2,560 research outputs found
Seismic tomography and deformation modeling of the junction of the San Andreas and Calaveras faults
Local earthquake P traveltime data is inverted to obtain a threeâdimensional tomographic image of the region centered on the junction of the San Andreas and Calaveras faults. The resulting velocity model is then used to relocate more than 17,000 earthquakes and to produce a model of fault structure in the region. These faults serve as the basis for modeling the topography using elastic dislocation methods. The region is of interest because active faults join, it marks the transition zone from creeping to locked fault behavior on the San Andreas fault, it exhibits young topography, and it has a good spatial distribution of seismicity. The tomographic data set is extensive, consisting of 1445 events, 96 stations, and nearly 95,000 travel time readings. Tomographic images are resolvable to depths of 12 km and show significant velocity contrasts across the San Andreas and Calaveras faults, a lowâvelocity zone associated with the creeping section of the San Andreas fault, and shallow lowâvelocity sediments in the southern Santa Clara valley and northern Salinas valley. Relocated earthquakes only occur where vp > 5 km/s and indicate that portions of the San Andreas and Calaveras faults are non vertical, although we cannot completely exclude the possibility that all or part of this results from ray tracing problems. The new dips are more consistent with geological observations that dipping faults intersect the surface where surface traces have been mapped. The topographic modeling predicts extensive subsidence in regions characterized by shallow lowâvelocity material, presumably the result of recent sedimentation. Some details of the topography at the junction of the San Andreas and Calaveras faults are not consistent with the modeling results, suggesting that the current position of this âtriple junctionâ has changed with time. The model also predicts those parts of the fault subject to contraction or extension perpendicular to the fault strike and hence the sense of any dipâslip component. In each locality the relative vertical motion across the fault is consistent with the fault dips found with the new hypocentral locations
The lensing properties of subhaloes in massive elliptical galaxies in sterile neutrino cosmologies
We use high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations run with the EAGLE model of galaxy formation to study the differences between the properties of - and subsequently the lensing signal from - subhaloes of massive elliptical galaxies at redshift 0.2, in Cold and Sterile Neutrino (SN) Dark Matter models. We focus on the two 7 keV SN models that bracket the range of matter power spectra compatible with resonantly produced SN as the source of the observed 3.5 keV line. We derive an accurate parametrization for the subhalo mass function in these two SN models relative to cold dark matter (CDM), as well as the subhalo spatial distribution, density profile, and projected number density and the dark matter fraction in subhaloes. We create mock lensing maps from the simulated haloes to study the differences in the lensing signal in the framework of subhalo detection. We find that subhalo convergence is well described by a lognormal distribution and that signal of subhaloes in the power spectrum is lower in SN models with respect to CDM, at a level of 10-80 per cent, depending on the scale. However, the scatter between different projections is large and might make the use of power spectrum studies on the typical scales of current lensing images very difficult. Moreover, in the framework of individual detections through gravitational imaging a sample of â30 lenses with an average sensitivity of Msub = 5 Ă 107 Mâ would be required to discriminate between CDM and the considered sterile neutrino models
The formation of black holes in spherically symmetric gravitational collapse
We consider the spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat Einstein-Vlasov
system. We find explicit conditions on the initial data, with ADM mass M, such
that the resulting spacetime has the following properties: there is a family of
radially outgoing null geodesics where the area radius r along each geodesic is
bounded by 2M, the timelike lines are incomplete, and for r>2M
the metric converges asymptotically to the Schwarzschild metric with mass M.
The initial data that we construct guarantee the formation of a black hole in
the evolution. We also give examples of such initial data with the additional
property that the solutions exist for all and all Schwarzschild time,
i.e., we obtain global existence in Schwarzschild coordinates in situations
where the initial data are not small. Some of our results are also established
for the Einstein equations coupled to a general matter model characterized by
conditions on the matter quantities.Comment: 36 pages. A corollary on global existence in Schwarzschild
coordinates for data which are not small is added together with minor
modification
Observations of Ultracool White Dwarfs
We present new spectroscopic and photometric measurements of the white dwarfs LHS 3250 and WD 0346+246. Along with F351-50, these white dwarfs are the coolest ones known, all with effective temperatures below 4000 K. Their membership in the Galactic halo population is discussed, and detailed comparisons of all three objects with new atmosphere models are presented. The new models consider the effects of mixed H/He atmospheres and indicate that WD 0346+246 and F351-50 have predominantly helium atmospheres with only traces of hydrogen. LHS 3250 may be a double degenerate whose average radiative temperature is between 2000 and 4000 K, but the new models fail to explain this object
Metal Enrichment in the Reionization Epoch
The presence of elements heavier than helium ("metals") is of fundamental
importance for a large number of astrophysical processes occurring in planet,
star and galaxy formation; it also affects cosmic structure formation and
evolution in several ways. Even a small amount of heavy elements can
dramatically alter the chemistry of the gas, opening the path to complex
molecules. Metals might enhance the ability of the gas to radiate away its
thermal energy, thus favoring the formation of gravitationally bound objects;
they can also condensate in a solid phase (dust grains), partly or totally
blocking radiation from luminous sources. Finally, they represent useful
tracers of energy deposition by stars and probe the physical properties of the
environment by absorption or emission lines. Last, but certainly not least,
life -- as we know it on Earth -- is tightly related to the presence of at
least some of the heavy elements. In this pedagogical review I will concentrate
on the connection between early metal enrichment and cosmic reionization. As we
will see these two processes are intimately connected and their joint study
might turn out to be fundamental in understanding the overall evolution of the
Universe during the first billion years after the Big Bang, an epoch
corresponding to redshifts z>6.Comment: Book chapter in Understanding the Epoch of Cosmic Reionization:
Challenges and Progress, Springer International Publishing, Ed. Andrei
Mesinger, ISBN 978-3-319-21956-1. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:astro-ph/0007248 by other author
GIS-assisted modelling for debris flow hazard assessment based on the events of May 1998 in the area of Sarno, Southern Italy. Part I: Maximum run-out
Based on the debris flow events that occurred in May 1998 in the area of Sarno, Southern Italy, this
paper presents an approach to simulate debris flow maximum run-out. On the basis of the flow source
areas and an average thickness of 1.2 m of the scarps, we estimated debris flow volumes of the order
of 104 and 105 m3. Flow mobility ratios ( H/L) derived from the x,y,z coordinates of the lower-most
limit of the source areas (i.e. apex of the alluvial fan) and the distal limit of the flows ranged between
0.27 and 0.09. We performed regression analyses that showed a good correlation between the estimated
flow volumes and mobility ratios. This paper presents a methodology for predicting maximum
run-out of future debris flow events, based on the developed empirical relationship. We implemented
the equation that resulted from the calibration as a set of GIS-macros written in Visual Basic for Applications
(VBA) and running within ArcGIS. We carried out sensitivity analyses and observed that
hazard mapping with this methodology should attempt to delineate hazard zones with a minimum
horizontal resolution of 0.4 km. The developed procedure enables the rapid delineation of debris flow
maximum extent within reasonable levels of uncertainty, it incorporates sensitivities and it facilitates
hazard assessments via graphic-user interfaces and with modest computing resources
An Analysis of Fundamental Waffle Mode in Early AEOS Adaptive Optics Images
Adaptive optics (AO) systems have significantly improved astronomical imaging
capabilities over the last decade, and are revolutionizing the kinds of science
possible with 4-5m class ground-based telescopes. A thorough understanding of
AO system performance at the telescope can enable new frontiers of science as
observations push AO systems to their performance limits. We look at recent
advances with wave front reconstruction (WFR) on the Advanced Electro-Optical
System (AEOS) 3.6 m telescope to show how progress made in improving WFR can be
measured directly in improved science images. We describe how a "waffle mode"
wave front error (which is not sensed by a Fried geometry Shack-Hartmann wave
front sensor) affects the AO point-spread function (PSF). We model details of
AEOS AO to simulate a PSF which matches the actual AO PSF in the I-band, and
show that while the older observed AEOS PSF contained several times more waffle
error than expected, improved WFR techniques noticeably improve AEOS AO
performance. We estimate the impact of these improved WFRs on H-band imaging at
AEOS, chosen based on the optimization of the Lyot Project near-infrared
coronagraph at this bandpass.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 1 table; to appear in PASP, August 200
GMRT Observations of the 2006 outburst of the Nova RS Ophiuchi: First detection of emission at radio frequencies < 1.4 GHz
The first low radio frequency (<1.4 GHz) detection of the outburst of the
recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi is presented in this letter. Radio emission was
detected at 0.61 GHz on day 20 with a flux density of ~48 mJy and at 0.325 GHz
on day 38 with a flux density of ~ 44 mJy. This is in contrast with the 1985
outburst when it was not detected at 0.327 GHz even on day 66. The emission at
low radio frequencies is clearly non-thermal and is well-explained by a
synchrotron spectrum of index alpha ~ -0.8 (S propto nu^alpha) suffering
foreground absorption due to the pre-existing, ionized, warm, clumpy red giant
wind. The absence of low frequency radio emission in 1985 and the earlier
turn-on of the radio flux in the current outburst are interpreted as being due
to higher foreground absorption in 1985 compared to that in 2006, suggesting
that the overlying wind densities in 2006 are only ~30% of those in 1985.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Rotating Neutron Stars in a Chiral SU(3) Model
We study the properties of rotating neutron stars within a generalized chiral
SU(3)-flavor model. The influence of the rotation on the inner structure and
the hyperon matter content of the star is discussed. We calculate the Kepler
frequency and moments of inertia of the neutron star sequences. An estimate for
the braking index of the associated pulsars is given.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
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