3,659 research outputs found
Phoradendron serotinum (Raf.) M.C. Johnston
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/3179/thumbnail.jp
Phoradendron serotinum (Raf.) M.C. Johnston
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/3179/thumbnail.jp
Optical Spectroscopy and Nebular Oxygen Abundances of the Spitzer/SINGS Galaxies
We present intermediate-resolution optical spectrophotometry of 65 galaxies
obtained in support of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS). For
each galaxy we obtain a nuclear, circumnuclear, and semi-integrated optical
spectrum designed to coincide spatially with mid- and far-infrared spectroscopy
from the Spitzer Space Telescope. We make the reduced, spectrophotometrically
calibrated one-dimensional spectra, as well as measurements of the fluxes and
equivalent widths of the strong nebular emission lines, publically available.
We use optical emission-line ratios measured on all three spatial scales to
classify the sample into star-forming, active galactic nuclei (AGN), and
galaxies with a mixture of star formation and nuclear activity. We find that
the relative fraction of the sample classified as star-forming versus AGN is a
strong function of the integrated light enclosed by the spectroscopic aperture.
We supplement our observations with a large database of nebular emission-line
measurements of individual HII regions in the SINGS galaxies culled from the
literature. We use these ancillary data to conduct a detailed analysis of the
radial abundance gradients and average HII-region abundances of a large
fraction of the sample. We combine these results with our new integrated
spectra to estimate the central and characteristic (globally-averaged)
gas-phase oxygen abundances of all 75 SINGS galaxies. We conclude with an
in-depth discussion of the absolute uncertainty in the nebular oxygen abundance
scale.Comment: ApJS, in press; 52 emulateapj pages, 12 figures, and two appendices;
v2: final abundances revised due to minor error; conclusions unchange
Spectral Mapping Reconstruction of Extended Sources
Three dimensional spectroscopy of extended sources is typically performed
with dedicated integral field spectrographs. We describe a method of
reconstructing full spectral cubes, with two spatial and one spectral
dimension, from rastered spectral mapping observations employing a single slit
in a traditional slit spectrograph. When the background and image
characteristics are stable, as is often achieved in space, the use of
traditional long slits for integral field spectroscopy can substantially reduce
instrument complexity over dedicated integral field designs, without loss of
mapping efficiency -- particularly compelling when a long slit mode for single
unresolved source followup is separately required. We detail a custom
flux-conserving cube reconstruction algorithm, discuss issues of extended
source flux calibration, and describe CUBISM, a tool which implements these
methods for spectral maps obtained with ther Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared
Spectrograph.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted by PAS
Incorporating bioenergy into sustainable landscape designs
AbstractThe paper describes an approach to landscape design that focuses on integrating bioenergy production with other components of environmental, social and economic systems. Landscape design as used here refers to a spatially explicit, collaborative plan for management of landscapes and supply chains. Landscape design can involve multiple scales and build on existing practices to reduce costs or enhance services. Appropriately applied to a specific context, landscape design can help people assess trade-offs when making choices about locations, types of feedstock, transport, refining and distribution of bioenergy products and services. The approach includes performance monitoring and reporting along the bioenergy supply chain. Examples of landscape design applied to bioenergy production systems are presented. Barriers to implementation of landscape design include high costs, the need to consider diverse land-management objectives from a wide array of stakeholders, up-front planning requirements, and the complexity and level of effort needed for successful stakeholder involvement. A landscape design process may be stymied by insufficient data or participation. An impetus for coordination is critical, and incentives may be required to engage landowners and the private sector. Hence devising and implementing landscape designs for more sustainable outcomes require clear communication of environmental, social, and economic opportunities and concerns
Modeling Dust and Starlight in Galaxies Observed by Spitzer and Herschel: NGC 628 and NGC 6946
We characterize the dust in NGC628 and NGC6946, two nearby spiral galaxies in
the KINGFISH sample. With data from 3.6um to 500um, dust models are strongly
constrained. Using the Draine & Li (2007) dust model, (amorphous silicate and
carbonaceous grains), for each pixel in each galaxy we estimate (1) dust mass
surface density, (2) dust mass fraction contributed by polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH)s, (3) distribution of starlight intensities heating the
dust, (4) total infrared (IR) luminosity emitted by the dust, and (5) IR
luminosity originating in regions with high starlight intensity. We obtain maps
for the dust properties, which trace the spiral structure of the galaxies. The
dust models successfully reproduce the observed global and resolved spectral
energy distributions (SEDs). The overall dust/H mass ratio is estimated to be
0.0082+/-0.0017 for NGC628, and 0.0063+/-0.0009 for NGC6946, consistent with
what is expected for galaxies of near-solar metallicity. Our derived dust
masses are larger (by up to a factor 3) than estimates based on
single-temperature modified blackbody fits. We show that the SED fits are
significantly improved if the starlight intensity distribution includes a
(single intensity) "delta function" component. We find no evidence for
significant masses of cold dust T<12K. Discrepancies between PACS and MIPS
photometry in both low and high surface brightness areas result in large
uncertainties when the modeling is done at PACS resolutions, in which case
SPIRE, MIPS70 and MIPS160 data cannot be used. We recommend against attempting
to model dust at the angular resolution of PACS.Comment: To be published in Apj, September 2012. See the full version at
http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~ganiano/Papers
- …