Vortex nucleation in rotating BEC: the role of the boundary condition for the order parameter

We study the process of vortex nucleation in rotating two-dimensional BEC confined in a harmonic trap. We show that, within the Gross-Pitaevskii theory with the boundary condition of vanishing of the order parameter at infinity, topological defects nucleation occurs via the creation of vortex-antivortex pairs far from the cloud center, where the modulus of the order parameter is small. Then, vortices move towards the center of the cloud and antivortices move in the opposite direction but never disappear. We also discuss the role of surface modes in this process.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Artifacts at 4.5 and 8.0 um in Short Wavelength Spectra from the Infrared Space Observatory

Spectra from the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on ISO exhibit artifacts at 4.5 and 8 um. These artifacts appear in spectra from a recent data release, OLP 10.0, as spurious broad emission features in the spectra of stars earlier than ~F0, such as alpha CMa. Comparison of absolutely calibrated spectra of standard stars to corresponding spectra from the SWS reveals that these artifacts result from an underestimation of the strength of the CO and SiO molecular bands in the spectra of sources used as calibrators by the SWS. Although OLP 10.0 was intended to be the final data release, these findings have led to an additional release addressing this issue, OLP 10.1, which corrects the artifacts.Comment: 14 pages, AASTex, including 5 figures. Accepted by ApJ Letter

Physical Conditions in the Narrow-Line Region of Markarian 3. II. Photoionization Modeling Results

We have examined the physical conditions in the narrow-line region (NLR) of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Markarian 3, using long-slit spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and photoionization models. We find three components of photoionized gas in the NLR. Two of these components, characterized by emission lines such as [NeV] 3426 and [OIII] 5007, lie within the envelope of the bi-conical region described in our previous kinematic study. A component of lower ionization gas, in which lines such as [OII] 3727 arise, is found to lie outside the bi-cone. Each of these components is irradiated by a power-law continuum which is attenuated by intervening gas, presumably closer to the central source. The radiation incident upon the low ionization gas, external to the bi-cone, is much more heavily absorbed. These absorbers are similar to the intrinsic UV and X-ray absorbers detected in many Seyfert 1 galaxies, which suggests that the collimation of the ionizing radiation occurs in a circumnuclear wind, rather than a thick, molecular torus. We estimate the mass for the observed NLR emitting gas to be 2 million solar-masses. It is likely that Markarian 3 acquired this gas through an on-going interaction with the spiral galaxy UGC 3422.Comment: 47 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

The X-ray Emission from the Nucleus of the Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 3226

We present the first high resolution X-ray image of the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 3226. The data were obtained during an observation of the nearby Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3227 using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We detect a point X-ray source spatially consistent with the optical nucleus of NGC 3226 and a recently-detected, compact, flat-spectrum, radio source. The X-ray spectrum can be measured up to ~10 keV and is consistent with a power law with a photon index 1.7 <~ Gamma <~ 2.2, or thermal bremmstrahlung emission with 4 <~ kT <~ 10 keV. In both cases the luminosity in the 2--10 keV band ~10^{40} h_{75}^{-1} erg/s. We find marginal evidence that the nucleus varies within the observation. These characteristics support evidence from other wavebands that NGC 3226 harbors a low-luminosity, active nucleus. We also comment on two previously-unknown, fainter X-ray sources <~ 15 arcsec from the nucleus of NGC 3226. Their proximity to the nucleus (with projected distances <~ 1.3/h_{75} kpc) suggests both are within NGC 3226, and thus have luminosities (~few x 10^{38} -- few x 10^{39} erg/s) consistent with black-hole binary systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figures in colo

New Indicators for AGN Power: The Correlation Between [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron and Hard X-ray Luminosity for Nearby Seyfert Galaxies

We have studied the relationship between the [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron emission line luminosities, obtained from Spitzer spectra, the X-ray continua in the 2-10 keV band, primarily from ASCA, and the 14-195 keV band obtained with the SWIFT/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), for a sample of nearby (z < 0.08) Seyfert galaxies. For comparison, we have examined the relationship between the [O III] 5007, the 2-10 keV and the 14-195 keV luminosities for the same set of objects. We find that both the [O IV] and [O III] luminosities are well-correlated with the BAT luminosities. On the other hand, the [O III] luminosities are better-correlated with 2-10 keV luminosities than are those of [O IV]. When comparing [O IV] and [O III] luminosities for the different types of galaxies, we find that the Seyfert 2's have significantly lower [O III] to [O IV] ratios than the Seyfert 1's. We suggest that this is due to more reddening of the narrow line region (NLR) of the Seyfert 2's. Assuming Galactic dust to gas ratios, the average amount of extra reddening corresponds to a hydrogen column density of ~ few times 10^21 cm^-2, which is a small fraction of the X-ray absorbing columns in the Seyfert 2's. The combined effects of reddening and the X-ray absorption are the probable reason why the [O III] versus 2-10 keV correlation is better than the [O IV] versus 2-10 keV, since the [O IV] emission line is much less affected by extinction. Overall, we find the [O IV] to be an accurate and truly isotropic indicator of the power of the AGN. This suggests that it can be useful in deconvolving the contribution of the AGN and starburst to the spectrum of Compton-thick and/or X-ray weak sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

On the Nature of Intrinsic Absorption in Reddened Seyfert 1 Galaxies

We discuss the origin of the ``dusty lukewarm absorber'', which we previously identified in the reddened Seyfert 1 galaxies NGC 3227 and Akn 564. This absorber is characterized by saturated UV absorption lines (C IV, N V) near the systemic velocity of the host galaxy, and is likely responsible for reddening both the continuum and the emission lines (including those from the narrow-line region) from these Seyferts. From a large sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies, we find that continuum reddening (as measured by UV color) tends to increase with inclination of the host galaxy. Furthermore, reddened, inclined Seyfert galaxies observed at moderate to high spectral resolution all show evidence for dusty lukewarm absorbers. We suggest that these absorbers lie in the plane of the host galaxy at distances > 100 pc from the nucleus, and are physically distinct from the majority of intrinsic absorbers that are outflowing from the nucleus.Comment: 14 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (Letters

Magnetic excitations near the quantum phase transition in the Ising ferromagnet LiHoF_4

Effective-medium theory and inelastic neutron scattering are used to study the magnetic excitations in the Ising ferromagnet LiHoF_4 near its magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transition (QPT). As expected, the dominant mode softens at the QPT, but reaches a finite, rather than vanishing, limit due to the hyperfine interaction. The experimental phase diagram and excitation spectra are well described by an effective-medium theory to first order in the 1/z expansion. There are some differences between theory and experiments, which may be due to domain walls, their dynamics and shape effects, and to magnetoelastic couplings

`St\"uckelberg interferometry' with ultracold molecules

We report on the realization of a time-domain `St\"uckelberg interferometer', which is based on the internal state structure of ultracold Feshbach molecules. Two subsequent passages through a weak avoided crossing between two different orbital angular momentum states in combination with a variable hold time lead to high-contrast population oscillations. This allows for a precise determination of the energy difference between the two molecular states. We demonstrate a high degree of control over the interferometer dynamics. The interferometric scheme provides new possibilities for precision measurements with ultracold molecules.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure