. Eleven NUV variable sources
detected at only one epoch in the central field are probably classical novae.
[Abridged]Comment: 70 pages, 25 figures (including 4 jpgs), 7 tables. To appear in AJ.
Full resolution version available at
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~rwo/m87/m87-hotpops.pd
The Non-Destructive and Nano-Microstructural Characterization of Thermal-Barrier Coatings
The durability of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) plays an important role in the service reliability and maintainability of hot-section components in advanced turbine engines for aerospace and utility applications. Photostimulated luminescence spectroscopy (PSLS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are being concurrently developed as complimentary nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques for quality control and liferemain assessment of TBCs. This paper discusses recent achievements in understanding the residual stress, phase constituents, and electrochemical resistance (or capacitance) of TBC constituentsâwith an emphasis on the thermally grown oxide. Results from NDE by PSLS and EIS are correlated to the nano- and microstructural development of TBCs
Low-temperature (4.2°K) study of the 2E1uâ2E2g band system in the electronic spectra of various ferricenium compounds
The 2E1uâ2E2g (16200cm^â1) band system for the three ferricenium salts [Fe(C5H5)2]PF6,[Fe(C5H5)2]BF4, and [Fe(C5H5)2](CCl3CO2H)2(CCl3CO2â) has been studied at 4.2°K. Analysis of the observed vibrational structure indicates that the 2E1u excited state is split into two Kramers doublets, with the extent of splitting being a function of the anion. Several ferricenium 2E1u vibrational frequencies have been identified and compared with corresponding values for ground state ferrocene. It appears from these comparisons that the iron 4px and 4py orbitals are minimally involved in the iron-ring bonding
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