7,721 research outputs found
Micro & strong lensing with the Square Kilometer Array: The mass--function of compact objects in high--redshift galaxies
We present the results from recent VLA 8.5-GHz and WSRT 1.4 and 4.9-GHz
monitoring campaigns of the CLASS gravitational lens B1600+434 and show how the
observed variations argue strongly in favor of microlensing by MACHOs in the
halo of a dark-matter dominated edge-on disk galaxy at z=0.4. The population of
flat-spectrum radio sources with micro-Jy flux-densities detected with the
Square-Kilometer-Array is expected to have dimensions of micro-arcsec. They
will therefore vary rapidly as a result of Galactic scintillation (diffractive
and refractive). However, when positioned behind distant galaxies they will
also show variations due to microlensing, even more strongly than in the case
of B1600+434. Relativistic or superluminal motion in these background sources
typically leads to temporal variations on time scales of days to weeks.
Scintillation and microlensing can be distinguished, and separated, by their
different characteristic time scales and the frequency dependence of their
modulations. Monitoring studies with Square-Kilometer-Array at GHz frequencies
will thus probe both microscopic and macroscopic properties of dark matter and
its mass-function as a function of redshift, information very hard to obtain by
any other method.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Perspectives in Radio Astronomy:
Scientific Imperatives at cm and m Wavelengths (Dwingeloo: NFRA), Edited by:
M.P. van Haarlem & J.M. van der Huls
A time-delay determination from VLA light curves of the CLASS gravitational lens B1600+434
We present Very Large Array (VLA) 8.5-GHz light curves of the two lens images
of the Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) gravitational lens B1600+434. We find
a nearly linear decrease of 18-19% in the flux densities of both lens images
over a period of eight months (February-October) in 1998. Additionally, the
brightest image A shows modulations up to 11% peak-to-peak on scales of days to
weeks over a large part of the observing period. Image B varies significantly
less on this time scale. We conclude that most of the short-term variability in
image A is not intrinsic source variability, but is most likely caused by
microlensing in the lens galaxy. The alternative, scintillation by the ionized
Galactic ISM, is shown to be implausible based on its strong opposite frequency
dependent behavior compared with results from multi-frequency WSRT monitoring
observations (Koopmans & de Bruyn 1999). From these VLA light curves we
determine a median time delay between the lens images of 47^{+5}_{-6} d (68%)
or 47^{+12}_{-9} d (95%). We use two different methods to derive the time
delay; both give the same result within the errors. We estimate an additional
systematic error between -8 and +7 d. If the mass distribution of lens galaxy
can be described by an isothermal model (Koopmans, de Bruyn & Jackson 1998),
this time delay would give a value for the Hubble parameter, H_0=57^{+14}_{-11}
(95% statistical) ^{+26}_{-15} (systematic) km/s/Mpc (Omega_m=1 and
Omega_Lambda=0). Similarly, the Modified-Hubble-Profile mass model would give
H_0=74^{+18}_{-15} (95% statistical) ^{+22}_{-22} (systematic) km/s/Mpc. For
Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_Lambda=0.7, these values increase by 5.4%. ... (ABRIDGED)Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics (Figs 1 and 3 with degraded resolution
On hyperovals of polar spaces
We derive lower and upper bounds for the size of a hyperoval of a finite polar space of rank 3. We give a computer-free proof for the uniqueness, up to isomorphism, of the hyperoval of size 126 of H(5, 4) and prove that the near hexagon E-3 has up to isomorphism a unique full embedding into the dual polar space DH(5, 4)
Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of overpressurized liquid 4He
A diffusion Monte Carlo simulation of superfluid He at zero temperature
and pressures up to 275 bar is presented. Increasing the pressure beyond
freezing ( 25 bar), the liquid enters the overpressurized phase in a
metastable state. In this regime, we report results of the equation of state
and the pressure dependence of the static structure factor, the condensate
fraction, and the excited-state energy corresponding to the roton. Along this
large pressure range, both the condensate fraction and the roton energy
decrease but do not become zero. The roton energies obtained are compared with
recent experimental data in the overpressurized regime.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Are the Narrow Line Regions in Active Galaxies Dusty and Radiation Pressure Dominated?
The remarkable similarity between emission spectra of narrow line regions
(NLR) in Seyfert Galaxies has long presented a mystery. In photoionization
models, this similarity implies that the ionization parameter is nearly always
the same, about U ~ 0.01. Here we present dusty, radiation-pressure dominated
photoionization models that can provide natural physical insight into this
problem. In these models, dust and the radiation pressure acting on it provide
the controlling factor in moderating the density, excitation and surface
brightness of photoionized NLR structures. Additionally, photoelectric heating
by the dust is important in determining the temperature structure of the
models. These models can also explain the coexistence of the low-,
intermediate- and coronal ionization zones within a single self-consistent
physical structure. The radiation pressure acting on dust may also be capable
of driving the fast (~3000 km/s) outflows such as are seen in the HST
observations of NGC 1068.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, Accepted by Ap
A radio-microlensing caustic crossing in B1600+434?
First, we review the current status of the detection of strong `external' variability in the CLASS gravitational B1600+434, focusing on the 1998 VLA 8.5-GHz and 1998/9 WSRT multi-frequency observations. We show that this data can best be explained in terms of radio-microlensing. We then proceed to show some preliminary results from our new multi-frequency VLA monitoring program, in particular the detection of a strong feature (~30%) in the light curve of the lensed image which passes predominantly through the dark-matter halo of the lens galaxy. We tentatively interpret this event, which lasted for several weeks, as a radio-microlensing caustic crossing, i.e. the superluminal motion of a micro-arcsec-scale jet-component in the lensed source over a single caustic in the magnification pattern, that has been created by massive compact objects along the line-of-sight to the lensed image
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