6,443 research outputs found
Properties of quasi-relaxed stellar systems in an external tidal field
In a previous paper, we have constructed a family of self-consistent triaxial
models of quasi-relaxed stellar systems, shaped by the tidal field of the
hosting galaxy, as an extension of the well-known spherical King models. For a
given tidal field, the models are characterized by two physical scales (such as
total mass and central velocity dispersion) and two dimensionless parameters
(the concentration parameter and the tidal strength). The most significant
departure from spherical symmetry occurs when the truncation radius of the
corresponding spherical King model is of the order of the tidal radius, which,
for a given tidal strength, is set by the maximum concentration value admitted.
For such maximally extended (or "critical") models the outer boundary has a
generally triaxial shape, given by the zero-velocity surface of the relevant
Jacobi integral, which is basically independent of the concentration parameter.
In turn, the external tidal field can give rise to significant global
departures from spherical symmetry (as measured, for example, by the quadrupole
of the mass distribution of the stellar system) only for low-concentration
models, for which the allowed maximal value of the tidal strength can be
relatively high. In this paper we describe in detail the intrinsic and the
projected structure and kinematics of the models, covering the entire parameter
space, from the case of sub-critical (characterized by "underfilling" of the
relevant Roche volume) to that of critical models. The intrinsic properties can
be a useful starting point for numerical simulations and other investigations
that require initialization of a stellar system in dynamical equilibrium. The
projected properties are a key step in the direction of a comparison with
observed globular clusters and other candidate stellar systems.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, uses emulateapj.cls with apjfonts.sty. Accepted
for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Relaxation of spherical systems with long-range interactions: a numerical investigation
The process of relaxation of a system of particles interacting with
long-range forces is relevant to many areas of Physics. For obvious reasons, in
Stellar Dynamics much attention has been paid to the case of 1/r^2 force law.
However, recently the interest in alternative gravities emerged, and
significant differences with respect to Newtonian gravity have been found in
relaxation phenomena. Here we begin to explore this matter further, by using a
numerical model of spherical shells interacting with an 1/r^alpha force law
obeying the superposition principle. We find that the virialization and
phase-mixing times depend on the exponent alpha, with small values of alpha
corresponding to longer relaxation times, similarly to what happens when
comparing for N-body simulations in classical gravity and in Modified Newtonian
Dynamics.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted in the International Journal of
Bifurcation and Chao
A dynamical study of Galactic globular clusters under different relaxation conditions
We perform a systematic combined photometric and kinematic analysis of a
sample of globular clusters under different relaxation conditions, based on
their core relaxation time (as listed in available catalogs), by means of two
well-known families of spherical stellar dynamical models. Systems
characterized by shorter relaxation time scales are expected to be better
described by isotropic King models, while less relaxed systems might be
interpreted by means of non-truncated, radially-biased anisotropic f^(\nu)
models, originally designed to represent stellar systems produced by a violent
relaxation formation process and applied here for the first time to the study
of globular clusters. The comparison between dynamical models and observations
is performed by fitting simultaneously surface brightness and velocity
dispersion profiles. For each globular cluster, the best-fit model in each
family is identified, along with a full error analysis on the relevant
parameters. Detailed structural properties and mass-to-light ratios are also
explicitly derived. We find that King models usually offer a good
representation of the observed photometric profiles, but often lead to less
satisfactory fits to the kinematic profiles, independently of the relaxation
condition of the systems. For some less relaxed clusters, f^(\nu) models
provide a good description of both observed profiles. Some derived structural
characteristics, such as the total mass or the half-mass radius, turn out to be
significantly model-dependent. The analysis confirms that, to answer some
important dynamical questions that bear on the formation and evolution of
globular clusters, it would be highly desirable to acquire larger numbers of
accurate kinematic data-points, well distributed over the cluster field.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Rotating Globular Clusters
Internal rotation is considered to play a major role in the dynamics of some
globular clusters. However, in only few cases it has been studied by
quantitative application of realistic and physically justified global models.
Here we present a dynamical analysis of the photometry and three-dimensional
kinematics of omega Cen, 47 Tuc, and M15, by means of a recently introduced
family of self-consistent axisymmetric rotating models. The three clusters,
characterized by different relaxation conditions, show evidence of differential
rotation and deviations from sphericity. The combination of line-of-sight
velocities and proper motions allows us to determine their internal dynamics,
predict their morphology, and estimate their dynamical distance. The
well-relaxed cluster 47 Tuc is very well interpreted by our model; internal
rotation is found to explain the observed morphology. For M15, we provide a
global model in good agreement with the data, including the central behavior of
the rotation profile and the shape of the ellipticity profile. For the
partially relaxed cluster omega Cen, the selected model reproduces the complex
three-dimensional kinematics; in particular the observed anisotropy profile,
characterized by a transition from isotropy, to weakly-radial anisotropy, and
then to tangential anisotropy in the outer parts. The discrepancy found for the
steep central gradient in the observed line-of-sight velocity dispersion
profile and for the ellipticity profile is ascribed to the condition of only
partial relaxation of this cluster and the interplay between rotation and
radial anisotropy.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Orion revisited. II. The foreground population to Orion A
Following the recent discovery of a large population of young stars in front
of the Orion Nebula, we carried out an observational campaign with the DECam
wide-field camera covering ~10~deg^2 centered on NGC 1980 to confirm, probe the
extent of, and characterize this foreground population of pre-main-sequence
stars. We confirm the presence of a large foreground population towards the
Orion A cloud. This population contains several distinct subgroups, including
NGC1980 and NGC1981, and stretches across several degrees in front of the Orion
A cloud. By comparing the location of their sequence in various color-magnitude
diagrams with other clusters, we found a distance and an age of 380pc and
5~10Myr, in good agreement with previous estimates. Our final sample includes
2123 candidate members and is complete from below the hydrogen-burning limit to
about 0.3Msun, where the data start to be limited by saturation. Extrapolating
the mass function to the high masses, we estimate a total number of ~2600
members in the surveyed region. We confirm the presence of a rich, contiguous,
and essentially coeval population of about 2600 foreground stars in front of
the Orion A cloud, loosely clustered around NGC1980, NGC1981, and a new group
in the foreground of the OMC-2/3. For the area of the cloud surveyed, this
result implies that there are more young stars in the foreground population
than young stars inside the cloud. Assuming a normal initial mass function, we
estimate that between one to a few supernovae must have exploded in the
foreground population in the past few million years, close to the surface of
Orion A, which might be responsible, together with stellar winds, for the
structure and star formation activity in these clouds. This long-overlooked
foreground stellar population is of great significance, calling for a revision
of the star formation history in this region of the Galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Trap models with slowly decorrelating observables
We study the correlation and response dynamics of trap models of glassy
dynamics, considering observables that only partially decorrelate with every
jump. This is inspired by recent work on a microscopic realization of such
models, which found strikingly simple linear out-of-equilibrium
fluctuation-dissipation relations in the limit of slow decorrelation. For the
Barrat-Mezard model with its entropic barriers we obtain exact results at zero
temperature for arbitrary decorrelation factor . These are then
extended to nonzero , where the qualitative scaling behaviour and all
scaling exponents can still be found analytically. Unexpectedly, the choice of
transition rates (Glauber versus Metropolis) affects not just prefactors but
also some exponents. In the limit of slow decorrelation even complete scaling
functions are accessible in closed form. The results show that slowly
decorrelating observables detect persistently slow out-of-equilibrium dynamics,
as opposed to intermittent behaviour punctuated by excursions into fast,
effectively equilibrated states.Comment: 29 pages, IOP styl
Flow field for an underexpanded, supersonic nozzle exhausting into an expansive launch tube
Static pressure distributions along the launcher wall and pitot pressure measurements from the annular region between the rocket and the launcher were made as an underexpanded supersonic nozzle exhausted into an expansive launch tube. The flow remained supersonic along the entire length of the launcher for all nozzle locations studied
Evaluation of cosmic ray rejection algorithms on single-shot exposures
To maximise data output from single-shot astronomical images, the rejection
of cosmic rays is important. We present the results of a benchmark trial
comparing various cosmic ray rejection algorithms. The procedures assess
relative performances and characteristics of the processes in cosmic ray
detection, rates of false detections of true objects and the quality of image
cleaning and reconstruction. The cosmic ray rejection algorithms developed by
Rhoads (2000), van Dokkum (2001), Pych (2004) and the IRAF task xzap by
Dickinson are tested using both simulated and real data. It is found that
detection efficiency is independent of the density of cosmic rays in an image,
being more strongly affected by the density of real objects in the field. As
expected, spurious detections and alterations to real data in the cleaning
process are also significantly increased by high object densities. We find the
Rhoads' linear filtering method to produce the best performance in detection of
cosmic ray events, however, the popular van Dokkum algorithm exhibits the
highest overall performance in terms of detection and cleaning.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
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