18,451 research outputs found
On the Evidence for Axion-like Particles from Active Galactic Nuclei
Burrage, Davis, and Shaw recently suggested exploiting the correlations
between high and low energy luminosities of astrophysical objects to probe
possible mixing between photons and axion-like particles (ALP) in magnetic
field regions. They also presented evidence for the existence of ALP's by
analyzing the optical/UV and X-ray monochromatic luminosities of AGNs. We
extend their work by using the monochromatic luminosities of 320 unobscured
Active Galactic Nuclei from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Xmm-Newton Quasar
Survey (Young et al., 2009), which allows the exploration of 18 different
combinations of optical/UV and X-ray monochromatic luminosities. However, we do
not find compelling evidence for the existence of ALPs. Moreover, it appears
that the signal reported by Burrage et al. is more likely due to X-ray
absorption rather than to photon-ALP oscillation.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Updated to reflect the minor changes introduced
in the published versio
Systematic study of Optical Feshbach Resonances in an ideal gas
Using a narrow intercombination line in alkaline earth atoms to mitigate
large inelastic losses, we explore the Optical Feshbach Resonance (OFR) effect
in an ultracold gas of bosonic Sr. A systematic measurement of three
resonances allows precise determinations of the OFR strength and scaling law,
in agreement with coupled-channels theory. Resonant enhancement of the complex
scattering length leads to thermalization mediated by elastic and inelastic
collisions in an otherwise ideal gas. OFR could be used to control atomic
interactions with high spatial and temporal resolution.Comment: Significant changes to text and figure presentation to improve
clarity. Extended supplementary material. 4 pages, 4 figures; includes
supplementary material 8 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
Letter
Genetic interactions contribute less than additive effects to quantitative trait variation in yeast.
Genetic mapping studies of quantitative traits typically focus on detecting loci that contribute additively to trait variation. Genetic interactions are often proposed as a contributing factor to trait variation, but the relative contribution of interactions to trait variation is a subject of debate. Here we use a very large cross between two yeast strains to accurately estimate the fraction of phenotypic variance due to pairwise QTL-QTL interactions for 20 quantitative traits. We find that this fraction is 9% on average, substantially less than the contribution of additive QTL (43%). Statistically significant QTL-QTL pairs typically have small individual effect sizes, but collectively explain 40% of the pairwise interaction variance. We show that pairwise interaction variance is largely explained by pairs of loci at least one of which has a significant additive effect. These results refine our understanding of the genetic architecture of quantitative traits and help guide future mapping studies
Multi-color Optical and NIR Light Curves of 64 Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernovae
We present a densely-sampled, homogeneous set of light curves of 64 low
redshift (z < 0.05) stripped-envelope supernovae (SN of type IIb, Ib, Ic and
Ic-bl). These data were obtained between 2001 and 2009 at the Fred L. Whipple
Observatory (FLWO) on Mt. Hopkins in Arizona, with the optical FLWO 1.2-m and
the near-infrared PAIRITEL 1.3-m telescopes. Our dataset consists of 4543
optical photometric measurements on 61 SN, including a combination of UBVRI,
UBVr'i', and u'BVr'i', and 2142 JHKs near-infrared measurements on 25 SN. This
sample constitutes the most extensive multi-color data set of stripped-envelope
SN to date. Our photometry is based on template-subtracted images to eliminate
any potential host galaxy light contamination. This work presents these
photometric data, compares them with data in the literature, and estimates
basic statistical quantities: date of maximum, color, and photometric
properties. We identify promising color trends that may permit the
identification of stripped-envelope SN subtypes from their photometry alone.
Many of these SN were observed spectroscopically by the CfA SN group, and the
spectra are presented in a companion paper (Modjaz et al. 2014). A thorough
exploration that combines the CfA photometry and spectroscopy of
stripped-envelope core-collapse SN will be presented in a follow-up paper.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures, 8 tables. Revised version resubmitted to ApJ
Supplements after referee report. Additional online material is available
through http://cosmo.nyu.edu/SNYU
Resolving The ISM Surrounding GRBs with Afterglow Spectroscopy
We review current research related to spectroscopy of gamma-ray burst (GRB)
afterglows with particular emphasis on the interstellar medium (ISM) of the
galaxies hosting these high redshift events. These studies reveal the physical
conditions of star-forming galaxies and yield clues to the nature of the GRB
progenitor. We offer a pedagogical review of the experimental design and review
current results. The majority of sightlines are characterized by large HI
column densities, negligible molecular fraction, the ubiquitous detection of UV
pumped fine-structure transitions, and metallicities ranging from 1/100 to
nearly solar abundance.Comment: Conference procedings for Gamma Ray Bursts 2007 November 5-9, 2007
Santa Fe, New Mexico (8 pages, 4 figures
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