2,879 research outputs found
Diet of the west coast rock lobster Jasus Lalandii: Influence of lobster size, sex, capture depth, latitude and moult stage
Diets of male and female West Coast rock lobster Jasus lalandii in South Africa were compared across a large size range of 10â85 mm carapace length (CL). The diets of male rock lobsters were compared betweentwo different depths, different seasons, across the moult cycle, and among eight sites along the South-Western Cape coast. There was no significant difference in diet between male and female rock lobsters for any of thesize-classes examined. Male rock lobsters showed large differences in diet between small and large size-classes. The diet of small lobsters (80mm CL) fed on few species, and fish and ribbed mussels were their most abundant prey items. There were some dietary differences between individuals captured at 20 m and those collected at 50 m, but these differences were less marked than between the two sampling sites (the Knol and Olifantsbos). There was seasonal variation in diet at the Dassen Island and Olifantsbos sites. Cannibalism was highest during the moulting periods. Gut fullness varied seasonally at Dassen Island, and was consistently high at Olifantsbos. However, the proportion of the population feeding showed marked seasonal trends at both sites, tracking the commercial catch per unit effort of rock lobster. Ribbed mussels were a ubiquitous and dominant component of the diet at the eight sites sampled. However, south of Dassen Island, black mussels Choromytilus meridionalis were scarce in the diet of rock lobster and sponges predominated. Gut fullness was lowest at the northernmostsites
Nickel Mixing in the Outer Layers of SN 1987A
Supernova 1987A remains the most well-observed and well-studied supernova to
date. Observations produced excellent broad-band photometric and spectroscopic
coverage over a wide wavelength range at all epochs. Here, we focus on the very
early spectroscopic observations. Only recently have numerical models been of
sufficient detail to accurately explain the observed spectra. In SN 1987A, good
agreement has been found between observed and synthetic spectra for day one,
but by day four, the predicted Balmer lines become much weaker than the
observed lines. We present the results of work based on a
radiation-hydrodynamic model by Blinnikov and collaborators. Synthetic non-LTE
spectra generated from this model by the general radiation transfer code
PHOENIX strongly support the theory that significant mixing of nickel into the
outer envelope is required to maintain strong Balmer lines. Preliminary results
suggest a lower limit to the average nickel mass of 1.0 \times 10^{-5} solar
masses is required above 5000 \kmps by day four. PHOENIX models thus have the
potential to be a sensitive probe for nickel mixing in the outer layers of a
supernova.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, ApJ, v556 2001 (in press
The Probable Detection of SN 1923A: The Oldest Radio Supernova?
Based upon the results of VLA observations, we report the detection of two
unresolved radio sources that are coincident with the reported optical position
of SN 1923A in M83. For the source closest to the SN position, the flux density
was determined to be 0.30 +/- 0.05 mJy at 20 cm and 0.093 +/- 0.028 mJy at 6
cm. The flux density of the second nearby source was determined to be 0.29 +/-
0.05 at 20 cm and 0.13 +/- 0.028 at 6 cm. Both sources are non-thermal with
spectral indices of alpha = -1.0 +/- 0.30 and -0.69 +/- 0.24, respectively. SN
1923A has been designated as a Type II-P. No Type II-P (other than SN 1987A)
has been detected previously in the radio. The radio emission from both sources
appears to be fading with time. At an age of approximately 68 years when we
observed it, this would be the oldest radio supernova (of known age) yet
detected
SNLS Spectroscopy: Testing for Evolution in Type Ia Supernovae
Aims: We present a quantitative study of a new data set of high redshift Type
Ia supernovae spectra, observed at the Gemini telescopes during the first 34
months of the Supernova Legacy Survey. During this time 123 supernovae
candidates were observed, of which 87 have been identified as SNe Ia at a
median redshift of z=0.720. Spectra from the entire second year of the survey
and part of the third year (59 total SNe candidates with 46 confirmed SNe Ia)
are published here for the first time. The spectroscopic measurements made on
this data set are used determine if these distant SNe comprise a population
similar to those observed locally. Methods: Rest-frame equivalent width and
ejection velocity measurements are made on four spectroscopic features.
Corresponding measurements are presented for a set of 167 spectra from 24 low-z
SNe Ia from the literature. Results: We show that there exists a sample at high
redshift with properties similar to nearby SNe. No significant difference was
found between the distributions of measurements at low and high redsift for
three of the features. The fourth feature displays a possible difference that
should be investigated further. Correlations between Type Ia SNe properties and
host galaxy morphology were also found to be similar at low and high z, and
within each host galaxy class we see no evidence for redshift-evolution in SN
properties. A new correlation between SNe Ia peak magnitude and the equivalent
width of SiII absorption is presented. We demonstrate that this correlation
reduces the scatter in SNe Ia luminosity distances in a manner consistent with
the lightcurve shape-luminosity corrections that are used for Type Ia SNe
cosmology. Conclusions: We show that this new sample of SNLS SNe Ia has
spectroscopic properties similar to nearby objects. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Why does the Engel method work? Food demand, economies of size and household survey methods
Estimates of household size economies are needed for the analysis of poverty and inequality. This paper shows that Engel estimates of size economies are large when household expenditures are obtained by respondent recall but small when expenditures are obtained by daily recording in diaries. Expenditure estimates from recall surveys appear to have measurement errors correlated with household size. As well as demonstrating the fragility of Engel estimates of size economies, these results help resolve a puzzle raised by Deaton and Paxson (1998) about differences between rich and poor countries in the effect of household size on food demand
PHotometry Assisted Spectral Extraction (PHASE) and identification of SNLS supernovae
Aim: We present new extraction and identification techniques for supernova
(SN) spectra developed within the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) collaboration.
Method: The new spectral extraction method takes full advantage of
photometric information from the Canada-France-Hawai telescope (CFHT) discovery
and reference images by tracing the exact position of the supernova and the
host signals on the spectrogram. When present, the host spatial profile is
measured on deep multi-band reference images and is used to model the host
contribution to the full (supernova + host) signal. The supernova is modelled
as a Gaussian function of width equal to the seeing. A chi-square minimisation
provides the flux of each component in each pixel of the 2D spectrogram. For a
host-supernova separation greater than <~ 1 pixel, the two components are
recovered separately and we do not use a spectral template in contrast to more
standard analyses. This new procedure permits a clean extraction of the
supernova separately from the host in about 70% of the 3rd year ESO/VLT spectra
of the SNLS. A new supernova identification method is also proposed. It uses
the SALT2 spectrophotometric template to combine the photometric and spectral
data. A galaxy template is allowed for spectra for which a separate extraction
of the supernova and the host was not possible.
Result: These new techniques have been tested against more standard
extraction and identification procedures. They permit a secure type and
redshift determination in about 80% of cases. The present paper illustrates
their performances on a few sample spectra.Comment: 27 pages, 18 Figures, 1 Table. Accepted for publication in A&
The Environments of Supernovae in Post-Refurbishment Hubble Space Telescope Images
The locations of supernovae in the local stellar and gaseous environment in
galaxies contain important clues to their progenitor stars. Access to this
information, however, has been hampered by the limited resolution achieved by
ground-based observations. High spatial resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
images of galaxy fields in which supernovae had been observed can improve the
situation considerably. We have examined the immediate environments of a few
dozen supernovae using archival post-refurbishment HST images. Although our
analysis is limited due to signal-to-noise ratio and filter bandpass
considerations, the images allow us for the first time to resolve individual
stars in, and to derive detailed color-magnitude diagrams for, several
environments. We are able to place more rigorous constraints on the masses of
these supernovae. A search was made for late-time emission from supernovae in
the archival images, and for the progenitor stars in presupernova images of the
host galaxies. We have detected SN 1986J in NGC 891 and, possibly, SN 1981K in
NGC 4258. We have also identified the progenitor of the Type IIn SN 1997bs in
NGC 3627. By removing younger resolved stars in the environments of SNe Ia, we
can measure the colors of the unresolved stellar background and attribute these
colors generally to an older, redder population. HST images ``accidentally''
caught the Type Ia SN 1994D in NGC 4526 shortly after its outburst; we measure
its brightness. Finally, we add to the statistical inferences that can be made
from studying the association of SNe with recent star-forming regions.Comment: 20 pages, 29 figures, to appear in A
C-axis Raman spectra of a normal plane-chain bilayer cuprate and the pseudogap
We investigate the Raman spectra in the geometry where both incident and
scattered photon polarizations are parallel to the -direction, for a
plane-chain bilayer coupled via a single-particle tunneling . The
Raman vertex is derived in the tight-binding limit and in the absence of
Coulomb screening, the Raman intensity can be separated into intraband
() and interband () transitions. In the
small- limit, the interband part dominates and a pseudogap will appear
as it does in the conductivity. Coulomb interactions bring in a two-particle
coupling and result in the breakdown of intra- and interband separation.
Nevertheless, when is small, the Coulomb screening () has little effect on the intensity to which the unscreened
interband transitions contribute most. In general, the total Raman spectra are
strongly dependent on the magnitude of .Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Discovery of a Supernova Explosion at Half the Age of the Universe and its Cosmological Implications
The ultimate fate of the universe, infinite expansion or a big crunch, can be
determined by measuring the redshifts, apparent brightnesses, and intrinsic
luminosities of very distant supernovae. Recent developments have provided
tools that make such a program practicable: (1) Studies of relatively nearby
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have shown that their intrinsic luminosities can be
accurately determined; (2) New research techniques have made it possible to
schedule the discovery and follow-up observations of distant supernovae,
producing well over 50 very distant (z = 0.3 -- 0.7) SNe Ia to date. These
distant supernovae provide a record of changes in the expansion rate over the
past several billion years. By making precise measurements of supernovae at
still greater distances, and thus extending this expansion history back far
enough in time, we can distinguish the slowing caused by the gravitational
attraction of the universe's mass density Omega_M from the effect of a possibly
inflationary pressure caused by a cosmological constant Lambda. We report here
the first such measurements, with our discovery of a Type Ia supernova (SN
1997ap) at z = 0.83. Measurements at the Keck II 10-m telescope make this the
most distant spectroscopically confirmed supernova. Over two months of
photometry of SN 1997ap with the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based
telescopes, when combined with previous measurements of nearer SNe Ia, suggests
that we may live in a low mass-density universe. Further supernovae at
comparable distances are currently scheduled for ground and space-based
observations.Comment: 12 pages and 4 figures (figure 4 is repeated in color and black and
white) Nature, scheduled for publication in the 1 January, 1998 issue. Also
available at http://www-supernova.lbl.go
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